The Secret From Three Years Ago

When Richard walked down the stairs and entered the hall on the first floor, all the bodyguards were still guarding the entrances and exits. They were very vigilant and nervous, lest the people outside suddenly launched an attack. After all, there were only more than 20 of them, it would be difficult to resist an attack of more than ten times the number of enemies.

They did not know what had happened in the bedroom just now, much less the reason for the current turn of events. They were merely paid a salary to protect with their lives something unknown.

Upon seeing Richard, a bodyguard stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, the people outside mean to harm you. A lot of archers are aiming at the gate of the palace. Your Highness, you must not be within their range, or it could get dangerous. Oh, right, where is Captain Edward?"

The bodyguard sounded uncertain toward the end.

Richard looked at him, and his eyes flashed. "Your captain betrayed me, so I killed him."

"Ah!" The bodyguard's eyes widened instantly. "What—"

"In other words, even your captain betrayed me for half of his family's interests. In fact," Richard said softly, "you don't have to protect me at all. There is no need, and it makes no sense. All of you should leave."

"I…" The bodyguard opened his mouth, not knowing what to say, but in the end he gritted his teeth and said, "No, I will always protect Your Highness, till my death."

"Huh? Why? Is it worth it?" Richard asked.

The bodyguard was speechless. He was not a nobleman, he was just the son of a farmer. He was illiterate and could not find the words to explain what he felt. He gasped and said, "I- I don't know, but I- I understand that it would be wrong to leave now. I- I don't know why Captain Edward betrayed Your Highness, but I- I will never betray Your Highness, even if I- I die."

"Bill," Richard said.

The bodyguard trembled, a little surprised and shocked. In fact, he had not spoken to Richard before today, so he had not expected Richard to remember his name correctly.

He quickly responded, "Yes!"

"I have a task for you," Richard said softly.

"Yes, Your Highness, I will make sure to complete the task." The bodyguard hit his chest with his right fist and knelt down on one knee.

"You are now the Chief Bodyguard. There is a tunnel in the kitchen that leads directly to outside of the city. Although it's a bit tight, people can pass through it. Bring all the bodyguards and leave through the tunnel. Don't try to refuse, I already know that you are more loyal than Edward.

"However, being fiercely loyal does not mean to die, but to work hard through a humble and difficult life. It's meaningless to sacrifice for nothing. If you are really loyal to me, escape and survive. Perhaps in the future, I will find you and give you a purpose. Hopefully, you will not have forgotten me by then."

"I…" The soldier named Bill stared at Richard. "Then, isn't Your Highness coming with us?"

"It's harder to walk through the tunnel. I prefer to leave through the front door. Of course, don't worry about me, I have made my own arrangements. Also, I wish to speak to someone," Richard said, tapping the bodyguard's shoulders. He then turned and walked out of the palace, his gaze sharpening.

Outside, long spears lined with raised swords waited in dreadful silence.

However, many soldiers were slightly taken aback when they saw Richard come out. They had a puzzled expression on their faces, as this was different from the orders they had received.

Richard saw it in their eyes and said, "William, come out. If you don't show up, your men won't dare to attack. After all, I guess you definitely hadn't given the order to kill the prince, but to kill the Chief Bodyguard who betrayed the prince, am I right?"

The crowd parted, and the new king, William, appeared wearing a beautiful golden robe with various colorful patterns, inlaid with gems of different sizes.

At that moment, William's expression was not angry but mighty. After walking out, he looked at Richard for a moment and suddenly smiled.

"My dear brother, you came out alive. Did Edward betray yet again? Not only did he betray you, but he betrayed me too? Tsk, I find it odd. How did you convince him?" William narrowed his eyes.

"Very simple. I killed him," Richard said calmly.

William's pupils shrank slightly, yet his expression remained calm. "You already knew that he had betrayed you? You no longer trusted him, so you ordered the other bodyguards to kill him? It makes sense as well. After all, with his poor fighting skills, I'm afraid he couldn't have defeated an ordinary bodyguard. But I must say, you are very sharp and smart.

"But then again, no matter how smart you are, you didn't imagine it would end like this, my dear brother?" William's tone changed slightly.

"Actually, I had been ready for this for a long time." Richard still looked calm.

"Im-po-ssi-ble!" William glared at him, emphasizing each syllable to make his point.

"Heh," Richard said, "should I explain it to you? Actually, I know more than you think. For example, I knew it was you who spread the rumor three years ago. Yes, it was you who made my respected father, the former King Donners, doubt me and think I was making voodoo dolls to curse him.

"Then there was that palace massacre. Almost everyone, no matter their rank, was killed. Hundreds of lives were taken. Their blood stained the square in front of my palace, and I was imprisoned for six months. Huh.

"I guess you were arrogant and felt relieved back then, thinking that I would no longer be qualified to fight for the throne. Even if I had really been after the throne, that incident would have driven a wedge between my respected father, His Majesty King Donners, and me. However, the problem is that from the beginning I had no wish to fight with you. I told you that I had very important things to do, but what happened three years ago made me even more certain of my wish to leave.

"To be honest, if I hadn't been a prince in this world, but the heir of a small nobleman, maybe things would have been better. Being a prince is a very high position, many people are watching. There are many responsibilities that come with this position, and I don't like bearing these responsibilities. In order to do what I want to do properly, leaving is the best choice. I will leave the palace, Blue Lion City, and the entire Blue Lion Kingdom."

William stopped speaking and looked at Richard with a strange expression. "You…"

After a long pause, he took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Even if you say that, I won't let you leave."