Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 145 Frederick and Kevin
"Kevin, are you really sure? Everyone is waiting and watching. Getting involved with Prince Frederick right now is not the best option."

In front of the 'Imperial Sword' mage tower of the Arma Line, the young and dashing Kevin Hylan, dressed in a bright silver Lion King suit, only had time to give Louise a happy hug as she emerged from the teleportation array.

"Hey Louise, I didn't expect you to come. And how did you know Frederick and I were going back?"

Louise, wearing a tight-fitting khaki wool coat, emerged from Kevin's chest. The fur collar on the neck of the Lion King suit breastplate tickled Louise's face.

“It was my father who sent me to the Astrologers’ Guild and told me to come find you. He said you should have already received the message, and based on his understanding of Prince Frederick and you, there’s a high probability you’ll choose to go back.”

Below the mage tower of the Imperial Sword, Kevin's six hundred personal guards, whom he had brought from Hylan territory, were organizing their belongings and gathering in an orderly fashion in front of the plaza below the teleportation array. Looking at the soldiers in the fortress, bustling about like industrious worker ants, Kevin took a step forward and remarked with a sigh:

"The Marquis seems to know us very well. Just as you said, now is indeed not the best time to go back. The capital must be in complete chaos by now."

Looking at Kevin, who had only returned to the North from the capital two or three years ago, Louise couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

"Yes, the capital is in complete chaos. The day after His Majesty Keane's death, Prince Gillian ascended the throne with the Senate's recommendation. However, the Third Prince, Prince Denbel, did not approve of the Senate's decision and, under the pretext of investigating His Majesty Keane's death, attempted to storm the Platinum Palace with the Second Royal Construct Knights. But they were annihilated by an attack launched from the Platinum Tower, controlled by Archmage Andur, who supported Prince Gillian."

"What? Louise? You mean that Dembell is dead?"

Upon hearing the sound, the two quickly turned around. They saw Frederick, with his neat red short hair, wearing a dark Sky Light suit, walking up the stairs. Louise quickly bowed to the approaching prince.

"Yes, Your Highness Frederick, hello."

In response to Louise's bow, Frederick casually waved his hand, walked up to the two of them, and bumped fists with Kevin.

"Everything was ready downstairs. I waited for you for a while but you didn't come down, so I came up to see what was going on. I didn't expect it to be you, Louise."

Hearing Frederick's teasing tone, Louise's face flushed slightly, but Frederick, pressed for time, did not choose to continue teasing and quickly regained his composure, asking the girl standing next to Kevin.

"So what's the situation in the capital right now? Can you tell me?"

Faced with Frederick's question, Louise naturally dared not delay, after all, she had come to the Arma frontier with the wishes of her father and some other nobles to try to dissuade him.

“Of course, Your Highness Frederick, but this isn’t exactly the kind of place we agreed on.”

Upon hearing Louise's words, Frederick and Kevin exchanged a glance. The latter walked to the city wall and shouted down:

"Guman! Let the troops rest where they are. Frederick and I have something to discuss."

Upon hearing Kevin's order, the knight commander of the Guman saluted the men on the city wall and then ordered his troops to rest on the spot.

"Alright, now you can talk, Louise. What news did you bring from the capital?"

As soon as the group sat down in the operations room, Frederick couldn't wait to ask a question.

After briefly recalling the events of the past few days, Louise began to recount the situation in the capital during this period.

"I won't waste any more time on the rest. Let's start from where we left off. After His Majesty Keane's death, the Third Prince, Prince Denbel, disagreed with the Senate's decision, so he led the Second Royal Knights under his command into the Platinum Palace to investigate His Majesty's death. However, everyone knows what Prince Denbel truly thinks."

As she spoke, Louise observed Frederick's expression. Seeing that there was nothing unusual about the prince's face, she did not dare to directly reveal that Denbel intended to seize the throne by force.

"Just when we thought that Prince Denbel and his construct knights had been wiped out by the Tower of Platinum, and that Prince Gillian could ascend the throne without any surprises, something unexpected still happened."

Louise paused for a moment, seemingly unsure how to proceed, but seeing Kevin and Frederick staring at her intently, she hesitated before deciding to speak in the most direct way possible.

"The day after Prince Denbel was wiped out, Prince Gillian also died, at the hands of a maid who had always served him..."

"What? What did you say? My brother is dead!!!! How could this be!!!! He was a high-ranking knight, how could he be killed by a maid!!!!!"

Upon hearing this shocking news, Frederick, who had remained calm throughout, abruptly stood up from his chair, took two steps to Louise, grabbed her arms with both hands, and kept muttering to himself.

Louise cried out in pain, and Kevin, who was standing next to her, quickly reached out and grabbed Frederick's arm.

"Frederick! Frederick! Let go, let go, calm down, calm down."

The pain in his wrist brought Frederick back to his senses somewhat. Seeing Louise's face contorted slightly with pain, he immediately released his hands and said apologetically:
"I'm so sorry, Louise, this news is too shocking. Did I hurt you just now?"

When Frederick asked her, Louise waved her hand to indicate that there was no problem.

"How could this have happened? How could Brother Gillian have been killed by a maid? Louise, do you know the details?"

At this moment, Frederick, his mind in turmoil, paced back and forth in the operations room, trying to alleviate his anxiety by walking quickly.

"I'm not entirely sure about that either, but Prince Gillian wasn't the only one who was assassinated. On the same day, the sixth prince, Prince Will, and the fourth princess, Princess Anmia, were also assassinated."

"What????"

One bad news after another completely shattered Frederick's already chaotic mental defenses, especially since Anmia and he shared the same mother, and their bond was unparalleled.

