Chapter 251: Regicide
Chapter 251: Regicide
Every single pair of eyes belonging to the gathered titans of Stormveil City slowly turned toward Rhain.
The oppressive, combined pressure of nearly a dozen Domain Masters converged solely upon him.
"RHAIN."
Patriarch Thorian roared, his deep voice filled with terror and unbridled fury, "Do you have any idea what you have done? Why did you kill the Crown Prince?"
The sheer volume and force of Thorian’s voice carried the crushing pressure of a Domain Master’s wrath.
Liana went completely pale, and even Seris staggered slightly, shielding Rhain with her own body.
But Rhain looked entirely unaffected by the overwhelming pressure of so many Domain Masters bearing down on him.
His dark grey eyes met Thorian’s furious gaze.
"I didn’t kill Lucius," Rhain replied, his voice chillingly calm and steady. "What I killed in your private study was merely a clone. Lucuis is still very much alive."
The words dropped like a divine pardon.
A collective, massive breath of relief swept through the gathered elites.
Thorian also looked visibly relieved after hearing it. It felt as if a literal mountain had been lifted off his chest.
"A clone..." Thorian muttered, wiping a sheen of cold sweat from his forehead. "Thank the gods and my ancestors... it was only a clone."
But the relief was fleeting.
Thorian’s broad shoulders slumped, and he shook his head bitterly. "But... it doesn’t change much, Rhain. It truly doesn’t."
The other Domain Masters nodded in grim agreement.
They looked at Rhain sorrowful pity.
"You dared to commit an act of Regicide," Thorian stated with deep regret. "Even if it was only a clone, the intent was true. Royal Family is fiercely protective of its bloodline. They will not allow anyone to live who has dared to strike at the Crown Prince. The punishment is still death."
Patriarch Caelan sighed from a distance. "Such a bright future," he murmured quietly. "To comprehend an Origin Domain at the Spirit Manifestation Realm... to possess a Heavenly Flame... If you had only bided your time, and waited a few decades, you might have grown strong enough to ignore the Royal Court entirely. But now? You have doomed yourself."
Thorian closed his eyes, a look of exhaustion appearing over his face. "Royal Court will not spare my Thunderwood Family easily either. We hosted the banquet where the Crown Prince’s clone was killed. We will be interrogated and sanctioned heavily."
Rhain looked at Thorian. He knew the Patriarch was right.
"I apologize, Patriarch Thorian," Rhain said sincerely, offering a slight bow. "It was never my intention to drag your family into this matter. I ask for your forgiveness."
Thorian let out a bitter, hollow laugh. "Forgiveness is of no use anymore, young man. What is done is done."
Thorian turned to his son, Godfrey, and his daughter, Elara, who had just arrived at the perimeter of the battlefield, looking pale and shaken.
"Prepare the sky-skiff," Thorian commanded heavily. "First thing tomorrow morning, we leave for the Royal Capital. I must personally kneel before His Royal Highness and beg for his forgiveness, lest our family be eradicated."
With a final, complex look at Rhain, Thorian turned and departed with the Thunderwood delegation.
Patriarch Caelan also stepped forward, offering a brief shake of his head. "Take my advice, and flee Rhain. Flee as far and as fast as the winds can carry you. Stormveil City can no longer hold you."
With those parting words of advice, the Valemere Noble Family also retreated.
Only the Academy’s forces and the Emberford delegation remained.
Carmilla turned her bright, deeply serious eyes toward Rhain.
"Come back to the Academy with us," Carmilla instructed, her melodious voice carrying no room for argument.
She then glanced toward Seraphine. Her eyes held a hint of pleading, "Sera, please. Come with us."
Seraphine hesitated. Associating with Rhain right now was akin to holding a lit explosive. But looking at Carmilla’s earnest expression, she eventually released a soft sigh and nodded.
"Very well. Lyra, come."
Lyra, who had been staring at Rhain’s blood-stained back with incredibly complex, conflicted crimson eyes, silently followed her mother.
Together, the group soared into the night sky, returning directly to the Core Palace
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A short while later, the group arrived at the Dean’s secluded floating island.
The lavish central chamber was already filled.
High Preceptors Aldren, Octavius, and Mordecai, along with Preceptors Fabian, Krell, and all other Preceptors, and High Preceptors had already heard the terrifying news and were waiting anxiously.
The moment Rhain stepped through the doors, bathed in dried blood, the elders stood up in unison.
Rhain didn’t offer any pleasentries, and quietly sat down on a low, raised stone step.
Carmilla, Myrielle, Seris, Liana, Seraphine, Lyra, and all the Preceptors naturally gathered together, standing in a solemn group directly before him.
"Rhain," Carmilla demanded, standing at the forefront of the group, "Tell us the exact reason. Why did you kill Crown Prince’s clone?"
Every single pair of eyes in the group fixed upon him.
They all wanted to know the same answer.
What could possibly drive this rational youth to commit such a suicidal act?
Rhain looked up at them, but he didn’t answer immediately.
He turned his head toward Liana, who was standing nervously near the doorway.
"Liana," Rhain said softly. "Please take Seris back to the Core Palace."
