The Elf Journey In The Western Fantasy World-Chapter 34: A Suspicious Invitation

Illiya nodded.

"My mentors are all good people."

Speaking of his mentors, Illiya’s brows relaxed significantly, and his mood visibly improved.

Seeing the topic shift, Seoryun clearly let out a sigh of relief, his previously tense body relaxing somewhat.

"Indeed, you have excellent mentors," he quickly agreed, inwardly wishing this topic would end as soon as possible.

Thankfully, Illiya did not continue the conversation.

Seoryun shifted his gaze to the young human in a mage’s robe who is standing nearby.

Since he had already spoken with the elf, he couldn’t ignore this person—otherwise, it would seem suspicious, especially given that this person had once been close friends with the City Lord of Haneulseong City.

"I know you—you’re Bearnard’s nephew," Seoryun said with a smile. "You’re also the eldest young master of the Taeharin family. Even in the royal capital, I’ve heard of your reputation as a genius."

Eoryun was well aware that the less he said, the fewer mistakes he would make.

It was best to only respond when asked.

And as for the mention of being a ’genius’...

At this point, unless someone had been living in complete isolation, they would surely know he had already fallen from grace.

This king really was acting strange.

Even someone like him—who was often called slow-witted—could sense something was off about the King of Areuseon.

There was no way others hadn’t noticed it, too.

"Yes, the City Lord of Haneulseong City is my uncle," Eoryun answered cautiously. "But I don’t deserve the title of ’genius.’ At the very least, I am far from worthy of it now."

To match the tone of his words, Eoryun even let out a couple of bitter chuckles.

Seoryun had not expected such a response and found himself in an awkward position.

"Everyone has their lows," he said with a forced laugh.

Internally, however, he was cursing his intelligence agents.

What kind of work were they doing?

How could they fail to report such a critical piece of information?

If the intelligence officers had heard this complaint, they would have cried out in protest.

Who would dare to withhold key information in a report to the king?

If His Majesty had simply read more carefully, he wouldn’t have anyone else to blame!

Eoryun shrugged. "Yes, just as His Majesty said, who hasn’t gone through a rough patch? I believe I’ll rise again in the future!"

Seoryun nodded in agreement. "Indeed, indeed."

Right now, Seoryun was exhausted.

He had originally thought that forming a good relationship with Darius would be enough, but who could have expected that this man would bring back a few troublesome figures?

Since things had already come to this, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and proceed with the plan he had arranged.

At the very least, he couldn’t let anyone notice that something was amiss.

"It’s getting late. A welcome banquet has already been prepared in the palace. Let’s all head over together." Seoryun slightly turned to the side, revealing the door of the carriage behind him, gesturing for them to get in.

Illiya and the others exchanged glances, all seeing the words "suspicious" reflected in each other’s eyes.

On the way to the palace, the carriage was eerily silent.

No one took the initiative to start a conversation.

Illiya and his group had nothing to say, while Seoryun simply didn’t want to talk.

Both sides tacitly chose to mind their own business.

It wasn’t until the coachman knocked on the carriage door.

"Your Majesty, we have arrived at the palace."

Only then did the group, each lost in their own thoughts, snap back to reality.

Seoryun was the first to stand up, pushing open the door and stepping down. "Darius, make sure to take a good look at the palace. The environment here is quite different from before. Stay close to me, don’t get lost."

After everyone got off the carriage, he leisurely took the lead, walking with noticeably large strides, as if something was chasing him from behind.

Illiya and his group lingered for a moment after stepping out.

Illiya and Eoryun exchanged glances before stepping back in perfect sync, leaving Darius alone at the front.

They silently signaled him to go ahead and draw the king’s attention.

Darius slowly formed a question mark in his mind.

Before he could speak, the outspoken Young Master Eoryun cut him off. "If you don’t enter the tiger’s den, who will? The king is your friend, not ours."

Noticing the presence of a certain black-haired knight who was still oblivious to the situation, Eoryun forcibly changed his words. "You just go ahead and set an example for us. I’m just a country bumpkin who’s never been to the palace before. You, on the other hand, are much more refined, so why don’t you go first and show us the way?"

Darius’s red eyes widened in shock.

Was there a hidden meaning in that statement?

Before he could lash out, his peripheral vision caught sight of the black-haired knight standing rigidly beside him, and he forcibly swallowed his words.

Gritting his teeth, he reluctantly changed his tone. "Hahaha, well, that may be true, but I haven’t been back in over ten years. Who knows what changes have taken place in the palace? Who can say whether it still looks the way I remember?"

Eoryun ignored Darius’s slightly "ferocious" expression and the murderous intent in his eyes.

Instead, he picked up on the underlying implications in the swordsman’s words.

If this king was indeed a fake, then the palace’s décor must have changed drastically compared to more than a decade ago.

And considering what the king himself had said—"The environment here is quite different from before"—good grief, was this a case of a self-inflicted slip-up?

But then again, maybe the king’s tastes had simply changed?

The more Eoryun thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.

He quickly threw an arm around Darius’s shoulders and gave him a couple of reassuring pats.