Church Year 791 27th day of fifth month in the hold Titan Empire, His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette suddenly felt the chill that hovered in midsummer. He knew that he had already changed from the young boss to the kid who knew nothing.
The Narcissus Knights surrounded the carriage of the Prince as the formed a densely packed formation. At the street of Dulin, no one would actually get into trouble with this troop. The people admire the Narcissus Knights, but their gaze upon them hinted a slight fear.
The armor of the Narcissus Knights reflected a brimming light that seemed just like fresh blood. The wide swords of the knights were hidden under their capes, but that long sword hilts were still exposed under the sunlight. The knights all held a spear in their hands. It was a spear made of pure silver with the inscription of the Beliefs of God of Light engraved on it. Some knights even carried heavy crossbows at their back. The heavy box of arrows were hung on the side of the saddle.
These knights did not take off the face shield on their helmet. Even though the regulation of the Narcissus Knights stated that they must remove their face shield when they carried out their duty, but they were strictly stopped by the Prince when they intended to do so. These guys already looked intimidating enough. If they remove their face shield, then they had not much difference with the death reapers who came from hell.
The knights were a little unsatisfied at this moment. That courageous and fierce General Abassia should not be the way he was just now! The achievement of General Abassia was nothing glorious. It can even be described as unfortunate. But he was the one who created the first classical example of winning against the advantageous knights with infantry in the military history of the Westland.
"Can you tell me? You know I am very lacking in the knowledge in this area. Like just now. My knights scared me. Until now, I had no idea who the heck this General Abassia is." The Prince sat in his carriage. His mind was in a state of confusion. He thought that the topic of that soldier would let him worry less.
Vick recalled on that event. As a soldier, he still had memory of that infamous Doncaster Defending War few years ago. Of course, these memories mostly came from the greatly provocative news that came continuously from the Army Division and the legend-like description of the event on newspaper.
"Hmm... How should I put it? I think the news from the Army Division and the newspaper were not that reliable. So you should check the official documentaries about this event in the Army Division Department of Military History."
Oscar massaged his temple. He felt drained. It was as if nothing would go his way.
"It’s fine. I just came from the Army Division. Tell me the result of that war. I see that that General seem rather dispirited."
Vick sighed. This was also the question he did not want to touch upon. "Your Highness, in fact what you saw is the result of the war. The joint sneak attack of the Faran Kingdom and the Riel Kingdom at the Don River and Caster Plain ended in failure. But the Empire treated this event as a usual confrontation at the border. Thus, to avoid the confronted side from feeling sensitive about this, the Empire retreated its army from the Caster Plain with only a small part of the army was left behind. And that General who had attained victory, General Abassia quitted the army due to his injury. No medal, no reward. Only a little compensation fee. All for the sake of others."
The young lad took his water bag. He needed those icy cold spring water to calm his nerves immediately. He was scared that he would do something overboard in the carriage. He knew that some serious problem had in fact happened in this Empire.
"Are you okay? Actually... actually what the Empire did..."
"Shut up!" Oscar rudely interrupted Colonel Vick who wanted to console him.
Vick closed his mouth tightly. He had known the emotions of the young lad, but this time he thought that he could understand. Even within the whole border of the Empire, not a single passionate youngster could accept this matter calmly.
"I am sorry, Vick." After a long while only the young lad said this.
"No, I can definitely understand how you feel. But you must know this. Even now we are unable to correct the narrow view of the people of status in the upper level of society."
"Let’s not talk about this anymore. Since I had already told you most of the matters in Dulin, then it’s fine for you to add one more thing to your duty. Do some research on this General Abassia. If he needs help, go to Baron Thomas Aulet to take some money under my name."
Colonel Vick was a little touched. As the confidential secretary who knew Brother Balance well, the action of this young lad at this moment could already be described as compassionate!
"Your Highness..."
"Enough. Stop looking at me like you’re some woman. As you said, this is all that we can do now." The Prince rolled his eyes at the Colonel.
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The Lair still had not resume to its previous state. Thinking about it, the Lair still remained dull and dark. Most of the habitants in this area had started to move around, but they carefully avoided those sensitive areas such as the Theatre Street.
Theatre Street seemed as if it had been visited by a bunch of robbers. Every single habitants shut their door tightly. There was not a single pedestrian. Even the rubbish by the roadside were not clean by anyone.
The Baron and his underling were cooling themselves at the wide walkway in the theatre. These underworld figures had removed their protective color during the hottest hours of a day. They were either sitting or lying on the cold floor that was made of marble. Some were playing cards, some were chatting. To make it simple, you would not find a criminal after walking into the theatre. The fighters seemed to have become some friendly guys from the village.
Baron Thomas Aulet was not a countryman. In contrary, the standard of living of the Baron was extremely high. During the hot summer, the Baron could utilized the unusual means to get his hands on Ollier Ice. These ice could only be enjoyed by the member of the royal family in Titan.
The Baron did not care if he was invading the right of the member of the royal family. If it was about his business, that seemed to be even more rude to the royal family. As a noble who love life and was full of imaginations about this world, the naturally formed ice at the north sea of Ollier was much better than the chunk of ice made in the dirty basement.
Thomas was extremely troubled by the matter entrusted to his by the Prince. After that meeting he began to draft the related renting.... Thomas shook his head. Let’s just call it renting at this moment! He had already drafted this notice to rent the place for some time now. But the effect was not ideal, especially the King of Sins always caused him endless trouble. The Baron suddenly came back to his senses. That King of Sins was out looking at scenery. Who knows what trouble he would bring back this time?
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"Woo...Woo...Woo!"
The sharp police siren resonated throughout the whole Sunset Boulevard. This business street that was famous in the whole Westland immediately went crazy. Numerous police with uniforms that were brown in color came gathered from all sorts of direction. The people who always visited this place were all people of high social status. The police force of the Ministry of Justice had always treated this place as a main security area.
"Corporal! What is this?" Sergeant Al Kairi held on to his old partner.
"Report! Robbery! Sir, there was a group of armed people robbed Canbergen Jewelry Store. Now they were all surrounded by our people."
