Chapter 310 (1): Instant Kill

Prince Douglas had transformed into a demon familiar and abducted Queen Sophelia. The situation changed so suddenly that it caught everyone off guard.

Among the many legendary mages in the Ministry of Magic, only Yvette and Hermann were truly loyal to the Queen, and they immediately teleported away to give chase. Alnwick and Charlee lived up to Franc’s reputation for waving white flags, standing and watching blankly as the Queen was whisked away. When Yvette and Hermann left to rescue the Queen, they didn’t follow.

It appeared that they had already defected.

The banquet hall fell deathly silent. The Tulip Families couldn’t tell if the Queen had escaped successfully or been captured by the demon familiar. They turned to the Lando family quietly, waiting for Auston to say something. He had the strongest cards, so he had the biggest voice.

“Why didn’t you stop Douglas?” Auston scowled at the Death Knight. “You’re more than capable of that.”

“Why should I interfere with a spat between a loving couple?”

“Bastard, I don’t care what you’re planning, but the Queen has to live,” Auston said through gritted teeth.

Fair point! But being the reasonable one doesn’t mean having the right to raise your voice. With so many witnesses, do you think the Death Knight can just lower his pride?

Wayne was going to talk back when he suddenly realized that yes, the Death Knight could indeed lower his pride tonight, exactly because of all these witnesses.

He bowed slightly and said humbly, “My apologies, Milord. I didn’t think it through. Please give me another chance. I promise to bring the Queen back.”

Before Auston could react, a portal opened behind Wayne, and Julia the undead horse leaped out. The Death Knight mounted his horse, following the spatial fluctuations to the demon and the two legendary mages.

Auston made a small sound of surprise, wondering why Trash Jr. was being so obedient. It was a fact that the crown was about to be placed on his head. At this critical juncture, Trash Jr. should approve of the development of the Queen being ruthlessly slaughtered by the demon familiar. He would consider Douglas’s action an assist, if anything.

But then Auston noticed the strange looks cast his way. There were the fence-sitters of the Tulip Families. Some looked admiring, others envious, but more showed fear.

Auston was no puppet put on the spot by the four churches. They had all seen him giving orders to the Death Knight. He had cursed at the Death Knight, and the Death Knight meekly complied without uttering a complaint.

What a great sovereign he would be!

Silvia tilted her head, arms crossed and brows furrowed in deep contemplation. She knew too much inside information and had too many things to consider. While Filomina, completely in the dark, stared at Auston, slack-jawed.

Even a chosen knight groveled before this man. What power did he hold?

As expected of my man’s father. You’re good enough for your son.

Auston’s eyes twitched. Nearly getting a stroke because of Wayne, he took two deep breaths before saying to Anastasia, “I don’t trust the Death Knight. Please go to the Queen’s aid, Lady Holy Maiden, and please ensure her safety at all costs.”

“I will do as you wish,” Anastasia said with a bow.

Why are you acting like this as well?

“Lady Holy Maiden, when I speak to you, please don’t bring in the external factors and titles. This is my personal request to you,” Auston said exasperatedly.

“I understand, but please understand that setting aside the other factors, I personally must execute your commands. Is that not the case?”

“...”

It was the case. Although they operated under different frameworks, a chosen knight was more highly regarded than a Holy Maiden, and he could indeed order her. If she didn’t listen, he could cut her to pieces with Twilight Despair, and when the Goddess of Darkness asked, he would just claim that the Holy Maiden had betrayed her faith.

Would the goddess seek justice for the Holy Maiden or accept the excuse of apostasy? It wasn’t even a question. The Holy Maiden was dead. Of course She would have another selected!

She made so much sense that Auston had no grounds to argue with her. He knew that Anastasia was playing ignorant, but he didn’t dare to expose her lest it make things worse. With a sinking heart, he could do nothing but accept the reverent gazes from the onlookers.

He saw the same question in their eyes:

when does Your Majesty plan to ascend the throne with the reverence you’ve already won?

Auston held onto the hope that he could still salvage the situation. With a dark expression, he addressed everyone, “You all saw it. I, Auston—no, the Lando family—am loyal to the royal family. These are all preparations made against Prince Douglas.”

“Douglas is a demon who has lured Her Majesty into making numerous mistakes. Blinded by his machinations, she failed to see the demon for what it is, which is why I joined forces with the Death Knight and the Church of Darkness’s Holy Maiden to expose Douglas and wake Her Majesty up.”

“Everything said earlier was false and meant to force Douglas to reveal his true face. The Lando family has always been loyal to the royal family and always will be. Her Majesty will remain as the Queen. No one is rebelling to become the new sovereign!”

Right, right. You’re fighting a demon with the help of Death and Darkness rather than the Church of Heavenly Father, the true experts in fighting demons. That makes total sense. That’s how things are done in Windsor.

xN

We humbly accept your decree: there is no new king, only a new prince consort.

xN

So your goal isn’t to change the regime, but to go from sleeping with the Queen in secret to sleeping with her openly. Prince Auston, you still haven’t moved on from her!

xN

“Well said!” Forest nodded.

