Crimson mana? It couldn’t be…
Astonished, the count was about to peer under the stranger’s hood. Before he could, however, the assailant pulled his cloak back with his free hand, revealing his face.
"As if it wasn’t enough to let the beasts loose, you dared to assault me—a member of the royal family,” Max snapped. "Don’t you know your place as the emperor's guard dog? How ridiculous."
Although he hadn’t seen this face often, the crown prince’s handsome appearance was one the count could recognize at first glance. Now, the prince wore a menacing smile. Shocked, the count dropped his blade.
Without hesitation, Max pointed the tip of his sword at the count's throat. Count Pyrex could feel the pressure of the sword against his Adam’s apple. He swallowed dryly, cursing to himself. Did the prince track them down using the beasts? If he failed to carry out this plan...
Count Pyrex frantically searched his mind for an idea to avert the crisis.
"Let go of Lord Pyrex!"
Amid the chaos, the knights aimed their blades at Max. The count was about to stop his foolish men from doing anything more when the crown prince's knights appeared.
"How dare you point your sword at His Highness!" they cried, immediately surrounding the count's knights.
This was a trap all along! Count Pyrex then realized he could be charged with the attempted murder of the crown prince. Anxious, he shouted, "You idiots! How dare you treat His Highness with such disrespect?! Put your weapons down at once!"
Their swords clattered to the ground and Max smirked. "Well, I don't think you should be blaming your subordinates.”
Count Pyrex swallowed dryly. "I have committed an atrocity, Your Highness. I simply presumed you were an intruder. Please forgive me with an open heart."
"I see. I was covering my face... so it wouldn’t be unreasonable for you to think that way." Max noticed the nobleman's face brighten immediately. He probably thought he would be let off the hook, but that wasn’t what Max was planning. "But for what purpose did my father command you to release that beast? And very close to me, at that."
"His Majesty wanted Your Highness to win the hunting contest—"
"So he arranged such a surprise without consulting me beforehand? Are you implying that my father wanted to get rid of me for good?”
"No, th-that’s not..."
The count trailed off. He tried to give a vague answer at first, but somehow, the more he talked, the deeper he fell into a trap.
I was never cunning enough to get around things like this...! he thought.
He wanted to remain silent, but the crown prince continued speaking. "By the way, I don't see Mikhail anywhere around here. There’s a rumor going around that my father’s planning to marry Beatrice off to that guy."
Count Pyrex's head burned hot at the mention of Mikhail. If it wasn't for that kid in the first place…! He gritted his teeth, attempting to suppress his anger.
"No matter how many beasts you manage to hunt, a dog is nevertheless abandoned once they’re useless,” the crown prince muttered.
Count Pyrex imagined how the future might unfold.
"As if it wasn’t enough to attack the crown prince, you released those dangerous beasts and tried to frame me?” the emperor would cry. "On whose orders?!"
He could tell that he would be held responsible for everything that went wrong today and thrown away, rendered utterly useless. Despite the amount of dedication he had shown to His Majesty until now... he…
Feeling resentful, the count clenched his fists.
Slowly, the blade pressing into his neck retreated.
"Depending on how you act, I can pretend that nothing happened today,” the prince said.
Count Pyrex looked up with trembling eyes. No, this was a dangerous gamble. This was... It was definitely a trap!
"Think about it,” the crown prince said, pity in his gaze. "The reason I’m giving you this opportunity is that you’re a talented person who doesn’t deserve the treatment you’re getting.”
The wall that couldn’t be crossed. Transcendence. Count Pyrex had always been overshadowed by Duke Floyen because of this. However, the crown prince of all people had recognized his talent. Overwhelmed with emotion, the count opened his mouth. He knew this wasn’t the right thing to do, but he couldn’t help it.
"The truth is..."
Frederich busily searched for the crown prince's trail. He was sure it was around here somewhere...
At that moment, a loud commotion sounded from behind. When he looked behind himself, he could see the Floyen knights rushing toward him on horseback.
"Oh, how nice it is to see you here!" Geraldine greeted, dripping with confidence.
Frederich furrowed his brows a little. Then, his eyes widened once he saw an enormous blue bear resting on top of a cart.
Was that… a type of blue bear that resided in the north?
Geraldine smirked. "It seems victory will be ours today."
At the obvious provocation, Frederich glared daggers at the knight. How annoying.
Just then, fireworks resounded from above. Geraldine and Frederich immediately headed in the direction the noise originated. Eventually, they found something that blew their eyes wide open.
Wasn’t that a red lion from the east?
A moment later, a man in a black cloak riding a black horse swiftly passed the two by. Recognizing the man, Geraldine was astonished.
That face... It's that monster-like man. Jubelian's lover! he marveled to himself. How did he get here?
A group of men followed the black-cloaked one. Geraldine and Frederich recognized them as the crown prince's guards, and Dennis was leading them.
"Your Highness!” he shouted. "Please wait for us!"
Startled, Geraldine looked in the direction Max had disappeared to. He was the crown prince?
Dennis raised his voice even higher. "You can’t subdue a magical beast alone!"
Magical beast. With those two words alone, Geraldine and Frederich could tell that something out of the ordinary was happening. At once, the two men shouted to their comrades.
"Everyone, follow His Highness!"
He wasn’t here, either. Bea, Sir Victor, my friends, and I had wandered around the arena for a while now. Nevertheless, Dad was nowhere to be seen. Where in the world was he?
I sighed.
"Jubelian!" someone called.
I turned to where the voice was coming from and frowned.
It was Mikhail.
Why was he here again?
Like a madman, Mikhail turned around frantically in search of Jubelian. Where could she possibly have gone?
Feeling nervous, he clenched his jaw. Something was definitely out of the ordinary. He recalled how Duke Floyen had looked just now.
I’ll follow your orders, Your Majesty.
His eyes had been out of focus, and his voice was monotone. It was markedly different from the sophisticated Duke Floyen that Mikhail knew. Was that where the emperor's confidence came from? He had the power to control Duke Floyen?