5 Chief Bodyguard

In the afternoon, at the Blue Lion City Palace.

Accompanied by the sound of horses galloping, Richard returned to his residence with the chief guard and the rest of the soldiers following behind.

The first thing that appeared in their field of vision was a large square with a radius of nearly 100 meters. It was paved with large smooth stones and was spotlessly clean. On one side of the square, there was a long flight of stairs that led to an enormous palace.

Richard dismounted the horse in the square. The chief guard gave clear commands to the soldiers, ordering them to take the dead python to the palace. Richard followed them. He had yet to take a few steps when a voice sounded behind him, followed by rapid footsteps. A person caught up to them.

"Your Highness, Your Highness."

Richard turned and saw a young man in his twenties approaching him. His clothes were gorgeous, the edges of the sleeves embroidered with gold, and the collar was sewed with complicated patterns. His blond hair shone like gold, his kind face seemed to be able to end all malice.

This person was Richard's Chief Bodyguard, who was responsible for leading the entire team of bodyguards that ensured Richard's safety. His name was Edward Angele, and his status in the court was unusual. He was the son of an earl, which meant he was a nobleman. The reason why he was willing to be the Chief Bodyguard was not because his family had fallen in disgrace. Instead, it was because his family was loyal to the crown and wished to establish a good relationship with the royal family.

This was very common behavior of the nobles in the Middle Ages. In a certain sense, this could be seen as taking someone hostage. However if it was done properly, they could also obtain huge benefits. For example, if Richard became the next king, as the Chief Bodyguard, Edward and his family would naturally receive special treatment. By then, his father might not be an earl anymore, but a marquis.

Edward himself clearly understood this, and he always served Richard with all his heart. However, it could also be said that his only purpose was pleasing Richard, as he was not very capable. He only knew a few moves of court swordsmanship, These moves might look good, yet they were not effective at all. His skills were only sufficient for a performance, and if he were to be in a real battle, he would be worse than a soldier.

Because of this, Richard had not notified him when he had gone to the dungeon or gone to catch the python this time. He wondered where he had learned of the news.

Richard was still thinking when Chief Bodyguard Edward caught up to him, stopping at a distance from Richard, panting slightly. "Your Highness, I heard that you went to the dungeons this morning. At noon, you even took someone from the dungeons to go out of the city to catch a python?"

"Yes," Richard responded and stepped forward.

Upon hearing Richard's confirmation, Edward immediately became anxious and said, "Your Highness, I am your Chief Bodyguard, and the bodyguards are your most loyal subordinates. You left us behind, went to the dungeons, and then on a search for a python alone. What if someone had harmed you? What if you had gotten injured? Even if the entire bodyguard unit commited suicide, there would be no way to rid ourselves of the guilt."

Richard glanced at Edward. He did not feel that the other party was telling the truth, yet he didn't bother with it and just said lightly, "Edward, if your swordsmanship improved, I would consider bringing you along next time. Besides, who in the whole kingdom would dare to harm me?"

Edward's eyes flashed. He approached Richard and reminded him in a low voice, "Your Highness, you have to be really careful. The eldest prince has always disliked you, and now that His Majesty is sick again, what if—"

"There is no what if." Richard shook his head and sneered, "The king is not dead yet, so my dear brother, William Austin, will dare not do anything to me."

"However—"

Edward wanted to say something, but Richard waved his hand and ignored him, walking to the other side of the square and going up the stairs. He passed through twelve marble pillars, each as thick as a man, before entering the palace hall. Edward had to rush to follow him.

The hall was more than 200 square meters large, which was reasonably wide. However, it was very crowded in that instant. There were dozens of tables on the floor, and various apparatuses and equipment had been placed on them. In front of each table, there was a busy servant, plump or slender, tall or short, black or white, nervously operating the apparatuses.

On a table near the door was a rudimentary distillation equipment. In the center was a pot with boiling water. The mouth of the pot was sealed, only a leather tube leading to the outside, and it was connected to a strange-looking iron pipe.

The center of the iron pipe was immersed in water. One side of the pipe stood high, connected to a leather tube. The other side of the pipe was bent, connected to a glass funnel that looked like an ox horn, and a colorless liquid dripped from it into a porcelain bottle.

Puff, puff, puff, puff, puff, puff. As there were some problems where these devices were connected, white mist constantly emerged from them. There was a slightly pungent alcohol smell in the air. The liquid that dripped into the porcelain bottle at the end slowed down as well.

Drip, drip, drip… drip.

A servant in a ponytail looked at the device in front of her with some bewilderment, her eyes wide, and she was clueless.

Richard frowned. When he stepped closer, the servant in the ponytail immediately seemed to be electrocuted, and her body stiffened. "Y- Your Highness."

"I told you to distill highly concentrated alcohol. How is it going?"

"I- I-" The servant in the ponytail trembled. However, in order to avoid being scolded, she struggled hard to reply, "It is… it is still… okay."

"Okay?" Richard was expressionless. He pointed at the pungent white mist that constantly emerged from where the devices connected with each other and asked, "Is this what you mean by okay? What about the airtightness that I mentioned? The vapor of the alcohol is leaking. How can you make a highly concentrated alcohol solution like this?"

"I—"

Richard then stretched his hands toward the water basin where the iron pipe had been inserted. He checked the temperature and said, "How long has it been since you last changed the water? The water is hot. Do you think this can be used for condensation? Do you think the high-temperature alcohol vapor can turn into droplets when it becomes cold and then get collected by the ox horn tube into the bottle like this? I remember telling you and the rest yesterday about the main steps of distillation. Why did it turn out like this?"

