Rocky looked at Frank’s pale face and tilted his head in confusion.
“Brother, why do you look so scared? It’s like you’ve seen a dragon.”
“Rocky, stay still.”
Seeing Frank quiet Rocky, the red-haired man spoke.
“If you’d barked a little more, I would’ve gladly separated that thing on your neck from your body. Not that it would change the outcome.”
“I see we have the honor of meeting the Empire’s esteemed First Prince.”
At the words “First Prince” from Frank’s mouth, Rocky’s pupils began to shake uncontrollably. Eventually, he followed Frank’s lead and knelt.
“So you recognize me. That means you’re the rat leader ‘Frank,’ correct?”
Frank’s shoulder twitched slightly at the word “rat,” but he answered in a calm voice.
“Yes, Your Highness. I am Frank, currently overseeing the back alleys of the capital under the orders of Duke Blake.”
Despite indirectly informing him that they were working under his uncle’s orders, the First Prince’s expression did not change.
“You claim to be working under my uncle’s orders, yet my uncle says he has nothing to do with you.”
“W-What do you mean by that? We are a group moving under Duke Blake’s orders. How can there be no connection?”
“As the trash of the underworld, you should have known your place and stayed within your bounds. Mentioning my uncle—why should I believe you over my own uncle?”
Realizing that Duke Blake had abandoned them, Frank looked at their burning building. He needed to escape with the ledgers. That was the only way to get revenge on the Duke who had discarded them.
“It seems there’s something you need in that burning building’s basement, isn’t there?”
At the First Prince’s words, which seemed to read his mind, Frank was momentarily at a loss for words.
“The habits of you rat-like bastards are obvious. Give you a morsel, and you’d betray even your own master.”
Coming to his senses, Rocky snapped at being called a rat repeatedly.
“Even if you are the First Prince, that’s too much! Aren’t my brother and I working for you?”
Rocky’s words made Kyle laugh wildly as he looked up at the sky.
“That laugh is fitting for an Imperial Prince, indeed.”
Kyle’s expression turned serious.
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“What is it we don’t know?”
“First of all, I don’t need help from the likes of you.”
“Didn’t my brother tell you? We’re helping your uncle.”
Kyle shook his head.
“It doesn’t matter to me if ‘Duke Blake’ is involved.”
“T-That doesn’t make any sense!”
As Rocky’s face reddened and he raised his voice, Frank tried to calm him and spoke to Kyle.
“People in high positions need someone to do the dirty work.”
Hearing Frank’s words, Kyle smiled and spoke to the knight beside him.
“Are they indeed the main culprits who spread addictive incense and attempted a coup, in collusion with Viscount Steel?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After confirming the facts from his guard, Kyle looked at Frank and Rocky.
“There’s one thing rats like you don’t understand. Filth cannot survive under the overwhelming light of the sun. Filth is something that must be removed.”
Feeling the intense killing intent in Kyle’s voice, Frank reached for Rocky, but it was already too late.
Thud.
Rocky turned his head slowly to look at Frank, his disbelief at his own death evident as he kept his gaze fixed on Frank and took his last breath.
“Y-Your Highness, what are you doing?”
“It seems you still don’t understand my words. I thought you were smarter.”
Kyle took another sword from the knight beside him and swung it at Frank, channeling his aura into the blade.
Clang!
Frank quickly drew his sword and channeled all the mana from his heart into it to block the attack. Had he not done so, he would have been beheaded instantly.
Seeing a mere back-alley boss block his sword, Kyle showed a look of interest.
“I didn’t expect a rat in the back alleys to block my sword. It seems you’ve trained your claws well.”
“Your Highness, please reconsider. You might need my help in the future.”
Frank knew of Kyle’s reputation for swordsmanship. The monster before him was one of the top three in the Empire for pure martial prowess, even before the age of twenty.
He couldn’t save Rocky, but survival was more important than loyalty in the face of this walking disaster.
“I don’t take in those without trust. How can I trust someone who begs for his life from the one who killed his brother-like subordinate?”
“How can one govern the Empire based solely on trust? Sometimes, you need to judge people based on their usefulness.”
“I’ll think about that when I become the ruler of the Empire. For now, my decision won’t change.”
