Chapter 365: I Won’t Forsake Them
News of the king’s death spread like wildfire, and once it reached the palace, men were quickly dispatched to look into it. All the while, Mineah stayed behind to ensure that things wouldn’t go out of hand.
Currently, she was inside the throne hall for an emergency court meeting.
"This is unexpected. How could our king die so easily?" Exordium Leona worriedly stated. "He is an immortal! He bears the Mark of Eternity, so it should be impossible for him to die just like this."
As expected, everyone was shocked by the sudden news spreading throughout the kingdom. However, Mineah kept a blank and collected expression despite it all. Everyone’s eyes were on her, and no one could actually read what was going on inside her head.
With a blank expression, she firmly stated, "My husband is not dead."
"Can you reach him through your Bond then, Your Majesty? All his Scions can’t get through him at the moment," Sage questioned, her eyes keenly staring at her. "It was reported that the province was suddenly affected by a flesh-eating disease that only needs twelve to twenty-four hours to make a body disappear without a trace. His Majesty went there alone to conduct a confidential investigation."
Mineah just gave the woman a cold stare as she remained silent. Likewise, the woman simply shrugged, taking her silence as the answer to her question. Obviously, they all believed that she was unable to contact Nikolai.
Of course, that wasn’t actually the case. After all, she could still talk to her husband through their bond. She had lost contact with him for a while, but Nikolai eventually reached out to her as soon as he was able.
Apparently, someone wearing a fox mask who they already knew was also Ahmed tried killing him, and this propaganda the enemies spread was something they already expected. They weren’t fully aware of the complete details of when, how, and where they would execute it, but obviously, they were determined to kill Nikolai and put all the blame on this plague. It was possible that this deadly threat that could wipe out all races in the world would be able to kill him, after all.
Again, it was obvious that Nikolai wouldn’t die easily, but he decided at the last minute to make them believe that he died. Proclaiming him dead in this situation was supposedly necessary so that they could wipe out everyone from the Hades Coven, letting them believe that they had succeeded in their plans. Of course, she needed to play her part in it as well, and this would also give them enough time to gather up all the loose ends to end this cult against her husband’s rule.
It was only fortunate that Nikolai had been drinking her blood recently, not to mention how the bond between them made him more resistant to the disease for some reason. It was also their luck that she had already read about this Terminar Plague. Apparently, this disease was caused by a rare dark insect of the same name that could only be found in hell. And, it seemed that her divine blood could be a cure for this kind of plague. It was not mentioned in books but simply her assumptions.
She didn’t know how it happened, but Nikolai somehow confirmed that he was bitten by this specific insect when he got trapped around a collapsing building. For a period of time, it hindered his power and ability to communicate with her. He then described his symptoms to her along with the look of the insect that he saw.