In the bedroom of the mansion.
Having returned after months of expedition, Hugo couldn’t help but bulge his eyes at the words relayed by Eltrina.
“…He raised his hand against the Crown Prince?”
“Yes, my love.”
When Hugo heard Eltrina’s words, he almost dropped the glass he held.
A shocking revelation regarding the royal family.
The word ‘confusion’ was carved on Hugo’s face, who usually doesn’t display his emotions easily. What Shiron did was shocking to that extent.
‘I returned from the expedition only to be hit with such shocking news.’
Hugo gulped down the whiskey in his glass in one go and pushed the glass far away.
Seeing her husband’s unusual expression for the first time in a while, Eltrina smirked.“I was really shocked too, you know? I didn’t think he would actually slap Victor’s face.”
Eltrina spoke as if reminiscing about something from quite a long time ago. The more she thought about it, the more she found it amusing and couldn’t help but laugh.
‘Who would have thought he would really hit the prince.’
To slap the prince, who had dozens of knights behind him, was something Eltrina of the past couldn’t even dare to imagine due to its audacity.
Moreover, Shiron even cheekily helped the fallen prince up and patted his shoulder.
Seeing that scene through the window, Eltrina found herself shivering in a thrilling sensation.
“Why didn’t you stop him?”
Hugo washed his face to get rid of the shadow on his face.
“At least, mediation could have been possible in the middle.”
“He showed me the invitation.”
“Invitation?”
“Yes. He was officially invited… he said he was just responding to that.”
She didn’t know why Victor, who led the knights, knocked on the mansion’s door, but that young prince showed Eltrina a letter with Hugo’s seal, claiming he had received an invitation.
It wasn’t a fake seal. Using deciphering magic, the flow of mana engraved on the paper pointed to Hugo.
“Did the royal palace… did the emperor say anything?”
“Not at all.”
Eltrina covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled softly.
“Rather, he seemed to want to come here himself every chance he got? Ah, it seemed like they were playing tag yesterday.”
“…”
“The lively sounds resonating throughout the mansion were quite a pleasant scene.”
It was indeed a delightful scene.
Four people, including Siriel and Lucia, were playing tag. Of course, Shiron was ‘it’. He persistently chased Victor throughout the playtime. Eventually, Victor even ran out of breath.
“It’s… a relief then.”
“You don’t need to worry too much, you know? Kids become friends through fighting sometimes. If you’re really concerned, you can talk directly with His Majesty.”
“…I suppose I have to.”
At Eltrina’s words, Hugo sighed deeply.
‘I can only laugh.’
Hugo recalled the image of his nephew asking for permission to misbehave. Hugo himself had allowed that ridiculous act. He couldn’t blame Shiron now, nor did he want to.
“More importantly… how have you been after such a long time?”
Unraveling the ties of her robe, Eltrina approached Hugo. The soft light illuminated her beautiful body.
“I’ve been waiting just for you.”
“…”
She gently ran her fingers over Hugo’s broad chest. However, he turned his head away from his wife’s gaze.
“I’m tired. I should rest for today.”
“…My love?”
Hugo turned his back to Eltrina and lay down.
The following day, in the morning.
Hugo knocked on the doors of the Imperial Palace without any prior notice.
Unarmed and unguarded, Hugo passed through the royal main gate without any particular search. It was a privilege that only Hugo had.
Deeper and even deeper, Hugo walked. He didn’t encounter anyone along the way. Hugo silently walked through the empty corridor until he reached the Alhyeon Room.
Vroooom-
The doors to the Alhyeon Room opened as if to welcome Hugo, even without being touched.
And, at Hugo’s eye level, a man was seated on a jade throne.
Franz Beizos de Rien.
The sovereign of the empire, known to possess the most gold and military power on the continent, was a middle-aged man wrapped in blue velvet and wearing a platinum crown.
“Hugo Prient. My old friend. What brings you to this humble place?”
The emperor stroked his flickering mustache and drew a line across his lips. He pretended not to know why Hugo came here despite being well aware.
“Franz.”
“Was it not amusing?”
“Yes.”
Hugo responded by faintly closing his eyes to the emperor, who threw an unfunny joke.
It was always like this.
Hugo didn’t hide his discomfort towards Franz. Despite Hugo’s disregard for formalities towards the emperor, Franz always threw not-so-amusing jokes.
Hugo opened his mouth, trying to forget the joke.
“I came to convey my regrets today.”
“Oh…”
Franz exhaled as if he found it interesting. His narrowed, crescent eyes settled on his hand-held face.
For a moment.
Tap, tap.
The emperor seemed to be deep in thought, tapping the armrest of his jade throne.
To avoid disturbing the sovereign’s contemplation, Jard, the captain of the royal guard, and the court magician Arak maintained their silence.
The silence of the moment filled the Alhyeon Room.
Tap-
The emperor stopped tapping the jade throne.
The Alhyeon Room became so silent that even the sound of falling leaves could be heard.
Hugo heard the heartbeats of the three in front of him.
Two were a bit fast, and one was slow.
Thump- Thump-
‘Snake-like man.’
