"What is it? What do you want?" Knight of the Bloody Rose asked.

"One artifact from the King's personal treasury, the Shadow Stone, that mysterious artifact from another dimension, so it is perfect for my abilities." Marcus muttered while continuing to eat.

"How do you know the King has something like that?" Meria asked with a confused look.

"Girl, I'm the head of a fucking crime city and the strongest dark organization! It's obvious that I have skilled scouts that can get any information." Marcus said with a slight smile on his face.

"Okay, I don't mind, but what exactly are you going to do? You don't want a reward for nothing, do you?" Knight of the Bloody Rose stared at him, "I can easily handle all the Royal Blades. What do I need you for?"

"You're right, but not all the way. The King has a special royal guard that almost no one knows about, not even you, do they?" Marcus pointed his fork at him.

"What? The Royal Guard...?" Knight of the Bloody Rose muttered while in disbelief.

"What is that?" Lucian with Meria asked simultaneously.

"Even you don't know about it... How could the King hide something like this?" Cecilia muttered to herself.

"The Royal Guard is a special detachment of six men that the King has trained for his protection and emergencies. The point is that they are completely subject to his will since we, Dark Lizards, helped him create them." Marcus said in a proud manner.

"Huh, doesn't that mean we have nothing to worry about in that case?" Knight of the Bloody Rose looked at him, "I can handle even you, so some puppets can't get me in trouble."

The Knight of the Bloody Rose had fought Marcus once before, but their battle was short-lived as Marcus decided to retreat. He knew that the Knight of the Bloody Rose was the strongest knight in the kingdom or the entire continent in general, so instead of trying to kill him, Marcus decided to mend fences.

"It's not that simple. We only helped put special runes on them so that the King could control their minds, so their strength depends on something else, namely the Shadow Stone. This artifact made them incredibly strong. One knight of the Kingsguard could easily take out two Royal Blades. It will be a fierce battle." Marcus said as, for the first time, his voice became serious.historical

"What?! One can easily handle two?! That's not normal!" Lucian exclaimed with a dazed look.

"If the King has such strong warriors, why doesn't he use them against you...?" Meria asked in a trembling voice.

For all in the kingdom, the Royal Blades were a symbol of strength, as well as the King was the wisest and kindest man that made every effort to make the lives of ordinary people better, so Marcus' words put them in a daze.

"It's obvious. He doesn't care about you." Marcus smirked, "He's actually a pathetic scum that sacrificed hundreds of lives, no, he killed many people just to gain absolute power. However, even perfect plans always have flaws."

"He deceived everyone... sacrificed common people just to avoid paying your bills... Determined to enslave the mind of the nobility and killed Her..." Knight of the Bloody Rose muttered, "Fuck... We've all been through hundreds of battles, but we couldn't see the main bastard that was in front of us the whole time!"

"Exactly!" Marcus exclaimed with a wide grin on his face, "But... It's time to put an end to this! I will get the treasure, security for my organization, and you will have your revenge and remove the parasite that sits on the throne! This is the best offer of your life!"

"Boss, I agree with him. Let's do it!" Lucian said as he clenched his hand into a fist.

"I agree." Meria muttered in a calm voice.

"Brother... I'll do anything you say." Cecilia took his hand.

"Good. However, now that I have calmed down, I realize that we cannot act carelessly. I want revenge, but I can't endanger the entire kingdom because of it." The Knight of the Bloody Rose shook his head as he tried to figure out the best way to do it.

"You're right, but I'll take care of it." Marcus said with a confident look.

"Hmm? How?"

"I'll just use my power. Although... okay, since you agree with the plan, I can show you that." Marcus uttered before touching his forehead.

A violet seal appeared on his glabella that shone brightly, then a small shard the size of a fingernail flew out of it. The shard was as dark as night since it gave off an eerie, estranged aura as though from another world.

"This is part of the Shadow Stone that my men successfully stole from the King. Unfortunately, it's all I have now, but it will be enough to turn some area into a solid shadow for a while, so you may not hold back and use all your powers." Marcus said in a careless manner.

"Fine, but there's still one more problem." Knight of the Bloody Rose muttered, "What are we going to do about the Royal Blades? If we fight them and the Royal Guard at the same time, we're going to be in serious trouble."

"Well, forgive my impertinence, but I was 99% sure it would happen exactly as it did, so I already took care of everything." Marcus grinned, clapped his hands a few times, and said, "Come in! It's time to receive guests!"

Crackle.

The doors opened as several men stepped inside, leading the five Royal Blades behind them. The knights wore special shackles that blocked their strength so they could do nothing.

"What the hell..." Meria muttered with a dazed look, "How did you do that?"

"Huh, it wasn't hard. They were so busy preparing for the battle that they completely forgot about the defenses inside the city, so the King only had the Royal Guard left." Marcus smiled.

"Knight of the Bloody Rose..." Black Carnation exclaimed while in disbelief, "Why are you here...?"

"Well, it looks like you have a long talk ahead of you, but I'm not going to stay here anymore." Lucian said as he stood up and headed for the Royal Blades.

"Hmm? What are you talking about?" Cecilia asked.

"I have a date." Lucian smiled as he walked over to While Lily, that was the only one without armor since she was dressed in a cute ashen dress.