Shadow Guard (9)

Edited by: Kuro and Lille

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Emperor Emeron was staring at the letter in his hands, gripping it so tightly it crumbled in his grip, but he still stared at it. He had already read through it, but he was so angry he couldn't focus his anger anywhere else besides the letter.

The contents of the letter were about how his second son, Prince Cecil, was protecting his youngest son, Prince Zachary, from the Crown Prince. It hinted that he needed to investigate Prince Levi but he already did.

On the desk was a file containing all the information on Prince Levi from Number 1. He had already read the contents and was so angry that he needed to take deep breaths or his blood pressure would be the end of him.

He had kept Prince Cecil's letter, reading it over and over again, but when the report had finally come to him, everything made sense! It all made sense.

That man was not his son! His son, his son! Where in the world was his real first child?!

****

Prince Levi was holding a sword in his hands as he sliced his desk in two. His face was red from anger as he looked for more things to chop in half to appease his anger. Nothing in his office was spared. Even the poor oil lamp by his desk was broken in half.

"Why, why, WHY?! WHY IS NOTHING GOING MY WAY?" Prince Levi screamed at the top of his lungs as he kicked down the door and stormed out.

His personal butler, Freddy, was running after him and trying to calm him down, but Prince Levi was furious. He couldn't hear anything else around him besides his heart beating quickly. His vision was turning red as he looked for objects around the palace for him to cut down. Even a poor, innocent, maid had lost her life in his rampage.

"Your Highness, please, you must stop!" Freddy ran behind him, trying to keep up. This butler was a man from the Liyas Empire. He had followed Prince Levi since the day of his birth and was his closest confidante. He also was the one who made it possible to communicate with the Liyas Empire.

"If you kill anyone else, you will get lectured by the Emperor. He may even try to investigate you because you are acting the way his father has!"

"Stop ordering me around, stop lecturing me! I'm going to go over to Cecil and chop him down myself. Then I will take down Zachary and kill the Emperor! No one can stop me. I will be the Emperor!" Prince Levi was going insane. He was so clouded by anger that he was going to ruin the plan that the Liyas Empire had been planning for decades!

"If you do that you will be exposed, Your Highness! If you were to die, the Liyas Empire wouldn't be able to take over Uferna!"

The Liyas Empire looked upon Prince Levi highly because of his looks. The Liyas Empire knew that the current Emperor was a powerful man who could hold them back from conquering the world. If Prince Levi messes up, they will be stopped, even pushed back from their world domination. They were close, so very close to completing their goal.

Prince Levi stopped in his tracks before finally taking a deep breath. "Yes, you are right. My purpose here is much bigger than these commoners who haven't even noticed who their son and brother really are."

He was calmer but he couldn't help but pace around the room. "Prince Cecil is the only thing standing in my way right now."

Prince Levi had always hated that "younger brother" of his who was better at everything than him. Prince Cecil didn't have to put much effort but most of the nobles were on his side while he, Prince Levi, barely had anyone. Only those who wanted to indulge in wealth and lust saw the benefits of supporting him.

He was insecure because he was always compared to his successful younger brother who could do everything! It was frustrating to even think about it.

He knew he couldn't indiscriminately kill Prince Cecil in broad daylight. That man should have a weakness somewhere or someone… As long as that man was dead, everything would fall into place. He would finally be recognized as a legitimate son of the Liyas Empire and rule over this territory and become the King, or even the Emperor!

****

'Hmm? Wasn't there a princess female lead? Wasn't there another female lead besides the Princess? What happened to Prince Levi's lover?' Grey questioned as he was talking to System 225 about any updates.

He finished all the side missions, so he had a bit more free time while he looked for the real Prince Levi.

[Princess Serah is engaged to a Duke's son. She isn't considered the female protagonist anymore. Also, it seems that Prince Levi had put a hold on the balls the moment you chose Prince Cecil. He wanted you on his side so he did everything he could to persuade you. Since you didn't accept him, he had been trying to eliminate all his enemies and tried to make sure he captured you and brought you over. Thus, he had no time for dancing and socializing.]

He just indirectly erased the female protagonist and the second female protagonist from the plot and didn't know if he should be happy or not. Was it really that easy to do so? Weren't they in a C-ranked world?

