When a king personally summoned someone, it often gave the impression that it would take place in a spacious audience room with an extravagant throne in the center.
However, in reality, the audience room of Jinas's royal palace was not a place where meetings, discussions, or negotiations were casually conducted.
It was more like the churches or auditoriums from Riezel's past life, used only for very formal occasions with a clear process, such as ceremonial events.
For this reason, the audience room was typically only open during formal ceremonies like ennoblement, honors awards, succession ceremonies, or proclamations—it was not open to the public otherwise.
Summons from the king, important discussions with high officials, and meetings with significant figures took place elsewhere, called the throne room, where the king conducted business, similar to a private conference room and office.
Compared to the audience room, the throne room was used far more frequently.
Likewise, the location where Riezel, Yuri, and Marilyn were heading was the throne room.
However, their arrival attracted considerable inconspicuous attention.
Among them were those who were not too pleased to see them.
As Riezel and the others turned a corner, a voice laced with sarcasm made them stop.
It belonged to a young man dressed luxuriously, with a sword that looked like a piece of art at his waist, flanked by two knights exuding an extraordinary aura.
He was handsome and seemed to be around twenty years old, older than Riezel and Yuri. Although not very muscular, he was tall, nearly two meters, making those near him naturally look up at him.
However, he appeared to be someone who looked down on everyone with an air of superiority, as if he were a high-ranking nobleman, evident from the contemptuous look he directed at Riezel's group.
Upon seeing the young man, Yuri's expression instantly turned cold, and even Marilyn became expressionless, losing all of her emotion.
Meanwhile, the young man, seemingly oblivious to their reactions, nonchalantly approached them.
"What's the matter?"
With the same sarcastic voice, the young man asked while looking down at Yuri.
"Isn't it customary to greet me, Marquis Frenzel?"
Yuri raised her eyes to glance at the young man before responding briefly.
"Greetings, Prince Sorren."
Yuri's greeting was devoid of any emotion or formality.
At the same time, her greeting made Riezel turn his attention to the young man.
'Is it him?'
Riezel gave a fleeting glance at the arrogant prince before quickly averting his eyes as if he had lost interest.
Of course, the reason Riezel was losing interest was known only to him.
Sorren seemed to disregard Riezel's existence entirely, even ignoring Marilyn as his focus remained solely on Yuri, his sneering expression unchanged.
"You're back, huh? I thought you really didn't care about the royal capital..." Sorren taunted casually. "It makes sense though. A Strategic-Class Magician like you should be in the royal capital to truly showcase your abilities, yeah?"
"What are you trying to say, Your Highness?" Yuri replied emotionlessly. "Just say it directly. I can't understand these roundabout ways."
"Don't understand, you say? Hahahaha—!" Sorren laughed heartily. "In that case, I'll speak in a way you understand."
In the next moment, he leaned in close to Yuri, staring at her delicate face, his voice taking on a dangerous tone.
"Thanks to you, many of my plans have gone awry. Not only was I confined, but even my authority over the Shadow was taken from me. So, how are you going to compensate me, woman?"
At this moment, Sorren's demeanor and voice didn't seem like those of a noble royal family member but rather like a ruthless outlaw, exuding a vicious, aggressive aura as if he might lunge at any moment to tear someone's throat out.
"Mad dog..." Yuri muttered softly.
Upon hearing her mutter, Riezel finally understood why this prince received such an evaluation from her. If it were someone timid, being spoken to so fiercely by this prince would probably make their legs go weak, let alone have a normal conversation.
Unfortunately, Yuri was not one of those people.
"Stay away from me."
Yuri actually spoke such cold and unfeeling words to a prince.
"Oh?"
Sorren raised an eyebrow, and instead of moving away, he sneered.
"What did you say? I didn't catch that."
After saying this, Sorren seemed intent on hearing Yuri better, getting even closer. From an outsider's perspective, it looked like he was planning to get close enough to lick her face.
In fact, it seemed Sorren was indeed planning to do just that, as evidenced by how his tongue was already sticking out, ready to lick Yuri's face.
However—
*Swish!*
With a flash of cold light, a thin, short sword suddenly shot toward Sorren with incredible speed.
