The Prince in Question Is Not Stable-Chapter 46: Redemption

Sitting inside the carriage of the court officials, I stared at the gates of the Vahn Castle.

I was waiting for Janus; without him nearby, I’m not Marcus. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Playing with the ring on my index finger, I pondered over the view of the county.

Vahn County was farmland beneath the snow. A beautiful estate with lush forests, frozen streams, and rolling hills.

But now...the snow was trampled from marching armies, broken wagons were left on the roadside, houses were shut close with their window slightly open as villagers peeped from the corners.

No one was going to hurt them. Vahn County is a part of Krell’s Dukedom.

Mordrak wouldn’t harm the civilians of his own land.

*Click-Thud*

The gate of the carriage opened up, and Janus took a seat in front of me, placing his cane near the wedge.

"Took you long enough," I said.

"I stopped by to pet the cat," he replied.

"..." Sighing, I thought for a while, making up my mind.

"You know...if you and I want, we can wipe out the whole Dukedom," Janus said casually.

I looked at him with my brows lowered.

He paused.

"Just saying...that’s an option too," He raised his hands.

"Looks feasible..." I mumbled.

"If you don’t mind becoming a public enemy, have an army of nobles with their own armies, and several other clearance six mages, and high-ranking members of the Golden Order, along with the heads of magic towers, knights of the churches and a fucking queen of the Lunar Kingdom hunting you for mass murder without any justification of why you did it,"

"Rest assured... it’s a feasible option," I said.

"..." He didn’t say anything.

"On second thought...Let’s just go in peacefully," he added.

I nodded, and we stepped out of the carriage.

With us were a few court officials who were following Selene’s orders.

"So... you lot wouldn’t mind holding the fort here?" I asked, looking at them.

Their faces lit up. But protocols restrict them, so they need an excuse.

"It...goes against the rules, but if it’s the Count’s request...We’ll stay here," An official guarding our carriage gate spoke.

Oh, they were definitely not regretful about breaking some rules.

I nodded and chuckled.

.

.

.

Krell’s soldiers stood guard where Vahn’s once had.

Their armour bore a thick wolf emblem etched into the black steel.

One of them stepped forward.

"State your-"

But before he could complete his sentence, his body went limp, along with the knights guarding the castle gates.

"..." I looked down as his body fell near my boots, with his face buried in the snow-clear ground.

The following knights stood in the path toward the entrance to the main halls.

Their pupils turned pale one by one, without anyone noticing.

All of them were staring at nothing, as if they had lost their minds. All of them were in a trance.

"I usually avoid the background characters," Janus said, walking beside me.

At least he didn’t kill them. I could feel their vitals working fine.

The courtyard felt eerie. Krell’s soldiers were everywhere, but none of them moved.

They were like armoured zombies, and the torn banners of Vahns completed the apocalyptic scenery.

My eyes drifted towards the far side of the courtyard.

A wooden scaffold had been placed there.

They were gallows. Five ropes swayed in the wind.

And all five of them were occupied with the bodies of maids with their dresses torn apart, and a butler who must’ve devoted his life towards Count Vahn.

I stopped walking for a moment, and Janus followed my gaze.

The massive doors of Vahn’s castle opened up, revealing the hall inside.

They were closed by the Krell’s guards the moment we stepped inside.

Boot prints covered the floor, dozens of them heading deeper into the castle.

Paintings hung on the corridor were broken, and their glass pieces would crunch under our boots as we moved.

Near the far end of the hall, something caught my attention.

A row of people, all kneeling, wearing maid uniforms. Their hands were tied behind their backs, ropes biting red welts into their wrists.

Faces streaked with tears and terror. They were scared. And all of them were normal people.

Before them were three knights. One of them got close to a maid and kneeled down.

"Gods, look at em~" He laughed, looking at the other two of his fellows, and they followed him, laughing.

None of them noticed as we got close, despite the noise that our boots made. Because controlling the flow of aura to make it still creates a deception of absence. But it only works for the ones who’re not yet sensitive enough to rely on their own senses.

