When Jacob finally stopped his laboured breathing and lowered his arms, the head chef lay motionless in a pool of blood. Jacob gasped for air in great heaves. He had never felt such a profound sense of accomplishment as he did now, clutching the blood-dripping brick. Then he turned and handed the brick back to Green. Ye Dui walked over and patted his shoulder. “Hungry, are you? Go and eat something. Fill your belly properly.”
Jacob nodded and stepped into the banquet hall.
A maid stood by the table holding several towels. She was the one assigned to serve the master during meals. When she saw Jacob, her face filled with panic. Her eyes held a hint of mockery too, much like the look one gives a dog relying on its master’s power.
Jacob had never paid much attention to the meanings hidden in people’s gazes before. Strangely, he could now discern them clearly. But he paid them no mind. In fact, as if to provoke her deliberately, he walked to the maid’s side, took a towel, wiped his hands, and tossed it onto her.
Then he approached the table. There was no place for him at the banquet hall’s table, so he kicked the stool nearest to him. “Make room.” He had not noticed who sat there. Only when he saw that displeased face did he recall it was the Fourth Prince. But this did not deter him. “I have not had a full meal in nine months. I am warning you, do not provoke me.”
“…”
With an expression of utter disbelief, the Fourth Prince stiffly rose to his feet. What stunned him was not Jacob’s claim of nine months without a proper meal, but that Jacob dared speak to him, the Fourth Prince, in such a manner.
Who gave you the nerve to sit with us, the exalted imperial family and nobility?
At this table sat Green, Lisa, and the others, along with Lord Kevin and several key ministers by the lord’s side. Yet when the Fourth Prince stood, Jacob simply sat down as if it were natural. He seized the food before him and began devouring it ravenously.
Where was the timid kitchen handyman of old?
The finance official nearby wore a look of disgust. He lifted his wine glass for a sip to steady his nerves. But before it reached his lips, Jacob snatched it away and gulped it down. Then he cracked open his mouth and let out a resounding belch.
Gunny, perched on the table and gorging herself, stared in shock. At last, she had found someone with a similar eating style!
Lord Kevin’s steward had the head chef’s body dragged away. Ye Dui returned to his seat. Just then, he noticed a richly dressed woman rise in a huff. She was Lord Kevin’s wife, though not Windsor’s mother. Gunny’s unrefined manners she could tolerate, but for Green, this fellow just released from the dungeon, to behave so? That she could not abide.
What do you take this place for? This is Lord Kevin’s banquet hall! The noble Prince Geller sits here, and you show such lack of decorum! She prepared to vent her fury to Prince Geller.
But at that moment, she saw Prince Geller laugh heartily at Ye Dui. “I like this young fellow. He has spirit. Friends of Sister Debbie are no ordinary folk, indeed. From now on, you are my friend.”
Jacob’s mouth was stuffed with food. He raised a wine glass in a casual salute as his response to Prince Geller.
Prince Geller’s words choked back the woman’s torrent of complaints. She sat down again, disgruntled.
Prince Geller’s adoration for Debbie bordered on worship. By extension, anyone Debbie knew assumed a vastly different status in his eyes.
“When we entered the ruins world, Jacob was the one I worried about most. I feared he would suffer for knowing us. And so he did. Thankfully, he survived,” Ye Dui said aloud. After leaving the ruins world, Ye Dui and his group had gone straight to Jacob’s home, only to find it deserted. At that moment, Ye Dui had truly feared Jacob might already be dead.
Earlier at the banquet, when the chief steward confirmed Jacob still lived, Ye Dui had breathed a sigh of relief. But upon learning the head chef had bribed the jailers on his own to keep Jacob imprisoned for nine full months, Ye Dui’s anger had surged uncontrollably.
He had planned to give the head chef a severe lesson. But Jacob smashing him to death with the brick had caught him off guard. Even the kindest soul, after nine months of unjust confinement, would emerge transformed. The current Jacob felt like a different person to Ye Dui. And Ye Dui rather liked this version.
“I recall the lad vaguely. After questioning him, I ordered his release. I had no idea he remained locked away until now. That head chef deserved death. I will punish the dungeon jailers harshly in turn,” Lord Kevin explained.
Ye Dui smiled at Lord Kevin. Perhaps Jacob’s prolonged imprisonment had the lord’s tacit approval. But since Jacob had vented his rage, Ye Dui would not pursue it. He had other matters to discuss with Lord Kevin. He chuckled. “Lord, there is one thing I wish to settle first. The wedding of Cass and Miss Windsor. Would you consider holding it at an opportune time?”
“What?” Lord Kevin’s face turned cold. “This, this… wedding? What wedding? I never agreed to marry Windsor to Cass.”
