Chapter 005 Personal Guard Captain

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In the afternoon, at the Blue Lion City Palace.

The sound of hoofbeats echoed as Richard, accompanied by the guard captain and his party, returned to his residence.

The first thing that came into view was a massive square, nearly a hundred meters in circumference, paved with large, smooth slabs of stone, immaculately clean. On one side of the square was a series of ascending steps, leading up to a grand palace.

Richard dismounted in the square, and the guard captain instructed the soldiers to unload the dead python and carry it into the palace, with Richard following behind. They hadn't taken many steps when a voice sounded behind them, followed by hurried footsteps — someone was catching up.

"Prince, Prince..."

Richard turned his head and saw a young man in his twenties catching up, dressed in extravagant clothing, with gold embroidery on the sleeves and intricate patterns on the collar. His golden hair shone like gold, and his face exuded kindness, as if capable of dissolving all malice.

The person was Richard's personal guard captain, responsible for leading the entire personal guard to ensure Richard's safety. His name was Edward Angell, and he was no ordinary man, being the son of an earl, making him a noble. He willingly became Richard's personal guard captain not because his family had fallen into decline, but because his family sought to strengthen their ties with the royal family and express loyalty.

This was a common practice among medieval nobles — a form of hostage-taking, but if handled well, it could bring great benefits. For instance, if Richard became the next king, both Edward and his family, as the personal guard captain, would naturally receive special treatment; by then, they might not remain an earl, but become a marquis.

Edward clearly understood this point and was diligent in serving Richard daily. However, perhaps because he focused his mind on this, his own skills were lacking, and his courtly swordsmanship was only adequate for display and inferior for combat compared to a soldier.

Due to this, Richard did not inform Edward when he went to the dungeon to capture the python, yet Edward somehow learned of it...

As Richard was contemplating, the guard captain Edward had already caught up, stopping a step away with a slight pant, and said, "Prince, I heard you went to the dungeon this morning? And at noon, you took people from the dungeon out of the city to capture a python?"

"Yes," Richard responded, stepping forward.

Hearing Richard's confirmation, Edward immediately became anxious and said, "Prince, I am your personal guard captain; the personal guard is your most loyal subordinates. By going alone to the dungeon and capturing a python, what if someone meant you harm? If you were harmed, even our entire personal guard would be unable to wash away the guilt by collective suicide."

Richard glanced at Edward, not believing his words to be sincere, but he was too indifferent to delve further, and said blandly, "Edward, if your swordsmanship were better, I might consider taking you next time. Moreover, who in the entire kingdom would dare to harm me?"

Edward's eyes shifted, and he leaned in toward Richard, quietly reminding, "Prince, you really must be careful. The elder prince has always been unfriendly towards you, and now with the king sick, what if... what if..."

"There's no what if," Richard shook his head with a cold smile. "The king isn't dead yet, so my dear brother — William Austin — wouldn't dare make a move against me."

"But..."

Edward wanted to say more, but Richard waved his hand, no longer paying attention, and walked to the end of the square, climbing the steps. Passing through twelve massive marble columns, he entered the great hall of the palace, with Edward quickly following.

The entire hall spanned over two hundred square meters, supposedly extremely spacious. But actually, it was quite crowded. The hall floor had dozens of tables, with various instruments and equipment on them. In front of each table was a busy maid, some plump, some slender, some tall, some short, some dark, some fair, tensely operating the equipment.

Upon a table near the door rested a complete set of crude distillation equipment, centered around a pot being heated in boiling water. The pot's mouth was sealed, with only a leather tube leading out, connecting finally to an oddly shaped iron pipe.

The iron pipe was submerged in water at its middle, with one end higher and connected to the leather tube, while the lower end was joined to a funnel resembling a bull's horn, through which colorless liquid dripped into a porcelain bottle.

"Puff puff," due to problems with the equipment connections, white mist continually sprayed out, and the air was permeated with a slightly pungent alcohol odor. The speed at which liquid dripped into the porcelain bottle at the end was slowing.

"Drip drip, drip, drip — drip—"

A maid with a ponytail looked helplessly at the apparatus in front of her, wide-eyed and unsure of what to do.

Richard frowned, stepping closer, and the pony-tailed maid stiffened like she'd been electrocuted, her body tense. "Pr... Prince..."

"I asked you to distill high-concentration alcohol. How's it going?"

"I... I..." The pony-tailed maid's voice trembled, but to avoid being scolded, she forced herself to answer, "It's... it's okay... I guess..."

"Okay?" Richard's face was expressionless as he pointed at the continuously leaking pungent white mist from the equipment connections, asking, "This is what you call okay? Where's the airtightness I asked for? The alcohol vapor is leaking. How are you going to collect high-concentration alcohol solution?"

"I..."

Richard reached out to the water basin submerging the iron pipe, feeling the temperature, and spoke again, "How long has it been since you changed the water? It's warm. Do you think this can cool and condense? Do you think this can turn high-temperature alcohol vapor into droplets, to be collected into the bottle by the bullhorn funnel? I remember yesterday I explained the distillation's key points to you and others. Why have you done it like this?"

