All eyes traced towards Kailen and the crown prince.

Under the gazes of everyone, the crown prince smiled extremely warmly towards Kailen as he approached Kailen.

Kailen noticed the emotion of dangerous glee and amusement, just raw, palpable amusement, laced on the face of the crown prince, as he approached him.

This crazy bastard really saw him as someone he deemed an amusement, some sort of interesting fellow he wanted to have a last, epic showdown with.

Kailen simply smirked.

It didn't matter.

The same end awaited all his enemies, even those who thought they didn't fear death, even those who thought they had nothing to lose.

And this fellow would face something extremely terrifying before he died.

Kailen would make sure to break him, even if he was already broken, before he killed him.

As these thoughts flashed through Kailen's mind, under the gazes of the society members and several instructors, the crown prince, clad in simple clothes yet calmly approaching Kailen with natural regality and warmth, addressed Kailen.

"If it isn't the man of the moment, the most eligible youngster and talked about person in the empire right now. It's an honor to finally meet you, Black Flask Darkhaven."

A show for the audience, huh.

As expected of the fucking crown prince — an Oscar-worthy performance.

A glint of shamelessness flashed through Kailen's eyes as he simply replied with a nod and a calm voice.

"Your Highness."

Pin-drop silence.

Almost everyone had been in extremely high spirits and had been greeting and honoring the crown prince when he approached them and congratulated them for being part of the societies that came out on top in the society wars, deeming it a great honor for the crown prince of the empire to grace them with his presence.

Even Zarek, who had sensed something was off with the crown prince, and Lian Yu, who was already aware of the two-faced bastard's nature, had to act respectful to the man because he was extremely powerful.

But Kailen's response — Your Highness — no curt bow, acknowledgment, or honorable reply to the crown prince, said a whole lot.

He didn't regard the man for some reason, and he wouldn't put on airs to act like he respected him.

Many didn't know why Kailen was acting like this, but they shrugged, thinking it was actually his nature, considering how tyrannical he could be.

Many watched the crown prince's expression.

He may have been humble to citizens, may have been humble and even considerate enough to the name of his late father — the late emperor — to a point where he had even decided to not be regarded with the title of Emperor, even though he was technically the emperor and had already been coronated.

But he had his pride, and although Kailen had been almost a myth in the empire, he didn't have to be too careless with addressing the man, right?

Contrary to their worries, the crown prince simply smiled.

No one noticed any expression of disrespect or discontent on his face.

He, however, to them, looked genuinely pleased with Kailen.

Something many interpreted to be that the crown prince deemed Kailen courageous or as someone with a strong will, and therefore didn't take his casual address of the crown prince as offensive.

However, at the moment, the crown prince had sent a thought transmission to Kailen.

"Keep entertaining me, Darkhaven. I'm bored and can't help but look forward to the moment when you are a worthy opponent. Ah, just the thought of it is too thrilling!"

Kailen simply sighed, ignoring the man once more — an act of defiance that seemed refreshing and ecstatic to the crown prince.

Everyone was bowing and sucking up to him all the time, but this…

This was what he was looking for.

Ah!

The crown prince turned towards everyone and said warmly, "Everyone, I initially had plans to observe you all achieve your breakthroughs, but empire-wide duty calls. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, after all. I wish you all the best."

After that, under several reverential gazes, His Highness disappeared from the place.

Several members of the society stared at Kailen with respect.

To them, Kailen was a complete nut job.

Strange things happened around him all the time.

Who could regard the most powerful man in the empire like the way he did and still get looks of approval from the man?

How did he even have the courage to do that?

Sigh.

Even the instructors, Sigrid Coppervein and others, had the same thoughts.

As for the Principal, she looked at Kailen with a gaze full of complex emotions and sighed deeply.

Sensing her gaze, Kailen stared at her with an apathetic expression — one so brief that no one noticed — and withdrew his gaze from her.

But it told her everything.

He knew that she was a Vimodial contractor.

Just like he knew Bryce was one.

She remembered how shocked she felt when she remembered the words of the emperor — who preferred to be called the crown prince — after he had mysteriously deduced that Kailen knew he, the Emperor, was behind the instigation against Kailen's parents.

He had told her Kailen had found out.

She also remembered how stupid she felt when she learned that the Emperor, the very same person who had suggested a desperate shortcut to power to avenge the demise of the parents of the young man before him, was actually the one responsible for their tragedy.

When she asked him why he had done that to her — manipulated her by making her think he was giving her hope for revenge — only to simply tell her later that he was the one behind the tragedy of her cherished disciple, he simply said two words.

"At the time, I wanted to vent my hatred on someone close to them. That's why I made you the very same thing you would have come to discover you wanted revenge against. But honestly, things have changed. I'm telling you now because I'm bored, and I am genuinely, simply curious about how you'd feel finding out that you are on the side of who was supposed to be your enemy."

Those words had broken her.

She berated herself every day for forgiveness.

If only there was a way to go back in time.

But alas...

She would end up dying at the hands of someone who could have been her godson.

She could surrender willingly to him, so that her death becomes easy and her guilt would probably lesson.

But the Crown Prince had her under a rune off, that made her absolutely loyal to him.

She didn't even have the right to kill herself.

She sighed as these thoughts flashed through her mind.

She was now on the side of Kailen's enemy.

But that didn't mean she could not apologize to him at least, right?

She simply sighed and sent him a thought transmission.

"I'm sorry."

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