Rise of the Lustful Evil Monarch (Re)

Third Person's POV

He was no longer the fiery and arrogant demon heir but just a silent dog bound by his cold and unforgiving chain.

"Now," Ethan said in a voice barely louder than the wind,

"do you believe me, Mister Dark Knight? Here I am, still standing and still sane.

If I had lied… well, you know what the consequences would have been."

The knight gave a small nod and his eyes, which had been hard and alert a moment ago, briefly closed as he exhaled.

The tension in his stance loosened, and his tightly clenched fingers slowly relaxed.

He didn't answer Ethan's question directly.

Instead, he said quietly,

"Alright… what must I do, little brother?"

The way he said it was strange and almost too casual, but Ethan caught the shift in it.

It wasn't mockery but just acceptance that had a trace of exhaustion behind it, or maybe even a hint of respect.

Ethan didn't react to the change in how the knight addressed him.

He simply gave a small, tight-lipped smile and began to speak.

No words passed through the air, but the knight's expression changed slightly as he reacted to the voice and the message entering directly into his mind.

When Ethan finished, the knight raised his brows in mild surprise and asked,

"Only this?"

"Yeah. Only this."

Ethan replied in a flat but firm voice.

The knight nodded slowly as if expecting something worse.

He seemed to want to ask another question, but his gaze shifted past Ethan, and he paused.

His eyes landed on the unconscious prince, whose neck was still wrapped in the misty black chains that pulsed faintly with dark energy.

Ethan adjusted the grip on the chain slightly and let it drag a bit lower as if reminding the knight of the current balance of power without needing to say a word.

The sight of the prince hanging like that while being stripped of his usual pride, with his body limp and unconscious, didn't stir any deep emotion in the demon knight.

His expression remained mostly unchanged in a perpetual calm and unreadable state.

Ethan observed this closely and understood something important: this knight didn't care much for the heirs of Duke Vord.

Whether it was that loud, arrogant brat whose arm Ethan had severed the night before, or the current unconscious heir, it didn't matter.

There was no loyalty in his eyes, just some obligation or contract with which he was bound to protect them.

The fury the knight had shown before hadn't been for the prince's sake.

But it had been for himself, that is, his own pride was being challenged and his strength mocked.

Now, with the beginnings of a tentative understanding forming between them, that desire for punishment had cooled.

Even so, a faint crease of frustration pulled at the corners of his mouth as he voiced a concern that had clearly been gnawing at him.

"You want me to paint you as an assassin from a rival empire… fine.

But how do you plan to deal with the testimony of the prince and that spoiled fool from last night?

Their memories, their words—those alone could unravel everything.

You know I can't silence them.

Not by death and definitely not by fear, and not without burning your entire plan to ash.

And I am not about to risk my own neck on a suicide mission, no matter how bold you are."

His voice held a pragmatic edge, not laced with anger or challenge, just realism, though Ethan could sense a gleam of hope in his voice for a possible solution.

As of now, the knight wasn't rejecting the plan but just making sure that it was airtight.

Hearing this, Ethan didn't worry it frown, as he had expected this question and had even welcomed it.

But before he could speak, the crunch of footsteps over dry, broken grass interrupted the moment.

Both he and the knight turned to look as their attention was drawn toward the source.

Through the misted air and broken silhouettes of charred trees, two familiar figures emerged.

They were Virelle and Velcy.

The one walking on the front was Velcy, and as soon as she caught sight of his safe and sound figure, her eyes lit up in response.

Without hesitation, she sprinted toward him and threw herself into his arms, and embraced him with an expression full of unspoken relief and joy.

Ethan caught her with ease while a subtle smile curved on his lips as he welcomed her in.

Behind her, Virelle followed with her usual composed grace and her sharp eyes scanning the area as if confirming all was in order.

But Ethan's gaze was already shifting behind her, where he saw a third figure that seemed to have always been present in the tall shadows of the now dark forest.

A thin, hooded silhouette glided forward towards his position.

It drifted with an unnatural stillness as if the wind itself carried it.

With it, it brought a soft pressure that swept through the air, like the silence before a storm.

While Ethan's eyes narrowed slightly at the blood slave's direct appearance, he suddenly noticed the demon knight shift subtly beside him.

For the first time since he had known this fighter, he spotted beads of sweat forming on his brow while his hand closed tighter around his weapon's hilt, though he didn't draw it.

He could tell that the tremor in his stance wasn't from fear but from a silent recognition.

Though in the next second, he slowly went back to normal as he had somehow concluded that this dark but scary apparition was not an enemy, at least not to Ethan.

As for Ethan, the corners of his mind stirred with satisfaction.

This quiet and controlled presence and the way the blood slave had dulled the air had made even a seasoned warrior at the Sky Realm tense.

The silent confrontation just moments before had confirmed one major conjecture that he had long suspected.