The synchronized sound of footsteps echoed behind, causing the man in the prince's ceremonial attire to occasionally glance back. The presence of hundreds of soldiers not far from him pumped the young man's heart to race faster.
"Why... why is it happening like this?!" the man's voice trembled, trying to endure the pain from the wound in his abdomen. The hand he placed to hold the wound had turned red from the flowing blood. 'How could this be, I... the crown prince, become a fugitive of my own kingdom?!' he screamed inwardly with beads of sweat adorning his forehead.
"Stop right there, Adam!" a burly man shouted, the former war commander who used to be the most faithful protector of the royal family. "Crown Prince! Stop where you are, damn it!"
'Does he think I'm stupid?!' Adam cursed inwardly, his breaths ragged. The blood continuously flowing from his body made Adam's vision start to blur. 'Stopping is the same as death!'
With the little strength he had left, Adam tried to find a hiding place. His adrenaline-fueled state seemed to make his heart feel like it would explode. Adam's legs stumbled as he tried to reach a safe place, and he saw a dark, ominous forest ahead. It seemed to be the rumored demon forest.
"To hell with the demons, I'd rather go there than die ignominiously here," Adam muttered with a pained expression.
Before the imperial knights could find him, Adam had stepped into the forest. "Commander, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has entered the demon forest!" reported the commander's subordinate, not daring to pursue and enter the forbidden forest.
Seeing Adam enter with such severe injuries, the knights could only stop in their tracks and stare at the incredibly dark forest. A terrifyingly gloomy aura enveloped the entire place.
"Should we pursue him?" another subordinate asked, feeling that entering wasn't a good option. He was sure that with injuries like that, Adam wouldn't survive either.
"No need, we'll only endanger our lives by entering that demon forest," the war commander replied with a cold gaze.
"Then, what about the Emperor's command, Commander?" another knight chimed in. "The Emperor clearly decreed to retrieve the body of the Crown Prince."
The war commander turned around and said, "We'll just explain the truth of the matter. The Emperor will surely understand."
***
The Vanrize Empire, a realm renowned for its peace and prosperity. The diplomatic relations of the kingdom with other kingdoms were so strong due to the policies of its emperor, Yurize Lexton Van. However, the greater a kingdom's power, the more people desire it.
And that was what led to the downfall of the emperor.
Some time ago, at the coronation feast of Adam Adrellina Van as crown prince, the emperor and empress ended up losing their lives. Poison was the cause of their deaths, but no one could find the main culprit.
"The Crown Prince is still too young to rule the kingdom; it's best to temporarily hand over the throne to Lord Jean," many people suggested.
As an 18-year-old youth, Adam was aware of his incompetence. Thus, he easily agreed and handed over all power to Jean Easter Van, the late Emperor Yurize's brother and Adam's uncle.
Remembering his decision, Adam gripped the grass on the ground tightly. "Damn!" he cursed, now lying on the ground. He could no longer walk, especially since his vision had blurred so much that he couldn't see the road clearly ahead. "Idiot! Why did I hand over the throne to the real mastermind behind my parents' deaths?"
Adam's foolishness now made him want to scream and kill himself. After obtaining enough evidence after all this time of always opposing the truth, Adam approached Jean and accused him of being the murderer of his parents. Jean, not accepting such an accusation in front of many nobles, ordered Adam to be executed.
"Adam! I don't understand why you accuse me like this. Wasn't it me who bore this heavy burden to replace you? I also covered up your evil actions that caused chaos in the northern region. I tried to cover it up but..."
Jean's manipulative words shocked the entire palace. Insults and curses were thrown out so easily by the nobles there. It was as if they were trapped by Jean's unfounded words. As a result, Adam, who had not prepared anything and whose status was below Jean, ended up becoming a fugitive.
Adam's face was filled with reluctance as he remembered. He never imagined that his uncle, who had always been so close to him, would end up betraying his family like this.
"Hah... hah... hah..."
Adam's breath became heavier over time, his chest felt so tight, and his body was very weak. Adam's eyes began to sweep the surroundings.
The demon forest he entered was just as rumored. Dark, terrifying, and thick with the chilling aura of demons. However, strangely, Adam could now see various forms of demons living there.
'Could it be because I'm on the brink of death?' he guessed.
Many people said that demons would attack anyone who entered the forest. However, Adam was not attacked. The demon creatures there only watched him from the beginning until now.
Whether it was just his feeling or not, Adam felt that the demons' gaze on him seemed very strange. "Why are they looking at me like that? As if... they're afraid?" he murmured.
Nevertheless, ignoring that, Adam shifted his gaze to something else. He just realized that he was near an old, unkempt temple.
Because the temple was believed to be a gateway between the world of the living and the world of the dead, Adam said, "Father, Mother... what should I do? I've handed the imperial throne to a scum like Jean." Tears inevitably streamed down his face.
Adam felt ashamed of himself for being easily deceived by the cunning Jean. He didn't expect that all this time, the people in the empire were pretending to be kind to him. Feelings of revenge and hatred enveloped Adam, emitting a chilling aura.
As Adam's breath became increasingly labored, a sudden voice startled him, "Hmm, who might you be, Young Man?"
Adam widened his eyes, with the little strength he had left, he straightened up to search for the origin of the voice. "Wh-who is that?!"
"I wonder why my subordinates let a lowly human pass through this sacred forest so easily. It seems it's because of your aura. Are you of royal descent?" the voice echoed in the temple.
Adam was taken aback, he sat up without caring about his widening wound. "Who are you!" he said. His heartbeat raced rapidly, his breaths were labored, and Adam swallowed his saliva with difficulty.
"Strange. You have a very dark aura, but you're frightened just by my voice?" the voice asked again.
Aura? What was the voice talking about? What dark aura was he referring to?
"What do you mean! Show yourself, come out!" Adam said. Although he was afraid, Adam had to show the brave demeanor of a crown prince.
Afterward, a strong gust of wind swept through the forest, wreaking havoc on it. The peaceful and terrifying atmosphere had now turned into a cold, suffocating one.
The demons who were not visible before, gathered there to form a circle. Adam still hadn't processed what was happening, the demons bowed respectfully to the red-haired man whose hair cascaded down to his waist.
"Wh-who are you?" Adam stammered.
Adam thought he could breathe a sigh of relief after escaping the pursuit of the imperial knights. However, what other terrifying ordeal would befall him this time?