“Well said!” everyone else echoed, following his lead.

With a new lord taking over, it was the perfect opportunity to pledge loyalty and pick sides. Everyone nodded in approval.

Some might feel disgruntled and consider Auston a treacherous rebel, but none of them could afford to withhold their support. With so many people present, the new lord might not remember who had enthusiastically voiced their loyalty, but he would remember who hadn’t said anything at all. Even if he didn’t remember, there would be no shortage of snitches among them.

“Until Her Majesty returns, no one is leaving or making contact with the outside world!” Auston threatened with a dark look.

“As you command.” xN

“...”

Auston stared at the group of vermin with an expressionless face, itching to draw Twilight Despair and cut them all. With his position suddenly elevated, he came to understand the Queen’s dilemma.

Centralize power! It had to be done! Or Windsor would fall sooner or later!

***

Headquarters of Minstry of Magic, East Wing Palace.

The headquarters of the Ministry of Magic occupied a massive area of land with numerous large office buildings, as well as a museum, theater, and high-end restaurant. It was like an extensive estate.

Each high-ranking official owned office buildings. Minister Sophelia had the most. In addition to the banquet hall, she also owned a luxurious building in each of the four cardinal directions. The white palace with a classical style, for example, was Sophelia’s private mansion, where she occasionally stayed when working overtime.

The rumors about Auston entering the headquarters at night to discuss national affairs with the Queen weren’t completely baseless. At least there was a potential crime scene.

In the well-illuminated and luxuriously decorated mansion, two groups of people each occupied a side of the living room.

On the left sofa sat Prince Edward and his fiancée, Carol Bourbon, with four bodyguards in black suits behind them. On the right sofa sat Princess Elizabeth and her fiancé, Alistair Romanov, with Juno, the Princess’s knight, and two stiff-looking maids behind them.

Tonight’s banquet was organized by the Queen to reclaim all the power she had delegated, so she was the sole star of the show, with no parts for the Princess and the Prince to play. They didn’t need to attend.

However, the Queen had summoned them anyway.

It was Douglas’s idea. Tonight, the Prince Consort would officially return to Windsor, so he wanted to give his children a surprise immediately afterwards. The future daughter-in-law and son-in-law should also be there since they would be family one day.

Queen Sophelia hadn’t objected. It made sense. That was how the two groups ended up here.

“My dear sister, Mother actually let you out. Tsk, tsk. You’re quite the favored one even though you have something to do with the disappearance of Vice Minister Alan.”

After a moment of silence, Edward made the first shot under Carol’s urging. While he spoke, he was looking at Juno rather than the exquisite doll on the sofa.

“My dear brother, you’ve recently accompanied Mother to many events and ceremonies. There’s no need for you to continue mocking me when you’re ahead,” Elizabeth said slowly with crinkling eyes. “As someone with the same experience, I’ll give you a piece of advice: victors should stay humble. Belittling the defeated won’t make you look stronger, but only petty. Think about it. Have I ever mocked you before?”

It was obvious that the self-proclaimed boor of a prince was no match for his sister in eloquence, and he knew that, too. He shrugged and turned to his fiancée. He had done his best.

Carol rolled her eyes. Edward had been suppressed by Elizabeth for so long that he had grown complacent. He fell far short of the Princess in ambition and drive. As his fiancée, Carol was in no place to criticize the Princess, but she could scold the Princess’s knight.

Clearing her throat, she was about to save her fiancé some face.

Rip!

Space tore open, and the lifelessly pale, two-meter-tall Douglas entered, clutching Queen Sophelia. The Queen had set the teleportation coordinates in the office where her children would be, planning to immediately bring them to safety. That, however, ended up serving Douglas. It was exactly what he wanted.

With her face enveloped and clutched in the iron hold of the pale hand, Sophelia had trouble speaking from the incessant ring in her head. Through the gaps between the fingers, she signaled her children to flee immediately with her gaze.

“Demon?!”

“Ugly thing, get your hand off the Queen!”

Edward and Juno spoke at the same time, ordering their maids and bodyguards to circle the demon rather than fleeing. They didn’t know that the hideous demon was actually their biological father. Though they didn’t know how the demon had infiltrated the heavily guarded headquarters of the Ministry of Magic, they chose combat without hesitation.

From an emotional standpoint, no children would abandon their mother; from a political standpoint, fleeing now would end their political careers. As for their personal safety, there was no shortage of strong fighters at the ministry’s headquarters, so they would be achieving something by simply delaying the demon.

“Ugly thing, kekeke...”

What Edward and Juno said stung Douglas deeply. If he had just taken a piss and looked at his own reflection, he would’ve known that these two were indeed his children, but Douglas had already lost his mind. He saw the two bastards as Auston’s, and in a fit of burning fury, he raised one hand, his fingers transforming into claws.

Whoosh!