Prince Voltaire had been in a great mood until he arrived in Maren. For him, visiting Maren was just entertainment. Similar to his younger brother Localope, it only served to provide him a small amount of amusement and pleasure in his boring daily life.

Localope?

Voltaire could have chased his younger brother to the end of Brantia to eliminate him if he had so desired. Even so, he had chosen not to do so. The reason was simple—the excitement and joy he could experience would only grow if Localope matured and improved. It was more fun to catch an annoying fly than an ant that he could crush at any time. Of course, neither ants nor flies really meant anything to Crown Prince Voltaire.

However, Localope had netted himself a very nice supporter after being allowed to grow into a fly.

Jan Eugene Batla. He was a fairly prestigious knight local to Maren and its surrounding areas, and he had become a Duke of Brantia before eventually rising to the throne of Maren as its king. Moreover, it was said that Jan Eugene was one of the highest-ranking members of the Dark Clan, one of the very few, so-called ‘monarchs’.

Prince Voltaire had been overjoyed. If Localope had gained the support of such a man, it would provide Voltaire with even greater joy. Crushing Localope would be worthwhile by then.

It was the stimulus he had been searching for. Localope had grown into a great prey that would allow him to feel the thrill of the hunt. However, it wasn’t very fun to simply face the prey. A moderate amount of time, seasoning, and probing was a must to rile the prey up, as there was nothing more thrilling than taking down an angered, raging prey. As such, he had ordered a vampire of the empire who had been tasked with trailing Localope to kidnap anyone moderately close to his prey. Of course, he intended to return them safely.

What Prince Voltaire wanted to see was how Jan Eugene Batla, his real prey, would react. He had no intentions of doing anything to the hostage. Instead, he would apply moderate pressure on his prey and test the waters.

That was all…

However, his current predicament was much too far from what he had expected.

***

‘T-this can’t be real! There’s no way this is happening right now!’

Voltaire took ragged breaths as he felt his hands and feet quivering. His situation wasn’t just the result of psychological intimidation, but rather a physical response to Eugene’s Fear. He was completely overwhelmed. He possessed the strongest energy of the dragon aside from the current emperor, but he was being completely and perfectly overwhelmed.

Where had it gone wrong?

Kwaaaaaa…

“Hugh!”

The thoughts of the crown prince were forcibly disturbed by a huge force, and he cowered with a red face. He had never felt such humiliation, but what was even more shocking was that what he felt now was ‘fear.’

The Crown Prince of the Roman Empire—the commander of the entire world—was afraid of a being other than the emperor.

‘T-the guards…’

Crown Prince Voltaire recalled the secret guard who would willingly die to protect him, then quickly came to recognize the reality of the situation. What could his guards possibly do, when he was already in this state and they had already been discovered?

‘The knights. What are the knights doing?’

Crown Prince Voltaire desperately scanned his surroundings. However, he despaired.

The same was true for the knights. Their hands were trembling on the handle of their swords, bound by the unprecedented force. What was even more absurd was that the slaves and servants weren’t greatly affected.

‘That means…!’

The vampire had chosen to only suppress possible threats. No, rather, such a powerful man wouldn’t have thought of them as threats in the first place.

Fwoosh!

Suddenly, the power binding everyone in the garden disappeared without a trace.

“Uaggh!”

“Huff, huff…”

Only around ten seconds had elapsed, but it had felt as if all of them had been bound for what felt like an eternity. Everyone affected struggled to catch their breaths after being released from the restraints. Their eyes focused on Eugene as they calmed their breaths and came to their senses.

The feelings of hostility, curiosity, and competition they initially had could no longer be found. Instead, the dozens of gazes only contained fear and awe.

Eugene spoke in an icy voice, “Bring me my wizard while I’m still asking nicely.”

He had never ‘asked nicely,’ but no one felt courageous enough to say it.

***

A deafening silence arrived in the back garden. The dominating Fear was already gone without a trace, but all who stood in the back garden simply stared at Eugene without moving.

“…All of you, go away. Don’t let anyone come near.”

“Y-Your Highness.”

The next master of the empire was declaring that he would hold a personal meeting without any security. His guards and knights were shocked by his declaration, but they soon bowed before leaving the pavilion. All of them had already experienced the power of Maren’s King. As such, they knew well that Eugene could have taken the crown prince’s life if he had so desired—having guards would make no difference.

Crown Prince Voltaire turned to Eugene, who stood expressionless as if nothing had happened.

“Do I just need to return the wizard?” he asked.

“That’s right,” Eugene answered.

“If I… apologize and make amends…”

“Were you not planning on doing that?” Eugene asked.

Eugene felt dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe that the crown prince was attempting to probe him even in this situation.

“…”

Meanwhile, Crown Prince Voltaire felt as if something hot was stuck in his throat.

He spoke, “Sir, show some honor. Take on a manner worthy of your position…”

Eugene interrupted him, “Stop being so complicated. Just say it directly. You’re saying you don’t like my attitude? Then you should’ve acted properly from the beginning. What kind of nonsense is it to ask to be treated like a crown prince after kidnapping my wizard?”

“Keugh!”

The vampire neither understood nor bent his ways to the noble way of speaking.

He was rude and imprudent, but at this moment, it could only be called the privilege of the strong. Even so, Crown Prince Voltaire did not want to admit his defeat. No, rather, he couldn’t admit it.

“Are you saying that Maren will make an enemy out of the empire?” the Crown Prince asked. It was a petty threat, but he couldn’t help it. The two of them were more than individuals—they were representatives of their nations. If he couldn’t win against the vampire as an individual, he had to borrow the power and status of his state.

No matter how ignorant and rude Eugene was, he was still the King of Maren. He would be worried about his country, which was just taking its first steps. It was obvious that Eugene would lower himself a little and—

“Save your bullshit,” Eugene said.

