Chapter 57: The Curtain Rises
IT took quite some time for Faustino, San Luenne’s king, to grasp the circumstances after he was roused from sleep. When his servant urged him to look out the window, he did as instructed. Only to find white buoys clearly marking the secret sea route that protected the country. The law was strict on revealing the route to outsiders. Anyone who was found guilty of violating it would be executed along with their entire family. It wasn’t just the sight of the buoys that stunned him though. An entire line of small boats, presumably from the Federation, sluiced down the route as they headed straight for San Luenne’s shoreline. Each vessel carried almost twenty soldiers.
“What is the meaning of this?! Remove those buoys at once!” he thundered.
“We can’t, Your Majesty! Federation soldiers have already seized all of our ships!”
“Are you telling me this is an attack?”
“Perhaps. But they haven’t done anything besides capturing our ships.”
“What of the archers?”
“I didn’t see a single one of them in the duty room when I went to check!”
I don’t understand this… Without a moment’s delay, the king rushed out of his chamber to the throne room, but on his way, he discovered that Federation soldiers were already standing at attention at key locations throughout the palace. They remained at their posts even when they saw him, only giving him the briefest of cold glances. The members of the royal guard stationed in the palace were nowhere to be found either. They were all young men selected for their handsome looks, designed to draw in and please the tourists.
Faustino sweat profusely, spurred by the fear of when he would be cut down or captured. When he reached the large double doors to the throne room, he didn’t wait for the attendant to open it, instead pushing them open himself. Upon entering, he found soldiers lining the walls. Several people congregated in the center of the room. The emperor’s younger brother, Prince Ehrenfried, and his second son, Prince Claudio. Bertine stood next to them. He also saw a black-haired man for the first time. Though they had never met until now, he knew it was undoubtedly Cecilio, the head of the Federation.
The four of them watched him. None of the three men stood up to greet him even though he was the king of this country. They continued to lounge indolently in their chairs.