Inside the studies of many noble households, the light was still intense. The so-called royals were all on edge. They had been feeling suffocated in their hearts ever since this morning.
However, while some were fearing something, some were rejoicing the way the Queen had stepped up. These were the loyalists, who believed in the judgment of the old rulers and would stick to it till the end.
In one of the Loyalist houses, a middle-aged was sipping on a glass of wine while sitting in a rocking chair. Beside him stood a lady dressed in a sleeping robe. She asked, “Sire, what makes you so happy to even open up this wine?”
The middle-aged man smiled and said, “You will not believe what it is.”
The lady said, “That is up to me, please, stop smiling and tell me what is going on?”
“Today in the court…”
While the man narrated the happenings to his wife, he also relived the movements in his mind.
…
Nexalia was climbing the steps to the throne when she asked, “Where is the finance minister?”
The deputy stationed beside Abbey was a loyalist, he did not have any authority but was a convenient pawn that would come into play at a crucial moment. The man stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, Minister has been missing since last night.”
Suddenly, a supporter of the Prince asked, “What do you mean missing? How could something happen to his highness.”
This man, like many others, was a blind follower of the true ruler. They did not acknowledge Nexalia’s status. After all, these were all people from the families appointed by the old king. They were a group of parasites. Otherwise, given their skills, they would not be allowed to appear in the civil examinations let alone become a courtier.
The deputy did not flinch and replied, “Minister Sherm, I am only reporting what is known to everyone. The finance minister came out of his house before dinner could be served. We have no idea where he went.”
Sherm was the minister of housing, and he was sitting in this position because of the support from Abbey. He wanted to clamor and hype this up when a calm voice sounded, “Send out a summon, I would like to see Madam Chol”
The people who were aware of the real situation were shocked at this moment. They did not expect the Queen to be so aware too. The ministers tapped on their communicators and contacted their spies outside to inform Chol.
However, Nexalia would not let that happen. She said, “Nuiya, kindly confiscate their communication devices.”
Nuiya had already begun taking things into custody, there was some protest but it was all silenced by the cold gaze from the throne passing over the people. They were not fools they were aware that this was an attempt to silence them.
When Nuiya came over to Sherm, the old man, audaciously raised his gaze to glare at Nexalia. The Queen smiled and said, “Minister Sherm, do you wish to say something?”
Sherm was not willing to take a step back and said, “I would like to ask, why are the devices confiscated.”
Nexalia smiled and said, “It is because I wish to maintain the secrecy of the things inside the courtroom. You see, even I do not have my communication devices.”
Sherm had no way to counter her. He could not accept being left speechless by this girl who was so hesitant to even look back at him a night ago. His lips moved but no sound came out. Nexalia began to talk about a lot of things, such as how to determine the honesty of the people to the empire.
They all were surprised as she bought this topic up. She did not want anyone to find out about the enslavement of her brother. So, this was her attempt to intimidate the courtiers and divert the conversation.
…
The lady standing in front of the wine-sipping man said, “This is indeed surprising and a happy event. Her Majesty finally decided to stand against these people. I am very happy about this.”
The man nodded and continued sipping his wine, then he asked, “Where is that Terran team.”
The lady shrugged her shoulders and replied, “Why do you ask of them?”
“I don’t know, do you not find their arrival and the changes in Her Majesty to be more than just a coincidence?” asked the man.
The lady said, “Sire, we are the Nuitas, our house has followed the throne for as long as one can think of. If this time those Terran children can help Her Majesty, then it is a good thing for all of Neomon.”
The man smiled and nodded. He said, “Madam has become a political guru.”
The couple joked, unaware of the storm that was about to pass by the city.
…
The team members of the Queen’s snare were moving through the capital, and fifty houses had already been controlled. The attacks were so fast that the guarding teams had no chance to even spot the enemy. The blows were aimed to neutralize the enemy and not kill the person.
They were five people in a team, moving together gave them a better chance to take out the scattered guards, and they also helped cover the bases for each other. This was the first assignment for most of them. The silent incursion was not something that could be mastered in just a matter of hours.
Even if Shi Lang put them all through simulation there were a lot of things that could go wrong or different than the illusion. Thus, he had told them all to move slowly and the safety of the squad was to be prioritized.
While the teams were infiltrating the houses of the nobles. Shi Lang and Amelia were traversing through the woods. They were going to look for the two people meeting here. Amelia was leading the pace with her ability to turn invisible. Her speed was not slow, but it was not fast enough to create big sounds either.
Shi Lang had a suppressed sniper rifle on his back. He was going to take the shot when necessary. They covered the distance of a couple of kilometers after ten minutes and Shi Lang took the higher vantage point by climbing up a tree. Amelia was ground support and silently waiting for the other to arrive.
She sent him a text message, “What do you think?”
Shi Lang replied to her, “They are here, they are just being cautious, do not move, they will be coming out soon.”
Amelia stopped moving and then waited. They were both watching the spot of the meeting and so were the people from the other side, they were also watching for the spot to be safe. Who knows, if a branch of royals had slipped inside their place.
After ten more minutes, two people came outside the woods, from opposite directions. Shi Lang recognized one of them. The head of the intelligence department, Chol, and the other person did not look like a human.
This creature was like a humanoid lion. He was nine feet tall. The appearance could be said anything but friendly. Chol was the first one to break the silence, “Your highness the third prince.”
The lion-man snorted, “Chol, the progress is not smooth. What is that useless husband of yours doing? Do you even know how much it costs to travel through the space to locate this dump yard of yours?”
Chol bowed her head and said, “I apologize, Your Highness, however, at this moment the government is very crucial. A delegation from the neighboring empire is visiting the capital. We cannot execute a coup in front of them. This will alert them and the risk of your taking over the two regions will become risky.”
The lion-man let out a growl, and Chol shivered, from fear. This creature in front of her was not someone she could afford to anger. After he was satisfied with the amount of fear displayed by Chol, he said, “You have two months before our forces reach this barren place. If you did not give me the throne by then, I will have my troops ravage your body, for both lust and hunger.”
That said, the lion-man turned around and went back to the woods. Chol did not move, a few seconds later, a space vessel seemed to fly away in the distance.
At this moment, Shi Lang fired the shot. A tranquilizer dart was stabbed into Chol’s neck. Before the lady could fall down, Amelia appeared beside her, and to make sure that Chol was sedated, she knocked her out after a physical attack.
Amelia carried Chol back to the vessel they had come in. Shi Lang was already ahead of them, preparing for take-off. They did not talk, as it was not yet safe. There might be people behind Chol.
In ten minutes, they took off from the place and made their way to the Den. Shi Lang asked, “What is it?”
Amelia said, “That thing, what is that thing, Ace, I almost broke down under that gaze.”
Shi Lang said, “Not only you but the entirety of The Federation and Sunlight empire.”