"Grand Duke Nor… ton! What—what do you think you're doing!" The
"Tell me, Grand Duke
The great hall fell deathly silent. Every one of the dozen or so Grand Dukes, Marquises, and Counts present understood the Second Prince's near-manic fury. If not for the fact that Lorisite was a Sword Saint and the Norton Family's power was unrivaled in the kingdom, the Second Prince might very well have lunged at Lorisite right then and torn him apart with his bare hands.
In just two more days, the Second Prince would ascend to the throne and inherit the Krisen Empire, restoring its imperial title. And yet the Norton Family's armed forces, under Lorisite's orders, had carried out a small massacre in broad daylight and in full view of the public on the Imperial Avenue—the most bustling street in the capital. They had not only killed people but had also severed their heads and stacked them in a pile. This was nothing less than a slap to the Second Prince's face.
When he first received word that Norton Family forces had clashed with someone on the Imperial Avenue and killed people, the Second Prince had been posing for several renowned court painters in the palace, preparing to have his heroic likeness immortalized on canvas and hung on the wall alongside the seven deceased emperors of the Krisen royal line for all to revere.
The planned two-hour modeling session was nearly complete—the Second Prince had already endured an hour and a half. Just thirty more minutes and he could wrap up. He didn't want to fall short at the finish line. Moreover, in the next two days he would need to inspect all the preparations for the coronation ceremony and would likely have no more time to sit as a model. His half-body portrait also had to be completed within these two days and hung on the wall, so the Second Prince decided to push through. He ordered his guard commander to take a detachment to the Imperial Avenue to stop the Norton Family forces from clashing with the other party, and to invite Lorisite to the palace.
But his guard team never returned. Twenty minutes later, his illegitimate son Viscount Vickxsas came scrambling into the palace in a state of utter panic, threw himself at the Second Prince's legs, and screamed for help. Only then did the Second Prince learn that the party clashing with the Norton Family forces was none other than his own bastard son.
Viscount Vickxsas aggrievedly explained how the conflict had begun. He had merely admired Grand Duke Norton and his several wives from afar and had sent his steward to deliver a personal invitation, hoping to invite them to a welcoming banquet he was hosting. But no one had expected Grand Duke Norton to tear up the invitation he had sent and publicly declare that this illegitimate son of his had absolutely no right to invite them. The steward who had delivered the invitation was furious and rebuked Grand Duke Norton, meaning to say that while the Grand Duke was entirely within his rights to decline the invitation, he had no business slandering a nobleman's honor like that.
In response, Grand Duke Norton actually ordered the guards at his side to execute the steward on the spot. He then had the patrol squad that arrived to intervene in this outrage beaten and humiliated, and proudly proclaimed that anyone who dared offend the Norton Family would meet nothing but death.
The onlookers, incensed by righteous fury, rushed forward to stop Grand Duke Norton's guards from insulting and beating the patrol squad. But no one had expected the Grand Duke to actually order his guards to slaughter those brave people. The Imperial Avenue practically became a slaughterhouse—every last person who had rushed out was cut down where they stood. Then the Norton Family guards beheaded the corpses and stacked the heads into a so-called trophy mound, intending to terrify every onlooker present.
The Second Prince was horrified. He could no longer care about appearances and hurriedly led a squad of guards to Imperial Avenue—only to nearly blow his top with rage. The guards he had dispatched were under the command of their captain, maintaining order at both ends of the street, sitting idle while twenty or thirty armed Norton Family men leisurely demolished Count Vickxsas's Antario Trading Company…
The Second Prince wished he could run his own guard captain through with a sword, but the captain complained aggrievedly that Grand Duke Norton had insisted on this, and he had not dared to disobey…
By this time, Lorelston had already instructed Duke Canmes to escort
Lorelston had originally intended to settle accounts with Count Vickxsas, the instigator behind all this. Unfortunately, the moment Count Vickxsas learned that the trading company's guards had been killed and that the other party was the Norton Family, he realized things were going south. He fled in a flash to the royal palace to seek out the Second Prince—his greatest protector—and gave a thoroughly rewritten account of what had happened, successfully stoking the Second Prince's rage and turning him against Lorelston.
When the Second Prince saw Lorelston standing with his arms folded in front of the Antario Trading Company, calmly watching his men tear the building apart, he forced down his anger and rode over. "Come back with me. I have something to say to you."
Lorelston, at least, gave the Second Prince some face. He called off Tiger Ross, Pat, and the others, ordering them to escort Princess Silivia and the children back to their lodgings. Only then did he follow the Second Prince toward the palace.
By the time they reached the palace, several territorial Grand Dukes—including Duke Handra, Grand Duke Fisabrun, and Duke Shahin and Duke
This was an unforgivable humiliation. It was a challenge to the dignity of a king about to ascend the throne—it was a provocation against the sacred Krisen Imperial Family!
