Right now, the prince felt very embarra.s.sed.
The onlookers noticed his messy hair, unkempt clothes, the sweaty odor, not to mention the filthy smell of urine that emanated from his untidy body. His body was wasted and his bones were almost visible from his emaciated state…..how can anyone recognize him as the ambitious and handsome prince from before?
No one can. Right now, he looked just like a beggar.
However, although the soldiers could not recognize him, the crazy woman knew his ident.i.ty at first glance. So when the Duke"s daughter ordered them to bring the "beggar" to her, they immediately obeyed; the guards simply a.s.sumed that Ian was a homeless man that stumbled into the mansion by mistake. In their minds they complained that now was not a good time to do such a worthless task, especially with the current commotion, but they still followed her command.
The Duke"s youngest son had organized a rebellion, claiming that the Duke"s eldest son was not qualified as a successor. The young son incited some of the retainers and knights to rebel, thus openly provoking his elder brother. Soon he and the rebels engaged in battle against the successor.
While the two brothers engage in fatal combat, the Duke"s only daughter remained indifferent. She only seemed to care about chasing some homeless beggar at the mansion"s backyard….some clever knights have began to wonder whether this family is still worthy of their loyalty, after all, if there are two idiots fighting in the family, who can tell if this third child is also a sensible person? But for now they can"t resist the woman"s orders. The knights had to continue chasing the homeless man. Surprisingly, the man managed to escape their grasp despite his obvious weakness.
Ian was quite stubborn. Refusing to resign to his fate, the prince ran desperately until he arrived at a lake.
The lake was part of the boundary that separated the Duke"s Mansion from the outer territories. This crocodile Lake served as an effective barrier, which is why no soldiers never really bothered to patrol this area on a regular basis. Despite today"s mutiny, no garrison was found guarding the lake. At this time, Ian had finally arrived at this border, and although no soldier blocked his path, he still felt anxiety as he faced the calm lake. He knew that the lake had ferocious crocodiles.
Does he really want to cross this lake?
The sound of pursuing footsteps grew closer and closer, until the prince was finally forced to the very edge of the lake.
"You can"t escape!" the mad woman glared at him as her expression twisted into an ugly scowl. "Return to me now! If you come back I"ll pretend as if none of this ever happened!"
"Never!" The prince hadn"t spoken in a long time. His voice was very hoa.r.s.e, without the former deep and gentle tone. "Instead of going with you, I would rather die!"
It"s better to perish in the mouth of a crocodile than to be confined by this woman!
"Knights of the Duke! I am the Gaolan"s Second Prince, Ian Gaoliu! Remember all of my words today— beware of this crazy woman!"
He urgently hoped to send his father a message that he was murdered by this devilish woman! That way even if he died, someone could take revenge for him! However even if some of these knights realized his ident.i.ty, they might not necessarily escape the wrath of this witch; she could cover up their eyes and ears and sentence them to death. But perhaps….perhaps there might be one or two knights who can successfully escape her grasp and pa.s.s on the news to his father the King? Moreover, if the King receives such a news, he will naturally reward the messenger with great benefits. That way the possibility of his circ.u.mstance being reported to the King would have a greater chance…..
However, these were just his ideas.
"You…!" The Duke"s daughter became even more hideous. She reached out and pointed at him, "I don"t want you to die in front of me in this lake!" However the prince paid her no heed, causing the witch to scowl in rage.
"The Demon of the Night is under my command, and with it I shall make your life as h.e.l.l!" The witch gazed at the prince, as if to cast a spell. You shall beg for my mercy in the humble state of a beast! No human will be willing to touch you except for me….Your curse can only be undone by me!
At this moment, his guess was confirmed…..this woman was a witch! When she pointed at him, the prince had already jumped into the lake and struggled to move forward…..But in the end it was too late. A greasy sensation spread on his hand, while the vision in front of him began to morph. At the same time, the sensation of his body"s changes had reached his brain.
He did not know what he had become and what he looked like, but he was already exhausted.
Before his consciousness completely blanked out, the prince drowned into the water.
Through the layer of water he could see the moonlight….it turned out to be a full moon.
(for other translated works)