Chapter 6
Hendrick Klaus was silently staring at one spot. His blue sea-colored eyes were fixed on a small showcase on the table. Inside the showcase was a sealed dragon scale.
The large scale reflected a brilliant silvery magical energy. As if he might see something else within that silver light, Hendrick stared at it without blinking.
“Your Highness Crown Prince, Marquis Daniel K. Gregory requests an audience.”
A maid’s voice was heard from outside the door, accompanied by a light knock. Hendrick tore his gaze from the dragon scale.
“Let him enter.”
As the door opened, a middle-aged man with black hair entered. The man, dressed in a black suit with golden embroidery, took a few steps into the room and bowed politely.
“What has become of Sir Carter?”
“For now, I’ve had him confined to his townhouse. Within the noble council, opinions are still divided…”
At the marquis’s calm report, with his hands neatly folded, Hendrick’s blue eyes cooled.
“A knight of common birth has inflicted a mortal wound on Carl, a prince and lord. This is despite the fact that we confirmed multiple times before setting out that our goal was to neutralize Idelin and capture its master.”
“…”
“Even if Carlston, the lord of Ivarid, is under suspicion, this is clearly an overreach and insubordination. And yet it ends with confinement to a townhouse?”
The marquis’s wrinkles deepened, seemingly troubled by the barrage of criticism without even being offered a seat.
“But Your Highness, as I mentioned before, it was an unavoidable situation. You know better than anyone what kind of dragon Idelin is.”
“I know. I do know. That’s why I set out with you without prior notice, isn’t it?”
The marquis scratched between his brows, at a loss for words in response to Hendrick’s sharp words.
“Mobilizing three dragons against the defenseless Ivarid was to prepare for any unexpected situations. It was to ensure Carlston’s safe capture.”
“Your Highness, Carlston Klaus is currently a suspect under suspicion of assassinating the Dragon King.”
“Nothing has been confirmed yet. The temple hasn’t even issued a warrant, has it?”
The marquis heaved a deep sigh.
“The temple’s warrant is just a matter of time. With such clear evidence found on the slain Dragon King’s body…”
The marquis’s gaze turned to the showcase on the table. It was what Hendrick had been looking at just before the marquis entered. Hendrick frowned slightly over his cold, expressionless face.
“If it truly was Carl’s doing, there are too many issues that need to be resolved, such as why he did it, how a dragon like Idelin could enter the imperial palace undetected, and so on. It’s too significant a matter to conclude it was Idelin’s doing based on a single dragon scale.”
“But Your Highness, you initially agreed to the capture because you acknowledged the suspicion against His Highness Carlston…”
“You’ve extrapolated my intentions, uncle. I’ve never acknowledged Carlston’s guilt. Regardless, since evidence has emerged, I merely intended to bring Carlston and Idelin to the capital as carefully as possible for a thorough investigation. I brought you along in case of any contingencies. I don’t recall ever authorizing anyone to arbitrarily wound Carl.”
Hendrick Klaus spoke very firmly, leaning his upper body on the table with his arms crossed. His solid voice was so cold and low that the marquis couldn’t utter a single rebuttal.
Even if he had something to say, the chilling atmosphere suggested he shouldn’t. The marquis reluctantly closed his mouth and lowered his head deeply.
“I apologize, Your Highness. Then, how should we handle Sir Carter’s punishment?”
“One year of salary reduction, and a complete ban on contact with dragons for three months.”
The marquis frowned.
“Three months?”
A dragon and its master share a fate and cannot live apart for even a moment. Due to the dragon’s size and presence, they couldn’t always be physically together, but periodic contact was necessary.
“…I understand. It shall be done.”
Although he thought three months of separation was quite a harsh punishment for a dragon’s master, the marquis couldn’t add anything more. The chill emanating from the Crown Prince, who wouldn’t even look at him, was quite severe.
“Then, what should we do about the missing His Highness Carlston Klaus? Shouldn’t we form a search party to find him?”
“A search party.”
Hendrick looked at him, echoing the marquis’s words meaningfully.
