Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 364 (Part 2):

Asuka had been targeted before by Black Hawk or whoever, but this was his first time witnessing such a full-scale scene. ‘I’m really experiencing all sorts of things.’

How could an attempt on the Crown Prince’s life happen in a place like this—deep within the imperial palace?

It made him question the empire’s security measures.

‘Either the empire is ridiculously careless, or the assassins planned this very carefully.’

One of the knights fighting the assassins shouted out at the top of his lungs.

“Call for reinforcements!”

That’s what his lips formed, but even Asuka’s keen hearing could barely pick up the sound.

It was as if the sound was being swallowed in cotton.

‘Magic?’ Asuka narrowed his eyes.

Magic usage was restricted in the imperial palace. Yet here it was, in full effect.

‘So the protective barrier in this area has been deactivated. This is serious.’

Normally, an imperial mage would be checking on the state of the barriers. But it was past midnight; if something went wrong with the barriers, they wouldn’t be discovered right away.

By now, only a minimal number of royal mages would be on duty, and they would likely focus on checking the barriers around the imperial family’s quarters.

But the Crown Prince was here, not in his quarters—that was the problem.

‘Why on earth does he wander around so late at night…’

The number of knights guarding him happened to be unusually small tonight.

They wanted to call for help, but they didn’t have the manpower to spare even one person. If anyone broke away to get help, they’d be hunted down, and the remainder wouldn’t last long in this stalemate.

All the assassins had to do was kill the Crown Prince and then disappear.

‘If the Crown Prince dies, I get one step closer to the throne.’

That realization made Asuka’s skin crawl. ‘That’s absolutely the last place I want to be.’

He gripped the hilt of his sword.

Whether he liked it or not, he was a member of the imperial family and a recognized imperial knight. With the Crown Prince under attack, he couldn’t just stand by and watch.

In the brief time he spent sizing up the enemy’s strength, Asuka steeled his resolve.

He might as well do his duty as a bodyguard—if only this once.

—

At that moment, the Crown Prince, in the midst of the crisis, felt a tingling sense of tension for the first time in a long while.

A brush with death at the heart of the imperial palace!

Even before the current Emperor ascended the throne, the Crown Prince had experienced numerous assassination attempts.

Grand Duke Farnese hadn’t hidden Asuka for no reason.

But never had he imagined such an attack would happen in this unexpected location.

Even though this was the imperial palace, he had been careless.

‘An assassination attempt at this hour?’

It was rare for the Crown Prince to wander the palace at such a late hour.

However, the documents he had received were complicated. He needed multiple reference materials from the imperial palace library to deal with them.

Tomorrow’s tasks were already piling up. And since he wasn’t feeling sleepy anyway, he left his office on what was meant to be a quick outing.

Tonight, the security detail was minimal. He had dismissed Asuka, and the elite knights who usually guarded him were conveniently dispatched on an errand outside the palace with the Emperor.

Thus, the only ones left here were lower-ranked knights, relatively lacking in skill.

Normally, at least one or two knights under the vice-commander’s command would accompany him. It was an exceptionally careless night.

On such nights, it would have been wise for the Crown Prince to stay put. Yet he hadn’t, and now he was under attack.

‘I shouldn’t have sent him away.’

He thought of Asuka. If someone ranked first in the Greta Academy’s swordsmanship department was here, even the imperial knights would benefit from his skill.

Right now, an additional blade would have made a big difference.

They tried sending up a signal flare, but it vanished into thin air without a sound.

The assassins were employing magical means. Here, in the imperial palace. It was almost beyond belief.

‘Did closing down that temple push them this far?’

The imperial family had never before taken such a drastic step.

The process of pushing the temple’s influence out of the Empire had always been careful and less overt. They’d reduce the temple’s funding or quietly remove nobles friendly to the temple from key positions—that sort of thing.

The motive was obvious, but the temple likely viewed it as the price for siding with the Emperor’s opposition in the past.

They lodged indirect protests now and then, but in general, the temple had actually been trying to curry favor with the imperial family.

The High Priest himself had visited the empire multiple times. Each time, it ended with a superficial show of courtesy and conversation.

But now that the Crown Prince had decided to shut down one of the larger temples, it seemed the temple had chosen not to be so mild anymore.

Apparently, they were furious.

‘This method suits them all too well.’

From the moment holy power was bestowed upon humanity, the question was: How could Lumen fail to foresee that their intentions might become corrupted?

However lofty the High Priests’ status, the lesser clergy were merely humans carrying out their will.

“Ugh!”

With a spray of blood, one of the knights collapsed. They were down another fighter, and the assassins were still going strong.

The Crown Prince clenched his jaw. If one excelled in one area, one often lacked in another.

As a Crown Prince, he had superb qualities, but his swordsmanship was only average.

Though he held a sword, it would do little good here.

“Your Highness!” one knight hissed urgently. “We’ll hold them here—please run into the library! It’s a maze inside, so you can hide!”

The Crown Prince slowly nodded. Right now, that was their only option.

Just as they prepared to make that final play—

“Hello there!”

A cheerful voice cut through the darkness, followed by a brilliant flash streaking across the air.

*Fwoosh!* Blood sprayed as one of the assassins was reduced to a hunk of flesh. *Thud!*

Everyone turned in unison to stare at the newcomer—a savior with bright blue hair and a fierce grin.

He was dressed in the imperial knight’s uniform, his refined face at odds with the coarse words that followed:

“I really hate scumbags who skulk in the shadows. You’re all dead meat tonight!”

Otaku_Tensei

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