The Third Prince Of Darkness

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"Huf... Huf... Huf... Huf!"

In the darkness and void, I was fleeing with all my strength, though I didn't know what I was running from. I only knew that I had to escape. I must escape... I must escape to live!

"You can't run any longer."

It felt as though a dragon roared from the void, and as my heart pounded like a rabbit's, I continued to run. I didn't know where I was running to, but everything seemed like a copy of each other. So I just ran randomly, using all my strength to escape from the claws of the entity pursuing me.

"You can't run away from me!"

The entity roared again and appeared right in front of me. Its claws emerged before my eyes, and I watched them in slow motion with my widened eyes.

"Haah! Huh, damn nightmare."

When I woke up, the sun had already risen, and my body was covered in sweat from the nightmare I had just experienced. I drank some water before taking a deep breath, then stood up and removed all my clothes. I walked to the bathroom and immersed myself in cold water, hoping to wash away all the dirt.

I had finally had a nightmare where Emilia was not present, but for some reason, this nightmare was the most terrifying I had ever had. I shook my head, trying to forget the nightmare, and began to calm my mind to prepare for this important day.

••••

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"It is an honor to have your visit, Your Excellency Prince Ethan" said the fifth concubine, Elbuanur.

I took another sip of tea and smiled as I looked at the woman in front of me. Her turquoise hair was quite rare on this continent, and she had a beautiful face. She was short and had a petite figure, but this made her very sweet. I looked into Elbuanur's eyes and tried to gauge her character. She seemed more like a pure and kind-hearted person.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Elbuanur. However, I've heard that you fall ill frequently. Is that true?" I asked.

Elbuanur flinched slightly and clenched her fingers tightly. Such body language might indicate anxiety or fear, and since there was no reason for her to be afraid of me, she was likely scared of the other concubines.

"Yes, I've been a bit ill, but my minor illness is not important enough to trouble the sun of our kingdom," she said.

"Do you know why I have come here, Lady Elbuanur?" I asked.

Elbuanur shook her head. "Yes, my children told me. From what I understand, you wish to take my daughter and son under your protection" she said.

"That is true, but incomplete. What do you think your children came to me for in exchange for their protection?"

I could see Elbuanur clenching her teeth and her eyes filling with tears.

"I-I am at fault?" she said with a trembling voice.

I shook my head, causing Elbuanur to close her wet eyes for a moment.

"No matter how much you try to hide it, your children are aware of the difficult situation you are in and want to help you. Because your suffering causes them to suffer as well. So let your children help you. From today, I will send you my own trusted and well-trained servants. Also, tomorrow, I will send you my healer," I said.

Elbuanur clenched her teeth so tightly that I thought they might break, and when a tear fell from her eye, she looked at me. I had seen this look before. It was the look of a mother who was bravely making a move for her child.

"Please forgive me, Your Excellency, but if my daughter agrees to be your concubine in return for all this, I will definitely not accept your help!" she said.

A concubine raising her voice to a prince. Undoubtedly, this could even lead to her death in the palace, and she was making such brave statements. Fortunately, she was speaking to me. If she had said such things to one of my siblings, her palace life could have ended.

"Be mindful of your tone, Lady Elbuanur. Firstly, your daughter did not make such an offer to me. I accepted them only for their power, nothing more."

Elbuanur's expression of anxiety mixed with a slight fear. As she thought about how her words and her children's situation would affect her, her eyes momentarily filled with dark sadness.

"Please forgive me, Your Excellency. I'm just a mother who loves her children more than anything, and please excuse my words" Elbuanur said, bowing her head.

"It's no problem; I understand you. But be careful not to adopt such an attitude in front of other princes. Now it's time for me to leave," I said, standing up. "It has been a pleasure to meet you, miss Elbuanur" I said as I headed toward the door.

Outside, I saw two pairs of tearful eyes watching me. The twin siblings' green eyes were wet, and especially Marsiel looked at me with grateful eyes.

"Listening secretly is not a pleasant behavior," I said as I approached them.

"We apologize, Your Excellency," Markuol said.

"It's alright. I'm leaving now, but I want both of you to come to the outer gate of the palace in two hours. There, you will find a man named Baron Arthur, who is blonde and quite handsome. Trust him and follow his instructions carefully. I recommend that you don't look down on him just because he is a baron.

After all, he is my only close friend" I said to them and then walked out without waiting for their responses.

Since I was inside the concubine palace now, other concubines were probably watching me with curious eyes. Even my visit to the fifth concubine, Elbuanur, would turn into a rumor spreading throughout the palace, and eventually, it would be known that I had taken her twin children under my protection. Thus, no one would try to harm concubine Elbuanur anymore...

At least, no sane person would try to harm Elbuanur.

As I walked toward the door, I saw several beautiful young girls bowing and glancing at me from the corner of their eyes. Undoubtedly, they had enough beauty to seduce a man, and their daring outfits would make many men drool. These girls were likely concubine daughter and wanted to offer themselves to me. However, I didn't want to spend time with them as I didn't have much time.

Nevertheless, there might be someone as useful as the twin siblings here, and there was no harm in visiting again later.

"Your Excellency, I greet the Prince of the Sun."

Each of them said the same thing while bowing deeply and making sure their decolletage was visible.

"Thank you. I will make time to speak with you on my next visit, but for now, if you'll excuse me," I said, passing through the many beautiful girls and exiting through the door.

••••

—Two hours later

When the carriage stopped near the palace gate, the twin siblings approached us, and I allowed them to enter by opening the door. The twins entered and briefly greeted me. Since I had changed many details about my appearance, such as my hair color or eye color, they had no way of recognizing me. After signaling the coachman to go, we began our journey to the mansion.

I did not talk much with the twins, and they did not speak much with me either.

When we arrived at the mansion, I invited the twins inside and went upstairs. Avanne was still here, but since she was resting in her room and I had told her that guests would come, there was no need to worry. After going upstairs, I turned to Markuol and indicated the nearby chair.

"From now on, we will proceed with Lady Marsiel. Please wait for us here," I said, tuning my voice.

Markuol nodded and sat on the sofa. After walking with the somewhat anxious-looking Marsiel to my room, we passed through a secret door into the room where Emilia was. Marsiel's eyes widened as she saw Emilia's frozen body...

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