Chapter 33
Ruth's shoulders sank as he gazed at the white pigeon flying vigorously to the north. Although Riftan felt a little sorry at the sight, he quickly brushed it off. Perhaps because he did not want to empty the castle either.
He immediately called for the butler to prepare his things and informed the knights of the king's orders to summon him. After the discussions, he decided to leave Anatol as discreetly as possible with Sir Lombardo and Sir Elliot Caron. He had no idea why he was being summoned, but rumors spreading in Whedon that he had been summoned by the king in a rush would not bear any good.
"Please send a messenger as soon as you encounter any grave matter."
Uslin Rikaido said as he wore a firm expression, seeing them off the next morning. Not only him but all the other knights also wore a wary face.
"Something grave must have occurred for him to summon the commander so hurriedly at a time like this. Perhaps, His Majesty is in need of a knight who can naturally patrol outside the royal capital." Uslin added in a serious manner. "That would also require a really skilled knight."
Riftan mounted on his horse, his mind running through the possible matters that would have the king summoning him so urgently. He thought of defamatory tasks that ordinary knights couldn't usually perform... Nothing came to his mind but such things as digging into the filthiness or assassination of prominent aristocrats. He swallowed the cynical thoughts and turned towards the gate's direction.
"I'll look first into the situation and then contact you. In the meantime, take good care of Anatol."
"Leave that to us, there will be nothing to worry about."
He then departed the castle with Caron and Lombardo trailing after him, leaving the other knights behind. As they passed through the villages across golden fields, a red mountain valley filled with fallen leaves stretched in front of them. Riftan traversed the mountains in great speed, wary of monsters attacking them. Leaving the territory of Anatol took him two days despite being in a hurry, as they were attacked by werewolves five times.
After crossing the plains, they stopped by to rest at Count Robern's territory for one night and then rode north for ten full days. Upon arriving at the capital, he appeared almost like a vagrant from the several monster attacks he had to fight through. He was in no way looking decent enough to enter the Palace, but went straight to Drakium still, not causing any delay. Upon showing his identification at the gates, a servant ran out through the gardens to assist them.
"You arrived earlier than we expected."
Riftan jumped off his horse and looked down at him under his hood that was soaked in rain. The heavy rain started pouring at dawn, it fell heavily on the servants' narrow shoulders. The man, who appeared to be quite old-looking, gave the stable keeper a stern look, as if questioning why he still didn't take the reins then turned around.
"Kindly follow me. His Majesty is waiting."
The servant led them to a separate castle fortress located near the eastern hunting ground and not to the main castle and Riftan frowned as they followed after him. Usually, he would be required to take time to dress and appear decently before meeting the king. It made him wonder why the hell the king was acting in such a hurry, making his worries gradually expand.
"Only Sir Calypse can enter the room. We will guide the other two guests to another place so they can rest."
The man, who had been silently climbing the stairs for a long time, announced as they stopped in front of a room's door at the end of the third floor's hallway. Riftan looked at the knights lightly and proceeded to enter the room. The room's warm heat gently touched his face which was cold due to the rain.
