CH 24

The chilly words from Ethan's mouth were polite, but there was no mercy. He looked as if he could lightly kill a bug that was annoying in front of his eyes. Something hot flowed between the crotch of the First Prince who noticed it.

"......"

The First Prince's pants were soaking wet to the point it was see-through. The sour smell came up slowly. It was an unpleasant smell enough to bring back Ethan's reason, which had gone away for a while.

'I'm seeing all sorts of things.'

Ethan frowned slightly.

"Pft."

At that moment, an uncontrollable laughter escaped from between Sarah's lips. Ethan's head turned toward Sarah and Claude.

"It's GG. GG."

Sarah had been desperately covering Claude's eyes, as he kept raising his head from the moment he heard his father's voice. However, she was struggling to hold back her laughter, as if she had no choice but to see the tragic loss of the First Prince. Ethan let out a small breath as he looked at Sarah, who could laugh even as blood dripped down her neck. Being able to laugh like that meant she wasn't seriously hurt.

'Ha……'

A cool breeze blew into Ethan's head, which was slowly getting eaten up by the pleasure of power. Now he felt like his reason was returning properly. Ethan closely examined Sarah and Claude's condition. Perhaps she knew the meaning of that gaze, Sarah made eye contact with Ethan and smiled softly as if reassured.

"If you do it anymore, it's difficult to deal with it. Duke. It's not good for Young Master Claude's emotional education either."

"......Okay."

Sarah's ring broke and her mana was absorbed into Ethan's body. Thanks to that, he was able to use the power that did not take the vitality, but that was also a limit. As soon as Sarah's power disappeared, the First Prince would immediately be deprived of his vitality and die, and lived as a fool or crippled. Ethan quietly nodded and gathered his strength.

"Keugh!"

The First Prince, who fell from the air, groaned in shock and crunched. As he gasped and trembled, he glanced at Sarah and Ethan alternately with bloodshot eyes.

"Sarah Millen, I don't know why you protected that child…..., is it because you're possessed by that cursed power? Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to spare the child who killed your friend who you love so much, would you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Claude's body, who had been quietly listening to the sarcastic voice of the First Prince, trembled. 

"You're out of your mind, Kajzer de Crombell."

Ethan warned in a cold voice, but the First Prince laughed as if he had already lost his mind and tilted back. He continued after spitting out the blood in his mouth.

"Even the famous person in the whole country, Sarah Millen, must have had no choice in front of the threats of the Duke of Ambrosia. Seeing her embrace the monster cub who killed her friend. Ha, hahaha. What a disgusting friendship……!"

Claude's eyelids blinked slowly in Sarah's palm. The child raised his head and looked up at Sarah. Sarah, who was soaked in blood because she protected him, was a friend of his dead mother. And he was said to be a monster who killed Sarah's best friend. Tears slowly began to form in the child's eyes.

"Shh, that's not true. It's okay, Young Master Claude. You don't have to worry about it…..."

Sarah kissed the child's head and gently comforted him. She was going to tell him one day, but she didn't expect the child to find out in this way so quickly. While kissing Claude's forehead, Sarah raised her gaze and looked at the First Prince. Sarah's cold eyes sparkled with a strange light for a moment.

"Even if I am abandoned by His Majesty, those who want to protect the dignity of the Imperial family will not let you go. Even if they have to pursue you to the end of the Empire, they will surely kill you."

At that eerie curse, Ethan quietly lowered his gaze and looked at the First Prince's wet pants. At that blatant gaze, the First Prince trembled with a sense of insult.

"The dignity of the Imperial family……, really." 

"......!"

Is there any more insult than this?

'If only Father handed over the throne earlier…...!' 

The First Prince clenched his teeth, thinking that it was because of the damn Emperor that he was humiliated like this.

"Anyone, is there anyone here?!"

A loud roar escaped his mouth. His painful throat was about to tear, but he groaned and coughed continuously while shouting. If only people could gather, he would be able to kill all these pests. Thinking so, the First Prince continued to shout in desperate, shattering his throat. Then, in this quiet place as if time had stopped, he began to hear the footsteps of several people running at once.

