Chapter 45: A Tricky Plan And A Surprise from Ardel
The castle of Ardel stood bold on the hill in the City of Constance, the kingdom’s capital.
Its walls were constructed of evenly squared stones hewn from the mountain and layered perfectly. Decorative windows were scattered in an asymmetrical pattern alongside several large balconies and crenellations for archers and artillery from the towers.
A hefty metal gate and drawbridge guarded the main gateway, and the built forts became a stronghold for the castle with surrounding moats.
Fluttering in the wind, the red flag denoting the golden eagle soared up to the sky from the central pole on the tallest tower.
It was once a castle that the great kings of the Ardel Dynasty hosted.
Inside it, through the cloister’s walking path, at the end of the corridor, was a vast room full of bookshelves, from wall to wall and in between.
It was so huge that hundreds of books, bound thickly and thinly in various languages and genres, were sorted on the racks; it was the royal library.
The smell of dust and papers permeated the room. Further inside, at the end of a corner, a door to a safe was broken and opened wide. A few books and scrolls taken out of it were scattered on the floor.
Kaizer pulled out a journal with a high-quality leather cover. As soon as his hand touched the front cover, a smile etched on his lips, denoting the coat of arms of Adhemar, Ardel’s previous royal dynasty.
"This is it!" he shouted and grinned with satisfaction. The surging feeling of anxiousness built inside ceased immediately as he saw it.
The pages of the journal flipped as his fingers lay on it carefully. However, as soon as his eyes darted to the writings on it, his face contorted immediately.