Al Kairi appeared to shake for a moment on the horse. He had a headache. Robbing Canbergen Jewelry Store in the Sunset Boulevard that was full of police? Only the Thieves Union of the south and the Caravan of the north would do this sort of thing. But he did not hear of any news that these two forces had enter Dulin.
"Hey, little guy! You said it was a group of armed people. So how many are they?"
"Two! Sergeant!"
Al Kairi almost fell from the horse. "Kid, since this place had already been under the control of the Criminal Investigation Team, do you mind going to the Dulin Hospital of Aimin? Check that if there are two crazy people missing there." Upon finishing his sentence, Al Kairi slapped his horse and ran off, leaving the dumbfounded little police by the roadside.
The Criminal Investigation Team of the Ministry of Justice eventually gathered at the place. Their responsibility was still clear. A part of the team would stay on guard at the two ends of the Sunset Boulevard. A part of the team would evacuate the nobles and others who were enjoying the commotion. Another part of the team then used a wooden fence was engraved with steel hooks and blocked the main door of the site.
"Hey! Follow up! Could it be that you fellow love the sewer a lot?" The King of Sins, Doramy Basinger kept pressing his companion who was behind him.
"I know, damn it!" Even though he said yes, Godot had already cursed Doramy countless times in his heart. He did not think that the infamous King of Sins would jump into the sewer under the Jewelry Store after they noticed the police of the Ministry of Justice. He thought that he could do something great with his senior.
"Hehe! We are almost there. Be patient!" Doramy gave some words of encouragement to Godot.
"You have said this for so many times. I do not understand why we can’t just barge outside and snatch a few horses then run away. Those aplasia kids in the Ministry of Justice could not even be my opponent."
"Stupid kid. Look at what that is in your pocket. That is called jewelry. It was something that would let Nuna treat you like the God of Light. But all of these can only be realized we still live after this. You dumb kid."
"Enough! It couldn’t be that your reputation comes from climbing in the sewer. I don’t believe that you have not do it the hard way with those police before."
The King of Sins stopped his footsteps. He thought he should clarify this proble with Godot.
"Little guy, there is in fact some other guys who are superior to me. But when those guys are begging for food as they lost their limbs or legs, I will still be out and about, free. Now, do you understand why I am famous?"
Godot naturally understood this. Everyone who came out of Damorga understood this simple logic.
"Let’s change a topic, alright? You are always saying almost there, almost there! But you haven’t tell me where we are heading towards now."
"Hehe! I thought you are only interested in Nuna."
"It is Nuna who has wonderful ring muscles." Godot accurately corrected Doramy.
"Fine! Godot with a wonderful figure, let’s turn right at the next intersection. Continue to walk for ten few meters then we will be out in the back garden of House 31 Penelope Road!"
"We are crawling, not walking; the one in front is not called intersection as well. We are in the sewer right now." Godot hopelessly corrected the King of Sins once again.
There was sounds of flowing water in the sewer. Godot felt like there were something strange. He did his all to move his body, but it was difficult enough to fit into this old pipe, not to mention to turn his body inside.
Some unknown family had flushed fresh feces water down. Godot covered his head in despair.
"Dear Godot, you are so right. We are in the sewer right now!" The wild laughter of the King of Sins echoed in the sewer. The old man had never been so happy in a long while.
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"Ah... Ah..." At the backyard of House 31, Penelope Road, everything seemed so perfect. But a sudden piercing shriek that came from the flower bed surprised every single person in the mansion.
Ferry with large build and Colonel Kamille Rayen rushed to the scene immediately. The site was in chaos! The wide parasols fell to the ground. The small table and all sorts of cutlery for camping purposes were scattered on the grass. Madame and the misses hid behind the chairs. Two unfortunate guys with their whole bodies full of dirt and emitting a bad smell stared at the scene before them in fear.
"Where is my knife?" Oscar was running crazily in the mansion like a lion.
"Annie! Damn it! Where did you keep my machete?"
A whole bunch of Narcissus Knights followed the Prince. They did not plan to follow the young Master to slash people. But Duchess Andrew had instructed them to keep her young son from doing stupid things.
The Knights were able to sympathize with the feelings of the Prince now. 27th day of the fifth month was bad enough! But if you saw two shit balls and a bunch of scared women in your own home, you would not think there was anything that was worse than this.
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The Prince finally sat down calmly, but his anger had not quench. The burst of emotions just now made the little fatty sweat. Annie was gently wiping the sweat off him, but the Duchess realized that this was no longer effective anymore. She sighed and lightly retreated to one side.
Two unfortunate guys were led into the Prince’s room. Godot washed himself for half a day, yet there was still a slight hint of smell on his body. Doramy stayed far away from him.
"What is this?" Oscar tightened his fists. He wanted to smash everything in the house to smithereens, but in order for him to not look the same as these two lunatics, he thought he had the need to know what exactly happened first.
"We robbed a jewelry store and came back to the mansion through the sewer." Doramy Basinger did not lie. What he said was completely the truth.
The people in the house shook their heads. These people included the Poison Doctor Percy, Ricky the Liar, Hedgehog Sarlat. Overall the people from Damorga showed their resentment towards the doings of the King of Sins, but they could not help but feel that this was extremely normal after some thought. Since Doramy was the King of Sins, he was naturally not to be expected to do good things.
"Alright." Only Oscar nodded.
"Fine! Doramy, you are my man! Tell me. How do you plan to clean up this mess? I can deal with my mother and sister, but there is a Princess of the Empire in the garden then. How do you want me to explain to her?"
"You can say that we are fixing the pipe..."
"Ola!" The Prince jumped from the Polar Bear Sofa. The people made a false impression at that moment. It was as if the tamed polar bear suddenly did an angry stand.
"You are the workers fixing the pipe, then what am I? The person-in-charge of the Sewage System in Dulin? What is my house then? The gathering place of those dirty things?"
Doramy stopped his talk. He only had himself to blame for this unfortunate event. Who would knew that the corner that no one would usually look at would become the camping site that the Duchess used to tend to Her Highness the Princess.
