Whispers began to circute in the fortress after Karel encountered the assassin in the dungeon. The rumors were so accurate that he thought he misheard it at first. There were only three people whom he closely worked with about the said matters at that time—the chamberin and the two lieutenants. They also helped him in parsing out details in regards to the fortress and everyone’s interactions outside of Guerrid’s jurisdiction.

  Karel, used to royal schemes that could endanger one’s life, immediately noticed something was amiss. He’s not one to scheme as he was also a victim of it many times he could count, and in the end, he had no choice but to create a little chaos to stir them up. He knew he had to lure out the mole himself.

  Karel announced one morning, “No one shall leave the premises unless there is an emergency. Even writing letters outside would be temporarily prohibited. Letters coming in would also be inspected.”

  His words garnered varying reactions and none of them were pleased about it. Karel was also cognizant of that but he still deliberately did it knowing the outcome. Like he intended though, he already had an idea of who the mole was.

  On the other hand, Prince Guerrid heard of Karel’s audacious actions and questioned him that very same day. However, once the blond dropped the word ‘mole’, even the Astadvrani Prince was silenced for a moment.

  “You must already have your suspicions.”

  Guerrid excimed in defense, “These suspects of yours are my people!”

  “Then, how come assassins could get in pces they should not?”

  “That’s…”

  “According to the chamberin, only those who resided here for a long time knew the ins and outs of the fortress. And, according to a recent report, they found an assassin inside a supposed hidden room in the second level. That’s suspicious enough.”

  “You’re pnting a seed of doubt in my own house!”

  Karel frowned seeing his outburst but kept quiet then looked outside. “Then, should I withdraw the order? Despite knowing how it could be dangerous for you?”

  “They are my people!” The prince reasoned out again. “They won’t do anything to harm me!”

  Karel snorted at his naivety and couldn’t help but remark, “I’ve once witnessed a man devote himself to his master and in the end, he succumbed to his own foolishness, to the point of endangering his master’s life.”

  “What are you trying to imply?”

  “Nothing.” Karel shrugged. “Rescind the order then. After this incident, I’ll prepare to leave the fortress.”

  Guerrid breathed a sigh of relief then exited the room to find the others.

  As his steps receded away, Karel sat down by the window sill. He pondered about the situation and was horrified by the concluding thought. Shudders ran through his spine and abruptly stood up from his seat, unbelieving.

  Steps echoed in the dungeons as a man walked further in. He stopped before the farthest cell and the imprisoned Ramayan manically grinned at him, finding it hirious that this man was actually one of their henchmen, a traitor to the prince.

  “You have invoked someone whom you should not mess with,” the Ramayan remarked nonchantly, even though mentioning Karel sent shivers down his spine.

  “Ah, that meddlesome man? Why? Is he someone important in the empire?”

  The prisoner ughed at the question, but said nothing else in response.

  “The war will be sparked soon enough. Your role isn’t yet finish so you better—”

  “There you are. I’ve been looking for you since a little while ago.” The other man who only just arrived furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at the prisoner. “Was there something wrong with the prisoner?”

  The man smiled a little. “Nothing. Just checking if he’s still breathing.”

  “Let’s go. His Highness has something to announce.”

  “That better be the rescindment of what that man had told us earlier,” he mumbled, tossing the man a knowing look before following upstairs.

  Less than twenty people including Prince Guerrid now stood in the hall while Karel hid himself in the shadows of the upper floor. As the st two men arrived to complete the attendance, the Astadvrani Prince immediately announced the rescinding of Karel’s announcement earlier this morning.

  The others cheered, knowing they could still reach out to their families despite the brewing war in the background. Prince Guerrid then reassigned their tasks and after the short meeting, the hall now turned quiet.

  “It’s just as you predicted,” the chamberin whispered as he stood by the corner upstairs.

  “Do you believe me now?”

  The chamberin frowned and clenched his fists. “Yes.”

  “Does Guerrid know?”

  “He doesn’t.”

  Karel heaved a deep breath. “That man will take action as soon as he can. Make sure the lieutenant is with you when you go to His Highness’ room.”

  “You don’t mean…”

  Karel held onto his left eye this time, palm on it. “Something will definitely happen. Be vigint.”

  “I understand.”

  As the chamberin left, he leaned onto the wall, the tall vase obscuring his figure.

  This scene reminded him of what had transpired before. The only difference was, he wasn’t there and didn’t know anything about the underlying situation. This time, he knew he could do something for the victim, for Guerrid.

  He mumbled to himself as he closed his eyes, “Please don’t hate me for this, Guerrid.”

  “Where’s His Highness?”

  “The lieutenant accompanied him to his quarters, chamberin.”

  The chamberin bnched. “Sir, come with me, please!”

  The knight furrowed his eyebrows as he stood up to follow him. “Is there something wrong?”

  “Did you know that the announcement that Sir Karel made was to single out the mole?”

  “What did you say?”

  The knight then ran towards Prince Guerrid’s quarters in a hurry, gasping breaths when he opened the door. From his position, the Astadvrani Prince struggled against his other lieutenant’s manhandling, blood also visible on his clothes.

