The Web of Knightspur-Chapter 235 - 232

Crown Prince Richard’s eyes were burning like fire as he looked at the door that was yet to open. He rubbed his wrist as he took a deep breath.

’Where did things go wrong?’ Crown Prince Richard’s eyes narrowed as his mind was in a mess. He had taken care of all the things necessary and had made sure that everything had gone the way he had wanted it to. But where did it all go wrong?!

Soon there was a knock on the door, making the Crown Prince return to reality. "Prince, the Emperor had summoned you to the meeting room."

’No Crown Prince?’ A mocking smile spread across his face as he scoffed internally. He never thought that his situation would change so rapidly. Just a few hours prior, he was still the Crown Prince of the Empire and now they are already referring to him as Prince.

"I will be there." Crown Prince Richard said as his eyes narrowed and darkened. His lips curled up as he looked at the closed door before he walked towards it and opened it. ’I still have a way of turning everything around in my favor.’

—-

Crown Prince Richard walked towards the hall with a smile playing on his face. There were many things in his heart that he wanted to shout out loud. Someone had come to question his position so how was he supposed to just stay silent?

Crown Prince Richard smiled as he looked at the side where the guards who had their necks down as they looked at one another slightly. It was a blunt reminder that no matter what he did, things have started to change. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

’But everything will be under my control again. Princess Eleanor will choose me as the Crown Prince and I will soon expose Duke Beaumont in front of everyone. Let’s see then who will support the man to be the chosen Crown Prince.’ A dark light flashed in his eyes as Crown Prince Richard laughed.

He walked inside the room only to have everyone looking at him with different emotions on their faces. Initially, it was not like this. People used to have opinions about him but there was always respect. But now, everything felt different. Their true feelings were worn on their sleeves not bothered to be concealed.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor." Crown Prince Richard greeted and bowed to his father before looking at everyone else with narrowed eyes. It was only then that everyone bowed to him as well. This was what Prince Richard wanted. ’This is how it is supposed to be.’

Prince Richard did not waste any time as he walked towards his assigned chair beside the Emperor as he sat there naturally, only to belatedly notice one more empty chair placed on the other end.

He did not need to know who this chair belonged to. It was for the man who he had underestimated.

"Isn’t the Grand Duke here yet?" Crown Prince Richard asked in a dull tone as if he had expected such behavior from him. "A person who does not value the Emperor’s time, what great things can come from him?"

The Emperor glanced at this son who was always arrogant. It was true that he did not believe that Grand Duke Christopher was his son. How was it possible? He had seen his brother’s wife, the Grand Duchess, give birth to a son. The child had always been in front of his eyes, and now they say that he was his son. His son, the first Prince had died along with his wife, the first Empress. So how could it be possible?

’But the High Priest has confirmed the man’s identity.’ The Emperor thought as he sighed, ’It cannot be wrong. But then did my own brother hide my son’s identity? Did my wife give my first born to him and he decided to hide his identity? But what happened to his own son then?’

Many questions were still revolving in the Emperor’s mind that he was yet to get answers for.

"I never knew that my brother missed me so much." A deep voice came from the door as it opened and the man whom everyone feared walked in with powerful strides. Soon the unorganized room just a minute before was now quiet as everyone got up and bowed their heads in respect to Grand Duke Christopher. Crown Prince Richard clenched his fist as he took in a deep breath. He looked at everyone carefully as if he was remembering all the faces who had dared to disrespect him but showed respect to the Grand Duke.

"Speaking on the topic..." Grand Duke Chrsitopher smiled as he bowed his head to the Emperor who nodded his head. "I think my brother should get used to calling me by my real designation. Shouldn’t you be calling me as First Prince?"

There was provocation in his tone as he looked at the Crown Prince. "We should not forget the authority that each designation holds. But I can forgive you for now. After all, my younger brother is still naive and needs to learn a lot of things, too."

Crown Prince Richard was angry. He wanted to say a lot of things but he knew that everyone was observing him and he could not show his genuine emotions now.

"Until we establish it, I should not be calling you a Prince." Crown Prince Richard muttered unhappily. His eyes narrowed, "Anyways, the High Priest can also make mistakes."

"Does Prince Richard doubt the High Priest?" Grand Duke Christopher smiled as his eyes glittered. "If you really decide to doubt it, then everyone else can be wrong. There would be problems about each and every single thing from the choosing of the Emperor to the wish of God. Is Prince Richard doubting everything now?"

Crown Prince Richard’s face turned slightly pale as he closed his eyes to control his raging hate. If he said yes to this, would it not mean that every other Emperor that the High Priest had chosen was not the will of God but a mistake? But if he said no, then would it not look like he was a man who does not even know what he is talking about and is dishonoring his position?

The Crown Prince looked at Grand Duke Christopher who had a smirk on his face. Many things were yet to be clear and yet he was there ignoring it all.

"I would still call you Grand Duke Beaumont. Not because I do not trust the High Priest, but because I hold the evidence that would prove you to be a traitor. And a traitor can make the Royal Family’s name turn to dust. Thus, it is better for me to remain clear on this and not call you a Prince."

Crown Prince Richard said as he called one of the soldiers forward. His eyes narrowed as he smiled before he looked to the side. There was a slight tension in the room as he took a deep breath.

"This is the evidence that the man has been using the army to attack the Kingdoms and even managed to spread hatred in the Empire." Crown Prince Richard took the stack papers and he spread them on the table.

All the nobles present there were afraid as they swallowed hard. Their eyes depicted that they were not interested in any of this. There was a small disturbance in the room as all of them were looking at one another.

"What is all this?" Crown Prince Richard smiled as he looked at all the people around. "Are your hands not working? Or are you disrespecting me and looking down on me?"

"No Prince..."

"How can we be disrespecting the people..."

"We will look into this now..."

All the nobles said in unison. Many thoughts were in their minds. But all of them took the pages in their hand as they looked to the side at one another. They did not dare to be disrespectful to the Crown Prince or the Emperor.

But they cannot be so open now either. The person the Crown Prince was targeting was the Grand Duke of the Empire. The killer who was known all over the Empire as the slayer. And yet now he was the Crown Prince candidate.

All of them wanted the Grand Duke to be able to oppose the Crown Prince, but he was never interested previously. But now that the man really had something to protect, he had decided to take up the position itself.

"Princess Eleanor has been determined to be the chosen one by God. How can she stay with a man who had tried so hard to kill her family? Someone who had killed her mother and father. Someone who had killed her younger brother, Crown Prince Arlo. Will Princess Eleanor be able to live with such a man?" Crown Prince Richard stared at Grand Duke Christopher. His eyes narrowed as he shook his head angrily.

"Princess Eleanor will not accept it." The man who sat in front of the Emperor said. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the Emperor. "As someone who had known the Empire the longest, and by the relation of being the Crown Prince Richard’s maternal Uncle, I would like to say something here."

The man smiled as he looked at the Grand Duke and continued, "A man so cruel and calculative cannot be good for the Empire."