"You're a disgrace!"
A loud voice boomed in the king's courtroom. Right now, the king was lecturing his eldest son, Ronan Von Valencia.
Usually, anyone would be frightened to be in that position. However, Ronan's crimson eyes had no fear in them. His defiance was shining as brightly as his pale skin, but his heart was full of darkness like his hair.
Curious ministers shifted their gaze between King Remery and Ronan. They didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but the Queen was free from such notions and smirked alongside the second prince, David, and princess, Shyra.
"His Highness did it," one minister mumbled. "He might get disowned for this."
"Shh… his highness, the king, will hear you," another warned the former.
"So what? I'm only speaking what's on everyone's mind."
Ronan could hear all their voices as he stood in shackles. This kingdom was someday going to be his, at least it was supposed to be. But he had ruined that chance, willingly.
Five years.
That's how long Prince Ronan had been in a coma. It had also been five years since his mother died and his father remarried to Queen Sophia. Well, he was one of his concubines before, but got an official title then.
The Kingdom of Valencia had undergone drastic changes since then. Perhaps the first prince couldn't get accustomed to the changes after waking up two months ago and rebelled.
It was the only explanation for his actions.
"Seraphina is no longer your fiance!" The king roared again. "You had no right to enter her chamber last night. I can't even fathom what you would have done with David didn't show up to stop you—"
"Are you done?" Ronan said, interrupting his father. "David this, David that. It's like he's your only son."
"You—"
"Shut your mouth!"
Everyone was stunned seeing Ronan react with such hostility. Despite their misunderstandings, he was addressing the king and should have shown some respect. None of it seemed to matter anymore to Ronan.
"Five days. You couldn't live without a woman for five days and dare lecture me about chivalry around women?" Ronan scoffed. "Stop acting like I stole anything, when it's that son of a bitch who took everything from me!"
"You gave his mother the spot of mine, you gave him my fiance, and you're planning to give him my kingdom as well, yet I'm the thief?"
Remery and Sophia could only glare at Ronan as he blew their image to smithereens. After all, he was only speaking the truth, and there was a lot more to say.
"It's been five years since I was attacked, still you couldn't find out who was behind it. Yet David was scratched by a maid and you had her entire family executed. And you have the gall to say you treated us equally?"
Ronan stopped to stare at David and Sophia before addressing the court.
"Or is it that you know who was behind the attack and are deliberately protecting them?"
"Enough!" Remery roared, unsheathing his sword. "Not one word out of your mouth, or I will have your tongue!"
"I must praise you, your highness. You truly have risen to more disgraceful heights. Unable to take a word of criticism before showing off your power. It's a good thing my mother died before you, or she would have killed you herself!"
"Your Highness, NO!"
Sophia held Remery back as he charged towards Ronan. However, all his anger couldn't hide the truth of Ronan's words.
Remery took a deep breath before tossing the sword aside. He tried to calm his raging nerves, but couldn't, and glared at Ronan.
"Leave… and never show your face here again!"
With that, Remery left. As soon as he was out of the room, Sophia dropped her motherly gaze before rolling her eyes.
"You had me worried for a moment," she whispered into Ronan's ears. "Unfortunately, your father is still wrapped around my fingers."
With that, the queen also left, taking her demon spawns with her. Following his mother's footsteps, David sneered at him, expecting a reaction from Ronan. However, he left disappointed, because Ronan didn't spare him a glance.
The guards hurried to Ronan's side, uncuffing him before guiding him towards the exit.
However, Ronan didn't leave, not without his mother's sword, the one Remery had tossed away. The guards hesitated for a moment before the general approached them.
"Stand aside, I'll escort the first prince outside," he said.
The raven-haired general wasn't alone. He had brought two old people with him. Both of them were ministers of the king's court, but more importantly, they were Queen Maria's confidants.
"Your Highness, what you did was—"
"I know what I did, General Hathin," Ronan said, smiling. "We both know what would have happened if I stayed here."
Hathin sighed before nodding. How could he not know there was a risk to Ronan's life? In the last two months, there had been weekly assassination attempts on him. Not to mention the monthly attempts when Ronan was in a coma.
It was the two ministers, and Hathin, who had protected Ronan until now. However, they had to do it without being seen, or else the assassins would target them as well.
They weren't scared of losing their lives, but they were worried about what would happen to Ronan if they perished.
"We took an oath to protect you, Your Highness, and we intend to fulfill it," Minister Dane said.
Minister Dane was Ronan's mother, Queen Maria's right-hand man, and an expert at managing finances. That was the only reason Sophia had kept him around, after firing half of the ministers, filling the spots with her own people.
Minister Donovan was another exception, known as the saint of healing. Back when Maria was still alive, Remery had granted Donovan absolute immunity, meaning no one could fire him from his duty. Not even the king.
It wasn't far-fetched to say Ronan was alive because of him.
But all that was in the past.
Now it was time they let Ronan go.
"I appreciate all you have done for me," Ronan smiled. "But it's time for me to leave."
The three elders nodded before handing Ronan a few scrolls.
"What is this?"
"Deed of your land, Your Highness. Queen Maria entrusted this to us for safe-keeping for… this occasion."
Ronan was stunned into silence for a moment. But the silence slowly turned into a smile. Even in death, his mother had planned everything for him.
"I have informed the chieftain about your arrival," Hathin informed. "They'll be expecting you."
Ronan nodded, looking at Donovan.
"This is the list of items I have sent to Frostford. It's enough to feed your people for two winters, along with some medicinal herbs."
"Thank you, Minister."
Finally, Dane handed Ronan a small bag of coins.
"A little parting gift from this old man," he said. "Use it well."
Ronan nodded, accepting the gifts graciously. If he were to run his own fiefdom, he would need all the resources he could get his hands on.
It's a shame I can't use this money on myself… because of this stupid system!
[Quest: Get Disowned completed!]
[The Host will now receive a weekly allowance of 1 gold.]
[Spending Gold will accumulate EXP, which can be used to upgrade the Fallen Heir System for better rewards.]
Yeah, anything else, dumbass?
[New Quest!]
[Quest: Hug my thigh, I'm rich!]
[Task: Get a servant.]
[Description: You don't deserve to be royalty, but you can pretend to be one, right?]
[Reward: 50 system EXP.]
Ronan sighed in relief after seeing the mission.
At least this time, that stupid author didn't include the death penalty for failure. That fucking sadist.