Chapter 477 317: The Surprising Queen

Margery was genuinely terrified as the blade grazed her skin. She wanted to open her mouth and curse him, but she was keenly aware that her life was still in his hands.

"It's just a crude, insignificant trick," Margery said submissively.

"What do you think Her Majesty the Queen will do about this?" Levi asked casually, popping a plump strawberry into his mouth.

To be honest, his goal from the start had been to drag that Prince into this and put pressure on King Harland.

If they wanted to resolve the matter, they would have no choice but to meet a few of his trivial conditions.

Otherwise, their only choice would be to sacrifice a Prince.

He hadn't really considered the Queen. He just never expected that a randomly captured madam would actually be in the Queen's service.

After some pointers from the old hand, Filo, the Lord had realized he was no longer the penniless Baron of Exploration who had struck out on his own in the Wilderness.

In terms of strength, he was already on par with Legendary Powerhouses. In fact, after another recent leap in power, he didn't even know how much stronger he'd become. On top of that, he was one of the last Dragon Knights.

The forces under his command were also formidable. Though few in number, they were more than capable of waging guerrilla warfare to tie down an army of tens of thousands.

As a result, his every word and action now carried a weight that no one could easily ignore.

"Frankly, I'm not sure," Margery said with sincerity. "Her Majesty the Queen's mind is as difficult to fathom as the weather at sea. One moment it's calm, the next, a raging storm."

Levi scoffed. That kind of bullshit might work on a three-year-old.

'Someone who's spent years in brothels and even turned one into an intelligence network can't figure out what the Queen is thinking?'

But he couldn't be bothered to press her. It just meant one more player at the table. He would deal with whatever came his way.

He was the one holding all the cards, anyway.

The night passed quietly.

...

Early the next morning, as the first hint of dawn appeared on the horizon, the Lord of High Cliff Castle received a personal summons from Queen Seres.

The messenger was a palace Attendant in formal attire, with a pair of very small eyes. If the man hadn't spoken, the Lord would have thought he'd mastered some incredible ability to see the world without opening them.

"Couldn't you have waited until I was awake?" the Lord grumbled. Still bleary-eyed, he was getting dressed with the help of a Maid.

"My Lord, please forgive our rudeness," the small-eyed man said softly. "Her Majesty Queen Seres instructed me to bring you to her first, without delay."

'Queen Seres...'

Levi wracked his brain, trying to recall the information on the Royal Family that he'd memorized from Filo the night before. Thanks to King Harland's prolific work, the Debei Royal Family was now quite a crowd.

Seres Augustus married King Debei over a decade ago, becoming Queen Debei. She now had two sons and two daughters.

She was the older sister of the Kingdom's Shining Knight and the eldest daughter of the Sea Dragon Family.

The Sea Dragon Family was the Augustus family. Their crest was a coiled silver Sea Dragon, symbolizing the Power and Wisdom of the ocean, as well as the family's majesty.

The Augustus family ruled the entire Eastern Territory, and the Queen's father was Duke Feiyin of the Eastern Territory.

Rumor had it that if the Queen hadn't been backed by the entire Sea Dragon Family, King Harland would have deposed her long ago.

He was actually quite puzzled as to why the Queen was the first to seek him out.

"Alright. Lead the way."

Levi followed the small-eyed man into a carriage pulled by two unknown Magical Beasts and entered the Royal Palace.

It was less a palace and more another castle. The marble walls alone were twenty to thirty fathoms high.

Once they passed through into the interior, a magnificent royal palace was revealed before his eyes.

The main structure of the Royal Palace was built from pure white stone, its surface carved with exquisite, ancient patterns that had barely weathered despite the ravages of time.

The palace was crowned with ornate gothic spires. At the peak of the tallest one floated a massive, round, vertical pupil. As they entered, Levi felt a gaze fall upon him.

In front of the palace's main entrance was a massive fountain. Its jets of water formed all sorts of strange shapes in the air, one moment a flock of birds, the next a school of plumed fish. In the center of the fountain stood the statue of a man. He held a Longsword, wore a Crown, and gazed majestically into the distance.

This was the first king to found the Debei Kingdom. He had the thick brows and large eyes of a righteous man, but his reputation was less than stellar. Scholars had recorded him in the annals of history as a usurper.

The two of them walked along a gravel path and entered the gates of one of the palace buildings.

The ceiling of the great hall soared toward the heavens, at least several dozen fathoms high, making one feel minuscule just by looking up. The ceiling was supported by eight massive marble pillars, each carved with intricate, lifelike patterns.

The floor was covered with a crimson carpet embroidered with golden patterns. It muffled their footsteps so completely it felt as if they were walking on clouds.

The small-eyed man stopped in the hall. "My Lord," he said respectfully, "he will guide you from here."

"My Lord, please follow me. The Queen is waiting for you." The new Attendant was dressed in a silver-white robe with intricate star patterns embroidered on the hem. His voice was soft, as if he were afraid of waking a sleeping Giant Dragon.

Levi followed the Attendant into a manually operated lift. Afterward, they walked through a long corridor. The marble walls on either side were inlaid with glowing crystals that lit up in sequence as they approached and slowly faded after they passed.

After the seventh turn, the Attendant stopped before a pair of exceptionally exquisite, carved fish-wood double doors and pushed them open for the Lord.

It was an enormous chamber. In the center were various magnificent, high-backed sofas, and a thick wool carpet covered the floor. At the far end of the room was a balcony with a view overlooking Gonda.

Someone was already seated on a high-backed sofa directly across from the door.

"Good day, Lord Levi." The figure rose and walked toward him, speaking first.

Levi placed a hand over his chest in greeting, sizing up the Queen as he did.

This was his first time seeing the Queen of Debei. Seres looked to be only in her thirties, with a cascade of azure hair that shimmered in the dawn light like the deep blue sea.

Her skin was fair and flawless like the finest porcelain, a testament to her noble blood and life of luxury.

Her face was breathtakingly beautiful and proud. Her figure was well-proportioned with elegant curves, and she could project a different kind of grace whether in a magnificent court gown or a suit of armor.

But today, of all things, she was wearing a sheer, white gauze dress. In the perfectly angled light of the morning sun, certain beautiful assets were even more prominent.

The Lord had to force his gaze up to her unforgettable face.

'He had to hand it to King Harland,' he thought, thoroughly impressed. 'To leave a peerless beauty like this to languish in the palace... the man's truly one of a kind.'

"Lord Levi, please, make yourself comfortable," she said again. Her voice was soft, yet it carried a royal authority.

They both sat. She happened to take the high-backed sofa across from the balcony, and in the morning light, the Lord had an almost completely unobstructed view.

'Fuck,' the Lord's mind reeled. He wondered to himself, 'Is the Queen always this debauched, or is she testing a seasoned veteran like me?'

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. The Queen had a pair of emerald eyes that often flashed with the light of power.

'When was the last time I saw a look like that? Hmm, I think it was when I looked in the mirror this morning.'

To be honest, everything that had happened since he'd stepped into this chamber had taken the Lord by surprise.