Crown Prince Lysander.
The man chuckled quietly to himself before brushing an invisible speck of dust from his sleeve.
“I was a bit peeved when you came after me earlier today, though I soon realized that you had nothing on me.
What a waste of both our time, don’t you think?”
“And for someone praised as the Kingdom’s greatest hope and brightest star….you truly are rather disappointing.”
Silence settled between them as neither man moved.
The afternoon breeze drifted lazily through the narrow forest road, carrying with it the scent of pine and freshly disturbed earth.
Around them, the bodies of fallen guards lay scattered where they had collapsed as red blood slowly crept through the grooves between the stones of the road before disappearing into the surrounding grass.
Lysander tightened his grip around the hilt of his sword as his breathing remained steady and his expression remained calm.
Yet every instinct within him screamed that the man standing before him was unlike any opponent he had ever encountered.
He had seen murderers, he had crossed blades with veteran mercenaries, he had also personally led campaigns against bandit camps scattered across the northern territories.
But none of them had unsettled him like this.
This man…smiled at him too easily as if he already knew the outcome of this mission and there wasn’t the slightest trace of excitement from having successfully ambushed the Crown Prince.
There was no arrogance, not even impatience at all…there was only amusement.
It was as though this entire encounter existed solely for his entertainment and that realization disturbed Lysander far more than the corpses surrounding him.
Lysander felt something shift in his chest as he stared at the man in front of him and the man simply stared back, as if he didn’t care one bit if he was a prince or the fucking king.
“You’re called…?”
The man blinked once as if surprised that he had even thought of asking such a question and then he laughed.
The laughter wasn’t even loud or maniacally like those laughter those barbarians at their southern border gave whenever they knew they had won over a town all to themselves.
It was simply an amused kind…it was the kind of laugh one gave after hearing a child ask an innocent question with an obvious answer.
He slowly raised a hand to cover the lower half of his face before shaking his head.
“I almost forgot.”
His voice carried unmistakable mockery that even the prince felt deep within his heart.
“They call you intelligent.”
His eyes narrowed slightly as if he was finding it a tad bit hard to believe what he was seeing.
“And yet your first instinct…is to ask an assassin for his name.”
He sighed dramatically.
.
“I expected better from you but my name?
That’s for me to know and for you to never find out.
I would advise you to give yourself up and go down without a fight but I think I will enjoy it more when you struggle and still fail.”
He licked his lips, his eyes running all over his body and Lysander felt his skin crawl as he saw that leering expression on the face of the man in front of him.
A gaze he had only seen on females when they stared at him…how could this man stare at him like that?
Slowly, he glanced behind him to check if there was a girl there but found no one but trees staring back at him.
That was when he finally realized that the male was staring at him with such a lectorous gaze and his stomach rolled as he felt bile rise up to his throat.
“Don’t worry, for what I have in mind for you, I’ll make sure you enjoy it as much as I would.”
The smile on the man’s face slowly disappeared as his eyes shifted ever so slightly behind Lysander before returning back to him as if nothing had happened.
A small alarm instantly rang inside Lysander’s mind as he instantly caught onto what the man had just done and his mind raced.
Behind me?
Without another thought, he immediately spun around, his sword already halfway out of its sheath to defend himself if need be but there was nothing or no one behind him.
All he could see were the trees swaying ever so slightly to the rushing wind.
His brows furrowed in question.
Was it just a trick?
The moment that thought crossed his mind…a powerful gust of wind exploded from above and his pupils shrank as the alarm bells that had faded began to run loudly within his head.
Above?!
He instinctively looked up but all he managed to see was the underside of an enormous black iron mace descending straight towards his head.
His heart skipped a beat.
It was too fast!
He tried to dodge while raising up his sword to block it from hitting him but he was already a step too late.
BOOM!!
The mace slammed brutally into the side of his head and a loud ringing sound exploded inside his ears as blood instantly trickled down the side of his face.
His vision blurred as the world spun violently around him and his knees buckled as everything in front of him became distorted.
The last thing he saw before darkness swallowed his consciousness was the wide mocking grin returning to the face of the man standing before him.
“Sleep well, Your Highness.”
THUD!!
His body crashed heavily onto the forest floor and silence returned once more.
Cassian Valmont.
[New Gossip Discovered.]
[The Mission Against Crown Prince Lysander Was A Success.]
<The Crown Prince has finally been kidnapped?>
<That was fast.>
<I didn’t think he would get nabbed so easily.
