“Wh… What… the.”
Royster barely straightened his instinctively flinching body and managed to endure Evernight’s sharp gaze. His unusually bright blue eyes rippled quietly. For a moment, Royster glimpsed Emperor Luksus’s cold and cruel gaze in that rippling. Unbearable anxiety and unease instantly covered his entire body. But that was only for a moment.
The fact that he’d glimpsed an aspect of his father in a Northern barbarian, the fact that he’d been frightened by such lowborn scum, provoked uncontrollable rage in him. Moreover, there were many people watching here. For someone in his current position, even the slightest rumor had major repercussions. Royster had to show his superiority.
“Sir Evernight, I was personally punishing my disrespectful brother.”
At his arrogant tone, Evernight’s grip on his wrist grew even stronger. It was terrifying enough to worry his bones might snap with a crack at any moment. Damn it! Royster deliberately cursed and roughly shook his arm free. Evernight, who was a full head taller than him, didn’t budge an inch.
Royster’s hair fluttered pathetically like a paper doll with every shake of his body. He snapped irritably at Raniel.
“Damn it, Raniel! Don’t just stand there watching, do something!”
Raniel raised his house-sized body.
“How dare a mere lord who swore loyalty to the Empire lay hands on an imperial prince’s body—this is clearly treason!”
For such a statement, his voice carried excitement as if he was thoroughly enjoying this situation. A cruel glint flashed toward Evernight inside the Full-Helm Helmet.
“Sir Raniel, let’s stop.”
As soon as the bulk that had been immobilizing him disappeared, Sisou roughly tore off his gag and immediately drew his sword, pointing it at Raniel’s throat.
“…Take even one step and I’ll cut off your head!”
Sisou exhaled impatiently, revealing his intense emotions without reserve. He glanced at Anya. Damn it! Sisou cursed roughly to himself and raised his blade, further choking Raniel. If he had his way, he’d mercilessly pierce Raniel’s throat right now.
“Young knight of Tildyen, are you confident you won’t regret this?”
Raniel asked in a half-hoarse voice. Instead of answering, Sisou raised his blade even more and thrust it into the man’s skin that was tough as beast hide. And he stared directly at Evernight. Like a devoted subordinate ready to behead him the moment the Master gave the order.
“Sisou, take Anya and go.”
But Evernight said something different from what was expected. Still gripping Royster’s wrist, he roughly unfastened his cloak with his other hand. The silver full moon and the sword-shaped brooch piercing through it fell to the ground with a thud as the black cloak came loose. He threw his cloak over Anya’s body.
“Master!”
Sisou appealed as if wronged. But Evernight didn’t want any additional people involved in this matter.
“It’s not Your Imperial Highness’s fault. It, all, all of it is my fault!”
Sisou protested, but Evernight didn’t respond further. Instead, he looked at Anya, who gripped his cloak while looking up with a flustered face. He could tell. Though Anya was acting as if nothing was wrong, he’d been trembling faintly from the moment he faced him.
Evernight looked at those wavering brown eyes, then immediately cursed “damn it” and completely snapped Royster’s wrist.
“Aaaaah!”
Royster screamed and dropped the whip. He wanted to collapse to the ground from the terrible pain, but since he was still held by Evernight, all he could do was flail his feet pathetically.
“Raniel! What are you doing! Kill this… this bastard… right now!”
Royster panted as if breathless. Evernight’s eyes swept over the faces of those around them. Except for Sisou, no one was favorable to Tildyen. They were all vassals of Claist. They were looking at Evernight with shock and hostility. His head began to ache. He couldn’t understand why his partner, ten years younger and still merely standing on the boundary between boy and young man, was suffering such humiliation.
But soon a faint scene quickly flashed through his mind. Evernight could vaguely guess that those scars he’d seen under the flickering crimson light of their first night, under the swaying of the carriage toward Maneregia, had been created in situations similar to this one.
He’d always thought this, but the so-called noble tastes of the imperial family naturally drew his scorn.
“Are you laughing right now?”
His pride hurt, Raniel began to stomp his feet and struggle desperately.
“Master, just give the order!”