"Alright! Disappear from me before I change my mind! Go back to the lair. Don’t come back for me before you are tired of the life of stealthily robbing others."
Colonel Kamille Rayen who was by the door opened the door for the King of Sins. Doramy went out in embarrassment. Before he left, he noticed that the Hedgehog made a nasty expression at him. He was so angry at his old friend to the extent he almost fainted.
"Godot! What do you want to do?" Oscar turned to the sturdy person who was as calm as a rabbit.
"I accept your punishment." Godot realized that accepting the suggestion of the old bastard was itself a big mistake.
"Alright. If that is the case, then turn yourself in! Then send my regards to your brother for me. Just tell him that I don’t have the ability to take care of his younger brother."
Godot was depressed. This could be seen from just his expression. If his Brother Domingo saw him again in Damorga, he believed that his brother would beat him up very badly. But Brother Balance had already stated his order, so Godot wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible. Or else he was afraid that he would cry.
"Come back! Oh god!" Oscar was driven nuts. He did not think that Godot would think he was serious in what he said. He finally understood that Godot was a complete unicellular organism.
"Alright! Let me try to simplify this matter." The Prince had no energy to deal with these problematic ‘child’ amongst his subordinates any longer.
"Have you realized that you are fooled by that old bastard?" Oscar tried to guide Godot.
"Oh god! How did you know what I am thinking?"
"Alright. I will stop speaking of this matter. In the future, I mean in the future. Will you still commit such things with that old bastard or the people of his likes?"
"No, I swear. Once was enough to make me learn my lesson in this whole life!"
Godot’s answer was satisfactory to the Prince. He finally had some matter worthy of celebrating today!
"Then this is all!" The Prince spread his arms. He did not want to waste more time on this. Who knew in what state the shocked Princess was in now? He could still remember what the Princess was capable of when she was in shock when she was young.
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Pinewood Lounge was the place where the soldiers of the fourteenth division of Criminal Investigation Team of the Ministry of Justice spent their free time. But now it had been completely taken over by these old soldiers.
Al Kairi had quickly dealt with the matter on the street. He gathered all the soldiers he had under his command to this dark little place. Different than usual, he rudely drove away the civilians in the shop. Even the boss was driven out.
The boss of the Lounge had witnessed this sort of thing before. He knew unfortunate thing would befall another honest man in Dulin City again. The bad guys in the house must be discussing plans to threaten and blackmail others. These old soldiers with all these bad intentions were not much different than those nasty gangster.
"Hey, boss! Trade! I guess it! Hehe! Is it a big trade?"
"Yeah! Boss! It’s been some time since I last had meat! How is it? What do you have there?"
"Boss, you smell kind of bad? What is this?"
"Boss, is it the robbery just now? You are a senior investigator. You must have notice something, right?"
Having said this, these guys became even more excited. The jewelry robbed from the Canbergen Jewelry Store worth a few ten thousand Golden Ti. That was not some small amount. Moreover, this case happened in the settlement of the nobles. If they could solve this case, not just a promotion, it was a must that they would get rich. The highest officer among the soldiers, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice had just announced the bounty for the capture of the criminal.
"Look at this!" The Sergeant interrupted the excited soldiers. He took a diamond ring that had gold incorporated on it from his pocket. As the diamond ring fell on the table came a tinkling sound.
The soldiers stopped their murmuring immediately. Their eyes followed the jumping object on the table tightly.
"I found this in a sewer pipe." Al Kairi said this calmly.
"Is this one of the items robbed from Canbergen Jewelry Store?" Finally some reacted to this. They knew that the robber ran away in the sewer.
"That’s right!" AL Kairi took the beer glass that was given to him by a guy with tame look. "But, my soldiers. That sewer only has one exit. I have already confirmed this. House 31, Penelope Road. It is the mansion of the Prince."
"Oh my! The Prince! It’s impossible right?"
"How is this impossible? I can almost confirm that this little guy knew these two criminals. Don’t forget. He is the kid who is released from Damorga. He must know many of these lowlifes!" Al Kairi paused for a moment. He took note of the expression of the soldiers. It was as if these guys were all extremely eager to try.
"How is it? Are we doing this or not? Don’t be intimidated by the fact that he is a Prince. His father sure is a powerful man in the east of the Empire. But this is Dulin. Don’t forget this. What we work on before this are all related to him. Don’t our higher-ups want him dead?"
"But... Just by the few of us? He is protected by so many Narcissus Knights."
"Idiot! Who told you that we are taking his life? Those Narcissus Knights are not fake knights. What I am saying is to do it the way we usually do it. Blackmail him for a large amount of money!"
"Can... Can this work?"
Al Kairi kicked the guy who asked this question. "If you don’t want to do this, then get out. Don’t hinder everyone from getting their money. We first blackmail the country kid for a huge amount then ask him for the criminal. Hehe. The status and the money; aren’t these all ours?"
"But that country kid is the Prince. Will he agree to this?"
Al Kairi held the beer bottle up high. The soldier who spoke went under the table in fear.
"He would not disagree to this. For the name of the Prince, he must be cooperative. How is it? Shall we do it or not?" Al Kairi stared at these bunch of hungry ghosts.
"Of course! Why not? We won’t lose anything even if we did it. That kid is not clean anyway. What can he do to us, the investigator of the Ministry of Justice?"
"Yeah! We’ll listen to you, boss! Do it!"
"Do it!"
The atmosphere in the Lounge became lively once again. Everybody seemed to be imagining the Prince as a white lamb that had been washed clean and tidy!
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House 31 Penelope Road, the mansion of Duke Andrew had finally regained its calmness. A few servants walked among the corridors. They held all sorts of exquisite silver plates on their hands: they were tools to put fruits and desserts.
The task to pack the luggage for the Duchess and the misses was basically completed. In the afternoon, six large car pulled these luggage to the posthouse outside the city. There was a middle-sized army of Narcissus Knights looking after them.
The servants suddenly became free. Only the chefs who were making all sorts of desserts in the kitchen were still busy.