But well, of course.>
<His remaining guard deserted him so that was a given.>
<But I’m more surprised at the fact that when I was the one kidnapped, I lasted far longer than he did but that must have been because I was always the stronger one between the both of us.>
Hmm, how nice that he was finally suffering such a terrible calamity.
I call it….KARMA!
[KARMA!]
Cassian blinked.
<Huh?>
<You’re actually capable of shouting?>
<You scared me!>
<Why are you agitated too?
Is it your revenge?>
<Don’t tell me you were also bullied by him in your previous life.>
<Nothing?>
<You shout one word and now you’re acting mysterious?>
<Hey!
Say something!>
The entire courtroom was silent as everyone heard all that but they could do nothing at this moment as they knew if they made any move this moment, those assassins would definitely kill them.
Not a single soul dared utter another word as the cries demanding punishment had long since disappeared.
The nobles who had been eager to watch Cassian receive a hundred lashes now wished for nothing more than to leave the throne room alive.
Several ministers instinctively edged closer towards the palace guards as if the men in armour could somehow protect them from enemies they couldn’t even see.
Others lowered their heads, silently praying to every god they had ever worshipped as the atmosphere inside the grand throne room had become unbearably heavy.
Every passing second felt like an eternity as everyone’s eyes constantly darted around the room, towards the towering pillars and then they went towards the enormous windows.
Some even glanced at the intricately carved ceiling and the luxurious curtains hanging beside them for every single shadow suddenly looked suspicious and every slight movement made hearts skip beats.
No one knew where the first attack would come from.
No one at all…except one person.
Cassian casually dusted imaginary dirt off his sleeves.
<I wonder where they’ll start from?>
<The windows?>
<The ceiling?>
<Or will they burst through the doors?>
<No…>
<That would be too boring.>
The King’s fingers slowly tightened around the armrest of his throne the longer he heard all those things as his expression remained calm.
It had become calm some minutes ago when he finally realized just the kind of situation he was in right now and how he had been so foolish to not have given this boy the benefit of the doubt and quickly checked out what he had talked about before.
His face remained much calmer than everyone else’s and yet, beneath those calm eyes…his thoughts had already become a raging storm.
Three minutes…
No, it was no longer three minutes as there was barely any time remaining and he knew that he couldn’t just gamble with the lives of everyone gathered inside the throne room.
If reinforcements didn’t arrive soon, then today would become the bloodiest day in the history of the royal palace.
His gaze shifted ever so slightly toward his Head Eunuch.
The old man had served beside him for decades, he was sure that the man would understand him…he always did.
Without uttering a single word…the King gave the faintest nod imaginable.
The Head Eunuch’s face immediately turned pale as he saw that barely imperceptible nod come from the king, he knew and understood exactly what that nod meant.
Reinforcements, the king needed him to find and bring the hidden Imperial Guards here immediately because only they stood a chance of stopping whatever nightmare had already slipped inside the palace.
Without daring to waste another second, he bowed deeply before turning around and his robes fluttered wildly as he hurried across the polished floor.
Every hurried footstep echoed loudly inside the deathly silent throne room.
Just a little further…
His trembling hand stretched toward the hidden mechanism concealed behind the throne of the Eldest Princess.
Just one more step remained but before he could get past the throne of the Eldest Princess—
WHIZZZZ!
THWACK!!
The sound of flesh being pierced echoed horrifyingly throughout the throne room and for a single heartbeat…no one moved as the Head Eunuch’s body froze where he stood.
His fingers instinctively wrapped around the arrow protruding from his throat as warm blood poured endlessly through the gaps between his fingers.
His lips parted in shock as if trying to say something but no words came, only thick crimson blood continued to spurt out from his throat.
“Gh—!”
His knees gave way beneath him.
THUD!!
His body collapsed heavily onto the polished marble floor as the metallic scent of blood instantly spread throughout the back of the Eldest Princess’s throne.
Segeral nobles gasped in shock and horror as one elderly minister staggered backwards before collapsing onto his rear in pure terror.
Even the palace guards instinctively raised their shields despite having no idea where the attack had come from.
“Where did it come from?!”
“Protect His Majesty!”
“The windows!”
“No!
It came from above!”
“It was the pillars!”
Chaos erupted almost instantly as guards rushed forward, forming a protective wall around the royal family whom ministers stumbled over one another in desperate attempts to hide behind anyone wearing armour.
Several people dropped flat onto the floor while others covered their heads with trembling hands as no one could see the attacker and that made the fear all the more terrifying.
Cassian smirked from where he stood, eying the guard once more before shaking his head in amusement.
It would seem like he wouldn’t even need to get his hands dirty when it came to this people today.
Same thing.