The sound of his blood dripping stunned the people who saw their Prince stuck in time

"Get out... both of you," Lidien said, just above a whisper.

The soldier immediately grabbed the arm of the child and pulled him, throwing him out of the room and guarding the entrance... telling himself that no matter what he saw and heard, it would not come out, for his life would be the cost of it.

Lidien stood before Nyomi's ghost and offered a smile... a strained, fragile thing as he tried to convince himself he was happy to see her, even in death.

"Tell me, Nyomi... what do you desire?"

Nyomi's ghost smiled, staring at him, and shook her head.

"To... serve you... My... Prince..."

Nyomi didn't hate him; on the contrary... she was thankful... for experiencing the life she wished for... even if it was just an illusion and far from reality.

Lidien reached his hand towards her, smiling as a single tear dropped from his eyes.

"Take my hand, Nyomi... and serve me with your soul..."

Nyomi reached out, a smile of happiness touching her face.

Lidien activated his Whisper of Soul. He felt a cool, gentle stream of energy--Nyomi's Soul Essence--flow into him as she began to disintegrate, her form smiling at him genuinely until the very last moment.

As Nyomi's ghost vanished like smoke, Lidien gulped and wiped his face of its single tear.

And as he stared at her decomposing body... Lidien saw her corpse smiling.

Nyomi's corpse was so bloody, and the stench of it couldn't be compared to outside the room.

Her neck was devastated, like a large maw had bit it and yanked it forcefully... while her chest had a gaping hole, so large that it could fit Lidien's head.

Lidien relaxed himself, as hatred seethed deep in his bones.

'Is this how the old Lidien felt when he saw Kanaz dead in front of him?'

Two weeks, in just two weeks Lidien had gained a friend, though it was built from fear and status... the time they spent together was real.

He raised his hands slowly and with control, putting them on Nyomi's closed eyes, gently opening them.

As the Echoes of the Flesh gave Lidien new information upon touching her eyes...

He watched the night how Nyomi died.

She was walking from the Knowledge Spire, after she used her connection with Lidien to get a new book for tomorrow's reading session.

However, upon coming into a dark alley, she noticed that someone was following her.

A black-cloaked man, hiding in the shadows...

She ran, leaving the books as she tried to escape the man.

Even if she was unsure, her fear and instincts told her to run and escape no matter what.

Yet, it was not enough.

Turning another corner, she met the man's eyes staring at her with their crimson gaze.

"I-I am the personal reader of the Prince... you are not allowed to touch me!"

The black-cloaked man laughed, and it turned to hysterical as his teeth turned jagged.

Then he screeched.

"Even your Prince's life is not enough to pay for what he has taken from me!"

Crack!

A wet and cracking sound of bones and organs filled the night, as the hands and claws of the black-cloaked man exited from Nyomi's chest... and lifted her up before a crunching sound of a bite destroyed her neck.

Nyomi's life passed before her eyes, and the last thing she knew was, she was holding her neck, stopping its blood from spraying... as she stared at the black-cloaked man's maw, cascading it with her fresh blood.

Lidien felt it from his hands, the small amount of Necrotic Essence he absorbed from the decaying body of Nyomi...

However, the weight of the tragedy couldn't be compared with his discovery.

"That beastfolk followed us here..."

Now, Lidien understood... it wasn't that the Dark Wolf Clan didn't want to send an Envoy...

It was because the news of their Princess dying by Lidien's hand didn't reach them, for the one he trusted to bring the news had followed him to get his revenge.

'So this is what Mother meant by unfinished business... The beast I left in the open has been hunting in my shadow.'

Lidien's hands gripped again, this time... it wasn't from hatred towards the Beastfolk.

But from the realization of Lady Rose's ability to know everything inside the Blood Rose Clan, yet she maintained vagueness and didn't even take action... just being stuck inside the Rift.

'What's so special about that Rift, that you couldn't even leave that area...'

Lidien took a deep breath, turned around, and left the room with Nyomi's decaying corpse.

After getting out, he stared at the child, standing with a heated gaze.

"W-What did you do to my sister!?"

The child cried and shouted, making the onlookers stare at Lidien with hatred and disgust.

Lidien smiled and activated his Blood Form, making the slaves flinch from the Monster in front of them.

The child, even though afraid... tried to attack Lidien but was immediately stopped by the soldier, who slapped him and put him in his place.

He glanced at the boy, his crimson eyes utterly devoid of warmth.

"Burn the body. The position of my reader is now vacant. You will fill it."

Then he gestured at the soldier, who was still subduing Nyomi's brother.

"Let's leave." he said, deactivating his Blood Form.

The soldier bowed and walked ahead, followed by Lidien.

As they exited the slum, the soldier immediately got the standby carriage, old but still functioning, and as he attached the horse, Lidien didn't think twice before getting inside of it.

The soldier became the coachman, and as he whipped the horse, he asked.

"Where should we proceed, My Prince?"

Lidien stared outside towards the slum with his now bored eyes, and contemplated while gently tapping his forehead continuously... a hobby he got from his past life when he needed to think with complexity.

After a few minutes of silence, he said.

"Go to the Mission Hall."

The carriage moved, slowly... the same as his smile forming sinisterly.

'It's time to use this title of mine...'

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