To completely tidy up the garden would take a considerable amount of time. Two uninvited guests had completely made a mess out of that place. Even though other places in the garden still had its beautiful and neat scenes, but the Horticulturist and gardener had harbored a deep hatred towards these two guys. They hoped that their Master would strictly punish these evil people who destroyed all of their hard work.
The Prince and the Princess had a date at the other side of the garden. That place was close to the small mansion of the Prince.
Her Royal Highness Princess Alanis seemed to not be overly shocked by this event. When she rose from her chair to welcome the Prince, she still had a beautiful smile on her face as always.
Oscar did not notice about this. He felt terrible today. Indeed, he thought that he would soon possess the whole world yesterday. But today, he knew that the World War would soon begin and this made him feel depressed.
"Dear Alanis, do you think I look like a fool?"
The Princess shook her head. She said to the Prince in a determined tone. "Of course you don’t! Your wisdom is acknowledged by many people."
"But why would there be two idiots who barged in my garden and frightened my mother, sister and my guest? After that, they even want me to lie for them. I feel I am not far from being an idiot."
"Hehe. Oscar, you are thinking too much! They are the clowns that you hired to perform for me. Isn’t that so?"
Oscar looked at the Princess without much change of facial expression. "Thank you!"
"You are welcome."
The young lad and lady stopped speaking. They passed through the short flower bed and walked past the cool oak forests. At last, they paused beside a bed of flowers. Oscar plucked a pure white narcissus. The narcissus was delicate and beautiful. A drop of fragrant floral dew was falling slowly off the curve of the corolla.
The Princess stared at the fresh flower in the hands of the Prince. If Oscar gave this to her, today’s visit would be a nice memory for her without a doubt.
"Why are you going to Andrew?" Oscar did not give this narcissus to the Princess. He asked this question directly because he could not find a way to ask otherwise.
The Princess was not disappointed, but her gaze still was not pulled away from the narcissus. "I want to travel around and have a look at it. This adds a meaningful touch to my adult ceremony."
"Alanis, you know this is not the answer that I want." The young lad still stuck to his question.
"It was only a visit. An unofficial one on top of that." The Princess blinked her large eyes towards the Prince.
Without surprise, the Prince began to feel dizzy. Every time the young lad looked into those innocent blue eyes, he would sunk into confusion.
"Alright. If you say so."
"Could it be that you don’t want me to go with you?" The gaze of the Princess became full of resentment again.
Oscar was truly innocent, but he was troubled indeed. He knew this Princess who was just like a naughty fairy was probably just teasing him.
"No, of course not. Why would I think that?" To let the Princess believe in him, he handed the blooming narcissus in his hand to her. "The family symbol is right in front of your eyes. In the name of honor, O’Neil Andrew Morisette feels fortunate from the bottom of his heart. That he is able to protect Her Royal Highness Princess Alanis in every moment in their future journey."
Alanis cheerfully received the narcissus. Her aim had been accomplished. It was as if there was still nothing in this world that could go out of her control.
The words of the young lad had truly touched the young lady. Even though this unique young lady had heard numerous oaths that were far more touching than this, but the young lady knew that the words of this young lad were the most powerful ones in this world. If it were to say that the young lady was in love with this young lad, then we could describe this love as adoration more accurately. It was the crazy and cruel power of the Prince O’Neil that made the young lady adore him without able to hold back.
A sudden kiss allowed Oscar to have some of their confidence back. He supported his face that the sweet taste of the young lady’s lip still lingered on and smiled sheepishly. Alanis only remembered that she should be embarrassed. She did not understand how daring she could be when she was with this little fatty.
Oscar held the Princess’s hands. He delicately kissed these beautiful palms. The Princess felt the chill under her skins. Her legs seemed to tremble slightly under the skirt.
"Oh... I... I should go back."
Oscar knew the Princess was planning to run away. He looked at the young lady with a face as red as fire. It looked funny to him, but he still let the Princess go.
Oscar’s teasing look did not escape the sight of the Princess. But Alanis believed that she would have the chance to take revenge on this embarrassing matter.
The Princess had entered the carriage specially prepared for the royal family. Oscar closed the door for her while Celia stood far away at the side. She had already bidden farewell to the Princess. She knew that the time belonged to the youngsters now.
"Thank you for your narcissus." When the carriage began to move, the Princess had a look at the young lad who seemed to be reluctant to let her go.
"Oscar! Little Oscar!"
"Mam! Say it! I am listening to you!"
"Are you truly listening to me?" Celia walked to the side of her son. She was still waving her hands at the carriage of the Princess.
"Yes, what do you want to say?"
"She is truly not a bad choice!" Celia put her hands over her son’s shoulder.
"I know. But it is best to talk about this matter when we get home. You know, it is hard to guess how father would think of this matter."
"Could it be that you aren’t in love with her?" Celia looked at her son in shock.
"I have no time for romantic relationship. Moreover, there are a lot of servants in the Palace that walk about in front of us when I am with her. We don’t even have the time to be alone."
"Hehe. Isn’t this your own fault? Have you forgotten what the Princess and you did at the Sabac Manor? The way His Majesty is guarded against you is just the way he guards against thief."
"Mam, that was an accident. It can’t be that you actually believed the rumor out there?"
"Of course not. But don’t ever did something overboard again. That will be very troublesome. Even the family will lose their dignity."
"I know." Oscar mumbled. He was also complaining.
"Little guy, rest well for these two days. It is estimated that we will move out the day after tomorrow!"
Oscar was too lazy to care about these matters. If it wasn’t for the women who needed to crazily pack their things, he had already left Dulin by then.
The terrible finally seemed to end. Oscar called upon his maids to begin packing his things. He realized that Annie was not one of them. He knew that when he was released from Damorga Prison, Annie’s mission had already ended.
The little Prince tidied up his study room. He also locked his memoirs and some important documents into the secret locker. During this time, he called his own secretary and explained to him about the meeting with the Pope His Grand Eminence tomorrow.
When the mansion was lit, the Prince stared blankly into space as he sat at the empty living room. No one knew what he was thinking about.
