Chapter 64. The Second Prince's Duplicity
The Second Prince's Duplicity
Clang!
A dull metallic sound echoed from above the snowdrift. It was the sound of surviving soldiers clearing the snow and descending, their swords striking something transparent and solid.
Eek!
At that noise, Rimeyer snapped back to her senses.
She hastily pushed Lucian away and straightened her disheveled tunic and armor. Her face was flushed crimson, and her breathing was still ragged.
"Commander... you can stop now..."
Meanwhile, the escort captain, still dazed, was groping Kara's chest. Only when Lucian grabbed his shoulder and shook him did he jerk his hand away in surprise. Kara, too, hurriedly adjusted her clothes, her face burning red.
"Step aside."
Rimeyer stood up with her usual composed expression. As she drew her sword and slashed through the air—
CRACK!
The transparent barrier Lucian had erected shattered like glass.
In an instant, the freezing blizzard outside and the sweltering heat inside collided, sending up a plume of white steam.
It was like opening the door to a sauna.
"Eh...? Commander?"
The soldiers who had come to rescue them blinked in disbelief.
Their commanders, who had been trapped in the extreme cold, now had smooth, glowing skin and flushed faces as if they had just stepped out of a steam bath. Steam rose faintly from Rimeyer and Kara's bodies.
"What in the...?"
"Enough chatter! Time is of the essence. Let's move!"
Rimeyer barked, cutting off their stares as she strode ahead, her face still flushed. Though the space between her thighs was damp and sore, her retreating figure remained every bit the dignified Silver Holy Knight, Captain of the Royal Guard.
Fortunately, they regrouped with the soldiers who hadn't been completely buried in the snow, reforming their suicide squad of thirteen without any casualties.
"Let's go."
Lucian pushed open the tightly sealed door of the hidden passage.
Creeeak—
The sound of rusted hinges was swallowed by the blizzard as the maw of darkness consumed them.
The operation to retake Eckhart Castle—and the tragedy—had begun.
At that moment.
Deep in the castle's lowest level, in a dim corridor leading to a hidden shelter.
A man exuding a sinister aura walked forward, leaning on a staff.
The dark mage, Belial.
He wore a deep green robe. The skin visible beneath it was rough and brown like tree bark, and a horrific scar, snaking from his eyelid down to his jaw, marred one side of his face. His eyes, peering through the scar, were a murky yellow.
"Little rats... hiding here."
From inside the shelter came the muffled voices of maids fretting over their dwindling food supplies.
The shelter door was enchanted—without a key, it couldn't be opened from the outside.
Screee—
Belial emitted a high-frequency pulse of magic without moving his lips. A sound only those with demon blood could hear.
[Open the door, Bella. Your master has arrived.]
"...!!"
The succubus Bella inside stiffened instantly.
Fear.
The terrible memories of her abduction, torture, and modification resurfaced. Though she had submitted to Lucian to survive, her terror of Belial was etched into her very soul.
"Ugh... ugh..."
Trembling violently, Bella staggered toward the door.
"Bella? Where are you going?"
Maria called out, but Bella couldn't answer. As if entranced, she undid the latch and opened the door.
Creeak.
The door swung open, and Belial's eerie shadow loomed over the shelter.
"W-Who— Kyaaah!"
The maids screamed. Belial's malevolent gaze swept over them before locking onto one figure.
"Found you. Eckhart's bitch."
His target was Sophia. As a priestess with divine power, she was the most detestable existence to him—a dark mage—and his top priority for elimination.
Belial swung his staff, and a black bolt of magic shot toward Sophia.
"No!"
Sophia didn't dodge.
Instead, she clasped her hands together and fervently recited a prayer, thinking of Lucian.
[Priestess's Prayer. Sanctuary!]
Fwoosh—!
A blinding white light erupted from her body.
The divine power, strengthened by her love for Lucian.
Belial's dark magic collided with the radiant barrier and was deflected.
"Tch! A fallen priestess, of all things...!"
Belial was taken aback. He had expected her divine power to have weakened, but it had grown stronger instead.
If he wasted time, Lucian might arrive. He adjusted his plan.
"Fine... I'll take another one."
Belial tore open a portal in the air.
At the same time, a dozen black tentacles burst from beneath his robe.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Avoiding Sophia's radiant barrier, the tentacles lashed toward the maids cowering in the corner—snatching the smallest one.
Riri.
"Kyaaah! Sophia! Help me!!"
"Riri!!"
The tentacles coiled around Riri's waist and limbs, yanking her back. Maria and Nancy lunged forward, but Belial was already clutching Riri and leaping into the portal.
Vwoom— Pop!
In an instant, they were gone.
Only the acrid stench of sulfur remained where Belial and Riri had stood.
"Riri... Riri!!"
