When A Mage Revolts

Hearing this, Benjamin narrowed his eyes slightly.

To be honest, he was unhappy with this now, anyway. No matter how much flattery the other party was using, his behavior was no different from being on the fence. Even… If he had been stuck at St. Peter's Cathedral back then, Duke Collin and the nobles would directly fall on the Church's side, and might even take credit for this.

The nobles did not care who won or lost. They only wanted to gain an advantage when both parties fought.

He could understand such a move, but from Benjamin's perspective, he no longer considered Duke Collin as one of his own. Perhaps Elizabeth did not know everything that went on here, or maybe she did, but… Whatever it was, it was unnecessary for Benjamin to spare Duke Collin's feelings anymore.

Since the nobles wanted to use him, then let it be vice versa.

"If you are really worried for the King's safety, then continue to send people into riots," He spoke slowly. "The Church has sealed the city up now. No one can leave this place in secret. I could bring His Majesty and forcibly break through, but… That would mean completely exposing my movements."

Hearing that, Duke Collin had a hesitant expression, however.

"...you wish to leave with His Majesty, sir?"

"Yes. Or should we be hiding under the eyes of the Church for a lifetime?"

"No, no, no. My suggestion is that, His Majesty had better not leave Havenwright," Duke Collin immediately advised. "The situation in the kingdom now is messy, this is the best time to snatch the authority back. We are planning a coup d'etat. Most of the nobles have already gathered together and settled most of the connections. As long as His Majesty the King joins us, we will have a great chance of getting the control over the royal army back!"

...Coup d'etat?

The nobles still had such ability and courage?

Benjamin felt a sense of irony in his heart. If they really had the determination to go against the Church, they would not have to rescue the King while reporting to the Church. Therefore, the reliability of these words were still up for debate.

However, Duke Collin's intentions were already very obvious.

"You wish for me to hand His Majesty over to you now?" After thinking about it, Benjamin pretending to know nothing, and suddenly put on an innocent expression, asking.

Duke Collin nodded.

"But… His Majesty was wounded by a special divine spell during the rescue operation," Benjamin, however, immediately activated his nonsense spouting mode. "In addition of the witchcraft he has been under previously, I need to heal him with magic after every few hours, otherwise, it's very likely that he would not make it."

Hearing that, Duke Collin was abruptly shocked. "His Majesty will be fine, right?"

"Don't worry, although his injuries are rather serious, I have the ability to save him." Benjamin's face did not change as he spoke. "Only, in the next few months, he must not leave me for more than an hour, or the consequences would be disastrous."

Hearing this, Duke Collin kept away his worries, but he still did not look too well.

"That coup d'etat…"

"When you do plan to set the coup d'etat in motion?" Benjamin asked him in return.

"In a week," Duke Collin said solemnly. "We can't delay such matters. If we keep delaying it, the Pope might come back from the Mountains of Magic Beasts, and then things will become even more troublesome."

"So it's like that, huh… I'll go back and make my plans. I will give you a more definite answer after a few days."

Saying thus, Benjamin turned around and was ready to leave the room of the casino. Duke Collin was shocked by his sudden move, and hurriedly stopped him, saying, "How do I contact you?"

Hearing that, Benjamin turned his head and said with a smile, "Don't worry. I will contact you when it's necessary."

After that, he walked past Duke Collin and right out the door. The guests in the casino were wandering about, to and fro, and very soon he slipped into the crowds and shook off all the spies watching him, disappearing without a trace.

Duke Collin looked into the direction he left and was startled for a moment, looking somewhat anxious.

After roughly half an hour.

"Do you think… That their plan to launch a coup d'etat is real?" Benjamin changed another route, walking on the main street in the outer city district, and asked the System.

"It could be!" The System replied casually. "Although they definitely don't have the courage to do so, but it's a coup. Sounds really interesting. I'll give them a vote to show my support."

"..."

Benjamin rubbed his temples, beginning to regret ever asking the System.

However, what the System said was not far off the mark. The nobles might truly have the ability to pull it off, but it was impossible that they had the courage. Duke Collin had probably said it to shock him, or perhaps, there were other secrets hidden in the plan. The nobles had been so hasty in getting the King that there must be some purpose for it.

Benjamin was unable to guess why, and he did not wish to guess.

This time, he did not plan to cooperate with those nobles, and was going to act according to his own wishes. The Kingdom of Helius was a strong, religious kingdom. To officially acknowledge mages was a far more difficult task here than anywhere else. Because of that, Benjamin had to keep the King firmly in his own hands.

Only authority that came with the word "King" would gain the people's trust, and quickly clean off the mud the Church had splashed onto them.

At the same time, with the King in his hands, the impartial nobles would be forced to lean towards his side more.

The first step Benjamin must take was to bring the King out of the capital without being in anyone's sight, to leave in a direction that no one would think of.

...Escape from the capital, huh?

He nodded thoughtfully, and returned to the house to meet with the two siblings. Very soon, they thought of a way they could take without need the nobles' assistance.

That night.

"The devil would not have escaped a long time ago, would he? And here we are, guarding the place like fools…"

On the city walls of Havenwright, a few soldiers on guard had fatigue all over their faces, and could not help but complain.

Recently, they were so busy that they did not even have the time to shut their eyes. Mornings were spent going from house to house, searching, and nights were spent guarding the city gates, paying attention to any movement near them at all times. This had caused a lot of bitterness to involuntarily rise up in their hearts.

"Stop it! Lower your voice. If the priest hears you, you'll get it!"

"But… We've searched for so many days. Even the cemetery in the north has been dug up. If that fellow is still in the city, we would have found him a long time ago!"

"Shh! Shh… Keep your voices down…"

Thus, the few soldiers whispered with their heads together. However, right at that moment, there was a blast above their heads, a huge bang, like lightning on a sunny day!

They were so shocked that they almost wet their pants, right there and then.

"What, what's going on…"

Stammering,they looked up into the sky above,, only to see a familiar figure flying in the airspace above Havenwright. Numerous flows of water surrounded that person's body, like the moat that guarded the capital.

Faced with the Holy Barrier of the capital, a fist, flashing with blue light, appeared once again before the soldiers' eyes. Behind the man was a blurry water bubble, and within the water bubble, there seemed to be a middle-aged man.

After being stunned for a few moments, the soldiers immediately reacted.

"Quick… Quick, inform the elders of the Church! The devil, the devil has turned up with His Majesty!"