Chapter 66: A Change of Plans
A week later in Northkeep, around midday, Dion had moved from the underground inn in the black market to an inn inside the city. Lying on his bed, he stared up at the ceiling. Gina landed on his chest, leaning her gloomy face down toward his.
"Kyuu... kyuu," Gina squeaked.
"Yeah... they’ve been gone a really long time, even though the letter said it would only take two days," Dion said to her.
"Kyuu... kyuu?" Gina asked.
"Sigh... go after them? No, if we head over there and they end up coming back here, it’ll just be a mess. Plus, we can’t really go back home either... though I am worried about how things are at home," Dion answered, gently stroking Gina’s head.
"Kyuuuu."
"I know, be patient. I want to go home and relax too," Dion replied with a faint smile.
Dion turned his gaze back to the ceiling after Gina flew over to the window and kept looking outside. A subtle trace of worry crossed his face, but clearly unwilling to overthink or jump to wild conclusions, he sat up on the edge of the mattress. He glanced over at Gina perched on the windowsill.
"Gina, let me take you for a walk around town," Dion offered.
"Kyuuu... kyuuu!"
Gina turned around and nodded enthusiastically before floating straight into Dion’s backpack resting on the chair. Dion slid off the bed, grabbed his bag, and headed out of the room and down the stairs. As he strolled near the plaza toward the market district,
"Afternoon, ma’am."
"Afternoon, Dion! Good to see you back around here," greeted a local woman who happened to be walking in the same direction.
"Sure is. I’ve been here for a week now," Dion replied.
"Oh... well, you are an adventurer, so you’re always on the move. Where’s Luna?" the woman asked.
"Now that’s the million-dollar question, ma’am. I’ll be going now," Dion answered.
"Alright... good seeing you back!" the woman called out.
Dion made his way toward the market district, passing by the adventurers’ guild and the merchants’ guild. He noticed two people whispering in front of a building.
"Hey... did you hear? Turns out King Victor’s daughter came back intending to stage a rebellion. Now she’s been arrested and locked up in the palace on charges of assassinating Duke Marvin in the city a week ago," a woman said.
"Huh... no way. Who told you that?" asked the man beside her.
"The whole market is buzzing about it. Sounds like merchants from the capital spread the word," the woman replied.
"Hmm... King Victor’s daughter, huh... whoever rules our kingdom, it’s all the same. They only care about the nobles and ignore the commoners, forcing us to work even harder by hiking up taxes," the man grumbled.
"True... but honestly, I was hoping King Victor’s daughter might actually change the system here. Too bad she’s getting executed in the arena next week for getting caught," the woman added.
Overhearing their conversation, Dion brought his feet to a sudden halt. He turned to look at the two, who had already moved on to another topic.
"Kyuu."
"Yeah... I heard... they’re in real danger at the Minatheras palace right now. Looks like we have to go there, Gina," Dion whispered down to his backpack.
"Kyuu... kyuu."
"Hmm... you’re right. Let’s go have a little chat with King Theobald," Dion said.
Dion pivoted, changing direction toward the city gates to make his exit. He marched at a brisk pace without greeting anyone. Once outside the gates, he stepped deep into the forest. Groaaaar! A moment later, a massive black dragon emerged from the woods and soared up into the sky, heading straight for the capital.
"Gyuuu?"
"Yep... don’t stop, land right in the palace," Dion instructed.
"Gyuuuuu!"
Gina surged forward at incredible speed, setting off a sonic boom in the air with Dion riding firmly on her back.
***
Meanwhile, down in the palace dungeons, standing in front of a massive cell, clang! René stood outside with a mocking, arrogant grin, peering into the cell. Inside sat Luna, Cleo, Mei, Sheila, and Aria, all held captive.
"You lot really are clueless, aren’t you? Coming all the way here just to get thrown in jail for plotting a rebellion and collaborating with the Demon Lord, hehehe," René taunted.
"Shut your mouth, René! You only got promoted to knight commander because you snitched on the location of our territory, didn’t you? You earned your stripe by selling us out—do you honestly think that bastard king won’t throw you away later?" Cleo demanded.
"He won’t. The king and I see eye to eye... I could easily convince him to set you free... so how about it? If you all agree to become my wives and abandon Dion, I’ll gladly speak to the king for you," René offered with a smirk.
