SHK CH 652 (Patreon)

As the sun rose above in the sky, illuminating the world with its light, Greed Dike seemed to be covered in a mournful air.

The usual boisterous council room was inordinately silent at this time. Nearly half of the seats were empty and the dwarves present were all showing uneasy glances. Looking around as if danger was present at every corner.

Meanwhile, one knee on the ground, the current Crown Prince was recounting the events that happened at dawn to the King and the council members. The more he spoke the more the expressions worsened.

In one morning, fifteen high ranked dwarves were found dead. 

Death was nothing strange in Greed Dike. It was a country where parents killed children and children killed parents as long as their interest was threatened. 

Assassinations were a common occurrence, combats to the death as well. 

This time though. Things were beyond their comprehension. 

One council man had his body age down in an instant and died in his sleep. The autopsy revealed that his body was nearly 400 years old and that he simply died of natural causes.

This was impossible. After all, that councilman was only eighty this year.

One noble died during a banquet. The autopsy revealed that the cause of death was a deadly disease that has been filling his body for years. Even traces of treatment were found. His body was also considerably aged.

But this was another thing that should have been impossible. The noble was a strapping young man who never had to visit the doctor.

The prince personally witnessed the horrifying death of a second councilman. The man's body seemed to crumble and twist in front of the prince's eyes.  Blood bursted everywhere and even now the prince was covered in blood.

The autopsy revealed that the cause of death was a road accident. This ludicrous statement was met with nothing but incredulity. But as more and more reports came to their attention, they were all forced to accept this reality.

The final nail in the coffin was the death of a minister. The autopsy revealed poisoning and his wife was the culprit. She had fed him a slow acting poison that took ten years to completely fill the body, slowly weakening it.

If this stopped here, they would have left a sigh of relief. Such a thing was nothing new after all.

But things became eerie when the wife pleaded non guilty. She had indeed brought the poison. But she had not even yet administered it to him. She had planned to do so only if he cheated on her.

The poison was found and the record proved she had only brought the poison two days prior. 

A dozen people died all at the same time when they stood but all the causes of death were completely different and incomprehensible.

Some thought that perhaps the royal family was messing with the autopsy results but their own agent reported the same. Leaving no room for doubts.

It was as if…the cause of the death for all of them, irrespective of time and space, was brought to the present.

They were unable to understand the means used, and their inability to understand caused them fear.

This was definitely a man-made event. So what would happen if the culprit or culprits decided to kill them as well?

The prince could have been better. His forehead was sweating and his eyes were darting around. 

“What is the common ground between all the dead?” The King asked his son.

He had also concluded that someone was behind this act. It was simply too precise to be a natural curse or accident. The How did not matter. But they needed to know the Who and more importantly Why.

The prince gritted his teeth, as dim-witted as he was, he had been able to make some connection.

“They are all enemies of Lady Theresa.” 

Everyone started mumbling. It might be a coincidence but this would be very surprising.

The king raised an eyebrow and asked nonchalantly, “Theresa is in Lustburg. Let’s say she has the means to do so or knows someone who could do this. Why now?”

The prince closed his mouth, refusing to answer but this action alone was more than enough for all the councilmen to conclude.

One way or another, the prince had provoked Theresa, and now she was retaliating. They looked at each other. Lost about what to do.

Theresa was in Lustburg and while they weren’t her enemies, they were certainly competitors. 

As if it wasn’t enough, Lustburg and Greed Dike were currently in a bad relationship because of all the decisions they made until now.

“I will contact Theresa.”  The King spoke in the end, causing all their eyes to light up. How could they have forgotten that the King and Theresa had a very good relationship? 

“Your majesty!” They all stood and bowed. The influence of the King had been waning as of late. Even more so as more people decided to follow the prince. 

Now though, the majority of those who followed the prince were dead and the few who were alive would not risk their lives for no reason. 

“The council is dismissed. I need to talk to my son. Nothing else should happen now, but if it does, do not hesitate to warn me.”

They all shared uneasy glances but did as they were told. The King held the power of salvation at the moment. There was no way they would antagonize him now when they needed him the most.

“Furthermore, call the Supreme Daughter. I have to talk to her as well.”

Like sheep in a herd, they all trudged on, leaving the room empty save for the last two individuals.