Section 32 Traps

Eshuphat slowly understood. He had also attended (or more specifically, sat in) at the previous meeting, so he knew the situation very well. In this day and age, although messengers and letters are still the mainstream of communication, two distant places, magical communication is the only option. This is especially true for the state, which does not care about the cost of information communication, but only needs the speed and accuracy of information.

Skaderra, as the grand director of the royal palace, actually controlled the channel of this news. In other words, news from a foreign country did not first reach the king (and now the regent, of course), but had to pass through Skadera first. Conversely, if there is an emergency in the country that needs to be informed by magical communication, it must also pass through the Skadera level.

In fact, it's not just the news that comes with magical communications. The same is true of most of the other letters to be sent to the royal palace.

Ashrufat guessed that Duke Byron was not unaware of the importance of the position, but it was the recent Imperial Council that really strengthened his determination to take the position of Grand Governor of the Court in his hands. However, this kind of thing will not be too easy, otherwise Skadera would have been replaced a long time ago. So, Duke Byron needed a good excuse that no one could fault with him.

If something goes wrong with Eshurufat, Skadera will be responsible because of the guarantor's joint relationship. That's a very good excuse.

Ashruphat began to ponder. What is it that doesn't seem normal?

The other party's purpose is clear, it is not against Ashrufat, but against Skadra. If you use the analogy of a battle, it is a raid battle. What is needed is careful preparation, followed by a stealthy, swift, and unexpected attack. In this kind of raid warfare, the most taboo thing is to let the other side know your actions, and only people who are stupid to a certain extent will come up with the method of "send a limited number of soldiers to attack first and try the other party's reaction".

Byron wasn't supposed to be a stupid man, but he was doing something stupid right now.

A flash of inspiration flashed through Ashrufat's mind, and he remembered a certain military book he had seen a long, long time ago. He must have spent a lot of energy and time reading that military book back then, so now he can even remember the specific contents.

If a well-targeted raid is preceded by harassment and the opponent is not an idiot, there is only one possibility. The harassment of the enemy is to cover their real actions.

The best reason to get Skadera removed from office is that there was a mistake in the religious ceremony, but a big mistake. The whole ceremony involved three people, the little girl, Ashrufat, and Essin. It is impossible for Essien, because his guarantor is the Duke of Byron himself, and if he makes a mistake, Byron makes a mistake. And there were no other loopholes in Ashrufat, and if they were going to use Ashrufat to achieve this, they wouldn't have used this clumsy way to remind him first......

The answer is already clear.

"Lord Skadra," Ashruphat asked. "Is our queen still in there?"

"Still in the meditation room, it will take some time for her to come out to bathe and cleanse. Skadera didn't understand what was going on for a moment. "Ask what this is for. ”

"Oh, it's nothing, since there's a lot of time now, I'll take a turn around the temple a bit. ”

......

Ashruphat soon re-entered the depths of the temple. Probably to take care of the newcomers, there are signs hanging on the edge of key intersections, so although he is not familiar with the internal structure here, there are no obstacles along the way. But it seems difficult to find the target directly.

In front of me, several men dressed in acolytes' robes approached, and they looked like deacons or servants here.

"Excuse me, several. "Ashrufat held back the men. "Excuse me, is the place where the queen bathes and cleansed herself a large bathroom?"

"Ahh The leading deacon looked Ashruphat up and down. "Of course not," he replied. "There is a small bathroom under His Majesty. It's just around the corner. He gestured with his finger. "That's the entrance to the locker room. ”

"Ah, is there anyone over there?"

"Guard?" the deacon asked rhetorically. "Why do you have to guard it? ”

"I mean...... Aren't there any security guards here?"

"Ah...... Haluha, Mr. Guard, you're new here. Deacon Ha Lu Ha Da Lu laughed. "We have strict external guards here, and no one is allowed to enter except the main entrance. The reason why you are able to get in and in now is because of your special status, besides. He spread his hands. "The queen hasn't come yet, do you need any guards here?"

"Ah...... You mean, with the Queen, there are guards?"

Specifically, two female high priests of the church. With two magicians by your side, you don't have to worry too much about your monarch's safety. ”

After saying this, the deacon and his companion went on.

Sure enough, isn't the security here tight?" Ashruphat said to himself as he watched the men leave.