"Soft little things, all trussed and ripe, cunts winking like invitations! Been too long since I had one squirm under me, all that fight had turned to wet pleas..." The knight, kneeling, said and brought his hand near the maid’s cleavage.

"I hear Vahns have some of the best mea-"

He stopped midway, feeling something off.

That knight tried to look down and felt a long, thin, and black blade of a katana stabbing his neck sideways. It didn’t make any sound, just appeared out of nowhere.

<<<Verity of Oblivian>>>

Janus whispered, and the air around them recoiled.

In that breath, the three of them decayed. Flesh, bone, and utter disappearance. Their bodies just aged to the point where they might’ve ceased to exist.

"Now I want to learn magic too..." I mumbled as he snapped the ropes that tied the maids with a touch of his cane.

"You don’t need to use a discrete route, just walk out of the castle like you usually do, and voila!" Janus said, as the maids stared at him, trying to process what had occurred.

"Th-thank you, my lords," they said, bowed slightly and tiptoed off, holding the hem of their skirts.

They still glanced back, unsure...as if afraid.

Soon their steps faded into the corridor.

Janus tapped his cane on the ground, and I nodded. Broken glass crunched beneath our boots as we moved forward.

We turned around the corner, and more Krell soldiers stood guarding the doors of the Count’s hall.

All of their eyes turned pale as we got past them.

Ahead of us, a wide staircase climbed the upper floor, which displayed an enormous wooden door of the lord’s hall.

I could feel what had occurred beyond the room, and that’s why my hands were a little hesitant.

But I took a deep breath in and pushed the doors open with a soft pulse of my aura.

Inside the lord’s hall was the display of the aftermath of the final battle.

Long oaken table lay overturned, wooden legs splintered, and platters of half-eaten venison and shattered crystal goblets scattered all across the white, bloody marbled floors.

Banners of Vahns burned over the dead bodies of their knights and magicians, with throat slit ear to ear, with multiple stabs in their bodies.

But the centre...that was a disaster.

Mordrak Krell was lounging in the count’s high-backed throne like the lord of this place, which he was now.

His massive frame belittled the throne of Vahns. His chestnut hairs were slicked back and had not touched a single drop of blood.

He was looking at us, but he didn’t say anything. Just kept staring at me.

His knights were lined across the walls of the halls, standing straight and looking ahead.

To his right lay the body of Count Vahn with his head facing the ceiling. His hands were shredded to a pulp, ribs cracked open, guts yanked out, coiled like ropes of offal.

Jaw unhinged and dangling, teeth shattered, eyes gouged out of sockets as their fluids weeped out clear down his cheeks.

His cock and balls were hacked off, and the wound was cauterized of burning black meat.

He had lost his life, but after severe torture.

To Modrak’s left, collared at his side, half hidden in the throne’s shadow was Soreya Vahn.

Blonde and beautiful, but not at this moment. She knelt on the stone in nothing but the pieces of her gown, with their silk shredded to translucent see-through veils. Bodice torn clean off to bare her breasts, marked with purple handprints like bruises, nipples clamped in iron rings that linked the tin chain to Modrak’s finger ring that he kept playing with.

There were several deep cuts on her body; she was a magician, and she did put up a decent fight before losing. But unfortunately, her opponent must’ve been Mordrak.

"I didn’t expect you, Count Rile," Mordrak finally spoke.

"Situation brought me here," I replied, looking at him.

I glanced at Janus, and he didn’t even think twice before tapping his cane on the ground.

<<<Verity of Disorder>>>

He growled under his breath, and the positions of his cane and Countess exchanged.

A long robe covered her body as he held her in his arms.

An extreme pressure engulfed the whole castle as Janus used his powers. The concrete of the walls cracked, and the whole estate shook with a deep tremor.

The knights surrounding the room went limp on their knees, and the floors beneath them cracked as they tried to bear with the pressure on all fours.

Mordrak raised his brows as he looked at Janus. He clenched his fists, enduring the pressure, but didn’t break his stance.

"And who might you be?" Mordrak asked.

"His friend," Janus replied, pointing at me.

It’s a common courtesy to introduce yourself when talking to a duke, but right now, the situation was escalating unpredictably.