The Great Wish - Chapter 39: The Kingdom of the Desert (7)

Kuhn translated their exchange, and afterward, the queen dowager conveyed her greeting through a servant. The fact that she didn’t speak directly puzzled Sienna.

“I’ve heard that the dowager queen wields more power than the king himself. Is this refusal to speak a part of the desert customs, a way of maintaining an appearance of not being involved?” Sienna thought.

The banquet was vastly different from what she was used to in the Empire. In front of every attendee was a small, personal table, and attendants roamed around, refilling cups and bringing dishes. No one left their seat; all remained seated, creating a sense of rigid formality despite the lively atmosphere.

As the banquet progressed, the central space in the hall was cleared, and dancers entered. They wore minimal clothing, only covering their chests and hips, and performed with sensual, rhythmic movements or elaborate flourishes with imitation swords.

The king, though pretending to watch the performance, glanced away and made eye contact with a man standing at the back of the hall. The king blinked, and a few moments later, the man rushed over, whispering urgently into the king’s ear.

“What?!” the king shouted, causing the performance to stop abruptly. The dancers quickly retreated to the sides as tension filled the air.

“If what you say is true, I will have the criminal arrested at once! Guards!”

Even before the king finished his command, a group of soldiers stormed in from outside the banquet hall, clearly knowing exactly who to apprehend.

“Arrest the criminal, Hysilo Hotu!”

The soldiers surrounded the masked man without hesitation, pinning his arms behind his back before he could put up any resistance.

“What is the meaning of this? King!” The Hotu chieftain leaped to his feet, his voice booming with anger. His followers snarled and bared their teeth, ready to attack at the slightest signal.

“Chieftain Hotu, I have just received a report containing crucial evidence regarding the disappearance of the guides sent to escort the imperial envoy. The man responsible for their deaths is none other than your son, Hysilo Hotu!” The king pointed directly at the masked man.

“What evidence do you have?!” the Hotu chieftain demanded.

“We will review the evidence once we’ve detained him to prevent his escape. If this proves to be an error, I will take full responsibility.”

“This is all fabricated!” the chieftain bellowed, his face flushed with rage.

The king smirked coldly. “Not only that, Chieftain, but Hysilo attempted to lead the imperial envoy to their deaths by luring them into an ambush of desert monsters.”

“Lies! This is false!” the masked man, Hysilo, twisted in his bindings, shouting in protest. But the king ignored him, continuing to speak.

“The witnesses are the imperial envoys themselves. Are you willing to blindly protect your son, Chieftain Hotu, and take responsibility for all the consequences when the truth comes out?”

The Hotu chieftain hesitated, unsure how to respond. The weight of the accusation hung heavy in the air.

“Father! This is a setup! A lie!” Hysilo screamed in desperation.

Then, Hysilo turned his attention back to the king. “If you truly believe Hysilo committed these crimes, why are you arresting me? I am Zahoman! My brother is the one you seek, not me. Go to the Hotu estate if you want to find him!”

The king chuckled softly. “Are you saying you’re not Hysilo?”

“Everyone knows that I, Zahoman Hotu, always wear a mask when I leave my home. Without my permission, no one is allowed to remove it. The late king himself granted me this right!”

“That’s true… provided you are, in fact, Zahoman Hotu.” The king’s eyes gleamed with mischief as he glanced toward the crowd.

“Isn’t that right, Zahoman Hotu?”

All eyes turned toward the figure stepping forward from the other side of the room.

“What?” The room buzzed with confusion

The crowd alternated glances between Zahoman and the masked man. It had been years since Zahoman had started wearing a mask due to a rare illness, but many still remembered his face from before.

“I am Zahoman Hotu, without a doubt,” Zahoman declared firmly.

“If you are Zahoman Hotu, then who is this masked man? Everyone believes that Zahoman Hotu never leaves his house without his mask,” the king questioned.

“I have never worn this mask outside, not once,” Zahoman responded confidently.

“Zahoman! You—!” the masked man shouted furiously, stomping his feet in a fit of rage. The veins bulged in his neck, the betrayal from his younger brother too much to bear. If not for the warriors holding him back, he would have lunged at Zahoman and strangled him on the spot.

The king chuckled coldly and gave an order to the guards.

“Remove the mask.”

Hysilo thrashed his head, trying to resist, but it was no use. The mask was swiftly pulled off, clattering onto the floor. A few gasps filled the room as onlookers recognized Hysilo’s face.

The king turned to Sienna and addressed her.

“Envoy, I ask you now: Is this the man who posed as a guide and led your delegation into a death trap?”

Since the king had stopped the performance, Sienna had been listening to the conversation through Kuhn’s translations. She could sense that everything was unfolding according to the king’s carefully orchestrated plan. Despite the obvious manipulation, she decided to play along.

Sienna fixed Hysilo with a cold, hard gaze. She clearly remembered his face—the man who had almost cost her the lives of her knights.

“He introduced himself to us as Hysilo Hotu. He offered to guide our delegation through the desert, but he led us into an ambush of desert monsters and fled,” Sienna stated.

The king raised his voice triumphantly.

“The crime is clear! The culprit attempted to sabotage the relationship between the Empire and the Confederation by orchestrating the deaths of the imperial delegation!”

He turned to the Hotu Chieftain.

“Chieftain Hotu, will you still defend your son? Are you complicit in his crimes?”

The Hotu Chieftain ground his teeth in frustration. He had brought along a skilled interpreter to forge a strong relationship with the Empire’s envoy. The interpretation of the conversation showed no signs that the envoy and the king were colluding. This was no fabrication.

The Chieftain’s gaze shifted toward the Lama Chieftain, who was looking away, pretending not to notice the unfolding drama. The realization hit the Chieftain like a bolt of lightning.

“You knew about this, didn’t you? The sly Lama dogs…”

The Chieftain found himself trapped. This wasn’t just any crime—Hysilo was accused of trying to kill an imperial delegation. If he attempted to rescue Hysilo by force, it would mean breaking ties not only with the Confederation but also with the Empire.

His eyes narrowed as he glanced at his other son, Zahoman.

“That traitorous brat…”

Whether Zahoman had allied himself with the king or the Lama Chieftain, the Hotu Chieftain knew his son had planned this without consulting him. Despite the anger, there was a strange satisfaction in seeing a new side to his son, who had always been overshadowed by Hysilo.

The Hotu Chieftain believed that only the strongest child could rise as the king of the beasts, and thus had allowed his children to battle fiercely without interference.

His eyes fell back on Hysilo, disappointment clouding his expression.

“To handle matters so poorly… Foolish boy.”

“Neither I nor the Hotu tribe were involved in this,” the Chieftain finally declared, stepping back from his son.

“Father! You can’t abandon me! This is their vile conspiracy! You’re falling into their trap!” Hysilo screamed, his eyes bloodshot as vessels burst in his fury.

The king raised his hand.

“Take the criminal away. His crimes will be thoroughly investigated in a formal trial.”

Hysilo was dragged from the hall by the soldiers, still screaming “Father!” and “This is a setup!” His voice grew fainter and fainter until it was gone entirely.

“This brings the banquet to an early end. I hope you will forgive the abrupt conclusion, Envoy,” the king said, addressing Sienna.

“I have received your warm welcome, and that is more than enough,” she replied.

The Hotu Chieftain, lips twitching in suppressed rage, shot a glare at the king before turning sharply on his heel and storming out of the hall, followed closely by his retinue.

And with that, the banquet came to an unexpected close.