Kaizen seemed emboldened by the fact that he stood in front of his own palace. He stood in front of Joshua with his arms crossed and glared furiously at the young knight.
“Are you deaf? I’m asking you, Joshua Sanders, why you are barging into my palace like this. Rudely, at that, I might add.”
After Kaizen repeated his demand, everyone went silent at once and turned to Joshua. Prince Kaizen was a violent Prince, and everyone knew about that. Their fear turned the air around the palace grounds cold.
Joshua’s mouth remained stubbornly shut for a long moment.
“...I... Your Highness the Second Prince... You and I are standing in a public square.”
“HUH?”
“I am standing in front of you now not as Joshua Sanders, but as a count of the Avalon Empire and the captain of the Auxiliary Battalion of the Imperial Knights,” Joshua proudly declared. This simple affirmation of his values made everyone’s eyeballs pop out of their sockets.
No one here was so stupid that they didn't understand what Joshua was saying. His words were not a threat tacked on as an afterthought.
“You... What are you suddenly saying?”
Joshua looked down on him.
“It means... you need to show me some respect.”
“You...” Kaizen scoffed and snarled, visibly offended.
To elaborate, Kaizen was not as well-regarded as Joshua in the public eye. His lack of a higher title like “crown prince” perhaps just added salt to the wound—not to mention the power struggle between him and the First Prince taking place.
The problem lay in Joshua’s words: how dare an aristocrat demand “respect” in front of the royal family?
There was no mutual respect for each other. The royal family would do whatever they wanted to do, and the aristocrats would crawl beneath the feet of the most noble family in the country. That was how things had always been and always would be.
Or should have been...
Kaizen’s footsteps resonated quietly in the still air as he stepped forward.
“Are you mocking the Second Prince in front of these people?”
Before any of them realized, word spread like wildfire, attracting the attention of the nobles who were in the palace for official and non-official business. Since the competition for the Princess’s Concubine had begun, many high ranking nobles were still staying in the palace.
Joshua looked around, acknowledging their presence, before he started speaking.
“I’m not here for you, Second Prince. I believe that I made that very clear.”
“You came to my palace and you expect me to believe that?”
“I will make this clear... again.I came here because I have something to settle with the Fourth Prince, Kaiser. That is my business.”
Kaiser flinched and trembled in fear.
In the end, Kaizen blew up.
“I see that your arrogance knows no bounds! Imperial Knights, what are you doing right now?! Will you stand and watch as this arrogant man tramples on the pride of the Imperial Family?!”
Nearly three-hundred Imperial Knights all drew their swords at the same time. These knights were under the direct command of the Imperial family and Kaizen.
But Joshua’s people didn’t just stand and watch either.
“Help the Captain!”
“11th and 12th Battalion Knights, draw your swords!”
The other knights and nobles broke into a furor as swords hissed against their sheathes. This is a once in a lifetime show, but many wondered if the future held similar events.
Calling it a “challenge” would be an understatement. These knights, though they were supposed to be comrades, were now pointing their swords at each other.
“This is crazy...” Kaizen unconsciously clenched his fist.
This situation wouldn’t be as crazy if it wasn’t about his brother.
Two hundred knights pointed their swords against the Prince at the orders of a kid that has just become the Count—a mere noble. And even younger than Kaizen.
What the hell was this Joshua Sanders guy?
Kaizen couldn’t hide his internal struggle.
“Please stop.”
Kaizen’s head whipped around to the side toward the voice.