"Speak! Are you mute? Grand Duke Norton, what gives you the nerve to go on a killing spree so brazenly in the imperial capital? Do you look down on me as king? Did you treat my prohibition as nothing but hot air? Speak! If you have something to say, say it right here in front of everyone! You owe me an explanation for today's affairs!"
The Second Prince was calculating how to wrap things up now that events had already unfolded. Though he still wore a furious expression on the surface, he had already calmed down inside. Truthfully, there was nothing he could do about
Lorist would have to submit publicly, bow his head and admit defeat, then hand over the guards who had committed the killings so they could be hanged before the citizens of the imperial capital to uphold the law. Finally, the Norton Family would have to pay compensation for this killing incident. How much should he demand from the Norton Family? Ten million? Or eight million gold fude? But it certainly couldn't be less than five million...
Duke Canmes had also rushed over. He stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the sequence of events is as follows..."
"Shut your mouth! Let the Grand Duke of Norton speak for himself!" The Second Prince gave Duke Canmes absolutely no face, glaring at him with bloodshot eyes and forcing Canmes to retreat with a helpless shrug and a bitter smile.
Lorist stood in the great hall, watching the Second Prince pace around the throne that symbolized authority and majesty, wreathed in thunderous rage, and finally opened his mouth. But what surprised everyone was that Lorist was not submitting or admitting fault. Instead, he was furious. His tone was cold as ice, yet it chilled people's hearts even more than the Second Prince's outwardly explosive rage: "I brought my wife and children to attend Your Majesty's coronation ceremony, not to have my wife accosted and harassed on the streets of the imperial capital! Since Your Majesty can't tell right from wrong and blames me for it, then I simply won't attend this damn ceremony—I'll just go back to my domain..."
Lorist turned and left, not even bothering to reach for the door handle. He kicked the closed double doors of the hall, and with a thunderous boom, both doors flew outward, landing far away on the open ground beyond.
Everyone was stunned. What was going on? What could make Lorist dismiss the King's face so completely and storm out? And it seemed like Lorist's fury was even greater than the King's?
"Stop him!" the Second Prince screamed.
"He who stands in my way dies!" Lorist turned and spoke coldly, casting a single glance at the Second Prince. The Second Prince felt as though a bucket of ice water had been dumped over him, freezing him in place—for from that one look in Lorist's eyes, he felt a murderous intent so overwhelming it was almost tangible. Yes, it was just like that feeling from years ago during the negotiations with the Commerce Alliance, when he had faced the Storm Sword Saint. Like a fish on the chopping block, at the mercy of the blade, utterly powerless to resist...
It was not just the Second Prince. Every noble in the entire hall felt the bone-chilling killing intent in that single glance from Lorist. Alongside their fear, an even greater curiosity arose in their hearts—what exactly had happened this time? Why did Lorist harbor such intense killing intent, and why was it directed at the King himself?
Lorist turned to cast one last look at the great hall, then strode off unhurriedly. No one dared block his path…
The great hall fell deathly silent. Duke Kemmis was the first noble in the kingdom to recover his wits. He offered a perfunctory bow to the Second Prince, then turned and hurried after Lorist. Once he left, Duke Shahin and Duke Filim also came to their senses. The two exchanged a glance and didn't even bother bowing to the Second Prince in farewell. They simply turned and followed in Duke Kemmis's wake…
The Second Prince collapsed back onto his throne. His earlier fury had long since evaporated, his mind a muddled mess. What had just happened? Why had Lorist turned hostile and walked out just like that? This was a blatant show of contempt toward him as the King! Anger reignited in the Second Prince's chest, but the memory of that murderous glance from Lorist flashed through his mind again, and the rage was extinguished in an instant…
By the time the Second Prince emerged from his daze, he realized that among all the kingdom's nobles in the hall, only Grand Duke Fesaburen remained. The rest had already gone.
"F-father-in-law," the Second Prince forced a bitter smile onto his face. The new Queen he had married this time was technically Grand Duke Fesaburen's cousin once removed; the Grand Duke had adopted her as his own daughter before she was wed to the Second Prince. By that reckoning, Lorist and Princess Siliweia would have to address the Second Prince and the new Queen as uncle and aunt—which was likely one of the Second Prince's petty little indulgences. The last time he had hosted Lorist and Princess Siliweia for a banquet, he had even forced them to address him using kinship terms…
"D-do you think that without Lorist, your family's forces and the royal army could destroy the Norton Family and the Northland Alliance of Four?" The Second Prince finally voiced what had been churning in his mind.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Grand Duke Fesaburen was exasperated. Only a fool would try to go head-to-head against the Norton Family's military. Could they possibly win? Even without Lorist, the bronze cannons the Norton Family had deployed alone were enough to send every opponent fleeing in terror.
Swordmaster—no, even if Lorist was a Sword Saint, death would not have been his fate.
"B-but he went too far! Didn't you see? He went on a killing spree right in the imperial capital! What does that make me as King? He didn't even acknowledge his wrongdoing, let alone show me the slightest respect! He threatened us not to block his path! Even if he's a Sword Saint, I won't swallow this insult! I'd sooner mobilize the entire kingdom's forces and fight the Norton Family to the bitter end than remain a King in name only!" The Second Prince poured out all his pent-up grievance and frustration.
