Treatise Of A Failed Knight

"The cult has been eliminated," I confirm, my tone flat. "The kidnapped civilians have been rescued. But there remains one outstanding matter."

I let my gaze sweep across the assembled royalty, making no effort to conceal my suspicion.

"Prince Claus. Where is he?"

The King’s expression tightens. "That is precisely why we requested your presence. My son has been missing for—"

"I know when he went missing," I interrupt, my patience already worn thin. "What I want to know is who took him. And why?"

Silence descends over the throne room like a shroud.

The true intention behind my question seems to have gotten through to them.

They must now realize that the Prince was likely not involved with the cult and instead had to have been captured by one of their own.

So, what will they say now?

First Prince Jakob speaks first, his voice calm but firm. "Lord Javier, I understand you’re upset, but accusations without evidence—"

"Evidence?" I laugh, the sound bitter and sharp. "You want evidence? Very well."

I activate Existential Resonance alongside Clairvoyance, expanding my perception throughout the palace. The Royal Family doesn’t understand what I’m doing—they can’t perceive the Temporal Layers or detect Trace Elements.

But I can.

And what I find makes my blood boil.

’They didn’t even hide it well. My detection of Trace Elements and Mystical Characteristics exposes everything so easily when I know what I’m looking for.’

"Someone in this room," I say softly, dangerously, "used a Shaman Spell here weeks ago. Right around the time Prince Claus disappeared."

The Queen’s composure cracks, just for an instant.

A flicker of fear crosses her features before she smooths it away.

But I saw it.

"The only people who can use such abilities do not have business in the palace...," I continue, my voice rising. "Which means either someone hired a Shaman to kidnap the Prince, or—"

I let Golden Dawn materialize in my hand, its radiant light filling the throne room.

"—one of you is working with someone who has access to such powers."

"Lord Javier!" The King stands, alarm evident. "Please, calm yourself. We can discuss this rationally—"

"Rationally?" I snarl. "You all must think I am a joke or something. You thought you could deceive me with this drivel? ME?!"

At this point, there is no need to hide my capabilities as a Leviathan, even from the princes.

I need to show them... just how powerful I am!

I take a step forward, and the Royal Guards tense, hands moving to their weapons.

They wouldn’t stand a chance against me, and everyone in this room knows it.

Even disregarding the fact that I am a Leviathan, Golden Dawn is an A Grade Armament, far more powerful than whatever it is these people wield.

"So I’ll ask one more time," I say, each word precise and cold. "Where. Is. Prince. Claus?"

The First Prince moves to respond, but the Queen raises her hand, silencing him.

"Enough," she says quietly. "Enough lies. Enough deception."

She stands, her regal bearing crumbling like a sandcastle before the tide. Tears stream down her face, her carefully maintained composure finally shattering completely.

"It was me," Queen Elara confesses, her voice breaking. "I’m the one who hid Claus. I’m the one who made him disappear."

The throne room erupts in shocked murmurs. King Claudius stares at his wife in disbelief.

The Princes look equally stunned.

"My dear..." the King whispers. "What have you done?"

"I did what I had to!" The Queen’s voice rises, desperate and anguished. "To protect him! To protect our son!"

"From what?" I demand. "From whom?"

She turns to face me, and in her eyes I see the terrible weight of a secret carried too long.

"From the truth," she says. "From the coronation ceremony that would expose everything. From the execution that would follow."

Understanding begins to dawn, cold and terrible.

"Claus isn’t the King’s legitimate son," I say slowly. "Is he?"

The Queen’s silence is answer enough.

King Claudius sinks back onto his throne, looking suddenly old. "Dear... tell me this isn’t true. Tell me you didn’t—"

"I’m sorry," she sobs. "I’m so sorry, my love. It was a moment of weakness, years ago, when we were going through difficulties. I never meant for it to happen. And when I discovered I was pregnant, I thought... I hoped..."

"That no one would ever know," the First Prince finishes, his expression hardening. "That your bastard could claim the throne through deception."

"He’s still my brother! Regardless of his parentage—"" The Second Prince interjects, though his voice wavers ever so slightly.

He must think his actions will be able to curry favor with me.

How naive.

"The coronation ceremony uses an ancient ritual, if I remember correctly," I explain, my anger cooling into grim understanding. "It verifies bloodline authenticity. If Claus isn’t truly of royal blood, the ceremony would reject him. Expose him publicly."

"And the penalty for such deception is death," the First Prince adds coldly. "Not just for the pretender, but for all who knowingly participated in the fraud."

The Queen collapses to her knees, weeping openly now. "I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t watch my son die for my sins. So I... I arranged for him to disappear. Made it look like a kidnapping. If he were missing, he couldn’t be exposed."

"Who helped you?" I ask. "This required temporal manipulation. You couldn’t have done it alone."

"I have... connections," she admits. "People who owed me favors. I called them in. They created the illusion, made it appear as though Claus vanished without a trace."

