Chapter 4: The Royal Palace
Walking through the bustling market, Su Xiao’s gaze swept around him. He now needed to head to the royal palace. The old king had secretly summoned him, and a secret summons meant the old king had urgent business.
It was impossible to ask passersby where the palace was. Su Xiao was the Iron Hand, after all—a dignified Iron Hand who didn’t know where the palace was? That would be utterly absurd.
What was somewhat troubling was that the royal palace of the Saint Sodin Kingdom might not be a huge, magnificent structure. At least, it wouldn’t be like the palace in the world of *Akame ga Kill*, where anyone in the capital could see it.
According to the detailed world introduction, the palace in this world was more like a castle—a castle with a massive courtyard.
The palace had two main functions: first, as the residence for the king and his many queens; second, as the workplace for important ministers.
Thus, the palace’s footprint shouldn’t be too large. It only needed to accommodate a few dozen people. In a world of constant war, where all of humanity was united against external enemies, the royal family was unlikely to indulge in luxury and build a grand palace just to flaunt their status.
A mechanical eye appeared in Su Xiao’s hand—the Apostle’s Eye. It could detect enemy attributes and also survey terrain within half a kilometer.
As the Iron Hand and the old king’s trusted confidant, his residence shouldn’t be too far from the palace.
Sure enough, when the Apostle’s Eye floated 100 meters into the air, it detected a manor that wasn’t extravagant but exuded an imposing grandeur.
This manor stretched at least a kilometer horizontally. There were no beautiful gardens inside, only over a hundred statues. Among them were statues of past kings, as well as heroes and officials who had sacrificed themselves for the kingdom. The kingdom clearly valued these martyrs highly, placing their statues alongside those of the kings. Undoubtedly, this was a clever way to win people’s hearts.
Su Xiao recalled the Apostle’s Eye and, with Bubu Wang, headed toward the palace. The palace was less than half a kilometer from his residence.
As Su Xiao walked down the street, the nearby commoners instinctively kept their distance, their expressions respectful—the kind of respect given to someone feared.
Seeing the commoners’ reactions, Su Xiao felt that the previous Iron Hand had been quite clever, likely making enemies everywhere.
If it were any other official, making enemies everywhere would be a death sentence. But the Iron Hand was different. This position required making enemies everywhere. It sent a signal to the old king: the Iron Hand, despite his privileges, was loyal only to the old king. Everyone else was an enemy. And the people the old king trusted most were exactly this kind of person.
Su Xiao quickened his pace appropriately. After all, he had a secret summons to attend to. If he was going to play the role, he had to commit to it.
Soon, Su Xiao arrived before the palace courtyard. The courtyard wasn’t surrounded by walls but by iron railings. The railings were decorated with a creature that had a dog’s body and a lion’s head. The dog’s body represented the kingdom’s officials, symbolizing loyalty, while the lion’s head represented the royal family, symbolizing majesty and territorial protection.
Over a thousand royal guards stood around the courtyard. They wore golden armor, held neatly aligned long weapons, stood straight, and their expressions were stern.
At the palace gate, several dozen guards stood on either side of the main entrance. They stared straight ahead, seemingly not noticing Su Xiao.
Su Xiao walked straight toward the palace.
*Clatter.*
The guards’ weapons extended forward, the clash of metal against armor producing a uniform sound. They weren’t blocking Su Xiao from entering the palace; rather, they were signaling that they had seen the Iron Hand.
High-ranking ministers could freely enter and leave the palace between 6 and 9 a.m. each day. Special positions like the Iron Hand had 24-hour access.
*Whoosh.*
The guards withdrew their weapons. Su Xiao stepped into the palace without any obstruction.
Su Xiao walked along a granite-paved path carved with intricate patterns. It was around 7 a.m., so officials in noble attire occasionally passed by.
These officials all shared the same attitude: if they could maintain a 10-meter distance from Su Xiao, they would never come within 10 meters. This wasn’t fear but simply a desire to avoid him. If a Charisma-specialized contractor had held the Iron Hand position, they would have cried themselves to death in the restroom.
Su Xiao entered the palace smoothly—or rather, entered a massive castle. This was the palace, combining residence and workplace.
As soon as he stepped inside, Su Xiao caught a faint, pleasant fragrance. Following the scent, he saw several large pots of tulips at the entrance.
Having successfully entered the palace, the second problem arose: where was the old king? Fortunately, at that moment, an old man in a fitted white robe embroidered with golden threads approached.
Seeing the old man, Su Xiao’s eyes lit up.
“Where’s Herbert?”
Su Xiao spoke.
“Hmph.”
The old man in white let out a cold snort and walked straight ahead.
Seeing the old man’s reaction, Su Xiao was somewhat surprised. This old man had unexpected backbone. Since entering the palace, Su Xiao had encountered at least a dozen officials, all of whom tried to avoid him as much as possible. But this old man was the complete opposite. Not only did he not avoid Su Xiao, but he walked straight toward him, as if intending to “accidentally” brush past him.
The old man’s attitude wasn’t great, but strangely, Su Xiao didn’t sense any obvious hostility.
Just as the old man was about to pass by Su Xiao, he shifted his shoulder, deliberately trying to bump into Su Xiao’s.
*Crack.* Su Xiao heard a sharp sound from the old man’s waist. The old man’s leg trembled, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.
“Why didn’t you dodge? These old bones of mine…”
The old man muttered softly, his lips barely moving.
There was no doubt: this old man and the Iron Hand were not enemies. They just had to appear at odds in front of other officials.
“Accident.”
Su Xiao muttered back in a low voice, playing along.
“My waist…”
The old man took a few steps forward with his back to Su Xiao.
“His Majesty the King is in the Kingdom Council Chamber. Hmph.”
The old man deliberately raised his voice. Though he answered Su Xiao’s question, he let out a cold snort. From his trembling hand, it was clear his waist was badly twisted. No wonder—bumping into Su Xiao, who had 89 points of True Strength and 87 points of True Stamina, the old man was lucky not to have fainted. It was a testament to his vitality.
Su Xiao recalled the information provided by Paradise. Based on the description, he guessed the old man’s identity: the Kingdom’s Financial Officer, Rowan Harvey. He held the power of the treasury and was one of the old king’s trusted confidants.
Some might think the old king’s trusted confidants would be united. But that wasn’t the case. They absolutely could not be united. They had to have “minor conflicts.” That was the foundation of a healthy power structure.
The old king’s trusted confidants naturally wielded immense power. If they were united in their hatred of the same enemies, it would mean their power could be consolidated. At that point, the old king would lose sleep.
The old king had four trusted confidants: Kingdom Financial Officer Rowan Harvey, Hyena Hesterlet (the kingdom’s military commander holding military power), Governor Joe Valentine (responsible for managing most officials), and finally, the Iron Hand.
Finance, military power, official management, and extreme measures when necessary—none of these four could be missing. But if the four united, it would be disastrous.