"Very well my son, I will take your advice. For now, we will just act as if all this hadn't happened. You seem to be exhausted. Go back to your mansion and rest."
That went well. The emperor had given a statement rendering all that had happened here void. No one could openly mention this incident. Prince Gideon wasted no more time there and left the throne room.
'What now lord Raven?'
'Now nothing. I have helped you out of this mess and that is that. I no longer have any business here and to my understanding, you have safely arrived at the royal capital. Therefore I plan to take my leave.'
'No, you can't! Otherwise Sullivan will just send Tristan again! I beg you to stay here!'
Prince Gideon started running towards his mansion and I let my connection to his mind drop. Discussions like this were better held in person.
"Lord Raven! Thank god you are still here, I had feared you would already have left."
The door to the room I was staying in swung open and the prince barged in. He was out of breath and seemed like a weight was lifted from him when he saw me. Behind him, two knights charged in and scanned the room for any threats. They must have misunderstood the prince's reason to be running like that.
"You shouldn't let your emotions get the better of you, prince Gideon. You asked me to stay so naturally I would at least hear you out before leaving."
"That is good. Then you can just stay here and keep protecting me."
"I did say that I would hear you out but whether I stay or not depends on the flow of this conversation. I will not make any promises in advance."
One of the two knights was beside himself at my words. Without thinking he drew his sword and approached me.
"How dare you say that in the presence of the prince! You may call yourself a lord but you should be grateful that the prince even allows you to stay here. He is the son of the emperor!"
At the things he was yelling, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"The son? I think you mean A son. And if I were you I would think twice before bringing hierarchy into this. Prince Gideon isn't the crown prince and I'm sure prince Sullivan would have a very strong opinion about my presence here."
"Are you threatening to join prince Sullivan? I will strike you down this very instant, you ungrateful dog!"
He was really getting worked up now. The knight had already approached and raised his blade. I was expecting his strike, waiting for it, wanting it to hit me and show him just how powerless he was. But he never got the opportunity to execute his strike.
"Sir Weber, stand down. This is my guest, he saved my life and he may speak to me as he wishes."
Prince Gideon's words didn't have much of an effect on this sir Weber but the other knight who full-on tackled him did. On the ground sir Weber had lost his sword and started thrashing around wildly. However, wearing heavy armor and having another knight on top of him rendered him completely helpless.
"Sir Galant! Get off me! I'll kill the bastard!"
"Sir Weber, as your prince I command you to cease this foolish behavior. I will not repeat myself."
Prince Gideon was getting upset. He wished for his subordinates to be on their best behavior to impress me. This escalation showed how little control he had over his people. And sir Weber wasn't done yet.
"My prince, I have served you for year's but now you would choose such an ungrateful swine instead of me? Have I not served you well enough?"
"Yes, sir Weber, you have not served me well enough! I have ordered you to stand down to no avail and you keep insulting my guest. I did not want to do this but I hereby release you from your oath, you are my knight no longer. Now leave my mansion before I have you thrown into prison for what you have done."
After the prince's harsh words sir Weber was released by the other knight and allowed to stand up. As he looked at me his face was warped with hatred and disdain, this guy would give me trouble.
Despite his obvious wish to kill me, he walked out without another act of aggression. I wasn't just going to let this happen though.
As he reached the door he suddenly clutched the back of his neck where the spine was located. A stinging pain had appeared there for a split second but by the time he reached to touch it, the sensation had already disappeared.
This was of course my doing. While he had shown his back to me I had cast a curse on him in form of a thin needle made from magic. It was a sleeper curse. If the knight showed some common decency he wouldn't ever take notice of being cursed. However, should he try to join prince Sullivan or one of his henchmen then his life would have a swift end.
With sir Weber out of the room, things calmed down a lot. To show sincerity prince Gideon even ordered the other knight, sir Galant to wait outside.
"I apologize for this embarrassing display, Lord Raven. My grip on my subordinates seems to be insufficient."
"I'm more worried about your grip on your emotions. You stormed into the throne room and pulled a stunt that damn well could have cost you everything. I had been wandering aimlessly but after hearing of prince Sullivan's exploits I believe something must be done. Now if I need to worry about you losing your cool at all times I believe it is better if we act separately."
"I will change! Lord Raven, please give me another chance to prove myself. I had foolishly ignored your words on our journey here but it won't happen again!"