"Your Highness, I- I-" The servant in the ponytail trembled, on the verge of crying. "Your Highness, I was wrong, I am too stupid, I can't remember. Y- Your Highness, please give me another chance, I- I will definitely—"

"Forget it, no need," Richard said lightly. "Like I said back then, servants in my palace can make mistakes, including murder. But there is one thing that I need, and that is to understand my explanation and then execute it.

"You don't understand, or you've forgotten what I said. It's not that you are stupid, but that you have difficulty learning. The last thing I need is people with learning difficulties. I don't have enough time and energy to ensure science education for all. I don't have enough time and energy to train everyone to the level of junior high school students with scientific accomplishments beyond the limits of this period.

"So from now on, you are no longer needed in the palace. You can pack your things this afternoon and leave. Don't make me repeat myself."

As soon as Richard gave his order, the beautiful servant with a ponytail trembled, and her face turned pale. Once she was kicked out of the palace, she would never find a place where she could earn five silver coins in a month. Her poor family would certainly not survive, which would undoubtedly be a disaster for her.

The servant with a ponytail couldn't help shouting, "Your Highness, Your Highness! Please, give me another chance. M- my father owes a lot of money. If I leave this place, we will have no money to pay the debts. He will be beaten to death, please, I beg you."

As if he did not hear it, Richard walked into the depths of the palace, and the servant's face turned slightly desperate.

Edward, the Chief Bodyguard who was following Richard, saw it. He glanced at the pretty-looking servant with a ponytail and at the rest of the troll-like servants who were working in the hall, and his eyes twinkled.

He hurried to catch up with Richard. "Your Highness, the maid, she's called Eve, and she is actually quite capable. It's just that she hasn't been here for too long and is not familiar with the procedures, so she didn't do a good job. Since her family is facing financial difficulties, why don't we allow her to stay for a few more days? If she is willing to work harder…"

Richard stopped and looked at Edward, his expression calm.

Edward was shocked, fear written on his face. "Your Highness, I—"

"I know what you're thinking about," Richard said. "But I have to tell you, Edward, I can tolerate a person's ugly looks, bad personality, and corrupt behavior, as long as she can complete the task. On the contrary, if a person has low IQ, a lack of skills, and poor learning abilities, I can't stand her no matter how beautiful she is. In science, there are only numerical values, there is no room for beauty.

"In short, I am very busy. I have been busy since I came to this world decades ago, trying to understand unusual things, such as magic, and seeking to find the answer to one question. Therefore, everything that affects me is an obstacle, and I will not put up with obstacles. If you feel sorry for that girl, well… fine, she can stay, but only if you help her do everything well, that's it."

"I…" Edward lowered his head and his expression changed quickly. After a while, he lowered his head and said, "I see, Your Highness." Afterward, he turned to the servant with a ponytail.

The servant watched Edward approaching. Her eyes flickered, and she whispered tentatively, "My lord, look at me."

Edward did not speak and just continued to approach her. The girl put on a puzzled expression and backed off subconsciously. Edward suddenly reached out.

"Ah!" the servant yelled. Edward had grabbed her ponytail.

Edward pulled hard, and it was so painful that tears came out of the servant's eyes. Regardless, Edward dragged the servant by her hair and strode out of the palace. He then forcefully pushed her to the ground and said coldly, "Let me warn you, you have angered the prince. Get out of the palace immediately. Don't ever appear before His Highness again or you shall die!"

"I—" The servant stood up in horror. Edward had already flicked his sleeves, turned and walked back into the palace, chasing after Richard with a smile on his face.

"Your Highness, I have already taken care of that stupid servant. This afternoon, I will get someone to find a smarter and more obedient servant to replace her. Is that alright?"

"Whatever you want." Richard could not be bothered.

"Actually… Your Highness, you can always have other people complete any task you want. There are many people who would help you with it. You don't need to do everything yourself. After all, Your Highness, you should be doing more important things," Edward said in a persuasive tone.

"Such as?"

"For example, ahem… Your Highness, His Majesty's health is rather poor lately. Now that he is bedridden, we don't know whether he will recover at all. If something goes wrong and the eldest prince succeeds to the throne, you will inevitably be left at a disadvantage. It is better to prepare in advance.

"You could get in touch with some nobles and win their support. Like that, you can at least ensure that your own interests won't be at risk, and you can get a satisfactory territory with a satisfactory title, like Grand Duke."

After swallowing and seeing that Richard wasn't really reacting, Edward continued, "Your Highness, I know that you are now looking for all kinds of weird things and conducting various studies related to wizards. But in comparison, this is rather unnecessary. It's fine to treat it as a hobby and pastime, but it's really irrational to put all your energy into—"

"Heh." Richard chuckled. "You mean to tell me that I should get involved in royal politics?"

"Uh… This—"

"Edward, let me ask you, what do you think is more important to me, royal politics or wizards and magic?"

"I think royal politics are more important to you," Edward said with a serious face.

Richard shook his head slightly, stepped forward, pushed open a red wooden door, and walked in.

Edward's expression slightly stiffened, and he stopped in front of the closed door. He knew that inside was Richard's private laboratory. It was usually used when Richard was conducting some special research himself and, during these moments, Richard hated being disturbed.

He sighed softly and stopped outside, looking at the wooden door in front of him. Edward could not help but mutter to himself, "Your Highness, you have to listen to what I say, otherwise, I will be put in a difficult position. My family has placed their hope of rising to power on you. Right now, the king is seriously ill, if you do nothing…"