# Chapter 33: The New King's Enthronement
The grand banquet that shook the entire Holy City ended at two in the morning, with most guests having left the Rose Garden Manor.
The banquet hall was filled with the smell of alcohol and tobacco. Several maids were bowing their heads, and among them was a drunken young man. Beside him, a woman with a gentle temperament was supporting him, a soft smile on her face.
"Why doesn't he trust me? I killed so many people for him. Sina, tell me, what did I do wrong? Tell me."
Zuo Si, his face flushed red, muttered drunkenly. The woman supporting him patted his back.
"You've done well enough..."
"No, why won't he become the new king? Just giving up like that? I can't accept it! If he won't do it, then I'll follow someone who will."
Zuo Si's voice grew louder.
"Zuo Si, you're drunk."
The woman supporting Zuo Si turned pale. If nothing unexpected happened, this would be her future husband. Although it was a political marriage, she didn't want to become a widow.
"I'm not drunk, hahaha. Sina, do you know what it feels like to betray a demon? You can feel it, right? I'm shaking, I'm shaking, hahaha..."
"It'll be fine. We can't choose our fate, but we can find ways to make it better."
"..."
Zuo Si was stunned for a moment, his drunken eyes looking at his fiancée. This was the first time he truly looked at her.
"You wouldn't understand. That person is..."
Snoring came from Zuo Si's mouth. Sina sighed, and several maids helped her support Zuo Si.
On the other side of the banquet hall, Shayeto held a glass of wine, her gaze following Zuo Si as he was gradually helped away.
"Milord, is this guy really trustworthy?"
An old man who looked like a butler spoke.
"Of course... not trustworthy. But if we don't accept him, we won't be able to win over anyone from that side. Let's sleep. Tomorrow will be busy."
Although Shayeto looked worried, she was actually truly at ease at this moment. If Wu Fu and the Minister of Finance had both defected to her side, that would have been the worst situation. What was happening now was the most normal and easiest to control.
Zuo Si was helped out of the banquet hall. If one observed carefully, they could see that the drunkenness in his eyes was both real and fake.
"Sina."
Zuo Si looked at the woman supporting him with a smile full of meaning. Feeling her soft body, he felt a bit restless.
"Come to my place. I have a property in the west of the city."
Sina's face was also slightly flushed. After hailing a carriage, she helped Zuo Si aboard.
Zuo Si's face was about to bloom with joy. He knew this was a honey trap, but a woman he could enjoy for free—why wouldn't he take advantage?
The Holy City seemed calm on the surface, but undercurrents surged. Who would support whom, who would betray whom—all of this was unknown. But every official knew that times were about to change. The new king would be enthroned tomorrow.
...
Boom!
Fireworks exploded in the sky. Two thousand Holy City Guard soldiers formed ranks. As they passed, human walls formed on both sides of the streets, blocking the countless commoners on either side.
Princess Shayeto sat in an iron-silver carriage. The windows on all sides of the carriage were wide open, allowing the commoners to see the new king's appearance.
The Royal Guard was to circle half the city, a tradition established by the Black King back then, meant to let the people see the king's face—that the king was with them, not always aloof and above.
The various streets of the Holy City were half-blockaded. Today, the food and entertainment industries within the Holy City were completely free, with expenses paid by the empire. As a result, the streets were exceptionally lively. Commoners could often be seen holding wooden cups of ale, waiting by the roadside for the new king to pass.
Inside the palace at the very center of the Holy City, all the black-armored soldiers had withdrawn. They had been waiting for the new king to arrive, and their mission was about to end.
The main gate of the palace's front hall was wide open. The interior had been cleaned, and in just one night, it had been decorated magnificently.
The Overlord-level creature, the Spider Queen, had disappeared. The black-armored giants were also gone. The Black Throne in the central hall sat empty.
In front of the hall, Su Xiao glanced at the guard soldiers lining both sides of the path. These were all soldiers under Shayeto's command.
