Chapter 232: Crazy Dog Prince 232
The personal summons of a King often gives off the impression that it would take place in an audience hall where a throne resides.
However, in reality, palace audience halls are not the kind of places that are casually used for meetings, conversations, or even discussions of important matters.
Audience halls are more akin to churches and auditoriums of the past life, only utilized during very formal occasions with clear procedural arrangements, such as ceremonies.
Therefore, the palace’s audience hall is usually only open for formal ceremonies such as investitures, knighthood ceremonies, succession rituals, and proclamation events, and is not accessible to the public otherwise.
Personal summons by the King, discussions of important affairs with high-ranking officials, and meetings with significant figures, take place in a different location.
This place is called the King’s Chamber, the King’s working space, similar to a conference room and office dedicated to the King.
Compared to the audience room, the King’s Chamber is used much more frequently.
Hence, the destination that Reiger, Yuri, and Marilyn were heading to was the King’s Chamber, the King’s office.
Yet, their arrival caught the covert attention of many.
Among them were some who were not too pleased to see them.
"Oh? Isn’t this Lord Franzel?"
Just as Reiger and the others entered a corner, a person, as if deliberately waiting for their arrival, spoke with a mocking tone that made Reiger and Yuri stop in their tracks.
He was a youth dressed impressively, with a sword at his waist that looked like a work of art, and flanked by two knights emitting an extraordinary aura, good-looking but with a distasteful sneer on his face.
The young man appeared to be about 20, older than both Reiger and Yuri by a few years, not particularly bulky but quite tall, almost two meters, making anyone near him look up involuntarily.
He also looked down at everyone with a condescending gaze, exuding a sense of superiority and aggressiveness.
Seeing this person, Yuri’s expression instantly turned cold, and even Marilyn became expressionless, losing all response.
The other party, however, approached as though he didn’t see them at all.
"What’s the matter?" He was still sneering, looking down at Yuri and said, "Seeing this Prince, do you not even bother to greet me, Lord Franzel?"
Upon hearing this, Yuri lifted her eyelids, glanced at the person, then spoke indifferently.
"I have seen Prince Solok."
Yuri’s greeting was devoid of any emotion, let alone any formalities.
However, Yuri’s words made Reiger shift his gaze onto the person.
"Is it him?"
Reiger glanced at the domineering prince, then quickly shifted his attention away as if he lost interest.
Of course, whether that was true was something only Reiger himself knew.
It seemed Solok didn’t even acknowledge Reiger’s presence, and he ignored Marilyn as well.
He just kept looking at Yuri, with the mocking expression on his face never changing.
"So, you’ve returned after all. I thought you really didn’t care for the royal capital," Solok said sarcastically. "Fair enough, a strategist level magician like yourself would indeed be wasting talent in such a remote region. The capital is undoubtedly more fitting for you to demonstrate your abilities, right?"
"What are you trying to say, Your Highness?" Yuri said expressionlessly. "Please speak directly. If you beat around the bush, even the things one can understand will become incomprehensible."
"Not comprehensible?" Solok laughed heartily and said, "Then I will speak to you in a way that you can understand."
With that, Solok moved his face closer to Yuri’s, fixating on her delicate features, and his voice began to take on a dangerous edge.
"Thanks to you, many things I needed to do have been ruined. I was confined, and even the command of ’Shadow’ was taken away. Tell me, how do you plan to compensate me?"
At that moment, Prince Solok’s demeanor and voice no longer seemed like those of a noble member of the royal family but more like a vicious outlaw.
He emanated an aggressive and menacing aura as if he could pounce and bite someone’s throat at any moment.
"Mad dog."
This was Yuri’s previous assessment of Prince Solok the Third.
Now, Reiger finally understood why the prince had been given such a judgment.
If it had been someone timid, they might have gone weak at the knees just from being addressed so fiercely, let alone holding a normal conversation.
Unfortunately for Solok, Yuri was not that person.
"——— Stay away from me."
Yuri spoke to the prince who was within arm’s reach, uttering such a cold and merciless phrase.
"Oh?" Solok raised an eyebrow, not moving away but instead scoffing, "What’s that? I didn’t catch it!"
As he said these words, Solok leaned even closer, as if trying to better hear Yuri’s voice.
From an onlooker’s perspective, his behavior almost seemed as if he intended to lick Yuri’s face.
In fact, that appeared to be exactly what Solok planned to do.
The evidence was that his tongue was already sticking out, ready to lick Yuri’s face at any moment.