[Host, do not worry. The second female lead had just gotten married to her childhood friend in the countryside. She won't be a part of the plot anymore.]

Welp, what's done is done... Grey sighed and thought about how to find the real Prince Levi now that the female protagonists were off his mind. It was the last thing he wanted to do before making Prince Cecil Emperor.

The first place he was going to go to was the Association.

.

.

.

.

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"Hmm? So that Shadow Guard is here right now?" A man with golden blonde hair and light blue eyes sat at a desk in a small office with no windows. There were no books, no other chairs or sofas, just his desk, chair, and a carpet in front of it.

The Association knew everything about the Shadow Guards. They were always butting heads, especially when some of their Assassins had to fight against them when someone wanted to assassinate Royalty. The Shadow Guards also went to the Association for training sometimes. They were powerful, so the labor was not rejected. The Association was a weird grey area of the Empire.

"Yes, Master. He is asking for information that would require your authority."

"Bring him in."

"Yes, Master!"

The man in the skin-tight black suit and mask disappeared from the office, leaving the young man alone in the room. He wore a very basic outfit, but since it was styled like a nobleman's casual clothing, one could mistake him for a noble. His hair was a bit long, so he put it up into a ponytail, leaving his neck bare. He had two daggers at his side and many hidden weapons.

He may be the hidden boss behind the Association, but he was still an assassin. He had to crawl his way through hell to get to the top, only to find out he was the real Crown Prince. But who would believe him? He had grown up a commoner in the countryside. The person he had thought to be his mother was actually a palace maid who did everything she could to make sure he was alive and safe. She was actually supposed to kill him, but she couldn't do that so she raised him. When she was about to die, she told him who he really was.

Even though he was shocked, what was done was done. He had already become a part of the Association to pay her medical bills. He didn't care about the throne, so he did everything he could to become the top of the Association. With this status, he would be able to interfere with everything the other Prince Levi had planned.

There was no need to take a faker seriously. Prince Levi already knew the man was a fake, but he was shocked to find out that the Crown Prince was actually a Prince from the Liyas Empire. He couldn't dig too much into detail about the Liyas Empire as it was across the sea, but from what he heard, they were a vicious bunch that only had thoughts of world domination.

He also knew how important the Crown Prince was to the Liyas Empire, so he decided he was only going to half-heartedly help them. The Association was getting paid so they should at least do their jobs.

As he was thinking, he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in."

Grey was escorted inside by the masked man. That man left the two alone so that they could talk. Grey looked up at the man in front of him. He wasn't shocked. He wasn't surprised, but his suspicions were finally put to rest.

Grey knew who the man in front of him was.

"It seems I don't have to look far and wide to find you, Your Highness, the First Prince."

"You took just a look at my face and you can tell who I am? It seems I have underestimated the Shadow Guards." The Shadow Guards information system was more extensive than he thought it was. The Association prided on not only their Assassins but their intel. He couldn't help but admire the man in front of him.

"I don't have that kind of ability, but I can recognize the small features of a person's face. You look just like the Emperor. There is no way I could mistake it. Also, I had my suspicions that someone in the Association was the real First Prince. You just happen to validate it."

The real Prince Levi, who went by Larson, couldn't help but laugh. "It seems that is how it is."

Prince Levi, or Larson, was filled with all sorts of emotions as he looked at the man in front of him. He had calmed down after a while before he asked the question he wanted to know.

"I heard you are seeking some sort of information. You wouldn't be if you were requesting to see me. What is it?"

"My question was for any information on you, but you are here. There is not much I can ask now... The only thing I must ask is, will you consider coming back to the Empire to meet the Emperor?"

The real Prince was shocked and didn't say anything for a bit. He sighed, "I will think about it..."

"That is enough for me, Your Highness. I must get going now. I hope we meet again."

After that, Grey disappeared into the Shadows. No one knew where he went, but Prince Levi was definitely intrigued by 18's Aura.

"How fascinating to be able to erase one's presence so quickly and so accurately. It's like he blended into the shadows and became one with the shadows!"

He was interested now that he had met 18. If he went back to the Uferna Empire, would he be able to learn that same trick? Probably not but he really wanted to! Maybe he could become a Shadow Guard so he could learn all their fancy tricks…

That would be fun, wouldn't it?