In the dimly lit castle chamber of the mighty-looking hall, a young man with black hair and red eyes stood before a judgmental crowd, his once regal aura now veiled in shadows.
His cruel and calculated red eyes had always matched his captivating handsome looks and charm. Some could even say he was a homme fatal that would lure unsuspecting souls into his web of deceit and manipulation, leaving them powerless in the wake of his seductive influence.
But tonight, his regal facade was crumbling under the weight of his supposed misdeeds that were being exposed in front of everyone.
People were whispering among each other trying to understand what was happening in the hall, as some of them were not up to date with the events happening in the empire.
"What is happening right now? Do you have any idea, Countess?" One of the noble women, who was elegantly drinking her alcohol questioned the woman next to her hoping to find the answers.
"Well! I heard that the engagement between the second princess and the brat from the Bloodborne family is not going well, my daughter told me that she is always trying to find a way to downgrade him, apparently, he is scoring better than all the girls combined," Her words caused the woman, who was drinking alcohol to spit it all over the place while looking at the Countess with a surprised look.
"That's bad, this generation of girls is truly incompetent to be beaten by a man. If this was our generation, they wouldn't even be able to enter the academy,"
Everyone surrounding her nodded their heads except the young girls that were listening to them.
'Old hags! Don't even know what they are talking about, that man is no ordinary man'
One of the girls muttered under her breath, but then they suddenly heard the voice of the girl that they were waiting to hear and to fully witness this drama.
"Oliver, you cannot use your power to hurt others just because you are special, don't you remember our empress ordered you to never use your power without supervision," This voice that kept blaming the young man belonged to a beautiful princess in front of him, but in her embrace was another feminine looking man hugging her tightly while crying.
Everyone knew who this young girl was. She was the second princess of Behemothia Empire, Princess Raven Behemothia, who was one of the leading candidates for the crown of this mighty empire, so none of them even bothered to get on her bad side knowing they would be in a hell of pain if that ever happens.
Her reddened face showed a mix of sadness and disappointment, but also a glimmer of hope that her words might reach the young man standing before her.
At least in the eyes of the crowd that was the case. But in reality, both the feminine man and the princess were holding back their laughter knowing they would be able to get rid of this pest called Oliver as soon as possible if they could frame him for the crimes he didn't have any part in.
Oliver's red eyes glanced at Princess Raven for a moment, but then he ignored her and looked at the real target that instigated all these things that were happening to him right now, it was a woman with red hair looking at him with a cold look with a little smirk decorating her face.
"Isabella! Why? Isabella," Oliver muttered under his breath while tightly holding his fist in anger.
He was holding himself back, so he wouldn't cause any problems and hoping that he would be able to peacefully solve everything, at least for now without going too crazy.
'I can't let them do this, If I resort to violence, they will automatically get eyewitnesses, I have to prove that I'm not guilty'
Struggling to contain his frustration, Oliver racked his brain for ways to prove his innocence. However, just as he was deep in thought, a few ill-chosen words reached his ears, pushing him beyond his limits. In an instant, all restraint dissolved, and a torrent of anger surged through him like an erupting volcano.
"That woman, all because of her irresponsible behaviour, she should be the one to be blamed for all his behaviour, that damn commander can't even do this right," Raven said without knowing those words will be like poison to Oliver that would even consume her as a side effect.
"Princess, perhaps it's time we consider sending him away to a place where he can learn to behave like a true nobleman. My other friends have suffered from his bullying, and he treats us like mere servants just because he holds more power. He even resorts to physical violence if we dare to resist his demands."
"You're right, Araon," Princess Raven called him by his first name while agreeing with him, which caused most of the people in the crowd to gasp, as they knew this might be more than a case of a noble son bullying.
"..."
But Oliver was silent. His eyes were looking straight at the duo with his eyes becoming more and more red each second he spent looking at them. A red hue started to come out of his body and his face started to sweat more and more.
"Haaaa, how simple, I knew you would do this, my lovely brother," Seeing what was about to happen, the woman, who was observing everything from the balcony said with a smile and waited for Oliver to do what she expected him to do.
And it all happened as she planned, as Oliver suddenly started to sprint in the direction of the princess and duchess son, with his hands trying to grab both of them and rip off their heads for insulting one of the only people he respected and loved in this world.
"Don't...ever...talk about.. her like that, I will kill you if you open your dirty mouths against her," While screaming Oliver jumped and tried to grab the princess, but her instincts reacted and she suddenly pushed the man, who was hugging her.
She could have easily grabbed the man with her but she was purposefully throwing him in Oliver's direction. Her instincts seemed to be guided by the woman on the balcony's manipulative design.
"A little sacrifice for our plan," That was the last words Araon heard from the princess before seeing those red eyes that sent chills down his spine, which almost caused him to soil his pants.
Reacting instinctively, Oliver shifted his focus and redirected his fury towards the young man now stumbling towards him. The young man's eyes widened in fear as he realized the situation had taken a violent turn. He tried to retreat, but Oliver's wrath was unyielding.
As the young man stumbled into Oliver's path, Oliver grabbed him by the collar, his fingers digging into the fabric of his clothing. A dangerous glint flickered in his eyes as he saw the opportunity to vent his rage on the person responsible for insulting the most valued person in his life.
"I warned you! I warned you, I said watch your mouth," Oliver growled through gritted teeth, his voice trembling with anger and hurt.
He didn't hesitate to unleash his fury on the young man, fueled by a potent mix of emotions. He landed a fierce punch on the young man's jaw, making him stagger back, almost losing his balance.
Oliver's attacks were relentless, and he seemed consumed by blind rage. Blow after blow, he lashed out, his fists like hammers striking the young man's body. The onlookers watched in horror as the scene turned into a brutal spectacle of violence.
"Stop! Sto-" Araon wanted to ask for forgiveness, but Oliver's fist landed on his face, causing two of his teeth to break. The sharp pain shot through his jaw, momentarily stunning him. Blood seeped from the injured gums as he tried to catch his breath.
The whole platform became a bloody mess with Araon's blood, but everyone noticed how the blood got absorbed into Oliver's body, which was the iconic resonance move of the Duchess Bloodborne.
Even the most illiterate person knew about this because she was the legendary commander of the Behemothia Empire that acted like an Ironwall protecting the kingdom from any kind of threat no matter how dire the situation was, before she went missing for an unknown reason.
The woman on the balcony, still smiling wickedly, appeared satisfied with the turmoil she had caused. She was confident that her brother's rage would now serve her twisted purpose.
"Same like that old hag! Always stand for others, I don't understand how we have the same blood," She muttered to herself with contempt, but hidden behind it was a little bit of sadness, which went unnoticed by others because right now, all the attention was on Oliver and his brutal attacks on the man lying on the floor bleeding profusely to his death.