Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

“I think Lydia is right, but if we disobey orders now, it could end up with Lucert fighting amongst themselves first. If it turns into a civil war, that would be the worst-case scenario.”

“Yes, so we absolutely cannot let it turn into a civil war.” Aaron put down his tea and said to Joan of Arc, “Tell Lydia not to overthink it. She’s nothing right now. Just do her job well. Also, I’ll be going to the palace tomorrow. I’ll see what the results are. Once I have the results, I’ll tell them.”

"Hmm." Joan of Arc nodded thoughtfully. "Then I'll go to sleep now. Teacher, you should rest early too."

*

The next day, Charlotte woke up in bed when it was still barely dawn.

This has been her habit these past few days: she always gets up at the crack of dawn to prepare for this temporary home. If she wants to prepare, it's only natural to get up earlier than the master of the house. That's what Charlotte thinks, and at least that's how most of the maids in the palace do it.

But when she tiptoed downstairs, intending to wash up first, she found that Aaron's room light was already on. Charlotte was taken aback, realizing that Aaron was already up.

Aaron was changing clothes in front of the mirror. Unlike the Aaron we usually saw, this morning Aaron had changed into the black robes of the Obsidian Knights, put on black boots, and wore a gold sash around his neck. It was the first time Charlotte had seen Aaron so serious and focused up close, and she was stunned.

"What's wrong?" Aaron noticed Charlotte at the door. After changing his clothes in front of the mirror, he picked up the ceremonial sword that was placed next to him, hung it on his body, and said to Charlotte, "We are going to the palace to meet the king today, so we need to dress more formally."

"Oh...I see..." For some reason, Charlotte blushed a little, but immediately said, "In that case, breakfast needs to be prepared properly. I'll go make it now."

"Um," Aaron called out to Charlotte.

"What's wrong?" Charlotte turned around in a fluster.

"I need to go out early, it's okay if I don't do my part."

Charlotte was taken aback: "How can you skip breakfast? Breakfast is the source of energy for the whole day."

“But I have an appointment, so I might not have time to eat.” Aaron scratched his head.

“It’s alright, I can do something else,” Charlotte insisted.

When Aaron came out of the house, he was holding something that looked like a sandwich. To put it simply, he had cut a slit in a long loaf of bread and stuffed it with ham, tomatoes, fried eggs, and other things that could be called breakfast before he went out.

After leaving with his homemade breakfast, Aaron did not immediately board the carriage to head to the palace. Instead, he wandered into a dark alley, where he stood for a while, leisurely eating his breakfast. Soon after, a dark shadow appeared behind him.

It's Brand.

“When you brought that up with me back then, I really thought you were just joking.” Brand was still the same as when Aaron met him a year ago, unchanged, except that his expression had become much more serious.

"Did you bring what I asked for?" Aaron asked.

Give me your sword.

Aaron threw the weapon to him.

Brand held Aaron's sword, and Aaron saw countless red threads, like small snakes, slowly wrapping around the hilt of the sword, then gradually disappearing into it until they were completely gone.

"To what extent can spiritual energy be eliminated? Even if I stand right in front of him, he won't be able to tell?"

"Three meters, the limit is three meters. Do not enter within three meters of him, otherwise he will definitely sense you. But if you are more than three meters away, with the protection I give you, you can hide it from him."

Aaron took the sword back from Brand and said, "Consider this information as something I owe you."

"No, this information is a free gift, and consider it something I owe you."

Aaron was stunned; his expression towards Brand was as if he'd seen the sun rise in the west.

"After all, you plan to assassinate the king, which is something we've always wanted to do but never dared to think about, so consider it as me owing you this once."

"I didn't expect you guys to be so generous this time," Aaron said, stuffing the bread in his mouth and clapping his hands.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Brand asked seriously.

"I'm not sure, but I feel that if we're fast enough, it should be possible."

"Indeed, if you are fast enough, even a god cannot react, but it depends on just how fast you can be."

"That's settled then, thank you for the free gift." Aaron waved to Brand.

"Wait, may I ask you why?"

"You're actually interested in this too?"

"Just out of curiosity."

Aaron was silent for a moment: "Actually, I had wanted to do this since the first day I met him. I had the urge to draw my sword back then, but now I'm just putting that urge into practice."

“I see,” Brand replied.

Aaron strolled out of the alley. The sky was already bright, and there were many more pedestrians on the street. People stared in astonishment at the young man in his knight's uniform.

After a while, a carriage bearing the royal insignia stopped in front of the young man. To everyone's astonishment, the young man boarded the carriage and headed towards the palace.

The heavy doors opened one after another before them, revealing the luxurious Hall of Mirrors. The corridors were made up of hundreds of mirrors and 17 arched windows, and everywhere was decorated with reliefs. Giant crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Walking through it was like walking through a magnificent, dreamlike palace.

