’How many people do you have to see die before you can become this calm while killing someone?’
This thought suddenly passed through Fritz’s mind, and Fritz knew that it would be best not to ask Jason something like that at all. Fritz just watched from the side as the assassin slowly stopped moving and finally fell limp in Jason’s hand. Once the assassin was dead, Jason told Alpha to take her away, and he finally turned to Fritz and spoke calmly.
"You did well protecting him. For a moment, I was worried that you were also one of the people trying to kill Kai, but from what I’ve seen, I don’t think you could even hurt a hair on him. Make sure you stand beside him till he gets strong enough to stand on his own."
Fritz felt a sudden feeling of anger come over her when she heard Jason say that he suspected her of harming Kai! How could he even think something like that!? Fritz would rather die than let anything happen to Kai! But when Jason said that he no longer suspected her and she heard the trust in his tone, she finally calmed down and nodded to his order. Jason grinned, and he turned to the side with a small frown. Jason was silent for a few long seconds before he finally waved to her while walking towards the window.
"Stay here and sleep with him. There’s something I need to take care of. In case anything happens, you don’t need to worry. My subordinates will protect you both."
Fritz quickly stepped forward.
"Wait, please, about what you said earlier. You mentioned that Zod was the one who sent the assassin. Was... was that true? Are you sure that General Zod would do something like that? I mean, he’s been protecting the prince for longer than me, so –"
"I know it’s surprising, but I only say things that I’m certain of. As for General Zod, you don’t need to worry about him. My mother is currently dealing with him, so you’ll probably hear all about it by tomorrow. For now, there’s somewhere I need to be. Make sure you take care of my brother, alright?"
Jason looked back at Fritz with a serious gaze, and Fritz swallowed before nodding respectfully in response. Jason finally gave her a small smile to make her relax more before he turned around and activated a skill.
[King’s Substitute] has been activated!
Fritz blinked in shock as Jason suddenly vanished from in front of her, and a man dressed in a black assassin’s outfit appeared in his place and quickly sank into the shadows.
....
On the other side of the castle, General Zod was making his way toward a large meeting room that he had been summoned to. General Zod’s face was set in a hard look as he walked forward, and he was fully geared with his armor and longsword at his hip. He ran a hand through his hair calmly as he passed a window, and he looked at his reflection and made sure that he looked his best before the meeting. Queen Bethsha was the one who had summoned him there, and a part of Zod was wishing that the reason behind her summons was beyond just their regular duties as Queen and General.
’Will I finally be able to claim what’s mine?’
General Zod’s eyes narrowed in excitement, but he took in a breath and forced himself to focus once more as he continued forward to the meeting room. There were two guards standing in front of the large door leading into the room, and they opened the door once they saw the General and allowed him to enter. General Zod gave them small nods, and he walked into the room with confident strides and expected to see the queen in there, but his expression slowly melted away into confusion when he looked around the room and realised that there was no one there. General Zod raised a brow as he turned around to speak to the guards, but a large ’boom!’ echoed through the large hall as the doors were closed shut behind him, and he narrowed his eyes at the situation. His left hand went to grip his sword, and his face became stoic as he glanced around with a sharp intensity.
There were two doors in this room: the one that he came in through and another one on the other side of the hall that led into the library hallway. If he were under attack, then he would first need to determine the strength of the attackers before deciding whether to retreat or fight. And if he was going to retreat, then the library hallway would be ideal since it led out into the courtyard—
Step! Step! Step!
General Zod’s thoughts were suddenly cut short as the sound of footsteps echoed through the room, and General Zod felt his brows rise as the door leading to the library hallway burst open and allowed multiple soldiers to enter the hall! There were more than twenty soldiers in all, and General Zod recognized them as some of the strongest soldiers in the army who had worked right under him before. General Zod narrowed his eyes, and he was about to ask them what the meaning of this was, but the last person he saw walking out from behind the soldiers made his eyes widen.
Queen Bethsha looked as regal as always as she made her way to the front of the group, and in her left hand, she was dragging the motionless body of an old woman. Queen Bethsha’s eyes were fixed on Zod with a sharp intensity, and once she reached the front of the soldiers, she threw the old woman’s body to the floor and allowed it to roll to Zod’s feet. Zod didn’t even need to look down to know exactly who this woman was. It was the palace head cleaner, and the same woman he had spoken to in the dark hallway earlier. Zod’s eyes narrowed even more as he turned around slightly to glance at the door on the other end of the hallway, and he grit his teeth when he saw a warrior standing in front of it. The warrior had dragon scales on his cheek and neck as well as slit eyes that were a deep red in colour. He was built like a brawler, and there were two gauntlets in his hands, so Zod knew that he was someone who was used to battle. From the power that Zod could feel rolling off that warrior, Zod was sure that they were both at the same SS-Rank level.
’So this is what I was summoned here for.’
Zod’s face twisted into a frown, and he turned back to Bethsha and spat out a question in anger.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"Are you really asking me that question, Zod? You have the audacity to stand there and look me in the eyes to ask me something like that?"
Bethsha’s expression began to turn from annoyance to anger, and Zod noticed the way her hand was squeezing into a fist. That was an obvious sign that she was very close to unleashing her magic, and Zod’s hand tightened around the hilt of his sword as he said.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about, Bethsha. We’ve been friends since childhood, haven’t we? If you had doubts about my loyalty, then the least you could have done was to summon me in a better setting –"
"Shut up, Zod."
Bethsha’s eyes were now shining with pure fury as she saw that Zod was not going to just come out and say what he had done, so she decided that she would have to make him say it.
"I am only going to ask you this once, Zod. And the moment you lie to me will be the moment you die. Were you responsible for my son going missing?"
Zod’s expression changed into a look of shock.