"What?!"
"Indeed, your majesty. We were attacked by the rebels," Cronos affirmed, kneeling before Charlie.
"Luckily, Cronos and I were able to defeat them all together." Sofamy smiled softly, caressing her headguard's head gently.
Cronos didn't react, though Charlie could see the faint flush of pink in his cheek, narrowing his eyes.
"I see... It's best if you don't go outside the palace for a bit, Sofamy." The king sighed, standing before them with his hands behind his back.
Sofamy widened her eyes, her mouth hanging open slightly. "Please, father. I understand your concern, but one attack does not—"
"Two," Charlie interrupted, his brows furrowed. "You were attacked twice, Sofamy. And in one of those attacks, you were nearly killed. I can't have you be in danger like this."
Sofamy narrowed her eyes, her lips pursed. "Father. It's alright. Security has improved, so there is—"
"I actually agree with his majesty, my lady," Cronos remarked, his gaze fixed towards her.
"Cronos!" she gasped, "you're supposed to be on my side."
"I am on no particular side, my lady. I am merely saying what's best for you," the headguard replied curtly.
"Cronos is correct. This is best for you, Sofamy," the king remarked, motioning Cronos to rise, which he did.
"Your majesty," Cronos began, "there is one thing you need to know about regarding the ambush that's rather... concerning."
Charlie narrowed his eyes. "Go on."
"The guy leading this attack was... Harmon."
"Huh?" Charlie bluttered, "Come again?"
"He's right, Father," Sofamy remarked, "apparently, Harmon was alive and was leading the rebels. His body seemed to be perfectly intact."
"How? Wasn't he killed?"
"He was, your majesty. I made sure to end his life," Cronos replied, his eyes narrowed.
"Then how come was he alive? Did he survive the attack, or was he resurrected?"
"Harmon did say he survived, but I doubt it was true. I made sure that his spiritual essence was obliterated. Complete resurrection cannot occur when the spiritual essence is damaged, let alone survival from the damage," Cronos replied.
"And there was no barrier or anything that could conserve his soul when that happened. His soul should've withered by now," Sofamy added, her own brows furrowed as they discussed the matter.
"I see... so if he's dead and his soul has withered... how was he alive?"
"I am not sure, your majesty..."
"I might actually have a theory here," Sofamy bellowed, prompting both men to raise their eyebrows.
"What is it?" Charlie asked.
"According to several books I've read, a soul can be inserted out of the body and into a corpse, essentially having the soul change vessels. This could be useful if the dead person had a special technique or a unique body composition."
"So it might have been another soul entirely," the headguard muttered, though his frown deepened, "wait. Even if it was another soul, how did he know everything about how our dynamics were? For all I know, his deep hatred for me and infatuation with you was something that almost no one knows."
"Infatuation?" the king asked, his tone sending a shiver down Cronos's spine.
"Yes, Father. Harmon was infatuated with me while he was alive. It was the main reason he hated Cronos: Cronos had been my personal assistant and bodyguard from the very beginning. This was something only known to a selected few, so..."
"The fact that he knew about this is concerning. Whatever soul occupied his body was too aware of our secrets," Cronos added to Sofamy's explanation.
"I see... I hope you killed that bastard."
"Indeed, your majesty. We successfully killed him together," the headguard replied, a small smile donned on his face.
"Yes, though we had to trick him into letting his guard down since he seemed to have gained [Dark Manipulation], giving his abilities a dangerous boost," the princess added.
"[Dark Manipulation]? Didn't that woman who had tried to assassinate you the first time also have that authority?" Charlie asked, remembering what Cronos had told him.
"From what I saw, yes. Are both of them connected, perhaps?"
"Possible... the possibility is pretty high since you have been targeted twice. It might even be possible that the woman was the one who transferred a soul into his body in the first place," the king replied, holding his chin as he pondered over the situation.
