บท 23: Smile on the face

After the Tournament

It would not be wrong to say that not much of significance happened after the tournament. Of course, as it should be, the festivals continued with all their speed and excitement. Also, Perhaps due to the influence of Neonidas and Prince Alkahmar, a few more god duels took place. Meanwhile, Neonidas hardly left his room except for dinner, as he needed to regenerate his Mana and avoid any potential assassination attempts. Another important point was that Duchess Lyranna, Princess Allea's closest friend, had started to show interest in Neonidas. However, this interest was far from romantic; she was simply curious about Neonidas's newfound power.

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The Following Day

As the hours passed and the sun rose again in all its glory, a woman's scream echoed through the imperial guest palace. An unexpected event had occurred in the imperial palace that morning—so horrific it caused some servants to suffer from trauma. Prince Alkahmar had been found dead in his room. No, more precisely, he had committed suicide. The prince had hung himself by a rope and left only a brief note behind.

In short, the letter stated that he could no longer live with the shame, that he did not want to allow any more insults to his kingdom, and that he was ending his life, apologizing to his family.

This incident spread like wildfire throughout the palace, and within hours, the entire capital was talking about it. Of course, it was clear why the prince had felt ashamed. Duke Neonidas, who was said to be useless and weak had brutally defeated him. On top of that, Duke Neonidas had not only brought donkeys to the palace stables but also gifted the prince a lubricant. It was quite normal for Prince Alkahmar, with his inflated ego, to cannot cope with this event due to his psychological state.

When the news reached Neonidas, it could not be said that he felt guilty. In fact, he thought that an excellent opportunity had presented itself and, therefore, requested a meeting with the emperor under the pretext of an important reason. The emperor approved the request, and now Neonidas was preparing himself.

After getting ready, he and Soren stepped outside and began walking through the corridors. But at that moment, a woman blocked their path. She was an elderly woman wearing an extravagant knight's armor and was glaring at Neonidas. Neonidas quickly recognized from the armor's embroidery and emblem that she was probably one of Prince Alkahmar's knights.

"You! Murderer! You're a murderer! It's because of you that Lord Alkahmar is dead! All because of your childish games! Uhhhü!"

The elderly woman screamed these words through tears as she grabbed Neonidas by the collar. As the tears streamed down her face, the wrinkles on her aged face became more pronounced. Neonidas's guards and Soren tried to intervene, but Neonidas stopped them with a gesture.

"Prince Alkahmar's cause of death is suicide, madam, not murder. Now, please step aside," Neonidas said.

After all, even someone like Neonidas, who didn't care for others, didn't want to be rude to a grieving old woman.

The anger on the woman's face quickly gave way to deep sorrow. Her tears continued to flow down her cheeks.

"Lord Alkahmar became like this because of you! Your... your humiliating actions and insults... They shattered his pride!" the woman shouted. Her voice trembled, growing more shaky with each word. "You... you're a monster!"

Neonidas watched the woman's emotional outburst with a calm demeanor. Taking a deep breath, he continued speaking in a calm tone.

"Your lord's pride was his own weakness, not my fault. If he was so fragile that he couldn't bear such a defeat, then as a prince, he was a failure.It's because of me that you and your kingdom have seen the truth, madam." he said, his voice devoid of regret or guilt, simply stating the cold reality.

The woman grabbed Neonidas's collar again, but her strength seemed to have diminished. "I'm not defending my lord's mistakes... but did you really have to be so cruel?"

At that moment, Soren stepped forward and gently took the woman's arm. "This has gone on long enough. Lord Neonidas has an important meeting," he said, slowly pulling the woman's hand away and forcing her to step back.

The elderly woman looked at Neonidas with anger and helplessness in her eyes. "You can't escape the gods' justice. One day, you'll pay for what you've done!" she muttered, and through her tears, she stepped back.

Neonidas merely nodded mockingly at her words. "Gods? Justice? If the gods were truly just, they would never have allowed a weak prince like him to be born as a prince. There is no justice in this world, madam. In this world, in a sense, there is no meaning. Some die of hunger, some are killed by murder, some are killed after being raped, some are killed just for having a different belief, or, like your prince, because they are weak. In short, people always die, and the thing that should be blamed is not the person, but life itself," Neonidas said, turning back to the woman.