Seeing Frederick sitting on the ground looking dejected, Kevin didn't know how to comfort him, so he could only walk over and pat him on the shoulder.

After a long while, Frederick, who had finally recovered from all the bad news, turned to look at Louise, his eyes revealing deep exhaustion.

"Louise, is there any more?"

Hearing Frederick's question, Louise looked up at Kevin with some concern, and spoke again after he nodded in acknowledgment. "When I left the capital through the portal to come find you, the eleventh prince, Prince Neomeya, was also assassinated in the manor. However, this time the Night Watchmen, who were already on guard, caught the assassin, who was still a male servant who had worked in Prince Neomeya's manor for several years."

Following this lead, my father learned from a private inquiry with the Night's Watch leader that these guys were likely an assassin organization within the Night Watch.

Upon hearing that his youngest brother had also died, Frederick, perhaps overwhelmed by too much bad news, stood frozen in place, looking as if he had lost his soul.

"So, in just one week, His Majesty Keane died, the Third Prince Denbel attempted to storm the Platinum Palace but was wiped out by the Platinum Tower, and the First Prince Gillian, the Sixth Prince Will, the Fourth Princess Anmia, and the New Meya before you arrived were all assassinated."

That means six members of the royal family have died. What's going on? Is someone trying to wipe out the entire royal family?

Startled by his own words, Kevin quickly looked at Frederick, who was slumped on the ground. However, Frederick was clearly out of sorts, sitting there blankly like a statue.

“Hey Frederick, cheer up. If you keep acting like this, we might as well not go back to the capital. At least you’re safe staying at the Arma Line.”

Upon hearing Kevin's words, Louise quickly nodded in agreement, saying that this was also the main purpose of her trip.

"Yes, that's right. That's exactly my main mission here. The noble group, led by my father, does not want Your Highness Frederick to return to the capital at this time. The best course of action now is for you to stay at the Arma defense line and wait for things to settle down in the capital."

In this process, you can ensure your safety while staying away from the enormous vortex of the empire. You can also observe from the sidelines, and the current situation may not necessarily bring you any unexpected gains.

This is a letter my father wrote to you along with some nobles. You may take a look at it.

As she spoke, Louise stood up from her chair, took a letter from her magic pouch at her waist, and handed it to Frederick, who was sitting on the ground in a daze.

Frederick, like a wooden puppet, mechanically opened and read the letter after receiving it from Louise.

After an unknown amount of time, Frederick IV, who had been slumped on the ground, suddenly stood up, patted his backside, and the magic metal gloves made a crisp sound as they struck his armor.

"Let's go, Kevin."

Seeing Frederick come to his senses, Kevin smiled broadly.

"Have you thought it through, Frederick?"

When asked by his friend, Frederick, whose face had returned to normal, would give Kevin a smile, revealing his neat teeth.

“I’ve thought it through. Now I have another reason to go back. Just like you said, this empire belongs to us, but it also belongs to you. There’s no reason for all of you to be fighting while I’m hiding in the back seeking peace.”

Moreover, if the empire continues to be in such chaos, all the provinces will be affected, especially the Amar Line. Winter is approaching, and the orcs didn't come much last year. If they come now that we're in a weakened state, it will be disastrous.

Sensing the firmness in Frederick's tone, Kevin nodded heavily. Between men, many things are left unsaid.

"Kevin, can you protect me? Although I've made preparations, I still don't want to die if I can avoid it."

Hearing the teasing tone in Frederick's words again, Kevin couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He could clearly feel the difficulties and pressure his friend, as a member of the royal family, was facing.

With a dull thud, Kevin's iron fist slammed heavily onto Frederick's breastplate.

"Don't worry, Frederick, they'll only kill you by stepping over your dead body."

Watching the conversation between the two, Louise understood that her mission had failed, but she still said unwillingly:
"You two really shouldn't stop thinking about it. If you go back now, you'll just get caught up in this storm."

This time, in response to Louise's question, Frederick replied with a normal expression:

"This is something I was meant to face. If even a prince like me avoids it, then there is no other outcome for this country but destruction."

Seeing that she couldn't persuade Frederick, she turned to Kevin, staring wide-eyed, wanting to hear what her lover would say.

When Louise looked at him questioningly, Kevin gave her a bright, sunny smile.

"Just as Frederick said, he had to work hard for his country, and so I have to work hard for my homeland. The North has received so much care from the Empire, so naturally it should step forward when the Empire needs it."

Besides, Frederick is my friend. When a friend is in trouble, we must do everything in our power to help him; this is our survival principle in the North.

Knowing she couldn't persuade the two of them, Louise gave up the mission. Originally, she only wanted to use the mission of delivering a letter to see Kevin, whom she hadn't seen for two years. As for the rest, she could only say that everything was for the best.

"Since that's the case, I won't say anything more. My father anticipated your choices and asked me to pass on his message to you both."

The capital is currently in turmoil, with various factions watching quietly, none wanting to be the first to strike. Therefore, once your force returns, it might directly disrupt the current stable situation.

Therefore, Father has arranged for my eldest brother to wait for you in Roteslow. After you receive the latest news in Roteslow, you can return to the capital.

Upon hearing Louise's words, Frederick was visibly taken aback for a moment, then seemed to have figured something out and looked at the eldest daughter of the Cavendish family with great interest.

"So, after putting in so much effort, what does Lord Cavendish, or rather, all of you other lords, want from me?"

"I don't know, Your Highness Frederick. I'm just a messenger. As for what those lords want, I really don't know. But you'll find out when you get to Rotheslow and meet them."

Frederick stood there in silence for a moment, then walked toward the door.

"Let's go, Kevin, let's face this together."

(End of this chapter)