Maria collapsed to her knees, pounding the floor in anguish.
Sophia's heart pounded as if it would leap from her chest, her legs giving way beneath her. Though she had defended against the attack, the guilt of losing their youngest companion in exchange crushed her.
"Spare me... please... Lord Belial... forgive me..."
In the corner, Bella curled into a ball, trembling uncontrollably. Clawing at her own hands—the ones that had opened the door—she muttered deliriously in terror.
"What do we do... Riri's been taken... that poor child..."
The underground shelter had become a crucible of fear and grief in an instant.
But there was nothing they could do until Lucian arrived...
The hidden passage, long neglected, was damp with the musty scent of mold. Cobwebs hung like curtains in every corner, and nameless insects skittered underfoot.
"Ugh... what is all this?"
Rimeyer grimaced, unconsciously pressing closer to Lucian's side.
"Indeed... this is dreadful."
Lucian furrowed his brow deeply as he ducked under a thick web.
"You should've maintained even the unseen areas properly. This is unbecoming of a Count."
"How embarrassing. I wish there had been another route."
Both were genuinely distressed.
Lucian was the type who wouldn't tolerate a speck of dust in his castle. He made the maids bathe daily and insisted on casting a cleaning spell before sex—otherwise, he couldn't relax.
Rimeyer was no different. Even on the battlefield, she couldn't stand a single drop of blood staining her white armor. If a stain appeared, her knights would suffer her icy wrath for the rest of the day.
The escort captain, Kara, and the soldiers trailing behind couldn't help but think how alike their two commanders were.
It's just a little dark and damp...?
Upon reaching the end of the passage, they split into teams as planned.
Team 1 (Gate Opening): Rimeyer, the escort captain, and five soldiers.
Team 2 (Prince Capture): Lucian, Kara, and four soldiers.
"Once the gate is open as planned, send the signal immediately. The troops outside are already prepared."
Lucian gave Rimeyer a meaningful glance before advancing into the castle with Kara.
The hallways were guarded by rebel soldiers, most of them dozing.
Thud! Thud!
Lucian and Kara moved silently, striking the guards' necks and dragging their unconscious bodies into the shadows to strip them of their armor.
"Tch... too tight."
Lucian grimaced. The rebel armor was far too small for his massive frame. His shoulders were so constricted he could barely lift his arms, but he had no choice but to drape a cloak over it and pull the helmet low.
Team 2 moved like shadows, reaching the second floor of the main hall—the Count's office.
The deepest, safest place, connected to the bedchambers. If the prince was anywhere, it would be here. Lucian pressed his ear to the door, listening.
"...?"
Strange sounds came from within.
Not ordinary conversation.
The slick sound of wet flesh, creaking wood, and a woman stifling pained whimpers.
"Ugh... ugh... hic... sob..."
"Haah... haah... fucking perfect..."
Lucian's brows furrowed.
He signaled Kara and carefully pushed the door open a crack.
Inside, a maid lay bent over the desk, her skirt hiked up to her waist.
Her white undergarments lay torn on the floor, and her bare, pale buttocks were exposed as a man thrust into her from behind.
Second Prince Kaelus.
His pants pooled around his ankles as he gripped the maid's hips, rutting into her like an animal.
"Ghk! Ugh! It hurts! Please...!"
"Shut up! Scream and I'll kill you!"
Kaelus slapped her cheek and drove himself deeper.
Thrust! Thrust! Thrust!
The maid's chest was crushed against the desk, tears streaming down her face.
She wasn't a formal maid of the Eckhart household—just a scullery assistant. Barely an adult, her youthful, milky buttocks were now flushed red under the prince's greedy hands.
Each time the prince's thick, dark cock forced its way into her tight passage, blood and love juice mixed and dripped from her torn entrance.
"Haah... haah... damn, Eckhart's maids really are something else."
Kaelus smirked, spanking her ass.
"Even a lowly maid like you has a body this fine. Skin smooth as jade... Do you get special treatment? Clenching like a pro."
"Hic... sob... s-stop... please..."
The maid sobbed in pain and shame, but the prince didn't relent.
Publicly, he had declared,
"We are liberators. Looting and rape are forbidden."
Yet here he was—the commander himself—occupying the lord's office and raping a helpless maid.
"That bastard!"
Lucian's teeth ground audibly.
His territory. His castle. His office.
And his people.
The shameless act of defiling everything made Lucian's excess mana boil with murderous intent.
Beside him, Kara bit her lip. The ugly lust of those in power—it was no different from the Kurkan king she had fled in disgust.
A hypocrite. The very embodiment of duplicity.
[Images: A sequence of illustrations depicting the tense and brutal scenes—Rimeyer and Lucian emerging from the snowstorm, Belial's sinister presence in the shelter, the prince's depravity in the office.]