“Where the hell did these people get weapons……”

“The wall is breached! Everyone block it! No, no, run away!”

“The prisoners are escaping!”

The twenty or so guards protecting the prison screamed and fled in a rush.

When everything was controlled and all cells were locked, they could wield their violent power and treat prisoners worse than beasts, but now the situation was reversed.

“F*ck! Who are those people outside?”

A crowd of protesters rushed in, demolishing the prison walls and flooding inside.

When confused guards rushed out to stop them, prisoners who had somehow escaped joined in and surrounded the guards.

Hundreds, thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of people devastated the prison.

Some among the protesters who had rushed in grabbed the escaping prisoners and wept bitterly.

Unlike other prisons, few people imprisoned in Batus had committed ‘real crimes.’

Most were dragged in for insulting nobles, tax delinquency, or under false charges.

Once taken there, it was difficult to get out, and even if they did, most came out as half-cripples or corpses—such was the notorious Batus.

The protesters demolished the prison, drove out the guards, and seized their weapons.

Several guards who had treated the prisoners—no, innocent citizens who had been imprisoned—worse than dogs and pigs were being dragged away by someone, but nobody paid attention.

During this process, Lachika’s group joined hands with the prisoners they had coordinated with beforehand and came outside.

The momentum suggested no one could stop them.

At that moment, about a thousand soldiers armed with the latest weapons appeared before them.

“Load one shot.”

Landers raised his rifle as soon as he spotted the crowd.

Focusing, he shouted without a moment’s hesitation.

“Fire.”

Bang, ta-ang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots rang out everywhere.

The crowd of protesters now numbered over ten thousand, but they couldn’t stand a chance against Landers’ soldiers who fired their guns immediately upon contact.

The one who rushed to the front to stop these soldiers was Lachika Nabels, smiling fiercely.

“We’ve prepared weapons too.”

Strength entered Lachika’s thick shoulders.

Disregarding the rain of bullets, she threw a grenade with all her might into the midst of the soldiers.

In an instant, more than ten grenades exploded among Landers’ soldiers.

The power of the grenades wasn’t great, but they immediately disrupted the formation.

‘Damn it!’

Landers continued firing without stopping as he retreated far away.

Blood and screams were everywhere, and people began to entangle.

Then at some point.

Bang—!

With a gunshot that seemed to come from far away, Landers’ horse screamed and collapsed to the ground.

“Kuh, huk!”

“It’s Landers Tartien! He’s fallen!”

“Catch that man! It’s Landers!”

Landers rolled desperately, trying to escape.

The crazed protesters and prisoners instantly grabbed him by the hair.

“Let, let go of me! Aaagh!”

“This bastard! This devil!”

“It’s one of the Tartien clan! Kill him! We must kill him!”

Dozens of people swarmed and stomped on him as if to kill him.

His hair was pulled out, and flesh tore away under clawing fingernails.

Landers felt his life threatened.

It was a more terrible terror than when he had been subjected to indiscriminate violence by thugs in an alley that time.

He struggled to break free from them, but it was impossible.

Bones broke, and blood burst forth. His lungs must have been damaged because breathing became difficult.

Just when he thought he would die helplessly like this, someone intervened.

“Stop!”

They were two men with silhouettes so similar they looked like they came from the same mold.

With their faces and heads covered by masks, they pushed away the swarming citizens with tremendous strength and calmed the people.

“You must not kill him here! Stop!”

“No! I’m going to kill this bastard with my own hands! I’ll kill him!”

“Please, calm down. Are you planning to break the promise?!”

At the men’s forceful command, people immediately stopped their actions.

They clenched their fists in frustration but soon released Landers as if remembering the ‘promise.’

In truth, he was already as good as dead, mangled beyond recognition.

Even seeing him covered in blood and barely able to breathe, people spat and expressed their disappointment.

Voices could be heard everywhere saying his skin should be flayed.

Barely listening to this, the two men, Arwin and Darwin, hoisted Landers onto their shoulders.

“Don’t forget. We promised minimal casualties in exchange for weapons and shelter. We didn’t prepare for this moment for personal revenge!”

Jack Lübain, who had emerged from among the mob, nodded with a stern face and said,

“I understand. Before we go even more crazy, quickly remove him from our sight.”

The twins gave one more stern warning glance, then carried Landers away and instantly disappeared from the scene.

Jack Lübain watched their retreating figures for a moment, then turned to the people and shouted.

“Let’s go! We will not stop today’s revolution!”

“Uwaaaaah!”

The people moved their feet busily with a roar.

Now their destination was the palace where the wedding would be held.

* * *

“……What? What are you saying?”

A noble waiting for the king and his bride-to-be asked loudly in surprise at the whispered words of a servant in his ear.

Instantly, everyone’s attention focused on her.

The royal wedding was about to begin.

After a simple festive mass and marriage vows, they were supposed to have a parade, but it was omitted, and a reception was scheduled to be held.

Half of the capital’s nobles who had been hesitating had attended, while the other half had not yet arrived.

Or they might not come at all until the ceremony ended.

The king had emphasized in the wedding announcement that attendance was not mandatory.

He said he would not record who came and who didn’t, so they should attend freely.

But the invitation sent by Tartien afterward said something different.

It repeatedly emphasized that all nobles of the capital must attend this wedding.

It subtly threatened them, saying they should consider their future relationship with the royal family or the ducal house.

That’s how only half of the wavering nobles ended up coming.

The bishops and envoys sent from the temple were also much more modest compared to previous weddings.

Was that the reason?

The people waiting for the king and queen, today’s protagonists, felt something eerie.

Despite the chapel being filled with hundreds of people, they couldn’t shake off the empty feeling.

Meanwhile, servants of the nobles waiting outside rushed in one by one to urgently relay news to their masters.

The news was that a riot had broken out in the city.

“Im-impossible.”

The nobles who heard similar news began to stir all at once.

Around the same time, the temple bishops who had come to witness and conduct the mass also received similar news.

Their faces turned pale.

A riot!

According to the urgent message from the temple, the scale had already exceeded tens of thousands.

Moreover, it was growing larger as it passed through the city.

What was even more frightening was that they were armed with weapons.

Anxiety snowballed instantly, and eventually some began to leave their seats.

“This won’t do. I need to return home.”

“Lady Tiana!”

“Then I too……”

“Everyone, please calm down for now. I will go find the Duke! I must at least check if it’s safe to remain sitting here quietly.”

The one who organized the nobles fidgeting in their seats was Schultz Tartien, who had appeared belatedly.

“Everyone! You all seem surprised by the sudden news of the riot! Haha! Don’t worry, Landers has already gone to deal with them. By the time the royal wedding ends, everything will be clean and tidy!”

“Ah, so Landers went! I was wondering why he wasn’t seen……”

“But since everyone looks anxious, we should move up the schedule. I will go inform His Majesty and the bride about this news, so please don’t worry and wait for the two who will come down soon!”

The hall calmed down somewhat at Schultz’s words.

He smiled and soothed the people, then hurriedly went outside and said to the knights.

“Lock the doors and get the archbishop out. We only need three witnesses anyway, so just keep three bishops. Act discreetly so others don’t notice.”

He disciplined the knights with coldly shining eyes and rushed to Luperia Palace where the king was.