VOLUME 12: CHAPTER 9

Dismayed by the result of the duel, the Emperor left the arena soon after the battle was concluded. Emperor Sylvius wanted to discuss things privately with the Chief Royal Advisor, particularly regarding the reason why he decided to interfere with the match.

Before leaving with his men, the Emperor said to Reginald that he was free to choose which of his two sons to serve under. And that he needed to come up with a decision by the next day.

Reginald felt as though a storm had just passed.

Finally, he could breathe a sigh of relief.

Although being enlisted under the First Prince or Fifth Prince wasn't ideal, it was still far better than returning to the kingdom without achieving anything. At least, with this, he'd managed to get the approval of the Emperor.

Now, all that's left was to choose which of the two princes to serve.

"First, I need to report this to His Majesty," said Reginald.

Princess Luna gave him the intercity communication artifact after arriving in the capital of the Empire. Using it, Reginald planned on contacting King Lark and reporting everything that transpired so far.

If he were lucky, maybe King Lark would be kind enough to impart to him his knowledge. Maybe King Lark could help him choose among the two princes.

"Come up here," said Reginald.

With that single command, the Lord Knight, who'd been standing still at the center of the arena, went back to Reginald's side.

"We're going back."

Ignoring the stares of the imperial knights, Reginald and the Blackstone Knights left the arena.

***

"Welcome back, Ambassador," Princess Luna greeted Reginald the moment he returned to the estate.

"Your Highness," said Reginald.

"I heard what happened," said Princess Luna. Her gaze moved to the Lord Knight silently standing behind Reginald. "I can't believe you managed to corner Sword Saint Isaac."

"News sure travels fast," said Reginald.

He wasn't surprised that Princess Luna heard the news already. Although she didn't hold much power, she was still part of the imperial family.

"And I wouldn't dare say we managed to corner the Sword Saint in battle, Princess."

Reginald said those words as there were servants nearby. It wouldn't do them good if rumors that they were mocking the Sword Saint after that duel started spreading in the capital.

"We were simply lucky that the Chief Royal Advisor acknowledged the strength of the Lord Knight," said Reginald.

"If the ambassador says so…," said Princess Luna.

She also understood why Reginald chose to downplay his achievements like this. There was no longer any use in showing off, now that they'd managed to get the Emperor's approval for them to participate in this war.

The Princess stared at Reginald for several seconds. She said to the servants, "All of you, except for the head maid, leave us."

The maids and butlers nearby bowed and accepted her command.

After the servants left, Princess Luna said, "Selina, cast a silence spell."

The head maid nodded her head. "Understood, Princess."

The head maid was an adept mage before becoming a servant of the Princess, and she easily cast a silence spell in the area. Now, no matter how hard they tried to eavesdrop, no one aside from them would hear their next conversation.

Princess Luna said in a serious tone, "Ambassador, no matter what happens, please make sure to choose the Fifth Prince."

Reginald didn't expect the Princess to say these words. He was initially leaning toward the idea of enlisting under the First Prince, as he had a larger army than the Fifth Prince.

Why was Princess Luna suggesting he choose that drunkard instead?

"The Fifth Prince…," said Reginald. "Can you tell me the reason why, Princess?"

"Currently, my oldest brother, the First Prince, has five thousand soldiers under his command," said Princess Luna. "It's a pitiful amount compared to the Second Prince, who commanded over almost a hundred thousand soldiers as he is tasked with defending Kreceir City, but it's still larger than the Fifth Prince's army. After all, the Fifth Prince has only a thousand soldiers under him."

A thousand soldiers.

It was a pitiful amount – the bare minimum – given to an imperial prince. Even some of the barons of the Empire had a larger army than the Fifth Prince.

The Fifth Prince was a known drunkard and womanizer. He was so incompetent that he'd never made it past the entrance examination to the military academy, and he was so talentless that his swordsmanship instructors gave up on him.

It was well known that the majority of his monthly allowance was spent on drugs, gambling, and women.

"This is a secret not known even by my father, the Emperor," said Princess Luna. "The Fifth Prince is the most talented, intelligent, and competent among all of my brothers."

Reginald was taken aback by this sudden revelation.

'All of my brothers.'

