Grand Duke Hikardo was a man whose name never failed to appear whenever someone spoke of the greatest fortunes on the continent, and the ruler representing the Free City Union.
And so Charles Hikardo, his son, couldn't comprehend what had just happened to him.
"A mongrel shouldn't be wandering around the Imperial Palace," a boy said coldly. "There are already enough dogs here—two is plenty."
Charles's cheek throbbed. Something warm dripped from his lips; he touched it with trembling fingers. It was hot and wet.
It was blood. His lip had split clean open. Charles stared ahead at the boy with quivering eyes.
A boy—someone who had thrown dignity away like trash—looked down on Charles as if staring at literal filth. His pants were torn in several places, and his shirt hung open without the top buttons; he was the picture of a brazen delinquent.
Charles wondered why there was a brat like that inside the illustrious Imperial Palace of the Orias Empire.
He'd begged his father to bring him along to the peace summit, but not once in his seventeen years had he ever been treated like this. No one had ever dared lay a hand on him.
"Y-You... Do you even know what you've done?" Charles asked, voice trembling.
The boy only scoffed as if the very question were ridiculous, then replied, "I just beat the hell out of a mongrel. Is there supposed to be a problem?"
"You... Do you know who I am—" Charles began, but was cut off.
"That's not my concern," the boy said bluntly. Then, he turned his head. "Aqua, are you okay? He must've scared you."
"Mm, I'm all right," Aqua, who was wearing simple clothes, answered with a timid smile.
And the situation, when pieced together, went like this... Charles had been wandering the palace when he happened to spot a girl he liked. And without hesitation, he'd acted on his usual habit. His talent—if one could call it that—was dragging women off by force.
In the Free City Union, where he lived like royalty, no woman dared refuse him. And when Charles saw Aqua's modest clothes, he'd assumed she was nothing more than a palace servant girl... a commoner.
"How dare you lay hands on me... all to defend some lowly peasant girl...?" Charles sputtered. He could not accept it. Neither the delinquent boy nor the commoner girl who dared stand confidently. Never in his seventeen years had anything like this happened to him.
"Is this how the empire treats its honored guests?" Charles demanded.
"A guest only counts as a guest if he behaves like one," the boy said. "What's your name?"
"My name is Charles Hikardo, the only son of Grand Duke Hikardo, ruler of the Free City Union. I will not overlook this crime. I don't know who you are, but I will hold you accountable—you will hang for—" Charles began proudly, but couldn't finish his sentence.
The boy laughed, genuinely amused. Then he drew his sword with an easy, fluid motion.
"I gave you one chance, since you're supposedly a guest, but you kicked it away yourself. This is why brats like you are a problem. Actually, no—maybe the real issue is your parents for raising you like this. Don't you agree?" the boy said.
"Did you insult my parents? How dare you? Sir Ox! Sir Ox, where are you!?" Charles shouted urgently.
At Charles's shout, a knight with an impressive mustache rushed over from afar. "Mr. Charles! Why did you move without reporting to—Gasp?!"
The moment Sir Ox reached the scene, he choked on his breath. Unlike the naïve Charles, Ox immediately recognized the "delinquent" standing before them.
He rapidly assessed the situation. The young master's face is swollen. He was definitely struck... And the girl looks startled... he thought. He had no doubt about it. This worthless young master had caused trouble chasing women again.
The girl was stunning even at a glance. Of course Charles wouldn't have backed down. He took after his father—obsessed with women.
Cleaning up his messes had always been Ox's duty, but this time... The scale was different. Enormously different.
Realizing the severity, Ox dropped to his knees before the boy and shouted, "Y-Your Highness the Crown Prince! Please forgive this insolence! Our young master is terribly ignorant of the world! I beg you—please, show mercy!"
There was only one delinquent who openly walked around the Imperial Palace with a sword. It was the Imperial Crown Prince, Halo Karien. His nickname was the Mad Dog of the Imperial Palace.
Halo was the strongest lunatic ever produced by the Royal Family of Karien. They said that listing every incident caused by Halo Karien would take too long for a single record to contain.
Grand Duke Hikardo had warned his son before they arrived...
"Under no circumstances are you to clash with the Crown Prince."