"Hah... who do you think you are? How dare a low-ranking noble speak to princesses like that," Aria snapped.
"Right! You think you’re worthy of standing beside me, huh? You can’t even beat me in a fight," Sheila added.
"You’d better walk away. Even inside this cell, I can kill you anytime I want," Mei stated, glaring coldly at René.
"Fine, have it your way. You only have one week left anyway. You’re going to be executed in the arena right in front of the entire kingdom during the summit, so everyone sees just how terrifying Minatheras can be. Then the king will force those foreign rulers to march on your domain and slay that Dion fellow as your king, unless they want their own kingdoms crushed, hahahaha!" René burst out laughing.
The faces of Luna, Cleo, Aria, Sheila, and Mei drained of all color. René’s words rang painfully true, and they realized the situation had escalated far beyond simply convincing King Theobald to call off an attack on their domain. Luna stared at René outside the bars, then slowly stood up.
"Fine, René. If you can convince the king to release everyone else and leave Dion alone, I’ll agree to marry you," Luna said.
"Hey... Luna!" Cleo shouted, grabbing Luna’s arm.
René stopped laughing. He stared at Luna with that insufferable smirk, taking a deliberate step closer to the bars directly in front of her.
"Luna... you think I only want you now? I want everything Dion owns, so don’t go thinking you’re worth that much on your own anymore," René sneered.
"You bastard, René!" Sheila yelled, leaping to her feet and charging the bars.
Clang! The heavy chains bound to her legs yanked her back before she could reach him. Every muscle in her body strained as Sheila tried to tear herself free, her eyes locked on René, her jaw clenched tight.
"Hoho... don’t be so eager, barbarian princess. Remember, you have one week. Become my wives and abandon Dion, or die in the arena. I’m leaving," René sneered.
René strode away without another word, his laughter echoing down the corridor until the heavy iron door slammed shut in the distance. The five girls sank back down inside the cell, lost in thought.
"Looks like we’re totally finished this time," Mei sighed.
"Don’t talk like that. We’ll definitely find a way out of this," Cleo urged.
"How? If only your magic wasn’t sealed by that collar," Sheila said, pointing at the restraint around Cleo’s neck.
"Ugh... this is so frustrating... ow!" Cleo touched the collar and her hand got zapped instantly.
"It’s all my fault. If only I hadn’t gone digging into how King Victor died, only to find out he was poisoned by King Theobald, which got me thrown into the arena before that anti-monarchy gladiator slave saved me," Luna said, consumed by guilt.
"It’s not your fault, Luna. It’s only natural you wanted to find out about your past," Mei reassured her.
"But because of that, every single one of us got arrested," Luna replied remorsefully.
"Relax. Don’t forget, we still have an ace up our sleeve," Aria interjected.
"Huh?" Luna, Mei, Cleo, and Sheila turned to look at Aria, who was smiling comfortably, not showing a single shred of panic.
"What do you mean, Aria?" Cleo asked.
"Just wait and see. Right about now, I’m willing to bet Dion is already on his way here, hehe," Aria answered nonchalantly.
"Dion... coming here?" Luna asked, lifting her head.
"He’s... actually planning to break us out? Are you sure about that, Aria?" Sheila asked.
"Hmm... positive. Word of our arrest has definitely reached Northkeep by now," Aria replied.
"I hope so... and I hope he didn’t just head back home after hearing we got captured," Mei said pessimistically.
"Yeah... that sounds way more like him. We all know what Dion is like," Cleo added, equally pessimistic.
The room fell silent once more. Even Aria, who had been positive moments ago, began to worry that Dion might just run away and refuse to get involved as usual.
"Please don’t ignore us this time," all five girls thought to themselves in unison.
Meanwhile, high up in the air, achoooo! Dion sneezed loudly on the back of the speeding Gina.
"Gyuuu?"
"I’m fine... they must be counting on me right now. Hurry up, Gina!" Dion urged.
"Gyuuuuu!" Gina chirped enthusiastically.
Swooooosh!
Gina sliced through the clouds, speeding toward the capital of the Minatheras Kingdom, which was already coming into view on the horizon.