Chapter 102
CHAPTER 102
EXASPERATED THIRD PRINCE
Annel was a Prince, a revered person even in the most dominating Dynasty of the Eastern Continent, yet now he stood dressed as a normal commoner with makeup covering his facial features . Next to him stood his younger sister, Evelyn, who was doing her hardest yet again not to burst out laughing .
" . . . are you sure you want to do this?" she asked with an odd expression .
"I have to do this!" Annel exclaimed more so to convince himself than to reply to her question . "He"s crossed the line!"
"He only made a few women cry . . . "
"Few?! He made every woman west of Flaggen Chapel cry! That"s hundreds of people, Eve!"
" . . . khm, yeah, my bad . You should definitely dress up as a commoner and bait him . Wouldn"t it be more appropriate if I went? He seems to go after women, after all . "
"I can"t risk it," Annel said, shaking his head . "Who knows what he does to them? You"re too precious to be a bait . "
"Ah . . . whatever . Have fun, I suppose . "
"Fun? I"m not doing this to have fun!"
"Yeah, sure, whatever . . . "
Evelyn turned around and left, leaving Annel standing alone just outside the royal compound"s walls . He watched streams of people moving left and right, all of whom would kneel before him any time of the day if he dressed and looked as per usual . Yet, now, they all ignored him as though he was an ant . It was truly a new experience for him .
He moved toward the southern part of the city where residences of mostly middle-cla.s.s people were built . There, a notorious web of alleyways was the flame of rumors as of recently, named "Kingdom of King of Beggars" . Apparently, that"s what beggar himself requested they call the place .
Though Annel found it amusing, he couldn"t bring himself to smile; it was fine for now, but what if he moved further north and started hara.s.sing Ladies of Marquises and Dukes? Wouldn"t that spiral the city into a civil war? It certainly would! Those vixens, after all, have such short fuse even Annel doesn"t dare look at them wrongly .
It took him nearly an hour of walking to get to the fabled alleyways . They were quite ordinary, cutting in-between houses built out of limestone and courtyards filled with greenery and flowers of all colors . Occasionally he"d spot a stray animal or two, but, after walking around for nearly half an hour, he was yet to run into any beggar, let alone the beggar .
Feeling slightly annoyed and tired, he took a deep breath and sat down onto the street . Unlike his older brothers, Annel wasn"t h.e.l.lbent on always maintaining proper decorum; he sometimes ate with his hands, drank directly from the fountain, climbed the trees like a monkey and tended to do whatever tickled his fancy: such as dressing as a complete commoner to track down a beggar and his dog .
"Eh? What are you doing, sitting there? Are you contemplating life?" a voice jolted Annel from his thoughts, causing him to look up toward the alley"s entrance . There, standing with his arms on his hips, was a man dressed in shabby clothes, with disheveled hair and beard covering his entire face save for the black eyes . And, right next to the man"s leg, was a dog of silver fur and ocean-blue eyes . It"s them! He immediately concluded, a strange s.h.i.+ne glinting in his eyes . "Can I join you? I love contemplating life . "
"Hah! I finally caught you, you d.a.m.ned beggar!" Annel exclaimed, rising onto his feet and pointing his finger at the beggar .
"Eh? You were looking for me?"
"Of course!"
"Oh, I didn"t know I"d already gotten so famous," the beggar chuckled, suddenly scratching his nose as though embarra.s.sed . "I"m flattered, really, but I don"t do autographs . "
"Eh?"
"We can share a meal, if you want, or talk about life," the beggar continued . "That should be enough for you, right?"
"W-what are you talking about?! I"m not your fan!" Annel exclaimed, feeling his cheeks growing warmer .
"Ah? You"re not?! Ah, my bad, my bad . Geez, this is embarra.s.sing . I always just jump to conclusions . . . I"m sorry . . . "
"As-as long as you understand it! I"m actually the Third Prince of Divine Dynasty, Annel En"gar, and I"m here to arrest you!" suddenly, there was silence; when Annel looked at beggar"s expression yet again, he saw an odd one . . . with eyes filled with a solitary feeling: pity . "W-what are you looking at me like that for?!"
"Aii . . . brother . . . dear . . . dear brother . Just how far down have you fallen to pretend to be a Prince?" the beggar said, shaking his head; as though to emphasize the true sadness of the situation, even the d.a.m.ned dog shook his head . "I mean, I thought I had it bad, but you, you brother . . . I"m sorry . I"m honestly broke myself; but, if I ever do come across some riches, I"ll give them all to you . You obviously need them . "
"W-what . . . what . . . " Annel felt defeated . It was one thing for the beggar to think he was fan, but a completely another for him to make fun of Annel . W-wait, my face! Annel realize . It"s makeup! A handkerchief suddenly appeared in Annel"s hand, spurring a strange glint in beggar"s eyes which Annel missed . He quickly reached for his face and wiped it clean, revealing his rather handsome appearance . "See? I"m really a Prince!"
