The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away

“Brian had been learning forbidden sorcery for a long time. Not only that, he even threatened His Majesty the Emperor, me, the Crown Prince, and the Imperial Princes. That alone is enough reason to hold the entire Byweiner family accountable, yet you remain shameless.”

“You can say whatever you want. No, rather, isn’t it already too late anyway?”

As long as the Crown Prince was still alive, the Byweiner family’s downfall was already irreversible. That was why the Count thought he should at least take the Crown Prince’s life with him.

In the tense air, Leslun dismounted with visible nervousness.

The Count’s demeanor went beyond stubbornness. There was a grim determination in his eyes. The atmosphere felt so sharp that blood could spill at any moment, and in that instant, someone came to mind.

“Cal Byweiner.”

Leslun’s quiet murmur reached Kailos. He immediately turned to Count Byweiner and spoke.

“I see. So Brian was your only son.”

The Count flinched. His second son was still in the annex, completely unaware of his brother’s death.

“The moment you aim for my life, your family will be branded as traitors and everything you have will be erased. Not only your own life, but Cal’s as well.”

Kailos calmly spoke of the dark cloud about to descend upon the Byweiner family.

“Come to think of it, Cal once tried to meddle with my aide. I suppose now there is no need to weigh individual sins.”

Since every one of them had already committed crimes, the end was already decided. Count Byweiner’s hand trembled violently.

“Step aside while I still have mercy left in me.”

Kailos’s cold words struck sharply. It now seemed the decision lay entirely with the Count.

The Count looked at Crown Prince Kailos.

Until now, the prince had not built any great power beyond the prestige of his noble title. The Empress, through her own relatives, had gathered many nobles around her, and it was believed that the next heir to the throne would not be Kailos.

Even now, with the Empress and Prince Cassian standing firm, the Count thought that if he could eliminate Kailos, it might instead give him the chance to rise again.

Revenge for Brian, and the revival of his family.

Those were the two goals he had in mind. Yet strangely, the Crown Prince stood before him with unwavering confidence. Count Byweiner could not shake the uneasy feeling inside him.

Kailos pressed on that unease.

“It seems you had something to rely on. How unfortunate.”

Behind him, a carriage came speeding toward them. Leslun sighed when he saw the crest engraved on it.

‘She arrived at the perfect time.’

When Count Byweiner’s name had been mentioned back in the prison, Kailos had tried to leave to find Blue. At that time, Leslun had stopped him and said,

‘We must seek the Empress’s aid, Your Highness.’

The carriage came to a stop, and someone stepped out with the help of an escort.

The moment Count Byweiner saw the woman, his pupils trembled violently.

The final measure he had counted on had now appeared. To think she would arrive at this very moment—he did not know whether to call it coincidence or to suspect that everything had been orchestrated from the beginning.

The Empress walked forward slowly and stood beside Crown Prince Kailos.

“Count Byweiner.”

“Your Majesty the Empress.”

The Count bowed in respect, but the unease in his expression did not fade.

He wanted to believe that her presence here was a coincidence. He hoped this was merely his last chance coming to him by fate.

But the moment he saw the expressions of the Crown Prince and his aide, he realized that his final stronghold had crumbled.

The Empress would now side with Crown Prince Kailos.

That meant Count Byweiner could no longer attempt to take the Crown Prince’s life.

Kailos read the Count’s expression.

“What will you do now? For reference, Brian’s first target to kill was not me.”

With those words, Count Byweiner slowly raised his trembling hand in defeat.

The knights and soldiers standing on both sides stepped aside, opening a path.

Kailos and Leslun walked down that path. Leslun glanced back.

The Empress did not follow. She only looked at Leslun.

“It went just as you said.”

At Kailos’s voice from ahead, Leslun straightened his posture.

“By calling the Empress, we prevented the matter from escalating.”

Kailos had even been prepared to duel the Count. Leslun had stopped him from taking the knights along.

Since the Count did not belong to the Shadow Division, he did not wish to make the situation bigger. That was why Leslun had deliberately involved the Empress.

“Admit it. You are worthy of being my aide.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

At the Crown Prince’s acknowledgement, Leslun bowed his head, his chest swelling with emotion.

To be the aide of no one else but the Crown Prince himself was, to him, a truly fulfilling honor.