บท 80: CHAPTER 79: The Prince's Plot (3)

The long corridor of the Karla Palace leading to Prince Lloyd's chambers.

The soldiers surrounding Prince Alford were shouting at the top of their lungs.

"Capture the traitor!"

The prince, looking around, retorted in kind.

"How dare you call me a traitor! I am the true king of this kingdom!"

Swords and spears clashed soon after. The clamor of metal rang loudly as the battle ensued.

Bang! Bang!

Prince Alford shouted once more toward the soldiers surrounding him.

"Step aside! All I want is that weakling Lloyd!"

Sir Zeliard, the captain of the Karla palace guards, hardened his expression.

Despite the atmosphere, the battle itself wasn't particularly violent. They were merely threatening each other from a distance where no fatal injuries would occur.

'It seems like he has no intention of actually harming the soldiers.'

This wasn't typical of Alford, but it wasn't particularly strange.

After all, if it were the usual Prince Alford, he wouldn't be committing such insane acts in the first place.

There's no reason to be puzzled by a madman acting out of character, is there?

The problem was that this situation made it hard for Zeliard and his men to respond forcefully.

No matter how hostile the relationship, their opponent was still a prince.

They couldn't push with the intent to kill.

Doing so would lead to grave consequences.

'We'll have to subdue him by causing just enough injuries...'

But they couldn't inflict injuries as they wished.

Even though Zeliard was the captain of the royal guard, hurting a prince would require an excuse.

An excuse that the prince had been so reckless that subduing him without spilling blood was impossible.

But for some reason, Prince Alford was acting more restrained.

"Step aside! I don't want any bloodshed! In the end, you'll all be mine anyway!"

From Zeliard's perspective, it was almost absurd.

Since when did the prince start caring about the safety of soldiers?

But since Alford was acting that way, they too had to subdue him without injuries.

"Prince Alford seems to be greatly confused! Capture him safely!"

Following the captain's orders, the soldiers continued to press the prince.

Yet, the situation didn't improve.

The prince's skill was better than expected. He was skillfully moving in and out of range, controlling the distance with precision, displaying an unexpectedly high level of expertise.

Even Zeliard, a seasoned first-class knight, found himself impressed.

'Was Prince Alford's swordsmanship always this good?'

It wasn't just Zeliard who was amazed. The soul inside Alford, which belonged to Lloyd, was equally impressed.

'This body is incredible. It moves so well.'

Thinking about giving up such an amazing body and returning to his own left him feeling rather glum.

But he quickly snapped back to focus.

'No matter how great this body is, I can't stay in it and die in less than half a year!'

While he continued to stall for time, he glanced down the hallway. The appointed time was approaching.

'Not yet?'

Just then, a white flash of light suddenly pierced through the corridor, exploding between the prince and the soldiers.

KABOOM!

It was a powerful burst of magic.

Zeliard flinched in surprise and turned toward the direction the light had come from.

'What was that? Reinforcements for the prince?'

They were indeed reinforcements for a prince, but not for Alford.

"Sir Zeliard!"

Three men and women were running down the hallway from the opposite end.

A knight with a sturdy build, a red-haired beauty, and a young black-haired mage.

"Who are you?"

"We are the King's Order, sent by Prince Lloyd! My name is Karnak!"

As they joined the encirclement, Karnak quickly handed Zeliard a piece of paper.

Taking it, he saw that it was a personal letter from Prince Lloyd, verifying Karnak and his companions' identities.

As the captain of the Karla palace guards, Zeliard was familiar with the prince's handwriting. It was undoubtedly authentic.

"I see. So the prince had something else in mind?"

"Then, we will subdue Prince Alford."

Zeliard immediately stepped aside.

He had been unsure of what to do, and now that someone else appeared to take responsibility, there was no reason to refuse.

"Remember, you must not shed any blood carelessly!"

"I understand. Dame Serati!"

"Yes."

At Karnak's words, the red-haired beauty, sword in hand, stepped forward.

She lightly flicked her hand.

Bzzzz!

A red glow flowed along the blade, radiating a brilliant light.

The soldiers murmured in awe.

"Ohh!"

"An aura user!"

Serati lightly leaped forward.

In an instant, there were flashes of sword light, and soon enough, 'Prince Alford' let out a groan and collapsed to his knees.

"Ugh! Guh!"

Considering the commotion, it ended rather anticlimactically, but no one found it strange.

It was the expected result.

No matter how skilled Prince Alford might be, he was no match for an aura user.

Karnak pointed a finger at the fallen prince.

"Then I will subdue him. Hold Person."

Ropes of light tightly coiled around Alford's body.

"Urgh! How dare you do this to me!"

The prince struggled, but he couldn't do anything.

Watching him bound, Zeliard let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew, that was close. But what's going on all of a sudden?"

***

Once the commotion had settled, Prince Lloyd returned to his chambers after taking refuge.

"Well then..."

More accurately, it was Alford, in Prince Lloyd's body, who returned.

"So, Alford caused a disturbance, got caught, and is now imprisoned in the palace dungeon, is that it?"

In response to his question, the head maid replied respectfully.

"Yes. Lord Karnak is overseeing the situation."

Alford was bewildered.

'Karnak? Who the hell is that?'

However, he couldn't outright ask. From the way the head maid spoke, it was obvious that Lloyd should know, so he couldn't pretend ignorance.

'No, that's not the problem right now.'

Realizing his mistake, Alford hurriedly asked, "What about tonight's appointment?"

The head maid replied as if it was obvious.

"It has been canceled. Your safety is the top priority."

They couldn't take any action without first understanding what 'Prince Alford' was planning.

