Chapter 332: In Shadow

In Emery's mind, the Knight Tournament was a secondary matter. His priority was always about Morgana and all the matters related to her.

The death of Sir Badgemagus, the capture of Morgana… All of this had some sort of connection to the Knights of Divine Order.

Hence, as soon as he saw the princess leaving the hall with the knights from the Logress Kingdom, Emery knew he had to follow them.

Emery quickly sneaked through the sea of people and made his way outside the hall. When no one was looking, his figure started to blend with the shadow of night as the spell he had, [Hide in Shadow], was being cast.

Thanks to his spirit reading ability, Emery could clearly tell where the group was heading to without the need to follow them too close. He only had to pinpoint and lock Gwen's unique energy and focused his attention on it.

Still, to be completely safe in his endeavor, Emery opened his [Spatial Storage] and took out a pair of completely black clothes with a hood. Then, he changed his Lioness attire to it.

After making sure there was nothing that could reveal his identity, Emery proceeded to follow the group while maintaining his highest vigilance. After all, his [Hide in Shadow] spell was not an invisibility spell.

With the help of the darkness and his black clothes, it was almost impossible for someone to notice Emery, unless someone managed to stand right in front of him. But with his spirit reading, Emery always wary of any lifeforce in the radius of 100 meters around him.

The group walked for around 15 minutes until they arrived in front of a massive wall with a heavily guarded gate.

At first glance, Emery could see several fully-equipped guards stationed outside the gate, not even counting those who had hidden themselves. Through his ability, he sensed there were dozens of guards in the area.

Still, it wasn't a difficult case for Emery to go through. 

With a simple [Blink] spell, Emery appeared on top of the wall and passed through without alarming a single person.

Right behind the fortified walls was a strange-looking keep, one that Emery didn't expect to see here of all places. Unlike the other keep Emery had seen, it was very tall.

The princess together with the golden knight went inside the keep through another gate that was made of steel.

Emery could feel there were at least a half dozen men inside of that keep. He could use [Spatial Gate] to get into the keep, but he wouldn't do that, as he didn't know the situation inside. Things would definitely go awry if he appeared in the wrong place.

Therefore, Emery had to look the other way. As logical sense declared, if one couldn't go through the main entrance, one should find another entrance, or a window. Thus, Emery did exactly so.

Emery casted [Blink] repeatedly, as he teleported around until his eyes spotted a window. He finally found one that was located on what appeared to be the second floor of the keep. After checking that there was no one inside, he immediately went in.

Next, he just had to carefully make his way towards the first floor, where the princess and the knight should be.

The moment he started hearing sounds, Emery slowed down his approach and began to creep closer to the source. Moments later, he arrived at a unique assembly room with decoration and atmosphere almost rivalled that of throne room.

The room was furnished with dozens of sculpted chairs that were positioned throughout the room in two layers of circles and a large round table in the middle of them. Twelve of them in the inner layer, while fifty in the outer layer. 

Then, Emery's attention was caught by a painting that was strangely painted on the ceiling. It was a painting of a knight holding a golden sword. And when he scrutinized it closer, he was startled.

Emery realized that the sword in the painting was exactly the same as the one that appeared in his vision. The unique gems on the handle, the same shape, the striking appearance. That was the Sword. 

'It was a painting of the Sword of Divine. The Excalibur.'

…

Emery quickly teleported to a place inside the room that was covered in shadows. When he peeked from his hiding place, trying to get a good look at the people talking. Emery found there were only 4 people there.

Princess Gwenneth, Prince Arthur Pendragon and the two golden knights from of their respective kingdoms, Sir Yvain and Sir Gawain.

"Greetings, my prince." Gwen said in a very formal and polite manner.

Seeing that, Arthur quickly waved his hand, "Princess Gwen, we have met a couple times, therefore I hope we can stop the formalities. I know you can't stand it as much as I do."

"Yes, prince. You are right, but I prefer to keep my manners." replied Gwen, while taking her seat.

"You were really born to be a queen, weren't you, princess?" asked Arthur with a smile.

"I hope I am, my prince. How about you? Do you think you are born to be a king?" Gwen asked with a smile as well.

Hearing Gwen throwing his own question back, Arthur let out a small chuckle,

"Yes i am" Artur said confidently.  He stare at Gwen from top to bottom and said. "It appear your reputation precede you princess"

Gwen showed a curious expression when she heard that.

"May I know what reputation you hear about me, my prince?"

Arthur chuckled as he opened his mouth, "Well, they say you are not just beautifull… you are smart, caring, and…"

"And what?"

"Fearless. They say you are fearless, just like a real lioness. Is that true?"

Instead of answering the question, Gwen threw another question of hers.

"People say that Prince Arthur is the most talented knight the 7 kingdoms have ever seen, not only strong, he's wise and charming…. Unfortunately, he has a very bad reputation as a ...ladies man..."

Upon hearing that, Arthur sees the knight next to him sir Gawain who also has the same reputation and they both explode into laughter together.

"Hahaha! Princess Gwen! Why didn't I ever really get the chance to know you more before?"

"I don't know, my prince. Maybe… we should" replied Gwen with a smile. "I mean I am sure as neighbor kingdom there's many that we can help each other with"

In the corner, hearing this, Emery realized Gwen was currently speaking in a flirting manner. It was very rare for her to act that way.

"Please, Prince Arthur. Is your father, the king, not going to come?"

Realizing Gwen was getting impatient, Arthur placed his hands together and said, "Actually princess, it was me."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said, princess. I am the one in charge of the investigation."

"Aah... I see. So, is there any progress in it, my prince?"

"I am afraid not, princess." answered Arthur, causing Gwen's face to change. "However, I do have a lead you might be able to help with the investigation."

Hearing that, Gwen immediately said, "What is it? I will do anything I can to help."

"It's about a certain figure in your kingdom."

Gwen was surprised when she heard that.

"A figure in my kingdom? Who is it?"

"Someone named Merlin. It appeared that he went missing 4 months ago around the time of Sir Badgemagus's death, before he could be seen again recently in Venta Town of Lioness."

Hearing this, Gwen's face quickly revealed disappointment. Seeing that, Arthur immediately asked, "What is it, princess?"

"Honestly, my prince, I thought the death of Sir Badgemagus was related to my minister, not to a certain rumoured wizard."

"Aahh… so you have heard of him. Then, here's my request. I hope you can help me speak to him."

"I'm sorry, my prince. But why don't you go to Venta Town to meet him yourself?"

"I would actually, but I still have something that I cannot leave behind in Camelot. Moreover, this wizard thing is a delicate matter."

Princess Gwen seemed unconvinced as she said, "Is he really a wizard though? I mean they are very rare"

"I have many reasons to believe so. Actually, i already asked someone to explain more about this matter, so you would understand more"

A moment later, a figure walked into the room. It was an old man with a cloak covering his body. The moment the man went inside, Emery instantly felt something different with this figure.

Through his spirit reading, Emery could tell that there was strong spirit energy within this old man. Which can only mean one thing. The old man is similar to himself, a wizard

To his surprise, the old man jerked his head towards his position.

"There is someone else here, Your Majesty!"

The two golden knights, Yvain and Gwain, were immediately alarmed.