Theron’s blade paused, his head turning up to the skies to find a young man with a pale but handsome expression standing above them on the edge of a building.
He had never seen this young man before, but Theron knew who he was immediately nonetheless.
Crown Prince Aetherion Nightingale.
The crowds seemed to scatter all at once without a single hint of a sound.
’Truly incompetent.’ Was Theron’s first thought, at least… until his eyes narrowed.
Incompetence, maybe? Or maybe this was just hedging.
The Thistles had no idea if he would be able to fulfill his promise to defeat all those beneath Silver Mancy or not. Maybe they could have fought back against this setup, but chose not to in order to mitigate potential backlash should Theron lose.
It was idiotic. The same sort of foolishness they had fallen into before.
The Crown Prince had certainly known this, which was why he was so confident in executing this move.
Above Marquisette Clans, there were still Dukes and Grand Dukes, and that didn’t even mention the Imperial Clan themselves.
There had to be a story behind why a mere Marquise would dare to do all of this, but judging by the actions he had seen until now, there was nothing particularly impressive about them at all.
And now there was this crown prince above him, seemingly wanting to save the outer disciple in his hands.
But how could Theron possibly let him go so easily?
“You want to save his life?” Theron asked calmly.
“My wants and the laws of the Heavens are one and the same. Asking me foolish questions will only end your life sooner,” Aetherion said calmly.
“Is that so? I bet you’ll have a lot of explaining to do when you return to the capital. How many geniuses did you bring over that have already died at my hands? What are you going to do? Blame it on a little live-in son-in-law like myself?”
Aetherion’s expression didn’t shift in the slightest, but his silence told it all.
“I also bet that if this Obsidian Eclipse Sect disciple isn’t the best you’ve brought, he isn’t far from it. You moved a lot of capital today in hopes of saving the face of your little princess consort. What if another one dies?”
All the while, Skyler didn’t dare to move a single inch, his body frozen in place. With just a thought from Theron, his Water Mana could explode in his body. 𝖗₳ꞐоᛒЕS
Poor offensive capabilities or not, no one wanted any sort of Mana exploding within their bodies. Unless the strength gap was enormous, the only result would be immediate death. But if the strength gap was large enough, there wouldn’t even be a chance for this in the first place.
“You’re playing a very dangerous game.”
Theron smiled a gentle smile.
“How many people in this world want your head? You’re much more valuable than a lowly commoner like myself. I would urge that the prince be careful appearing out in public like this.”
Theron’s words carried an edge to them that they usually didn’t. But if one understood the fire burning in his heart right now, they would know just the level of restraint that he had already shown.
The Nightingale Clan was the Imperial Clan of this province. It was their duty to protect their citizens. It had once been his lifelong dream to become an Imperial Scholar, a subject that was ultimately subservient to them.
Had he ever thought of it in so many words? Of course not. His goal was to learn… but the end result would have functionally been the same.
He would have been just fine serving the Nightingale Clan and helping them to rise up in the world until the day he breathed his last.
But how exactly had they treated his family? Did they even care about what happened back then? Was there anyone that even mentioned what happened to his village in the Imperial City?
The fact that he was standing here, having a conversation with a gentle smile on his face…
That was his restraint.
“Dangerous actions, and even more dangerous words. Even if I present my neck, who would dare to use it?” Aetherion asked calmly.
“Apologies, I wasn’t aware the influence of the Nightingale Clan was so vast. I was under the impression that the powerful never had to deal with betrayal. But maybe rumors are exactly that—just rumors.”
Aetherion looked toward Theron for a long while. And then, he raised up a palm.
Theron couldn’t react before his hand felt weightless, Skyler having disappeared from where he stood in a swirl of black.
“Enjoy your wedding. You have the Nightingale Clan’s congratulations.”
Aetherion vanished afterward without saying a single word.
For a long while, Theron didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure why the crown prince gave up so easily, but he had his own guesses.
His knees almost gave way, but he stabilized himself in time. Maybe it was a rare pride, but no matter… he would fall today.
As he walked across the blood-soaked ground, back toward his steed, he had no intention of getting rest or slipping. This was just one challenge, an insignificant drop in the bucket.
He would climb over them all until the day the corpse that lay beneath his feet was the man from that day.
With a step, he pulled himself back up and onto the horse Malaya waited on.
What no one but she seemed to notice was that from start to finish, even without having to use an ounce of her Mana, she had remained bone dry.
Theron had never allowed a single drop to fall on her.
…
“This time, I will listen to you,” the crown prince said calmly.
“… You never listen to anyone. You just know that I’m right. So long as the Thistles keep them by his side… they’ll collapse all on their own.” the voice of a little girl replied.