Chapter 196: A Prince Who Slays Monsters

Chapter 196: A Prince Who Slays Monsters

The Prince looked into her face, and said gently

Thy son is well, and hath not lost his wits, good dame. Comfort thee: let me to the palace where he is, and straightway will the King my father restore him to thee.

The King thy father! Oh, my child! unsay these words that be freighted with death for thee, and ruin for all that be near to thee. Shake of this gruesome dream. Call back thy poor wandering memory. Look upon me. Am not I thy mother that bore thee, and loveth thee?

The Prince shook his head and reluctantly said

God knoweth I am loth to grieve thy heart; but truly have I never looked upon thy face before.

- Mark Twain, The Prince qnd The Pauper, (1881, 2nd Era)

There were two things that brought Erec to a jog the moment he heard Colin yelling.

The first was the tonethe anger. It screamed fight. His instincts, honed through their adventures together, were to go and reinforce his friend in battle. No matter who the enemy was, by now, Erecs body moved on its own accord to get involved.

The second, more logical reasoning, as his brain caught up with his legs, was a realization. Out of everyone in their group, Colin was the person with the least social aptitude. Which said a lot, considering he counted himself among them. Therefore, Colin had the absolute greatest room to cause an accidental massive scandal. His rank was his friends only saving grace, which allowed him to get away with such social gaffes. But this wasnt against some random count or viscount.

Nope, hed picked a fight with a prince.

Erec ran out of the gambling room, aware his friends were following right behind.

With a burst of speed and careful maneuvering to avoid nobles grouped up in his way, Erec tumbled out of the gambling room on the second floor and into the upper level of Luculentus Manors grand hall. It was a spacious interior, filled with people even as the event was nearing the end of the festivities. A large carpeted staircase led from the entryway to the second floorErec hit the ornate wooden railing of the second floor and got a perfect view of what was happening below, right near the main staircase.

The gathering crowd of nobles forming a circle around the conflict made it impossible to miss.

Colin stood, fists balled with Alexandra at his side, glaring at Prince Soren.

Warranted or not, I shall not suffer from hearing another man levy an insult her way. You do not have the station nor the authority to call her an irritating trollop from an inferior family. Colin almost growled, his voice radiatingeither some magic was at play, or Erecs perception was in overdrive.

Authority, or station? Might I remind you, Duke Nitidus's son, what is the difference between a prince and a duchy-spawn? Soren asked. If I do not have that level of authority, then whom does? All families are inferior to the royal family. A concept Id have thought you of all people familiar with, given your history in the court.

I am nothing if not a shining example of the duchyand she is irritating, sure. Ill concede that point. ButIll only accept someone calling her that if it were, I, as the one who said such a thing. Not you. And even less so for this. She was simply asking you for details about the upcoming event. You know, the one the crown declared imminent and hit us all like a blow to the gut. That event? The event that we, the regal and refined nobility of the duchy, deserve more information about since well be playing go-between for the Crown and those beneath us. She deserved an answer to those questions. Yet, that is not the most grievous of your insult. Trollop. Alexandra has no such history.

Soren stared at him, his expression blank as those dead eyes of his considered Colin. The lack of a response, if anything, only made Colin angrier. His face reddened, his fists going white.

Though, if Colin was looking to start a fight Erec didnt exactly get why he was resorting to fists instead of tossing out an unexpected spellbut the pause the prince gave was something Erec couldnt afford to let slip away. Erec capitalized on the break, cutting through the crowd near the railing to make his way to the staircase and downward, taking two steps at a time. Shoving past the gawking and rumor-mongering nobility that cluttered the stairway as they stared.

Of course, the peace couldnt last long enough for him to reach his friend.

You are aware of her personal history, correct? House Doctus doesnt hold to traditional values and has had two previous broken engagements. I admit that perhaps I used the word to get her to back away for a moment and earn myself a moment to breathe without sufficient justification. But it was a leveled response, given she wouldnt break her campaign of harassment for information. My brother did make you all aware that not all of the information of the upcoming event is meant to be available to the public

Ive had enough of your words; your ego has grown far too large! You are no better than us, and it is time to bring a stark reminder of that fact, tyrant! Colin spat and then rushed the prince.

Just like that, in a public gathering with a vast crowd of witnesses, the heir to House Nitidus threw a fist at a prince; a storm went through Erecs heart as he gasped along with the rest of the crowd, nearly slipping and falling down the rest of the staircase he was running down to try to prevent this very thing from happening.

Colins curled fist slammed right into Sorenuntil it didnt. In an instant, Soren was next to Colin, his fist whipped out and hammering into Colins side, sending him flying with more force than Erec had last seen the boy capable ofan activation of his Divine Talent, one which Erec had his own previous trouble handling. Colin stumbled back with a curse as the wind was knocked from his lungs, his head whipping around to look at the prince.

