Chapter 272: Meeting Prince
Chapter 271: Meeting Prince
BOOM—!!!
The moment the words "the Prince" left the muscular commander’s lips, a catastrophic wave of bloodthirsty killing intent erupted from Rhain’s body.
The temperature in the courtyard plummeted, yet simultaneously felt as though it was boiling.
The sheer, unrestrained density of Rhain’s murderous aura was so profound that even the 8th-level Domain Master commander instinctively tensed, his hand twitching toward his weapon.
"Lucius," Rhain whispered, his voice sounding like a demon crawling out of the deepest abyss.
"Husband, wait!"
"Rhain, please, no!"
Seris and Liana instantly rushed forward, grabbing onto his arms.
Seris’s delicate hands gripped his dark robes tightly, her pale purple eyes wide with fear.
"Husband, you are in the Valdris Royal Academy! You cannot fight him here!" Seris pleaded frantically. "If you attack him now, the Old Dean’s protection will be voided! Please, do not do anything stupid!"
Liana nodded vehemently beside her, her emerald eyes filled with dread. "Rhain, it’s a trap! He must be trying to lure you into attacking him so he can execute the Royal Decree immediately!"
Rhain looked at the two terrified girls clinging to him.
But the crazy, chilling light in his dark grey eyes did not diminish.
He took a long breath, forcibly suppressing the violent urge of the Abyssal Sovereign Physique.
"Don’t worry," Rhain said, his voice lowering to his usual calm. He gently patted Seris’s hand. "I promise I will not do anything stupid... this time. Just wait for me here."
Seris bit her pink lip, still incredibly reluctant, but Rhain gently freed his arm from her grasp.
He turned his gaze back to the muscular commander, his aura now perfectly retracted into a placid, unfathomable stillness.
"Lead the way," Rhain said indiffrently.
The commander gave a silent nod, turning on his heel and leading Rhain out of the courtyard.
A few minutes later, they arrived before an incredibly luxurious, heavily warded pavilion surrounded by blooming spiritual lotuses and a shimmering essence pond.
The commander stopped just outside the golden doors of the pavilion.
"I have brought him, Your Highness," the commander announced respectfully.
A few seconds passed.
"You may leave us. Let us talk in private."
A calm, soothing voice drifted from inside the pavilion.
Outside the doors, Rhain’s brow instantly furrowed into a deep frown.
That was not Lucius’s voice.
Lucius possessed a smooth, velvety, and inherently arrogant tone.
The voice that had just spoken was entirely different—it sounded younger, lighter, and lacked that suffocating layer of imperial condescension.
The muscular commander bowed silently and vanished from his spot, leaving Rhain standing alone before the doors.
"Enter," the soothing voice called out again.
Rhain pushed the doors open and stepped into the lavishly decorated inner chamber.
But Rhain’s eyes did not linger on this extravagence as his eyes were attracted a young man, appearing to be around nineteen or twenty years old—roughly the same age as himself.
He had sharp, intelligent eyes, a relaxed posture, and an overall demeanor that felt entirely out of place for royal blood.
The moment Rhain stepped in, the young man’s eyes lit up.
"My, my..." the young man murmured, slowly walking forward and beginning to circle Rhain, his eyes scanning him from head to toe with unabashed curiosity. "Let me properly look at the person who actually dared to kill the Crown Prince."
Rhain stood perfectly still, his dark grey eyes tracking the young man with icy detachment.
"Where is Lucius?" Rhain asked coldly.
The young man stopped circling and blinked, before a bright, highly amused smile stretched across his face.
"Do you honestly think there is only one Prince in the entire Solathane Dynasty?" the young man chuckled, shaking his head. He took a step back and dramatically placed a hand over his heart.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Second Prince of the Solathane Dynasty, Arien."
Rhain’s expression remained entirely placid.
"So, you are Lucius’s brother."
Arien let out a dramatic, exaggerated sigh. "Unfortunately, yes. We share the same father."
"Then why did you call me here?" Rhain asked, his tone flat. "Is it to threaten me in person, just like the imperial envoy did today by sending that Royal Decree?"
Arien hurriedly waved his hands, shaking his head repeatedly as if deeply offended by the accusation.
"No, no, no! Absolutely not!" Arien insisted earnestly. "I have come here to lend you a helping hand!"
Rhain raised a skeptical eyebrow. "A helping hand?"
"Yes!" Arien straightened his posture, his expression suddenly turning incredibly solemn and majestic.
