Volume 4, Chapter 49 – Prince Schain’s Troubles

Smash!

“Damned bastards!”

With the crisp sound of a cup shattering and a man’s roar, the atmosphere in the entire room tensed to a near-solid state. The people standing by the wall looked at each other, but no one dared to step forward and console the cup-throwing Prince Schain.

Not that he expected anyone to. He just paced back and forth in the room anxiously, not caring that his trouser cuffs were soaked with water, letting out heavy, ragged breaths.

“Who was it?! Who leaked the information?! Why won’t that stupid woman Erin Slate just die already!”

His roar was so loud that even the windows rattled. As if he could finally bear it no longer, a bald, overweight man, whose face was also not looking too good, stepped forward. This was Count Reinhardt. He had successfully competed against his siblings in his early years thanks to Prince Schain’s favor, and had thus become his supporter.

Count Reinhardt placed a hand on the prince’s shoulder, forcibly pushing him back down onto the sofa.

“Aldrich, none of us wanted things to turn out this way. The most urgent task now is to think about what to do next, not to lose your temper at everyone here. You need to be steady.”

To calm himself, the red-eyed Prince Schain took a deep breath. He knew what Count Reinhardt said was right, but he still couldn’t contain the anger in his heart. As if searching for a culprit, he swept his gaze over the nobles lined up by the door.

These were mostly young elves, all minor nobles from the capital with low status and poor family backgrounds. The only reason they could maintain their social circles without selling off their family assets was thanks to the financial support provided by the nobles of his faction. Now that he finally needed them, they were causing problems one after another.

When he had learned that the Eldest Princess had lost her memory, he had not come to the capital immediately. Instead, he had first gathered his elite men and ordered them to disguise themselves and sneak into the capital to prepare.

These men had carried a large number of magic weapons and crystals into the houses of the minor nobles, just waiting for his order. However, what he hadn’t expected was that, starting a few days ago, the weapons he had hidden were discovered one after another. At first, it was only one or two families. By today, five had been found in a single morning.

Even if these minor nobles were disposable pawns from the start, in such large numbers, it was enough to shake his foundation. Although the Imperial Guard led by Erin Slate was searching house by house along the streets, and not targeting any specific noble, the act of searching the houses of the nobility was strange in itself.

Rеαԁ on KatReаdiոɡCаfе

Nobles were not commoners; they were the face and backbone of the kingdom. Unless there was conclusive evidence, the military would not issue an order to back the Imperial Guard. Now, Erin Slate’s actions had told him one thing: there was a mole among them. A noble had betrayed him.

This was also the reason he had summoned these minor nobles. Of course, this was not all of them; they were just the ones he considered to be the most suspicious.

At this thought, Prince Schain’s anger flared again. He swept his gaze over the nobles who were standing by the wall with their heads bowed, looking at them one by one as if to find a clue in their actions. The result was that he did not recognize any of them as suspicious. Everyone looked very afraid, as if they were terrified of disaster befalling them.

Even a one-on-one interrogation had yielded no results; it was even more impossible to find the suspect just by looking. Come to think of it, although these minor nobles had some dealings with each other, they did not know everyone. It was not enough for them to provide detailed information to Erin Slate. Perhaps the traitor was at a higher, more critical level.

Prince Schain snorted heavily through his nose and waved a hand at the door.

“You’re dismissed. Each of you, go to the butler and receive three gold coins. Tell him I said so. And be on your best behavior recently. Move everything you can to another place. Don’t let that stupid woman find you!”

“Th-thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness!”

Not only were they not in trouble, but they had also received three gold coins for free. The young nobles’ faces were full of gratitude, and they quickly left the lavishly decorated room.

After a brief flurry of activity, only four people were left in the room: Prince Schain, Count Reinhardt, his third daughter Loca, and the prince’s male confidant.

A strange silence, filled only with the sound of breathing, enveloped everyone.

Until Loca—a young elf woman with streaks of red in her long white hair—broke the silence. She held her right hand to her chin, a thoughtful look on her face.

“None of them seem likely to be the informant. It seems the mole is not a minor noble, but someone of a higher status.”

Her conclusion coincided with his own. But sitting on the single sofa, Prince Schain still answered with rational thought.

Rеаd οn КаtRеaⅾіոgСαfе

“These minor nobles only know that I’ve hidden weapons and some people with them. They don’t know what I’m planning to do. The only people who know the whole process, besides us, are Count Lafaria and a few other nobles. They are in the same boat as us. It’s impossible for them to betray us.”

“Then could it be that their family members leaked the information?”

Seeing him take out his pipe, the male confidant standing behind him quickly stepped forward to light it.

“Hiss…” Prince Schain took a deep drag. He looked back at his confidant in surprise. “It’s possible. But what good would it do them to leak the crime of rebellion? With the Domination Amulets, the Imperial Guard is no match for us. Besides, there are many of our people in the Fourth and Fifth Squads. We are not without a chance of winning.”

“Who knows. That Eldest Princess is meticulous. She might have planted a seed among us a long time ago.”

Prince Schain’s brow immediately furrowed. What his confidant said was not without reason. If it were a seed planted a long time ago, it indeed wouldn’t need much of a reason to betray him.

