Trash Prince and Ice Queen 10th Re - Life-Chapter 150: Confront the Mastermind
[Kresus and Irina Story]
The following day, Kresus walked into the palace while Irina sat on his shoulder, completely invisible. When the doors to the throne room were opened, Kresus arrived in a vast, open hall lined with numerous pillars on both sides. Several royal guards stood as still as statues between the pillars, and two handmaidens in sheer dresses held large fans to cool a powerful man sitting on the throne. The man looked formidable, with his four arms crossed over his chest and eyes that were stern and focused—yet empty, as if he were staring right through Kresus. Beside him stood the hooded, bearded old man. Reaching the podium where the throne sat, Kresus immediately dropped to one knee.
"Greetings, King Vogir," Kresus said.
"Rise, Kresus. What brings you here? How is the situation at the front lines?" Vogir asked.
Kresus stood up and bowed his head, then he stared at Vogir, who was also watching him with a tense expression. He also glanced at Idor, who stood beside Vogir and returned his gaze with a flat, emotionless face.
"The situation on the front lines is going well; we have managed to pierce the dwarves’ defenses and are advancing toward their border city," Kresus said, looking at his king with a composed and entirely normal expression. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"Hmm... good. Destroy them at once; we must retrieve Princess Grethia from there," Vogir replied. Suddenly, his voice trembled when he mentioned Grethia’s name, as if he were genuinely saddened to speak of his daughter.
"Is there any word from our spies confirming that Princess Grethia is truly there?" Kresus asked.
"Kresus, there is no need for so many questions. King Vogir knows because he shares a special connection as a father to his daughter. Isn’t that right, your Majesty?" Idor suddenly interrupted to answer Kresus’s question.
"Correct. I can feel what my daughter feels. She is definitely there; they plan to go to the surface, taking my daughter with them," Vogir said, suddenly appearing furious and enraged.
Kresus fell silent for a moment, then he signaled to Irina and tried to divert the conversation by discussing front-line logistics, troop reinforcements, and other such matters, buying time for Irina to investigate what was happening to Vogir. Without delay, Irina began to creep toward King Vogir to see the king’s condition up close. She had already been briefed by Ard and Eva on the symptoms shown by those who consumed the potion—like the one they found at the academy that caused Emperor Ellard III to lose his mind.
The sign was the veins on the side of the neck, right behind the ear, bulging and turning blue. Irina climbed slowly onto the throne and observed the back of the king’s head from a short distance. Just as Ard and Eva had predicted, King Vogir was truly under someone’s influence; his body, which looked healthy and powerful from afar, was actually sickly and thin up close. Irina then observed King Vogir’s face from a few inches away while holding her breath. She could see the king’s true face now, which was impossible to see from a distance.
There were dark circles under the king’s eyes, masked with makeup to keep them hidden. His skin, which was actually pale, was covered with cosmetics, and there was fallen hair on his shoulders. King Vogir’s actual condition was like that of a living corpse or a severe cancer patient nearing their final moments.
After observing and confirming the king’s condition, Irina immediately jumped back down softly and climbed back onto Kresus’s shoulder. She instantly whispered to Kresus, who was still talking to keep everyone’s attention. Kresus’s expression flickered for a split second before he glanced toward Idor, but he smoothed his features back to normal in an instant. Kresus looked back at King Vogir, who appeared to be listening to him, though his eyes felt as if they were staring straight through Kresus’s head, empty.
"Very well, that is my report, Your Majesty," Kresus replied, bringing the conversation to a close.
"Fine, I understand. Go to the prime minister and tell him I am increasing your troop count," King Vogir said.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I shall take my leave," Kresus said, bowing his head.
"You may go," King Vogir replied, dismissing him.
Kresus bowed once more and turned to walk out of the vast throne room, but he had only taken a few steps with Irina on his shoulder when a voice rang out.
"Guards, seize him!"
Kresus turned and looked back. Idor had ordered the guards to arrest him. Immediately, the guards stepped forward, leveling their spears at Kresus. Idor stepped down from the podium and walked toward him. Having no other choice, Kresus raised his hands, but he glanced at Irina on his shoulder.
"Irina, get out of here quickly and find Lesnar. Tell him to begin our operation," Kresus whispered.
