Chapter 60 - The Crown Prince

Chapter 60: 60 - The Crown Prince

- Adrien’s POV -

Gaspard did not move.

For several seconds, the western road stayed strangely quiet. Arquenay soldiers still held their weapons, Clairmont defenders remained behind the broken barricades, and the Royal Guard waited in disciplined lines behind Aurelian.

Then Gaspard laughed once.

"You cross half the kingdom, walk into my dispute, and decide I’m the criminal?" His voice carried across the road. "Clairmont murdered my son. I came here to demand justice."

Aurelian’s expression barely changed. "You crossed into Clairmont territory with more than seven hundred armed soldiers. Whatever you intended to call it, Duke Arquenay, it stopped being a private dispute the moment you did that."

"My son was killed."

"After entering Clairmont territory with armed men and attempting to abduct Lady Ariane Clairmont."

Gaspard’s jaw tightened.

Adrien wiped blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "Your son tried to kidnap my fifteen-year-old sister. Maybe leave that part in when you tell the story."

Several Arquenay soldiers shifted where they stood. A few glanced toward Gaspard, and that seemed to anger him more than anything Adrien had said.

Gaspard turned back to Aurelian. "And you believe him? The son of a traitor? House Clairmont has spent weeks trying to crawl back into relevance after Alaric disgraced their name."

"That argument would be more useful if Lord Adrien’s word was the only thing I had."

Aurelian held out one hand.

Vikir stepped forward and placed a folded bundle of copied records into it. Aurelian barely looked at them before speaking again.

"Payment ledgers. Transport routes. Names. Records connecting House Arquenay to an illegal slaving operation inside Clairmont territory. We also have a surviving prisoner who can testify personally."

Gaspard’s expression changed, though only slightly.

Aurelian continued. "More importantly, one of the people held in those cages was the Princess of Sylvamir. I assume you understand why that particular detail makes your explanation considerably less interesting to me."

The silence around the Arquenay formation grew heavier.

Adrien watched Gaspard through Absolute Mana Sense. His Five-Star Core was still active, but something about it had changed. The mana around him no longer felt controlled. It felt unstable.

Gaspard was starting to understand that this wasn’t something he could talk his way out of.

Aurelian took another step forward. "While those documents were being carried to Valebrand, you mobilised your house and marched hundreds of Awakened into Clairmont territory. You can call it grief. You can call it justice. The Crown will call it armed aggression."

"My family has served this kingdom for generations."

"And today you’ve given the Crown several reasons to question whether that service should continue."

Adrien felt the surge before Gaspard moved.

His Core flared hard enough that several nearby soldiers recoiled. Garrick immediately raised his weapon, Ariane shifted closer to Adrien, and the Royal Guards reacted at the same time.

Gaspard ignored all of them.

His eyes locked onto Adrien.

"If I’m going to lose everything because of you..."

Adrien tightened his grip around Umbral Root. "You managed most of that yourself."

Gaspard moved.

Absolute Mana Sense warned Adrien, but knowing an attack was coming and being fast enough to stop a Five-Star were two very different things.

Adrien raised Umbral Root and managed to turn his body before Gaspard reached him. The first strike crashed against the staff and tore it sideways, nearly ripping it from his hands.

The second came immediately after.

Gaspard’s fist slammed into Adrien’s side.

Pain exploded through the same ribs he’d already damaged earlier. Adrien left the ground again and hit the dirt several metres away, rolling once before managing to stop himself.

Blood filled his mouth.

Ariane shouted his name and started forward, but Garrick caught her arm before she ran straight into Gaspard’s reach.

Adrien forced one knee beneath himself.

’Still conscious. Fantastic.’

Gaspard was already coming toward him.

Adrien tried to raise Umbral Root again, but his arm didn’t respond quickly enough. Through Absolute Mana Sense, he felt the Five-Star Core close the remaining distance.

Then another mana signature moved.

Adrien almost lost track of it.

Aurelian had been standing several metres away beside the Royal Guard. One moment he was there, and the next his mana crossed the battlefield fast enough that even Absolute Mana Sense struggled to follow the movement clearly.