A waste of energy. As you are now, your loss is inevitable. Repent and ask forgiveness, and Ill grant it for daring to rise against your betters, Soren said.

Go fuck yourself with that crown on your head, dipshit; no one hits my Colly! Alexandra shouted as she crashed into Soren from behind, tackling the prince and bringing him to the ground.

Why?

At this, the prince was silent, only tilted his head.

If you wont explain why, then would you offer an apology? With such a move, I am sure these two will be willing to profess their own. We can walk away from this, not happy, but better off.

I will do no such thing.

Erec felt another spark of fire run through him. And at this, he couldnt help it. His grip tightened on Colin, and he felt the ember catch, a bit of him burn away with annoyance. Soren wasnt like this, as far as hed known the prince. They werent particularly close, but hed trained with the boy. Like it or not, Soren was the type of person who did nothing without deliberate intention. So his intention here was to piss off Colin and Alexandra.

This, in turn, pissed Erec off. What was he thinking? The Kingdom could ill stand such a public display right after the heels of the announcement tonight. This would only sew further division at a time when they needed all the resources they could to deal with the mounting threat that would be the Church.

If you will not apologize, then I can scarcely request my friends apologize for their actions.

If that is how you wish this to go, Sir Erec. Then so be it.

Youre trying to get under my skin too?

Though I have heard stories of you, Erec. Of your opportunisms on the field and during the expedition. Though we are equal in rank as Knights, and I am your better in rank and previously won against you, I must admit, Im curious. Do I still win in a direct conflict with one such as you? A man who has embraced the monster to defeat monsters? I should think so, yet it is within my nature to wonder.

Are you trying to fight me? Erec said, fire fanning stronger. Enide shot him a raised eyebrow, splitting her focus from Alexandra. She was undoubtedly wondering if they were about to turn on the crown and join their allies in their battle. A rebellion spawned in the depths of the Kingdom and was more than likely to end up with them all thrown in a dungeon to rot if allowed.

Yes. But not here. Your partner thereEnide, I believe her name was, from the reportshas made an interesting proposition and pointed out things appropriately. If we are to do such a battle to satisfy my curiosity, it should be done on the proper field. For now, I wont retract my intent to punish House Doctus and House Nitidus. Considering their heirs refusal to submit to the crown and utter their apologies, it would be foolish to. However, Ill suspend my judgment pending the tournament results. While I doubt theyll be able to accomplish this goal, I want to encourage growth. If either is able to best me in the tournament, then they shall both be forgiven. If they are to fail, they and their houses will receive justice. Simple. Clean. Prince Soren was playing to the crowd now, no longer even focused on the two whod hed just lain the proverbial gauntlet down before.

A dim part of Erec was aware that they were still on a social stage. This was one of the types of social games he was trying to learnand hopelessly out of his depth already. Not knowing what role, if any, he was supposed to play. Or what could he say to turn this around? But that part was outweighed by the anger running through him. The hot magma in his veins wanted to let go of Colin so he could be the next one who got to throw a punch at this smug prick.

I doubt youll make it to them, Erec said, Youll lose to me.

Will I Sir Erec? Please. My life has been dedicated towards eliminating monsters; if youve given up humanity to slay them and become one among them, then Im assured in my victory, At this, Soren stared directly at him.

For the first time, ever, maybe. Erec could have sworn hed seen a smile on the princes lips.

By the decree of the crown, all are to return to their business. This matter is not settled but shall be set aside for tonight. May we see if redemption for these two can be found on a more suitable battlefield, Soren said, his emotionless tone waving over the crowd as he dismissed them all.

Not that it stopped the nobles from breaking apart to discuss what just happenedbut Soren turned and walked to the exit of the manor, leaving them all to deal with the fallout.

Erec let go of Colin.

Pompous jackass, he was born with a golden spoon hanging from his mouth and struggled for naut; blood does not set him above us, and it is past time he is reminded of that, Colin muttered darkly, staring daggers at the princes back.

Hey, you realize that youve done several times worse than that, right? And thats just what Ive seen. Enide asked, scratching the back of her head.

Nonsense, Colin replied. I am nothing if not polite to those beneath me.

Sure, Enide replied before they swiftly tried to extract themselves from the spotlight with as much grace as they could manage.

Even as Garin and Olivia rushed in and smoothed their way out of the manor, Erec kept thinking. Back to that slight smile on the princes face. That surety of his victory. Colin wasnt the only one who wanted to put him in his placeafter all, what had Soren had to struggle for to get what he had? What gave him the right to challenge Erec, who was doing his best to help this Kingdom? There were better things than focusing on this. He knew it. But a part of him couldnt help it.

Hed been challenged. And that needed an answer.