Frank felt the shift in the aura from Kyle’s sword. He could clearly sense his impending death.
‘Damn.’
Frank searched for an escape route, but there was none.
“Let’s finish cleaning up these rats.”
Just as Kyle’s sword was about to strike Frank, a sharp dagger flew in, knocking Kyle’s sword aside.
Frank looked at the direction the dagger came from with a surprised expression, thinking his escape might lie in that direction.
Frowning at the interference, Kyle looked in the direction the dagger came from and asked,
“Who are you?”
The group that had interfered seemed unaware of who they were dealing with, as they began whispering among themselves rather than answering Kyle’s question.
“I don’t know if this is really the right thing to do. I don’t understand why our boss is so scared over there. But that silhouette definitely belongs to Frank, who I served.”
“So that guy knows about the ledgers? Are the ledgers still in the basement?”
“As I told you, the ledgers are supposed to be in the basement. But looking at the building burning down, the ledgers might have burned too. Shouldn’t we just run? If that guy is losing like that, the opponent must be formidable.”
The subordinate’s words made the senior man pause before speaking.
“Then, doesn’t that mean we need to bring that guy with us? He’s the only one who knows about the ledgers, right?”
“But I still feel uneasy about the guy next to him. My instincts say that getting close means death!”
“Hmm, let’s at least try negotiating. If it doesn’t work, we pull out immediately.”
Seeing the group ignoring his question and talking amongst themselves, Kyle’s guard asked,
“Your Highness, shall we deal with them?”
“Before dealing with them, find out who they are. Bring one of them to kneel before me. Keep them alive.”
As the knights moved, the senior man among the newcomers spoke in a flustered tone.
“Oh, it must have been the smoke. It seems there are more of them.”
“I told you.”
As the distance closed, Ian was startled to recognize a familiar face. He hadn’t expected the First Prince to show up himself. He thought, at most, Duke Blake’s shadow force or some noble’s private soldiers would come.
In the original story, the First Prince never even went near the entertainment district. He loathed the back alleys so much that he later had Duke Blake wipe out the entire district. Katarina and Wiz had resisted Duke Blake’s attack at that time.
‘Has something changed because of my actions?’
Realizing that Kyle might have decided to act himself after seeing Ian gain more recognition from the Emperor, Ian quickly told Wiz to prepare an escape route and stepped forward to buy time.
Seeing Ian step forward, Kyle signaled his knights to hold their positions.
“Greetings to the Empire’s noble First Prince. If you intend to kill that man before you, why not leave the troublesome task to us?”
“I’m curious about the identity of someone so bold as to make such a request after recognizing who I am.”
“Haha, we have a deep connection with that man. You could say we’ve been supporting him for a long time. I believe this deal won’t harm Your Highness.”
Misunderstanding Ian’s words, Frank thought they were sent by Duke Blake.
“Your Highness, it seems these are Duke Blake’s men. Perhaps you should let me go? I will forget your attempt to kill me.”
Watching Frank misunderstand, Ian played along.
“I warned you not to mention his name so lightly.”
After reprimanding Frank, Ian turned to Kyle.
“Your Highness, there’s no need to stain your hands with the dirty blood of such a vile back-alley rat. Leave it to us, and we’ll clean up thoroughly.”
Feeling assured by Ian’s words, Frank cautiously began to walk towards Ian’s group.
‘But why is he just standing there?’
As Frank moved, Kyle did nothing, causing Ian to think they might escape with Frank.
As Kyle watched Frank and Ian, a knight approached and reported.
“Your Highness, we searched the burned basement but couldn’t find the ledgers.”
“I see. Good work.”
Kyle’s face turned cold as he looked at Ian and Frank.
“You dare use my uncle’s name before me. Interesting. I suspected my uncle might have such men. But dogs that don’t recognize their master are useless.”
Feeling the killing intent from Kyle, Ian realized something was wrong and gave orders to his team.
“Deus!”
Already prepared by Wiz, Deus cast a speed-enhancing spell on everyone.
Noticing the suspicious movement, Kyle enveloped his sword in aura and immediately struck at Frank, who was trying to distance himself.
“Dogs that don’t recognize their master must all be dealt with. Capture them.”
Kyle’s knights quickly began to pursue Ian’s retreating group.
Cliche Novel 