Those words meant that the Fifth Prince was even more remarkable than the Second Prince, who was said to be the next crown prince of the Empire.

The way the Princess delivered those words made it sound as though she was sure of it. But the question of how she knew this secret, when even the Emperor was unaware, remained.

"That's a bold claim, Princess," said Reginald. "But how can I trust those words?"

It was only natural for Reginald to question the authenticity of the Princess's words. After all, his decision tomorrow would be crucial in whether or not they would be able to properly contribute to this war.

It would be foolish of him to trust the words of another party without verifying them first.

No matter how powerful the Blackstone Knights were, if they ended up in the wrong army, they wouldn't be able to achieve anything noteworthy in this war.

Reginald feared what would happen to the Vont Family should he return empty-handed to the Kingdom of Lukas. There was no way Big Mona would miss that opportunity to deal the final blow to his family.

"The Emperor has eyes and ears not only in the Empire, but in the entire continent," said Reginald. "I apologize, but it's hard to believe that His Majesty remains in the dark regarding this until now."

"I understand your doubts, ambassador," said Princess Luna. "And even should you choose the First Prince, I will not have complaints. I'm just saying that you should consider the Fifth Prince first."

The Princess added, "Did you know, ambassador? There used to be eight princes in the Empire. But now, only five remained. One died after his carriage fell off a cliff, one died from a stray arrow during a hunting competition, and one died in his sleep."

Reginald attentively listened as Princess Luna continued. It was something he already knew, as he'd gathered information regarding the Empire before coming here.

"Those were no accidents, and everyone knows it," said Princess Luna. "Even the Emperor knows those princes were assassinated. But what did he do? Nothing. In the end, he considered the princes who died in such pathetic ways as nothing but trash that needed to be discarded."

The Emperor was cruel not only to his enemies, but also to the members of his family. He rose to the position of an Emperor by getting rid of his competitors, and he believed that it was only natural for his sons to do the same.

The Emperor's silence when his sons died was an implicit approval on his part.

The Emperor believed in the continuation of the bloody imperial succession, as this was the only way for the Empire to remain strong and survive. Only those who were qualified should ascend the throne for the Empire to maintain its hegemony in the continent.

"Who killed them? The First Prince? The Second Prince? The Third Prince? Or maybe the Emperor himself?" said Princess Luna. "The answer to that question doesn't matter. It's not what's important."

The Princess continued, "Ambassador, because he's known as a drunkard and a talentless hack, the Fifth Prince, despite being the youngest, managed to survive until now."

Reginald's eyes widened.

He finally realized what the Princess was trying to say.

It seemed that all this time, the Fifth Prince had been fooling everyone. By making everyone believe that he wasn't a threat, that he had the least chance of ascending the throne, the Fifth Prince managed to remove the target on his back.

A mosquito, although annoying, wouldn't be swat as long as it didn't bite or buzz around.

The other princes must have judged that it would be useless to eliminate the Fifth Prince, when all he did was drink in taverns and waste his life away in the Red Lights District.

Such a pathetic person would never gain the approval of the people, and he would never become the crown prince.

"If you still doubt my words, I suggest you meet him in person, sir ambassador," said Princess Luna. "The Fifth Prince is no fool. And he is ambitious despite his terrible reputation. He is simply biding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike."

***

After that exchange with the Princess, Reginald went back to his room.

After locking the door, Reginald activated the communication artifact.

The intercity communication device immediately connected to the one located in the Kingdom of Lukas, but it took several minutes before the request for communication was picked up by Lark.

"Your Majesty, it's me, Reginald."

Lark's voice was heard from the artifact.

"Reginald, it's been a while."

Although Lark couldn't see him, Reginald lowered his head. He respectfully said, "Yes, Your Majesty. I've called to inform you that we've gained the approval of the Emperor. The Blackstone Knights can now officially join the imperial army in the war against the demons."

Reginald then proceeded to tell Lark everything that transpired thus far during their stay in the capital. How the guards at the gates forbade the army of Blackstone Knights from entering the capital, and how only Reginald and a select few were allowed inside. He told Lark about the bet he had with the Emperor, and how the Lord Knight fought with Sword Saint Isaac Segarus.