“Idelin’s vigilance will be at its peak, given that its master was severely wounded by Sir Carter’s attack. Who do you think could find Carl, uncle?”
“I’ve been thinking about that separately, and as Your Highness says, sending just anyone would make it difficult to find His Highness while avoiding Idelin’s eyes. So, we should mobilize someone who knows dragons very well.”
“…For example?”
Hendrick changed his posture, seeming to agree with the marquis’s words, and faced him directly. The marquis carefully pulled up the corners of his mouth at Hendrick’s active response.
“About a decade ago, there was a dragon hunter called Revenant who visited the Forest of Corrupted Souls. I think he might be of help, as he would know more about dragon physiology than anyone else…”
“A dragon hunter?”
Hendrick’s attitude, which had been favorable for a while, subtly became unpleasant again. But the marquis didn’t pay much attention to it. That’s how all dragon masters typically react.
“Are you saying such a disgraceful person is still carrying on their lineage?”
“I believe he’s retired now, of course. That’s why I suggest we use him, Your Highness.”
The marquis spoke very cautiously. Hendrick snorted coldly.
“It’s absurd. Such an ill-bred person.”
“But the situation is urgent. Rumors are already rampant throughout the city that Your Highness tried to eliminate His Highness Carlston for assassinating the Dragon King. His Highness and Idelin likely misunderstand the situation as well. You must find and resolve this before the conflict deepens further.”
Hendrick pressed his lips together with a grave expression.
The plan to secure Carlston Klaus’s person as quietly and safely as possible had completely fallen apart. The cause was the Dragon Knight Antonio Carter’s hasty use of force upon seeing Carlston begin to synchronize with his dragon before Idelin even appeared.
As a result, Carl was severely wounded and escaped with his retainers, and Ivarid’s outer walls became a wasteland from the battle with the soldiers who tried to stop them.
Because of this, rumors spread that Crown Prince Hendrick Klaus, who was jealous of Carlston Klaus, the master of the high-blooded dragon Idelin who threatened his position as Crown Prince, tried to eliminate him on charges of assassinating the Dragon King. But as the marquis said, it was a perfect distortion.
The marquis’s words had a point. But a dragon hunter?
Hendrick pondered with displeasure, creating a furrow between his brows.
“I understand your opinion for now, uncle. I’ll think about it.”
“Your Highness, we don’t have much time. As soon as possible…”
“No matter how urgent the situation, there are matters that require caution, uncle. To bring in a mere dragon hunter in this long-standing empire with a glorious founding myth of dragons.”
Hendrick finally spoke in an irritated voice at the marquis’s repeated urging. The marquis closed his mouth with a stung expression.
“Just thinking about how the gossipers will chatter gives me a headache. So, let’s take some time with the decision.”
The marquis bowed his head silently, like someone who had forgotten how to speak.
“…You may leave.”
Hendrick coldly dismissed the marquis, who seemed reluctant despite folding his hands politely and bowing his head. The space between the marquis’s brows, marked by the traces of time, was subtly creased.
The marquis bowed without a word and turned around. After the sound of the door opening and closing echoed in the silent stillness, a clicking of the tongue finally escaped between Hendrick’s teeth.
Hendrick stared at the door the marquis had left through for a long time. His face looked as if he’d been doused with salt water. After glaring at the door silently, Hendrick tapped the table with his fingertips, lost in thought.
“Michael, are you there?”
After pondering for a while, Hendrick turned his gaze from the door and called out towards another door in the office. Soon, the inner door opened, and a man with red hair appeared.
“I’m here, Your Highness.”
As the man in the knight order’s uniform appeared, Hendrick crossed his arms and leaned back against the chair’s backrest.
“There’s an urgent task you need to do.”
Hendrick said, his blue eyes cold in his cool, expressionless face. The red-haired Michael bowed his head silently.
“Command me with any task, Your Highness.”
midori
thanks! ah, so the princes weren’t rivals? ok then, just someone/some people in the dark doing nonsense political stuff, nothing new. do they want the kingdom to go down, or do they want to destroy the world? but either way, just cannon fodder!