【Beginning】
As soon as the news about the emperor’s demise spread, the emperor’s brother, Prince William, secretly ordered a proper “handling” of Louis and Edward, the rightful successors. Prince William’s men escorted the two brothers to the country’s outskirts.
Although the emperor was claimed to have died from over-exhaustion, the brothers knew their father was actually killed by their uncle even if they did not know exactly how he did it. Now, Prince William ascended the throne and became the reigning emperor. Shortly after becoming the emperor, he reached out his evil arm toward the previous emperor’s two sons. The two brothers were taken to a mountain in the outskirts of the country, where they stood next to a cliff.
Edward: Louis, are we going to die?
Louis: No, we are not. We will make it back alive.
Mercenary: Don’t lie to yourselves. You’re not going to make it back.
Mercenary: “The emperor is dead. His two successors slipped and fell down a cliff while taking a stroll.”
Mercenary: Prince William, ah, Emperor William will give the previous emperor’s sons a proper burial. Hahahahaha!
The mercenary pushed Louis and Edward toward the cliff. They would have surely fallen if they had taken another step. Triggered by the peril, Louis erupted with power! His irises turned red, and something reminiscent of a black bone wrapped around his neck. Louis was exploding with unusual demonic power and thirst for blood!
Demonized Louis: I will not let him do whatever he likes!
The mercenaries were scared to see Louis’ strangely terrifying change. They hurriedly took a few steps back and unsheathed their swords —
【End】
The mercenaries were no match for the demonized Louis. Those who charged at him were knocked off the cliff while the rest of the mercenaries used Edward as a shield and began slowly retreating. However, Louis did not intend to let anyone leave; he dashed toward the mercenaries, knocked their weapons away, and threw all of them down the cliff, just as they had planned to do with the two brothers.
Edward thought he was also going to die in the hands of his brother, so he closed his eyes and waited for his death...
Demonized Louis: Ed...Edward...?
Just as Louis’ hand was about to thrust into Edward’s head, he suddenly recognized his only brother. It was at this juncture that his mind started to return to his body. Although there was only a bit of rationality in his mind, it was enough for Louis to suppress his demonic power and restore his body back to normal.
Edward: Louis...?
Louis: ...I am fine. I won’t let anyone, not even William, cause you any harm.
Edward: What happened to you just now...
Louis knew he could no longer hide the truth. While walking back to the castle, Louis began to explain to Edward: they were actually half-brothers, with a same father and different mothers. Edward was born to a Human concubine, but Louis was the son of the Demon queen.
Louis’ mother did not die of illness and instead, she merely lived alone in a secluded place after the awakening of her Demon blood. Because of the inter-race development throughout the years, she thought she was the last individual with the Demon blood. None could have imagined that this weak lineage could still pass on to Louis.
The first time Louis burst with demonic power was when he learned of his mother’s death and he fell into depression. Luckily, when Louis was given the news, there were only the emperor and him, which hid his power from everyone else. Since then, Louis listened to his father and learned how to control his Demon blood. It was also why his secret was kept hidden until now.
Officials who supported Prince William began to exploit the fact that the rightful heirs to the throne were missing and moved that Prince William, another member of the royal family, be the next emperor, because a country cannot be without a governor. Prince William also played along: he pretended to refuse the throne at first but reluctantly accepted their suggestion later —
Louis: We shall not have our uncle burdened with this heavy responsibility, because I have returned!
Just like a hero from fiction stories, the dust-covered Louis returned just in time for the royal council to decide who the new emperor should be.
Prince William: Louis! Your Highness...and Prince Edward...
The shocked expression on Prince William’s face delighted Louis, but his immediate change of tone caused Louis to be cautious again.
There were countless of officials who supported William; he had also seized control of the country’s army. If they had no concrete evidence, they could not accuse Prince William for plotting against the previous emperor, or people would only think that he was trying to defame him. Hence, Louis knew it was not time to deal with the sly prince yet.