I think about the Trace Elements I detected. Weak, barely noticeable. It definitely appears to be the work of a Shaman’s Spell. Or maybe just sophisticated Potions and Armaments designed to mimic such effects.

"Where is he?" King Claudius asks, his voice hollow. "Where is my... where is Claus?"

The Queen looks up at her husband, devastation written across her features. "In the old summer palace. Hidden in the sealed wing. I’ve been sending food and supplies through trusted servants. Keeping him safe until... until I could find another solution."

"There is no other solution," the First Prince says harshly. "The law is clear. The consequences are—"

"I’ll handle it," I interrupt.

Everyone turns to stare at me.

"You’ll... what?" the King asks.

I sheath Golden Dawn, my decision made. "I’ll handle the succession. Prince Claus will be crowned."

"But the ceremony—"

"Can be faked," I say bluntly. "As the Royal Family, you can surely manipulate the ceremony’s verification process. Make it appear that Claus is legitimate, even if he isn’t."

Shocked silence.

"You want us to... falsify sacred tradition?" the First Prince demands. "Deceive the entire kingdom?"

"Yes," I reply without hesitation. "Because right now, with the threats we’re facing, this kingdom needs stability more than it needs purity of bloodline. We have rogue Leviathans operating in our territory, enemies I can’t even explain to you yet."

I look each of them in the eye, one by one.

"So you will do what I say if you wish for me to resolve this issue for you."

Silence reigns supreme.

It causes me to sigh deeply, especially since the faces in front of me do not look very pleased.

But what of it?

"The last thing we need is a succession crisis—chaos and instability while our enemies circle like vultures. To prevent that, I will do whatever is necessary to ensure this kingdom survives."

"B-but—" the Second Prince mutters quietly.

He clearly thought this would be his chance to bounce back to the crown prince position.

But it’s already too late for Korrin.

"But nothing. I have made my choice."

I let the power of my Armament flare—not aggressively, but enough to make the point.

The air in the throne room grows heavy.

The temperature instantly drops.

"Just so we are clear, even if you do not cooperate, I will go ahead with it anyway," I say simply. "Because at this point, I can do and undo whatever I want in the Randalorion Kingdom. And you will all obey—especially with the immediate crisis on the horizon."

It’s not a threat, exactly. Just a statement of fact.

I’ve become too powerful for them to refuse.

Too essential for them to alienate.

The recent events have also proven that their authority means nothing against forces they can’t comprehend.

King Claudius seems to age another decade in that moment.

But finally, he nods.

"Very well," he says. "We will proceed as you suggest. For the kingdom’s sake."

"Show me where Claus is hidden," I order the Queen. "Bring him back. We’ll stage his ’rescue’ and move forward with the coronation as planned."

The Queen nods shakily, rising to her feet.

"Thank you," she whispers. "Thank you for—"

"Don’t thank me," I cut her off. "I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing it because your personal drama is interfering with more important matters. Now move."

She flinches but complies, leading me and a small contingent of guards toward the old summer palace.

As we walk, I can’t help but feel a sense of bitter irony.

I came here expecting grand conspiracy, political machinations, perhaps even involvement from one of the Princes seeking to eliminate a rival.

Instead, I found a mother’s desperate attempt to protect her child from the consequences of her own mistakes.

Almost... human.

Almost sympathetic.

But I don’t have the luxury of sympathy right now.

Not with everything else weighing on me.

We reach the sealed wing, and the Queen produces a key. The door opens to reveal a modest chamber where Prince Claus sits reading by candlelight.

He looks up, startled, as we enter. "Mother? What’s happening? I thought you said—"

"It’s over, Claus," she says gently. "Lord Javier knows everything. He’s... he’s going to help us."

"L-Lord Javier...?" The Prince looks at me, confusion and fear warring in his expression.

"You’ll still help me? But if the truth is known, I’ll be—"

"You’ll be King," I tell him firmly. "Because I’m going to make sure the ceremony accepts you. And in return, you’re going to be the ruler this kingdom needs. Understood?"

He stares at me for a long moment, then nods slowly. "I... yes. I understand."

"Good. Now come on. We have a lot of work to do."

As we escort Prince Claus back to the main palace, and as the Queen is taken into custody by the Royal Guards, I feel something... wrong.

A nagging sensation.

It makes me feel rather uneasy.

’Could it be—?’

I quickly activate an Armament and tune in quickly.

The uneasy feeling grows stronger, more insistent, until I can’t ignore it anymore.

"Stop," I say suddenly.

Everyone halts, looking at me in confusion.

"Lord Javier?" one of the guards asks. "Is something—"

But I’m not listening anymore.

Something is happening a considerable distance away from this place.

There’s somewhere I need to be.

Right now!

"Take care of everything from this point on. I’ll be in touch."

"But Lord Javier—"

I don’t wait for them to finish.

WHOOSH!

Activating Tracing, I appear in a completely different location.

With a sour expression on my face, I stare at the person before me and mutter:

"You..."