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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: selkie
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With a bright smile, the words I spoke to the Tower Master were nothing short of shocking.
“Are you saying the banquet hall will be attacked?”
The Blue Tower Master, Lysfield, asked with a look of surprise.
“Lower your voice a bit.”
“I’m sorry.”
I thought I had spoken quietly, but it was still a bit loud. When Raymond lightly admonished him, Lysfield nodded with a serious expression.
“Shouldn’t we inform the Royal Guards?”
“Even though I’m royalty, I was a rogue until recently. Do you think the Royal Guards or the palace elite guards would believe me?”
Faced with that sharp question, the Tower Master fell silent.
Objectively speaking, even though things had changed now, it was unlikely that they would easily believe the words of the Fifth Prince, who had once been called a rogue.
This banquet was meant to show that the empire was still strong despite the palace attack.
It would be unreasonable to suddenly cancel it based solely on the words of the former reckless prince.
“Do you think even the Tower Master wouldn’t believe it?”
I spoke in a voice low enough for only the Tower Master to hear. Naturally, the title had changed.
“Yes, honestly, I think so.”
Lysfield’s candid words made Raymond nod with a bitter expression.
“So, you’re saying we have about three hours left?”
“That should be about right. I don’t know the exact time.”
I spoke honestly.
[After midnight, black shadows filled with murderous intent would launch themselves toward the banquet hall.]
That was part of the description from the novel. While the exact time of the attack wasn’t written down, it was clear that something would happen after midnight.
“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
“Even if I had told you earlier, you wouldn’t have believed it.”
“I still find it hard to believe now.”
I shook my head with a short sigh at Lysfield’s words.
While there was the option of not saying anything, I wanted to at least give my subordinates some time to prepare.
“You’ll find out when the time comes.”
After finishing my words, I called for Gestain. He rushed over from a short distance, where he had been on guard.
“Did you call for me?”
“The banquet hall may soon be attacked.”
“I will prepare.”
The loyal knight Gestain followed my orders without any unnecessary words, unlike Lysfield.
To him, the Fifth Prince, Raymond, was the savior who had helped him regain the lost swordsmanship that everyone said was impossible.
While he hadn’t reached the level of blind faith, there was a deep trust in Gestain’s gaze when he looked at the Fifth Prince.
“Is it about two hours left now…?”
The banquet was dull.
Many nobles had approached, but they all just exchanged glances, and no one took the initiative to speak.
In fact, I didn’t care about those mediocre nobles, but it was a bit disappointing that the high-ranking nobles weren’t making any moves.
Ah, it wasn’t that no one had spoken to me.
“Raymond. So, you finally attended a banquet after five years.”
The Third Prince approached with a sly expression.
He wasn’t someone I was particularly pleased to see, but with the eyes of those around us, I had no choice but to greet him with a smile.
“Have you come, brother?”
“Yes, have you been well?”
As if aware of the surrounding gazes, the Third Prince smiled brightly and patted Raymond’s shoulder encouragingly. But the gaze that brushed against my cheek felt so cold it seemed to carry a hint of malice.
“Yes, thanks to your concern, I’m doing well.”
I answered with a smile while scanning the surroundings with my eyes.
As the Third Prince’s subordinates approached and took their places, they naturally blocked the view of other nobles. Their behavior mirrored that of the Third Prince, appearing sinister.
In some ways, the Third Prince seemed more proactive than the Second Prince, who was known as the King of Assassins.
“Your Highness the Fifth Prince…!”
“Enough.”
I turned my head toward the Third Prince, blocking the eager interventions of the Tower Master and Gestain.
Causing a commotion here would only lead to the Third Prince moving as he intended. I was also curious about what he would say.
“Raymond, my beloved younger brother.”
The Third Prince whispered with a sickening smile.
“Yes, please go ahead, Brother Aloken.”
“Have you forgotten all the advice I’ve given you until now?”
‘Was it advice and not a threat? Interesting.’
“I have taken it to heart.”
“But you attended the banquet, did you?”
His dry voice carried a sharp edge.
I could feel the Third Prince, Aloken’s gaze piercing my cheek, but I kept my mouth shut and remained silent. I didn’t feel the need to respond.
After about five minutes of silence, perhaps feeling frustrated, Aloken opened his mouth with a calm expression to continue speaking.
“Raymond, I think I mentioned this before, but let me say it once more.”
