Chapter 124

The First Prince’s Palace.

*CRASH! THUD! THUD!*

From Igrid’s bedroom, the sound of things breaking was accompanied by his roars.

“Ugh! I’ll kill her!”

The attendants of the First Prince’s Palace fidgeted anxiously outside Igrid’s bedroom. But no one dared to step forward.

“Head Chamberlain… i-it’s already been an hour. Shouldn’t we try to stop him soon?”

“And who do you suggest should stop him?”

“You, Head Chamberlain…”

“Do you see my face and still say that?”

The Head Chamberlain’s face was covered in bruises and scabs.

It was the result of being beaten when he tried to calm Igrid’s morning outburst.

He already ached all over; another beating might just kill him.

“If you’re so eager to stop him, you do it.”

The attendants decided to just look away.

They knew better than anyone that Igrid’s violent tendencies became extreme when he was angry.

Stepping in would only get them beaten like the Head Chamberlain, and it would be their own loss.

As the mood settled, the Head Chamberlain softened his tone.

“He’s with Lady Elaine. What could possibly go wrong? Don’t be so frightened.”

“I think that same Lady Elaine is making things worse…”

The attendant’s words were true.

Igrid had flown into a rage while talking with Elaine, who had visited early in the morning.

It was the same now.

He had been fine when he’d suddenly returned from the guild and locked himself in his bedroom.

But then Elaine had shown up unannounced, and he had been like this ever since.

So it was only natural that the attendants were wary of Elaine.

“Ahem! Is everyone idle? If you have nothing to do, go pull some weeds in the garden!”

At the Head Chamberlain’s stern command, the attendants scattered.

After sending them away, the Head Chamberlain sighed in front of the bedroom door.

“Huu…”

Beside him, the knights watched with pitying eyes.

* * *

Oblivious to what was happening outside, Igrid tore a picture frame from the wall and hurled it.

*THUD! CRUNCH!*

The large frame shattered instantly, sending glass flying everywhere.

“Hah… hah! Ugh!”

He then tried to lift the table next to him but paused. He wasn’t sure when it happened, but his fingernail was broken and slightly bleeding.

“Damn it! It hurts!”

Igrid was normally insensitive to the pain of others, but he was more sensitive than anyone to his own.

As he made a fuss as if his finger had been chopped off, Elaine gently took his hand.

“Your Highness, are you all right? It must hurt a lot.”

“Can’t you see? It hurts! It hurts so much I could die!”

“Oh, dear… I have a potion. I’ll make the pain go away.”

Elaine smiled gently and took out a low-grade potion from her storage.

Soon, Igrid’s wound vanished without a trace, a testament to how minor it had been.

Elaine blew gently on Igrid’s already healed finger.

“Your Highness, are you feeling a little better now?”

“Better? You see the state I’m in and you ask if I’m better?”

Igrid violently flung Elaine’s hand away.

“The bitch who screwed me over is probably laughing her head off watching my video right now. How could I possibly feel better!”

Elaine calmly sat on the only undamaged piece of furniture: the bed.

“You’re referring to Princess Astell, I presume.”

“Yes! It’s all because of that bitch!”

Igrid roared.

“To humiliate me like this… Does she think I’ll just stand by? I’ll never forgive her…”

Mumbling to himself like a madman, he swept his hair back.

He seemed to have calmed down slightly, but his soft, dark brown eyes still glinted with a strange light.

“Lady Elaine, tell me again. What kind of video did that bitch post?”

“As I said, the one from dawn contained content that could lead to misunderstandings about Your Highness’s preferences… and the one posted a little while ago showed you ordering a retreat.”

Staring into space, lost in his imagination, Igrid bit his nails.

“How did I look? Surely I didn’t look ugly, did I?”

“Well… it wasn’t your most flattering moment.”

“Damn it! Damn it! I’ll kill her!”

Only Constellations had the authority to post on the public forum.

However, Elaine had cleverly deceived Igrid into believing Astell had posted the video herself.

‘It was so satisfying when that bitch got slapped…’

It was such a shame it ended with just one slap.

Just then, the number of viewers increased from five to six. Then, the message she had been waiting for appeared in the chat window, which was filled with curses and lewd remarks.