"But what about you, Lord Kresus?" Irina asked.
"I’ll be fine. Go, quickly," Kresus said.
"Alright. Be careful, Lord Kresus," Irina replied.
Without further delay, Irina jumped down from Kresus’s shoulder. She ran out of the open throne room and fled the palace to find Lesnar, who was currently organizing the troops for the strike on Idor’s residence. Meanwhile, Idor stepped into the circle of guards and stood before Kresus, examining his calm face. One of his hands gripped Kresus’s right shoulder before moving to the left.
After that, Idor seemed to be thinking as he observed Kresus, who still had all four of his arms raised.
"What are you doing, Idor?" Kresus asked.
"Hmm... strange," Idor muttered.
He carefully examined Kresus’s entire body and face. "Sniff... sniff." Occasionally, he sniffed toward Kresus, making Kresus feel disgusted and uneasy.
"Hey... what do you want?" Kresus asked.
Kresus glanced toward King Vogir, who remained silent with all four arms still folded across his chest; he was instantly certain that Idor truly controlled the King.
"Hmm... have you ever met a demon? Or did you bring a demon in here? Don’t you dare try to lie to me; I can feel the energy and smell the scent," Idor asked, staring at Kresus with his red eyes.
Kresus stared at Idor in front of him and examined his face carefully. Then, he smiled and glanced at King Vogir once more before turning a sharp gaze back to Idor.
"Are you controlling our king? Or have you made our king into someone other than himself?" Kresus asked with a smile, taking a direct shot at Idor.
Hearing what Kresus said, the guards who were leveling their spears at him looked shocked, their faces filled with utter confusion. Meanwhile, Idor, whose face had been calm before, now appeared tense; his jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed as he glared at Kresus.
"So it’s true. You are conspiring with humans and demons... you brought them into our kingdom," Idor said furiously.
"And you are controlling our king, forcing us to continue a war, and turning our king into a shell of his former self," Kresus shot back.
Idor’s face went instantly pale because his plan had been read by Kresus, whose expression remained relaxed even as he fixed him with a sharp glare. He took a step back, and Kresus seized the opportunity, noticing the guards were confused and some were lowering their spears, no longer aiming them at him. Kresus lowered his arms and pointed directly at Idor.
"Guards, arrest this traitor! He intends to take over our kingdom and has done something to our king," Kresus shouted.
The guards jumped in surprise, and by reflex, they leveled their spears at Idor, who also flinched as he found himself at the end of their blades. Idor raised his hands, scanning the faces of the guards before looking back at Kresus. Suddenly,
"Hahahaha... you think you can catch me?" Idor said, his voice layered with a booming, female tone.
Seeing what Idor was doing, Kresus snatched a sword from the waist of one of the guards and prepared his fighting stance. The guards backed away, but this time they were fully alert and certain that Idor was their enemy. Suddenly, black smoke appeared, blanketing Idor’s body. "Crack... crack," the sound of shifting bones echoed in front of them all.
Kresus narrowed his eyes and lowered his center of gravity, shifting into a defensive stance. When the smoke cleared, Kresus’s eyes widened to see Idor’s body had transformed—growing larger, tall and thin with a bloated belly. His four arms had become long and skeletal with elongated fingers, and his hair and beard had turned white, with a curved horn protruding from his forehead.
"Watch out, everyone... kill this monster!" Kresus shouted.
"Yes, Lord Kresus!" the guards roared.
Idor’s transformation wasn’t finished yet. "Crack... crack," suddenly, two long, thin arms sprouted from Idor’s back along with a pair of massive bat wings. After that, Idor looked toward Kresus, who flinched and readied his strike. He laughed, and suddenly, "Crash!" Idor shot upward, smashing through the palace roof and flying out. Kresus stood and stared up, then turned to look at all the guards who were also staring at the ceiling.
"Everyone... follow me! We have to get to Marquis Idor’s house because he’s definitely heading there," Kresus shouted. Turning to look at two of the guards, he yelled, "You two, help King Vogir! Get him to his study, hurry!"
"Yes, Lord Kresus!" the guards replied.
Kresus ran out together with the guards, while the two guards assigned by Kresus helped King Vogir and took the king to his study.
