CH 2

“I didn’t even sense a presence….”

Although the fifth prince is said to have no abilities, is it natural for his awareness to be this weak?

However, considering who the Royal Guards are, it might be expected. They were all exceptional individuals with outstanding abilities.

“I am a Royal Guard, my name is Illyujun. My rank is Viscount.”

“Nice to meet you, Viscount Illyujun,” Raymond nodded in reply.

“Due to the unexpectedness of this, I did not prepare for your meeting. I am here to serve you instead, so please do not be angry,” Viscount Illyujun said, bowing his head slightly.

What’s the difference between a bastard and the other princes coming to the palace without any of the preparation for an audience? He’s just talking nonsense.

“Don’t worry about the inconvenience. It’s my fault for coming suddenly.”

Viscount Illyujun revised his personal evaluation of the fifth prince a bit, he’s different from what he had heard in the past. Although he looked a bit surprised, Raymond couldn’t see because of the mask the viscount wore.

“I will escort you to the banquet hall.”

“This Royal Guard is really reliable,” Raymond said with a smile on his face. It was not sarcasm, but pure joy.The exuberance in the Fifth Prince’s voice brought a smile to the Viscount’s face.

“Yes, Your Highness, the Fifth Prince. I will protect you even if an assassin suddenly appears.”

“The shield of the royal family never breaks, right? I feel relieved.” Even if there were no attacks in the palace in the first place, the sight of Raymond sincerely thanking him and smiling warmly made Illyujun’s face beneath his mask light up with a bright smile.

Even if it was just lip service, it was not a bad experience to have a conversation with a Royal Guard like this.

In front of him, the rogue 5th prince was nowhere to be found. “Even if the ‘Assassins’, who lurk in the shadows of the Edrige Kingdom were to appear, I will protect you, Your Highness.” The Edrige Kingdom is said to be hostile with the Fillius Empire, but would the most elite class of assassins show up at this time?

This is the Imperial Palace, deep in the heart of the Empire’s imperial capital.

‘That could never happen,’

However never is a strong word.

“Assassins!” “The palace has been attacked!” “Protect the emperor with the royal guard!”

The empire seemed to have fallen much more than Raymond had thought. “Fuck…” He barely managed to hold back his curse. Of all times, he had come to see the emperor’s face after five years, this had to happen.

It was so unlucky

But Raymond was only slightly taken aback and not afraid.

It’s not a setting that was written in the book, so it’s obviously a minor incident that doesn’t kill any of the main characters.

Most notably, the Fifth Prince, Raymond Phillius, survives the attack on the ballroom at the beginning of Book 1.

Of course, he does die along with the rest of the royal family at the climactic, bloody funeral at the end of Book 1, but at least he doesn’t die yet.

“Knights, defend the Fifth Prince!” shouts Viscount Illyujun, and the imperial knights in his entourage rush to his side, swords drawn.

***

Bewildered by the sudden turn of events, Lei Man opened his mouth to speak.

“Imperials? This is lucky.” An assassin flashed into the space. The kingdom may have fallen, but this is the imperial palace. Assassinating an emperor is no easy task.

This is just a reconnaissance mission to gather information about the emperor’s security detail. But there is one noble here, and the security detail is not very strong.

Most of the Imperial Guard and Royal Guards were concentrated on the Emperor.

“It’s my first time facing off against a Royal Guard.” The assassin was confident in their victory, and at that moment, the Royal Guard’s Illyujon, opened his mouth.

“Assassins.”

“Did you really send real assassins?” Raymond was on the verge of losing it.

“But don’t worry, your highness 5th prince.” Swoosh.

Viscount Illyujon drew his sword.

“I promised you I would protect you,” he said, determination in his voice.

The shield of the royal family is impenetrable.”

“I believe you. Viscount Illyujon.”

“I will not let you down.” Viscount Illyujon took a step forward.

An unusual aura flowed from his body, making even the assassin, who at first confident of victory, nervous.

“Is this a Viscount from the Royalguard……?” the assassin murmured, his voice dripping with interest, and then Viscount Illyujon’s swung his sword.

