Rupert guided the Crown Prince to the reception room after requesting the Saintess to attend to the staff from the workshop.
He struggled to calm the Crown Prince, who seemed convinced that he should be chasing the remnants of the Dark Wizards instead of being here, but it wasn’t entirely pointless.
For some unknown reason, it was clear that the Crown Prince believed that the recent events involving the Somerset family were the workings of a Dark Wizard.
Furthermore, it appeared he had been on some mission related to Dark Wizards even before arriving at the mansion.
‘To think the Crown Prince lost his right arm… The only organization of Dark Wizards that could pull something like that off would have to be the Abyss Cult.’
The Abyss Cult, known for attacking the academy where the Third Prince and Amelia were, was a notable force in the original story.
They were the last Dark Wizard organization on the continent and a secret society, portraying the role of antagonists that pushed the academy into crisis.
Although the story of [The Youngest Son of the Royal Family] is a romance fantasy, it faithfully includes various evil organizations attacking the Academy, as the Academy serves as a central setting.
The Abyss Cult was one of the mid-tier antagonists.
‘The leader’s name was Bialom, right?’
He recalled them as quite brutal, a ruthless Dark Wizard who regarded even his own subordinates as expendable.
Moreover, he remembered that his abilities were formidable enough to land the Third Prince in trouble, as he had been the boss for that particular episode.
Although the Third Prince eventually overcame it after awakening post the sacrifice of another supporting male character at the academy, Bialom was definitely not someone to be taken lightly, being the first antagonist responsible for a tragic death.
“Did you perhaps become entangled with the Abyss Cult?”
Rupert ventured as an idea popped into his head based on the Crown Prince’s hidden wariness towards the Dark Wizard and his injuries. The Crown Prince nodded solemnly.
“They were vicious indeed. If it weren’t for Sir Yustaf and Sir Harun controlling the Burrow Snake, it might have turned into a complete disaster.”
Why was Yustaf’s name mentioned again? And Harun? If it is indeed Harun, he would likely be the Master of the Alchemy Guild—was he involved as well?
Rupert couldn’t quite figure out how the Crown Prince, Yustaf, and Harun were related; it seemed too odd a combination.
“Thanks to the lead provided by Sir Yustaf, who found a clue in the alchemical circle you drew in your comic book, we were able to start the investigation.”
The Crown Prince reflected, as though he were recalling a great adventure.
Yet Rupert was too busy listening intently to grasp the unfolding situation.
Suddenly, he remembered when Yustaf visited the mansion, probing him about the alchemical circle from the comic book with a suspicious gaze.
‘The plot has changed.’
Rupert had no choice but to acknowledge it now.
The Abyss Cult wasn’t just a figment of the narrative; however, while it was true they were manipulating the Burrow Snake, he had never heard of their plan to inscribe a Dark Magic Circle in the empire’s capital, where the Crown Prince was enthusiastically chatting.
‘Originally, they had used the Burrow Snake to tunnel underground and launch a surprise attack on the academy’s protective barrier.’
To summon demons by using the residents of the capital, Caldea, as sacrifices? That was on an entirely different scale!
These guys were just petty villains, like bald-headed foes from some stories, failing to seize one school!
Thump!
But that wasn’t the pressing issue at the moment.
As he listened to the Crown Prince, Rupert grasped the rough situation at hand.
He realized that from this point forward, the crisis or opportunity would depend entirely on his actions, and he promptly sprang into action.
Rupert stood up from the couch in the reception room where he was seated across from the Crown Prince and bowed deeply.
“Why are you suddenly being so formal? Didn’t I tell you to make yourself comfortable?”
Seeing Rupert’s unexpected action, the Crown Prince appeared flustered and called out to him, but Rupert remained unwavering in his bow.
“Your Highness… honestly, I never imagined someone would recognize the hidden truth while I was working on my piece.”
“That’s understandable. Were it not for Sir Yustaf, I would have thought it all a fabrication.”
“Of course, Sir Yustaf’s wisdom was remarkable, but I feel an immense gratitude for Your Highness’s insight in believing the story.”
“Rupert…”
The Crown Prince seemed at a loss for words, touched by Rupert’s sentiment. Observing this, Rupert raised a hand to feign dabbing at his eyes with his fingers, pretending to wipe away tears.
Tears welled up uncontrollably, making his eyes redden.
Anyone could see that Rupert had a look of being deeply moved, and he even prepared a choked voice for the dramatic effect.
“It’s as you anticipated, Your Highness. My family was caught in the treachery of those heinous Abyss Cult fiends, so we had no choice but to convey it like this. Please forgive me!”
If the Abyss Cult, already in the afterlife, were to hear this, they might wail out in frustration. But that was something only the King of the Underworld could hear.
One must survive, after all!
And since those fiends had numerous crimes against them, adding one more accusation wouldn’t matter; that was Rupert’s reasoning.
“No, it was actually because you informed us that we could avoid a catastrophe. Initially, I mistook you for an arrogant and crude fellow.”
Rupert winced at the Crown Prince’s words.