"Hmm, didn't one of the rebels mention someone called the grandmaster?" Cronos asked, making Sofamy narrow her eyes.
"You mean the one who pretended to be a jewellery seller?"
"Exactly," he affirmed, "it's most likely that the grandmaster was the one who transferred that soul into his body. Thus, if that woman was the one responsible, then she must be the grandmaster as well."
Sofamy pursed her lips, pondering over his words. "That's highly possible, though not too likely. I mean, I doubt that the grandmaster, who probably runs this entire rebellion, would come out in the open to assassinate me. It would be suicide."
"And since these folks are rather cunning, I doubt their leader would be that dumb either," Charlie added.
Cronos pursed his lips in contemplation. "This is tough... but even if she is the grandmaster and was the one responsible for having a soul inhabit his body, that still doesn't explain how the soul knew of the body's life."
"Hmm, is it possible that Harmon's memories were stuck in his body while the rest of his soul withered away?" Charlie asked, turning to Sofamy.
"No," the princess replied, "memories are required to be in the soul, not the body. If they were to be separated from the soul, they would cease to exist."
"I see, so memories cannot exist independently... so they just acquired his memories or something? Was he previously part of the rebellion back during its founding phase?"
"That does seem to be the case, your majesty. If Harmon were previously part of the rebellion, it would mean that his memories were probably analysed and stored by their grandmaster and then given to the soul inhabiting Harmon's body," Cronos replied.
"So... if the grandmaster has full access to his memories, would that mean they would be able to freely resurrect Harmon whenever they wanted?" Charlie wondered, his teeth gritting.
"I actually thought of that, your majesty, so I made sure to mutiliate his body by enhancing my sword with Vyr and also firing some magic attacks to make sure his body was no longer habitable."
If a body were to waste away with wounds caused by Vyr-coated weapons or magic, then they can poison the body and even the soul. This could be considered a perfect deterrent for any soul that wished to inherit the body.
"Wait, when did you mutilate the body?" Sofamy asked, prompting Cronos to sharply turn his head away, as if he hadn't heard anything.
"... you did it without telling her, didn't you?" Charlie sighed, to which Cronos nodded.
"Why not?!"
"I didn't want to displease you, my lady! Besides, I am sure you would've refused if I were to tell you first," the headguard reasoned, putting his hands up in defense.
"Still, you could've told me first." She turned away, her eyes downcast, and a pout formed on her lips.
"My lady—"
Before he could finish, Cronos was interrupted by the door opening as an individual stepped in.
"Marcus?!" Both the king and his daughter exclaimed as they laid their eyes upon the Prince.
And for good reason. His hair was slightly disheveled, his eyes were exhausted, he seemed to be limping slightly, and his breath came out as heavy pants.
"What happened, Marcus? Why were you missing for 3 days?" Charlie asked, his brows furrowed as he confronted his son.
"Asking why I was missing rather than addressing my health? How typical of you, Father," the prince remarked.
"Brother... what happened? Why do you look so worn out?" Sofamy asked, her hand resting upon his shoulder.
Just then, the door opened once more, and in came Belfer with the child Marcus had tagged along. The butler himself was limping, with his face and hands clad in bandages.
"I'll have you know that we were attacked, Father. The rebels ambushed me as we were exploring the city. Belfer was heavily injured while I was scraped slightly..." Marcus explained.
"Huh?!"
"What?! Impossible," the king exclaimed, his eyes widened.
"It's true, your majesty," Belfer affirmed, bowing as he did so.
"Strange... both of your children were targeted, your majesty. This cannot be a coincidence," Cronos remarked, his eyes also widened.
"Marcus... who is this child?" Sofamy asked, her gaze finally landing on the boy who stood beside Belfer, clinging to the butler's arm tightly.
Upon her question, Marcus — as well as everyone else — finally turned to the child, who lowered his gaze at the sudden attention. His body quivered, showing his discomfort.