It was a sensible and correct response.

At least, it was for those loyal to 'Prince Lloyd.'

But for Alford, who was inside, the situation was utterly maddening.

'What the hell is going on?'

But there was nothing he could do with Lloyd's frail body. He could only sit half-confined in the chamber, idly sitting on the bed.

Time passed like that.

Since they couldn't let the noble prince go hungry, a maid brought his dinner to the chamber.

Alford ground his teeth as he looked at the meal.

'Damn it! I thought this tasteless food would be my last!'

The meal was made from healthy ingredients and prepared neatly, or so they said.

The problem was that the meal completely disregarded any concept of 'pleasure for the palate.'

It was utterly tasteless. Even the food served to noble pets might have been better.

'If things had gone according to plan, I would have been dining with the king by now.'

As he grumbled, Alford's expression suddenly changed.

'...Dinner?'

Dinner is eaten in the evening. Meaning, it was currently evening.

And evening typically refers to the time after the sun has set.

'Wait a minute! Does that mean...?'

In a panic, Alford rushed to the window. He looked out and saw a shining full moon in the distant sky.

'The light of the full moon...'

In that instant, everything before his eyes shifted.

***

Alford blinked.

"...What?"

It was an odd feeling.

His body felt incredibly comfortable, yet simultaneously uncomfortable.

A strange mixture of awkwardness and familiarity washed over him.

It didn't take long to realize why.

He was tied up, hands and feet bound, lying on a cold stone floor. Naturally, that would feel awkward and uncomfortable.

And yet, the reason it felt comfortable and familiar?

'This is my body!'

In a hurry, Alford stood up. He looked around.

Gray stone walls surrounded him, and in front of him was a thick iron cell door.

It was the palace dungeon.

'Why am I here?'

No, it made perfect sense.

They had locked him up because 'Prince Alford' had gone on a rampage.

"Lloyd, you bastard!"

It wasn't hard to guess what had happened. After all, it was Alford's own plan that had been executed.

'I've been tricked!'

Just then, he sensed someone approaching beyond the iron bars.

"Welcome back, Prince Alford."

A young man in a mage's robe, accompanied by a man and a woman who appeared to be knights, stood outside the cell.

Alford glared at him and asked, "Who are you?"

The young man responded with an odd question of his own, "You don't know me, do you?"

For a moment, Alford was speechless.

'Of course, I asked because I don't know. Why would I ask if I already knew?'

However, Alford couldn't bring himself to mock the young man. A strange, ominous feeling crept up his spine.

The young man approached him, raising a finger. A sharp needle of light began to form at his fingertip.

With a gentle smile, the young man's gaze shifted toward Alford's head.

"You'll continue not knowing in the future."

***

Four days after Prince Alford's incomprehensible rampage.

Karnak and his companions were in the library of the Karla Palace, facing a young man.

He had pale skin, light gray hair, eyes tinged with a hint of gold in their blue, and a delicate face. He almost looked like a teenage girl, but in reality, he was Lloyd, the first prince of the Kingdom of Yustil, now 20 years old.

The situation had been mostly resolved, allowing them to finally meet outsiders again.

Baros, observing Lloyd, who had regained his own body, wore an awkward expression.

"Should I say... nice to meet you for the first time?"

Lloyd chuckled and responded, "It is indeed a strange situation."

They had known each other for several days now, and from Lloyd's perspective, he had even entrusted his life to them. However, this was the first time they were meeting face-to-face in his real body.

"Allow me to introduce myself once again."

Lloyd stood and formally expressed his gratitude.

"I offer my sincere thanks. Without your help, I can't imagine how much worse the situation might have become."

Following etiquette, Karnak humbly replied, "We only did what was expected of nobles."

Lloyd, regretful, continued, "What saddens me is that I cannot properly reward your efforts. You've saved not only my life but also my father's and, in essence, this entire kingdom."

The fact that Lloyd and Alford had switched bodies had not been made public.

It was a monumental incident, and the potential consequences were too significant to act recklessly.

As a result, the contributions of Karnak and his group were largely downplayed. In reality, they had supported Lloyd both physically and emotionally, but since this was a closely guarded secret, their official credit was limited to simply subduing the rampaging Alford.

"Please, think nothing of it."

Unlike the regretful Lloyd, Karnak remained composed.

"I'm simply content with having dealt with the heretic cultists, Your Highness."

He was sincere.

From the beginning, they had gotten involved to capture a high-ranking cultist, and they had achieved that goal.

Since they had accomplished what they set out to do, Karnak had no real interest in rewards.

True sincerity always gets through.

'He really is a man without greed.'

There would be many future conflicts with the Cult of the Dark God. Those who had extended their reach even to a prince of the kingdom wouldn't back down easily.

'I can't let such talent be wasted. I'll need to discuss this with Commander Erantel later.'

While the prince was deep in thought, Baros suddenly asked, "What will happen to Prince Alford now?"

"It's classified information, but I suppose it's something you should know," Lloyd replied after a brief moment of contemplation, having made up his mind to share.

"Alford committed suicide. He hanged himself. It happened last night."

Then, with a hardened expression, he continued in a low voice, "To be more accurate, he was made to commit suicide."

A prince of the kingdom dying by suicide in prison would never be dismissed with a simple burial. Naturally, a large number of clerics were involved in the investigation to understand what had happened.

And that's when they discovered it.

The subtle traces of the Darkness of Doom, carefully hidden.

"Lord Karnak, you were right."

Lloyd sighed, shaking his head in dismay.

"Necromancers truly have an exceptional talent for making people kill themselves."

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