"Excuse me, it's over there! Over there!"

There was even a voice calling people to gather. A smile of satisfaction formed on the First Prince’s lips. They would now pay a great price for touching the First Prince of the Crombell Empire.

"Oh no! I've seen something amazing, Knights! Duke Ambrosia and His Highness the First Prince......!"

The voice was getting closer.

It was none other than Jade Harper, the henchman of Duke Ethan Ambrosia, who was running toward them, leading the Imperial Knights. The First Prince had a strong feeling that something was wrong but he shook his head and tried to shake off the uncomfortable feeling.

"Ah, well, how can His Highness the First Prince! Point a sword! At a vulnerable! And need-to-be-protected child!"

Jade's face and dozens of Imperial Knights following him began to be seen. Jade, who was running hard and waving his hand, smiled, revealing his white teeth. At the same time, people started pouring out like a lie on Sernia Road, where there was no one in sight previously.

"Is this really a shortcut to the laundry room? It's the road to the Emperor's Palace, senior. If we run into someone of high rank…..."

"Then we run into each other."

The rookie courtiers followed the senior courtiers with both hands full of laundry.

"I'm sorry, Viscount Luruntes. Originally, I was supposed to take you along the road near the Empress's Palace, but due to maintenance, I was inevitably had to lead to the Sernia road."

"Hmm, hmm. I visited the Imperial Palace for the first time in a long time because my territory is on the outskirts, but it's okay to take this opportunity to see the Emperor’s Palace as well."

"Thank you for your generous forgiveness."

Even aristocrats walked through the Imperial Palace with their families according to the guidance of the courtiers. People were diligently gathering at the scene to be the witnesses that the First Prince had hoped for so much. Sarah's face, who was looking at the scene, clouded as if in trouble. The First Prince felt the victory as he saw Sarah's expression.

"Hahaha, look at this. Look at this! Duke Ethan Ambrosia has made me like this. How dare he insult and threaten the royal family! Come on, behead that bastard and rule him for treason. Come on!"

When Jade Harper, as well as other witnesses, began to gather, the First Prince was able to shake off all of his strange uneasiness.

"Here it is. Come here! Hurry up and look at what the Duke of Ambrosia has done to me!"

The First Prince, who was now delighted as he finally had a chance to repay the insult, raised his voice and laughed loudly. That was when the First Prince began to notice that Sarah's hand was carefully stretched toward him a little while ago. Then he heard the sound of fingers snapping. Finally, from some point on, the pain disappeared from his body without leaving a trace. He didn't notice all of it. Of course, the wetness of the pants remained the same.

"......"

"......"

All those who arrived at the scene couldn't say anything as if cats got their tongues. Their faces were very seriously hardened as if they had seen something very unlikely.

'What happened to his pants?'

Even the Imperial Knights, who had to subdue the Duke of Ambrosia faster than anyone else, looked at the tragic loss of the First Prince and frowned at that thought.

"Hurry up and do your part! Can't you immediately charge the Duke of Ambrosia for contempt of the Imperial family?! This is treason. Treason!"

The first emperor roared at the Imperial Knights. The blade held in the hand of the First Prince flashed with light whenever he ran wild. The complexion of those who saw his mad expression began to grow worse. All of their pale faces were horribly contorted.

"I have finally uncovered the true nature of Duke Ambrosia!"

The First Prince smiled meanly at those who were frozen stiff and didn't say anything or do anything. He thought the situation was reversed in an instant. How amazing what the Duke of Ambrosia had done to him made people stand frozen like statues.

"Come on, look at me. These clear marks left behind!"

Even though he had said this far, he was frustrated as the Knights did not lift a finger even though they should have understood his intentions and moved as they should. The First Prince looked at them and raised his hand, fumbling his neck, and tried to shout once again.

"What are you doing without moving right now…...!"

However, something was strange. Until just now, his throat hurt as if it was going to rip. Of course, his throat, which should have been painful like it was burning, did not hurt.

"Huh?"

A bewildered sound escaped from the lips of the First Prince.