"Prince, I... I..." The pony-tailed maid started trembling, her voice tinged with a sob, "Prince, I'm sorry... I'm too dull-headed, I can't remember. Pr... Prince, please give me another chance, I... I certainly..."

"Forget it, there's no need," Richard said calmly. "I've said before, any maid in my palace can make mistakes, even murder. But one thing is non-negotiable — understanding what I convey after my explanations, and executing it.

It's not because you're stupid if you don't understand or forget; it's because your learning ability is poor, and the least needed is someone with poor learning capability. Because I don't have the time or energy for education, nor the time or energy to develop every person into a scientifically cultured adolescent.

Therefore, as of now, you are no longer part of the palace. This afternoon, pack your things and leave. Don't make me repeat myself."

As Richard spoke, the pony-tailed and pretty maid's body trembled, her face pale. Being expelled from the palace meant she could no longer earn five silver coins a month, and her impoverished family could not sustain without it, surely making this nothing short of a disaster.

The pony-tailed maid couldn't help but cry out, "Prince, Your Highness! Please, give me one more chance. My... my father owes others a lot of money, and if I leave here without a means to repay it, he will be beaten to death. I beg you."

Richard seemed not to hear, stepping toward the palace's depths, while the pony-tailed maid's face grew despairing.

Following Richard, the guard captain Edward saw this. He glanced at the pony-tailed maid's pretty face, then at the rest of the busy maids in the hall who were quite ordinary-looking, his eyes flickering.

Quickly stepping forward, he caught up to Richard and said, "Prince, I think that maid named Aifu wasn't bad, just maybe unfamiliar due to a short tenure, leading to her poor performance. Her family's in such hardship; perhaps keep her a few more days, and if she tries harder..."

Richard halted, looking at Edward calmly.

Edward's body jolted, displaying a somewhat fearful expression, "Prince, I... I..."

"I know what you're thinking," Richard spoke. "But I must tell you, Edward, that I can endure ugly appearances, poor character, vile actions, as long as the job is done. In contrast, if someone lacks intelligence, is incompetent, and has poor learning capability, then no matter how beautiful she is, I won't endure her. Because in the realm of science, it's all about merits, not appearances.

In short, I'm busy; ever since I've been here, I've been busy for over a decade, busy exploring unconventional matters like spells, solving problems. Therefore, anything that hinders me is an obstacle, and I will not tolerate obstacles. If you're sympathetic to that girl, fine; she can stay, provided you do her work as well, that's it."

"I..." Edward lowered his head, his expression swiftly changing, and after a moment, he murmured, "I understand, my prince," before turning to approach the pony-tailed maid.

The pony-tailed maid's eyes flickered as Edward neared, afraid but trying her luck, said softly, "Master, what about me..."

Edward didn't respond, kept coming closer, and the girl looked puzzled, subconsciously stepping back, then Edward suddenly reached out his hand.

"Ah!" the maid cried as her ponytail was seized by Edward in a firm grasp.

With a harsh yank from Edward, the girl was nearly in tears from the pain. Regardless, Edward dragged her by the hair out of the palace and, with a final tug, knocked her down on the ground, coldly saying, "I warn you, you angered the prince. Get out of the palace immediately and never appear before him again, or mind your life!"

"I..." In utter fear, the maid stood, while Edward had already turned back into the palace, a smile on his face as he chased after Richard.

"Prince, I dealt with that dense maid for you; in the afternoon, I'll ensure to find someone smarter, more obedient to replace her. Is that agreeable with you?"

"Do as you like," Richard replied, ambivalent.

"In fact... Prince, I think some of the matters can be delegated. There will be plenty eager to assist you, freeing you to focus on more crucial tasks. After all, you're a Prince and should be tackling more significant affairs," Edward said with persuasive earnestness.

"Such as?"

"Well... ah, Prince, you see, the king's health has been poor, this time bedridden, uncertain of recovery. Should anything unfortunate happen, and the elder prince ascends, some things might be detrimental to you, so early preparation seems wise.

You might consider reaching out to some nobles for support. At the least, ensuring your interests aren't compromised would secure a satisfying domain along with a grand duke title."

Swallowing hard, seeing little reaction from Richard, Edward continued, "Compared to this, I find the time you've spent seeking various peculiarities and conducting wizard-related research truly unnecessary. It's fine as a hobby, but devoting all efforts is unreasonable..."

"Oh?" Richard laughed softly, "You mean I should delve into crown prince politics?"

"Uh, well..."

"Edward, tell me, do you think crown prince politics is more crucial to me or wizardry and spells?"

"I believe crown prince politics is more significant, Your Highness," Edward said earnestly.

Richard merely shook his head slightly, moving forward to push open a red door and step inside.

Startled, Edward halted at the door. He knew this was Richard's private laboratory, typically used only when Richard personally conducted special research, with Richard greatly disliking interruptions then.

Sighing softly, pausing at the door, Edward couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Prince, you really should heed some of my words, or you'll make things difficult for me. My family has staked half of its future on you, and now with the king seriously ill, if you do nothing..."

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