Yovanes said, glaring disapprovingly at Astanasâ back.
âI doubt heâll go much further from the entrance. Heâs lacking.â
He didnât like it
He had so many shortcomings, so many flaws.
Then, Perez came into the view of Emperor Yovanes.
Another son, who silently nodded to him who was sitting on the podium, then returned to his villa.
âYou canât be thinking of making the Second Prince the Crown Prince, right?â
He suddenly remembered the words of the Empress that was said on the carriage on their way here.
âHis motherâs lowly blood that runs through his veins couldnât possibly be the blood of the Emperor of Lambrew.â
He agreed with her.
However, the Second Prince seemed to resemble the Emperor Durelli more than the First Prince.
Isnât that enough?
It was better than the First Prince, who kept showing the shortcomings of the Angenas.
Emperor Yovanesâ eyes lingered on the back of Perez for a long time.
But there was one thing he failed to notice.
It was the three people who followed Perez and always stayed together.
Stilly and Tedro, who had followed Perez, grumbled before going back into the forest.
[ / / / ]
It was the second day of the hunting competition.
Astana laughed while taking a swig of the unknown drug in the canteen.
âGood, very good.â
The hunt was going very smoothly.
No, it was going even better than that.
âYouâve already got eighteen, Your Highness!â
Bellesac shouted while cutting off a monsterâs right arm.
âLetâs go! Weâll have to catch a larger one next time!â
Astana said, a bit short of breath.
âWhy donât we take a break before going again, Your Highness?â
âThatâs right, I canât walk any furtherâŚâ
His whole entourage responded, echoing their fatigue.
The party, which had started with around ten people, had already dwindled down to just six.
Everyone had given up due to Astanaâs unreasonable behaviour and ended up either injured or worn out.
âShut up!â
Astana yelled out fiercely.
âY-Your HighnessâŚâ
His followers flinched in unison.
It was because Astana, who was covered in green blood, with a sword in hand, was terrifying.
It was like they were watching the Second Prince from yesterday.
The state of being out of oneâs mind, as if possessed by the magic.
âFive before sunset, yesterday, and thirteen since we started hunting today! The hunt is going well today, so if you canât keep up with it, then get out!â
Now he even swung his sword with one hand at his aides as a threat.
Astana was always rude, but not like this.
He never forgot that the crowd following him was made up of nobles who all had a strong sense of pride.
But now, Astana treated them as if they were flies that were bothering him.
Annoyingly buzzing around his ears.
âOnly the ones who can handle the difficult hunt should come. If youâre going to fall back, then leave quietly. Your clumsy attacks wonât be of much help anyways, so donât bother me.â
Astana huffed again, habitually inhaling the medicated drink for a headache.
âI must have broken through some sort of limit, otherwise how else would I be this full of energy?â
Astana couldnât hide his excitement.
Bellesac said that the drug he stole would prevent him from experiencing the effects of the magic and in the end, it ended up working so well.
Yesterday, he was drained by the magic of the forest, and he was tired and out of breath, even if he had only walked a bit. However, there was no such thing today.
His footsteps were light and his sword was outstretched.
He wasnât even afraid, even if the monsters he encountered in the forest started appearing more frequently.
Rather, he thought it was quite nice.
He even thought it would be nice if the next monster would appear immediately after killing one.
âBellesac, you, follow me.â
Astana turned to Bellesac and said.
Since stealing the canteen yesterday, Bellesac has been acting as Astanaâs right-hand man again, just like before.
âYes, Your Highness!â
It was natural that Bellesac was excited.
âMake sure you keep an eye out for red armour, and make sure he doesnât come after us, alright?â
Red armour.
It meant Perezâs red armour.
âHeâs the only one who I need to be careful of, heâs the only oneâŚâ
Astana muttered as he took another step forward.
What he had to watch out for now in this forest was Perez who was in red armour.
That was all.
[ / / / ]
The third and last day of the hunting competition.
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âDie! Die!â
Astana was on top of a monster and stabbing it with his knife.
Whenever Astanaâs body moved, a chilling sound rang out.
âYour HighnessâŚâ
Bellesac called to Astana.
But Astana, bent on killing the monsters, couldnât hear a sound.
In the last three days, Astana has caught a total of over forty monsters.
It was the result of hunting and continuing to wander from sunrise to evening, like a person who was possessed by something.
