Chapter 357: The Old King’s Invitation
Since it was the royal New Year’s banquet, the security was naturally assigned to the Royal Knights.
Carle had received the order early on. Most of the preparation was completed even before Armand returned to the Knight Order, only final approval was left for him to handle.
Originally, Armand only needed to take care of the security part, like a “head of security.” And just like before, that’s usually all he did. He had never liked banquets, and often used “needing to guard the ballroom” as an excuse to skip them, or he would leave shortly after arriving.
But this time, something unusual happened. The royal family sent him a personal invitation.
Not from the Crown Prince, and not from the Second Prince either, but from the old King himself. The invitation was delivered directly by someone sent from the palace.
If it had been from the Crown Prince, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. Even though their relationship was mostly based on mutual use, there was still room to negotiate.
If it had come from the Second Prince, it would’ve been even easier to deal with. Since they didn’t get along anyway, the Second Prince probably wouldn’t have expected Armand to attend.
But now, Armand was holding an invitation handwritten by the old King himself.
That old man might be getting on in years, but he was still the reigning King. With the princes, Armand could still raise his voice or argue back, but when it came to the old King… he really had no way to refuse.
The invitation wasn’t sent to the Knight Order. It was delivered straight to his estate. When the old butler received it and saw the official royal seal, he was so shocked that he nearly froze on the spot.
It had been years since anyone had seen the King’s seal, especially since the King had been seriously ill for a while.
After asking around discreetly, Armand found out that the old King had invited nearly every influential political figure, and their spouses, to this New Year’s banquet, including Carle. No one dared to turn down the King’s first public appearance since recovering from his illness.
So of course, Armand couldn’t refuse either. Or rather, the Crown Prince would never allow him to. As the commander of the Royal Knights, someone with such a high-ranking position, there was no way he could skip such a politically important event.
Naturally, since the King had invited all the politicians’ spouses as well, Armand also received an invitation for his guest.
Even though the old King had been recovering and mostly staying inside the palace, his information network was still working well. During the last banquet, he had already noticed that the commander of the Royal Knights had brought along a pink-haired woman.
The old King had also heard that Armand wasn’t interested in women, so this incident must’ve sparked his curiosity. He probably wanted to know more about the woman who could stand beside the head of the Royal Knights.
From a political point of view, the wife of the knight commander was also a person worth keeping an eye on.
By the time Armand received the invitation, it was already the afternoon of the same day.
When he got back to the estate from the Knights’ headquarters, the old butler nervously handed him the letter. Judging from his expression, he looked pretty shaken.
At first, Armand joked, laughing and saying that the old man’s face had so many wrinkles scrunched up from stress that he barely looked like himself. He asked what could possibly scare him that much.
But the moment he saw the royal seal, Armand’s expression didn’t look any better than the butler’s.
He really hated banquets, especially those that involved the royal family.
The last banquet he attended was the victory celebration, and even then, he only went because of the Knight Order. In a way, he was just showing up to support his subordinates.
But this one? A purely social event with no real meaning?
Armand was already feeling annoyed.
And just knowing that the host this time would be the old King himself made his headache even worse.
Let’s not even talk about having to throw away everything he learned from dealing with the two princes just to now get used to the old King’s way of running the country. Just from one look, it was clear that old man wasn’t someone easy to deal with.
What left the deepest impression on Armand was still the matter of his father’s death.
No one had ever given an explanation that Armand truly believed, an explanation that convinced him about how his father died.
He had been investigating the secrets of his own family for a long time. In the end, all the clues he found pointed back to the royal family, the very people he now risked his life for.
The royal family could give a person wealth and glory. But in return, they could also quietly take that person’s life, or everything else, when they saw fit.
Armand’s father was clearly one of those examples.
Based on the details Armand had uncovered during his investigations, it seemed that his father had chosen the wrong side in a political power struggle. As a result, the royal family had him “erased.”
He might have even been poisoned, just like how Armand himself was now barely hanging on.
But even if he had learned part of the truth, so what? What could he actually do?
How could he possibly make the entire royal family pay for his father’s death?
Even when he tried to take revenge for a certain friend of his, it took nearly ten years, and there still wasn’t much to show for it.
Right now, Armand really hated the royal family. If he could ever retire, he swore he would leave the capital far behind. He’d find a tiny town where no one could ever find him. Even if he had to change his name and identity, he would never let the royal family track him down again.
Just staying in the royal capital any longer made him feel like he was becoming allergic to the royals.
“—Dad?”
Just as Armand was still frowning at the invitation letter in his hands, a small head peeked out from the bedroom door.
But honestly, it wasn’t the little head that first caught Armand’s eye, it was the little ponytail on top of it.
Rachel’s hair had grown longer now, and her ponytail had grown with it. Many of the maids loved braiding her hair and dressing her up like a noble princess every day.
If she were a real child, maybe she would’ve loved the pretty hairpins the maids somehow got their hands on. But since she was actually a hundred-year-old alchemist—
—Well, fine. She still accepted the gifts. After all, everyone likes to look good, right?
Rachel also enjoyed seeing this body dressed up cutely. Who could say no to an adorable little girl? Even if that little girl was herself, it was kind of nice to enjoy the feeling of being young every now and then.
“Rachel? What’s wrong? Do you need something?”
Seeing Rachel squeeze through the door, Armand closed the invitation in his hands and looked at the little girl who seemed a bit nervous.
“Um—actually, it’s not really anything big…”
Rachel slowly walked over to Armand, a bit shy. But from a certain angle, Armand noticed she was holding a small velvet box behind her back.
“Ahem—”
Rachel noticed Armand’s gaze too, and decided not to hide it anymore. She took out the box and handed it to him directly.
“Um—Dad! This is a New Year’s gift I made for you! I was going to wait until New Year’s to give it to you, but I finished it too early and couldn’t hold it in anymore, so I have to give it to you today!”
While talking, Rachel pushed the box even more firmly toward Armand.