A sword began manifesting in his hand as he moved.

Dark silver metal formed from the hilt outward, followed by a thin pale-gold line running along the centre of the blade. The guard curved forward like folded wings, while the handle was wrapped in simple black leather.

There were no jewels or unnecessary decorations. The mana packed inside the weapon made Umbral Root feel almost insignificant by comparison.

Adrien’s attention sharpened immediately.

’SS rank.’

It still wasn’t on the same level as the Lightning Manual. The difference was there, subtle but obvious to Absolute Mana Sense.

It was close enough to be uncomfortable.

Gaspard swung.

Aurelian appeared directly between them.

Steel crashed against steel.

The impact tore dust from the road and sent a pulse of mana through the broken defensive line. Adrien expected Aurelian to be pushed back at least several steps.

His boot slid half a pace.

Nothing more.

Adrien stared at his back. He had known Aurelian’s rank already. Hearing that someone was Six Stars and watching them casually stop a furious Five-Star attack were completely different things.

The gap between Stars became worse the higher someone climbed.

Aurelian looked at Gaspard across their locked blades. "I believe I already told you that you were under arrest."

Gaspard pulled back and attacked again.

Aurelian turned his wrist.

The movement looked almost lazy, but Gaspard’s sword was pushed wide. Aurelian stepped inside his guard and drove the pommel of his SS weapon into Gaspard’s wrist.

His fingers opened instantly.

The sword fell.

Gaspard tried to reinforce his body and continue forward, but Aurelian was already moving again. One mana-enhanced kick struck him across the chest and lifted him clean from the ground.

He landed several metres away.

Adrien watched from the dirt, one arm pressed against his ribs.

’And I spent half the battle trying to waste that man’s time.’

Gaspard barely had time to recover before Aurelian reached him. One boot pressed against his chest while the point of the dark silver sword lowered against his throat.

The entire exchange had taken seconds.

Gaspard glared up at him, breathing hard.

Aurelian’s voice stayed calm. "If you attempt that again, I will treat it as an attack against the Crown. At that point, I won’t need an arrest order."

This time Gaspard didn’t move.

Aurelian glanced toward the Royal Guard. "Take Duke Arquenay into custody."

Four guards approached immediately. They pulled Gaspard to his feet, restrained his arms and removed every item he still carried before escorting him back toward the royal formation.

Across the road, the Arquenay soldiers watched their duke disappear.

One weapon lowered.

Then another.

A manifested spear dissolved into light as its owner returned it to his Inventory, while ordinary swords and shields began hitting the ground farther down the formation.

Nobody needed to explain what continuing meant now.

They would no longer be fighting House Clairmont.

They would be fighting the Crown.

Adrien finally released some of the tension in his shoulders, though the movement sent another sharp pain through his ribs. Ariane reached him almost immediately and crouched beside him.

"Don’t move too quickly."

"I wasn’t planning to."

Vikir approached from behind the Royal Guards, stopping at a respectful distance. "My lord."

Adrien looked toward him. "You reached Valebrand."

"Yes, my lord. It took longer than I would’ve liked."

"You reached the right person. That’s what matters."

Adrien’s attention shifted as Aurelian dismissed his sword. The SS weapon dissolved from the tip down until nothing remained in his hand.

The Crown Prince approached, stopping several steps away rather than coming any closer.

"Lord Adrien."

"Your Highness."

There was no warmth in either greeting.

Aurelian looked over Adrien’s injuries, then toward the broken barricades and Clairmont soldiers being carried away from the western line.

"You held longer than I expected."

Adrien didn’t particularly like the wording. "We didn’t have another option."

"No. I suppose you didn’t."

Before either of them could continue, footsteps came quickly from behind the Royal Guards.

Margaret appeared with a Healer following close behind her. The moment she saw Adrien on the ground, her expression changed.

"Could you please look at him first?" she asked the Healer, pointing toward Adrien. "He’s clearly been hit more than once."

Adrien glanced between Margaret and Aurelian.

He trusted one of them considerably more than the other.