Surviving As A Cannon Fodder

Chapter 169

Angelica read the contents of the envelope word for word without taking her eyes off it once.

The message was clear. As Edward had stated, it was an official summon from the Imperial Palace to appear before the Emperor in two days time. The seal of the Golden Lion at the bottom of the page proved the legitimacy of the summon.

Usually, when the Imperial Palace summoned a person they would be required to present themselves in front of the Imperial Court at a given date. But there were also occasions in which, they would be brought to the Emperor immediately by the Imperial Knights, which mostly applied to criminals or people under suspicion of criminal activities.

Either way, unless the person summoned were on their death bed if they failed to appear in front of the Imperial Court there would be serious repercussions.

Now why did the Emperor want to see her out of the blue? Angelica wondered but then was immediately reminded of the criminal charges laid against her.

While half of them were nothing more than petty givings, it made sense that the Emperor of Orion would want to meet the 'source' of the mana outbreak which could have almost wiped out a major city from his country.

In the modern era, she would be the kind of dubious character with countless conspiracy theories, documentaries, and podcasts detailing the series of unfortunate events that followed her path. It was the exact opposite of the quiet and under-the-rug getaway plan she had hatched.

Even so, the timing of the summon was abrupt.

"This is about the mana outbreak I take it"

"In a way. Yes"

Angelica frowned. It seemed like there was more to the summon than he led on. So she asked,

"What does that mean?" 

"Parthellam was attacked by members of a criminal organization called the Serpents"

'Serpents? That's a way better name than Snaky Boys' Angelica thought to herself as she listened to Edward.

"The attack on the Merchant guild was a planned attempt to steal the relic. What transpired afterward as far as the world is concerned was an unfortunate accident. We just happened to be there when they attacked"

As outlandish as it sounded, Angelica didn't want her name to be plastered everywhere. She gently put down the envelope and looked at Edward.

"Cover up. Cool"

The Frost Knights were present at Parthellam on the day of the mana outbreak to capture her, whereas the true objective behind the Serpents was still unclear. But both now and then, she knew it was a deliberate attack.

After stealing the Orion relic from the Merchant Headquarters, the Serpents tried to kill her and when that failed, lured her into the city square where an entire army of them was waiting. The most jarring part of it being, the head Serpent who turned out to be a Priest they had run into on the way.

"What happened to the Snaky... I mean the Serpents? What happened to them?"

"We captured them. The ones that lived that is. They are being... interrogated"

The way Edward paused before telling her that the Serpents were being questioned made goosebumps prickle Angelica's skin. Knowing how cruelly he tortured people to death in the aftermath of his awakening in the novel, she had a rough idea of what was going on behind the scenes. The lucky ones were the Serpents that did not survive his wrath.

Still, learning that the Serpents were in Edward's hands sounded promising instead of raising alarm bells, for it was the first proper lead she had gotten in weeks.