Chapter 71

Chapter 71 – Prisons (1)

Translator: Lunarise

Editor: Larkspur

At that moment, Crown Prince Lustian received a report that the empress had ordered Viola to leave the palace. Instantly, he took to his feet and wanted to make a dash for the empress’s palace only to be stopped by Kyle.

“Don’t you know better than anyone that the seat of the crown princess cannot be taken by any foreign royalty?”

“Still, this is not right.”

“There are rules there too. What Your Imperial Highness is worried about, will not happen. She is not a princess who enjoys partying, in the first place.”

“—”

A dark cloud veiled Lustian’s face. He had wanted to move Viola to the crown princess’s palace for the remainder of her training, and then formally court her as his crown princess. He knew he didn’t have much reasoning behind it, but he was willing to do whatever it took to keep her by his side. He had even drafted a letter to the emperor himself, expressing officially that he wanted Viola.

Even if she intended to hold out on him for the next five months with nothing but the thought of divorce, Lustian had no intention of letting her go. Even now all he wanted was to run to her, kiss her on her lips, and tumble in the sheets with her all night long. Licking her from her moist lips to her pretty peaks, to her belly button, and finally her magnificent golden forest, it was still not enough for him. He had a strong desire to suckle the secret flesh inside of her and caress her with his tongue each and every day, but he held himself back again and again.

“The more you go against the will of Her Imperial Majesty the Empress, the more the princess’s hidden identity will be revealed. The more Your Imperial Highness obsesses over her and showers her with special treatment, the more difficult it will be for the princess.”

Kyle’s warning was not wrong. The more he gathered his power to raise Viola to the crown, the more he had to disobey the will of the empress. Lustian’s eyes trembled. He tightly grasped the letter he had written to the emperor. There was the sound of him gritting his teeth. He couldn’t weigh his love for his mother against his love for Viola. He didn’t want to lose either of them.

“God dammit… There’s not a single thing I can do the way I want it!” said the second most powerful man in the Arpen Empire.

“You have to be patient for now. If you want her, it won’t be too late to bring her to your side as Empress after Your Imperial Highness has ascended the throne.” The ever royal Commander of the Knights placated his liege.

“I don’t have time to wait until then.”

Not only was there no news of the emperor to be heard of, that no one even knew whether he was dead or alive but also Lustian’s promised time with Viola was ticking. He knew that if he felt rushed he wouldn’t be able to get anything done, but it wasn’t easy for him to calm down. He was vexed.

Since the gods had given him the weighty task of finding a companion, they should have at least allowed him to choose whomever he wanted as Crown Princess. But it wasn’t possible. As Kyle had pointed out, unless he became emperor, the crown prince couldn’t violate the laws of the empire that were set in place under an oath with the gods.

Lustian briefly tried to clear his thoughts. He waited a little to try and look at the current situation with a sober perspective. Then, realizing that he rage that was surging within him couldn’t be contained, he stood up.

“I can’t stand this. Get ready, I’m going to the Dome—”

♛

The Dome.

This was the place the dreaded Blood Army trained. Though they had disbanded since there was no longer a war, the soldiers had simply returned to their original duties. And here, one could find many swordsmen that had fought in the war. The fact that the commander of this army had appeared at the Dome normally meant war. So it was only natural those here looked nervous. However, since he had not given any orders, they all just looked on at him.

Lustian stood in the wide space of the Dome and raised his sword high. All the swordsmen moved away from him in a circle. Everyone of them held their breaths.

When the crown prince unsheathed his sword, suddenly a small tornado struck up from the ground and a small wind rushed around him. His dark hair fluttered, like the wind blowing over a field of reeds. Someone in the audience gulped hard.

His hidden power surpassed the master-level of the Slovenian continent’s greatest swordsman. It was typically only a few times a year that he would release all of his energy like this.

Grrrr! Grrraaagh!

At that moment, several beasts baring sharp teeth popped out from different areas of the Dome. These brutes, renowned for their fierceness, instinctively rushed towards their toughest opponent.

“Bring it on!”

Lustian’s eyes flashed. He moved his wrists against the blowing wind. He wielded and swung his sword at the swarm of beasts that were jumping towards him in unison. He seemed to only swing his sword to the extent that his clothes slightly fluttered, but the crowd could hear the screeching of the beasts from all directions. When the wind vortex ended, they watched as the corpses of the beasts, each divided exactly into three parts, fell to the floor with resounding thuds.

Their blood scattered in the air like falling leaves, but not a single drop tainted Lustian’s clothes. All the gathered swordsmen stared at their master in disbelief. Then, a slow clap echoed through the silence. When the man who had only just unleashed a torrent of savagery turned his head, he saw Ivan approaching him with a smile.

“You really deserve to be the commander of the Blood Army. It seems to me like you’ve improved even more, and I’m not the only one who thinks that way, right?” Ivan expressed his admiration of the man’s might.

“He’s constantly improving.” Kyle praised with pride.

However, now that Lustian had surpassed the level of master, there was a limit to how much further he could possibly improve beyond that, and Kyle was well-aware of this fact.

“At this rate, are we going to see the first Grand Master in Slovenian history? Hahaha!” Ivan said.

“With the amount of mana that I can handle, it’s not even close.”

“Aren’t you being too humble? Brother?”

“Stop saying useless things, there’s something I need you to do.”

Ivan grinned and massaged Lustian’s shoulders.

“I know. You want me to make sure that none of the royals get even close to Princess Viola. Leave it to me. But isn’t it unnecessary to worry about that in the first place? You disguised her as an ugly girl, eh?”