The prince sighed; his gaze softened. "This child here... is the manifestation of Aethelgard's failure as a perfect society."
His words widened the eyes of the king and his daughter. Cronos turned to Belfer, but all the butler could do was lower his head in response.
Undeterred by their reaction, the prince continued, his gaze turning to them. "He used to be abused by his father every day. All he has ever known is discomfort, pain, and misery. Love, compassion, and mercy were absent from his experiences."
He gestured to the child. "Look at him. His arms are scrawny, his face is pale, and his demeanor is that of a scared child who can only expect pain from others."
The child buried his face into the butler's torso, gripping his shirt tightly, yet the prince continued. "He tried escaping. Escaping from the clutches of abuse that his father had trapped him in. And yet, he failed."
Lowering his hand, he fully turned to his family. "Our citizens were there, witnessing how he was being dragged back to the house, and what did they do? Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing, Father. Nothing," he affirmed, sighing before focusing his gaze on them with a piercing intensity.
"I have seen it. I have seen how the child was there, groveling on the ground while his father openly threatened to inflict further pain and torture on him. This boy, Dolfordo, is a child who endured what no man should, yet no one cared to notice even a fraction of that pain," he stated, frowning as he placed his hands on his waist.
"What no man should?" Sofamy narrowed her eyes. "Marcus, do you mean actual torture techniques?"
"Worse." He glanced at the child before leaning closer to her ear. "Sexual assault."
Hearing his whispered words, she gasped, her hand rushing to cover her mouth as her eyes widened, horror evident in them. Charlie, who overheard him using his super hearing, widened his eyes as well.
"He suffered, and the world could see it if they wished, yet they didn't. They didn't care what others suffered through. They didn't care that children were being dragged till they got bruised by the friction between them and the cruel road. All they focused on was themselves. Is this what our kingdom has been reduced to?"
His eyes narrowed, as if disgusted. "Is this what Aethelgard is? A nation that refuses to help its own people?"
Charlie lowered his head in response, his eyes narrowed. "Marcus, Aethelgard has more than one society. Just because one—"
"And this society exists within our capital, Father," Marcus interjected, tilting his head. "Are you suggesting that not even a single society matters?"
"N-No—"
"Aethelgard is supposed to be the world's greatest, largest, and strongest nation. And here we are, living in societies that turn a blind eye to injustices like these." He gestured to the child, who continued to cling to Belfer, peeking slightly to look at them.
"I am the heir of Aethelgard's rule. How can I rule over a kingdom that is ruined to such a degree? How can I claim responsibility for people who only care about themselves and not even their nation, lest innocent people who are suffering around them? This isn't the Aethelgard I learned about. This isn't the Aethelgard known to history. This isn't the Aethelgard I admire. This isn't the Aethelgard I aspire to take care of!"
"Marcus," Sofamy began softly, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "I understand what you mean. We all do. The child will receive extra care from the kingdom, and patrols would now be—"
"We need to change, Sofamy." Sofamy's voice faltered at the prince's words.
"Aethelgard needs to change. For good."
He then turned entirely to Charlie, his eyes narrowed further, his pupils narrowing to slits. "Either it is I who will change this nation and bring it back to its prime, or it is you who will."
He raised his hands wide. "The leader of the rebels who tried to assassinate me was a victim of this toxic society. He was abused and humiliated by the nobles of this kingdom. He had no identity, not even a name. The fact that our kingdom tolerates these sorts of atrocities is unacceptable. I refuse to let our kingdom run like this!"
Bringing his hands back to his waist, he fisted them till his knuckles turned white. "This shall soon be my kingdom, and I can't take control of it as it is. I won't rule a kingdom with such negligence over its own people."
He sighed after that declaration, waiting for his father's response. A heavy silence remained, neither of them knowing what to say.
"You're right..." Charlie remarked, stepping forward and facing his son with eyes that screamed resolve. "It's time Aethelgard changed for the better. I have ignored this for too long."