However, family members were not like servants. He could believe that the butlers or maids of Count Lafaria and the others had been bought, but he would never believe that their family members could also be controlled by the princess. Come to think of it, would his own son betray him to help the princess? If he died, his son could take his place. Helping him would be far more beneficial than helping the princess.

Although one couldn’t put too much faith in blood ties, one couldn’t underestimate them either. Unless the princess could buy people’s loyalty from the womb, it was impossible for her to learn his secrets from his family members. In the end, if she knew what he was going to do, why didn’t she just come out and stop him? The fact that it was just Erin Slate raiding the nobles, and not coming directly to his door, meant that the intelligence she had was incomplete. She didn’t actually know that he intended to seize power by force.

As if he knew what he was thinking, his confidant added again.

“For example, those family members who are now or were once discontented. They are the most likely to have been taken advantage of by the princess.”

“Heh heh… is Mr. Herian suspecting me?” Loca said with a smile, the back of her hand covering her lips.

Prince Schain waved his hand in annoyance.

“Loca, you know Herian didn’t mean that. If you were the one who betrayed us, the princess would have known all our secrets long ago, down to our underwear.”

Rеαd оո ΚаtRеαⅾіոɡCαfе

Following right after him, Count Reinhardt quickly patted her head, his fat face full of shame.

“You still haven’t forgotten the past… Loca, it wasn’t that Father deliberately treated you like that back then. You know, the Darkborn Disease is contagious. Besides, those maids who framed you back then, I killed them one by one in front of you…”

In response to his apology, Loca just pushed his hand away, her proud face, which had rejected the advances of countless nobles, full of contempt.

“If not for good luck, I would have died on the streets back then. Falsely accused of having the Darkborn Disease when I didn’t, and now I’m being dragged by you, Father, to plot and scheme. This is a matter of losing one’s head.”

“Haha…” Seeing his daughter sulking, Count Reinhardt rubbed his hands and smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s my fault. Haven’t you already forgiven me, Loca…”

“Hmph.”

With her arms crossed, Loca turned her head away with a resentful look, leaving only the embarrassed Count Reinhardt rubbing his bald head.

Generally speaking, even a doting father would not be so indulgent to his daughter in front of outsiders. But Count Reinhardt and Loca were a special case. In the past, because of the Darkborn Disease, Loca had been abandoned by him as a cursed person to the beast-kin of the Cold Moon Alliance. But after some time, the luckily surviving Loca had been found to not have the disease.

Although he had made the decision to abandon her after seeing the patterns on her back with his own eyes, when he saw her unblemished back again, he couldn’t help but suspect that he had been mistaken, that she really didn’t have the disease. In addition, with her explanation—that she had been framed with a drug by the maids who hated her—he had taken her back into the family.

It was worth mentioning that because “Loca had suffered unspeakable abuse at the hands of the beast-kin,” the Loca who had returned home was much more mature than her peers, and her thinking was more comprehensive.

In just a few years, she had become an extraordinary asset who could advise him. Therefore, Count Reinhardt doted on her extremely, to the point where as long as she brought up the past, he would not be able to hold his head up and could only smile foolishly.

Seeing this father-daughter pair sulking again, Prince Schain clicked his tongue.

“Alright, you two can talk at home. Who knows how long Erin Slate will be investigating. We must come up with a countermeasure first. Although Greyan’s death has helped me by getting Godley to agree to our side, the people in the capital are not to be trifled with. Our strength is still not enough, especially against my dear brother. Whether we should take this opportunity to act while he is away, or lie low for a while, needs to be seriously considered.”

Reaⅾ oո КαtReαԁiոgCαfe

Seeing him return to business, Loca also cleared her throat and put on a serious expression.

“In my opinion, the fact that Anastasia is no longer the captain of the Second Squad of the Imperial Guard is our opportunity. We can use some connections to get our person into that position. Then, although he won’t be able to order his men to help us, he can at least stand down. The only two troubles are the princess herself, and the group of people guarding the back gate of the Royal Castle. As for the Elf King, as long as you, Prince Schain, can get the blessing of the Holy Tree…”

Loca glanced quietly at him. The prince was frowning in hesitation. She couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

“It’s probably better to lie low for a while. The current situation is confusing, and we don’t have an absolute guarantee of victory. In the end, we lack the combat power to stand against the Eldest Princess. If she weren’t in the capital, everything would be much easier.”

“But if we miss this opportunity of her losing her memory, her position will only become more stable. The longer we drag this out, the more…”

“But there’s nothing we can do about it, right? Father, don’t even think about competing with someone who can defeat General Greyan in a frontal battle. That’s suicide.”

The exchange between Count Reinhardt and Loca made Prince Schain’s face grow even darker. Just as the count had said, the longer he delayed, the more disadvantageous it would be for him.

However, just at that moment, a hurried knock suddenly came from the door, as if something major had happened. The people in the room first looked at each other, then Count Reinhardt stood behind the door and asked.

“Didn’t I say not to disturb us?”

“I-it’s a very important matter! My lord!”

Hearing the servant’s exceptionally anxious voice, Count Reinhardt opened the door. The person knocking was his confidant, and the moment he entered, he said, out of breath.

“His Majesty… His Majesty fell into the Abyss several days ago and has not returned! He may… he may be dead!” ¹ eeeh~