The elderly woman was completely crushed by Neonidas's words. With eyes full of rage and pain, she stared at him.

"But you still didn't have to smile! At least today, you didn't have to smile!" she said, collapsing to her knees.

"If this world has no meaning, why shouldn't I smile? Despite all the pain, those who don't smile will end up dead, weak, and pitiful, like your prince. While I smile at life's face, I am actually fighting an honorable battle." Said Neonidas, perhaps for the first time in his two lives in all seriousness.

The elderly woman fell silent in response to Neonidas's words. She stayed in place for a while, then sighed deeply and retreated, walking away slowly down the corridor. Her sorrow and anger meant nothing to Neonidas. Soren, as always, remained silent, surprised by his master's composure but somewhat accustomed to it by now. In fact, he was starting to be more and more affected by Neonidas.

Just like a young boy child sees his father as a role model, Soren looked at his master, Neonidas, with the same perspective. Moreover, Soren occasionally felt that the more he understood Neonidas, the more his thoughts and feelings seemed to increase. It was as though he was becoming stronger or, at the very least, his perception was expanding.

Neonidas walked through the corridors, and after a rather long walk, he and his companions finally reached one of the many rooms that the emperor used as a meeting chamber. After thoroughly inspecting Neonidas, the royal guards at the door allowed only him to enter.

When Neonidas stepped inside, a deep silence filled the room. The emperor sat behind a large desk, covered with maps, documents, and a symbolic seal. Several high-ranking advisors stood beside the desk, but none of them dared to speak. The emperor's gaze was fixed on Neonidas, his expression a mix of curiosity, disappointment, and perhaps even some doubt.

"Neonidas," the emperor said in a deep and authoritative voice. "I would like to hear your thoughts on the unfortunate event that occurred this morning."

Neonidas bowed slightly in greeting and then began speaking with a mocking smile. "Your Majesty, I suppose we can agree that the outcome of the event was tragic. However, the fact remains that Prince Alkahmar reached this point because of his own weaknesses. But I believe you misunderstood me, Your Majesty. I didn't come here because of this matter."

Neonidas's words brought a silence to the room. The emperor stared at him carefully and thought for a moment. "Is that so?" he finally replied. "Then what brings you here, Neonidas? There must be something important if you're requesting a meeting at such a critical time."

Neonidas, keeping the mocking smile on his face, took a step forward. "It's likely that in a few days, we will receive a letter from the Kingdom of Hindonpon. This letter will probably request, among other things, the body of the late Prince Alkahmar, and perhaps at least some form of compensation. That's why I'm here. I ask that you reject all of Hindonpon's requests and even provoke them, Your Majesty."

After hearing Neonidas's words, the emperor leaned back in his chair. He took a deep breath and, for a moment, simply stared at Neonidas. The silence in the room grew tense, as though everyone was holding their breath. Then, the emperor spoke in a slow but firm tone. The advisors, unable to hide their surprise, listened attentively

"Do you want to start a war, child?" he asked.

"Yes, exactly. I want to start a war.... And also, The Kingdom of Hindonpon is very proud, and I'm sure that after this event, they will have the potential to declare war easily. Although their country is far weaker than our glorious empire."

The emperor watched Neonidas's calm and determined demeanor carefully. The atmosphere in the room had become heavy, and everyone remained silent, trying to absorb what Neonidas had just said. The emperor paused for a few seconds, then took a deep breath and, fixing his eyes on Neonidas, spoke again.

"But why do you want this? Are you afraid of assassination attempts?"

Neonidas struggled to hold back a grin in response to the question. "No, it's not fear that makes me want war, Your Majesty. What I truly want is to be one of the commanders when this war takes place. Allow me, Your Majesty, to destroy the donkey kingdom for you and make it part of the empire."

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For now, I've made illustrations for some of the characters, and I'll try to do the others.

By the way, I see a few of my readers complaining that my chapter upload frequency is low. Unfortunately, as a young man who is both in university and working a part-time job, it is not possible for me to increase my chapter upload interval for now, even if I wanted to. I hope you will understand.