Youji walked at a brisk pace toward the throne room. He had been summoned to the Royal Palace for an urgent meeting.

Had the werewolves finally made their move?

The last time King Rowan had summoned him like this was when the werewolves had raided the frontier villages. At the time, he had urged the king to send knights to repel them. He’d even volunteered himself to lead the counterattack. But his suggestion had been shot down.

King Rowan wanted to preserve the Dominion's military strength to defend the cities. Youji could understand the king’s desire to protect the most populated areas of the Dominion, but it was precisely that kind of thinking that had led to the Dominion's current predicament. The werewolves wouldn’t be at their doorstep, had the king provided Ferdania with adequate military support.

Luckily, the werewolves had, for some unknown reason, halted their attacks after burning down only a few villages. How many more villages could they have burned down before they set their sights on the cities? Considering that the villages were completely undefended, probably all of them. The population of each village was small, but without them, there would be no annual harvest and the Dominion's citizens would starve.

Even though he didn’t always agree with King Rowan's thinking, he respected the king's decisions. His ultimate duty was to protect the king, not to make decisions for him. Just being heard was enough. Having been born a commoner, he felt that it was his responsibility to advocate for the people. Besides Raizen, there was no one else who was both close to the king and sympathetic to them.

When Youji entered the throne room, he walked down the glistening, gold carpet that ran down the center of the room. It looked so expensive that he wondered if it was really alright for him to step on it. Standing at the sides of the carpet were Raizen, Prince Darius, General Hyperion, and numerous nobles.

General Hyperion is in charge of the capital’s defenses, so I’m not surprised to see him here. But what is Prince Darius doing here? I thought he was banned from the palace for kidnapping a noble’s daughter.

Youji knelt before King Rowan, who sat on the throne. "My apologies, Your Majesty, I was outside the palace when you summoned me."

"It's alright, Youji, I understand." King Rowan appeared more tired than usual.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Youji took his place by Raizen's side.

"Now that everyone is gathered, let us begin." King Rowan turned toward Prince Darius. "Tell them why they were summoned."

Prince Darius cleared his throat. "Someone is after my life."

No one seemed surprised. His penchant for kidnapping young women was well known to the capital's residents. It would be even more surprising if no one was after his life. Although a threat to his life was no trivial matter, it was such a common occurrence that, normally, it didn’t warrant an emergency meeting. Something else must be going on.

One of the nobles unleashed a flurry of words. "What? Why would anyone want to hurt our prince, the model citizen?"

Wait, are we even talking about the same person?

King Rowan was getting old, so it wouldn’t be long before Prince Darius ascends to the throne. Youji didn’t look forward to that day. Unlike the king, the prince didn’t care about the citizens of the country at all. He only cared about himself. Although many of the nobles despised him, some of them had recently been trying to win his favor, most likely in hopes of elevating their own status in the future.

Another noble chimed in. "That's exactly what I was thinking! Whoever it is, put me in an arena with them. I'll personally teach them some manners!"

There were many nods and words of approval among the nobles.

Youji could see Raizen roll his eyes.

"Then you'll be up against the Combat Tournament champion."

The room went silent at the sound of King Rowan's cold voice.

"Oh." The noble who had issued the challenge lowered his head.

Raizen approached Prince Darius. "My dear prince, pardon me for asking, but why would Hupo want to take your life?"

Finally, someone has the courage to ask what needs to be asked.

Prince Darius loosened his collar. "He got in my way, so I did what needed to be done."

“How did he get in your way?”

“I wanted to meet one of his workers, but he refused to let me see her.”

Raizen shrugged his shoulders in an exaggerated manner. "I wonder why?”

“I was baffled as well.”

“You must’ve been very upset.”

“You bet I was! I wanted to punch his face in with my bare hands!” Prince Darius pounded his fist in his hand.

“How did you get even with him?”

"I burned down his restaurant."

"And?"

"I messed up his workers."

"Anything else?"

"What is this? An interrogation? I'm the victim here!" Prince Darius pointed to himself.

"Just answer the question!" The anger in King Rowan's voice surprised Youji. He had rarely seen the king so upset.

Prince Darius gulped. "I hired assassins to kill him."

Raizen narrowed his eyes. "What else did you do to him?"

“I didn’t do anything else.”

"And you're the victim?"

"Yes. Yes! At last, someone understands me."

"I understand you perfectly. I have no more questions, my dear prince." Raizen returned to his original position.

King Rowan gazed at the prince. "Do you regret what you've done?"

The prince nodded. "Of course I do! I should've hired more assassins!"

King Rowan shook his head. "I've failed as a father."

General Hyperion stepped forward. "Your Majesty, can't we just pay him off? Every man has a price."

"Not this man. He already turned down my offer of knighthood, twice. He can't be bought." King Rowan turned toward Youji. "Youji, what do you think we should do?"

"Mobilize the capital's entire garrison."

General Hyperion's eyes widened. "Are you mad? That's twenty-five thousand knights! And all for one man?"

Youji turned to face General Hyperion. "That man decimated a squad of knights with his bare hands and won the Combat Tournament with ease. Even then, I doubt we've seen his true strength."

"But still, he's just one man. A thousand knights should be more than enough. Not even you could stand up against that many."

"Maybe you're right. Maybe a thousand knights are enough to defeat Hupo. But suppose you're wrong, and we went with your plan. Then not only would we lose all thousand knights, but the prince's life would be forfeit as well. Are you willing to take that chance?"

King Rowan gestured for silence. "That's enough. Youji is right. Even the slightest chance of failure is unacceptable when my son's life is on the line. We'll go with his suggestion."

General Hyperion bowed. "As you wish, Your Majesty."