" . . . wow, you even wear makeup," the beggar suddenly took a step back as though terrified . "Uh, it"s, uh, it"s your choice, so do whatever you want with your life . All the power to you, brother--uh, sister? Whatever, I"m f.u.c.king out . "
"No, wait, please! Just wait a second!! I"m really here to arrest you!!"
" . . . why would you arrest me?"
"What do you mean why?!"
"I"m completely innocent of any crime whatsoever . " the beggar said with a straightforward expression .
"There are literally hundreds of reports against you!!" Annel was staring to slowly lose it .
"What do you mean? That"s heresy!! False accusations!! I d.a.m.n them all to h.e.l.l! How dare they tarnish my great name?! Humph, lowly b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! Here I am, feeding stray dogs and offering strangers wisdom of life whenever I can, and they accuse me of crimes! Who?! Tell me their names!"
" . . . "
" . . . "
" . . . woof?"
"Sigh . . . " Annel sighed weakly, realizing the stories he"d heard weren"t exaggerated at all . The beggar truly was . . . shameless . Shameless beyond reason . "Can . . . can we just stop this?"
"Ah, alright, fine . I"m running low on food anyway," the beggar said, scratching his head . "So, what"s prison like? Do you guys have food? Can I contemplate life with other prisoners?"
"What"s with you and contemplating life?!!"
"Whoa, where"s this anger coming from? Calm down, brother . "
"It"s coming from you! And I"m not your d.a.m.ned brother!"
"Alright, alright, settle down," the beggar said . "Tell me . What"s bugging you? Is life as a fake Prince truly too hard? If you want, I can kneel down and call you "Your Highness" . "
"That"s what you"re supposed to do!!" Annel exclaimed, feeling his eyes growing warmer as though he was on the verge of tears .
" . . . dude, are you really about to cry?"
"No, no I"m not! Shut up!"
" . . . "
"Woof . . . "
" . . . I . . . I don"t have to take you to prison," Annel said . "If you could do me a solid . "
"Wow, are you really thinking of patricide?"
"What?! Are you insane?!! Why would I want to kill my Royal Father?!!"
"Well, let"s see," the beggar said, stroking his beard . "You say you"re a Third Prince of this huge, ma.s.sive Empire, right?"
"Yeah . "
"And that you have power to arrest people?"
"Yeah . "
"And most-likely have all sorts of resources at your disposal?"
"Yeah . Where are you going with this?"
" . . . then why the f.u.c.k are you scouring the city for a random beggar to ask him for a favor?!"
" . . . "
" . . . "
"Woof?"
"I . . . it"s a delicate situation," Annel said, sighing yet again . "Do you think I"d pardon all your filthy crimes if it wasn"t?"
"By delicate you mean politically charged?"
"Yeah . Do you care?"
"Not really," the beggar shook his head . "Anyway, I don"t need any pardoning . I want riches, women and glory!"
"I"ll pay you a hundred gold . "
"Deal! Who am I killing?"
"K-killing?! Why would you be killing anyone?"
"Eh? Then why are you hiring me?"
" . . . khm, it"s, uh, it"s about my Younger Sister--"
"Sorry, I"m not interested in dating spoiled brats . " the beggar interrupted .
" . . . you know what dude? f.u.c.k you . f.u.c.k you to ten thousand h.e.l.ls! You G.o.dd.a.m.ned, filthy, loud-mouthed piece of s.h.i.+t! Burn in h.e.l.l you f.u.c.king c.o.c.ksucker!"
" . . . wow . I suddenly have a shred of respect for you . "
" . . . I . . . ah, whatever . " Annel realized his outburst, but decided to just let it go . He"ll pretend as though none of this ever, ever happened, anyway . "I"m not asking you to date my sister . As though I"d ever let that happen, you moron . There"s a guy who"s been pestering her recently . As he"s Duke"s son, there"s little I can do without causing conflict, and Royal Father"s remained mum on the issue . I don"t want you to kill him, just . . . make him leave my sister alone . I don"t care how you do it so long as you don"t mention my hiring you . "
" . . . what"s the guy"s name?" the beggar asked, suddenly turning serious for some reason .
"Felix . Felix Dongrauth . He"s the son of Duke Dongrauth of Northern Frontier . "
"Alright," the beggar nodded . "I"ll make it happen . Good luck, Prince Annel . " the beggar suddenly turned and left .
"Eh? What about your paym---wait, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you always knew I was the Prince, didn"t you?! And you still disrespected me like that?!! Come back, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!!" however, the beggar was long gone, leaving Annel fuming all on his own . Hah, hah, whatever . Let him be . Hopefully, he makes something happen . If not . . . I"ll really have to escalate the conflict . Even if his father is defending the Northern Frontier, it doesn"t give him freedom to do whatever he wants in my Empire . . .