She always saves him. Although he was annoyed at himself for only ever receiving help, he was overwhelmingly happy that someone believed in and supported him to this extent.
Felix hugged her tightly in his arms, swallowing back his tears. Hubert, Dennis, and Henry regained their senses and approached the two who were embracing each other.
“Your Highness, Lady Sylvia…”
While Hubert hurried over, Lucino looked at his hand and clenched his fist tightly. His palm was stained red, a testament to desperately blocking Felix’s sword. Lucino, who had never felt overpowered in terms of ability or strength, was significantly shaken.
Carl was equally shocked, feeling the vast difference in magical power and unable to take his eyes off Felix. The frenzied demons had dissipated, and a temporary lull had settled. People were still too dazed to hide their astonishment.
Then, from afar, a loud noise was heard. The sound of hundreds of horse hooves felt alien, as if the ground itself was vibrating. The Croban Mercenary Group and the knights of the Sabellisa Ducal House drew their swords.
The leading prince halted his horse, looking around.
“Where did the dragon disappear to?”
He had seen it flying in this direction, but its large form was nowhere to be seen, puzzling him. Then he spotted the Viscounti Duke looking distraught in the distance.
“What’s the duke doing? Hasn’t he captured the crown prince yet?”
He was irritated that their plan had hit a snag.
“Why are they just standing there looking dazed?”
Muttering, he spurred his horse closer, noticing those who had drawn their swords and were on guard.
“Hmm, are those the Croban Mercenaries?”
The crown prince narrowed his eyes upon discovering the two people surrounded as if being protected.
“If he has black hair, it must surely be the crown prince. Why hasn’t he been captured yet?”
Looking down at them from his horse, the crown prince smiled bitterly. He laughed at the sight, which reminded him of rats trapped in a jar.
“Well, he’ll be caught soon enough.”
Muttering to himself, the crown prince scanned Sylvia, who was held in Felix’s arms.
“Is that woman the plant magician? But that’s strange.”
According to the information…
“It was written that she had teal hair and teal eyes…”
Her appearance differed from the description he had received in writing. She looked exactly…
“Like the crown prince in hair color. Could she be his sister?”
It was common for members of a magical lineage to be born with the same hair and eye color, so the crown prince’s suspicion was reasonable.
“But why was the information given as teal?”
With no demons in sight, no dragon, and seemingly fewer than a hundred enemies, the crown prince was leisurely on his own. He slowly approached Lucino on his horse.
“Duke, what exactly have you been doing while I was at the Capitis Palace? It seems there has been no progress at all.”
It was unusual for Lucino, who typically handled matters efficiently and quickly, prompting a mix of puzzlement and schadenfreude from the crown prince.
“This is disappointing. I must have been mistaken about the duke all this time.”
He said mockingly. Lucino sighed upon seeing the crown prince and his knights. Recalling the magic used earlier, he knew they could never capture Felix with just those numbers, even with his own knights combined. And now, he felt skeptical about the plan to conquer the Capitis Kingdom, criticizing his past self for foolishly accepting the crown prince’s proposal.
The reason the three neighboring countries hadn’t gone to war, despite being in close proximity, could firstly be attributed to the demons, but more importantly, because the cities were maintained as fortresses.
Even within the same empire, the Albom Castle, directly governed by the emperor, could promptly implement the emperor’s will, but no matter how much effort was put in, the nuances of other cities within the empire ultimately depended on the lords.
He had heard the emperor was greatly troubled by the current situation within the empire. Wouldn’t expanding the territory only complicate management, especially for lands that were once part of another country? Was the emperor’s approval certain?
“Your Highness, I regret to say this now, but I am opposed.”
Lucino could voice his opposition because of the governance structure. In other words, the absolute power of the royal family had long since faded.
“What?”
The crown prince couldn’t understand why Lucino was changing his stance now. Capturing the crown prince seemed like an easy victory, a golden opportunity he was unwilling to waste.
“I will disregard the duke’s opinion. I see no reason for this nonsense now.”
The crown prince commanded his knight commander with an annoyed expression.
“Capture the Capitis crown prince and bring Sylvia Arbor, the plant magician, to me.”
The duke, who normally showed little interest in women, had shown unique interest in her. The crown prince believed that having her would mean he could use her in any way he wished.
“Your Highness!”
Seeing the duke call out with a stern look, the crown prince was convinced. Ignoring Lucino, he ordered again.
“Capture them and bring them here!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
The knight commander spurred his horse towards the Croban Mercenaries and the knights of the Sabellisa Ducal House, surrounded by the crown prince’s significantly larger force. Hubert gathered his magic, and Dennis and Henry readied their swords.
Felix was primarily concerned about Sylvia’s condition, eager to heal her, annoyed by the approaching imperial knights.
Felix lifted his head with a grim expression, his dark eyes sweeping around. The mere presence of one man made hundreds of knights hold their breath.
Knowing they were in an advantageous position, the knight commander gripped his sword tighter, while the crown prince alone, oblivious to the situation, watched the scene from his horse with arrogant amusement, eager to finish quickly and search for the dragon, laughing proudly at the thought of his name being glorified. As if on cue with the crown prince’s laughter, Felix moved, even while carefully holding Sylvia.
