But the moment he heard the imperial command, his eyes went wide. It was an imperial command he had never
imagined at all.
“Release your granddaughter Mina from confinement at once and bring her to the imperial palace. I intend
to take her as my empress. She is the only woman who can make up for my indecisiveness.
You must obey this imperial command immediately.”
Marquis Williams was so shocked that he even stammered.
“Y-Your Highness, th-that alone……”
De Beers sprang to his feet. Rage was pouring from his eyes in streams.
“Oh? Do you dare intend to defy an imperial command? I clearly said this order was the first command
to restore the dignity of the emperor. And yet you mean to defy that very first command?”
“………”
“Would you care to tell me what happens to one who defies an imperial command?”
Unable to hide his bewilderment, Marquis Williams stammered out his reply.
“H-He is stripped of office for high treason, and then imprisoned.”
“And yet you still dare to defy an imperial command? Do you mean to leave a stain
on your honorable name?”
Marquis Williams lowered his head. No matter that he was the supreme commander of the Crossen Knights,
he could not dare defy an imperial command. He had never dreamed that Crown Prince De Beers would come on so strongly,
and in the end he had no choice but to accept the imperial command.
“This humble subject promises to carry out Your Majesty’s command without fail.”
At those words, De Beers exulted. He was so delighted that rapture was plainly written across
his face.
“As expected of you. I knew well that you would accept the imperial command.”
Marquis Williams continued speaking with his head bowed.
“I shall gladly carry out the imperial command. However……”
“However?”
“I beseech you to be certain to fulfill your promise to restore the dignity of the imperial family.”
De Beers nodded without hesitation.
“Of course. I intend to stake everything I have on that. In addition, once I ascend the imperial throne,
I promise to cherish the people as I do my own body. I intend to lay the necessary foundations thoroughly from the start
to lead Crossen into becoming an endlessly prosperous empire……”
“I am overwhelmed by Your Highness’s boundless grace.”
Overcome with emotion, the prostrate Marquis Williams was trembling. Having achieved his purpose,
De Beers looked down at him with a smile.
Theodore, too, could not conceal his astonishment. He had just heard the course of events
from Damon.
“It was by no means an easy matter, yet you handled it well. I am truly amazed.”
Damon shrugged.
“Well, that much was as easy as eating cold porridge. In a word, my acting ability has risen
to the Mythic Realm. You might say I’ve already reached full maturity through several rounds of practical training……”
“P-Practical training?”
At Theodore’s question, Damon shook his head as if embarrassed.
“You don’t need to know. More importantly, how about you? Did you manage to persuade that fellow Williams?”
Theodore nodded with a faint smile.
“I succeeded in convincing him to some extent. I could not dispel all his doubts, but there should be no difficulty
in carrying out the matter.”
Hearing that, Damon thrust up his thumb at once.
“You, too, have the qualifications to become an excellent actor. Seeing you persuade that stubborn, blockheaded wall
is proof enough. Yes, absolutely……”
At Damon’s apt comparison, Theodore wore an absurd expression.
“I-I cannot say there is none of that, but Marquis Williams is, in a word, a true loyalist.
Within his heart there is only fervent loyalty toward the Crossen imperial family.”
“That’s none of my concern. More importantly, having to keep pretending to be an idiot
in front of that fellow is going to be a real headache……”
“If it is you, Damon, I believe you will do more than well enough.”
“Of course I will.”
Damon nodded silently and looked around.
“By the way, where are you headed now?”
“I am on my way to Duke Pershtain’s mansion. There is someone I must meet…… not a person, perhaps.
In any case, I think I need to see someone……”
“Are you talking about that vampire fellow, by any chance?”
Theodore nodded silently.
“That is correct. By now, he is probably on the verge of death from his thirst for blood.
I think we must save him first.”
“Naturally we should. When we invade Truvenia, his experience will play a major role……
Still, I’m dying of curiosity. What sort of fellow could he be?”
A faint smile appeared on Theodore’s lips.
“Will you not know once you meet him?”
“True.”
The two moved on in silence. In the distance, Duke Pershtain’s mansion came into view.
When Theodore entered the mansion, he once again had to receive the bewildered gazes of the Duke Knights. The Duke Knights
guarding the mansion greeted them with uneasy expressions, yet outwardly with the utmost
politeness. The knights first paid their respects to Damon.
“We greet His Highness the Crown Prince.”
One knight bearing the insignia of a vice-captain stepped forward and bowed to them.
“Welcome. His Grace the Duke has already given instructions. I shall guide you
to the underground prison where the vampire is confined.”
Theodore looked at him with a smiling face.
“I must trouble you with this unavoidably.”
“T-Thank you.”
With a dazed expression, the vice-captain guided them to the underground prison. It seemed he could not readily
adapt to the sudden change in circumstances. Then Theodore suddenly called him
to a stop. As if something had occurred to him, a worried expression appeared on his face.
“By the way, where are Dmitri and Randolph now?”
A puzzled look appeared on the vice-captain’s face.
“Pardon? Whom do you mean?”