Seris’s pale purple eyes widened in protest, "No! Husband, I don’t want to leave you! I want to stay right here!"
But Liana, looking at Rhain’s murderous eyes, instantly understood.
Whatever Rhain was about to say, it was something related to Seris, and he didn’t want her to hear it.
"Come on, sister Seris," Liana said gently, wrapping her arm around Seris’s shoulders. "Let the elders speak with him. He will come to us right after."
With a few more gentle words of comfort, Liana managed to guide a highly reluctant Seris out of the central chamber.
Once the two girls left, Rhain finally turned back to the expectant group standing before him.
In a flat, chillingly detached voice, Rhain narrated exactly what had transpired in the private study.
As Rhain’s narration continued, the expressions of unbridled outrage appeared on the faces of High Preceptors and Preceptors.
BANG!
"THAT ROYAL SWINE!" Myrielle roared, entirely losing her refined composure.
Her sapphire eyes blazed with an icy, murderous fury.
To hear that Lucuis harbored such filthy, degenerate thoughts toward her precious, pure-hearted disciple made her stomach churn with disgust, "That bastard deserved to die."
The male Preceptors were equally enraged.
"No man could hear such words and stay his hand," High Preceptor Octavius growled, "If someone spoke of my wife in such a manner, I would have ground his bones into dust."
Even Seraphine, who had initially thought Rhain had acted out of foolish, youthful arrogance, now looked at him with profound understanding.
Any man with a spine, let alone a peerless prodigy like Rhain, would rather go to war with the gods than allow such a vile insult to pass.
Lyra looked at Rhain’s blood-stained robes.
For the first time, she felt a hint of respect for this man, other than simply anger or hatred.
He had dared to risk his life, challenging an entire dynasty, just to protect his wife’s honor.
Lucuis had also been chasing her for years, but she could never dare to even face him directly on this matter, let alone killing him.
She had to believe that atleast in terms of courage, she was not as good as Rhain.
Carmilla took a deep breath, suppressing her own boiling anger at the insult to her Academy’s prodigy.
"The reason is justified," Carmilla stated firmly, "But the reality of the consequence remains. Royal Court will not care about his foul words. They only care that their authority was challenged. Rhain, what do you intend to do now?"
Rhain looked at the gathered people standing before him.
"I know I don’t have many options left," Rhain said pragmatically. "If I stay here, the Royal Family’s wrath will inevitably fall upon Stormveil Academy. I have no intention of dragging all of you, or this institution, down with me. I will leave the Academy tonight."
"Absolutely not."
Carmilla’s voice cut through his words like a whip.
Rhain frowned slightly. "Dean, if I stay—"
"You are not leaving," Carmilla interrupted resolutely, "You are the conqueror of the Heavenly Ascendent Tower. You are the future Dean of the Stormveil Academy. If we abandon you now, we will have no face to meet our founder!"
Standing within the group, Seraphine and Lyra simultaneously gasped, hearing this shocking revelation.
"He... he conquered the tower?" Seraphine blurted out, "No one had done it yet since the establishment of the Academy."
Lyra stared at the youth sitting on the stone step with an incredulous gaze.
Even with her pride, she didn’t dare to say certainly that she could climb the tower.
"Our Founder left a strict decree," Myrielle also spoke up, "Whoever conquers the tower is our leader. Stormveil Academy will support you, Rhain. Even if the whole world turns against you, we will not abandon you to face the Royal Family alone."
Octavius stepped forward fiercely, "You saved my son’s life in the Thunder Beast Ridge! Jace considers you his idol and his role model! Our family owes you a blood debt, Rhain. If the Royal Court comes for you, I will stand at the front gates and fight them myself!"
"I brought you to this Academy from the Outer Frontier," Preceptor Fabian added, stepping up beside Octavius. "I may only be a Half-Step Domain Master, and my strength may be insignificant against the Royal Court... but I will not leave you to walk this path alone!"
One by one, Aldren, Krell, and the other Preceptors voiced their unwavering support.
They were fully prepared to lay their lives on the line to honor the founder’s decree and protect the greatest prodigy they had ever known.
Rhain looked at the resolute faces of the Academy’s highest echelons standing before him.
A warm feeling touched his heart.
But he still shook his head.
"I appreciate your loyalty," Rhain said softly, "But I cannot allow you to endanger yourselves for me. You are all Half-Step Domain Masters and early-stage Domain Masters. The Royal Court possesses powers far beyond your reach. If you insist on shielding me, you will all bear the wrath of the Emperor."
He looked at Carmilla, and others.
"Solathane Dynasty is massive. If I run and hide, how far can they truly search? It will not take long for me to rise to a level where I will no longer have to flee from the Royal Family. Until then, escaping is the most logical choice."
"You are wrong, Rhain."
It was Carmilla who had spoken.
Rhain raised his head to look at her.
"You can hide your aura from a Domain Master," Carmilla explained gravely, "You might even be able to slip past their vast intelligence networks. But there is no piece of land in this entire dynasty that can save you from the eyes of a Monarch."
Rhain’s dark grey eyes narrowed sharply.
"If you want to survive this," Carmilla stated, looking him dead in the eye, "there is only one way. You must find another Monarch willing to shield you from Royal Family."