  “Ungrateful bastard!” The other lieutenant summoned his magic and bsted away the man. He managed to defend himself and let go of Guerrid. The prince now id down on the bed, writhing in pain while clutching onto his abdomen.

  The chamberin gasped loudly seeing what’s happening inside when he arrived and then went back to the hallways to shout for Karel’s name.

  Hearing the distressed shout, Karel reappeared outside the prince’s quarters and entered. Seeing the other lieutenant now struggling against the traitor, Karel took over by teleporting the man by the door.

  Seeing Karel upfront, he excimed, “If it weren’t for you—argh!”

  Karel didn’t hesitate to sm his figure to the wall, denting it a little as the traitor screamed in pain, bones definitely shattered upon the impact.

  The other lieutenant and chamberin watched in horror at what they witnessed.

  “He’ll die!” The man garbled out and maniacally ughed. “He’ll die soon enough! The civil war will start!”

  “Bastard!” excimed the lieutenant, wanting to move forward but Karel motioned for him not to interfere.

  The traitor then bsted a magic onto Karel’s face then ughed loudly again but seeing how it didn’t even y a scratch on Karel, he bnched and attempted to get out of his hold.

  “You think you’re above others, huh?” Karel gritted out and let his sword reappear beside him, floating for a few seconds before he held onto it.

  “It’s a good idea though that you underestimated me,” he whispered then slowly stabbed him with the sword, twisting it further in through his flesh as he screamed out in agony.

  “Sir Karel!” called the other two men behind him.

  Karel withdrew his sword despite the anger simmering in his veins. “I should have looked closely at it.”

  “I was also clueless until you told me,” the chamberin shakily remarked as he stared at the bloody figure of the lieutenant. Turning to the side, he loudly gasped when he saw Guerrid lifelessly lying on the mattress and hurried over.

  The blond cup the lieutenant’s jaw, forcing him to look at his menacing crimson eyes. “Death will be an escape for you, traitor.”

  “I…” He garbled out. “I will… never be… that bastard’s… underling.”

  All this time, it’s actually the lieutenant who colborated with the enemies. A type of betrayal he had seen throughout his millennia of living. It had been the closest one most of the time. It’s even nauseating to think that they could do such a thing.

  “Shameless little thing,” he spat instead, angry on behalf of the Astadvrani Prince.

  “You…! You will never win… against my master…!” The lieutenant screamed with all his might. “You’re merely a Ramayan!”

  “Merely?” Karel echoed grimly. “Have you forgotten that I ended the subjugation of monsters nearly two decades ago in Norn?”

  The lieutenant heaved a deep breath and realized what he had spoken. Even the other lieutenant and chamberin gasped hearing his words.

  “Of course, you didn’t know, because you’re more focused on how to betray your master rather than being aware of your surroundings.”

  “No… You…”

  “Remember my name, puny human.” Karel squatted before him, grabbing him by the throat. “I am Karel Marles.”

  Dread appeared onto the lieutenant’s face, eyes slowly widening.

  “I am the First Grand Prince of the Great Empire of Ramaya.”

  With much force, he immediately crushed his windpipe, ending his life.

  “His Highness is severely injured!” The chamberin barked out, assessing Guerrid’s condition. “He’ll die—”

  Karel stood up. “I won’t let him die.”

  “Then…”

  “Is the remaining assassin still alive?”

  “Yes. I certainly made sure about it,” replied the remaining lieutenant, still trembling while looking at Karel.

  “Bring him here.”

  As they brought over the remaining assassin, Karel cautiously held onto Guerrid, carrying him and his face resting on his bosom. His breaths shallow, skin paler and several wounds covered his body. The blood had seeped through his clothes, now also tainting Karel’s.

  This child’s fate…

  He closed his eyes at that thought. If he survived another hour with his injuries, Karel would make sure he’d live. As he waited for the lieutenant to return, he initiated a healing array on Guerrid’s body.

  “Let me fucking go!”

  The door opened with a bang and the assassin was carried in.

  “What do we do now?” asked the chamberin, even the knights holding onto the assassin looked at him in askance.

  Karel shot the assassin a gnce then looked back at the chamberin.

  “I’ll burn him alive on the prince’s bed, posing as the prince himself and tell them you witnessed it yourself. You tried to put it out but found out that you can’t.”

  “And since it couldn’t be put out, it would mean that it’s a magic not possessed by any of us,” the lieutenant chimed in, realizing what he’s getting at.

  “Yes. Tell them it’s a Ramayan’s doing, someone employed by the crown prince and use that cuff as evidence.”

  “You’re crazy as the rumors say!” excimed the assassin at Karel. “You former royals are mad!”

  “Call me crazy all you want. But don’t you think you owe me your life because we fought in the Civil War four thousand years ago?”

  Everyone bnched at his words.

  No matter how many times the Ramayans deny it or were vehemently opposed to the Ling Regime, the former royals were the greatest factors why the Ramayan Civil War ended abruptly. It’s undeniably their efforts that the empire was established.

  “Judging by your reaction, you’re one of the survivors.”

