Luca had been missing for five days in the Divine Ruins, and many people assumed something had happened to him.
The prince had been downcast these past few days, and to his surprise, Luca had now appeared before him, unharmed.
This left Lawson utterly astonished.
A group of noblewomen, upon seeing Luca’s appearance, were immediately struck by his looks. They whispered among themselves, gossiping quietly.
“What a handsome young man!” one lady, with delicate features, covered her mouth and her eyes glinted with admiration. Her words reflected the thoughts of many of the other ladies.
Luca was still wearing the clothes specially tailored for him at Mikkey’s tailor shop, his figure tall and slender. After being refined by the divine essence of the gods, both his demeanor and appearance were even more striking, naturally drawing attention from those around him.
“I’m here to see the Sixth Princess,” Luca said, disregarding the gazes of the others, his eyes fixed on Lawson.
Lawson hesitated for a moment before replying, “Luca the Count, it’s not that we’re refusing you entry, but… but the princess isn’t feeling well right now… It might not be appropriate…”
As he spoke, he subtly gestured toward a few masked figures outside the palace.
It was clear that he was hinting at something.
“Is Finn here too?” Luca’s expression remained unchanged, his tone calm.
The Ghost King was a guard trained by the Phillips family, and this wasn’t exactly a secret.
“Yes, Master Finn is inside, discussing tomorrow’s wedding with the princess,” Lawson said apologetically, bowing slightly. “I ask for your understanding, Luca-sama. Please, return for now.”
Fratis had always held a special attitude toward Luca, and given his enmity with Finn, and the fact that tomorrow was the princess’s wedding day, tensions were already high.
Not only were there imperial nobles present, but even envoys from other nations had arrived. If a conflict were to break out here, it would cause a huge scandal for the entire royal family. For that reason, even in the interest of precaution, Lawson was determined not to allow Luca entry.
Lucia rolled up her sleeves, annoyed. “We’re good friends of the Sixth Princess! Tomorrow is her wedding, and you won’t even let us inside to see her? Move aside, or I won’t be so polite!”
Faced with such a domineering attitude, Lawson was left speechless, but he still stood firm, unwilling to let them in.
“Should we go back?” Sophia asked, looking at Luca for his opinion.
Luca fell silent for a moment before turning to Lawson and speaking calmly, “What if I insist on going in?”
The moment those words left Luca’s mouth, Lawson’s breath caught. He stared at Luca in shock. “What do you mean, ‘insist on going in’? Are you planning to break into the palace?”
If it had been anyone else, Lawson would have dismissed the threat immediately. But as he recalled Luca’s legendary feats in Southwind City and Riverfall City, a chill ran down his spine, and he suddenly found it hard to smile.
This was a madman who had already killed Finn! Who knew what he might do next?
“Luca the Count, I hope you don’t act impulsively. This is the royal palace. You absolutely cannot cause any trouble…” Lawson quickly tried to calm him down, afraid that Luca might take action at the slightest provocation.
Luca didn’t say much in response. He merely spoke in a flat tone, “Lead the way. After all, I imagine you don’t want things to escalate, right?”
Lawson hesitated for a moment, gritting his teeth before reluctantly replying, “I’ll take you inside.”
Luca nodded, then turned to Lucia and Sophia with a smile, saying, “You two can wait here. Just take the opportunity to chat with these noble ladies.”
“What’s there to talk about with them?” Lucia asked, clearly confused. She had stopped dealing with these old women more than ten years ago.
Sophia, on the other hand, gave Luca a meaningful look before saying.
“Have you thought this through? If His Majesty gets angry, you might lose your title altogether.”
“That doesn’t mean much to me,” Luca replied with a slight smile, not elaborating further. He then stood up and made his way toward the palace doors.
Lawson sighed deeply and followed after him.
The two walked directly toward the grand hall.
But just before entering, a masked figure stepped forward, blocking their path.
The figure’s expression was unreadable as he coldly spoke, “Young Master Finn has ordered that no one is allowed into the Princess’s chambers.”
Lawson glanced at Luca, who remained calm, and a cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.
“Nonsense!” Lawson snapped, his voice rising in anger. “This is the princess’s friend! He’s been specifically told not to be stopped!” Read now on freewebnovel
“The princess’s friend?” The masked figure seemed surprised. He looked Luca up and down, a feeling of familiarity dawning on him. Yet, he couldn’t immediately place who he was.
He was about to say he would go inside and notify someone, but before he could, Luca simply ignored him and walked straight into the Princess’s hall.
“You can’t just barge into the Princess’s chambers!” Several more masked figures sprang into action, attempting to stop Luca from entering.
However, just as they moved, they quickly realized something was wrong.
“What’s going on?” The masked figures looked down in shock, feeling their bodies go numb, as if they could no longer control them.
