The show during the audience (part 8)

"G-GUARDS! ARREST THIS MURDERER!"

The first prince Noah shouted, losing his cool and presenting the terrorized audience with an ugly expression that was a mix of anger and... fear.

"Stop."

The royal guards began to move, but then a single word and a raised hand of the king stopped them right in their tracks.

"Father?! What are you doing?! That scum just murdered my bodyguard even though their fight was over!"

The first prince gasped in disbelief, making sure to back off so there would be at least one armored guard separating him from the black-haired man with a longsword stuck halfway through his shoulder.

"Noah Allsworth. When I asked you about being ready to handle the consequences, I was speaking about the aftermath of the trial of combat that can only be truly over once one of the opponents is dead. Do you intend to besmirch the honor of our bloodline with your childish outburst?"

"?!?!"

The monarch didn't hold back his words and glared down at his eldest son, causing the gold-haired youngster to back off a few more steps.

The first prince's head was a mess – he had no idea where the talk about a trial of combat came from, and he was even more bewildered by his father publicly scolding him like that.

"...~!"

As if unaware of what was going around him, Medea was grinning like a demon while watching the light of life escape the eyes of the copper-brown-haired man.

*THUMP* *kshhh*

"...!"

Lance's body fell to its knees, dragging the longsword with it and taking Medea by surprise by pulling him along.

The black-haired man drugged out of his mind, didn't even feel a discomfort – much less any pain – when the blade moving back and forth gouged more flesh and scraped along his bones and was merely annoyed that he almost lost his balance and fell.

But that movement was also what made him come to his senses even a little bit.

Medea's gaze met with one of the guards with his weapon half-drawn, and a jolt of reason kickstarted his brain that was clouded with sadistic joy.

"..." *THUNK*

Assuming that his holding on to his weapon even though the fight was over was the reason the security might have suspected him of regicidal tendencies, the black-haired man let go of his knife, fell to the floor with a loud and obnoxious sound, and raised his hand in the gesture of surrender.

Medea also made a little bit of a show by pulling down his sleeves and taking out the other knife.

"I hope that no one will mind that I will take this in front of his majesty. I do not wish to have the crime of thievery officially added to my name, and I believe this sword was the first prince's gift to his bodyguard."

*clang*

"...!"

Medea bowed his head towards the throne and flicked his finger at the weapon sticking out of him, causing the metal to let out a surprisingly clear sound... and rendering everyone in the audience speechless.

*SQUELCH* *SPLASH*

Then, the black-haired man grabbed the blade close to his flesh, and just as he said, he pulled it out – with the addition of a nauseating sound and a squirt of blood from the irritated wound.

"Could any of the esteemed guards pass the sword back to his Highness, the first prince? A commoner like myself, especially in my current state, isn't worthy to approach him~."

"!!!"

Medea took the sword by the bloodied blade and the handle and raised it up towards the first guard he made eye contact with.

"Young man. Shouldn't you take care of your injury first?"

The king then surprised everyone and spoke to the black-haired servant in a rather familiar manner.

"Thank you for your kind words; I am eternally grateful that your majesty shows such care to his subjects. And yet I beg of you to be patient with this one's selfishness as I am the type to finish what I started."

Medea bowed his head without lowering his hands, keeping the sword up while responding to the monarch.

"Hmhm~ So be it! You, what are you waiting for? Or do you want to be responsible for this young man bleeding out?"

"!!!"

The king hummed in amusement before giving an ice-cold side-eye to the guard Medea was facing, causing the poor man to rush towards the black-haired commoner so fast he almost tripped.

"Since we have the potion master here, would you want to have her prepare a healing concoction or at least a pin reliever for you?"

"Father!"

The king glanced over the hazelnut-haired Ava and asked the black-haired man lightheartedly, but it apparently was too much for the gild-haired prince as he called out in disbelief.

Getting scolded and now having his father freely order his friends around was something so new that the first prince had a hard time adjusting to it, which only made him appear that much more inexperienced and childish.

"Thank you for the offer, most kind, your highness, but from personal experience, I know that there aren't many better things than a timely healing pellet."

Medea responded, but only to the king who spoke to him directly, and with his hands now free from the longsword, he slowly reached out to his pocket and took out a single green marble raising it up for everyone to see and acknowledge it wasn't anything else.

"That is very true. You are free to use it now."

"Thank you, your majesty." *crack*

The king smirked and waved his hand approvingly towards the black-haired man, who lowered his head gratefully and crushed the magic pellet without further ado, unleashing the contained healing spell.

The magic enveloped Medea's body and soaked in, scanning and searching his body for injuries and healing everything that was not considered a default state.

Of course, there were limits – for example, the effects of the enhancing drugs that Medea took would not disappear, and the more severe injuries would not be completely healed.

The spell concentrated on the bones first, removing the scratches and filling in the parts shaved off by the blade, then the muscles and blood veins regrew... and after a few more steps, a new sin covered the spot, but with the work it had already done, the recovered wound ended up leaving quite the scar.

"Is there something you wanted to say after supporting my child's words with your actions?"

The king's eyes lingered on the fresh scar on Medea's neck, and he asked, sounding a bit intrigued.

"Thank you for your kindness, your majesty. I believe that the second prince still has something to say, so this lowly commoner doesn't wish to take any more of the precious time of the esteemed aristocrats."

With his plan being basically completed, Medea intercepted the topic of the audience and passed it back towards the disguised Charlotte.