Chapter 108: Chapter 5. Successor

Razor Blanche was at a loss for words.

There was no way he could have expected that Rachel was aware of their plan. Though, on the other hand, it seemed obvious. After all, three years ago they had disappeared together.

Now the prince didn't know what consequences the incident would have for him. Rachel Cassius had been obsessed with Lerian since high school, and it was his initiative that had caused them to break up. Now, this woman had unlimited power.

Razor had little hope of getting lucky this time.

— Will you kill me…? — the boy asked only one question.

— Do you want me to kill you? — Rachel Cassius said calmly.

Razor went into a stupor. He himself had no idea how he should answer such a thing.

But at the same time…

— It doesn't matter what you do to me. At least I don't regret it,» he said against his instinct for self-preservation.

Rachel hummed.

— Really? In the future, you might want to take that back.

The second prince was quiet. No matter how hard it would be, there was no way he would bow his head to this traitor. His older brother and parents will not forgive him for such a thing in heaven.

Rachel stood right in front of him and smirked.

— How many idiots have already said goodbye to their lives because of their damn pride. Looks like you're not as bright as everyone thought.

— …

Razor clenched his fists in anger.

— «The honor of the Imperial family is no match for my life,» he muttered through gritted teeth.

Rachel snorted, thinking the guy was truly shallow. And how on earth did Leriana agree to run off with someone who was incapable of thinking straight?

— Suit yourself,» she tossed, «Even if I let you live, it wouldn't be any threat to me.»

— You…!

Razor could not believe that this wretch was so confident in her powers that she did not even take one of the blood heirs to the throne seriously.

— You can try to attack me right now. Except that suicide won't solve anything.

The boy choked with indignation.

— Death isn't the only option. I could lock you in a dungeon,» she went on. Believe me, I will find a way to amuse you.

While Razor was still frozen, she traced a warning finger across his neck. A trickle of blood trickled down from the flickering touch.

He shuddered.

— Leriane is the only reason you're still in one piece.

As Razor struggled to recover from this state, Rachel Cassius had already turned away from him and taken her seat on the throne again. The sword in his hand dropped down by itself.

— This country and people no longer belong to you. And the sooner you realize that, the better.

When the girl looked down at him, you could clearly recognize the contempt in her gaze. It was as if, right now, she were just one of the insects in front of her.

Razor was disgusted by this.

Rachel's voice echoed in his head for a while longer.

After she had defeated him so easily even without a fight, the boy slowly wandered back without any thoughts. At this point he felt utterly devastated.

Until he reached the gates of the palace, where Maxi appeared to be standing.

Leaning with her back against the wall, the girl was waiting for him. Razor felt some emotion for the first time since leaving the throne room and was surprised.

— Shall we talk? — A rather obvious suggestion was made.

***

After the two met by chance after a long time, they decided to sit in one of the local taverns.

The owner filled the table between them with various dishes and treats, but the two paid little attention to the food. A tense atmosphere hung in the air.

— I thought you would never come back,» the Marquis's daughter frankly confessed.

Razor grinned bitterly.

— I thought so myself.

They looked at each other awkwardly, for they had never expected their next meeting to be like this.

In those three years, though they hadn't become friends, they had managed to establish a perfectly acceptable relationship. At least he no longer regarded Maxi as their enemy and did not treat her with suspicion. She, in turn, had softened her behavior and stopped treating the prince as a useless slug.

Now that they were alone in such a predicament, they could only turn to each other for help.

— What shall we do now? — Razor said at last, when the silence lingered.

Maxie looked at him.

— And what do you suggest? — she asked suddenly.

— What do you mean? — He looked indignant, «You're not going to leave it alone, are you?

Maxie sighed heavily.

— Right now things have become too complicated,» she said thoughtfully, «I can no longer plan my next steps ahead like I used to.»

Razor didn't like the girl's passive behavior at all. After all, he clearly wasn't going to just let the heiress of the Cassius family enjoy what she received.

— Things can't go on like this…» said the prince nonchalantly, «We must overthrow Rachel Cassius!

— Ha…! — The girl snorted, «Do you think it's that easy?» seaʀᴄh thё NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

— If we can get the men together and get your father's support, then…» He started to think of some logical way to proceed, but she interrupted him.

— «It won't work,» Maxie said at once.

— What do you mean?

— My father can't help you with that.

Razor was taken aback.

— Why not?» She paused.

Maxie was silent, and it was obvious that she wasn't too eager to talk about it. She probably had a reason of her own, one she could not reveal to anyone just yet.

Then Razor tensed even more.

— Well…» he said thoughtfully, «In that case, let's save Lerian first, and then we'll figure out what to do next…»

— How are you going to do that? — She asked.

— Hmm?

— Saving Leriana from the clutches of that monster…» «Even storming the fortress sounds easier.

— Oh, come on,» the girl protested. «Would it really be so hard to get just one man out of the palace? We'll use a small army to do it, and…» «No.

— No.

— But what this time?!

Maxie looked tense.

— It might work if the palace was guarded by regular guards,» she said slowly, «But… It's much worse there.»

— What do you mean? — The boy didn't understand.

Maxie snorted.

— Do you suppose I didn't think of that at first? — She summed up. «Of course, if it were possible, I would have got Lerian out the first day. But the problem is, I can't even defeat one of them.»

— What?» The prince's pupils dilated even wider. In all this time, I've never once seen Maxie lose to anyone. Even with her father, she'd never lost to anyone. But here… These are just ordinary warriors.

— The palace is guarded by Cassius family mercenaries, disguised as mere guards,» she informed him dryly.

Razor was taken aback. Now that was a surprise for sure.

— What? But why…?

— But you must have noticed by now that there aren't many of the old faces left in the palace,» she shrugged. You must have noticed there aren't many old faces in the palace.

— It's strange…» Razor half-heartedly agreed. «Only a few of the others really recognize me.»

— Because the rest of them are Rachel Cassius's people.

Razor hesitated.

— But why… What does she need such heavy security for?

— Trying to read this wretch's mind is like getting inside the Devil's head,» Maxie sighed. Even as the daughter of the First Knight of the Empire, I can't defeat them, much less you. Never mind you.

Razor was silent. Then, suddenly, his blue eyes lit up again.

— I don't care,» he said abruptly, getting up from the table, «I'll find a way to free her anyway.»

— What?» Maxie wondered, «Are you crazy? You're going to go in there alone?!»

Since Cassius' mercenaries guarded the palace gates, it was safe to assume they guarded Lerian's quarters, too. Trying to break through these professional assassins would be like stabbing the lid off a coffin yourself.

Razor grinned bitterly.

— My whole family is dead, so Leriana is the only one I have left,» he said with a tear, «I will do everything I can to save her.»

Maxie sighed heavily, but realized that this stubborn guy was definitely not going to change his mind.

In a way, the strong friendship between the two was enviable.

At that moment, Razor reminded her of the Marquis of Windsor when he'd been young. He, too, had never backed down from his goals, and always brought things to an end.

And now a similar gleam was in the eyes of the youngest heir to the kingdom of Azeroth.

«Father, it seems you have raised a worthy successor.»