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Chapter 84
The Second Prince avoided eye contact.
By the time his patience was likely reaching its limit, the Emperor appeared.
As soon as the Emperor took his seat, Wished immediately stepped forward to stand before him.
All Wished wanted was to finish quickly and return.
“Wished Erquil, Your Majesty. I have returned safely after completing the subjugation.”
He recited the formal words in order, without any real sincerity.
Then it was time for the final ritual—presenting the Sacred Stone.
At that moment, the Second Prince approached Wished.
Although his gaze was slightly lowered, the only person who could limp like that was the Second Prince, so it was immediately noticeable.
The Second Prince stepped one pace ahead of Wished.
Wished stopped speaking and turned to look at him.
Up close, the Second Prince’s face was rough and pale. Despite this, he gave a faint smile.
It was unsettling enough to make Wished hesitate.
“Second Prince, what on earth are you doing all of a sudden?”
The Emperor asked in a dazed voice.
Wished knew he was already heavily intoxicated with medication.
“I have something to report, Your Majesty. I deliberated long over whether I should say it… I also wondered if it was selfish of me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I worried that people might see me as struggling to take credit for my achievements. But I could not silently watch a fraud be praised and respected. That would be a deception against Your Majesty.”
At the word “deception,” the Emperor’s eyes widened.
Everyone knew that the Emperor, terrified of growing old and weak, was particularly sensitive about such matters.
The Second Prince was deliberately striking the Emperor’s most sensitive point.
“Who, who! Who did such a thing?!”
The Second Prince drew a deep breath as if it was difficult to say aloud.
Wished instinctively knew he was implicated in this matter.
Yet he remained calm, watching the scene as if observing a play.
‘What nonsense.’
Wished’s expression was indifferent.
Noticing this, the Second Prince secretly scowled in anger, then raised a hand and pointed at Wished.
“Duke Erquil!”
“What…? Who?”
“That would be me.”
Wished raised his hand.
The Second Prince, seeing that Wished was unfazed, was the one who became flustered.
‘Let’s see how long that composed face lasts.’
The Second Prince put his hand inside his coat.
“Your Majesty, I am the subjugator. I retrieved the Sacred Stone myself!”
‘Truly foolish.’
If he wanted to act righteous, he should have kept up the act; instead, the Second Prince blurted out his true thoughts.
Wished admitted he had overestimated the Second Prince’s intelligence.
The Second Prince was even more foolish than Wished had thought.
Other nobles realized that this had been orchestrated by the Second Prince.
Those who had been watching with interest lost their amusement and turned their attention elsewhere.
“Your Majesty, while the Duke did nothing, I alone defended the Sacred Stone and was even injured.”
The Second Prince pleaded, almost to the point of tears.
“Your Majesty, I do not wish to be recognized as the subjugator. I only wish to state that it is wrong for the Duke to be the one recognized.”
The Second Prince quickly gauged the Emperor’s reaction.
By now, the Emperor, who would have been angry and ordered Wished’s arrest, was surprisingly calm.
The Second Prince grew anxious.
“If you cannot believe my words, Your Majesty, check if the Duke even has the Sacred Stone!”
“Do you mean this?”
Wished retrieved the Sacred Stone from his pocket.
To the naked eye, both looked like ordinary stones, but this was the stone’s true form.
The situation grew more entertaining, and the nobles leaned in.
“Well, there’s no need to debate which is real; just split them.”
With a word of excuse, Wished drew a dagger and cut the stone in his pocket in half.
Inside, it shimmered with a brilliant color.
It was the Sacred Stone.
‘This… I definitely…’
Taking advantage of the Second Prince’s stunned moment, Wished snatched the stone from his hand and split it in half as well.
Stone fragments fell to the ground.
“Oh my.”
Wished raised the stone the Second Prince had brought, speaking with genuine pity.
“It seems you mistook a stone for the Sacred Stone.”
It was clearly just a rock.
“That… cannot be. This is impossible.”
The Second Prince hesitated and stepped back.
Wished now wanted to exit this tedious and meaningless play.
“Your Majesty, I believe there has been a grave misunderstanding. The conditions during the subjugation were not ideal, so perhaps it shocked you. After nearly being wrongly accused, I wish to rest.”
“…The Second Prince was rude to you. That will do; return now.”
Following protocol, Wished bowed to the Emperor, then to the Second Prince.
He did not forget to mock the Second Prince, who trembled as he watched.
“You’ve clearly used a dirty trick! Return at once, Duke!”
“The dog barks diligently,” Wished mocked the shout just as the door was closing.
Though his steps were light, Wished soon had to stop.
A maid, hooded and hiding her identity, appeared.
Already aware of her presence, Wished calmly looked at the maid in front of him.
No—he looked at Princess Swan disguised as a maid.
“Wished, are you okay? That Second Prince is truly cowardly. Are you hurt anywhere?”
As Swan stepped closer, Wished backed up.
“If you take one more step here, you’ll die.”
His mood, which had been improving as he returned, began to sour.
“Swan, I only wanted to check if you were alright. Why so sensitive…?”
“Why are you pretending to be friendly with me?”
“…Wished?”
“Why are you calling me by a name I never allowed?”
Wished was now genuinely curious.
“Just because you’re a princess doesn’t mean I can’t kill you. I simply leave you alive because you’re insignificant, not to endure your annoyance.”
Swan’s eyes widened in shock.
Tears filled her eyes.
Seeing Luna in her reminded him of a bad memory, and it annoyed him.
‘Why do I see Luna in someone like that? Infuriating.’
Wished clicked his tongue and passed Swan.
His headache seemed fueled by his rising anger.
His pace quickened as he headed to the Crown Prince’s palace.
Hidden in the darkness, Wished quietly entered the Crown Prince’s lit bedroom.
He twisted the neck of a hidden assassin and threw him into a pool of already spilled blood.
“It seems a guest has arrived first.”
The Crown Prince drew his sword, breathing heavily.
Although guards surrounded him, his shoulder was already stained red.
Wished easily killed the assassin rushing at his back and tossed him to the ground.
“Now that the last guest is gone, it’s my turn.”
A strange tension filled the room.
To the guards, Wished was an uninvited guest, yet he could not be expelled because he was an ally.
The situation was resolved by the Crown Prince himself.
“Your Highness, are you alright?!”
The Crown Prince stumbled.
Supported by his guards, he sat on the bed.
One tended to his bleeding, another went to call the royal physician, and the rest handled the corpses.
It was not their first time dividing tasks like this.
“You don’t seem to have come here to help. What’s the matter?”
The Crown Prince asked, pale and bloodied.
“It’s about the Second Princess.”
“…Swan? Why her?”
“Is she out of her mind? She pretends to know me and acts friendly, even though she’s never met me. Being royal, I don’t want to be caught up in her trivial affairs, so I couldn’t touch her.”
The guards’ nerves sharpened, realizing Wished implied he could have intervened if not for the hassle.
Wished noticed but continued speaking.
“Whether you move her away or lock her in the palace, Your Highness, as her elder brother, decide an appropriate course. Every time I see her face…”
Wished’s face twisted.
“It disgusts me.”
