Chapter 193
“My son, you must never master the Dragon’s Breath.”
“Mother? But wouldn’t that be akin to forsaking our royal duty?”
“I shall fulfill that duty by any ans necessary, so you must promise , never to learn the Dragon’s Breath!”
“Yes, mother.”
The words of his mother, the previous Empress Carolina Pionia, echoed in his mind. For reasons unknown, she abhorred the idea of him mastering the Dragon’s Breath and he had obliged her wishes.
“Instead, master this.”
She had handed him a tattered ancient to. Its unassuming cover bore only the title ‘Fire’, with no other distinguishing features. Skeptical at first, he began to learn the art within, which soon laid the foundation for him to be called the Sun Prince.
And then, her final words before she passed.
“I am the last high priestess of the Order of Fire. Now, you must take my place.”
She revealed that the art he had mastered was the secret technique of the Order’s high priestess.
After her death, he used his agents to scour the continent for information about the Order of Fire. This was the true purpose behind the Sun Prince’s collection journey. Not only to fulfill his mother’s last wish but also to understand the mysterious and powerful art he possessed.
Yet, the information gathered was unsatisfactory, mostly abstract, and heavily damaged.
Decades later, he had almost forgotten about the Order of Fire. Yet, by so twist of fate, one of its sacred relics had co into his possession. Or rather, it had always been there, by sheer coincidence.
The Sun Duke smiled bitterly.
“Is this what they call destiny?”
He gazed at the Ifit lying neatly on the table. The audacious creature had left it for him to inspect.
“Until yesterday, it was just an ordinary sword, but after the incident earlier, it seems to emanate an unusual heat.”
He could feel a faint, destructive fire, akin to what one might call ‘Cataclysmic Fla’, and it was eerily similar to his own energy.
How had he not recognized this before?
As he contemplated the Ifit, the Sun Duke let out a hollow laugh, recalling the spectacle caused by Yan during the banquet.
“How could that fellow have wielded this sacred relic?”
He rembered a passage from the Order’s texts:
“Only the high priest can handle the items blessed by Hestia.”
‘Surely, the items blessed by Hestia’ must refer to the sacred relics. Yet, the fellow had managed to wield the power of the Ifit, albeit briefly and unstably, without mastering the priest’s art.
The Sun Duke chuckled to himself, realizing it was not his problem to ponder. Though he had inherited the position of high priest from his mother, he had no intention of reviving the Order.
Instead, he decided it would be more constructive to ponder the peace and happiness of the south.
With his mind made up, the Sun Duke resolved.
“It would be fitting to keep one in mory of mother.”
He rose from his seat with a wry smile, and just then...
Boom!
The door burst open, and a knight rushed in, breathless and frantic. The Sun Duke was about to frown at the intrusion when the knight exclaid:
“Lord, Viscount Morris has been found murdered!”
The Sun Duke’s face turned icy cold.
* * *
The Sun Duke’s Estate was in utter chaos.
Knights with eyes sharp as axes road the mansion, searching every noble present. Yan, it seed, could not escape their scrutiny.
Bang!
Yan, who was deep in slumber, awoke to the brash entrance of the knights. A headache, fierce as if his head would split open, assaulted him. His eyes struggled to open fully.
“...What is the matter?” Yan asked, forcing himself upright and splashing water on his face.
It was then.
A knight, upon seeing him, exclaid with a voice as hard as steel, “Found it!”
Yan furrowed his brows.
He couldn’t grasp what the knight claid to have found.
In that mont, Yan realized his face was damp.
Looking down at his hands, his expression hardened.
“...What is this?”
His hands were drenched in crimson blood.
As if he had committed murder.
* * *
Amidst the Sun Duke’s Estate, turmoil reigned.
Knights, with eyes narrowed in suspicion, dragged Yan to a secluded chamber—a place unbefitting the grandeur of the Sun Duke’s residence.
There, a coroner and rriott sat with stony expressions, awaiting his arrival.
The knights seated Yan on an iron chair, blades pointed at his back—a clear threat to his life should he attempt any folly.
Confounded by a throbbing headache, Yan struggled to grasp the situation.
“Sir rriott, what is the aning of this?”
“Viscount Morris was murdered last night.”
“...What?”
Yan’s eyes widened in shock.
Murdered, here in the Sun Duke’s estate?
Who would commit such a heinous act!
rriott questioned chanically, “Were you in your room all evening?”
“Last evening, I...”
Despite the splitting headache, Yan tried to recall the previous night’s events.
He rembered stepping out for a mont after his contemplation.
“No, I went out for a brief walk.”
“Just as the maid said. How long and where were you outside?”
Yan was about to answer nonchalantly when suddenly...
‘...!’
His face contorted in realization.
rriott’s question went unanswered as Yan grappled with a blank in his mory.
‘Why... can’t I rember anything from last night?’
His recollections ended abruptly after he stepped out for fresh air, as if a part of his mory had been sharply excised.