Sisou, still pointing his sword at Raniel, shouted while growling like a beast.
“Raniel, what are you doing!”
Royster shouted back over him.
The scene instantly became chaotic. As time passed, hot tension filled the air. Royster’s chief attendant slowly backed away, then quickly ran toward the training ground entrance. It was a swift scramble to call the soldiers.
“Your… Your Imperial Majesty!”
But before long, the chief attendant bumped into a figure at the training ground entrance and fell on his bottom. Emperor Luksus looked down at him with a cold gaze. Behind the Emperor stood Montrose with a deeply furrowed brow and Usolin stroking his beard with an unreadable expression.
“F-Father!”
Royster urgently shouted toward over Evernight’s shoulder. With each step the Emperor took, the vassals prostrated themselves on the ground, trembling. If things went wrong, they could be implicated in this matter and receive severe punishment. They had to hide their faces and keep low as much as possible.
“What is all this, Sir Evernight.”
The Emperor’s eyes as he surveyed the gathering grew coldly distant.
“Remove your hand from the imperial prince. No matter how great a lord you may be, if you dare lay violent hands on an imperial prince of the Empire, your limbs won’t remain intact.”
The Emperor’s voice dripped with coldness. Evernight released his grip without regret. Then Royster clutched his deathly pale wrist while glaring at Evernight with contempt. The Emperor’s gaze immediately moved to Anya sitting behind them.
“Who made the Twelfth Imperial Prince like this.”
The Emperor said, sharply lashing out at those around him.
“Father, I can explain.”
Royster immediately knelt on one knee and reported in a calm posture, barely suppressing his boiling emotions.
“I happened to meet the people of Tildyen at the training ground. I greeted them with words of goodwill, but that knight of Tildyen spoke rudely to me.”
At this absurd lie, Anya interjected.
“That’s not true. N-no, Your Majesty. Royster, hyung first pointed his sw-sword at Sir Sisou.”
Royster ground his teeth and refuted.
“It’s a lie, Your Majesty. They first uttered impious words to me, an imperial prince.”
The Emperor pressed his temple as if his head was aching. The Emperor treasured Royster more than his other sons, so he might hold Evernight responsible. In his urgency, Anya shouted.
“That’s not what happened! Hyung, hyung pointed his sword first. Royster is lying right now. Please, please believe me.”
The last tone was almost like a plea. Anya couldn’t understand why things had come to this.
Why Evernight had broken Royster’s wrist. If he truly thought of Tildyen, he should have just taken Sisou and quickly left this place. He shouldn’t have cared what happened to Anya himself. That was the kind of man he was originally. That’s certainly how it should have been….
“Shut up! Do you know whose presence you’re in, telling lies!”
Royster glared at Anya with an expression that looked ready to kill him. But Anya didn’t back down either. If he backed down here, all of Tildyen—no, that man, Evernight—could be in danger. Thinking that, apart from his complicated feelings toward Evernight, his vision went dark. In his desperation, forgetting he was before the Emperor, he poured out harsh criticism toward Royster.
“You liar! You coward!”
At Anya’s reproach, Royster rose from his seat, grinding his teeth as if about to rush at him any moment.
“Enough!”
The Emperor erupted in fury with a voice full of irritation. Both Royster and Anya shut their mouths tight.
“Evernight. You tell me. What exactly is all this about.”
“Your Majesty, I don’t know what happened before. However, it is ‘certain’ that Imperial Prince Royster was wielding a merciless whip toward my partner.”
Evernight reported calmly, but glimpses of uncontained anger showed through his answer. He was forcibly suppressing his desire to sweep everything away right now.
He himself didn’t know why his emotions were surging like this. He’d thought he’d left all these immature feelings behind when he left Redcoast. Evernight cursed inwardly and clenched his fist.
Only then did the Emperor turn his gaze to the thin body of his youngest son covered in a black cloak. The Emperor’s chief attendant quickly approached Anya and checked his back. He nodded toward the Emperor. It meant yes.
“Royster, what is this about. Did you really do this?”
The Emperor looked back at Royster with a grimace.