Hugo couldn’t feel anything from the leisurely heartbeat of the emperor.
“Alright.”
The one who broke the silence was the emperor.
“I understand, so you may leave now.”
Along with a sigh, the emperor showed a gloomy expression to Hugo. Hugo, stroking his beard, stared at the emperor.
“Did you know my nephew laid hands on your son?”
“I just remembered it now.”
The emperor showed a sly smile to Hugo.
“So, what do you want me to do about it?”
“…”
“I heard you just returned from an expedition the day before yesterday; you must be quite tired. I am not foolish enough to detain such a person to talk about trivial things.”
“…Your Majesty. May I respectfully interject?”
A voice came from the emperor’s right. It was the court magician, Arak. The emperor raised a hand, signaling him to speak.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
With the emperor’s permission, Arak bowed his head.
“I believe it would be best for Your Majesty to relieve him of his burden.”
“That’s right.”
The emperor nodded solemnly. However, his eyes were empty as he looked at Arak.
“I was foolish.”
The emperor gestured to the royal guard in the Alhyeon Room.
“Bring Henry here… and that magician too.”
“…”
Hugo blinked his eyes. Henry was Franz’s second son. What was he trying to do by calling his son here?
Shortly after.
“What, what are you doing! Let go of me!”
“Your Majesty! Please, mercy!”
The prince and the wizard, held by the knights, arrived at the Alhyeon Room.
Second Prince Henry Ajani de Rien.
Court Wizard of the 6th class, Andrew Dolphin.
They struggled to free themselves from the knights, but their efforts were futile. They had the expression of livestock being dragged to the slaughterhouse.
They writhed, spitting saliva.
Sweat poured down, and their faces turned purple.
Clang-
The knights threw them in front of Hugo.
“What’s this? The Second Prince and a face I don’t know.”
Hugo spoke as he looked at the two crawling-like bugs on the ground.
“I heard it was the Third Prince who had a hand in this. Do I owe them an apology?”
“Haha. You’re making a funny joke for once.”
The emperor laughed heartily, looking at Hugo.
His eyes, looking at Hugo, were full of life.
“My old friend. Why not hear them out for once?”
“It’s a misunderstanding! Please, at least hear me out!”
Receiving his father’s cold gaze, Henry cried out desperately. But the emperor just smiled at Hugo, paying no attention to his second son.
“See, he said it’s a misunderstanding. So, my foolish son must have done something.”
The emperor rose from his throne and approached the knight.
Swish-
The emperor drew the sword from the waist of the knight.
And swung it towards his son’s neck.
Crack-
However, the sword, filled with killing intent, was stopped by a large hand. Hugo caught the blade with one hand. The sword, without any momentum or power, couldn’t harm Hugo.
“Franz, have you lost your mind?”
“… I’m really fortunate to have a friend like you.”
The emperor looked at Hugo with a wistful gaze.
“The north of this country. The evil spirits coming from the Makal Mountains were a long-time nuisance of the empire. Military expenditure has been a big issue since my ancestors’ times.”
The emperor slowly looked up at Hugo.
“But, 20 years ago, since we became acquainted, that headache of a problem vanished in an instant. Isn’t it strange? Just by adding one person’s strength, the problem threatening the existence of the empire disappeared. But…”
The emperor shouted.
“This idiot!”
“Eek!”
Thud!
“Ugh!”
The emperor kicked his son in the head. The weakening kick of a middle-aged man was still enough to split the lips of his pathetic son.
“This idiot incited the court wizards to monitor your nephew. Really… really… is he out of his mind? I almost earned your hatred because of this moron who couldn’t even prove his worth.”
“Franz.”
Hugo called the emperor in a placating manner.
“There’s no need for this. He’s still your child, no matter how much you hate him.”
“I still have two other sons. And children can be born again.”
“If you take Henry’s life here, he might hate you.”
“…That would be problematic.”
The emperor signaled to the knight behind Henry.
“Then, let’s do this.”
Thump-
At that moment, the head of the bespectacled wizard rolled on the ground. His world, which he was shrinking in and trembling, was turned upside down.
“The Alhyeon Room has become dirty.”
The commotion had subsided.
The attendants of the royal palace cleaned the bloodstains, and Hugo left the Alhyeon Room without a word.
The emperor gazed at the space from where the strongest knight of the empire had exited.
“Chamberlain.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Summon Victor.”
Following the emperor’s order, the Chamberlain brought the Third Prince to the Alhyeon Room.
A boy with slightly curly blonde hair and sorrowful eyes greeted him brightly.
“Father, you called for me.”
“Come closer, my son.”
Victor took a step. However, the emperor was not satisfied.
Franz gestured for his son to come closer.
“Closer, come closer. Yes, that’s right.”
The emperor had Victor come near the throne.
Then, he pulled Victor to sit on his lap.
Victor blushed, feeling the affection from his father after a long time.
“I heard you’ve been associating with someone named Shiron Prient lately.”
“…Yes, that’s correct.”
Victor answered with a slightly awkward smile. The emperor laughed heartily, recalling the pathetic son he had kicked earlier.
“Build a strong relationship with him. It will surely become a great strength for the empire.”
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