The Empror's Trap

"Sonya, you... like to eat this?"

Seeing the pink cross-section where Sonya sliced through the beef, Pluvia found it hard to understand.

Her Guard liked raw meat so much? No wonder her combat strength was so high. Respected and adored.

However, what Pluvia didn't know was that Sonya herself wanted to curse. She did not expect that the dish would be undercooked. When ordering, she just casually picked it, thinking that beef should not be fried so poorly...

Indeed, cultural differences are indeed a chasm

Sonya stared at the dish placed before her with visible disgust.

Her disgust level was about three-tenths of what she felt toward Duke Anos.

She'd never eaten anything like this before. During her training years, she had survived in forests, eating raw meat and drinking blood, but that was only to fill her stomach. When given the chance to enjoy proper food, she couldn't understand treating this as a delicacy.

She skillfully cut a piece of meat and forked it into her mouth.

Then she froze.

She'd eaten completely raw meat before, and fully cooked meat too, but this half-cooked medium-rare meat completely threw her off. The mighty Commander of the Royal Guards trembled from head to toe from a single bite of meat, nearly unable to keep herself from spitting it out.

"Is it that bad?" Pluvia felt apprehensive seeing her reaction. This food really wasn't good after all...

Thinking back, she recalled similar dishes at previous Vishi Empire banquets, but they hadn't been this undercooked. Perhaps they had fully cooked the meat then to accommodate the Camelot guests?

Sonya continued to endure as she forced the remaining steak into her mouth. Though she disliked it, wasting food wasn't right, especially beef.

The two women finished their first local specialty meal in the Vishi Empire. It was clearly inferior to the palace banquets and made no special accommodations for Camelot tastes.

After finishing their meal, they stood up, paid, and left.

They strolled through the streets of Vitnan. The stone-paved roads were filled with various vehicles and even rare pack animals weaving through traffic. The locals seemed completely accustomed to this, much like in Camelot. While Camelot primarily used horses or oxen as pack animals, more internationally open cities often featured exotic mounts as well.

Most people on the streets were merchants and trading caravans from all corners of the world. These caravans typically traveled from one region to another with loaded goods, crossing mountains and rivers to earn profits. At the edge of Vitnan City was reportedly the legendary slum district, home to many impoverished families—the area that had been hidden from Pluvia when she first arrived.

Pluvia remembered how guards had driven away these poor people when she first came. Partly to save face for the Vishi Empire, but also because the slums were dangerously chaotic and accidents could easily happen.

Pluvia deliberately glanced at the chaotic slums from a distance but didn't actually enter. The area was relatively dangerous, and since Emperor Feit didn't want her to see those conditions, she thought it best not to wander there as a guest.

The colorful shops lining the streets were dazzling. Pluvia selected several Western-style dresses, hats, and shoes as souvenirs.

She browsed through jewelry stores, examining bracelets. Though these shops used relatively inexpensive gemstones, the color combinations were perfectly balanced, making them instantly appealing.

What she didn't know was that behind her, Kenji in disguise and several similarly dressed Royal Guards were providing protection.

The Royal Guards and Kenji cleverly maintained distance between themselves while allocating visual coverage areas. This ensured they could observe every angle within at least fifteen meters around Pluvia. They also worked to conceal their presence. Though not experts at hiding their auras, they could at least diminish them.

Pluvia herself remained unaware, but Sonya had completely detected their presence.

Of course, she had also sensed the Grand Marshal's aura. Even without sensing it, she would have recognized him by sight—his presence was unmistakable.

What were they trying to do?

Kenji naturally noticed Sonya's reaction. From an angle invisible to Pluvia, he made a silencing gesture toward her.

After meeting his eyes, she decided to follow his lead for now.

As the two women walked ahead, Sonya suddenly frowned.

Something wasn't right.

Not far away, several merchants were inspecting a cart of furs. However, she sensed they weren't actually discussing the furs.