— Anonymous Constellation: Posted the clip like you asked, lol

— Anonymous Constellation: Fucking hilarious roflmao

— Anonymous Constellation: Her face was so pathetic lmao. Makes me wanna puke.

— Anonymous Constellation: lol masterpiece amirite?

“…!”

She had asked the Constellations to post the clip of Astell being slapped on the public forum. It seemed they had finally done it.

This was possible because most of Elaine’s Constellations disliked Astell.

Elaine glanced at Igrid before accessing the public forum.

“…Pfft!”

She quickly covered her mouth.

The scene of that smug face getting hit played on a loop… it was so funny she could die.

“What are you doing now?”

She must have been too focused on the post. When she came to her senses, Igrid was glaring at her.

Elaine feigned sadness, her eyebrows drooping.

“I’m just upset. To think that the future emperor had to endure such a thing… my heart aches.”

“As expected, you’re the only one who thinks of me, my lady.”

“It’s only natural.”

Igrid sat next to Elaine and rested his head on her shoulder.

Elaine caressed his face.

“Your Highness, I know you’re upset, but shouldn’t you prepare? His Majesty will surely find out soon…”

“I can’t go out. How can I, with a video like that spreading around?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll figure something out with the guild members. Your Highness should just rest.”

“…You’ll do that?”

“I don’t know if the guild members will listen to me… but I’ll have to persuade them somehow.”

“If anyone gives you trouble, tell them this: you have my full authority.”

Elaine clasped her hands together, looking moved.

“Oh! May I really do that?”

“You’re trying so hard for me. It’s the least I can do.”

“Oh my, I’m grateful enough that you understand my feelings…”

“Elaine, just handle this one thing for me. If you do, the position of Crown Princess will be yours.”

“I’ll work really, really hard!”

With a greatly excited expression, Elaine left the bedroom.

In the ruined bedroom, Igrid let out a smirk.

“How foolish… For the daughter of a mere count’s family, she should know her place.”

It might be different if her Hunter rank was high, but Elaine was ranked outside the top 70.

And yet, she was so greedy that she fell head over heels for the mere mention of becoming Crown Princess…

“Then again, that’s probably why she’s happy with something as trivial as full authority over a failing guild.”

Bluebird was a lost cause.

The guild members were nobles who didn’t work and only schemed to take profits. There was no way the guild could function properly.

They were also the reason for the failed gate raid this time.

Not a single guild member participated actively in the raid.

After two members were devoured by the boss, things got even worse. It was obvious they were all desperate to escape.

If Igrid hadn’t ordered a retreat, they probably would have been wiped out.

Looking back, he was a hero who had saved the guild members.

“And she doesn’t even know that, making a fake video to humiliate me…”

The damage from the video she posted was immense.

He had become a pervert who liked dresses, an incompetent and ugly prince.

“Damn it! It’ll be a pain if Father finds out…”

No, it should be fine for now. Unless you’re a Hunter, it would take time to figure out the situation.

“I can handle it before then.”

He may have been losing some ground to Dante lately, but in the end, the throne would be his.

‘Because the moment that bastard inherits the throne, the empire will fall.’

The emperor, knowing this, had no choice but to pass the throne to him, no matter what it took.

So there was no reason to be impatient.

The problem would be solved if he found the traitor and pinned all the blame on him before the emperor heard about the video.

As for Astell, he would make her pay the price for tarnishing the dignity of the royal family by fabricating a video.

“How should I make her pay…”

Throwing her in prison was no fun. He didn’t need money, nor did he want a sincere apology.

Igrid licked his lips with his tongue.

The thought of Astell, who had openly said he wasn’t her type, made his mouth water.

“Kukuk, should I punish her with a marriage proposal?”

Come to think of it, Astell was a first-rate bride, even without considering the Ruthius family’s wealth.

Marrying her would give him the position of the number one ranked Hunter and the power of the Guardian.

“Yes, my marriage partner should be of that caliber. Her stiffness and strong will are flaws, but she can be tamed. Hmm, this could be fun.”

It was then.

*Crunch.*

The sound of shattering glass came from somewhere.

“Who’s there!”

Someone pushed aside the curtain that was half-covering the window and stepped out. Igrid’s eyes widened.

“D-Dante?”

Dante smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. It was a smile that sent a chill down his spine.

“Hello, brother.”