“This… this can’t be happening…”
The prince, one of the most influential figures in the kingdom, held his head in his hands in his private chambers. As the first in line for the throne, he could virtually enact anything he desired within the kingdom. Yet, only one thing could trouble him to this extent.
“Heinichen the Steel Matriarch has been destroyed…?”
The cause of the prince’s shock was the report of the annihilation of a dark guild, Heinichen the Steel Matriarch, which he had personally nurtured. This guild was one of the few dark guilds and was regarded as the most feared and terrible in the kingdom. If the public were to learn of this fact, it would undoubtedly cause an uproar, but only the prince and a select few close aides were aware of it.
His sister, the princess, who was his adversary in both name and fact, seemed to have sensed something, but she had not discovered his alliance with the Steel Matriarch. Now, the prince no longer needed to worry about that. The Steel Matriarch had been obliterated without a trace.
“To think that they would be defeated… N-No, this must mean that the members of Yerkchira the Messianic Legion are truly monsters!”
The prince ground his teeth in frustration. The reason for the downfall of Heinichen the Steel Matriarch lay in a mission he had issued.
He had ordered the extermination of another dark guild, Yerkchira the Messianic Legion, which was even more feared by the state and the upper echelons of other guilds than Heinichen.
It wasn’t that the prince had been harmed by them. Rather, he feared that his greatest enemy, the princess, might align herself with a dark guild just as he had. Among the dark guilds operating within the kingdom, only two were of concern: Yerkchira the Messianic Legion and Heinichen the Steel Matriarch. The latter was already under the prince’s control, leaving Yerkchira as the primary threat.
Thus, he had issued the extermination order to eliminate the potential danger, but the result was a complete reversal. The prince had lost his valuable pawns and now faced the possibility of having drawn the ire of Yerkchira the Messianic Legion.
“That fool, Luscelt! After all his boasting, to lose so disgracefully!”
The prince trembled with rage as he remembered Luscelt’s annoying laughter. Though he found the man utterly untrustworthy on a personal level, he had placed great faith in Luscelt’s combat abilities. Losing such significant military power was a severe blow.
Of course, as a prince, he had considerable resources at his disposal, including knights with abilities on par with Ritter, one of the kingdom’s most skilled Royal Knights. However, these knights, despite their rugged, adventurer-like nature compared to the princess’s knights, couldn’t be publicly given dirty jobs. This was where the usefulness of a dark guild came in handy.
“Damn it! Who am I supposed to entrust with these shadowy tasks now?” the prince cursed.
While the Royal Knights loyal to him would follow his orders, mere obedience wasn’t enough. They needed to be capable of executing those orders effectively. This was why he had previously manipulated Longman, one of the Hero’s Party, to attack Yerkchira the Messianic Legion with the support of Royal Knights. That attempt had ended in a complete defeat, proving their lack of sufficient power. Heinichen had been the ideal tool for such operations, but now…
“Sigh… Calm down. I need to make sure that she doesn’t find out about my connections with the dark guild,” the prince muttered, beginning to ponder if there was any incriminating evidence left behind.
There were likely few physical traces. When he brought in Heinichen, no formal written contracts had been made; everything was handled verbally. While he hadn’t completely dismissed the possibility of betrayal, he had his own elite forces and considerable strength, being a regular at the adventurer’s guild himself. Although he couldn’t win a direct confrontation with Luscelt, he could buy enough time to summon his elite forces. There had never been any real trust between himself and Luscelt; they had merely used each other for mutual benefit.
“So, the next concern is human evidence…” the prince thought aloud. He decided to summon a certain man through one of his maids.
After a while, there was a knock on the door.
“Enter,” the prince commanded.
The door opened, and a tall man stepped in. He was significantly taller than the prince, with a rugged face that suggested he was a seasoned warrior. He wore thick armor, but it was easy to imagine the well-trained physique beneath. A crimson cape, permitted only for those recognized by the king, billowed behind him.
“What do you require, my prince?” the knight asked, kneeling.
“Humph! I wouldn’t call you if I didn’t have a need!” The prince sneered, clearly displeased with the knight’s presence. Wasting no time, he got straight to the point.
“You know that I have been keeping the Steel Matriarch under my control, correct?”
“Yes…”
“They’ve been annihilated by the Messianic Legion.”
The knight remained silent, showing no visible reaction. However, unseen by the prince, a slight twitch of his brow betrayed his inner thoughts.
“Are you asking me to exterminate Yerkchira the Messianic Legion?”
“Don’t be foolish!” The prince’s sneer turned into a clear, mocking laugh.
“Most likely, Luscelt didn’t reveal that his actions were under my orders to Yerkchira. Besides, it was Luscelt who was eager to fight them in the first place.”
The prince recalled how Luscelt had frequently sought reasons to attack Yerkchira.
“Moreover, a clash between dark guilds would have left the victor significantly weakened. They must be in a weakened state now, making them less of a threat,” the prince reasoned, though he was, unfortunately, mistaken.
“I need you to play a crucial role in the increasingly intense battle for the throne.”
“I understand,” the knight replied, still looking down. The prince, satisfied, nodded approvingly.
“Good. Here are your orders: investigate anyone who knows or suspects my connection with the dark guild and report to me. And for those I deem unnecessary… dispose of them.”
“Understood.”
With that, the knight rose, bowed at the door, and left the room. Watching him leave, the prince chuckled quietly to himself.
“Things haven’t been going well lately, but with that man, I won’t lose. The next king will be me.”