The Duke had personally ordered Ox to keep a close eye on Charles, and Ox truly had done his best. But there was nothing Ox could have done when his young master lied about taking a shower and slipped out of the lodging. If the brat went as far as burning a costly stealth artifact just to sneak out and cause trouble, there was only so much Ox could prevent.
"The Crown... Prince?" Charles asked, his eyes widening as he stared at the so-called "delinquent" in front of him.
A crown prince was supposed to carry dignity. The boy before him, with his half-buttoned shirt and slouching posture, had none. He looked less like royalty and more like the kind of delinquent who picked fights behind taverns.
"Sir Ox, you must be mistaken..." Charles began.
Slap!
"Argh!"
Halo struck Charles across the face once more and clicked his tongue as he looked down at Sir Ox.
"When the knight guarding you is trying his damnedest to keep you alive, you shouldn't be making his job harder," he said with a mocking grin. "Well, I'm actually grateful. Idiots like you are perfect punching bags. Hey, knight. What's your name?"
"You may call me Sir Ox," Ox said hurriedly. "Please, please forgive our young master's mistake—"
"Sir Ox," Halo cut in casually, "it's not my forgiveness you need. I'm not the victim. She is."
He jerked his chin toward the girl beside him, then added, "The brat you're guarding suddenly showed up and tried to grab her butt."
"I am sorry! I truly am so sorry!" Ox cried, bowing.
"I really am all right," Aqua said with an awkward smile. "He didn't actually touch me. I was just startled."
"Sis, creeps like that need to be chopped off," Halo said bluntly. "So they can't try that again. Should I do the honors for you?"
At that exact moment, a new, far greater dread crawled up Ox's spine. He had confirmed that this boy really was the Crown Prince. But then he wondered who exactly this "sis" he spoke of was.
I heard the Crown Prince has a younger sister... Ox thought. But it didn't make sense for Halo to call his younger sister "sis" instead of her name.
"I will handle this personally—Ugh, it's too late. Damn it. He was my prey," Halo muttered.
"Pardon?" Ox whispered.
"It would've been better for him if he just let me beat him half to death," Halo added.
At that moment...
Kwaaang!
The ground exploded as dust erupted upward. From within the cloud stepped a man with shimmering blond hair and blue eyes, a dark blue sword in hand.
He smiled brightly and asked, "Halo, didn't I tell you to behave yourself today of all days?"
"Oh, Uncle. You're here?" Halo replied.
"That's it. You're getting hit today," the man said.
"Listen to my side first," Halo began urgently.
"Dad, Halo didn't do anything wrong," Aqua said calmly.
"...Caron Leston," Ox whispered as if possessed. Finally, the pieces fit.
Halo had called the girl "sis," and that girl had just called the man, Caron Leston, Dad .
There was only one possible answer: The girl was Caron Leston's daughter. The famed dragon daughter, Aqua Leston.
Which meant... The idiot Charles had tried to molest Caron Leston's daughter. The moment Ox understood that truth, he felt his own death looming over him.
"I'll give you one minute. Explain," Caron demanded.
"See that idiot over there?" Halo said, pointing. "He started hitting on Aqua. And not just flirting—he actually tried to grab her."
Halo quickly summarized the situation.
Caron listened in silence, then nodded slowly and said, "So that's what happened."
"I told you. Uncle, I didn't do anything wrong," Halo insisted.
"Aqua, is that true?" Caron asked.
"Well... It's not wrong," Aqua replied. "If he'd pushed it, I was planning to turn him to dust with a draconic incantation, Dad."
"You should have," Caron said calmly.
"Should I turn him to dust now?" Aqua asked.
"No, I'll handle it from here," Caron answered. Understanding the situation instantly, he strode straight toward Charles.
Halo immediately shouted, "Imperial Guards! Stop Grand Duke Caron Leston right now!"
The Imperial Guards sprinted over and blocked Caron's path.
"Move," Caron growled. "I'm going to tear that animal to pieces. What kind of worthless trash puts hands on my daughter? Move. Move!"
"Grand Duke, please restrain yourself. He is still the son of the Free City Union's—" one of the Imperial Guards began, but was cut off.
"And what do I care?" Caron roared. "Let the Free City Union burn if it must. Get out of my way!"
Azure mana flared violently from him as he lunged forward.
Halo shrugged and muttered under his breath, "And I'm the one who should behave? Please. He's worse than me."
