"Father, the devil has entered the Capitol!"
The king was not a complete fool. He saw the reactions to his son's statement. Shock, terror and disbelief.
He had been told that a powerful figure had arrived in the Capitol through a series of thought messages from Oswald and had been constantly updated as matters progressed.
He attempted to contact the kingdom's Sword Saint and failed. In accordance to the time sensitive nature of this matter and background of the foreigner, the king could not afford to wait.
He gathered the strongest knights among his own guards, as well as called some of his children, selected two and took to the sky. Upon his arrival he called to his eldest son hoping to use the opportunity to re-establish the dignity of the crown and royal family.
After this incident, the crown prince's eligibility to take the throne would have been called into question among the kingdom's nobility. The king calling on him to explain the situation was his hope to reduce the dissidence that would come in future.
If the prince could show a cool head, be respectful, regal and sincere, all without apology or bowing his head, the king could take it from there but the king overestimated this son of his.
"All you had to do was explain this calmly and respectfully." Oswald had verbally spoken out what he had meant to be his silent thoughts but due to everyone else's shock by the prince's statement, only Valerian and Alexander had registered what Oswald had said.
However the boy did not stop there.
"Father, he killed my knights, and dared to oppose the crown. He must die! Call the Sword Saint and kill this vampire scum!"
'That is it. The Empire will declare war.'
'Scum? Did he call an Imperial Archduke scum? Is this a joke?'
'We are doomed.'
'This is our future king?'
'I will die here.'
'I should have gone home and died with my family instead of here watching this farce.'
'Father said that joining the knights of the king would guarantee me noble status. I should have joined the Church instead.'
Many such thoughts were going through the people's and knight's heads as their ears rang from the prince's volatile statements.
"Child, your words are making my palm itch."
There it was!
To see a man as young as Valerian calling the crown prince "child" would have been surprising under normal circumstances but the more power the vampire flexed, the less he seemed like a young man.
Oswald felt that his suspicions were confirmed. Valerian was a vampire granddaddy with the power to shake Saras.
The thing that shocked the rest of the people gathered the last time Valerian's palm itched, a knight got decapitated.
The knights who had been escorting the prince took visible steps back when he uttered that phrase.
Did it not mean that someone's head would get 'slapped' off?
The crown prince heard the words too. He turned to look at Valerian in horror and immediately retreated to the safety of the pegasi knights.
The dignity of the crown and the royal family fell further in the eyes of the people when they saw their idiot of a crown prince.
'If I get the chance, I am moving to one of the neighbouring kingdoms.'
'I am told that the edge of the Black Forest is not too dangerous. I could be a hermit there.'
'I wonder if I can get my money out of the bank and leave the country tonight.'
The last thought was Oswald's. He did not fear the Empire like the others around him. He instinctively feared Valerian.
The king maintained an admirable amount of stoicism during the entire encounter and Valerian wanted to applauded him.
"Archduke Jata, in order to avoid an international incident, may I suggest a trial by combat here and now. If one of my knights can survive ten moves from you, Saras will be the winner and this matter will end here. If you defeat my knight I will, of course, provide adequate compensation for the troubles caused."
There was a lot to unpack in what the king had just said.
He addressed the vampire with respect and acknowledged his title. He did not reprimand him for calling the crown prince a child. He also offered a compromise that seemed fair but in truth, Saras was the one at fault so this trial by combat would be in the kingdom's favour.
But who was this person the king had challenged? Vampire that could slap the heads of [B] rank knights. Granted, the king's personal knights were all [A] rank but who could say that they would fair much better?
"I will accept this but I wish to battle all the knights as well as the Lord magus Oswald."