"In the end," said Reginald. "The Chief Royal Advisor interfered before the duel escalated into a life-or-death battle."

"Hmmm…" said King Lark. "Not bad. A wise decision in the part of the Chief Royal Advisor."

King Lark sounded so certain that the Lord Knight would have won that battle had the Chief Royal Advisor not interfered, and this solidified Reginald's belief in the Blackstone Knights further.

There was no proper benchmark to estimate the Blackstone Knights' strength before. But after that duel, Reginald became sure of it – without a doubt, the Blackstone Knights accompanying him were powerful.

Despite holding back, the Lord Knight managed to last that long against Sword Saint Isaac Segarus.

Reginald even started to wonder what would have happened had he ordered the Lord Knight to go all out right from the start.

"The Emperor told me to come up with a decision on which prince to serve under by tomorrow," said Reginald. "There are only two choices, Your Majesty. It's either the First Prince or the Fifth Prince. Princess Luna spoke to me a while ago, telling me to choose the Fifth Prince."

Reginald proceeded to tell King Lark regarding the conversation he had with the princess. He told Lark that according to Princess Luna, the Fifth Prince was merely pretending to be a fool to remove the target on his back, that choosing him over the First Prince should be the wiser decision despite the massive difference in the size of their armies.

"The Princess did?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

For several seconds, King Lark fell silent.

"Reginald."

"Your Majesty."

"What's your primary purpose in contacting me?"

For some strange reason, Reginald felt more anxious when speaking with the King than with the Emperor. Reginald could hear the pounding of his heart.

He wondered how he should answer that question.

Reginald said honestly, "It's to seek your advice regarding this matter, Your Majesty."

Asking for Lark's thoughts regarding the matter was Reginald's primary objective, reporting about everything was only secondary.

Hearing this, Lark sounded disappointed, "Reginald, it's troublesome for a monarch if he is frequently sought by his vassals for advice."

Reginald nervously swallowed the lump in his throat.

Did he answer wrong?

Maybe it was an incorrect decision to consult King Lark regarding this matter. Before coming here, King Lark had already told him that he was giving him absolute authority in the affairs involving the Empire, after all.

Worried that he misspoke, Reginald bowed his head and said, "I apologize, Your Majesty—"

"—No, that's not it," said King Lark. "I'm not asking for an apology. And I'm not telling you to hide things from me. What I'm saying is that you should decide such matters on your own, Reginald. You've seen things I haven't in the Empire, and you've experienced things I would only hear about in reports."

Reginald understood what King Lark was trying to say to him. Basically, His Majesty believed that Reginald's judgment would be better than his in the current situation.

The King was considered the head of the nation, but it didn't mean that his hands and feet shouldn't think for themselves.

"I wouldn't have chosen you as my representative if you're a man who would crumble and hesitate in something like this," said King Lark. "Just keep this in mind, Reginald: the Blackstone Knights are powerful and capable of turning the tides of war. They do not tire, do not know fear, and are absolutely loyal. Use them well. Your choice may affect the future succession war in the Empire. I shall trust your judgment on this one."

"Understood, my King," said Reginald.

The connection was cut.

Reginald exhaled loudly. He sat on the bed and looked at the window. It looked like it was going to rain, as dark clouds covered the sky. He even heard thunder from a distance.

For almost an hour, Reginald sat there, pondering. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't even move an inch. He didn't even notice the first drops of rain outside.

Eventually, Reginald muttered to himself, "There's no use thinking of it. I need to meet them in person before I can come up with a decision."

Speaking with King Lark hadn't been a fruitless endeavor. Reginald remembered what King Lark said to him – He'd seen and experienced things King Lark would only hear about in reports.

Even if King Lark didn't intend for those words to serve as advice, they ended up guiding Reginald toward a certain path. Following the words of King Lark, Reginald decided to meet the First Prince and the Fifth Prince first.

Reginald donned his coat. Despite the inclement weather, he went to the imperial palace, particularly at the place where the First Prince was staying.

Reginald hadn't even stepped foot inside the residence of the First Prince when the royal guards said to him, "Please go back. The First Prince's probation has just recently ended. He does not wish to meet with anyone right now."

Thunder roared. It was a heavy downpour.

As expected, it wasn't easy to meet the princes.