Theodore drew his brows together slightly.
“My younger brothers. They were imprisoned together with me……”
Only then seeming to remember, the vice-captain clapped his hands.
“They were released from confinement a short while ago. Please wait a moment. I shall bring them
to you at once.”
The vice-captain immediately called one of the knights and gave him an order.
“I shall obey.”
The knight who received the order soon ran off in that direction. But the worry on Theodore’s face
still did not disappear.
“I am sorry, but do you happen to know where my mother is? Her health is not particularly good,
so I am very concerned.”
The vice-captain answered without hesitation.
“The Lord Regent’s mother is receiving treatment in the inner chambers. Several priests have been mobilized
to nurse her, so you need not worry too much.”
“That is truly fortunate.”
Theodore let out a sigh of relief. At the same time, he could not help but marvel at Duke Pershtain’s thoroughness
in handling matters. Seeing that he did not overlook even the smallest thing,
Duke Pershtain’s ability was, in a word, beyond the realm of ordinary men.
‘He truly is an extraordinary man. To think I fought against someone like that for nearly ten years……’
A short while later, two young men came running breathlessly together with the knight who had run off moments before. When they saw Theodore,
tears welled in their gaunt faces.
“B-Brother. You were safe.”
“I-I’m truly glad.”
A flood of emotions crossed Theodore’s face as well. In a situation where he, his two brothers, and their aged mother
should all have been executed, they had been saved, and they were now able to continue
their loyalty to the imperial family of the Crossen Empire…… Gratitude toward Damon naturally surged within him.
Overcome with emotion, Theodore abruptly embraced his younger brothers.
“Do not worry about anything now. Everything has been resolved……”
Dmitri and Randolph still looked as though it had not sunk in that they had been released. When Randolph’s lips
twitched as if he meant to ask why, Theodore raised a finger and brought it to his mouth.
“Shh. I will tell you the details later. For now, let us go meet Master.”
“Yes, Brother.”
As the two nodded, their gazes turned toward Damon.
“But who is that person……”
Theodore introduced Damon with a faint smile.
“Pay your respects. This is His Highness Alcaris, First Prince of the Crossen Empire.”
At Theodore’s words, Dmitri and Randolph paid their respects without hesitation.
“We greet His Highness the Crown Prince. For you to deign to permit us to behold your noble countenance is an incomparable honor
for lowly commoners such as ourselves.”
“Dispense with the formalities.”
An awkward expression appeared on Damon’s face as he waved his hand. Being treated as crown prince
was, to him, no different from wearing clothes that did not fit. To be honest, it was nothing if not cumbersome.
After quietly checking the movements of the knights, Theodore drew close and whispered into their ears.
“This person’s true name is Damon. He is no different from the progenitor of our line, and he is also the benefactor
who changed the fate of our family from the roots. I will tell you the details later.
So for now, you must act as though you know nothing.”
“Yes, Brother.”
When his younger brothers nodded, Theodore looked at the vice-captain.
“Then please guide us.”
“Understood. Please follow me.”
Without delay, they headed for the passage leading down to the underground prison.
A strange expression appeared on Theodore’s face as he walked down the narrow passage. Just yesterday,
he had been dragged down this passage as a criminal. Since he had thought he would never be able to escape,
he could not help but be overcome with fresh emotion.
‘Until yesterday, I thought I would never be able to come back up this passage alive……’
But now it was different. Not only had his life been spared, but the continuation of his family had also become possible,
and above all, he would be able to continue offering his loyalty to the Crossen imperial family, would he not?
And proudly under the name of the Brokenheart family, not as the adopted son of that hateful Duke Nercis.
When he thought of Duke Nercis, a smile appeared at the corners of Theodore’s mouth.
‘If Duke Nercis learns of this, his stomach will be very bitter indeed.’
Duke Nercis. Though he had once been his adoptive father, Theodore had never felt particularly attached to him.
There was no way he could have good feelings left for a man who had thoroughly used him out of obsession with power,
then abandoned him without the slightest hesitation once the situation turned unfavorable. Theodore silently steeled his resolve.
‘I will surely make the Brokenheart family one of the foremost families in the Crossen Empire.’
Having firmly made up his mind, Theodore went deep into the underground prison under the guidance of the Duke Knights.
Most of the cells were empty. But at the end of the corridor, one cell seemed to have an occupant(?).
Judging from the growling howls, it was a prisoner one could guess was not human.
“Kyaaa!”
Piercing shrieks sounded one after another. However, from the fact that the howls came intermittently,
he seemed to be in an utterly exhausted state. The sound of his panting breath seemed so urgent that he might stop breathing at any moment.
Theodore urgently turned to the vice-captain.
“Have you ever supplied the vampire with the blood of a person or an animal?”
“I-I do not believe that has ever happened……”
When the vice-captain shook his head, Theodore’s face suddenly stiffened. Drawing the dagger at his waist,
he looked at his younger brothers.
“We must hurry and draw blood.”
“Understood.”
As if he had been waiting, Dmitri stepped forward and rolled up his sleeve.