Chapter 108 - Who Dares to Debate Qualifications? (2)

"Mmm..."

When Lionel Leonberk just woke up from a nightmare, the very first thing he did was grope under his pillow.

A cool, hard sensation touched his fingertips. He immediately pulled that cold object out.

A well-worn dagger came out.

As he gripped the blade in his hand, the anxiety that remained like dregs subsided somewhat.

Only then did he feel a burning thirst.

He brought the entire kettle resting by the bedside straight to his mouth.

GULP, GULP.

The unusually fishy smell of the water today made him gag. He forced himself to hold it back and continued to gulp down the water. As the cold water soaked his esophagus and chilled his insides, his hazy mind snapped awake.

Suddenly, he sensed someone's presence.

Turning his head, he saw a woman with a somewhat disheveled appearance sleeping soundly.

It was the Queen.

"Ah..."

Looking at the Queen brought back memories of the previous night.

After returning from the Great Hall yesterday, he had drank alone. Then the Queen returned, and while they talked and shared drinks, he got drunk and fell sound asleep.

The fishy taste of the water was likely due to his heavy drinking the day before.

'How foolish.'

He mocked himself, thinking that soothing his worries with alcohol as a monarch was improper behavior.

Shaking his head once, he looked at the Queen.

Despite entering her mid-thirties, she was still beautiful. However, his eyes looking at his wife were entirely dry.

Her jade-like fine skin and a long scar crossing her slender shoulder caught his eye.

It was the mark of something sharp grazing past. He quietly pulled up the blanket to cover her shoulder.

He watched the Queen for a long while after that before carefully getting out of bed.

Chasing the moonlight, he stood right up against the window and looked outside.

In the dim surroundings, he saw the Royal Knights donning their flashing golden armor down below.

The Royal Knights, who would normally hold their posts as firmly as stone statues, seemed unusually busy today. The number of royal guards also appeared to be several times more than usual.

CLANK, CLANK!

An uncomfortable noise came from outside the door. It was clearly the sound of heavily armed knights' iron armor clattering.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

He set the dagger down and grabbed the decorative sword hanging on the wall.

Unlike ordinary decorative swords, it was a real iron sword with its edge sharpened so it could be used at any time.

"Your Majesty?"

The Queen, who had just woken up, called out to him.

"Shh. It seems something has happened."

The Queen didn't ask anything. She simply rose quietly, threw on a coat, and stood by her husband's side.

KNOCK, KNOCK.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

"Your Majesty. It is your subject, Sturmhilde Stuttgart."

Lionel Leonberk lowered his sword.

It was the Commander of the Royal Knights and the Silver Lion of the kingdom, Sturmhilde Stuttgart.

"May I come inside?"

Turning his head briefly to ensure the Queen had adjusted her clothing, he answered her to come in.

"What is this commotion in the middle of the night?"

Glancing at the sword gripped in his hand, the old knight bowed and reported the situation outside.

"There was an intruder in the vault. All the Royal Knights and royal guards guarding the vault were found dead, and we are currently trying to identify the culprit, but..."

He furrowed his brow, looking at the old knight who trailed off unlike usual.

"Trying to identify?"

"The corpses of the deceased knights and soldiers have had all their blood sucked dry, so we cannot tell whether the true identity of the culprit is human or not."

"Are you saying the culprit is a vampire?"

At his words, the old knight shook their head.

"We do not know at present."

"What about the castle gates?"

"They have all been sealed off, and knights with three or more rings have been stationed at each to ensure no one can enter or leave."

The Queen, who had been listening to his and the old knight's conversation, interjected and asked.

"What about the princes and princesses?"

"We have dispatched Royal Knights to guard their residences. However..."

Trailing off again, the old knight stared intently at the King before carefully speaking.

"The whereabouts of His Highness the Third Prince are unknown."

And then added one more thing.

"The Dragon Slayer has also disappeared."

Before Lionel Leonberk could even react to those words, it suddenly grew noisy outside.

"We have discovered the whereabouts of the missing His Highness the Third Prince!"

The urgent report of a Royal Knight followed immediately.

"Speak. Where is the Third Prince?"

At the King's words, the Royal Knight dropped to one knee and spoke.

"His Highness the Third Prince is cutting down the Royal Knights blocking his path and heading straight for this place!"

As soon as those words ended, it grew chaotic outside the window.

"Gah!"

"Aargh!"

Horrible screams rang out one after another. And then it went quiet again.

Down below, the Royal Knights formed ranks, raising their swords and shields to block the door. The royal guards readied their bows and nocked their arrows on the bowstrings.

CRASH!

At that moment, the solid doors of the main palace shattered, and something flew inside.

CLATTER.

The unidentified object rolled on the floor and then pushed itself up.

It was a bloodied Maximilian, the Second Prince.

SWOOSH.

Before the Second Prince could raise his sword again, a deep blue flash of light flew in through the dust.

The King shouted urgently.

"Block it!"

The King couldn't even tell whether that voice reached them or not.

He was merely somewhat relieved to see the Royal Knights stepping in front of the Second Prince with their shields raised.

SLICE.

The King furrowed his brow.

It was too far to be heard, yet the distinct sound of something being sliced cleanly reached his ears.

"Don't block it, dodge!"

A beat too late, the Second Prince's urgent yell rang out.

However, by the time those words fell, a brilliant blue gleam had already swept through the bodies of the Royal Knights.

The King let out a groan.

The upper halves of the Royal Knights, severed along with their shields, dropped to the floor. A spray of blood erupted a moment later.