Aaron walked through the corridor, where someone was already waiting for him at the end of the Hall of Mirrors. It was a gentle and refined young man dressed in a simple white robe, holding a thick ancient book in his hand, like a priest. When he saw Aaron, he smiled gently.

Chapter 88 Assassination (Part 2)

“You’re dressed very formally today,” the young priest said with a smile.

If Joan of Arc were here, she would recognize that this priest was the same one who made a bet with Aaron in the church five years ago. They bet on whether Joan of Arc would receive a blessing, and in the end, he lost a ring to Aaron.

He was indeed just a priest, but he was a priest who was always by the king's side, and his words often carried more weight than those of the regional bishops.

"His Majesty is in the church, come with me." The priest turned around, led Aaron forward, and casually remarked, "Nice clothes."

Aaron's face remained expressionless, but he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

To see the king in the palace, the first hurdle is usually the priest. However, Aaron has never been able to figure out what abilities the priest possesses. Therefore, he was somewhat uneasy when he met the priest. But as he expected, the priest did not notice anything unusual. He saw Aaron's sword but did not care.

Unlike the world Aaron lived in, wearing a sword in court was not a special honor. It was normal for knights and lords to carry swords to court, but most of the swords they carried were ceremonial swords. In this world with supernatural powers, these swords did not have any real killing power.

Aaron followed the priest out of the Hall of Mirrors and began to wander through the maze-like corridors. But as he walked, Aaron found that the route was not what he had expected. At first, he even thought that the priest was leading him around aimlessly. But after walking for a while, he felt the fluctuations of spiritual energy around him, as if all the walls were changing. They kept walking from one maze into another.

"Did you notice?" The priest smiled faintly and suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Aaron's heart skipped a beat, but he controlled every muscle in his body, showing no particular expression or making any rash moves. He turned his head expressionlessly and cast an inquiring look at the priest.

"Don't make such a scary face," the priest said matter-of-factly.

"Now that it is wartime, the palace must be strengthened to prevent the enemy from infiltrating and attacking His Majesty. Therefore, we have activated the array in the palace. The palace is now alive, and the passages within it are changing every moment. Sometimes it is a dead end, and sometimes it is a way out, as if someone is directing it. Occasionally we need to wait before we can continue forward."

Aaron's muscles relaxed slightly. Indeed, once the war started, the kings of various countries would strengthen their defenses. The cowardly ones would even hide in bunkers, fearing a decapitation attack by the enemy's superhumans. In comparison, King Lusset was quite carefree and had not taken any special protective measures.

“Alright, now we can continue. Follow me.” Having observed something, the priest lifted his foot and walked forward again. Aaron carefully examined the patterns on the floor and walls, finally fixing his gaze on the flickering firelight in the corridor.

"If you're afraid of an enemy decapitation strike, you should arrange more guards around His Majesty," Aaron said, seemingly casually.

"Yes, who can argue with that? The same old acquaintances are still in charge of protecting His Majesty's safety. By the way, do you have any opinions about them?"

"Opinion?"

"Who do you think would be the best person to protect His Majesty's safety? Do you have a suitable candidate?"

"The person responsible for protecting His Majesty's safety must first be loyal, and secondly, be powerful. Such a person is indeed difficult to choose. The safest way is to select someone from among the nobles," Aaron casually replied to the priest.

"Oh, I do think there's a good candidate."

"Who?"

"How are you?" The priest turned to look at him, his expression seemingly meaningful.

"Your background is also very clean. You are an orphan that Aurelia picked up, so your identity is not in question. As for loyalty, no one in the kingdom has ever doubted you. Even the king has not been able to detect anything unusual about you with the Book of Omniscience. You also often help His Majesty carry out secret missions that even I am not aware of. It is no exaggeration to say that you are the person His Majesty trusts the most."

The priest spoke eloquently: "Over the years, you have frequently entered the palace and are very familiar with its structure and routes. You are also very familiar with the people around His Majesty, and most importantly..."

The priest smiled and said, "Our Third Seat of the Obsidian Knights is incredibly powerful, even surpassing many vice-captains. It would be most appropriate for you to protect His Majesty's safety; no one would be worried."

The priest spoke happily, as if the matter were settled. He did indeed have similar power; he was the king's closest confidant and often whispered in the king's ear. It was said that even the clue to expelling the queen from the palace came from him. If he really suggested it to the king, Aaron might actually do it and become a glorious royal guard.

"If I go to be a guard, who will catch the spies?" Aaron replied casually, seemingly not taking the suggestion too seriously.

The priest couldn't help but laugh: "That's true, our Lord Aaron is busy catching spies everywhere, he can't stay in this deep palace all day."

"You are enough to stay in the deep palace. Who is in charge of guarding today?"

“Jerome and Florentine, according to the rules of the Royal Guard, Gilbert should also be there, but Gilbert kept watch all night and went back to rest this morning, so it’s just the two of them,” the priest replied.

