Shadow Guard (10)

Edited by: Kuro and Lille

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It didn't take long for the Emperor and Prince Cecil to plan how to rip the mask off of "Prince Levi's" face and show everyone his true colors. They planned the reveal for the holiday that celebrated the founding of the Empire. It was a 5 day-long celebration that had a parade for the first day of the week, then it had a circus and other festival-like activities, a prayer day, a banquet, and finally, the award ceremony of some sort for those who had been loyal to the Empire. It was the day to give gifts to generals or ministers for their dedication.

The last day was also the day they would expose "Prince Levi". They let the man bask in his glory before they would rip that mask on and then step on it.

It took a lot of planning, and consideration on security, but it somehow came together by the beginning of the celebration.

The Princes, Princess Serah (who wasn't of much importance anymore), and the Emperor were the main part of the Founding Holiday, so they came out of the Palace to see the people on the first day. Security was at its highest as it was rare for the Emperor to leave the Palace grounds. He was sitting on a carriage going through the city with his children, waving to the people that had come to witness the parade.

They were sitting in a carriage that had a part of the carriage exposed. They were still under some shade, but most of the walls were gone so that the people could see the Royal Family. The carriage was white, purple, and gold, showing royalty and wealth. There were a bunch of knights and soldiers around them to keep the Emperor and his family safe.

The family of 5 looked as though they were all happy with one another, but no one else could see through their mask besides the Shadow Guards who were guarding them at all times.

The parade was the first time Grey had seen Princess Serah. She looked like the stereotypical blonde hair and blue-eyed princess. She was a beautiful lady, but there wasn't anything too unique about her. The description that System 225 had given him made her sound like a 'holy mother' type character, but she seemed like a spoiled brat in his opinion. And with how she treated Blaine? No, thank you.

After staring at her for a bit, Grey brought his gaze back to his handsome husband, Prince Cecil. Ah, fluffy animals and his husband were the only things that made him feel better...

****

"At the parade, there was a period where you stopped staring at me. Who were you staring at?" Prince Cecil asked Number 18 who was in his arms. They were sitting on the couch normally at first but Grey found himself sitting on Prince Cecil's lap after a while.

"You big idiot. I was only staring at your little sister," Grey honestly replied. His husband was getting more and more clingy.

"Why were you staring at my little sister? Do you want to marry her instead?" Prince Cecil felt paranoid. What happens if 18 finds someone else after being bored with him? He didn't want to be tossed aside! "You should know she's already engaged to the Duke."

"Why in the hell would I do that? You better remember this, you are the only person I will ever love. Doesn't matter what world we are in, or who we are. I will always come and find you regardless of whether you remember me or not. Honestly, I should be worried about you cheating on me before I can even get to the world! I still won't get over the fact you had a fiancée while I wasn't there." Grey definitely still held a small grudge. His husband was lucky he was a good and patient man and didn't just directly chop—

System 225, who was being fed dog food, felt that his food was too cheesy and wanted to throw it all up! His Host was learning from God System on the art of cheese making. He didn't want any of it. No, he didn't want to eat it, or see it, or even hear it!

"Baby, I'm sorry. I will always be faithful to you no matter what." It was Prince Cecil's turn to start coaxing his husband. His past memories taught him how to interact with his lover.

"You better. I won't forgive you if you have concubines either, nonetheless, a wife/husband that isn't me!"

"I won't, I won't! I will always stay faithful to you. No one could ever compare to you."

The two were equally possessive. Grey thought he was getting better with it, but for some reason, the context of the world made him paranoid. Emperors, politically, had lots of concubines. Some oddballs, like Prince Cecil's father, didn't take any in, staying faithful to his wife, but he couldn't help but be worried.

Grey was a Shadow Guard, someone who was meant to stay in the shadows. They couldn't openly get married, so Prince Cecil might be pressured into taking in a wife or two.

It was hard to not be worried. Even though he trusted God System, there was this small voice in the back of his head telling him that his lover would leave him for good one day. He hated that feeling. The feelings of possessiveness, no matter how unhealthy they may seem, gave him a sense of comfort and took away those anxious feelings. It showed that his husband loved him just as much as he loved him. He knew he had to tone it down though. Hopefully, in the future, he will be able to do so. He had to work on solidifying his trust as well it seems...

"My love," Prince Cecil pulled 18 from his train of thought. "Once we take down Prince Levi, let's go on a trip, just the two of us."

"A trip? Like a vacation? Or a military excursion?"

"Of course, a vacation. In the mountain areas of Uferna, there is a hot spring owned by the royal family. Though we rent it out to nobles, we can also go there. So let's go together, okay?"

"Yes, I would love to go!" Grey happily replied as he hugged Prince Cecil tightly before giving him a nice kiss on the lips. It was just the two of them so this much physical contact was okay.

If only things stayed as peaceful.