At the same time, a layer of frost began to cover their bodies, spreading visibly and rapidly.
Within just a few breaths, the masked figures were frozen in place, their bodies stiff as statues, and all signs of life vanished.
Luca waved his hand, and a chill began to gather in his palm.
He didn’t slow his pace in the slightest, moving directly towards the second floor.
Behind him, Lawson was left in shock, his face pale as he collapsed to the ground.
His lips trembled, his eyes filled with terror.
He had killed someone! This madman, he had actually killed someone inside the royal palace?!
Was he planning a rebellion?!
The thought of the consequences made him wish he could slap himself.
What a disaster! What kind of bad luck was he cursed with to keep running into this person?!
Outside the palace, Sophia watched Luca’s retreating figure, her lips pressed together, a complex expression flashing in her eyes.
Lucia, on the other hand, was laughing and chatting animatedly with a group of noblewomen, completely unaware of what had just transpired.
Inside the palace, Luca continued his path towards Fratis’s chambers.
It didn’t take long for him to arrive.
Outside the room, Finn was dressed in a fine suit, holding a bouquet of flowers, speaking earnestly.
A few masked figures stood nearby, along with a lazy woman with dark green hair, dressed in a white robe.
“Princess, I heard you’ve been ill these past few days. I asked my father to invite a Superclass healer over. Please open the door and let Dr. Kallaman check your condition,” Finn urged, but there was no response from inside the room.
This caused a shadow to flicker in his eyes, and he unconsciously clenched his fists.
When he first heard that Luca had died in the Divine Ruins, he had even opened a bottle of red wine to celebrate.
But to his surprise, the bastard wasn’t dead after all. And now, that same bastard was still causing him trouble.
Once the wedding was over, he’d make sure to deal with this filthy woman properly!
Finn thought bitterly, but still wore a gentle smile, coaxing Fratis to open the door.
He didn’t notice.
However, that at the end of the hallway, a tall figure was walking slowly towards them.
Luca glanced at Finn, but didn’t pay him much mind. His gaze shifted towards the room where Sophia was.
The door was adorned with a white wedding ribbon and flowers, looking very beautiful.
But Luca’s brow quickly furrowed.
He couldn’t sense Fratis’s presence inside.
After undergoing divine enhancement from the gods, his spiritual senses had been heightened as well. While the palace’s defensive wards could block a Superclass, they had no power against his probing. It was through this that he noticed something unusual.
And from the looks of it, no one outside seemed to know about it.
“Could it be that something happened?” Luca had an ominous premonition in his heart and quickened his steps.
At that moment, several other masked figures noticed Luca, the unexpected guest.
One of them narrowed their eyes and said, “Who let you in? Don’t you know that entry is prohibited here?”
Another frowned and added, “Are the people outside just standing around doing nothing? How come no one came to report this?”
“Escort him out immediately, don’t disturb the princess…” Finn initially didn’t pay much attention, but when he glanced over and saw Luca’s almost mocking expression, his words abruptly stopped.
Staring in shock at Luca, his eyes widened in disbelief, “You… you bastard, you’re still alive? How is that possible?”
That was the Divine Ruins! The place was crawling with high-level monsters! He had been inside for five days—how could he still be alive?!
“What’s impossible about it? Just because you can’t do it doesn’t mean I can’t.” Luca shot back at Finn and casually scanned the other people around him.
Three of the masked figures were Superclass professionals, the strongest of them reaching Sky-level. Among them, a woman with green hair stood out—she was a Star-level Transcendent Healer. However, this profession posed no threat to him, so he wasn’t overly concerned.
The woman, named Kallaman, also looked Luca over. After a few glances, her deep green eyes flashed with confusion.
She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was something odd about this young man. She stared harder, still unsure.
Then, her beautiful eyes shimmered with a faint green light.
Healers’ professional skill — Eye of Life!
When Kallaman looked back at Luca, she involuntarily drew in a sharp breath.
To her, Luca’s entire body seemed to be suffused with golden energy. That overwhelmingly powerful life force almost made her doubt her own vision. How could this young man’s vitality be so fierce?
But then, she quickly realized: this wasn’t life force. It was… divine power!
This guy actually had divine power?!
Kallaman’s mind went into turmoil, her expression nearly slipping out of control.
She had seen many people in her life, but Luca was only the third person she had encountered with divine power. The other two were Queen Matilda and Saintess Joanna, both of whom carried the blessing of the Goddess of Dawn as holy women of the Dawn God Sect. But how did this guy possess divine power?
Luca noticed Kallaman’s astonished gaze and knew she must have figured something out.
However, this was not the time to focus on it. He still didn’t know where Fratis had disappeared to, and he really didn’t want to waste time here dealing with Finn, this scoundrel.
He lowered his gaze to Finn and spoke calmly, “Leave now, and I’ll spare your worthless life.”