And then...
"Swish!"
Along with a flash of cold light, a slender double-edged sword suddenly thrust at Solok with incredible speed.
It was Marilyn.
Marilyn had taken action.
"...!"
Solok immediately reacted, his figure swiftly retreating, exhibiting a speed that didn’t match his large physique, widening the distance within a breath to avoid the thrusting dagger.
"Clang!"
At this moment, the two knights beside Solok also drew their swords, rushing at Marilyn without saying a word.
Their speed was equally fast, their movements extremely sharp, charging the moment the swords were drawn, reaching Marilyn in the blink of an eye—one targeting her sword-holding hand, the other aiming for her unarmed right hand.
By their actions and strikes, it was clear these two were also of legitimate swordsman status.
"Clang!"
Marilyn, unflustered by the danger, flicked her wrist holding the sword, deflecting the sword aimed at that hand with a flash of sword light, forcing one of the knights to retreat.
But the other knight’s strike was already upon her, about to land on Marilyn’s empty hand.
Then...
"Thud!"
In the muffled sound, the knight who was about to hit Marilyn was kicked away, smashing heavily against the wall beside the corridor.
The person who had intervened was naturally Reiger.
"Hmm?"
Solok seemed to only then notice Reiger’s presence, looking at this man who had just kicked his guard away with a calm face. He was momentarily stunned, followed by a narrowing of his eyes as some realization dawned on him.
His two knights, one regaining composure and the other scrambling up from the ground, prepared to attack again.
Seeing this, Solok spoke out.
"Come back."
The icy voice caused both knights to halt their impending attacks, sheathing their swords, then silently returned to Solok’s side.
They looked almost like two heartless executioners, rather than two knights of high morals and principles.
Solok did not pay any more attention to his subordinates, instead shifting his gaze over Yuri, Marilyn, and Reiger in turn.
"So you were here too?"
Solok spoke to Marilyn, actually engaging her in conversation.
However, his attitude was abysmal, filled with both contempt and disdain.
"You dare to lay hands on me? Do you think you’re still the Marilyn of the past?"
Solok’s eyes looked at Marilyn as if she were something filthy, something intolerable.
Marilyn ignored him, returning to Yuri’s side with an indifferent expression.
Solok no longer concerned himself with Marilyn but turned his gaze towards Reiger.
"So you’re Reiger Brillhaut? That veteran legitimate swordsman and tactical level magician from the rumors?" Solok sneered and said, "Quite young indeed. You’re younger than me, yet a legitimate swordsman like myself, and even a tactical level magician. Tell me, you wouldn’t be using some trick to deceive people, would you?"
The prince’s words were filled with a disparaging malice.
In response, Reiger merely said calmly.
"Whether I have true skills or not, hasn’t the ’Shadow’ Prince Your Highness sent before proven it already?"
Hearing this, Solok seemed to sneer in disdain.
"Who knows?"
After his ambiguous statement, Solok acted as if nothing had happened, approaching Yuri once again.
"This is just a warning," Solok said in a lowered voice, coldly speaking to Yuri, "If you don’t want to take sides, then just be a good spectator."
"If it weren’t for the fact you’re a strategic level magician, a decent war tool for this nation that will eventually be mine, based on what you did last time alone, I wouldn’t have let you off easy."
"Remember, stay out of my business in the future."
Having said that, Solok, along with the two knights, passed by Yuri, who had a cold face, and came before Reiger.
"Remember this too, kid," Solok looked Reiger over and sneered, "Never stand on the wrong side in the future."
Having finished speaking, Solok left.
Yuri and Marilyn both revealed cold expressions, looking at Solok with eyes very similar to his earlier ones, as if they too were looking at something filthy.
Reiger, who had once been targeted by Solok and nearly lost his life, was instead very calm, very composed.
"I see, so this is the infamous Third Prince?" Reiger said lightly, "He really isn’t a good item indeed."
"Don’t mind him," Yuri said coldly, "He’s just a mad dog, biting anyone he sees. Someone will deal with him."
Clearly, Yuri was extremely contemptuous of the so-called Third Prince.
Not to mention Yuri, even Marilyn couldn’t help but show an expression of disgust.
"Let’s go, we’re off to see His Majesty."
Yuri, as if wanting to forget that man, said to Reiger.
Reiger nodded and followed Yuri to leave, his gaze briefly flickering towards the rear.
There, an inscrutable sparkle was shimmering.