"By the name of King Uther, King of Camelot, I bestow upon you the title of Little Sage."
Kneeling on one knee, Kayal watched as the ceremonial longsword swung back and forth near his neck, a chilling sensation.
Originally, he was supposed to kneel on both knees, but that was for knights. The sage's etiquette was simplified, requiring only a half-kneel. With King Uther's authorization, Kayal officially received the title of Little Sage.
The banquet continued after Kayal was bestowed the title, but most people's gazes still constantly drifted towards Kayal's small group, their intentions unknown.
"This is your uncle, Birmingham, and this is your cousin, Gawain," Grand Duke Andrei said, pointing to a tall, thin middle-aged man with prominent cheekbones, clearly possessing an aristocratic air.
"Good day, Uncle." He didn't greet Gawain. Given his performance in front of King Uther earlier, even though Kayal was only ten, he was already implicitly on par with the adult generation, so not greeting Gawain posed no problem.
"Hmm, a worthy successor, Andre," he said, seemingly very familiar with his father, speaking with a hint of emotion.
"Haha…" Father Andre just chuckled, his grin exaggerated.
"Grand Duke Andrei." Suddenly, a person appeared from the side, dressed in tight-fitting attire, seemingly the King's attendant.
"Have you found out?" Father Andre's face turned murderous. Whether the assassin's target was his beloved son or His Majesty the King, he could not forgive him.
"No, there are only some clues, but…" After a series of whispers in Grand Duke Andrei's ear, Grand Duke Andrei's brows gradually furrowed. His murderous gaze swept through the banquet crowd, but he restrained himself, showing no reaction. He simply nodded slightly to the attendant, who bowed and slowly withdrew from the group.
Grand Duke Birmingham did not ask Grand Duke Andrei what had happened to the King. This was his duty as a subject. However, Grand Duke Andrei nodded to him: "John, we must leave now."
"Now?" Grand Duke Birmingham frowned, knowing that for someone of Grand Duke Andrei's status to leave a banquet early was something worth deep consideration.
"Yes," Grand Duke Andrei had already begun to call for Kayal.
"How about our Gawain comes to your place for some training sometime?" Grand Duke Birmingham joked, seeing Grand Duke Andrei's hurried demeanor.
"Haha, you're always welcome," Grand Duke Andrei replied, then left the banquet with Kayal.
In the carriage.
"Father, what's going on with that assassin?" Kayal still hadn't grasped the significance of being a Little Sage, merely frowning at the highly murderous Grand Duke Andrei, not understanding.
"The Gauls are here again. That assassin was just the vanguard. They've got a good plan: kill the King, throw Camelot into chaos, and then they can do as they please. If they kill a few more Grand Dukes, it'll be a bonus." Grand Duke Andrei stroked his scruffy beard and sneered. Don't let his poor handling of government affairs fool you; Grand Duke Andrei's sense for war was undoubtedly extremely keen. With just a few clues, he had deduced the entire situation clearly.
"But how did you discover the assassin?" Grand Duke Andrei was utterly perplexed. Kayal was not a knight; he didn't have the special sense for killing intent that martial artists possessed. Even ordinary knights found the assassin's silent methods extremely difficult to deal with. For Kayal, a mere ten-year-old child, to discover such a skilled assassin truly baffled him.
"Didn't I keep drinking juice earlier? I was just watching the people inside," Kayal said, not hiding anything. "Some people were unhappy, some were happy, some seemed superficial, some seemed solid. But there was one person who always had a smile on his face, yet he was completely out of place with the entire banquet. Especially because he was smiling but didn't interact with anyone, just observed. That was particularly suspicious."
"Haha, you're talking about yourself!" Grand Duke Andrei was in an especially good mood, pinching Kayal's cheek without praising or belittling him.
"It was only when he kept trying to get close to His Majesty that I guessed he was an assassin. After all, people like me are rare," Kayal said, pointing to the carriage window.
"Hmm, thanks to you this time. But His Majesty was also chatting with you and forgot to be vigilant, otherwise he wouldn't have been startled," Grand Duke Andrei shook his head, then smiled: "However, bringing you here and gaining the title of Little Sage is an unexpected gain. After today, many people will probably be jealous."
"Why, is the title of Little Sage coveted by many, Father?" Kayal was slightly surprised. From King Uther's demeanor today, it was clearly just an impromptu joke for a child at an ordinary banquet. Why was his father so happy?
"You'll know tomorrow," Andre said mysteriously, looking at Kayal's expression. He intended to keep Kayal in suspense, wanting Kayal to beg him. Who knew that Kayal just nodded and stopped talking, as if he were an old man, beginning to ponder.
Grand Duke Andrei was rebuffed and felt foolish, so he stopped talking and instead looked forward to tomorrow.
Upon returning to his territory, Grand Duke Andrei immediately convened the highest council meeting in the territory. Several important figures rushed over overnight. Kayal, however, was not interested in such matters and hurried back to his own manor.
The next day, the entire area was red. Now that the annoying Leyton wasn't around, and he didn't have a horse with him, he might as well wander around nearby. Perhaps he could even encounter some magical beasts.
Kayal thought to himself, then directly used the dagger that always accompanied him to cut a piece of wood, slowly leaning on it as he walked deeper into the forest.