Ryu grabbed Imperial Doula Miriam’s body. He didn’t stop to think for a moment that this frail old lady was actually far more powerful than he was. All he could think about was escaping as quickly as possible.

In her confusion, the old Doula didn’t even remember that she could easily shake the little boy’s hand from her wrist. Completely fallen into a daze, she could only follow as they ran out the back door of Ryu’s room, sprinting across the bath hall, through the green house, and into the large expanse of his personal backyard.

It should have been a beautiful scene. With the moon and stars shining in the sky above, the lake just across from them gently flowing in the cool night air… It should have been exactly that. But, it wasn’t.

Ryu’s senses were immediately blocked by six individuals, four he recognized by their breathing and gait, but the other two, he had never met before – that, he was certain of.

Despair built up within Ryu’s chest, a heavy feeling of weakness overwhelming him. No matter how deeply he tried to breathe, it didn’t seem like enough. It was as though his lungs had shriveled to a third of their size, blocking him from the sustenance he needed.

His grip on the old Doula’s wrist tightened, but he didn’t know what to do. No matter how intelligent he was, his experience was nearly zero. He had no real-world knowledge, nor did he have any real training. Even if he did, of the six that stood before him now, four of them had cultivation. For a mortal like him, what chance did he stand?

Suddenly, a lewd laughter came from one of the two Ryu didn’t recognize. He was a handsome young man who wore a perpetual slanted smile on his face that tore apart his façade of elegance. His features were also overly pale, as though he hadn’t seen the light of day all his life. It was shocking that a person with such an appearance could have any cultivation to speak of at all, yet, he did.

“Why do they look like a pair of lovers escaping into the night to elope? Don’t tell me your little brother has such a perverted fetish, Brother Amory? You haven’t been doing your duty as First Prince if you have such things going on right under your nose.” The disgusting, lewd laughter continued. Its sound took over the whole of Ryu’s senses. To him, there was only that laugh, that laugh that filled him with a rage he was unable to vent.

“Your jokes are as crude as ever, Brother Atticus. Whether my Fourth Brother is having an affair with this old whore is none of my concern.”

By now, the old Doula had frozen completely. Her aged and trusting mind couldn’t comprehend just how this had happened. Hadn’t she been careful? Hadn’t she followed the same schedule for years, just for this day? What had gone wrong? Even until now, she hadn’t doubted the elder sisters of Ryu.

She couldn’t comprehend it. As an older sister herself, she would put her life on the line if it meant protecting her younger sibling. She could never imagine that for the sake of some feeble empire, Ryu’s two sisters who had always seemed to dote on him would do such a thing.

To make matters worse, they were cowards. They didn’t dare to come here to face the despair of a little boy and an old woman themselves. They were pathetic, spineless, worthless shells of a human being.

It was at this moment that one of the four Ryu recognized and cleared his throat. This person was none other than Imperial Censor Orson.

“For the crime of attempting to kidnap a Royal Prince and shirking her duties as the Imperial Doula, it has been decreed by his Royal Majesty that Miriam Varson will be hereby stripped of her title and privileges.” Over the years, scheming had turned the black eyes of the Imperial Censor into beady, snake-like ones. Even his voice made Ryu, who was already falling into the pits of hell, feel an added chill.

Clearing his throat once more, the Censor continued. “After a thorough investigation, it’s been found that the King’s early infertility and inability to give birth to a son was tied to this former Doula’s dereliction of duty and horrid malpractice. This increases her sentence to twenty years of seclusion within the Palace’s ice dungeons.”

Ryu’s trembling increased as tears fell from the old Doula’s wrinkled face. She seemed to age several more decades in an instant, all her remaining energy leaving her like a fleeting fragrance in the wind.

“The conclusion of this investigation found traces of poison connected to the Fourth Prince’s birth. This Meridian Severing Poison is likely tied to the Prince’s blindness, his odd hair color, and most definitely his inability to awaken his meridians.

“For the crime of an attempted assassination on a Prince of the Royal Family, the sentence is execution by beheading.”

“NO!” The rush of emotions Ryu felt were so fierce that he vomited on the spot. A horrible, gut wrenching stench erupted from his lips, coating the dew-covered night grass with his hatred and animosity.

“Aiyah, he really must love her. What a sad sight. Such a handsome young man falling for an old hag. You really have closed off this little brother of yours to the world too much. You should have at least bought a few women from the local brothel for him.”

“Would it really make that much of a difference?” The second person Ryu didn’t recognize interjected. His voice was so lazy that Ryu almost mistook him for his Second Brother, but their tones were too different. “He’s blind. It’s probably all the same to him.”

Atticus made an ‘aha’ sound as though he had finally understood. “As expected of a top graduate of the Four Kingdom’s Institute. You impress me more and more everyday, Brother Silas.”

“If you please.” Imperial Censor Briggs who had been in the background motioned toward the fourth individual Ryu recognized. He was none other than his father’s personal aid and Death Guard… His actions represented the King’s Will. If he was here… That meant King Tor sent him.

The execution of a person, the only person that Ryu had ever felt something for in this life, had became the sideshow entertainment of three Princes and two Censors. Little Ryu’s mournful struggle became akin to an ant fighting a tidal wave.

The old Doula was ripped from his hands. He tried to stumble forward to grab her back, but he found himself flying through the air, having been slapped away by his father’s Death Guard.

Nonexistent stars shone in his eyes as the world spun. Before he realized what had happened, he found himself lying on the ground. The only sound other than the ringing of his ears were the muffled struggles of the old Doula.