âLook, shouldnât we stop His Highness now?â
Bellesac cautiously asked his companion.
ââŚ?â
But there was no reply.
When he turned around, the place where the firstborn of the Brexen household, the last person to remain other than him, stood, was empty.
While Astana was obsessed with the hunt, he had slipped away without warning to give up on the competition.
Gulp.
Bellesacâs throat was dry.
The only people left were Astana and Bellesac.
âYeah, maybe this is a good thing.â
Bellesac thought so.
Before he came to the hunting competition, his mother Serral had said so.
âAs dangerous as it may be, there should still be opportunities waiting for you. Do you understand what Iâm saying, Bellesac?â
In this situation, where everyone has already fled, he was the the only one who stood by His Highness to the end.
If this isnât true loyalty, then what is?
âThis is your last chance to regain his confidence!â
Bellesac nodded, recalling what Serral had told him.
Astana seemed a little different from usual, but he was just enjoying the hunt.
Besides, he was almost certain that it wouldnât go well if he tried to stop him in the current situation.
Bellesac decided to stay put without saying anything else.
It was then.
âBellesac, get me the canteen.â
Astana ordered.
âYes, here it is.â
Bellesac moved his body quickly and handed him the canteen.
The water bottle was light and almost completely empty.
âYour Highness will definitely win.â
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Bellesac said with a smile.
He said it, thinking that Astana would be happy.
Bellesacâs prediction was correct.
Astana smirked while looking at the monsterâs head.
The blood of the monster that had already been soaked into Astana, tainted Astanaâs smile.
âRight. Perez, even that lowly thing couldnât have caught so many monsters. The monsters around here must have all fled.â
Astana snickered dangerously.
âYeah, I must be stronger than him.â
âWhat?â
Bellesac tilted his head.
Stronger than the Sword Master, the Second Prince?
âLook at today, the day we slaughtered so many monsters. That kid could never do this.â
âButâŚâ
âShut up! Iâm stronger! If we run into him now, Iâll kill him in one go!â
Astana cried out as if he was a bloodhound.
Gasp.
Bellesac shut his mouth.
It was because Astanaâs sword, which was smeared with green blood that had already hardened, was approaching his throat.
âTh-Thatâs right, Your Highness is stronger.â
âRight? You think so too, donât you?â
Astana said with a blank look in his eyes.
âOkay. Then I have a good idea.â
âA goodâŚidea?â
At that moment, a bad feeling gripped Bellesac.
âIâm going to kill that dirty half-blood. Letâs go.â
Astana started to go forward in big strides.
He didnât even intend to take care of the body of the last monster he had killed.
âI can kill him now, no one will know because weâre in the forest.â
Astana continued to talk to himself, giggling.
âIf I kill that lowly thing, everything will be over. Itâll all be over.â
His Majesty will no longer ignore me.
My mother would be proud of me for doing so well.
âWhere are you? Red armour. Red armour.
Astana chanted it like a spell.
In the dark forest, Astanaâs eyes only found red.
âThatâs all.â
Astana laughed.
As he walked through the forest confidently, he suddenly came across a small meadow.
And on the other side, like magic, Perez appeared.
âRed armour.â
It must have been Perez, seeing as the Lombardy girl was next to him.
Astana gripped his sword.
Then, started running blindly towards Perez.
âYour Highness!â
Bellesac who had followed behind him was startled and called out to him.
But Astana did not stop.
There was no better chance than now to kill Perez.
Astana kept running, staring only at Perezâs unlucky face.
âStop him!â
At that time. people who he had not noticed until now, came into Astanaâs line of vision.
Imperial knights were guarding Perezâs surroundings.
Astana was taken aback for a moment.
Why would the Imperial Knights want that brat?
And then in the next moment, there was anger.
Oho, so you guys were all lining up behind that lowly thing.
âIâll kill you!â
Astana cried out loudly.
Amazingly, Perezâs face appeared right in front of him.
Clang!
However, Astanaâs sword flew farther, into the hands of the Imperial Knights.
Heok, heok!
Astana gasped for breath.
He was right in front of him.
He was within reach, just a hand stretched out would be enough to touch him.
He couldnât give up here.
Then Bellesac came into Astanaâs vision.
To be exact, it was the dagger that was tied to his waist.
âDie!â
Astana yelled at him and pulled out Bellesacâs dagger.