“…!!!” Voltaire’s eyes filled with absolute shock.

Voltaire was pathetic in Eugene's eyes. Naturally, it wasn’t that Eugene couldn’t understand Voltaire, considering the status and the background of the man.

The Crown Prince of the Roman Empire. He was the noble of nobles, a man of absolute power who didn’t need to care about anyone. If Crown Prince Voltaire had approached Eugene in a normal, rational way, Eugene would have been happy to respond in kind.

However, Voltaire had crossed the line, or rather, he had completely destroyed the line.

“This is a secret, but I will let you in on it,” Eugene said.

He continued in a quiet, cold voice, “Maren? It’s a good place. I like the governor, the parliament, and the citizens. But even though Maren can’t be without me, it doesn’t matter even if I don’t have Maren. So what if Maren makes an enemy out of the Roman Empire? You must be the champion of being delusional. You are making an enemy out of me, and furthermore, the Roman Empire will be doing the same.”

“What…?”

Eugene raised his finger and pointed straight at Crown Prince Voltaire.

“I’m saying that the Roman Empire will be making an enemy out of me due to you. The moment you touch Maren, it will come true. And I will do everything I can to kill you.”

“Heup…!”

Who would dare to declare openly that they would kill the Crown Prince of the Roman Empire?

Eugene continued, “I will kill anyone who tries to stop me. Knights, mercenaries, wizards. Bring them all. You said you had vampires as well, right? Bring them all. I will slaughter every single one. I will kill anyone, and everyone involved with you until the moment I rip your head off. Why? Do you think I’m bluffing? Oh, what, you think I’m worried about Maren”

Eugene smiled coldly as he gazed straight into the quivering eyes of the crown prince, which were now completely devoid of the dragon’s energy.

“Don’t you know how long someone like me lives? How many territories, cities, and countries do you think will be born and destroyed in those years? And which do you think will last longer? Me, or the Roman Empire?”

“…!!!”

“So if you want to mess with Maren, do it. If you’re confident that you can handle the aftermath, that is…” Eugene concluded.

Crown Prince Voltaire felt dizzy. It felt as if he had been stripped naked. The crown prince had been born and raised into absolute authority by the emperor, but he had finally come to a realization. The vampire wasn’t someone to intimidate or negotiate with in the first place. What was hidden beneath the human face was a dark monster.

Crown Prince Voltaire had committed a grave mistake by trying to probe the monster, especially after voluntarily coming into the monster’s lair.

“I’m going to tell you one last time…” the beautiful, elegant monster started.

“Return my wizard.”

Defeat.

Crown Prince Voltaire was forced to nod by the fear, which was even greater than the overwhelming humiliation he was feeling.

***

Eugene left the pavilion without delay as soon as he was promised that Romari would be returned to him within ten days. Eugene’s action worsened Crown Prince Voltaire’s humiliation. Eugene hadn’t spoken a single word about compensation. He hadn’t even spoken a single word about how the incident would affect the relationship between Maren and the Roman Empire. He also hadn’t said anything about whether the incident would remain a secret or if it would be declared publicly. Furthermore, he hadn’t said a single word about Prince Localope, which could be considered the most important subject between Crown Prince Voltaire and Eugene.

Eugene had left without any mention of political and aristocratic affairs—he left after resolving the issue regarding his wizard Romari. In other words, Eugene valued a mere wizard above the next emperor of the Roman Empire.

“I… I can’t believe I was treated like that! Kuaagh!”

The shock and humiliation Crown Prince Voltaire felt were indescribable. However, that wasn’t the end of it…

“Your Highness! The Knights of Maren have withdrawn.”

“What? Is that true?”

Crown Prince Voltaire’s frown deepened when he heard that all the knights who had been surrounding the inn had withdrawn with Eugene.

“Yes. There aren’t any watching eyes either. All of them are gone.”

The prince’s knights looked pleased. They had been absent from the back garden during the confrontation. As such, they mistakenly thought that the crown prince had flattened the arrogant king. However, the expressions of those present in the back garden quickly darkened.

Anyone could see that…

“He’s… not concerned about me at all? The future master of the great empire?”

Anyone could see that Eugene was no longer concerned about the prince now that he had taken care of his business.

“Kekeuh! Kuhaha!” A shrill laugh escaped Voltaire's lips. His face was cupped in his hands. The members of his delegation were struck with anxiety, knowing that the crown prince would only act as such when he was extremely angry. They knew that a bloodbath would always accompany that particular laugh.

“Now I know… why you didn’t come, Red Queen…” Crown Prince Voltaire muttered softly before raising his face.

His golden eyes were bloodshot and devoid of their initial dignity and mystery.

“Tell the Maren Parliament that I sincerely congratulate them on the founding of their country,” he said.

“Yes, Your Highness!”

He continued, “Tell Localope that I’m looking forward to seeing him—that I am looking forward to when he returns home.”

“Yes… Yes!”

At first glance, the crown prince’s commands were ordinary, but the members of the delegation knew from the atmosphere that it wasn’t the case at all. They immediately stood at attention without being told to.

“And…”

Crown Prince Voltaire paused while glaring at the air. Then, he spoke while gritting his teeth, “We will return to the empire.”

“…?!”

They would return less than a day after arriving? Even though their journey had lasted almost a month?

What about establishing relationships with the nobles of other kingdoms?

What about the threats, conciliations, and espionage activities against key figures?

Everyone was shocked. However, the delegation had no choice but to shout louder than usual, “As you wish, Your Highness!”

Defying the commands of a young lion who had experienced defeat and fear for the first time was akin to voluntarily walking into the center of the bloody storm that was to come.