Church Year 791 27th day of fifth month in the hold Titan Empire, His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette suddenly felt the chill that hovered in midsummer. He knew that he had already changed from the young boss to the kid who knew nothing.
The Narcissus Knights surrounded the carriage of the Prince as the formed a densely packed formation. At the street of Dulin, no one would actually get into trouble with this troop. The people admire the Narcissus Knights, but their gaze upon them hinted a slight fear.
The armor of the Narcissus Knights reflected a brimming light that seemed just like fresh blood. The wide swords of the knights were hidden under their capes, but that long sword hilts were still exposed under the sunlight. The knights all held a spear in their hands. It was a spear made of pure silver with the inscription of the Beliefs of God of Light engraved on it. Some knights even carried heavy crossbows at their back. The heavy box of arrows were hung on the side of the saddle.
These knights did not take off the face shield on their helmet. Even though the regulation of the Narcissus Knights stated that they must remove their face shield when they carried out their duty, but they were strictly stopped by the Prince when they intended to do so. These guys already looked intimidating enough. If they remove their face shield, then they had not much difference with the death reapers who came from hell.
The knights were a little unsatisfied at this moment. That courageous and fierce General Abassia should not be the way he was just now! The achievement of General Abassia was nothing glorious. It can even be described as unfortunate. But he was the one who created the first classical example of winning against the advantageous knights with infantry in the military history of the Westland.
"Can you tell me? You know I am very lacking in the knowledge in this area. Like just now. My knights scared me. Until now, I had no idea who the heck this General Abassia is." The Prince sat in his carriage. His mind was in a state of confusion. He thought that the topic of that soldier would let him worry less.
Vick recalled on that event. As a soldier, he still had memory of that infamous Doncaster Defending War few years ago. Of course, these memories mostly came from the greatly provocative news that came continuously from the Army Division and the legend-like description of the event on newspaper.
"Hmm... How should I put it? I think the news from the Army Division and the newspaper were not that reliable. So you should check the official documentaries about this event in the Army Division Department of Military History."
Oscar massaged his temple. He felt drained. It was as if nothing would go his way.
"It’s fine. I just came from the Army Division. Tell me the result of that war. I see that that General seem rather dispirited."
Vick sighed. This was also the question he did not want to touch upon. "Your Highness, in fact what you saw is the result of the war. The joint sneak attack of the Faran Kingdom and the Riel Kingdom at the Don River and Caster Plain ended in failure. But the Empire treated this event as a usual confrontation at the border. Thus, to avoid the confronted side from feeling sensitive about this, the Empire retreated its army from the Caster Plain with only a small part of the army was left behind. And that General who had attained victory, General Abassia quitted the army due to his injury. No medal, no reward. Only a little compensation fee. All for the sake of others."
The young lad took his water bag. He needed those icy cold spring water to calm his nerves immediately. He was scared that he would do something overboard in the carriage. He knew that some serious problem had in fact happened in this Empire.
"Are you okay? Actually... actually what the Empire did..."
"Shut up!" Oscar rudely interrupted Colonel Vick who wanted to console him.
Vick closed his mouth tightly. He had known the emotions of the young lad, but this time he thought that he could understand. Even within the whole border of the Empire, not a single passionate youngster could accept this matter calmly.
"I am sorry, Vick." After a long while only the young lad said this.
"No, I can definitely understand how you feel. But you must know this. Even now we are unable to correct the narrow view of the people of status in the upper level of society."
"Let’s not talk about this anymore. Since I had already told you most of the matters in Dulin, then it’s fine for you to add one more thing to your duty. Do some research on this General Abassia. If he needs help, go to Baron Thomas Aulet to take some money under my name."
Colonel Vick was a little touched. As the confidential secretary who knew Brother Balance well, the action of this young lad at this moment could already be described as compassionate!
"Your Highness..."
"Enough. Stop looking at me like you’re some woman. As you said, this is all that we can do now." The Prince rolled his eyes at the Colonel.
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The Lair still had not resume to its previous state. Thinking about it, the Lair still remained dull and dark. Most of the habitants in this area had started to move around, but they carefully avoided those sensitive areas such as the Theatre Street.
Theatre Street seemed as if it had been visited by a bunch of robbers. Every single habitants shut their door tightly. There was not a single pedestrian. Even the rubbish by the roadside were not clean by anyone.
The Baron and his underling were cooling themselves at the wide walkway in the theatre. These underworld figures had removed their protective color during the hottest hours of a day. They were either sitting or lying on the cold floor that was made of marble. Some were playing cards, some were chatting. To make it simple, you would not find a criminal after walking into the theatre. The fighters seemed to have become some friendly guys from the village.
Baron Thomas Aulet was not a countryman. In contrary, the standard of living of the Baron was extremely high. During the hot summer, the Baron could utilized the unusual means to get his hands on Ollier Ice. These ice could only be enjoyed by the member of the royal family in Titan.
The Baron did not care if he was invading the right of the member of the royal family. If it was about his business, that seemed to be even more rude to the royal family. As a noble who love life and was full of imaginations about this world, the naturally formed ice at the north sea of Ollier was much better than the chunk of ice made in the dirty basement.
Thomas was extremely troubled by the matter entrusted to his by the Prince. After that meeting he began to draft the related renting.... Thomas shook his head. Let’s just call it renting at this moment! He had already drafted this notice to rent the place for some time now. But the effect was not ideal, especially the King of Sins always caused him endless trouble. The Baron suddenly came back to his senses. That King of Sins was out looking at scenery. Who knows what trouble he would bring back this time?
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"Woo...Woo...Woo!"
The sharp police siren resonated throughout the whole Sunset Boulevard. This business street that was famous in the whole Westland immediately went crazy. Numerous police with uniforms that were brown in color came gathered from all sorts of direction. The people who always visited this place were all people of high social status. The police force of the Ministry of Justice had always treated this place as a main security area.
"Corporal! What is this?" Sergeant Al Kairi held on to his old partner.
"Report! Robbery! Sir, there was a group of armed people robbed Canbergen Jewelry Store. Now they were all surrounded by our people."