Wu Fu and the Minister of Finance stood behind Su Xiao. The old divine stick was inside the front hall. As the Black King's Right Guardian, he was the most suitable to preside over the new king's enthronement.
"Why hasn't she arrived yet?"
Wu Fu patted his own head. He had drunk too much last night.
"She has to circle half the city first. Reading more would do you good, Wu Fu."
The Minister of Finance spoke with a serious expression. Although it was a taunt, Wu Fu didn't notice.
"Walking a monkey? Circling half the city."
Wu Fu rubbed his eyes. He was seeing double.
"They wouldn't walk a monkey that far. At least I wouldn't."
"Be serious."
Su Xiao spoke, and both Wu Fu and the Minister of Finance lowered their heads.
After waiting nearly three hours, just as the old divine stick couldn't help but peer out from the front hall entrance, the grand procession arrived.
"Wu Fu, where's the crown?"
The old divine stick looked at Wu Fu.
"Crown?"
Wu Fu looked confused.
"Didn't I ask you to keep it safe this morning?"
The old divine stick's face turned green. He seemed to have made a wrong decision. The crown had been with him all along, but this morning he had too many things to handle, and he didn't want to bring the crown too close to the Black Throne, so he entrusted it to Wu Fu for safekeeping.
"Did I?"
Sweat broke out on Wu Fu's face. He was mostly sober now. Today, Shayeto was to be enthroned as the new king, but if she lost the crown before even sitting on the Black Throne, the joke would be huge.
"It's with me. Why is this thing so cold?"
The Minister of Finance reached behind his waist and pulled out an iron-black crown.
The old divine stick quickly stepped forward to take it, holding the crown in one hand as he entered the front hall.
This scene was witnessed by all the guard soldiers in front of the hall. Their mouths hung slightly open, their cheeks or the corners of their mouths twitching violently. The new king's enthronement seemed a bit different from what they had imagined.
Soon, the Royal Guard arrived at the front hall. All soldiers knelt on one knee. On the carriage, Shayeto stood up, wearing a long black robe embroidered with silver thread patterns. Black represented royal power, silver thread represented eternal power, and the patterns symbolized the people, territory, and military.
Shayeto looked toward the front hall. She had often come here as a child, but after the Black King's death, she hadn't seen this palace for at least a decade.
Shayeto stepped onto the black carpet, walking step by step toward the front hall. Wherever she passed, all soldiers and officials knelt prostrate, until she reached the front of the hall.
Shayeto, wearing her royal ceremonial robe, looked at Su Xiao. Her gaze held doubt, but more than that, wariness.
"Kneel."
Su Xiao spoke with a smile. Shayeto let out a light snort and knelt on one knee. This was to show respect for the former king.
The old divine stick walked out from the front hall and placed the iron-black crown on Shayeto's head. Shayeto felt the weight of the crown, and also felt that it was a bit cold.
After a moment, Shayeto stood up, stepped into the front hall, and walked toward the central hall. Following a long corridor, she saw the Black Throne.
Shayeto walked step by step toward royal power. As long as she sat on the Black Throne, all worries would vanish like smoke. She would become the Black King, the legitimate ruler. At that point, even if Su Xiao controlled the finances and military, he would be no match for her.
As Shayeto advanced, several officials loyal to her followed behind. Zuo Si stopped at the front hall. He wasn't qualified to continue forward.
But Zuo Si's posture was a bit strange. He held one hand over his lower back, his face beaming with satisfaction.
"You little bastard."
Su Xiao walked past Zuo Si, his sword hilt "accidentally" bumping into Zuo Si's lower back. Zuo Si sucked in a breath of cold air.
"My kidney~"
Although Zuo Si was grimacing in pain, his eyes were scanning the surroundings. If an "accident" occurred, he would have to kill all the guard soldiers at the entrance in the shortest time possible, then close the hall doors.