Aaron nodded. He had managed to extract information about the king's guards with just a few words. Only someone very familiar with Lucert's system could do something like that so easily.

Jerome and Florentine were very familiar to him; they were both renowned Royal Guards. The Royal Guards were an elite guard created to protect the royal family. They swore an oath to serve for life until death. In the eyes of the people, they were the king's best bodyguards. But in reality, the primary requirement for selecting Royal Guards was a clean background, followed by loyalty, and only then strength.

Jerome and Floran are seen as top-tier experts by others, and they have always considered themselves that way. However, in Aaron's view, their strength is below that of Syrio, but if they are to protect the king's safety, then everything is within his plan.

Aaron was certain that beyond a three-meter radius, they would never be able to react to his strike; by the time they did, the man would already be decapitated.

"Alright, we've arrived." The priest stopped again. "His Majesty is inside."

The priest led Aaron to the door of the room, where a guard in silver armor stood.

The guard stood at the door like a statue, giving Aaron a cold look, exuding an inhuman, icy aura.

Behind him, the door to the room was ajar, and the room was eerily quiet. All the curtains were drawn, and the only source of light was the firelight from the fireplace, which illuminated the shrine in the room with a crimson glow. King Sorrento Ofran II of Lucerne sat before the shrine, his shadow casting a huge phantom on the fireplace.

Not far behind him stood two knights, both wearing silver armor, though their armor was not as thick as the knights at the door, but it still reflected the firelight.

They stood where the firelight was brightest, their gaze fixed on Aaron, Jerome, and Florentine, two royal guards responsible for protecting the king's safety at all times.

Although he was already quite familiar with Aaron, Jerome still glanced at him warily, then silently changed his position and moved to stand beside the king. At this moment, one of them stood about five steps behind the king, and the other stood about three steps to the side of the king, protecting him like horns.

Aaron's gaze swept over where they stood, silently calculating the distance between them in his mind, before he lifted his foot and walked towards the king.

One step, two steps. Although the distance was not far, Aaron was calculating the distance with each step. He remembered what Brand had told him: never get within three meters of the king. Therefore, he stopped three meters away from the king, knelt on the ground, and said to the king, "Your Majesty."

The king looked at him, a kind smile on his face, and said, "Get up."

The same voice, the same tone as before, two knights in silver armor stared at him, their eyes fixed on his dark figure. But Aaron didn't see them. His eyes were only on the king. Even at this distance, no divine light was revealed in his eyes. But the long sword in its sheath trembled slightly, and killing intent flowed within the scabbard, like a sealed mad dragon.

His left hand fingers were already almost imperceptibly pointing backward. Even though there was a knight between him and the king, and the knight had half of his body blocking the king and Aaron, this was not the best opportunity. Aaron should not draw his sword at this time, but the killing intent in Aaron's mind had already risen. He knew that the distance would not be enough, but he did not see the knight at all.

There's someone in between? No problem, just kill that knight too. Aaron will kill the king through the knight's body, so it will be an extremely powerful strike.

At such close range, with the King's omniscient book, the King's omnipotent abilities, what would happen after killing the King, how he would escape—he no longer thought about anything other than killing. His mind was now focused, waiting only for the moment his fingers touched the hilt of the knife, at which point he would unleash the world's fastest strike, making a significant mark on the history of assassins and becoming the first person in the world to successfully assassinate an omniscient King.

A huge figure suddenly appeared in front of Aaron. A third person suddenly appeared between them, blocking both Aaron's view and the king's body.

But Aaron remained focused, his gaze unchanged, for he had entered a state of profound concentration. At this moment, even if mountains and seas separated him, he would still wield his sword; the arrow was on the bowstring, ready to be released.

But that person did more than that. He strode up to Aaron, pressed down on Aaron's shoulder, and gently pushed him down, shielding Aaron's murderous intent with his body. Unless Aaron killed him first, Aaron would never be able to kill the person behind him.

Like a flowing river, the killing intent within Aaron's scabbard dissipated completely. Aaron looked at the man who patted his shoulder, that handsome face, that face belonging to the esteemed Knight King, Akil Spanger.

Aaron deliberately dispersed his killing intent to prevent the Omniscient Sword from sensing the murderous aura emanating from his scabbard. The reason for this was simple: even with many knights between him and the king, he was confident he could strike and kill the king. However, if the Omniscient Sword was in their way, Aaron was not confident that his strike could kill the Knight King first and then the king. There was probably no one in the world who could accomplish such a feat with a single strike.

After the murderous aura dissipated like a flood, Aaron showed no intention of gathering his strength again. His face remained expressionless. He had done his best. At least in the shadows, the curtain had not been raised, but the behind-the-scenes battle was over, and everything had settled down. When the curtain was raised again, it would seem as if nothing had happened.