Unable to speak, Yan’s face twisted in confusion, prompting rriott to ask coldly.
“Then how do you explain the blood all over your hands?”
Of course, Yan couldn’t explain. His mories after leaving his room had vanished.
As Yan remained silent, rriott muttered as if he had expected as much.
After a long stare, rriott spoke again.
“Lastly, may I see your sword? The elongated one you wore during the Dragon Soldier Project.”
He must be referring to Ascalon.
‘Why Ascalon?’
Though puzzled, Yan reached for his waist.
His expression froze.
“...?”
Looking down, Yan saw that Ascalon, which he always carried, was missing.
“Huh.”
rriott chuckled at Yan’s confusion, stepped out of the chamber briefly, then returned.
“Looking for this?”
In rriott’s hand was Ascalon, which should have been at Yan’s side.
And it wasn’t just that.
The blade was caked with dried blood, as if it had been used in violence re hours ago.
rriott continued.
“Your sword was found here, and no one else left their room last evening. We’ve received reports from a maid and several nobles who saw you nearby. And we’ve secured decisive evidence.”
The coroner added in a grave tone.
“The wounds match the style of the Special Task Force’s leader, Damian’s swordsmanship.”
Yan’s eyes darkened.
He was the only one trained in Damian’s Shadow Blade technique.
Witness testimonies, conclusive evidence.
Everything pointed to him.
Just then, a commotion echoed from afar.
A young man burst through the knights’ blockade and forced his way in.
“Hey! What’s going on!”
It was Kasa, his face flushed with urgency, gripping Yan’s shoulder.
“You’re the suspect for Viscount Morris’s murder!”
Yan let out a hollow laugh. The rumor had already spread among the nobility.
Kasa, incredulous, turned to rriott.
“There’s evidence, right?”
The knight beside them recounted the evidence and testimonies rriott had explained.
Kasa’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“...You, really? You have no reason to do this!”
rriott looked down at Yan with a stern gaze.
“Vicount Morris had harbored ill will against this man, and there have been reports of their confrontations. I witnessed it myself. Did you not see it too, Kasa? That’s motive enough for murder.”
Kasa looked at Yan, his face a mix of confusion and shock.
If they had indeed clashed, even a slight motive could be construed.
As all eyes turned to him, Yan finally spoke.
“I would like to see the cri scene.”
The other coroners protested.
“Absolutely not!”
“We can’t predict what he might do! Let it be proven in court!”
But rriott dismissed their cries.
“Go ahead and check all you want. If you can’t prove your innocence by today, you’ll be taken straight to jail, so look carefully.”
Yan nodded silently to the threat and let the knights’ rough hands guide him to the scene.
Kasa followed, his face etched with worry, as they made their way to the site of the cri.
* * *
At that mont, the Sun Duke was receiving the results of the investigation that had taken place throughout the night.
A knight was rapidly detailing the evidence and testimonies collected so far.
Listening intently, the Sun Duke furrowed his brows.
Sothing didn’t add up.
“Are you telling that fellow Yan is under investigation for the murder of a noble nad Morris?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Do you really believe that makes any sense?”
Could Yan, whom he had seen just the day before, have committed such an act?
It was preposterous.
Why would the man who begged him for an elixir suddenly engage in such madness?
But then, the knight added more information.
“It seems Sir rriott, the commander of the knights, is already convinced of his guilt.”
The Sun Duke had spent decades with rriott, his closest confidant.
He knew well how impartial and thorough rriott could be.
“If rriott is convinced...”
The Sun Duke let out a hollow laugh.
“It just doesn’t seem plausible.”
“Sir?”
Questioned by the knight, the Sun Duke shook his head and rose from his seat.
“It’s nothing. Would you lead to the scene of the murder?”
“Yes, of course, Your Highness.”
Following the knight, the Sun Duke made his way to the site of the murder.
The mansion’s third-floor restroom.
That was where the noble’s murder had taken place.
The restroom floor was flooded with blood, and the walls were heavily stained.
A body, presud to be Viscount Morris, lay sprawled across the floor.
The Sun Duke surveyed the interior of the restroom and soon frowned deeply.
He stepped outside and scanned the surroundings.
After a long observation, he let out a scoff of disbelief.
“So this is how it happened?”
He shook his head in dismay.
Then, he watched as Yan was brought forth by the knights.
“Your Highness, it might get noisy. Perhaps it’s best if you return upstairs.”
A knight suggested with concern.
However, the Sun Duke had no intention of leaving.
He fixed his gaze on Yan and spoke.
“It seems sothing interesting is about to unfold. I shall stay and watch a bit longer.”
“Sothing interesting... Your Highness?”
The knight asked, not quite grasping the aning.
The Sun Duke’s lips remained tightly sealed.
His eyes watched Yan with keen interest.
As if to say, ‘Let’s see how you escape this predicant.’
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