Chapter 18: Ripples Across The Capital

Words : 1034 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 18: Ripples Across The Capital In the span of three days, the capital received news of the newly appointed Crown Prince’s desire to head toward Velastra. Some were excited, while some were confused. But more importantly, a dangerous few saw this as a rare chance to eliminate the crown prince. Without the capital’s protection, the crown prince’s life would be in peril. Additionally, the inaction of Emperor Aldros made it clear that he had no intention of stopping or interfering with the matter. Leonard’s Palace "Crown Prince, the carriage, ship, and manpower have been prepared." Spencer arrived at the chamber and reported. His eyes contained traces of worry and skepticism. "Did the Crimson Guards receive any intel of the other houses’ activities?" Leonard remained lying on the bed and asked casually. "Yes, just like the Crown Prince has predicted. They remained motionless, but underneath, they have been gathering people that are maritime experts." "It’s not hard to guess when they will strike." Leonard wasn’t omnipotent or anything. Instead, he merely understood the enemies’ perspectives and thinking. By openly declaring his journey to Velastra, Leonard made one thing clear—ambushing him on land would be suicide. This was the intention behind his action. After all, even bandits have the brain to know attacking a Crown Prince of Aldros meant complete annihilation. Moreover, traces left behind on land were extremely easy to investigate and discover. On the contrary, things that occurred in the sea were a different issue. Even with the presence of magic, the traces left behind on the sea would be Even with magic, the sea swallowed evidence like a hungry void. Tracks vanished with the tide, and truth drifted with the current. Of course, one could always remain on land to travel to Velastra. But how could he eradicate his enemies in that way? Leonard got up from the bed and a few maids entered the chamber to help dress him up. These maids were all newly recruited from a specialized training session. As for the previous maids, they may not have been guilty, but they were all fired from their roles. To minimize the possibility of information leakage within the palace, Leonard had Spencer replace everyone—including the guards. As for the reasoning, Leonard used the poison incident as the basis. To the public, the incident was a grave negligence, and thus, everyone was fired as a result. There were zero people who dared to voice any complaint or find fault with the reasoning. Just the fact that Leonard didn’t have these people executed was already considered a major blessing to those servants, maids, and guards. Had it been any other princes who faced such an incident, then a bloody massacre would have taken place. Once Leonard was dressed and the maids excused themselves, Spencer reported the recent events. "The princes from the other houses remain dormant except for House Draymoor and Viren." "Are they still working together closely?" Upon hearing the question, Spencer nearly wanted to laugh and praise Leonard’s foresight. "Reporting to the Crown Prince, the servants from House Viren had attempted to establish contact with Prince Rowan, but they were all ignored by Draymoor’s guards." Amused, Leonard nodded his head. It appeared that his 3rd brother really wasn’t foolish enough to continue to interact with his 4th brother. Ever since Leonard subtly dropped a hint that his 4th brother had been manipulating the 3rd brother’s mindset, the latter must have jolted awake. "I bet 4th brother Sylas must be punching the air for miscalculating heavily this time." He chuckled. Sylas’ slight miscalculation in trying to rile the so-called incompetent crown prince ended up losing a valuable pawn in his schemes. Sylas probably thought he could leverage the relationship further with Rowan by siding with him to demean the unqualified Crown Prince, but he could have never thought Leonard was a far cry from the previous self. "Indeed, but Crown Prince, we must still remain cautious. Even though they might no longer work together, their objective is essentially the same." Spencer warned. "The objective is the same, but the threat level is no longer the same. They wouldn’t dare to recruit assassins higher than 4th magic circle level." "With Curtis and the Crimson Guards by the Crown Prince’s side, the only thing we need to tread carefully is the weather during the sea travel." After saying that, Spencer suddenly went on his knees and apologized. "Please pardon this old servant’s action. I have gone ahead to initiate contact with Lady Mirelle Ashthorne to accompany you on the journey." Startled, Leonard’s brows furrowed slightly. Clearly, he didn’t expect Spencer to be acting behind his back. Although his action stemmed from loyalty and his well-being, Leonard didn’t really appreciate how he went behind his back. This was especially true when Spencer somehow convinced Lady Mirelle to accompany him to Velastra. Now his devised plan ended up being an elaborate scheme to escape the capital’s eyes to learn magic while using the poison incident culprit as a pretext. Everything was wrong! Given that Spencer never cared for the politics involved, he failed to understand the series of implications. This was especially true when the Crimson Guards were built to serve Leonard, and never for the royal court. "Spence, I’m only going to say this once." Leonard put on a stern expression. "It’s fine if you want to do something to protect my well-being, but remember to always ask me beforehand before proceeding with anything. There will be exceptions such as immediate danger and other emergency situations. But this particular incident does not qualify as one." "Yes, Crown Prince." Spencer kept his head low, clearly ashamed of his action. "I know the Crown Prince must have planned to delay the learning and avoid being suspected of treason, but time is critical." He explained. "Time is critical huh." When Leonard heard that, he was certain that his age must have been a major factor in becoming a mage. Although Spencer tried to downplay it, the current Leonard wasn’t the old one who was somewhat naive. "You mind telling me the truth as to why I couldn’t form a magic circle now, Spence?" He questioned softly.

Chapter 18: Ripples Across The Capital

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