"Rhain, you must already know this that my brother Lucius is a tyrant! He is a crazy, brutal, and bloodthirsty madman who is completely unfit to ascend the throne! If he becomes the Emperor, he will plunge this glorious dynasty into an era of darkness and endless rivers of blood!"
Arien puffed out his chest, looking every bit the benevolent, angelic savior his name implied. "But I... I am different. I seek only the prosperity of our kingdom. I am a virtuous, compassionate leader who values the lives of our people. For the sake of this dynasty and its hundreds of millions of innocent citizens, we must join hands! Together, we can stop this great evil from claiming the throne!"
Arien finished his grand, righteous monologue with a dramatic flourish, looking at Rhain expectantly, waiting for the youth to be moved to tears by his noble aspirations.
Rhain simply stared at him.
His dark grey eyes were completely deadpan.
"Are you done?" Rhain asked flatly.
Arien froze. He blinked once. Twice.
Then, the solemn, angelic aura completely disappeared.
"Pfft—HAHAHAHA!"
Arien suddenly burst into a fit of uproarious laughter.
He threw his head back, laughing so hard he actually had to wipe a tear from his eye.
"Wow, tough man!" Arien wheezed, shaking his head in amusement. "Did you not like my performance? I tried to give my best!"
He let out a final chuckle and casually leaned against a polished wooden table, all pretense of royal righteousness completely gone.
"Alright, alright. Since you clearly prefer a straightforward conversation, I will speak directly."
Arien’s eyes suddenly lost all their soothing warmth, turning as cold and calculating as a ruthless killer.
"Rhain, I want your help to kill my brother, Lucius."
Rhain’s pupils contracted slightly in surprise.
To hear a person casually and openly declare his intention to murder his own brother with such calmness was staggering.
It clearly showed just how ruthless and utterly devoid of familial affection the Imperial bloodline truly was.
’Is this entire royal family filled with maniacs?’ Rhain thought inwardly.
Neither Lucius nor this Arien looked remotely normal in the head.
Arien extended his right hand toward Rhain, an eager, ruthless smile returning to his face.
"So? Are you ready to join me?"
Rhain just looked at the extended hand without moving a muscle.
"Why should I believe you?" Rhain asked coldly. "Ultimately, you belong to the Royal Family, and there is a high chance that you would easily betray me."
Arien didn’t look offended. He simply lowered his hand and opened his arms wide.
"Look at me, I am not a clone, Rhain," Arien stated, "I have came here to meet you in person. In my true body. If you decide to kill me right now... I will really die."
He looked directly into Rhain’s eyes. "Is placing my actual life within your striking distance not enough proof of my sincerity?"
Rhain remained silent.
"And if that proof is not enough," Arien continued, a cunning smirk appearing on his lips, "then I also have a way to save you from the Royal Decree."
Rhain’s eyebrows rose in genuine surprise.
"What plan do you have?" Rhain asked.
"You should already know a bit about the power structure of Valdris City, and why it was created two thousand and five hundred years ago, correct?" Arien asked, pacing slowly around the table.
Rhain gave a brief nod. He had heard the history from Carmilla and the Deans.
"I know it was established because the Valdris Royal Academy, the Nebula Sword Sect, and the Vaelstrum Clan refused to remain under the direct influence of the four Imperial Families, so they migrated east and founded this independent territory."
"Exactly," Arien snapped his fingers. "Those three foundational pillars still rule Valdris City to this day."
Arien leaned in slightly, his eyes gleaming with a bright light.
"As you already know, the Valdris Royal Academy is fully committed to saving your life," Arien explained. "What you don’t know is that the Nebula Sword Sect is secretly allied with me. My faction has their full support, which means they will also back you."
Arien’s expression turned remarkably serious.
"But the third pillar... the Vaelstrum Clan. They are firmly in Lucius’s pocket. They support him entirely."
Arien locked eyes with Rhain.
"Right now, the Royal Decree is leveraging the four Imperial Families to pressure the Academy. But if you can somehow manage to win over the Vaelstrum Clan, or force them to stand by your side... the three ultimate powers of Valdris City will be completely united."
A triumphant, calculating grin spread across the Second Prince’s face.
"If the Academy, the Sect, and the Clan all formally commit to saving your life at any cost, Valdris City becomes an impenetrable fortress. Even the combined might of the four Imperial Families cannot enforce a Royal Decree against a united Valdris without sparking a catastrophic, dynasty-shattering civil war—a war the Emperor would avoid at all cost."
Arien extended his hand one more time.
"Join me, and we can completely turn Lucius’s plan upside down."