Vol.0 Ch.129 I’ll Take Care of the Brat

Vol.0 Ch.129 I’ll Take Care of the Brat

King Cyndre was meeting with five men from his council about the affairs of the Fiafyr Kingdom. There were his top advisors and generals. Cyndre was hoping to get this meeting over quickly so he could get ready for his son's party.

"Your Majesty... We have all the royal guardsmen on standby for the party and the Monster Culling Request issued last week to the Adventure's Guild has cleared out quite a few monsters. The surrounding areas of the countryside should be safe for the Lords and Ladies that are coming to visit for your son's first party," Lord Brice said as he looked over the report in his hands.

"I understand that but what I'm more concerned with is the state of the soldiers on the western front. The labyrinth over there hasn't had an expedition in over a month. I'm concerned that a monster stampede is going to occur if we don't do something to mitigate it. The last time a stampede happened was over 60 years ago. I fear that it's due to become a problem," King Cyndre said.

"Your Majesty, you don't need to worry. The Shadow Tombs have a good amount of adventurers exploring it now. And we can handle this stampede. It will be dealt with as soon as it shows," Lord Brice said with a smile.

The King shook his head, "I was talking about the Tomb of the Horde that's southwest of Ironside. It's next to the frontier town of Kishin."

"Oh? What's so important about that tomb?" Lord Brice asked with a confused look on his face.

"That's an interesting story. All I know about the frontier town is that Arch-Duke Revelia has gotten favor with the minor Lord. I don't know why your brother has spent all his time winning over so many of the minor lords of the kingdom. And not the lords of the nobles who have served the throne for many generations," Lord Brice said with a sigh.

"What I'm concerned about is the lack of information on the Monster Stampede that was located near Kishin. It's not a big town so getting good adventurers there is difficult," The King said with a deep sigh.

"I'm not familiar with what type of monsters it spawns," Lord Brice asked with a questioning look.

The King looked at Lord Brice, "From what General Kane told me. It's a mano species dungeon. Goblins is what comes out of it. And it's the only labyrinth in our kingdom that spawns them."

Lord Brice frowned, "So it's a goblin dungeon then? I thought they were simple to kill, Your Majesty."

The King nodded while General Kane responded, "They are. But the spawn rate of the Goblin Horde is more common than any other monsters. And if they live long enough they become hobgoblins. And that's the bigger issue. Their rate of population is higher than any other dungeon monster in the known world. And they use females to make the numbers grow faster."

King Cyndre jumped in, "And that's why I want you to tell the Baron to keep a close eye on it. I know he's dealing with a manticore right now. But I need him to run point on this issue."

The King stood up and walked to a window and looked out over the city.

"Your Majesty, I was going to mention this later but I feel this is the right time now to inform you about the other news from Ironside. Arathar has advocated the Barony to his son Zellin Coldforge. He says it was time for his son to become a man. I don't know what he means by that last part," Lord Brice said with a serious tone.

The King shook his head, "That old Dwarven fool... So, you decided to pass off your responsibilities to your son and your people...? So be it."

"Your Majesty? I don't understand why you are upset with this development?" Lord Brice asked with a confused look on his face.

"Arathar is your typical dwarf... All he wants to do is create weapons and armor in his forge. He never liked all the noble events or dealing with the political side of being a Lord. So, I guess his son, Zellin, has come of age and it's time for Arathar to retire. That old dwarf has always been a little too independent. But, I still like him. I just wished he could have waited until that labyrinth was under control first," King Cyndre said.

"Maybe he thinks it's not as big of a threat as he first thought. I'm more worried about your brother's influence on the minor lords of the kingdom. It feels like the Arch Duke is coming for your crown, Your Majesty." Lord Brice said with a serious tone.

King Cyndre turned to his council and shook his head, "No... My brother isn't after my crown... He probably was doing all of this because he thought Marcus was going to be crowned the next heir. Until my Queen gave birth to my son... No, Brice. He's not doing anything that I would see as nefarious."

Lord Brice and the other members of the council all looked at each other. They weren't fully convinced by what the king said.

King Cyndre noticed that they were looking at him. And knew that they didn't believe his words.

He then pulled out a rolled-up piece of parchment and unrolled it on the table. It was the beginning sketches of a map of the Maldura Royal Palace.

The map had an outline of the layout of the outer building that made up the royal palace. It also had a detailed layout of the servants' quarters.

Gwin looked at the map and sighed.

"So, do you know where the brat's room is? I really hate this place. I want to get this job done and leave this backwater country," Gwin said as she looked at Ash and Violet.

Ash nodded, "Yeah... I know where he sleeps in the palace."

Ash took out the one last gold piece that had the Kingdom of Marn's coat of arms stamped on the top and the royal seal stamped on the bottom.

He placed it on the map of where the Prince's room was located in the Maldura Royal Palace.

"So, his room is on the fourth floor... Violet. Can you fill in the interior of the map of where you've been?" Gwin said as she looked at Violet.

"Give me a moment," Violet said with a nod.

She got up and walked over to the table and took a seat next to Ash while she got out a pen and started to draw out the map.

Ash leaned over the table and stared at the map as Violet's hand moved over it.

She was only able to fill out most of the first floor and second floor of the royal palace before she stopped.

"There, that's what I've explored so far and I was able to sneak in through the storm drain over here," Violet said with a yawn.

"What? Are you getting bored Violet? I thought you liked your job?" Ash said with a grin on his face.

Violet just smiled as she looked at the young assassin, "I do. I really do like being an assassin. But this continent is too easy for me to kill. I've been wanting a challenge."

"Hey, I'm all about easy contracts. And this one should help get us closer to Umbralis rank," Ash said with a grin.

Gwin sighed, "So, since there's a party going on in the palace do we go for the kill? Or are we just waiting around until we map out the whole map?

Ash shook his head, "The job was to kill the brat. And I saw a lot of fancy carriages with noble seals on them arriving at the palace just now. The nobles will be in the palace to attend the prince's party and that makes the job easier to do since most of the staff and guards will be drawn away from the kid's room."

Violet nodded, "If we want to do it then we should strike tonight."

Gwin pondered for a moment.

"So, the plan is to sneak into the brat's room and wait for them to return before we strike, yes?"

Ash nodded, "Yeah, just like the last contract."

Gwin looked at Ash, "Okay if we do this. I need you and Violet to go after the guards while I deal with the brat and anyone else who tries to get in the way. Any objections?"

"I got no objections," Ash said with a grin.

Violet just nodded with a smile.

"Okay, we'll sneak in at sundown. I'm sure these Royals will stay up late just to show off this brat of theirs," Gwin said with a grin.

The other two nodded in agreement as they sat around the table and started to talk about possible scenarios and how they would deal with them.

After a few hours of planning, they got ready to head for the Maldura Royal Palace.