Al Kairi appeared to shake for a moment on the horse. He had a headache. Robbing Canbergen Jewelry Store in the Sunset Boulevard that was full of police? Only the Thieves Union of the south and the Caravan of the north would do this sort of thing. But he did not hear of any news that these two forces had enter Dulin.
"Hey, little guy! You said it was a group of armed people. So how many are they?"
"Two! Sergeant!"
Al Kairi almost fell from the horse. "Kid, since this place had already been under the control of the Criminal Investigation Team, do you mind going to the Dulin Hospital of Aimin? Check that if there are two crazy people missing there." Upon finishing his sentence, Al Kairi slapped his horse and ran off, leaving the dumbfounded little police by the roadside.
The Criminal Investigation Team of the Ministry of Justice eventually gathered at the place. Their responsibility was still clear. A part of the team would stay on guard at the two ends of the Sunset Boulevard. A part of the team would evacuate the nobles and others who were enjoying the commotion. Another part of the team then used a wooden fence was engraved with steel hooks and blocked the main door of the site.
"Hey! Follow up! Could it be that you fellow love the sewer a lot?" The King of Sins, Doramy Basinger kept pressing his companion who was behind him.
"I know, damn it!" Even though he said yes, Godot had already cursed Doramy countless times in his heart. He did not think that the infamous King of Sins would jump into the sewer under the Jewelry Store after they noticed the police of the Ministry of Justice. He thought that he could do something great with his senior.
"Hehe! We are almost there. Be patient!" Doramy gave some words of encouragement to Godot.
"You have said this for so many times. I do not understand why we can’t just barge outside and snatch a few horses then run away. Those aplasia kids in the Ministry of Justice could not even be my opponent."
"Stupid kid. Look at what that is in your pocket. That is called jewelry. It was something that would let Nuna treat you like the God of Light. But all of these can only be realized we still live after this. You dumb kid."
"Enough! It couldn’t be that your reputation comes from climbing in the sewer. I don’t believe that you have not do it the hard way with those police before."
The King of Sins stopped his footsteps. He thought he should clarify this proble with Godot.
"Little guy, there is in fact some other guys who are superior to me. But when those guys are begging for food as they lost their limbs or legs, I will still be out and about, free. Now, do you understand why I am famous?"
Godot naturally understood this. Everyone who came out of Damorga understood this simple logic.
"Let’s change a topic, alright? You are always saying almost there, almost there! But you haven’t tell me where we are heading towards now."
"Hehe! I thought you are only interested in Nuna."
"It is Nuna who has wonderful ring muscles." Godot accurately corrected Doramy.
"Fine! Godot with a wonderful figure, let’s turn right at the next intersection. Continue to walk for ten few meters then we will be out in the back garden of House 31 Penelope Road!"
"We are crawling, not walking; the one in front is not called intersection as well. We are in the sewer right now." Godot hopelessly corrected the King of Sins once again.
There was sounds of flowing water in the sewer. Godot felt like there were something strange. He did his all to move his body, but it was difficult enough to fit into this old pipe, not to mention to turn his body inside.
Some unknown family had flushed fresh feces water down. Godot covered his head in despair.
"Dear Godot, you are so right. We are in the sewer right now!" The wild laughter of the King of Sins echoed in the sewer. The old man had never been so happy in a long while.
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"Ah... Ah..." At the backyard of House 31, Penelope Road, everything seemed so perfect. But a sudden piercing shriek that came from the flower bed surprised every single person in the mansion.
Ferry with large build and Colonel Kamille Rayen rushed to the scene immediately. The site was in chaos! The wide parasols fell to the ground. The small table and all sorts of cutlery for camping purposes were scattered on the grass. Madame and the misses hid behind the chairs. Two unfortunate guys with their whole bodies full of dirt and emitting a bad smell stared at the scene before them in fear.
"Where is my knife?" Oscar was running crazily in the mansion like a lion.
"Annie! Damn it! Where did you keep my machete?"
A whole bunch of Narcissus Knights followed the Prince. They did not plan to follow the young Master to slash people. But Duchess Andrew had instructed them to keep her young son from doing stupid things.
The Knights were able to sympathize with the feelings of the Prince now. 27th day of the fifth month was bad enough! But if you saw two shit balls and a bunch of scared women in your own home, you would not think there was anything that was worse than this.
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The Prince finally sat down calmly, but his anger had not quench. The burst of emotions just now made the little fatty sweat. Annie was gently wiping the sweat off him, but the Duchess realized that this was no longer effective anymore. She sighed and lightly retreated to one side.
Two unfortunate guys were led into the Prince’s room. Godot washed himself for half a day, yet there was still a slight hint of smell on his body. Doramy stayed far away from him.
"What is this?" Oscar tightened his fists. He wanted to smash everything in the house to smithereens, but in order for him to not look the same as these two lunatics, he thought he had the need to know what exactly happened first.
"We robbed a jewelry store and came back to the mansion through the sewer." Doramy Basinger did not lie. What he said was completely the truth.
The people in the house shook their heads. These people included the Poison Doctor Percy, Ricky the Liar, Hedgehog Sarlat. Overall the people from Damorga showed their resentment towards the doings of the King of Sins, but they could not help but feel that this was extremely normal after some thought. Since Doramy was the King of Sins, he was naturally not to be expected to do good things.
"Alright." Only Oscar nodded.
"Fine! Doramy, you are my man! Tell me. How do you plan to clean up this mess? I can deal with my mother and sister, but there is a Princess of the Empire in the garden then. How do you want me to explain to her?"
"You can say that we are fixing the pipe..."
"Ola!" The Prince jumped from the Polar Bear Sofa. The people made a false impression at that moment. It was as if the tamed polar bear suddenly did an angry stand.
"You are the workers fixing the pipe, then what am I? The person-in-charge of the Sewage System in Dulin? What is my house then? The gathering place of those dirty things?"
Doramy stopped his talk. He only had himself to blame for this unfortunate event. Who would knew that the corner that no one would usually look at would become the camping site that the Duchess used to tend to Her Highness the Princess.