However, he had prepared a counter for this, so he stood up from his seat and retrieved a letter from the drawer in the corner of the reception room.
“As soon as I received Your Highness’s letter, I resolved to be your loyal subject.”
The letter that Rupert held was the one the Crown Prince had left anonymously during his previous visit.
“Just as I thought! I had faith that you’d recognize it without me needing to name myself.”
The Crown Prince beamed at the valuable letter that Rupert held.
‘If I had thrown that away back then, it would have been a real disaster.’
In the days when humanity was still akin to beasts. It was said that back then, what was necessary for survival was different from now, leading to the existence of physical attributes that no longer existed.
For instance, wisdom teeth were once essential for primitive humans who ate tough foods before the discovery of fire, but they have become vestigial now.
A lot has changed to shape humankind into what it is today.
However, the inexplicable fear felt upon seeing snakes is attributed to ancient DNA imprinted with the knowledge of their venomous nature.
Rupert felt grateful that his survival instincts had deterred him from tossing that letter away.
Yet, there were still unresolved questions.
-Do not mind the rumors; continue pursuing your own actions going forward. I, at least, will understand, even if no one else does.
The content of the letter, which he couldn’t grasp at first, was no clearer now.
What exactly were the circulating rumors? And what did it mean that he would understand, even if no one else would?
Was there some commonality between him and the Crown Prince? No matter how he thought about it, nothing seemed to overlap.
Their hair colors were different—one blonde and the other black. Their ages didn’t even match, as the Crown Prince was already in his mid-twenties.
Surely, being male wouldn’t be the connection, would it?
“A father who doesn’t care for his child, and a mother who left first… Growing up in such a household must be incredibly lonely.”
“What?”
“Ah, but you are better off than I am. I’m the inept brother who couldn’t even look after my younger sibling.”
Rupert didn’t quite know how to respond to the Crown Prince’s unexpected comment about his mother.
In fact, due to spending every day with Count Bradley and Aida, he had started to feel genuinely like family, but he had no memory of the Countess at all.
‘Now that I think about it, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince’s birth mother had passed away, didn’t she?’
Among the Emperor’s four children, the first and second were born of one mother, while the third and fourth were from another.
That’s why, when the fierce fight for the throne ensued later, they were deeply divided into factions and engaged in intricate power struggles.
Realizing that the Crown Prince might feel a kinship because of their shared experience of maternal absence struck Rupert as absurd.
‘What is this, a superhero movie with some X-Men-like backstory?’
Heroes, who had dramatic reconciliations over a simple line about a mother’s absence, aiming to save the world together.
Yet Rupert didn’t mind the Crown Prince, who felt a connection to him and was excitedly sharing what he had gone through in the investigation and the crisis moments.
‘So, this is who he really is.’
Rupert found himself re-evaluating the Crown Prince, who he had simplistically thought of as just a reckless young master based on the original story’s image. In reality, he displayed qualities of an ordinary person—or perhaps even an admirable one.
He was furious at the innocent lives being lost and, although fearful of the Dark Wizards, he stood his ground without retreating.
That was the appearance of a true hero, someone who possessed genuine courage.
Suddenly, Rupert felt as if he had regarded the main characters of the original work merely as NPCs since he had been reborn in this other world.
But this was already the reality he lived in, and those who moved within it weren’t merely characters.
They could all change and evolve; just like the Crown Prince sitting in front of him.
“But by the way, you seem to have been cursed too, but are you alright now?”
“Huh? Oh, yes! Thanks to the Saintess, I feel perfectly fine now.”
“That’s good to hear. But how did the Saintess know about the Dark Wizards’ scheme and come here?”
Rupert felt the pressure build again as the Crown Prince posed his question.
He hesitated, uncertain how to respond.
The Saintess was certainly not someone he could speak carelessly about, as she might become enraged and think he had betrayed her.
“Why is it that you… Rupert, do you have something you cannot say…?”
Rupert was in a tight spot.
Screech!
“Excuse me for a moment.”
As if she had intuition about him bringing up her name, the Saintess suddenly entered the reception room.
“Saintess! Did everything go well at the workshop?”
The Crown Prince stood to greet her, inquiring about the workshop’s affairs upon the Saintess’s unexpected arrival.
Under normal circumstances, he would have scolded someone for rudely interrupting a conversation, but due to the nature of the situation, it passed over seamlessly.
“Yes, their treatment is all complete.”
“Really? You make it look so easy to heal those afflicted by Dark Magic! Truly a miracle worthy of Gaia’s daughter.”
Rupert felt his stomach twist at the Crown Prince’s thoughtless remarks about Dark Magic.
Since the Saintess would not comprehend the current situation, if he said it had merely been food poisoning, that lie would be exposed in that very moment.
But—
“Yes. It was indeed a curse of Dark Magic, and though it wasn’t easy, thankfully, my mother granted me her blessings, allowing me to treat them safely.”
“Oh, Goddess! I am so grateful.”
The Crown Prince sighed with relief.
The Saintess then glanced at Rupert, wearing a strange smile.
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