"Your Majesty, you would do well to investigate the details of the Norton Family's killings yourself, in person. There is a good chance that things are not quite as you imagine. I suspect you may have misunderstood the Grand Duke Norton. From what I know, Grand Duke Norton is not such a tyrannical man. He would not go on a killing spree in the imperial capital without reason…" Grand Duke Fesaburen hastily counseled him.
Hmm, the Second Prince mulled it over — yes, that was right, Lorist wasn't that kind of person. His temperament could even be described as somewhat soft; he valued bonds of loyalty above all else. For a territorial noble, that was a significant character flaw. Most nobles would turn on even their closest friends without a shred of remorse if it served their family's interests. But Lorist was not like that. The Northland Four Families Alliance was proof enough — even though the Norton Family's strength surpassed the other three combined, Lorist still upheld his alliance with them rather than exhausting every effort to swallow them whole and elevate his family's power even further.
What the Second Prince truly feared was the Norton Family's might. As for Lorist himself, he actually admired the man, even felt a measure of respect. He believed Lorist harbored no personal ambition. What he worried about was whether the Norton Family's power, once it reached its zenith, would push Lorist toward challenging his throne. And the Second Prince had exploited Lorist's loyalty and sense of honor — his so-called character weakness — no small number of times in the past to secure considerable advantages for himself.
As a ruling lord, the Second Prince understood full well the difficulties of sitting in such a position. Sometimes, even if one harbored no ambition of one's own, the demands of family advancement and the futures of one's subordinates inevitably dragged one down that path. Just as in the old days — the Second Prince had only wanted to quell the empire's turmoil, but in the end, for the sake of power and to keep the loyal retainers gathered around him from scattering to the winds, he had been forced to stand against his own father and eldest brother. There was no kinship in the royal family…
At the Second Prince's command, witnesses to the Imperial Avenue killings were quickly rounded up — residents who had been present, shopkeepers from either side of the street, and the patrol squad. As they gave their accounts, the full picture of events unfolded clearly before the Second Prince and Grand Duke Fesaburen.
The Second Prince was livid. He had been duped again — this time by Wickes, that illegitimate son of his. The ungrateful wretch had once again used his name to bully the visiting nobles in the imperial capital. Ordinary nobles, mindful of the King's face, had swallowed their anger in silence. Even Grand Duke Handala had been forced to swallow his pride and treat Count Wickes with courtesy — until this time, when he had kicked an iron plate and run into Lorist and Princess Silivia…
If Wickes were not his own bastard son, he would have died seven or eight times over by now. Blocking the path of nobles and forcing their ladies to attend his little balls — that was nothing short of an utter humiliation. No wonder Lorist had flown into a rage and started killing on the street. He was the Kingdom-Protecting Sword Saint, the Grand Duke of the Northland. If his wife were forced to accept an invitation to some dance, that was a slap in the face — a stain on the Norton Family's honor that could only be washed away with blood. As for the Antearo Trading Company guards who had rushed in afterwards, they had simply been seeking death. They had called Lorist a traitor, so they had no right to complain when he opened fire.
But why had the look Lorist cast at him before leaving been filled with killing intent? The Second Prince shuddered with alarm. Could Lorist believe that he — the Second Prince — had been orchestrating all of this behind the scenes? Otherwise, how could his bastard son Wickes have been so brazen…
"Your Majesty! Grand Duke Norton, Duke Filim, Duke Kenmais, and Duke Shahin have departed the capital through the south gate with their families and household forces. It appears they are heading for Qilin Harbor!" A guard rushed in and bellowed his report.
"What did you say?!" The Second Prince was thunderstruck. "Why didn't anyone stop them…"
The guard didn't answer. The Second Prince caught himself — who would dare block the path of four Grand Dukes, especially when one of them was the Kingdom-Protecting Sword Saint? The only option would be to deploy the royal legions, but wouldn't that hand others the perfect justification? They weren't rebels — wouldn't deploying the army against them be exactly what pushed them toward rebellion? Besides, they had come to the capital with their families to attend the coronation. If the Second Prince mobilized the royal legions and so much as harmed a single family member, public outrage would erupt and not a single noble in the kingdom would ever support him as King again…
The Second Prince was spinning in circles with anxiety. Grand Duke Fissabrun snarled, "Why are you still standing here? Go after them! You go first and try to keep them steady — I'll contact the other Kingdom nobles and head out together to persuade them to stay. The coronation ceremony is in two days. We cannot do it without the participation of all four Grand Dukes. Especially Grand Duke Norton — he's the Kingdom-Protecting Sword Saint! If he doesn't attend His Majesty's coronation, the consequences would be catastrophic…"
Grand Duke Fissabrun had pointedly stopped short of spelling it all out, but the Second Prince suddenly understood. "I'll head over there right away. I'm counting on you, Father-in-law…"
……