Chapter 122: Chapter 19. Revenge on the crown prince

The sudden appearance of Eric Holmes in their path was a real surprise to Philip.

While his knights were ready to pounce on the crown prince at any second, the nobleman himself folded his hands in his pockets and was clearly now mocking. A contemptuous look was cast upon the lad's appearance, and the smile on his lips spread even wider.

— Your Highness, I'm even a little sorry you've come to this.

— …

— I remember that all the high society used to tremble at the authority of the Imperial family,» he went on, «and now… Do you sell potatoes?

Saying the last phrase, the son of the baron could not stand it and laughed out loud. Serge behind Philip shuddered. While the prince himself became more and more tense.

— I do envy your new life, Your Highness,» he said with a sneer, «You should have been born a commoner to begin with, not a crown prince.

The vein on Philip's forehead swelled with anger.

— You little bastard! — He barked, «What do you want from me?!

Eric Holmes continued to stand with the same satisfied grimace. Then he stated the obvious:

— Your Highness, it will be enough for me if you remember today for the rest of your life.

— Wha…?!

— Three years ago. I want you to remember this day as I did three years ago.

Philip shuddered.

During his time at the Royal Academy, Philip had done something he never regretted later. Simply because he didn't think it would ever come back to him.

Eric Holmes himself had waited a long time for this day. Waiting for the moment when the crown prince would be completely defenseless and the power of the ruling family could no longer cover him.

Now he was nothing but a miserable commoner with whom he could do anything he wanted.

— Your Highness, today I will make you very sorry for what happened.

When the lad recalled the events of the past, he was angry every time. He had indeed almost died that day. But luckily the professor found him in time, and Eric was saved in time.

After that beating, Eric had to recover for a year. He had to leave the academy for that time, and his father paid for the expensive treatment. But, most disgusting of all… No one ever punished the bastard.

Philip Blanche went unpunished simply because he is a crown prince and the son of a king. And Eric Holmes… The son of a baron. The difference in their social status was so great that despite all his anger, the young man's father could do nothing.

For some pathetic baron to accuse the king's own son of misbehavior… It seemed simply unthinkable. And it could have ended with even more dire consequences if his words were perceived as a slander against the imperial family.

Thus, Erik simply had to swallow the insult. But he never expected, after all this time, that the opportunity for revenge would present itself to him.

The Blanche dynasty no longer ruled this country. And the crown prince himself is presumed dead. There would be nothing wrong with Eric simply confirming that status for him.

But at the same time… Just finishing off this scumbag sounds too trivial. Erik wanted to mock him a little.

— 'Your Highness, I'll give you a chance, ' the aristocrat grinned, 'If you kneel before me right now and apologize, I might spare you.

Philip flared up.

— You…! — he held out a finger trembling with anger against him.

— I'm in a good mood, so I'll be magnanimous. Just do it.

While the baron's son mocked him openly, Philip finally couldn't stand it. In fact, he didn't want to die or be beaten at all. But to kneel before this worm… The crown prince would not do such a thing, even if his life hung in the balance.

Pride overwhelmed him from within. Finding himself at the very edge of a precipice, and in such a case, Philip was not going to lose his dignity. For if indeed he did, it would indeed be better to die afterwards.

— No way! — He declared, «I'm a crown prince, not some mutt like you!

Erik Holmes felt anger. This guy was already at the bottom, and yet he continued to boast of his status! Even though there was nothing left of him.

— Don't be an idiot,» the nobleman grumbled.

Philip snorted.

— 'I don't care. I was born as a crown prince, and I'll die as a crown prince. And you'll always be the son of some trash.

This time Erik was really angry.

— That bastard…!

He swung his fist to hit him himself, but at that moment Serge jumped out in front of him. The girl, who had been frightened and was hiding behind Philip, had volunteered to protect him, sensing the danger. She spread her arms out to cover the boy with her body.

They were both very surprised.

— Please don't do this! — she begged.

Holmes cooled down a little and grinned.

— I did not expect that even such a man as you would have a defender, — he summed up.

Meanwhile Philip seemed to be discontented.

— I didn't ask for one.

Serge hoped to prevent a fight between them, so that afterwards they could go home peacefully. But unfortunately, that never happened. Despite the girl's efforts and entreaties to stop it all, Philippe did not give up. The boys shouted insults at each other from behind her back.

— Scumbag, if you were hoping to scare me with that, that's just ridiculous! — The crown prince stated smugly.

Eric laughed sarcastically.

— In that case, we can check it out right now.

— I will never kneel down in front of a lowlife like you!

— That's fine. Then I'll make you do it myself!

Just a few seconds later, the two boys were already pounding on each other with their fists. Eric's knights simultaneously wanted to protect their master, and at the same time they wanted to beat the crown prince harder. And in the whole mess, poor Serge twirled as best she could, trying to save Philip.

Soon, the noise of this scuffle was spreading all over the street. The two aristocrats in the dark cloaks who were walking past it froze in surprise.

— What is going on there? — Razor was taken aback.

— Who cares,» Maxie shrugged, «Maybe the homeless people are fighting over food.

But the other prince was still tense, watching the commotion. He couldn't figure out exactly who was fighting there. But obviously there were a lot of people.

— We can't leave it like this,» he said worriedly, «They'll kill each other!

— So let them kill each other.

Razor was astonished at the indifference on Maxie's part. Apparently, this was not the first time the girl had witnessed such a scene, and it was not unusual for her. Commoners could put up a fight over anything. Even over a can of beer.

But the guy couldn't let it go anyway.

— Why don't we go break them up? — he suggested.

— Are you kidding me? — Maxie snorted. «You're gonna waste our time with whoever the hell it is?

— But… There are people there…» She sighed heavily.

Maxie sighed heavily. It was moments like this when she understood why Razor and Lerian were friends. After all, if the girl had witnessed such a scene, she would have insisted on an intervention just the same. S~eaʀᴄh the novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

— All right…» Maxie gave in, «But I'm not going to get into this mess personally. Let's just get the guards here.

The second prince sighed in relief.

— Good!

The young men made their way to the nearest guard post, which were stationed all over the city, keeping watch over public order.

After that, Maxie and Razor were going to seclude themselves in some cafe to discuss an important conversation.