And from beyond that blood spray, the Third Prince revealed himself.

Half of his face was covered by his hanging hair, and the Dragon Slayer was gripped in his hand. Crimson eyes flashed through his locks.

"You bastard!"

He saw Maximilian lunging at the Third Prince, gathering mana at the tip of his sword.

But to anyone's eyes, the Second Prince was no match for the Third Prince.

His momentum was good, but before their swords had clashed more than a few times, the Second Prince was kicked and sent rolling ungracefully across the floor again.

"Sir Stuttgart. Go and save Maximilian."

At the King's voice through clenched teeth, the old knight answered firmly.

"Your Majesty. I cannot leave Your Majesty's side."

"The future of the kingdom is over there!"

"To me, Your Majesty is the future of the kingdom."

Despite the King's words, the old knight remained unshaken.

With a contorted face, the King looked down below again.

The Royal Knights who stepped in front of the Second Prince failed to block the Third Prince's single strike and were cut in half. The arrows fired by the royal guards couldn't even reach anywhere near the Third Prince.

"Your Majesty! Where are you! Your Majesty's son has arrived!"

The Third Prince was shouting as he looked around.

His neurotic voice was typical of a madman.

Indeed, unless he was crazy, there was no way he would swing his sword like that at the King's knights and his own brother in front of the King's bedchamber.

"Why will you not show yourself before your son!"

The King thought.

*'Is it treason?' * No, it wasn't. If it were treason, there should be cohorts following behind him. The Third Prince was alone. He was simply gripping the Dragon Slayer, running amok, and committing slaughter.

In just a brief moment, the royal guards were all wiped out. Soldiers and knights continued to gather, but they could not stop the Third Prince.

"Will you still not come out even after this!"

Having cleaved a Royal Knight in two, the Third Prince rushed toward the Second Prince.

The Second Prince's sword was cleanly severed along with its Sword Aura. The Third Prince stepped on the Second Prince and aimed the Dragon Slayer at him.

"If you do not come out now, I cannot guarantee my older brother's safety!"

Seeing that, the King ground his teeth.

"Sir Stuttgart!"

"Even if Your Majesty casts me out in the future because of this matter, right now, I cannot leave Your Majesty's side."

At those words, the King burst into anger.

"I will go down there myself!"

"Your Majesty!"

"Do what you must! However! You shall not block my path!"

Gripping his sword, the King left the room. The Queen followed behind him, and the old knight also let out a sigh and headed down leading the Royal Knights.

"Oho! So you finally come out!"

Spotting the King, the Third Prince shouted as if he were glad.

"You have gone mad. You wouldn't do this unless you were crazy. You are clearly out of your mind."

The King ground his teeth as he looked around.

He saw the corpses of the Royal Knights cut in half. Shririveled bodies that looked as if all the blood had been drained from them—it matched the deaths of the knights the old knight had mentioned. It spared him the trouble of figuring out who the culprit was that had attacked the vault.

No, even before that, the culprit didn't seem to have any intention of hiding his atrocities.

"A stupid and incompetent fool is about to inherit the throne of the kingdom, so how could I not go mad?"

The Third Prince was itching to show off the Dragon Slayer gripped in his hand.

"Do you see it, Your Majesty? The Dragon Slayer, which has accepted no one for the past 400 years, has accepted me. Is this not proof that I should be the next king?"

Showing off the Dragon Slayer dripping with deep blue ghastly energy, the Third Prince grinned widely.

"You lunatic. You've gone mad, but in a very vile way."

The King bellowed, asking how he dared speak of the qualifications of a king after butchering the King's knights and massacring the royal guards.

"Do you think you will walk away unharmed after daring to commit such acts!"

"It seems becoming the master of the Dragon Slayer is not enough. But Your Majesty has no choice anyway."

"What are you trying to do..."

Blood-red eyes flashed through his disheveled hair.

"If all the men carrying the blood of Leonberk die, even Your Majesty would have no other option."

Saying that, the Third Prince raised his sword high. The unconscious Maximilian, the Second Prince, didn't even twitch.

"You bastard! Stop! Do you think I would hand the throne over to you even after seeing such a sight!"

"It matters not. If you do not give it to me, I simply have to take it."

The Third Prince drove the blade into his brother's chest. No, he tried to drive it in.

Had it not been for something suddenly flying in from outside the door, he certainly would have done so.

SWOOSH!

A bluish flash of light piercing the darkness struck the Third Prince.

CRASH!

"Who dares!"

The Third Prince, who barely managed to raise his sword and block the flash, screamed in rage.

"It's me, you bastard."

A growling voice was heard from outside the door.

And then the First Prince appeared, with a vivid gleam gathered on his sword.

The King's eyes went wide, looking as if they might tear open.

The sudden appearance of the First Prince was one thing, but the flash of light gathered at the tip of his sword and its momentum were far from ordinary.

It wasn't just the King.

There was no one in this place who did not know what kind of entity exuded a presence like that.

Which was why they were even more shocked.

That was a feat permitted only to knights who had trained arduously their entire lives, pushing themselves until they finally reached perfection—

"Aura Blade!"

Because it was far too peerless a secret technique for a young prince who had just turned sixteen to master.

The First Prince lowered his sword and walked toward the Third Prince.

STEP, STEP.

In the dead silence where even the sound of a dropping needle could be heard, only the First Prince's footsteps echoed.

STEP.

And when those footsteps finally stopped, the First Prince opened his mouth.

"Who are you."