A short and sharp sword sprang out from the sleeve of the assassin. ‘Fast!’ It was only after more than ten clashes between the short sword and the long sword that Raymond realized the battle had begun. ‘Although I’m not talented, I didn’t expect it to be this bad.’ Raymond sighed as he admired the clash of the two strong fighters, yet at the same time he was unable to fully appreciate their movements due to the limitations of his physical ability.

Even when he saw Viscount Illyujon, he felt it, but it was lamentable to have this kind of physique.

5th Prince Raymond was one of the villains in the first volume, but he had very little involvement in the main story, so there was almost no description of his talent in the novel. Therefore, I didn’t expect him to be so untalented.

“More like an extra.” A character who appears briefly in the story. They provoke the protagonist before being brutally defeated and exiting the scene alone, and later they lose their life like in his case the plan to assassinate the imperial family.

“And on that day, the noble families of the Phillius Empire perished.” The thought didn’t last long, as a sharp blade fragment lodged into his ankle.At the sight of it, the imperial knights stepped forward and shouted.

“Your Highness, the Fifth Prince, you must stand back!”

“It’s dangerous here,”

“I must stay here,” said Raymond. “It’s dangerous, but I cannot retreat.”

“The bloodline of the Phillius imperial family does not flee. But today was different.”

There is no bastard here today. There was only the Fifth Prince, who carried the blood of the House of Phillius.

“Your Majesty the Fifth!” “We will protect you with our lives!” the imperial knights shouted again.

Regardless of the commotion, Raymond didn’t take his eyes off the two people in front of him.

Even though he couldn’t even see the afterimages, his gaze remained fixed.

It was a courtesy, he supposed, to the Viscount Illyujun who had stepped up to the plate to protect him.

‘So the rumors were wrong’ Viscount Illyujun thought, feeling Raymond’s gaze on him, and being slightly touched.

‘I will not disappoint you,’ Viscount Illyujun eyes gleamed sharply. He raised his sword to gain momentum. It was then that the assassin realized he had underestimated the Royal Guard.

“Oh, no…….” Realizing his mistake, the assassin was about to step back when Viscount Illyujun’s blade seemed to scatter and come from all directions.

“Is this the Royal Guard…….” Rayman’s eyes widened as he realized his mistake. Blood gushed from the assassin’s entire body.

He collapsed helplessly, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

“Your Highness, the Fifth Prince, we will escort you to safety,” Raymond smiled at Viscount Illyujun, who bowed his head slightly.

* * *

A fallen empire, but still an empire.

No one had expected that the defenses of the imperial palace, which was considered the safest place in the imperial city, would be breached, even if only temporarily.

The target of the invaders was, of course, the Emperor.

More than thirty of them attacked the Emperor as he made his way to the banquet hall for breakfast, and the result was complete annihilation.

The palace’s defenses were breached, but the emperor had the shield of the imperial family and the Royal Guard by his side.

The attack was doomed from the start.

Even the Emperor saw it as a power reconnaissance to check the defenses, not an attack to kill the him.

A Royal Guard kneeling on one knee raised his head slightly to report the damage.

“Hmm.” Ronald’s expression relaxed. He was relieved to see that the damage wasn’t as bad as he thought.

The Royal Guard looked a little relieved and opened his mouth again to continue his report.

“…And his highness the 5th prince has been attacked by one of the chief assassins.”

“Was the 5th prince at the palace?”

“Yes, he was.” The emperor, who had been maintaining his composure, was shaken by the news.

“I believe he had accepted the Emperor’s invitation to breakfast.””Ah…….” The Emperor, Ronald, had been sending breakfast invitations to the Fifth Prince, Raymond, every morning. It had been going on for five years, and he hadn’t even seen a shadow of him in the palace.

“But you accepted the breakfast invitation this morning?” “Raymond…” The Emperor murmured quietly, in a dry voice, as he uttered the name of the 5th Prince.

“Where is the Fifth Prince now?””At a secure location near the banquet hall, escorted by one Royal Guard and imperial knights. He will return to the Fifth Prince’s palace as soon as the safety of the palace is confirmed.”