Ashorufat followed the other party's guidance and quickly found the locker room. As the venerable deacon pointed out, there was no guard at this time, and there was even a lit candlestick in the room for lighting. Ashruphat easily got in. After a brief observation, he recognized that the structure of the small bathroom was similar to that of the large bathroom, and that the entrance and exit were not the same. He was at the exit now, where the little girl's clothes were ready to be changed.

I really didn't expect that this set of changed clothes was actually a pair of armor. Or to be more specific, the upper body is armor and the lower body is skirt.

Of course, this is not metal armor, but soft leather, which is simply a relatively thick travel suit. However, the ceremonial armor was clearly carefully treated (even camouflaged) and stained with a glittering silver dye. This makes it look very similar to metal armor, even if it is worn by a little girl like that, it will look a little heroic.

Ashrufat picked up the little girl's helmet and took a brief look. The helmet is covered with metal and silk, but unfortunately this layer of iron is thinner than paper. But this is normal, this is just a ceremony, this kind of equipment is more logical. However, the helmet really didn't have much to play, so he quickly put the helmet down.

Ashruphat pondered as he scrutinized the ceremonial armor.

It would not be in the interest of the Duke of Byron to kill the Queen, and she would be injured...... The risks are also too great and uncontrollable. The goal is simply to get Skadera out of the way, so the scope of the action will definitely be limited to ......

In the next moment, Ashruphat found the key. Really...... There is a small crack on the inside of the shoulder of the armor. No, it's not just the cracks, here it seems to have been cut and then sewn with threads, but loosely. On the surface, it seems that it is because of ordinary sewing, but the arrangement of the thread is ...... Slipknot?

The queen wears this suit of armor, and as long as she does not exercise vigorously, she can move freely without incident. But if she just needs someone to quietly pull the slipknot, then the thread inside will come loose. Since the thread doesn't loosen all at once, it probably takes a few minutes - and then the armor falls off the body in full view. Considering that the little girl may not wear any special underwear in her body......

This religious ritual will turn into a big joke. It's probably enough for the city's residents to laugh and talk for years.

There is no doubt that someone must come forward to take responsibility for this kind of basket. Skadra, who was in charge of the internal affairs of the court, was probably the best target. On the one hand, it has dealt a blow to the reputation of the little queen, and on the other hand, it has removed another trouble......

Well, although it is a very nasty trap, I must admit that it is very well done. Whether it is the time or the place, it is very well chosen, presumably premeditated and carefully planned, and the last time I waited patiently for this special festival. The venerable court chief was not given any chance to defend and see through.

They even prepared this prank to distract Skaderra. It's a pity that this point is self-defeating, and it exposes their schemes.

Ashrufat's first instinct was to take a needle and stitch the crack with a heavy thread. But he had no needles in his hands, only threads - one could be pulled out of the hem of his skirt without any surprise. Of course, even if he had a needle and thread in his hand, he was not sure that he could do this kind of needlework.

His mind was spinning rapidly. Go out and inform Skadra, stop the trap in time, or just take care of it quietly? No, it's better to do the latter. If it is a careful plan, there must be a second and third set of plans to face various changes.

After a short moment, Ashruphat heard the sound of water.

At first he didn't really care, because on the one hand the water was very soft, and on the other hand he was busy with the work at hand. After a few minutes, he suddenly realized where he was – and what the sound of the water meant.

Just as Ashrufat had just hung the "armor" back in its place, he saw the curtain between the bath and the dressing room be lifted. A petite figure walked in, steaming hot and naked.

The two faced each other like this, and they were stunned by each other.

"......" Ashruphat was the first of the two to react, and he opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't say anything at the end. What can be said now?

"Ahhh......hh

The screams of the miserable girls rang out instantly. In the next moment, a figure grabbed from behind and blocked in front of the little girl. It was also a woman, also undressed. Of course, at this moment, Ashrufat did not have time to take a closer look at the beauty of body art. His first thought was to hurry out, but unfortunately the other party didn't give him this time.

"Daring fanatic!" the female priestess instantly embraced the winds of magic. A ball of flame emerged from her hands and spewed towards Ashrufat. She struck out in anger, and the fire magic was so fast and fierce that Ashrufat couldn't dodge.