  “It’s because Princess Eli—”

  The man was caged in a barrier even before he could get all the words out and thrown onto the rge bed. Said man used his powers to break the barrier but ended up disappointed. It didn’t budge, not even a scratch on it.

  “All of you here, can I trust you?”

  There’s a palpable silence as they watched on.

  “But, can we trust you too?” asked the lieutenant, not backing down despite still being afraid of what Karel could do. After all, they’ve only known about him for a week at most.

  “No matter what we do at this point, Guerrid will become the catalyst of war.”

  Most of them inhaled sharply and looked at the motionless prince in the Ramayan’s arms.

  “In the end, someone must take this step. To tell the world you lost the prince to someone’s schemes.”

  The chamberin moved forward. “But His Highness is…”

  “There’s already a high chance that he won’t survive. In any case, you must wrap this up.”

  “But…”

  “Think of yourselves, your safety now.” Karel finally looked at them as the fire began to consume the man inside the now expanded barrier. His screams muted while he tried to escape. “The prince has fallen, so escape this predicament. Survive.”

  “And Prince Guerrid?” The chamberin looked at the lifeless prince again, concerned.

  “He’ll be decred dead.”

  “I understand what you’re trying to say,” chimed the lieutenant. “With you fabricating this scene, we’ll come out innocent and even save our lives. All we need to do is follow your instructions.”

  “Yes.”

  The knights looked at the chamberin, communicating with their eyes before turning back to Karel. “We’ve served the prince for the longest time and most of us we’re also saved by him. We have always been loyal to him.”

  The others nodded and angrily looked at the other lieutenant’s corpse on the side after knowing what happened from the chamberin.

  “This time, if this is the only way we can save him, then we have no choice but to listen to you.”

  The chamberin heaved a deep breath then bowed to Karel, the other knights followed suit. “Please take care of His Highness.”

  Karel drew the prince closer to himself. “You have my word.”

  The mansion was turned upside down the moment Karel arrived as he immediately carried Guerrid to the medical bay while the twins called for Mersya who coincidentally just arrived from town. Walce also barked the orders not to let anyone in as Karel put the lifeless prince down on one of the beds and helped Mersya to cut the bloodied clothes.

  Those ombre eyes worriedly looked at Karel. “Barely hanging on. He’ll eventually lose his life.”

  Karel drew in a deep breath. “I promised the master to save him and he was also the one who asked to save the prince.”

  “He sustained severe internal injuries and a few broken ribs.” She shook her head. “It’s his willpower that keeps him alive at this point.”

  Walce looked at Guerrid’s pale face in awe. He’s only human but tenacious. In Ramayans’ standards, he’s already worthy to be someone’s companion, and a loyal knight, perhaps.

  Karel heaved a deep breath, clenching his fists, realizing Guerrid still wanted to live. “I’ll make him my blood servant.”

  Mersya looked at him in surprise, knowing what those words entailed. “But, Master—”

  “Master!” Even Walce called him in a grave tone.

  “This child is young. He also wants to live and I can save him,” he sternly argued with them.

  Walce burst out, “But, you’ll be tying him to you for as long as you live!”

  He clenched his fists. “I’ll deal with the consequences ter.”

  Karel cut his wrist, controlling his regeneration to let the blood flow. It trickled down his wrist, right to Guerrid’s lips and gently pried open his mouth. A magical circle hovered above the bed as incantations flowed towards him as the pact commenced.

  Walce watched on nervously while Mersya monitored Guerrid’s condition. After a few minutes, his body finally responded to the Ramayan’s blood.

  Karel withdrew and observed quietly as his body convulsed. Both scratches and small wounds on his body eventually disappeared which made Walce gasp.

  “Guerrid has an affinity with magic?”

  “I checked up on him after his divine powers disappeared. So, I know he’d be safe if we underwent the blood pact.”

  Mersya furrowed her eyebrows, still holding the unconscious prince’s hand. “This is all within your calcutions.”

  “I didn’t want it to be but the situation had become so dire I had to step in.”

  “What about the repercussions of this incident?”

  “Repercussions be damned. We will give Guerrid a new life.” Karel clenched his fists again as his own wound healed on its own. “Away from that Trojka-forsaken kingdom.”

  Outside the medical bay, just past the ajar door, Kani frowned. Pensri and Xavier stayed in Kuju as per the Elder’s request as he’s excited about the duo’s achievements while Kani immediately returned to Mapiya Isnd after the arrangement. He heard of the incident from the twins when he arrived a little while ago and was about to barge in but halted his steps when he heard Karel’s words.

  As someone who’d been interested in the immortals and their history, Kani also knew about the Ramayan’s blood pact.

  Something inexplicable twisted in his guts upon hearing those words and an uncomfortable by the minute as silence descended in the room. The three of them anticipated the results of the blood pact in silence.

  Kani heaved a deep breath, holding onto his chest. He remembered Mersya’s words about death and not to hinder it. Were Ramayans an exception to that rule? Or maybe because of Prince Guerrid’s tenacity that Karel found him worthy?

  I’m not worthy to spend a lifetime with Karel.

  His leaning figure by the door finally walked away.

  Maybe, we’re really bound to part ways in the end, my love.

  lymsleiah