It was none other than Marilyn's sword.
"?!"
Sorren immediately reacted, retreating suddenly and displaying a speed completely unmatched by his tall body. He created distance in the blink of an eye, avoiding the short sword aimed at him.
*Schwing!*
At the same time, the two knights beside Sorren quickly drew their swords, rushing at Marilyn without a word.
Not only was their speed equally fast, but their movements were extremely sharp. In the instant they drew their swords, they charged, reaching Marilyn's front in the blink of an eye—one aimed at her sword-wielding hand and the other at her unarmed right hand.
From their movements and sword slashes, it was clear that these two were like Marilyn—they were also Sword Masters.
*Clang!*
Marilyn remained calm under pressure, turning and flicking her sword to deflect the sword aimed at her hand, forcing one of the knights back.
However, the other knight's sword slash was already upon her, about to strike her unarmed hand before suddenly—
*BANG!*
With a muffled sound, the knight about to strike Marilyn was kicked away, crashing heavily into the wall of the corridor.
Naturally, the kicker was Riezel.
"Hmm?"
Sorren, as if just noticing Riezel's existence, looked at the calm young man who had kicked his subordinate away. He was momentarily stunned, then seemed to recall something before narrowing his eyes.
Immediately, the two knights adjusted their positions, one rising from the floor, ready to attack again.
Seeing this, Sorren spoke up.
"Come back."
Sorren's cold voice made both knights freeze in their tracks, halting their advance as they sheathed their swords and silently returned to his side.
When one saw them, their appearance was more like that of two ruthless executioners than two noble knights.
Sorren ignored his subordinates and cast his gaze over Yuri, Marilyn, and Riezel in turn.
"So you're here too, huh?"
Sorren glanced and spoke to Marilyn, surprising everyone.
However, Sorren's attitude was harsh, filled with disdain and contempt.
"You dare to lay a hand on me? Do you think you're still the same as before?"
Sorren looked at Marilyn as if she were something filthy, something unpleasant to behold.
Marilyn ignored him and quietly returned to Yuri's side.
Sorren didn't pay Marilyn any more attention and shifted his gaze to Riezel.
"So you're Riezel Brynhart, the Sword Master and Tactical-Class Magician from the rumors?" Sorren smirked. "You're so young, even younger than me, but not only are you a Sword Master like me, you're also a Tactical-Class Magician... I wonder if you're just putting on a show to fool people?"
Needless to say, his words were laced with malice.
However, instead of reacting with anger, Riezel responded calmly.
"Doesn't the death of the Shadow Knights you sent before prove whether I'm genuine or not?"
Upon hearing this, Sorren sneered.
"Who knows?"
After letting out this ambiguous remark, Sorren acted as if nothing had happened and approached Yuri again.
"Woman, this is just a warning..."
Sorren spoke in a low, cold voice.
"Since you don't want to pick a side, just stay out of it."
"If it weren't for you being a Strategic-Class Magician, a useful tool of war for the kingdom that will eventually belong to me, I wouldn't let you off the hook for what you did last time."
"Remember, stay out of my business from now on."
After saying this, Sorren, accompanied by the two knights, brushed past the cold-faced Yuri and arrived in front of Riezel.
"You'd better remember this, boy..." Sorren said with a sneer on his face. "Don't pick the wrong side in the future."
Leaving these words behind, he walked away at last.
Yuri and Marilyn both showed cold expressions, their gazes toward him reminiscent of how one would look at something dirty.
Riezel, who had once been targeted by Sorren and had nearly lost his life, strangely remained remarkably calm and composed.
"I see, so he is the infamous third prince, huh?" Riezel remarked calmly. "He really is quite a piece of work."
"Don't worry about him..." Yuri said coldly. "He's just a mad dog who bites anyone he comes across. Someone will eventually deal with him."
It was clear that Yuri and Marilyn had a strong dislike and disgust for the so-called third prince.
"Let's go."
Yuri seemed eager to forget about Sorren, quickly urging Riezel to continue walking.
Riezel nodded and followed Yuri's lead, though his eyes flickered with a strange gleam as he glanced back at the distant figure of the prince.