Cass and Windsor, seated at the table, both tensed at once.
“Oh, my wording may have misled you, Lord Kevin,” Ye Dui continued with a smile. “I mean to hold a proper ceremony for their marriage. In the ruins world, they already held a simple wedding rite. They are husband and wife now.”
“What did you say!?” Lord Kevin shot to his feet, glaring at Cass with fury. “I do not consent to this match. And without the church’s blessing, how can that rite count as true…”
“You speak of the church’s blessing?” Ye Dui spun tales effortlessly. “Bishop Talbot witnessed their wedding personally and bestowed his blessing. Sadly, the bishop perished in a later adventure. Such a pity.”
In this world, the church held immense authority. Even commoners’ weddings required a church blessing to be valid as marriage. Nobles and royals demanded elaborate rites.
Lord Kevin’s face grew exceedingly grim. Windsor’s wedding to the Fourth Prince was a deal long settled with the church, intertwined with mutual interests. How could the church bless Windsor’s union with another? He refused to believe it. He snapped angrily. “Impossible. Bishop Talbot would never bless a marriage between Cass and Windsor!”
Bishop Talbot and his group had died in the ruins world. Ye Dui had not detailed how to Lord Kevin. But the lord could infer that in the ruins world, the bishop would never have broken their pact to bless Windsor’s marriage to someone else.
Ye Dui sighed. His eyes suddenly turned to the Fourth Prince. The prince had resumed his seat at the table, eating a plate of roasted mushrooms with a sullen pout. Meeting Ye Dui’s gaze, his heart sank. A wave of inexpressible fury washed over him.
Too much!
Not only had they stolen his fiancée, but now they sought to make him affirm their legitimate union?
Was this just another twist on cuckolding him!?
“Fourth Prince?” Ye Dui said in a questioning tone.
The Fourth Prince endured the grievance gnawing at him. He thought of his forbearance, of currying favour with Debbie, the ultimate weapon in his bid for the throne. So he gritted his teeth and said, “Indeed… Bishop Talbot blessed the wedding of Brother Cass and Windsor!”
Hearing the Fourth Prince’s admission, Ye Dui cheered inwardly, toasting the goddess Aqua.
Lord Kevin and the others fell silent. Bishop Talbot had truly blessed their union? Ye Dui’s words might ring false, but the jilted groom’s could not.
Ye Dui quickly signalled Cass and Windsor with his eyes. They understood. Windsor took Cass’s hand and approached Lord Kevin.
“Father, Cass and I are married now. Nothing can tear us apart,” Windsor said firmly.
Cass added solemnly, “Lord Kevin, three years ago, I told you I would pay any price to be with Windsor.”
Lord Kevin’s face still wavered with hesitation. His wife beside him wished to speak but knew not how. Then Prince Geller smiled. “I take a liking to this Cass. A companion of Sister Debbie is more than worthy of your daughter. Tell you what. Upon our return, I will petition my brother the emperor to grant him a title and lands, making him a noble. That should settle any objections you have, eh, Lord Kevin?”
Lord Kevin’s brows knitted tight. With Prince Geller endorsing Cass and Windsor’s match, what could he say? The church entanglements would need long-term handling. His gaze shifted to Cass. He held some regard for the swordsman deep down. His initial refusal stemmed solely from the man’s lowly birth. A grant of lands and title, nobility, changed everything.
With that in mind, Lord Kevin nodded reluctantly at last. “Very well. Since you held the blessing rite in secret, I have no choice but to recognise your marriage.” He turned to the steward standing nearby. The man stepped forward promptly. “Go. Prepare at once. The formal wedding will be tomorrow.”
“Yes, my lord,” the steward replied and withdrew swiftly.
Cass and Windsor made no effort to hide their joy. They looked gratefully at Ye Dui. It began with Cass seeking Ye Dui’s guild aid to steal Windsor away, and Windsor hiring the guild to flee her betrothal. Yet the outcome now delighted them most!
The banquet hall’s atmosphere warmed. The Fourth Prince clutched a wine glass, intending a token toast to Cass for appearances. But the profound shame from within proved unbearable. He carried his glass from the hall. The head chef’s bloodstains had been scrubbed clean. In the corridor, he narrowed his eyes.
What had come over him this half-day? He had endured training in ruthless means for ends. Yet reflecting on his morning’s antics, incredulity lingered.
He shook his head vigorously. Suddenly, he recalled the shrinking spell Ye Dui had cast on him that morning.
Could that spell’s influence have warped his judgement!?
“Fourth Prince.” A hunched figure approached, bowing respectfully.
