Right after the Lioness Castle's gate was closed, the Cantiaci knights could be seen making their way to the outskirts of the castle and setting a camp there.
The one leading the battle was an old senior gold knight and the queen of Cantiaci herself. She was accompanied by four other Cantiaci golden knights as they entered the commander tent, where two people were already waiting inside.
Princess Gwenneth would certainly be shocked if she could see the two people waiting inside the tent.
"Congratulations on your first victory, My Queen," said a man wearing the aristocratic garb of the Lioness Kingdom.
The Cantiaci Queen glanced at the person who just spoke and said, "Good work, Lord Fantumar. If it weren't for you, it wouldn't have been so easy for us to pass the border and enter the capital."
Fantumar beamed a wide smile when he heard the queen's compliment.
"My only concern is my son, Prince Edward. Are you really sure that he is safe, Lord Fantumar?" asked the Cantiaci Queen calmly, but Fantumar could hear the coldness in her voice.
Upon hearing the question, he clasped his hands together as he said, "Don't worry, My Queen. Everything has been going according to plan, your son is certainly safe."
The queen nodded her head. "Very good, Lord Fantumar." And as if she could read his mind, she added, "Don't worry, I will assure you the Cantiaci will be forever grateful for your service."
Fantumar's smile grew wider when he heard the queen's words "Thank you, My Queen. I only hope for what has been promised and nothing more."
The senior knight, known as Lord Malcolm suddenly asked, "When will Prince Edward arrive? We need to quickly attack the castle before reinforcements come!"
Hearing the golden knight's words, Fantumar let out a chuckle. "Reinforcement? Hahaha, Lord Malcolm, you don't need to worry about that. I have made preparations regarding that."
Right at this moment, a Cantiaci knight walked inside the tent, gave his salute, and said, "Report! We have spotted 600 Lioness knights coming from the west."
Hearing there were Lioness knights coming, Lord Malcolm was surprised and about to rebuke Fantumar when he noticed the queen still maintained her calm. Noticing the look the old knight had, the latter said, "Don't worry, Lord Malcolm. Those people aren't reinforcement, instead they are Lord Fantumar's men."
"Exactly, My Queen. Just like what I told you in my letter, those knights were lent to me by the other nobles to show their loyalty to the Cantiaci Kingdom."
Everyone in the tent was surprised when they heard this information. Then, gleeful looks could be seen on their faces, as with this kind of arrangement, their victory was completely guaranteed.
Lord Malcolm also showed a smile as he turned to Fantumar. "Well done, Lord Fantumar. What a detailed preparation. Though we probably don't need that many knights to destroy the castle."
Unexpectedly, Fantumar laughed at Lord Malcolm's words.
"Hahaha, you don't understand, Lord Malcolm. They don't need to fight, but their presence will be enough to crush any wisp of resistance in the king's heart and, with this, we can win without even having a fight at all. There's no need to spill unnecessary blood, after all."
Everyone was impressed hearing his words.
"You are a very talented and capable man, Lord Fantumar." Lord Malcolm praised.
Fantumar received the compliment humbly before he turned to the Cantianci Queen and said, "I have to once again advise you, My Queen, that the best way is to just negotiate. I know Richard like the back of my hand and I assure you he's already a fish trapped in a net."
Queen Cantiaci acted as if she just remembered things as she said, "Lord Fantumar, the King has agreed to your plan, but he also insists to make sure there won't be any future problems. Therefore, he believes ending the Lioness line is necessary."
The words that came out of Queen Cantiaci's mouth startled Fantumar, but it was Abe, who was very surprised to hear it. It was even more shocking to him when he heard his father agree.
"Yes, My Queen. I'm afraid I must agree. I also believe that, at this point, even a forced political marriage is no longer possible. Hence, there's no need to keep the Lioness lineage anymore." Fantumar replied, after being silent for a while.
It was at this moment that Abe seemed to discover a courage he never thought he had. He stood up to his father as he delivered his disagreement.
"Father! This was not the plan..."
Abe's sudden remark caught his father off-guard and thus made the latter angry.
"Not here, Abe!" Fantumar snapped.
He was so disappointed his son would say such a thing in front of the queen. He didn't expect the son he dearly spoiled would embarrass him. As a result of his action, Abe was immediately scolded by the former and forced to stay in the tent, while his father went towards the castle to 'persuade' the Lioness king.
Being left in the tent, Abe's heart was troubled, as there was never a plan to kill the princess. Young Fantumar had always liked the girl since childhood, hearing such sudden decisions made him conflicted.
From the tent, Abe could only see his father had started to prepare the army to go to the Lioness Castle. With that many numbers, there was no way anyone could safely get out of that place and he knew too well there would be no nobility willing to come to the rescue due to his father's interference.
This meant the princess' life was in grave danger.
The young Abe was committed to rescue the princess, but he knew he had no such capability by himself. In his helplessness and desperation, Abe suddenly recalled a certain someone who could help.
Therefore, he quickly stole a horse from the stable and sneaked out of the Cantiaci camp.
A group of Cantiaci knights spotted him leaving and assumed he was a spy. Hence, they chased him.
Abe was attacked and shot by the knights, but he kept galloping away. Venta Town was only three hours away from Lionarch City, so he galloped as fast as he could.