Age hadn't mellowed Caron at all. A Mad Dog stayed a Mad Dog, even with time.
***
The nation of the demons, Piamen, had finally joined the Continental Alliance. Since they had been sworn enemies in the past, their entry alone have shaken the entire continent. But even that continent-shattering news was buried beneath an even greater scandal.
"Breaking News: Charles Hikardo, son of the Free City Union's representative Duke Hikardo, castrated in the Imperial Palace?"
"Trash who harassed Grand Duke Caron Leston's daughter finally pays the price!"
"Who is Charles Hikardo, the pervert who dared touch the darling of Azureocean Castle?"
"Records show he once escaped punishment after assaulting an innocent citizen—Is the Free City Union truly civilized?"
It all stemmed from one incident... Caron Leston had severed the heir of the Free City Union's private area...
Simply put, the Imperial Guards alone had been no match for a 9-Star knight.
Caron Leston, blinded by fury, had dealt punishment right there inside the Imperial Palace, and Charles Hikardo—now incapable of producing descendants—had fainted on the spot.
If not for the priests who rushed in afterward, the boy likely would have died then and there.
And so, the aftermath began.
"Well done, well done. You should've just cut off his head while you were at it! That trash dared touch our adorable Aqua!" Revelio said cheerfully.
"If you're going to praise me," Caron muttered from inside his cell, "why am I in prison? And why do you keep calling my daughter adorable? She's my daughter, not yours."
"Come on," Revelio said, waving a hand. "At least show a gesture of compliance. You know what I saw? Duke Hikardo was kneeling in front of the prison doors begging for forgiveness. His son's become an eunuch, and he's still pleading like that."
"If he raised his son like that, he deserves the consequences," Caron said coldly.
Inside the luxurious royal prison, he spoke with Revelio while wearing a thoroughly unamused expression.
By imperial law, drawing one's sword within the Imperial Palace counted as treason. And the Orias Empire prided itself on being a nation of law. So even someone like Caron couldn't simply walk free. Thus, for appearance's sake, he had been imprisoned—though Caron himself said proudly: "I'll invoke my ducal immunity."
"And I, as Emperor, will approve it personally," Revelio replied.
"You said that bastard's father is outside?" Caron confirmed.
"Calm down," Revelio said.
"Would you be calm right now if it were you?" Caron snapped.
"I already dispatched a formal investigation team," Revelio said. "A group from the Imperial Magic Tower. You can beat someone, but you need justification. That's politics. That's why Duke Hikardo is kneeling outside."
Revelio soothed Caron as best he could. This wasn't even the first time such madness had happened.
There was a royal who'd once harassed Amy Altura, the current Vice-Commander of the Imperial Guards, and that incident had also ended in disaster.
Whoosh.
As Revelio placated Caron, space rippled—and Aqua appeared.
"Dad," Aqua called.
"Aqua, are you really alright?" Caron asked anxiously.
"I told you, I'm fine!" Aqua replied. "And even if something had happened, I would've handled it. Sometimes you're way too overprotective. I'm not even a hatchling anymore."
"...Now that I'm looking at your face, I'm getting angry all over again," Caron muttered. "That's it. I'ill burn down the Free City Union—"
"Stop it and take this," Aqua interrupted, sighing as she handed him a communication orb. "Mom wants to talk to you."
"Hold on, let me take a deep breath," Caron said, then inhaled deeply, bracing himself, and took the orb with a stiff expression.
Soon, a chilling voice echoed from the other side.
"Is it true, sweetie?" Seria asked.
"Uh... Don't worry," Caron said. "I'll handle it—"
"You should have killed him," Seria interrupted.
"...What?" Caron asked.
"That bastard is undoubtedly the spawn of the devil. I'm calling His Holiness the Pope right now. Stay where you are and wait," Seria replied.
"Why the Pope all of a sudden?" Caron asked.
"If the devil's spawn has appeared, we must declare a crusade. From this moment on, the Free City Union is a heretical nation. Wait a bit. Mobilizing the troops will take time," Seria declared.
"Wait—hold on, wait—" Revelio stuttered in surprise.
"Your Majesty, please step aside. This is family business!" Seria snapped.
"Now, now," Revelio said hurriedly. "Those words wound me. We are family too."
...And thus, another peaceful day passed in the Imperial Palace.