Boom!
A fireball dropped into the center of the imperial knights, followed by lightning.
Boom, boom! Clang, clang, clang.
As Felix swung his sword, Hubert, Dennis, and Henry also moved into action.
The knight commander couldn’t say a word, frozen as he realized too late that his arm, holding the sword, had been severed.
As the deputy tried to take command amid the rising blood spray, their formation crumbled under consecutive magical attacks. The imperial knights quickly fell into disarray.
The crown prince, confident of victory, hardened his expression. Lucino, not expecting the royal knights to be defeated so easily, ordered his knights a beat too late.
“Assist the royal knights!”
Creating a third gem sword, Lucino gritted his teeth. Felix, still holding Sylvia, was displeased. The gem moved like a wave, and Lucino, standing on it, thrust his sword at Felix.
Easily blocking Lucino’s attack, Felix counterattacked, swinging his great sword with ease.
Clang! Clang clang, clang clang clang.
The clash of swords resonated powerfully. Around them, the royal knights, now disorganized, faced the Croban Mercenaries and Sabellisa knights.
As the battle became entangled, the sound of horse hooves approached again. Carl, Thibault, and Richard moved into action, their red, grey, gold, and silver armors intertwining in the melee.
Ethan could only watch his mercenary group from a distance, aghast. Amidst this, Duke Sabellisa, having arrived, spurred his horse into the fray with urgency.
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince!”
Before setting out, they had meticulously compiled a list of charges against the remnants of Count Lansmorris, prepared for Felix’s return. It was a project by Sabellisa and Barbara, who had endured harsh treatment from Bella at the palace in silence.
However, before they could depart, the duke had rushed to the palace upon hearing that the empire’s crown prince had appeared, only to witness a black dragon taking flight. What followed was no different for Felix and Sylvia.
Barely regaining consciousness from the vanishing pain, still drenched in sweat, the duke attempted to approach Felix with his sword drawn from atop his horse.
Felix swung his sword at Lucino, glaring solely at him since he didn’t like the look in his eyes from the start. Despite pointing his sword at Felix, Lucino’s gaze often drifted towards Sylvia. With a twist of his lips, Felix slashed diagonally with his sword. The black sword, leaving an afterimage, shattered the gem sword and lodged into Lucino’s shoulder.
“Ugh!”
It was a direct hit.
Lucino quickly rolled to the side to dodge. Despite being soaked in blood from shoulder to torso, he gasped for air upon verifying that his limbs were still intact; a moment’s delay could have cost him his arm.
The crown prince watched his knight squadron vanish with a dumbfounded expression. His knights, who should have shone brilliantly in golden armor like his name, were almost entirely gone.
Felix couldn’t use his vast magic as before due to the environment he noticed during the battle. The location, not far from the Capitis Kingdom and a place he passed while fleeing the palace, had transformed into something unrecognizable from what he knew.
From where the kingdom, empire, and the Shebusalatus Mountains met, to the sea that bordered one side of the kingdom, and even the newly formed mountains in the distance, the landscape had changed into places he had never seen.
The panoramic natural scenery, as comforting and beautiful as Sylvia, couldn’t be harmed. He used his magic in a limited area while swinging his sword. After the golden-armored knights vanished, Felix turned his head. The crown prince, startled by Felix charging at him ferociously, frantically pulled on the reins.
Lucino, with one hand on his bleeding shoulder, dashed forward. Seeing Felix ascend with his sword raised high, the crown prince was immobilized. The crown prince’s sudden pull on the reins created a multitude of shining gems above his head.
Clang! Boom!
The crown prince swallowed hard as he watched the gems shatter into pieces from a single strike of the sword.
“Enough! We have lost! Crown Prince of Capitis!”
The crown prince declared breathlessly. Yet, when Felix pointed his sword with a look that seemed to say, “What does it matter now?” the crown prince shouted again.
“I mean it! We surrender!”
Lucino clenched his eyes shut at the crown prince’s declaration. Given his status, his words carried significant weight. The crown prince’s proclamation of surrender now provided leverage to the Capitis Kingdom.
Still, it was the best course of action at the moment.
Felix intended to kill the crown prince right there and then, without second thoughts. But he stopped at the slight tug of a delicate hand.
“Why?”
Felix’s dark, flashing eyes softened instantly. Sylvia, too pained to join the fight, had been watching everything.
She decided he needed to be stopped now. In the stories, Felix would invade and conquer the empire because of the crown prince, but he couldn’t manage the empire well. Killing the crown prince now wouldn’t help.
“Just, let him go.”
Felix, glaring fiercely, responded to her quiet murmur.
“Why.”
Do you know how he looked at you?
Felix hadn’t missed how the crown prince had looked at Sylvia with vile intentions. He wanted to seize the opportunity to kill him…
But the rage that flared at the thought his companion might show interest in such a “yellow head” was immense. Anger sparked like flames from lava, filling his gaze with madness.