This was a middle-aged man with sparse hair and a face pocked with loathsome pustules. He stooped, wrapped in ragged furs, a stark contrast to the hall’s opulence and order.
“You. Mudface Ula,” the Fourth Prince said, somewhat surprised. “Were you not in the capital? How did you come here?”
Mudface Ula was the Fourth Prince’s confidant. Though his appearance was ragged and grotesque, he brimmed with cunning. When the prince set out for Windrock City, he tasked Ula with handling matters in the capital.
“Fourth Prince, your disappearance lasted nine months. Poor Mudface could scarce remain in the capital. Naturally, I came seeking your whereabouts. Heaven be praised, I found you,” Mudface fawned.
The Fourth Prince cared little for such flattery. He asked flatly, “What of the capital’s situation now?”
“Fourth Prince, the capital’s state is dire,” Mudface’s voice turned sly. “The old emperor lies gravely ill. Whispers from the palace say he nears his end. The eldest prince rushed back from the south recently. The other princes hasten their moves too. The air in the capital reeks of gunpowder.”
The Fourth Prince’s brows furrowed. His marriage to Windsor largely followed the church’s design, securing Lord Kevin, commander of the north, as an asset in his succession bid. His mind now cleared. He realised Prince Geller’s ready consent to Cass and Windsor’s wedding stemmed not solely from Debbie. He sought to bar Lord Kevin from the prince’s camp.
He glanced back at Prince Geller in the hall, chatting amiably with Ye Dui. A cold snort escaped him. Cunning old fox.
As the old emperor’s sole living brother, Prince Geller wielded great sway over the emperor’s decisions. Yet he treated all princes with equal detachment, showing no clear favour. Naturally, he would not back this one.
“Fourth Prince, I heard a rumour in the capital,” Mudface drew nearer. The prince caught the nauseating blend of stench and potion on the man. But he knew Mudface bore vital news. Enduring it, he asked, “What news?”
“Prince Geller led the Black Armoured Guards to Windrock City ostensibly to search for you. In truth, the emperor tasked him with more.”
“More? What task?” The Fourth Prince’s brows creased deeper.
“Rumour has it, concerning one of the emperor’s bastards,” Mudface whispered the imperial secret.
“A bastard!?” The Fourth Prince exclaimed. He scanned about hastily, ensuring no disturbance, then pressed, “What is this about?”
“Over a decade ago, barbarians invaded the empire. The emperor oversaw the defence here in Windrock City. They say he left a son behind, a male infant. None outside knew. Now he seeks to reclaim his blood,” Mudface murmured, voice faint as a gnat. “You know the emperor’s wariness of the church, Fourth Prince, his wish to break its hold on the empire. Yet each of the twelve princes ties to the church, relying on it more or less. I suspect the old emperor finds none of the twelve to his liking. He hopes to find this bastard and, quite possibly, bequeath the empire to him.”
“And has he found the bastard?” The Fourth Prince demanded coldly of Mudface.
“From my watch, Prince Geller has indeed been searching these days, to no avail. But… I suspect he has now,” Mudface said lowly. His eyes flicked to the banquet hall, settling on Ye Dui.
“Ye Dui, born Wade. At six, while travelling with family merchants, bandits attacked, orphaning him. He grew in Stanetown. On his sixteenth birthday, he entered the Tower of Grimoires yet awakened no magus tome. That night, amid assault, he summoned a tattered white-covered magus book. In mere months, he grew immensely powerful. Undoubtedly, that tome is an inheritance magus book. Commoners possess no such thing. Only one possibility: it was left by the emperor back then!”
Mudface had delved Ye Dui’s origins thoroughly. His strongest proof lay in Ye Dui’s inexplicable power: in months, he gained strength beyond lifetimes of toil for many. That bespoke a magus book of extraordinary nature, handed to him by the emperor upon leaving his bloodline.
Moreover, Ye Dui’s age of sixteen or seventeen matched the bastard’s presumed years. This cemented conviction.
The Fourth Prince’s eyes widened. He stared at Ye Dui in the hall, laughing with Prince Geller. Grandfather Seven never showed such warmth to outsiders. Was this why?
“The missing little princess of the Anduin house appears suddenly, at Ye Dui’s side. One cannot help suspecting she knows something,” Mudface pressed his inferences. “Perhaps she is part of the emperor’s long-laid plan, to guard this thirteenth prince’s growth!”
“This wretch… must be eliminated,” the Fourth Prince rasped, voice hoarse. New and old grudges piled high. He knew Ye Dui’s identity could never see light. His gaze on Ye Dui turned icily lethal.
And then, unbeknownst even to himself, a red gleam flashed in the Fourth Prince’s eyes.