"Alright! Disappear from me before I change my mind! Go back to the lair. Don’t come back for me before you are tired of the life of stealthily robbing others."
Colonel Kamille Rayen who was by the door opened the door for the King of Sins. Doramy went out in embarrassment. Before he left, he noticed that the Hedgehog made a nasty expression at him. He was so angry at his old friend to the extent he almost fainted.
"Godot! What do you want to do?" Oscar turned to the sturdy person who was as calm as a rabbit.
"I accept your punishment." Godot realized that accepting the suggestion of the old bastard was itself a big mistake.
"Alright. If that is the case, then turn yourself in! Then send my regards to your brother for me. Just tell him that I don’t have the ability to take care of his younger brother."
Godot was depressed. This could be seen from just his expression. If his Brother Domingo saw him again in Damorga, he believed that his brother would beat him up very badly. But Brother Balance had already stated his order, so Godot wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible. Or else he was afraid that he would cry.
"Come back! Oh god!" Oscar was driven nuts. He did not think that Godot would think he was serious in what he said. He finally understood that Godot was a complete unicellular organism.
"Alright! Let me try to simplify this matter." The Prince had no energy to deal with these problematic ‘child’ amongst his subordinates any longer.
"Have you realized that you are fooled by that old bastard?" Oscar tried to guide Godot.
"Oh god! How did you know what I am thinking?"
"Alright. I will stop speaking of this matter. In the future, I mean in the future. Will you still commit such things with that old bastard or the people of his likes?"
"No, I swear. Once was enough to make me learn my lesson in this whole life!"
Godot’s answer was satisfactory to the Prince. He finally had some matter worthy of celebrating today!
"Then this is all!" The Prince spread his arms. He did not want to waste more time on this. Who knew in what state the shocked Princess was in now? He could still remember what the Princess was capable of when she was in shock when she was young.
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Pinewood Lounge was the place where the soldiers of the fourteenth division of Criminal Investigation Team of the Ministry of Justice spent their free time. But now it had been completely taken over by these old soldiers.
Al Kairi had quickly dealt with the matter on the street. He gathered all the soldiers he had under his command to this dark little place. Different than usual, he rudely drove away the civilians in the shop. Even the boss was driven out.
The boss of the Lounge had witnessed this sort of thing before. He knew unfortunate thing would befall another honest man in Dulin City again. The bad guys in the house must be discussing plans to threaten and blackmail others. These old soldiers with all these bad intentions were not much different than those nasty gangster.
"Hey, boss! Trade! I guess it! Hehe! Is it a big trade?"
"Yeah! Boss! It’s been some time since I last had meat! How is it? What do you have there?"
"Boss, you smell kind of bad? What is this?"
"Boss, is it the robbery just now? You are a senior investigator. You must have notice something, right?"
Having said this, these guys became even more excited. The jewelry robbed from the Canbergen Jewelry Store worth a few ten thousand Golden Ti. That was not some small amount. Moreover, this case happened in the settlement of the nobles. If they could solve this case, not just a promotion, it was a must that they would get rich. The highest officer among the soldiers, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice had just announced the bounty for the capture of the criminal.
"Look at this!" The Sergeant interrupted the excited soldiers. He took a diamond ring that had gold incorporated on it from his pocket. As the diamond ring fell on the table came a tinkling sound.
The soldiers stopped their murmuring immediately. Their eyes followed the jumping object on the table tightly.
"I found this in a sewer pipe." Al Kairi said this calmly.
"Is this one of the items robbed from Canbergen Jewelry Store?" Finally some reacted to this. They knew that the robber ran away in the sewer.
"That’s right!" AL Kairi took the beer glass that was given to him by a guy with tame look. "But, my soldiers. That sewer only has one exit. I have already confirmed this. House 31, Penelope Road. It is the mansion of the Prince."
"Oh my! The Prince! It’s impossible right?"
"How is this impossible? I can almost confirm that this little guy knew these two criminals. Don’t forget. He is the kid who is released from Damorga. He must know many of these lowlifes!" Al Kairi paused for a moment. He took note of the expression of the soldiers. It was as if these guys were all extremely eager to try.
"How is it? Are we doing this or not? Don’t be intimidated by the fact that he is a Prince. His father sure is a powerful man in the east of the Empire. But this is Dulin. Don’t forget this. What we work on before this are all related to him. Don’t our higher-ups want him dead?"
"But... Just by the few of us? He is protected by so many Narcissus Knights."
"Idiot! Who told you that we are taking his life? Those Narcissus Knights are not fake knights. What I am saying is to do it the way we usually do it. Blackmail him for a large amount of money!"
"Can... Can this work?"
Al Kairi kicked the guy who asked this question. "If you don’t want to do this, then get out. Don’t hinder everyone from getting their money. We first blackmail the country kid for a huge amount then ask him for the criminal. Hehe. The status and the money; aren’t these all ours?"
"But that country kid is the Prince. Will he agree to this?"
Al Kairi held the beer bottle up high. The soldier who spoke went under the table in fear.
"He would not disagree to this. For the name of the Prince, he must be cooperative. How is it? Shall we do it or not?" Al Kairi stared at these bunch of hungry ghosts.
"Of course! Why not? We won’t lose anything even if we did it. That kid is not clean anyway. What can he do to us, the investigator of the Ministry of Justice?"
"Yeah! We’ll listen to you, boss! Do it!"
"Do it!"
The atmosphere in the Lounge became lively once again. Everybody seemed to be imagining the Prince as a white lamb that had been washed clean and tidy!
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House 31 Penelope Road, the mansion of Duke Andrew had finally regained its calmness. A few servants walked among the corridors. They held all sorts of exquisite silver plates on their hands: they were tools to put fruits and desserts.
The task to pack the luggage for the Duchess and the misses was basically completed. In the afternoon, six large car pulled these luggage to the posthouse outside the city. There was a middle-sized army of Narcissus Knights looking after them.
The servants suddenly became free. Only the chefs who were making all sorts of desserts in the kitchen were still busy.
