The Legendary Healer

Chapter 6

The entire hall went silent for just a moment after Kevin's words dropped.

"If you want the Princess to live," he continued, his gaze fixed directly on the Emperor, "I am the only one who can do something about it."

For a second, nobody moved and not a single word was heard. It was like everyone truly listened.

Then laughter burst out from different corners of the hall like someone had just told the funniest joke in the world.

It started as small snickers from the nobles, then spread like fire until the entire massive room was filled with mocking voices.

"Is this man insane?"

"A traitor walking into the Emperor's hall and talking like this?"

"He says he is the only one who can help the Princess?"

"Look at his clothes! He looks like he just crawled out of a sewer!"

"Someone drag this madman out of here immediately!"

Their laughter clawed at Kevin without pity and even the grounds of the hall seemed to shake with their amusement. 

Nobles pointed at him with disgust on their faces, officials shook their heads like they were looking at something pathetic, and guests from different kingdoms whispered to each other about the audacity of a slum rat.

Kevin could not help the scoff that came off his lips.

However, across the room, Elias was not laughing.

The instant he saw Kevin standing there, his lungs tightened and his face froze completely. Shock peeling through every single layer of his being.

His hands clenched around the crystal vial so hard his knuckles turned white.

Kevin was supposed to be dead.

He had given the order himself, for him to be assassinated.

His assassins had never failed before. Every single target they had been given over the years had ended up as a cold body, even when it involved nobles and people of value.

How was Kevin standing in the middle of the Emperor's grand hall, alive, breathing and talking?

Dark memories rushed into Elias's mind as he stared at Kevin, trying to understand what had gone wrong. His chest hardened with panic that he rarely felt, and his hands clenched tightly.

However, he regains his balance and his expression shifted back to normal, almost as swiftly as it came.

The shock disappeared, and in its place, a look of deep disappointment and fake sorrow spread across his face. He shook his head slowly, like someone watching a person they cared about destroy themselves.

"Kevin," Elias said, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear but soft with fake regret. "I cannot believe that even now, even after everything that has happened, you would go this far."

He pressed a hand to his chest and sighed heavily.

"Your Majesty," he said, turning to the Emperor with a respectful bow, "I must apologize deeply for this terrible interruption."

His voice got heavier with fake emotion.

"This man and I have known each other for many years. I have always tried to help him despite his failures and his lack of talent. But jealousy is a poison that destroys a man from the inside."

Elias looked back at Kevin, his eyes wet with crocodile tears.

"Kevin has always struggled with the fact that he could not achieve what I achieved. He does not have the mind or the ability that I was blessed with, and that reality has twisted him into something ugly."

He shook his head again, like his heart was breaking.

"And now, in his jealousy and madness, he has walked into Your Majesty's hall and tried to pull down my image before the most powerful people on the continent. He is not trying to help the Princess. He is trying to ruin this moment because he cannot stand to watch me succeed again."

Elias's voice cracked with fake pain.

"It breaks my heart to see what he has become, Your Majesty. It truly does."

The moment those words left Elias's mouth, the entire hall erupted like a volcano.

"Shameless traitor!"

"How dare he slander Lord Elias in front of the Emperor!"

"Lord Elias has given his life for the people and this is how he gets repaid?"

"Kevin is so jealous and cruel that he would rather let the Princess die than watch Lord Elias save her!"

"Drag this piece of trash out immediately!"

"He should be torn apart for even stepping foot in this sacred hall!"

"Burn him alive!"

Their curses and hatred filled the air like poison, thick and suffocating. People pointed at Kevin with murder in their eyes, nobles turned away like looking at him was beneath them, and officials whispered about how disgusting it was for someone like him to breathe the same air as the Emperor.

Kevin's blood turned icy and their words seemed like a low blow down his guts even though he had expected this.

However, before he could say another word, the King stepped forward with fury written all over his face.

His jaw was tight with embarrassment and his eyes flashed with murderous anger as he turned toward the Emperor with a deep, respectful bow.

"Your Imperial Majesty," the King said, his voice stiff with rage, "I must apologize from the bottom of my heart for this absolutely disgraceful incident."

He straightened up, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"This man is a convicted traitor from my kingdom. He was found guilty of treason against our city and our people. He tried to sell our defensive secrets to our enemies and plotted against Lord Elias himself."

The King's face turned red with shame.

"He was sentenced to prison and was supposed to be locked away until his execution date. For him to escape illegally and then have the audacity to walk into Your Majesty's imperial hall and cause this disruption is the highest form of disrespect imaginable."

His voice got louder and angrier.

"He is trying to embarrass our entire kingdom before Your Majesty's eyes and before the eyes of every representative present today. This is unforgivable."

The King turned to face Kevin directly, his gaze filled with pure contempt.

"He will be discarded immediately, Your Majesty. I personally guarantee that this will never happen again."

He spun around to the imperial guards standing at the sides of the hall, his voice coming out like a command that echoed through the entire room.

"Take him away right now!"

The guards moved instantly.

 Before Kevin could react, the guards caught him on both of his hands, dragging him away from the hall with reckless brutality.

"This time," one of the guards muttered in Kevin's ear, "you die for real."

Kevin's body vibrated under its own weight as rage poured through him, but he didn't struggle.

The guards began dragging him toward the massive doors, their grip on his arms tight and painful.

The crowd parted to let them through, people stepping back and throwing more curses at him as he was hauled past them like a piece of garbage.

"Take the traitor away!"

"He should be executed immediately for this!"

"Disgraceful fool!"

"How dare he curse the Princess like that!"

Kevin's eyes stayed forward, cold and burning at the same time, as they dragged him through the hall.

However, across the room, Elias watched it all with a very different expression than what he showed the crowd.

His face was still arranged in that same look of sad disappointment for everyone watching, but his eyes told a completely different story.

A dark, satisfied glint formed on Elias's lips as he watched Kevin being dragged away in handcuffs, just like he had watched him being dragged away in chains before.

This was exactly what Elias had always wanted.

Kevin, completely silenced and discredited before the most powerful people on the continent and give what he deserved, death.

His smirk got darker as the doors of the hall began to swallow Kevin whole.

Even in trying to fight back, Kevin had only made things worse for himself. He had walked straight into Elias's trap and handed him the perfect excuse to have him killed.

The King turned back to the Emperor and bowed again, his face still burning with shame.

"I will have him executed without trial for this disgrace to the kingdom, Your Majesty," he said. "He will not live to see another sunrise."

The Emperor nodded slowly, his expression unreadable.

"See that it is done," he said at last.