Chapter 350

Chapter 350

Question marks popped up on top of the heads of everyone in the meeting room.

Arrest? Who was going to arrest who?

“Huh? You are going to arrest me?” Siegfried asked while pointing at himself.

“Precisely!” Count Clark replied.

“But why?”

“You’re a king of another kingdom, yet you illegally crossed the borders of our kingdom! You’re an illegal immigrant!”

“But I am an Adventurer...?” Siegfried replied with a hint of disbelief in his voice.

Adventurers were beings from another world, so they were allowed to cross whichever border they desired.

“S-Silence!” Count Clark shouted and ignored Siegfried’s defense, and then he continued, “Also, you illegally joined a war within our lands! You were meddling in our internal affairs!”

“But I helped you? Your capital would have been conquered in a week’s time if it weren’t for me.”

“I said shut it!”

Count Clark did not seem to be interested in whatever logical defense Siegfried was presenting.

“Siegfried van Proa! You have infiltrated our kingdom and meddled in our affairs!”

“...”

“This is a blatant disregard of our sovereignty and an act of crime! The royal family of the Lexus Kingdom has concluded that you are here to spy on our kingdom, and you are a threat to our kingdom’s security! Therefore, the Lexus Kingdom will be apprehending you as a criminal of war!”

Count Clark gave the command to the Royal Knights after reading out Siegfried’s crimes.

“Knights!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Arrest Siegfried van Proa at once!”

“Yes, sir!”

Then, the knights placed cuffs on Siegfried’s wrists.

Clack! Clack!

Siegfried did not resist the arrest as it was not difficult for him to release himself from these cheaply-made cuffs even without using his mana.

“Wow... Is this a new kind of trolling? I never knew even NPCs can troll this hard now...”

The only reason he did not snap the cuffs into two was simply because he was too flabbergasted right now.

“Count Clark!”

The feudal lord of the Magnus Territory was the first to speak up, albeit carefully.

“I am not sure how the royal family has decided to charge His Majesty Siegfried van Proa with such crimes, but His Majesty is not someone that will endanger our kingdom. No, he actually helped us and is our savior.”

“That’s right!”

“King Siegfried fought and defended our lands from the golem invasion!”

The feudal lords of each territory petitioned for Siegfried. It was only logical for them to do so as the accusations against him were completely absurd in their eyes.

This was akin to saving someone from drowning, only to be sued for assault later on.

“Silence!” Count Clark shouted.

He did not seem to be interested in whatever the feudal lords had to say.

“Are you aiding and abetting a foreign spy?! Anyone that dares to defend Siegfried van Proa from now on will be branded as a spy, too!”

Most of the feudal lords were marquis or viscounts, so none of them could dare to go against Clark, who was a count from the capital. Not only that, Clark was also the Captain of the Royal Knights, so he was in a completely different league compared to the feudal lords of the outskirt territories.

“Kyu? Have you lost your mind?”

“Wow, did you hear what this crazy bastard said?”

Hamchi and Seung-Gu muttered in amazement, and even Reventon chimed in, too.

“They’re going to arrest His Majesty? Humans are truly despicable...” Reventon muttered as it prepared to pull its gigantic greatsword out.

“Heok!” Count Clark gasped in horror as his face turned ghastly pale.

He was the Captain of the Royal Knights, but he was nothing but a weakling who would die in a single punch from Hamchi or Seung-Gu.

The Lexus Kingdom was as weak as the old Proatine Kingdom. Therefore, there was no way a knight from such a weak kingdom could defeat either Hamchi or Seung-Gu, not to mention Reventon.

In fact, Reventon and his golem army would have decimated and conquered the entire Lexus Kingdom if it weren’t for Siegfried’s intervention.

“A-Are you threatening the Captain of the Royal Knights?! I-If you dare lay a single finger on me, it’ll be an act of aggression against our kingdom! I’m sure you know what will happen then. War! You will be committing an act of war!” Count Clark threatened Hamchi and Seung-Gu with war.