While talking, they occasionally glanced in their direction.

Sonya was skilled with makeup. To avoid drawing unnecessary attention during their outing with Pluvia, she had applied makeup to both herself and her before leaving, significantly altering their appearances. Under these circumstances, they shouldn't attract ordinary people's notice.

Yet these merchants were drawn to them.

These people likely had bad intentions. Two of them kept their hands hidden among the pile of furs. She couldn't tell what they were preparing to do, but she was certain they were targeting the two of them.

She glanced toward Kenji from the corner of her eye.

Clearly, Kenji had also noticed the merchants. Sonya, who understood Kenji reasonably well, detected the spiritual energy flowing through his body. Anyone familiar with Camelot cultivation techniques would recognize this as the precursor to activating a technique.

Indeed, Kenji was channeling spiritual energy throughout his body. Within a few breaths, his physical strength and reaction speed increased dramatically. Energy flowed through his hands, ready to strike at any attackers.

However, their opponents weren't reckless.

After observing for a while, they seemed to sense something unusual around Pluvia. They whispered among themselves, then shook hands as if concluding a deal before beginning to pack up their goods.

Kenji made a moving gesture with his hand behind his back, signaling the Royal Guards.

The Royal Guards pretended to be casual passersby while gradually approaching the merchants.

The merchants weren't fools either. Sensing trouble, they abandoned their cart without hesitation and headed deeper into the alley.

The Royal Guards didn't need Kenji's orders to know what to do. They quickly entered the alley and, making sure not to disturb Her Majesty...

"After them! You take that route! pursue from the rooftops! Move quickly!"

The Royal Guards' faces lit up with excitement as they spoke.

They navigated through the alleys with unimaginable agility, so caught up in the chase that they forgot who had organized this operation in the first place.

Pluvia had no idea what was happening beyond her sight.

In truth, Kenji's plan was quite a gamble. Rather than letting those assassins attack from the shadows, he preferred to place Pluvia in the open while he and the Royal Guards operated from darkness, forcing the enemy into the light.

This strategy proved effective. The assassins had grown impatient due to the tight security in recent days. Despite their high combat skills, they were clearly anxious about their superiors' orders, likely confident they could complete their mission.

With their mission incomplete, they were becoming desperate. By having Pluvia and Sonya appear in public, Kenji was essentially using them as bait to lure out the assassins. He wanted to expose both the assassins and their hidden masters completely. Only by knowing everything about the enemy could he gain the upper hand.

Of course, this was the best-case scenario. This approach also guaranteed a minimum benefit that Kenji was certain they could achieve.

After entering the alley, Kenji temporarily lost sight of his targets. This wasn't a major concern—while he wasn't familiar with the area, the Royal Guards certainly were. To ensure recent protection duties went smoothly, the Royal Guards had thoroughly mapped the entire district. Under Sonya's leadership, they had become familiar with most streets and alleys.

So despite the challenging pursuit, they didn't fall too far behind.

"Take that boulevard, then cross over and turn left at the second gate! There's a shortcut there!" one Royal Guard shouted to his companions. Upon hearing this, they immediately dashed over, climbed the gate, and took the shortcut to intercept the targets.

Soon after, Kenji heard fighting sounds from a nearby dead-end alley. Judging by the Royal Guards' angry shouts, the targets were putting up fierce resistance.

Kenji rushed over to help. Clearly, these well-trained killers were giving the Royal Guards trouble. When the two cornered men fought back, it took a group effort to subdue them.

"Report, Grand Marshal! We've captured two of them!" The Royal Guards had bound the two men tightly to prevent any mishaps. One guard had been stabbed badly in the arm and was bleeding heavily. Fortunately, it was only an external wound—frightening to look at but not life-threatening.

"Damn it, these two are vicious. They stabbed without saying a word," said the injured guard, his voice trembling from pain as his colleague pressed on his wound and bandaged it.