Cough.
He coughed out blood. His slit golden eyes looked at his hand, which had now turned red from the blood coming from his mouth.
"What the hell?"
A sudden pain struck his body, and he staggered. He touched the nearby tree to stabilize himself.
His eyes are shaking from the sudden headache. He frowned.
"The kiddo is injured."
Hiss.
Leviathan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"This is bad."
His vision became blurry, and he fell forward. He groaned when he landed on a pile of freshly dead bodies. He positioned himself to lean on a tree.
"What the hell happened to him?"
His breath is shaking. He closed his eyes. Maybe he made the wrong decision to travel this far and stay away from the crown prince at this moment. Teleportation was not an option when he felt like dying right now. He can't go back to Michaelis right now.
'Don't die, or I'll kill you, kiddo.'
×××××
Rezal and Raisa did not stop their silly banter even when the imperial siblings walked away from them. Rezal huffed and looked away from his sister to look at the dancing sibling.
He formed a little smile when he looked at the smiling face of the sibling, but then his smile vanished when he looked at his sister, who was eating his desserts.
"Hey, that's mine!"
"It's just a cupcake, piggy!"
"Shut up, ugly!"
He snatched the plate from his sister and ate all of the desserts instantly. He also pushed his sister away when she tried to snatch some of the desserts off the plate. He looked at her smugly when the plate was already empty.
"Couldn't you be just like the crown prince? You are terrible."
"You should be like Princess Nasharis first before you want to condemn me, dear sister."
Raisa crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from her brother. Suddenly, their surroundings turned dark.
"Brother!"
She latched herself onto her brother. Rezal coughed at the sudden weight on him. He pushed his sister slowly away from his body. He also heard the murmurs about the light problem. Rezal let out a sigh when nothing serious happened. He is glad that he is not afraid of the dark.
"Don't worry, it was just the light."
He patted his sister's back and looked around to see anything he could, but it was really dark. There is not even a single light in here or coming in from the windows.
This has never happened before, but he is sure this problem will be solved instantly. They just need to wait.
It was not long; in just about five minutes, the light was gone, and it was finally bright again. Rezal blinked his eyes repeatedly at the sudden light. Raisa also let go of him when she managed to see properly.
"Ahhhhh!!!!"
But the sudden scream from someone startled the sibling. After the first scream, there is a second, a third, and so forth, sending chaos into the grand hall.
Rezal stood up from where he sat and looked around to be presented with something he wished to be just a nightmare. Something that he wishes was just a silly prank and a joke made to scare him to death.
"Ahh!!"
Her sister, whom he assumed had also seen what he sees right now, hides behind his back and holds onto him with trembling hands.
His red eyes are shaking. The red colour filled his vision. His mouth can't let out a single sound. He could finally smell the metallic smell in the air. Why did this happen? He didn't hear or smell anything just now after the grand hall went dark. So how did this happen in such a short amount of time?
Rezal looked at his friend. His dear friend, who is lying in the pool of blood, wanted Rezal to believe that the blood did not belong to him.
No, this is impossible. His friend is strong. No one could inflict any harm on his friend.
His eyes roamed around his friend's body. The expensive suit was ruined. His friend's white hair is turning a bright red colour. He couldn't see the face because his friend's face was turned the other way around. He is sure; his friend is smiling right now. Yes, this must be a joke.
Rezal also saw that his friend's body looked like it was reaching something. He saw, in his friend's grasp, something shiny. What is that? What did he hold even in this situation? And then he realized something—someone who was supposed to be with his friend but was nowhere in sight.
His friend's little sister. They were together just now. They're supposed to be together now. He couldn't hear even a single step leave the grand hall; there was no way his friend would leave his sister alone.
"Micha."
He could finally say the name, but he couldn't make a single move. He wanted to check on his friend. He wanted to shake that body, and his friend would give him an annoyed look because he disturbed his friend.
He didn't notice the tears streaming down his cheeks. His body is shaking. He is scared. He is so scared right now. Rezal wanted to wake up right now.
"Your Imperial Highness!"
The servants and attendants began to swarm at the lying and injured Michaelis. They are also shocked and have just managed to regain their composure.
The situation turned into chaos, with everyone giving orders to call for a healer and a doctor.
"Michaelis?"
The long, white-haired man stepped into the grand hall. He just heard about the light problem, and that made him come back here quickly because the room he is in is not having any problems.
However, what he didn't expect to see and hear was the frantic voice of the servants calling his only son's name. His eyes widened with horror when he smelled the blood and saw the condition his only son was in.
Raihan, who is trailing on his back, also stopped on his track. His eyes lingered on his students. His eyes dilated. Then he looked toward the other side when he heard a sobbing sound. There are his two children on the side, who are looking at the bloody crown prince.
"Call Celix right now!"
The order was given by Asteric before the emperor dashed towards his son. Raihan did not waste any time and teleported towards his other friend's office.
"What happened?!"
"Your Majesty!"
His hands were shaking when he finally saw what his son's condition was. The stab wounds and the bloody head.
He is still alive. His son must still be alive. Asteric kneeled to touch his son.
"We... the light was suddenly turned off just now. And the light came back after five minutes. Then we saw the crown prince is..."
The servant's voice is shaking. He couldn't continue to give the report when he could feel the coldness coming from the emperor.
Asteric's mouth is shaking. But then Asteric let out a shaky breath when he could feel the pulse. He is still alive. His son is still alive. His son must still be alive.
Asteric didn't know what to do. If he touched his son, would his son be injured more? If he carried his son, would his son lose more blood? He is not a medicine expert. He is afraid he might do something stupid that might endanger his son any further.
He needed to wait for Celix. Celix is more knowledgeable in this area. He needed to make sure his son would be fine until Celix arrived.
"Your Majesty!"
When he could hear the voice he was waiting for, Asteric looked back immediately. Celix was finally here, and he began his treatment as fast as possible. Asteric is waiting patiently. His clothes were already wet from the blood on the floor, but he didn't care. How could this much blood come out of his son's tiny body?
"I'm just trying to stop the bleeding for a moment. We must move him to the medical room right now!"
Celix put pressure on the wound on Michaelis' throat and stomach after they flipped him back on his back. His face was full of blood because of the injury to his head. Asteric almost lost control when he saw there were more stab wounds on his son. Moreover, when he saw the slit throat of his son.
Raihan carried Michaelis, but something fell from his hand. The sound of something falling made Asteric stop for a moment to see. He crouched down quickly to take the gold bracelet, which he was familiar with.
"Nasharis."
His voice was laced with anxiety. His fear intensified after he came to a conclusion.
This is not just an attempt to murder the Imperial Crown Prince. This was also the kidnapping of the second princess.
His two precious jewels were taken from him that night.
×××××
The murmuring intensified in the grand hall after the crown prince was carried away to get medical treatment.
The pool of blood is still there, sending a chill through their spine. The rumours about the crown prince pulling various kinds of misfortune are becoming wilder.
"This was bloodier than expected."
The person covered the nose from the smell of blood.
"His death would be the beginning."