How could they pass up on this opportunity when the criminal was the king of a kingdom known to be weaker than their kingdom?

“Please remember that Your Majesty has a valid casus belli,” Duke Alto emphasized before he continued. “The Proatine Kingdom is under the protection of the empire, but that is only against unprovoked wars waged on them.”

“Ahem! I guess you’re right!” King Fernandes said.

“Then what is Your Majesty concerned with that you are hesitating? Please issue an arrest for Siegfried van Proa and punish the Proatine Kingdom! Such an opportunity will not come twice!”

The other officials exclaimed in unison as soon as Duke Alto finished speaking.

“Punish the Proatine Kingdom, Your Majesty!”

“Punish the Proatine Kingdom, Your Majesty!”

“Punish the Proatine Kingdom, Your Majesty!”

King Fernandes flinched for a second, but he was soon convinced.

‘That’s right! I can’t continue being the king of a weak kingdom like this! This is my chance to swallow the Proatine Kingdom and use it as a stepping stone to becoming a great power on the continent!’

The same ambition existing in every king’s heart bloomed in Fernandes the Third’s heart.

“Alright,” King Fernandes said after he made up his mind, and then he issued the royal edict, “Arrest the criminal, Siegfried van Proa, at once!”

This was the backstory of how Siegfried became a criminal.

***

That evening...

“Hello, King Siegfried van Proa.”

A middle-aged noble man visited Siegfried at the prison underneath the royal palace of the Lexus Kingdom.

“My name is Duke Alto. I apologize for having to meet under such unfortunate circumstances.”

“So? By the way, this tea’s aroma is excellent,” Siegfried said as he brought a teacup closer to his nose before asking, “Do you mind packing some for me later?”

“You seem to be quite calm,” Duke Alto said with a grin, and then he said, “I hope Your Majesty is aware that you are charged with numerous crimes, and you are currently imprisoned.”

“Oh, I’m aware of that.”

“That tea is served since Your Majesty is still a king despite being a criminal.”

“That’s why I’m enjoying it. Wow, this tea is really something.”

Siegfried did not blink an eye despite being repeatedly threatened by Duke Alto.

Actually, what was on his mind right now was...

‘Woo-hoo! This tea smells like TERRITORY EXPANSION!’

He was actually quite happy about how things had turned out.

‘Should I just conquer it, or should I turn it into a puppet state like the Renoma Kingdom? Hohoho! I can’t make up my mind~’

Siegfried was almost second to none when it came to being cunning, and he immediately caught the intention of the Lexus Kingdom when they first came for him.

Did he have to do anything? No! He just had to go with the flow!

The Proatine Kingdom had already grown powerful enough to stomp a weak kingdom such as the Lexus Kingdom, so he really did not have any reason to avoid clashing with them.

“You will regret being so calm quite soon,” Duke Alto threatened.

He was completely oblivious that Siegfried had seen through their plans, and he was grinning from ear to ear as he further pressured him.

“All right, I guess Your Majesty leaves us with no choice since you cannot understand the gravity of the situation.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“Your Majesty didn’t attack our kingdom, but your actions can be considered as an act of aggression toward us. In other words, your actions will cause war between our kingdoms! Do you really think you can handle us?”

“That is a bit...” Siegfried muttered. He acted scared after hearing the word war.

‘Hoho! Excellent! That’s what I wanted to see!’ Duke Alto was satisfied after seeing Siegfried’s reaction. He took out a document from his pocket and said, “If Your Majesty wants to stop the war between our kingdoms, then you will have to sign this document.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a written confession of you admitting to some of your crimes!”

“Oh! So I can stop the war as long as I sign here?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then I should sign it!” Siegfried exclaimed as he grabbed the pen and was about to sign the document.

‘Bwahahaha! You imbecile!’ Duke Alto couldn’t help but rejoice inwardly, and he had to exert superhuman self-control not to break out into laughter.

Why?

Siegfried was about to sign the document that would become the justification that the Lexus Kingdom would use to invade the Proatine Kingdom.