What could he possibly want to say to set the mood like this?
“People do not change; the only exception is when they are faced with death.”
I raised my head to meet the gaze of the Third Prince, Aloken. He looked at me with a disturbing smile.
“You have changed too much.”
With those words, the Third Prince left with his subordinates.
Did that sinister Third Prince really stop his threats here?
I checked my watch just in case.
‘It’s midnight.’
The time had come.
[The magical lights went out. As the mage gestured, a darkness as deep as pitch began to engulf the banquet hall. Black shadows lurked, waiting for their chance.]
“What, what is this! I can’t see anything!”
“What are the mages doing? Use the illumination spell immediately!”
The nobles were in an uproar. The mages gathered the light of magic, but the darkness did not recede.
It was no wonder.
This wasn’t just a matter of the magical lights going out; it was a dark barrier cast by at least a high-ranking mage.
“Light!”
As the head of the Yellow Tower swung his staff, the darkness began to retreat.
“The Royal Guards, protect His Majesty the Emperor!”
“The shield of the royal family cannot be pierced!”
The Royal Guards sprang into action. Naturally, the top priority was to protect the Emperor.
“Elite guards! Protect the royals! The royal knights, move outside the banquet hall! Find out who is responsible for this immediately!”
The Emperor raised his voice. Though old and frail, he had not lost his dignity, and the royal authority remained unshaken.
With the royal decree issued, the palace elite guards and royal knights moved. Several palace knights rushed toward where Raymond was.
In the midst of the chaos, Raymond saw clearly.
He saw the Second Prince slipping into the darkness, avoiding the eyes around him. And he saw someone dressed as a prince emerging in place of the vanished Second Prince.
He witnessed it.
[From the ceiling of the banquet hall, black shadows poured down. They were all the finest assassins of the Edryger Kingdom, the high assassins. Their numbers exceeded one hundred.]
“Oh no! I can’t believe it’s really happening!”
Lysfield clutched his head as he pulled out the ‘Heart of the Sea,’ while the high-ranking mage Desia prepared her magic. Gestain was summoning the elite guards to establish a defensive formation.
In the center of it all, the Fifth Prince spoke.
“Finally, the moment has come.”
The stage was set for the ‘Bloody Funeral,’ where the most characters die in the first volume.
According to the plan, the Emperor would suffer serious injuries today. And at the end of the first volume, he would lose his life, marking the beginning of the ‘Bloody Funeral.’
But that wouldn’t happen. The Emperor would be safe today.
“I will stop it.”
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The darkness receded, but shadows still lingered. From their depths, sharp blades emerged.
“Knights, forward!”
The royal knights drew their swords and charged at the assassins. But the assassins were faster.
They swung their swords at nearby nobles and servants.
“Ahhh!”
“Ahhh!”
Red blood gushed forth. Sharp screams erupted. People fell helplessly.
The nobles attempted to escape the banquet hall with their small entourage, but assassins guarded every entrance, window, and terrace.
‘Having experienced the palace attack, they must know when the backup forces will arrive.’
They would likely try to finish their work before that. Desperately scanning the situation amidst the chaos, I managed to discern one fact.
‘The assassins are operating in two distinct groups.’
I wouldn’t have noticed this before. But now, though faint, I could somewhat see their group movements.
Despite the chaotic situation, I could focus on observing because the elite guards were protecting the surroundings.
‘One team is blocking the exits and killing nobles while increasing chaos. And the other team… are they high assassins??’
Even with enhanced vision from reaching mid-level magic, I couldn’t even see traces of the high assassins’ movements.
But it was clear they were targeting the Emperor and the royal family.
‘Just how much bloodshed will the Bloody Funeral…’
Suddenly, I felt afraid. In the settings I’d read, at the end of Volume 1, there was an event called the ‘Bloody Funeral’ where all royal family members of the Philios Empire were annihilated. Compared to that, this banquet attack was described as nothing more than a minor incident in the novel’s setting.
“If this is considered a minor incident, then…”
I frowned watching the fountains of blood and people falling.
The nobles with guards were somewhat better off, but the servants had no choice but to helplessly expose their necks.
The assassins were swinging their weapons at everyone in sight to maximize chaos.
If this much blood is spilling from just a banquet attack, how much blood must flow during the ‘Bloody Funeral’!
“Your Highness the Fifth Prince!”