To completely tidy up the garden would take a considerable amount of time. Two uninvited guests had completely made a mess out of that place. Even though other places in the garden still had its beautiful and neat scenes, but the Horticulturist and gardener had harbored a deep hatred towards these two guys. They hoped that their Master would strictly punish these evil people who destroyed all of their hard work.
The Prince and the Princess had a date at the other side of the garden. That place was close to the small mansion of the Prince.
Her Royal Highness Princess Alanis seemed to not be overly shocked by this event. When she rose from her chair to welcome the Prince, she still had a beautiful smile on her face as always.
Oscar did not notice about this. He felt terrible today. Indeed, he thought that he would soon possess the whole world yesterday. But today, he knew that the World War would soon begin and this made him feel depressed.
"Dear Alanis, do you think I look like a fool?"
The Princess shook her head. She said to the Prince in a determined tone. "Of course you don’t! Your wisdom is acknowledged by many people."
"But why would there be two idiots who barged in my garden and frightened my mother, sister and my guest? After that, they even want me to lie for them. I feel I am not far from being an idiot."
"Hehe. Oscar, you are thinking too much! They are the clowns that you hired to perform for me. Isn’t that so?"
Oscar looked at the Princess without much change of facial expression. "Thank you!"
"You are welcome."
The young lad and lady stopped speaking. They passed through the short flower bed and walked past the cool oak forests. At last, they paused beside a bed of flowers. Oscar plucked a pure white narcissus. The narcissus was delicate and beautiful. A drop of fragrant floral dew was falling slowly off the curve of the corolla.
The Princess stared at the fresh flower in the hands of the Prince. If Oscar gave this to her, today’s visit would be a nice memory for her without a doubt.
"Why are you going to Andrew?" Oscar did not give this narcissus to the Princess. He asked this question directly because he could not find a way to ask otherwise.
The Princess was not disappointed, but her gaze still was not pulled away from the narcissus. "I want to travel around and have a look at it. This adds a meaningful touch to my adult ceremony."
"Alanis, you know this is not the answer that I want." The young lad still stuck to his question.
"It was only a visit. An unofficial one on top of that." The Princess blinked her large eyes towards the Prince.
Without surprise, the Prince began to feel dizzy. Every time the young lad looked into those innocent blue eyes, he would sunk into confusion.
"Alright. If you say so."
"Could it be that you don’t want me to go with you?" The gaze of the Princess became full of resentment again.
Oscar was truly innocent, but he was troubled indeed. He knew this Princess who was just like a naughty fairy was probably just teasing him.
"No, of course not. Why would I think that?" To let the Princess believe in him, he handed the blooming narcissus in his hand to her. "The family symbol is right in front of your eyes. In the name of honor, O’Neil Andrew Morisette feels fortunate from the bottom of his heart. That he is able to protect Her Royal Highness Princess Alanis in every moment in their future journey."
Alanis cheerfully received the narcissus. Her aim had been accomplished. It was as if there was still nothing in this world that could go out of her control.
The words of the young lad had truly touched the young lady. Even though this unique young lady had heard numerous oaths that were far more touching than this, but the young lady knew that the words of this young lad were the most powerful ones in this world. If it were to say that the young lady was in love with this young lad, then we could describe this love as adoration more accurately. It was the crazy and cruel power of the Prince O’Neil that made the young lady adore him without able to hold back.
A sudden kiss allowed Oscar to have some of their confidence back. He supported his face that the sweet taste of the young lady’s lip still lingered on and smiled sheepishly. Alanis only remembered that she should be embarrassed. She did not understand how daring she could be when she was with this little fatty.
Oscar held the Princess’s hands. He delicately kissed these beautiful palms. The Princess felt the chill under her skins. Her legs seemed to tremble slightly under the skirt.
"Oh... I... I should go back."
Oscar knew the Princess was planning to run away. He looked at the young lady with a face as red as fire. It looked funny to him, but he still let the Princess go.
Oscar’s teasing look did not escape the sight of the Princess. But Alanis believed that she would have the chance to take revenge on this embarrassing matter.
The Princess had entered the carriage specially prepared for the royal family. Oscar closed the door for her while Celia stood far away at the side. She had already bidden farewell to the Princess. She knew that the time belonged to the youngsters now.
"Thank you for your narcissus." When the carriage began to move, the Princess had a look at the young lad who seemed to be reluctant to let her go.
"Oscar! Little Oscar!"
"Mam! Say it! I am listening to you!"
"Are you truly listening to me?" Celia walked to the side of her son. She was still waving her hands at the carriage of the Princess.
"Yes, what do you want to say?"
"She is truly not a bad choice!" Celia put her hands over her son’s shoulder.
"I know. But it is best to talk about this matter when we get home. You know, it is hard to guess how father would think of this matter."
"Could it be that you aren’t in love with her?" Celia looked at her son in shock.
"I have no time for romantic relationship. Moreover, there are a lot of servants in the Palace that walk about in front of us when I am with her. We don’t even have the time to be alone."
"Hehe. Isn’t this your own fault? Have you forgotten what the Princess and you did at the Sabac Manor? The way His Majesty is guarded against you is just the way he guards against thief."
"Mam, that was an accident. It can’t be that you actually believed the rumor out there?"
"Of course not. But don’t ever did something overboard again. That will be very troublesome. Even the family will lose their dignity."
"I know." Oscar mumbled. He was also complaining.
"Little guy, rest well for these two days. It is estimated that we will move out the day after tomorrow!"
Oscar was too lazy to care about these matters. If it wasn’t for the women who needed to crazily pack their things, he had already left Dulin by then.
The terrible finally seemed to end. Oscar called upon his maids to begin packing his things. He realized that Annie was not one of them. He knew that when he was released from Damorga Prison, Annie’s mission had already ended.
The little Prince tidied up his study room. He also locked his memoirs and some important documents into the secret locker. During this time, he called his own secretary and explained to him about the meeting with the Pope His Grand Eminence tomorrow.
When the mansion was lit, the Prince stared blankly into space as he sat at the empty living room. No one knew what he was thinking about.