“No.”

“Your Majesty?”

His tongue was faster than his heart. Ronald blurted it out in spite of himself.

He could feel the Royal Guard’s eyes on him as he continued his report. The Emperor opened his mouth with a stern face.

“We are going to the banquet hall. Notify the First Kitchen to prepare the meal.” “Your Majesty! It has not been confirmed safe!” “Yes, there may be some residual danger,” the Primary Guard and Knights Captain said.

“It’s been five years,” the Emperor’s voice echoes quietly through the realm. It’s calm but powerful.

The eyes of the men assembled for the escort focused on the Emperor.

“Are you saying that we cannot even provide breakfast to my son who came to visit me after five years? Or is it because the shield of the royal family has weakened to the point where we cannot even protect a breakfast between family?” The words became a sharp needle that pierced the hearts of the escorts, as they turned their gaze to the captain of the Royal Guard, the chief of the Imperial Guards, and the commander of the knights.

The emperor’s words carried multiple meanings.

“Has the empire fallen this low?” It seemed like he was asking that.

And also.

There is a need to show everyone that the empire is still strong.

His servants understood what he meant.

“Emperor. The palace is safe now. We will make sure to keep it so. You may proceed to the banquet in peace,” said Marquis Blizzard, acting head of the Royal Guard in the absence of the vacant Grand Duke.

***

“Can you explain again?” Raymond, the Fifth Prince, didn’t understand the situation, so he asked the imperial knight in front of him to explain.

“I’ve been ordered to escort His Highness the Fifth Prince to the banquet hall.” “Does that mean my personal guard, the Imperial Sixth Knight Order, in other words, the entire Golden Heart Knights, were sent?” “Yes. That’s right.” “I never thought I’d see over twenty Knights of the Golden Heart as an escort.

Even Raymond hadn’t imagined that his return after five years would have such a huge impact.

He didn’t expect the imperial palace to be attacked, so he wanted to go back to the Fifth Emperor’s palace and lock himself away, but he didn’t expect the emperor to come out like this.

“Your Majesty, the Fifth Prince…….,” Alex said from beside him, cautiously urging him to answer.

Raymond felt like running away, but he held his tongue.

“Allow me to escort you to the banquet hall.” “I will escort you safely.” It wasn’t far to the banquet hall. There were an unusually high number of armed men along the way, perhaps because of the attack earlier.

When we finally arrived, there were two royal guards at the entrance.

“His Majesty the Emperor is expecting you,” the Royal Guard said in a low voice, slowly opening the doors to reveal a spacious banquet hall.

At the head of the table sat the Emperor, Ronald.

“Welcome, my son.” A reunion after five years. The emperor’s gaze was affectionate as he looked at his son, who had returned to him.

Breakfast was quickly over. The emperor gave Raymond a wistful glance as he ate, but said nothing in particular.

They hadn’t seen each other in five years, but their conversations were few and far between.

When the meal was over, Raymond could see the Emperor standing up first, accompanied by his Royal Guard, with a wistful look on his face.

The Emperor was busier than anyone else right now because the palace had been attacked, but he still took the time to have breakfast with Leiman.

It was clear to see how much the Emperor cared about Raymond.

“But the Emperor is old and sick,” he said, “and though his eyes have not yet lost their sparkle, it does not change the fact that the sun is setting.

There was a good chance that the throne would be passed on to the first or second or third prince.

[1] The First Prince, gifted in the art of swordsmanship, is strong, but his temper is like a raging flame, and he has the support of the military and knights. The third prince is talented in magic, having reached the level of a high-level mage at a young age, and is supported by both the Red Tower and the Imperial Tower in the Magic Tower Alliance, but he has lost his intelligence and is jealous and frivolous, unlike in the past].

A prince supported by a mage or knight is a common setup. The problem is the second prince.

[The Second Prince is unique; he has kept the darkness of the empire under his thumb with his overwhelming wealth and devious schemes. The Assassins are behind him].He rules the darkness of the Empire.

“What are you thinking so hard about?” ‘He’s not a nice guy, either.”

I didn’t expect him to make such a timely appearance.