The students and the young Knights inside Ravenlord Citadel were feeling restless. It had been a few days since the adults had turned into crystal statues and Prince Lionel had locked himself up in his room, refusing to see anyone.
Right now, the ones in charge of the students in the academy were none other than the Head Prefects of their respective years. Even so, they were feeling the pressure because they were worried about their own families.
Some of them had already snuck out of the fortress to go back to their hometowns to see how their family and relatives were doing. The Head Prefects decided to turn a blind eye to these behaviors because they could understand how these students were feeling.
"Maybe we should go back to Lont for a bit," Leah proposed.
She was quite worried about Matthew's current mental state. Although her lover did his best to hide it, Leah knew what he was thinking deep inside.
After a few minutes of silence, Matthew hugged his wife and kissed her forehead.
"I'll ask for the Prince's permission first," Matthew said. "It would be bad if we suddenly disappeared and left the other students behind."
Leah nodded her head in understanding. As the Head Prefect of the Fourth Years in the Magic Division, Matthew held a lot of responsibility on his shoulders.
"Go," Leah replied. "I'll wait for you here."
Matthew gave her a kiss on the lips before heading out of their quarters. He knew that Leah was right and staying here would just make it hard for him to focus on his duties. Aside from his parents, Matthew was also very worried about his little sister, Eve.
He felt his heart break more at the thought of his little sister crying alone inside their residence.
"Wait for me, Eve," Matthew muttered.
----
Prince Lionel frowned when he heard his subordinate's report that several nobles from the academy were asking for a meeting. He had been so pre-occupied with Princess Sidonie's escape that he had tossed everything else aside.
Since he was the temporary ruler of the Hellan Kingdom, he needed to show his face to his subjects and show them that he cared for them.
"Fine, tell them that we will gather in the conference room in an hour," Prince Lionel said with irritation.
The manservant attending him hurriedly bowed his head and left the room. He knew more than anyone else that staying with Prince Lionel, while he was in his current state, was asking for a beating, so he hurriedly escaped to do his bidding.
An hour later, all the nobles, the Knights, the Head Prefects and their officers sat in the conference room, waiting for the Crown Prince's arrival.
"Thank you for your patience," Prince Lionel said after he entered the conference room with a smile. He then headed straight towards the highest seat of honor. He scanned the room once before taking his seat.
"The kingdom is currently in chaos, and we don't know what the future holds," Prince Lionel began his speech. "However, I believe that, if we all work hand in hand, we will be able to face any challenges that we are going to face after this unexpected turn of events."
He paused for a bit to allow his words to sink in, before continuing.
"I gathered all of you here to hear your thoughts. Now, tell me, what do you want to tell this Prince?" Prince Lionel inquired.
There were several factions in the Hellan Kingdom and they were separated by their regions. The West, South, North, and East had a head noble that oversaw their territories and acted as the representative of everyone.
Lawrence was the representative of the West, while Aramis was the representative of the South. The North and East had their own respective heads as well, but since they had all turned to crystal statues, the duties now fell upon their heirs.
A third year student of the Magic Division stood from his seat and made his thoughts known.
"Your majesty, I suggest that we temporarily return to our domains. If we leave our territories unmanaged, it will be harmful to the kingdom. Right now, we need to focus on stabilizing our resources and maintaining order."
the handsome young man with short light-brown hair, and green eyes said with a serious expression.
His name was Jareth--Rebecca's older brother. He had seen how his grandfather had turned into a Crystal Statue and was worried that his parents had suffered the same fate.
Fortunately, Rebecca was now in the Central Continent so he didn't need to worry about her. However, he would like to return to their territory for the time being to see to the welfare of the survivors.
Prince Lionel narrowed his eyes, but as someone that was trained to handle the affairs of the Kingdom, he couldn't ignore the thoughts of the nobles under his rule. The Southern Faction had never liked him, but they also didn't make things difficult for him.
A smile broke out of Prince Lionel's face as he nodded his head in an amicable manner. "Very well, I will agree to let all of you return to your hometowns, but let us set a deadline. I will give all of you exactly two weeks to settle things on your end. After that, we will all meet back in Gladiolus to talk about the future of our kingdom."
Everyone in the room sighed in relief because they thought that the Crown Prince wouldn't agree to their request. After the main issue had been dealt with, the conference turned into a discussion about how they would help each other during this time of emergency.
The meeting ended after two hours and everyone in the room left with satisfied smiles on their faces.
When Matthew left the conference room, he saw Leah waiting for him in the hallway.
"Sorry, I was a bit worried so I came here to wait for you," Leah said with a smile. "Did you get permission from the Crown Prince?"
Matthew nodded his head and held his lover's hand.
"Let's go."
"Okay."
The two walked hand in hand in the hallway. What they didn't know was that the Crown Prince was looking at the two of them from afar.
'If I'm not mistaken, that is the Head Prefect of the Fourth Years in the Magic Division.' Prince Lionel narrowed his eyes. 'He's the cousin of that filthy Half-Elf.'
Prince Lionel hated William because of his jealousy. Naturally, he wanted the Half-Elf to suffer, but his subordinates were unable to take his life. The Prince's eyes then landed on the beautiful young lady with long, midnight-blue, hair that walked beside Matthew.
Ever since Princess Sidonie escaped his grasp, the Prince had wanted to vent out his frustrations on someone.
'Not bad, she suits my taste well,' Prince Lionel thought as he continued to appraise Leah from afar.
He then made a gesture for one of the black-robed men to come closer.
"I want her," Prince Lionel ordered. "Bring her to my room tonight, in the capital."
The black-robed man nodded his head in understanding. He was Calum's right hand man. Before he left to look for the Princess, Calum ordered him to cater to the demands of the Crown Prince while he was away.
"What about the young man beside her?" the black-robed man asked.
Prince Lionel's lips curled up into an evil sneer as he gave Matthew a side-long glance. "Beat him up, but don't kill him. If possible, bring him back as well. I plan to have fun with his lover. Wouldn't it be better if he was there to watch it?"
"Understood," the black-robed man replied. His hands were already stained with blood and these kinds of plays were nothing new to him. He just didn't think that the Crown Prince of the Hellan Kingdom also had that kind of twisted hobby.
The Crown Prince grinned as he looked at the couple in the distance.
'If you want someone to blame then blame the fact that your surname is Ainsworth.' Prince Lionel sneered.
Now that all the adults had turned into statues, he didn't have to worry about the repercussions of his actions.
'I will start with the two of you then I will deal with that filthy Half-Elf next.' Prince Lionel knew that no one in the Hellan Kingdom had the power to oppose him. Since he had The Organization backing him up, he had nothing to fear.
He deemed that this was the perfect opportunity to show everyone the fate of those who dared to get in his way.
Prince Lionel walked back towards his room in a good mood. He was looking forward to an entertaining night.. A night that he would never forget for as long as he lived.