****

On the last day of the Founding Celebration, all the nobles from across the Empire had gathered in the Palace for the awards. Every year, the number of people who had gotten awards was very few, so the nobles used the day to meet new and old nobles and gain more connections. There was also a banquet after the ceremony, so the nobles made it a priority to be there.

Grey: (Number 16, how are the preparations on your side?)

16: (We are good over here.)

Grey: (Good. Be ready to guard the Master. If something happens to me-)

16: (Don't say that! You will be fine. You are the strongest among all of us!)

Grey couldn't help but feel that something was terribly wrong but the only thing he could do was nod and raise his guard. Grey and the original were always ones to listen to their gut. His gut told him that he had to be careful today. Even a strong man could fall if they were defenseless.

While Grey was worrying, Emperor Emeron started the ceremony.

"We thank everyone for coming here today to celebrate the Founding of the Empire! The Empire has been standing tall for 400 years. Today is the last day of the celebrations dedicated to awarding those who had done a great deal for the Empire. As Emperor, I want to award-"

It was a long speech that Grey tuned out. He only needed to move if Prince Cecil gave him his signal so he stayed diligent, watching the surroundings and looking over at his Master every several seconds. His gut feeling was telling him that something was wrong, so he kept glancing over at Prince Cecil way more than he should've. Even Prince Cecil could see that 18 was feeling more anxious than usual and couldn't help but look in his direction.

'System, can you scan the area? Though I can't see anything, I want to know if this bad feeling is what I think it may be.'

[Of course, Grey. Scanning the area... Scanning complete. Grey, 10 unknown individuals are hiding around the audience room. They are using a device that makes them undetectable with Auras. Here are the locations of the intruders.]

'Shit. I knew something was wrong. From the looks of Prince Levi's face, he definitely knew of the plan. I was too careless!'

Grey quickly signed to Number 16: (Tell all the Shadow Guards in the area to get ready to follow my daggers. Don't question it, we don't have time!)

He didn't even wait to see what Number 16 had to say before he jumped into Prince Cecil's shadow. Prince Cecil was about to turn around but he heard a whisper. 'Act natural, don't move.' Prince Cecil knew it was Number 18 so he relaxed a bit, but he kept up his guard. Something was going to happen if 18 was coming to him without saying a word.

Grey had his hand on his dagger and the other holding a few hidden daggers. He was just waiting for that signal that would start the whole chaos.

Emperor Emeron looked over at Prince Levi and smiled. "And lastly, I would like to award my son, the Crown Prince, for the hard work he has done for the year."

It was all the achievements that Prince Levi took for himself when he didn't lift a finger. He still boosted himself like a peacock and gratefully took the award from Emperor Emeron.

Prince Levi, like the good child people thought he was, smiled and happily thanked this Father.

If this was what his Father wanted, then he had no problem ending it all now!

The dagger that Prince Levi had hidden was about to stab his father, but he felt a sharp pain in his chest instead. He turned around to see the Shadow Guard, Number 18. From the moment he had met the man, he couldn't forget that oppressive aura. He wanted to speak, but blood came out of his mouth, hindering him from uttering a word.

At the same time, the hidden intruders shot their arrows in succession, intending to kill Number 18. Using his dagger in his right hand and his Aura, he quickly cut down the incoming arrows. His left hand shot out several small daggers two times, allowing the other Shadow Guards to pinpoint their locations.

The audience was in shock seeing everything unfold. Even Emperor Emeron didn't expect the "son" he had raised for 20 years to pull out a dagger on him easily. He stared at the lifeless body on the ground and felt more anger than sadness.

Prince Cecil commanded his guards to the locations that the other Shadow Guards were at. Chaos filled the room as many nobles tried to escape, hoping to avoid any mishaps. People ran out the doors and jumped through the windows to get out as quickly as possible. Only some who were loyal to the Emperor stayed behind, took out their swords, and commanded their servants to help the guards. Most servants knew how to use a sword to protect their Masters. Some were even used as meat shields to fend off stray arrows.

Before Prince Cecil could say anything to Number 18, he saw Freddy, Prince Levi's personal butler, shoot an arrow towards him. He quickly pulled out his sword, but Number 18 quickly jumped in front of the arrow, cutting it down. Seconds later, Prince Cecil saw 18 being pierced by multiple arrows from elsewhere. They were too fast for him to react as they were coming in from six different locations.

Grey didn't see who shot those before falling to his knees. He looked like a human porcupine with the number of arrows sticking out of him. It was so painful to die! It was really painful. It was a feeling that he remembered because of the Villain System, but it had been too long, so he almost forgot.

For a moment, he thought 'I was careless.' In his blurring vision, he could see Prince Cecil in front of him, holding on to him as if he was saying "18, You have to hold on!"

But Grey couldn't hear anything.

"Prince Cecil, you must become the Emperor to save the people of the Empire." These were the last words he said before System 225 took his soul out of that body.