Gestain came running, his empty left sleeve fluttering, drawing his sword.
His sword clearly emanated a Mana Sword, the mark of a high-ranking knight.
I must have been so lost in thought that I didn’t notice the assassins surrounding us.
“Two of them are high assassins.”
Gestain reported after assessing the enemies’ presence.
They sent two high assassins just to kill me, a worthless Fifth Prince? Seems my status has risen more than expected.
‘Should I use the Spear of Sacrifice?’
The thought crossed my mind, but I quickly shook my head.
Using that now would obviously knock me out, and it would be overkill just for some high assassins.
“I can handle one of them.”
“Then I’ll take the remaining one.”
Lysfield, wielding the Blue Tower’s symbol ‘The Heart of the Sea,’ stood beside Gestain. The stubborn old man felt reassuring today.
“A Mana Sword? We never expected the worthless Fifth Prince to have a high-ranking knight.”
“Heh, what good is a high-ranking knight if he only has one arm? Can he even swing a sword properly?”
“That’s right, hahaha!”
The two high assassins openly looked down on Gestain.
Gestain calmly gazed at them while Raymond clicked his tongue and spoke.
“Gestain, show them that you haven’t lost your swordsmanship.”
“It would be my pleasure, Your Highness.”
Determination flashed in Gestain’s eyes. He steadied his breathing and composed himself with the sharp sense unique to real combat.
This was his first real battle since regaining his swordsmanship.
When he was betrayed and lost his left arm to the Mountain Duke, he thought he’d never fight in real combat again.
But today, he entered combat and drew his sword to protect the lord he newly pledged loyalty to.
How could he hide this joy of living and breathing as a knight once more?
Despite facing strong enemies, he couldn’t stop the smile spreading across his face.
“Come, one-armed man. I’ll specially let you have the first move.”
Raymond silently laughed watching the high assassins who casually beckoned with his finger. He wanted to tell them they’d regret it.
But Gestain’s movement was even faster.
Slash.
“Ugh, Arghhhh!”
A flash of light. When everyone came to their senses, the high assassin had lost his left arm and was retreating while spraying red blood.
It happened so quickly that even the high assassins beside him couldn’t see it.
While the assassins were shocked, only the Fifth Prince and the royal knights seemed to have expected this outcome.
One-armed Swordmaster Gestain.
In the original novel, he was a genius swordsman who meets the protagonist in Volume 2 and becomes a Sword Master after learning one-armed swordsmanship.
Even though the timeline had been moved up, his talent hadn’t diminished.
“D-Damn it!”
“Can’t even see this old man?”
As the other high assassins tried to approach Gestain, this time the Blue Tower Master Lysfield stepped forward.
When he swung the ‘Heart of the Sea’, dozens of sharp ice picks rained down from the sky toward the high assassins.
“Gu-guhk!”
He became like a porcupine under the shower of ice picks.
Even as a member of the Edryger Kingdom’s elite assassination group, the high assassins was no match for the Blue Tower Master, who was particularly skilled even among high-ranking mages.
There was no way they could compete.
“Kill them all!”
At this calm but authoritative command, the elite guards advanced forward, leaving only a few men behind.
Desia’s ice magic first rained down on the assassins’ heads. Half died in one strike, and the remaining ones were annihilated by the elite guards.
“The area has been cleared, sir.”
Gestain had apparently dealt with his assigned high assassins as well.
“Let me escort you to safety, Your Highness.”
“No, we’re going to support His Majesty the Emperor.”
“But Your Highness, doesn’t the Emperor have the Shield of the Imperial Family?”
Gestain asked carefully. It was clear he wanted to add ‘Since the Shield is there, is there really a need to help?’ but swallowed his words.
This attitude came from prioritizing the Fifth Prince’s safety over showing loyalty to the Emperor. But Raymond wouldn’t budge.
“Look around, Gestain. Do you see any of my brothers?”
“No, I don’t.”
They had all fled somewhere. The Second Prince was the first to disappear.
The Third Prince followed, and the First Prince held his position the longest but eventually retreated to safety with his knights after being injured.
But the Emperor was different. While his sons were all fleeing, he remained in the banquet hall commanding the royal knights, maintaining the dignity of the royal family.
‘If I go now, I can score some points.’
The rogue Fifth Prince, throwing himself into danger to protect the Emperor who was left alone when all other princes had fled.
‘This will make for a great story.’
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