Chapter 347: A Doomed Connection
It had been a long time since the last mission.
The Crown Prince hadn’t called for Armand at all. After all, he knew Armand very well, and during winter, he rarely asked Armand to do any kind of physical work.
The Second Prince hadn’t contacted Evelia either. Even as the second son, he still had many responsibilities as a prince, and there were always lots of documents to approve. Since Armand had been almost completely out of sight lately, the Second Prince didn’t ask Evelia much either.
But because of what the Grey Dove said, along with information from the White Dove, Eric’s attention returned to Evelia, whom he had sent out.
On the report was the name “Aegmed Scassia”, the same person who had once tried to escape with the “Red Crow.” He was also the most trusted servant by Eric’s mother, with a position almost equal to the “Red Crow” who now stayed by Eric’s side.
The Second Queen had really liked that boy, so much so that even young Eric had once felt jealous. At that time, Eric and Armand were about the same age, and Eric was still a child who didn’t understand much about relationships. All he knew was that his mother spent more time with a boy his age than with him.
Still, he never asked his mother why. Not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t dare to.
In his memory, his mother always wore a dignified smile. But even as a child, Eric found that smile scary.
Maybe it was because his mother was always too strict with him… that kind of smile always made him feel uncomfortable.
Even now, Eric was still following his mother’s last wish. He had to keep working hard, working to become a true king. That smile of hers had been deeply burned into his memory.
Later on, when Eric was a bit older, only eleven years old, he was introduced to the “House of Nightingales.” For most people, eleven is still just a child. But in the eyes of the Second Queen, a king should already be strong and ready by the age of ten. That one extra year was, in her mind, a kind gift.
She brought her son to see the darkest place—“hell.” Even though Eric had prepared himself mentally, he was still shocked. The cries and screams of people, the disgusting smell of rotting wounds… the first time he came, he vomited from the fear and the stench.
Of course, the Second Queen scolded him for that reaction. She shouted at him, how could a future king not even get used to something like this?
So that day, she left her own son in that disgusting place that smelled of rot. And the boy who stayed with her, the young Aegmed, was assigned to watch over the “useless prince.”
Eric had tried to say nice things to that boy in black, or even tried to offer him valuable things to let him go. But all he got was silent rejection, proud and cold, with no intention to help.
Eric had already disliked that dark boy. He was jealous of the trust his mother had in him. But that heartless and arrogant attitude made him hate Aegmed even more.
After being locked up for a whole day without food or water, Eric was finally let out. The Second Queen still looked unhappy with how weak Eric looked, and she didn’t treat him kindly at all.
But for the boy who walked out with her son, the dog she had trained herself, the Second Queen was extremely pleased. The smile that should have gone to her son was given to another boy instead.
From then on, Eric looked at Aegmed with mixed emotions, jealousy, hatred, and more. Aegmed had become one of the people Eric wanted to take revenge on the most.
If someone had guided Eric the right way back then, maybe if he still had some kindness left in his heart, he could have understood the truth. The real reason the House of Nightingales existed, the things his mother did, and what Aegmed had been through. If that had happened, maybe he wouldn’t have turned out like this.
But of course, the Second Queen would never teach her child something as useless as mercy. That very same year, she secretly killed her own older sister, the First Queen, the Crown Prince’s mother.
After that, the already tense relationship between the Crown Prince and the Second Prince completely broke apart. Eric, now all alone, could only rely on his mother’s teachings.
He copied her behavior. He mimicked her tone. He learned to use a whip, just like she did, to violently release all the emotions he kept bottled up inside.
And the first person he ever practiced on. Of course, was Aegmed.
The Second Queen threw her most trusted "dog" into the basement, letting Eric leave bloody wounds on his body. To her, this kind of torture was just a form of entertainment. She wanted to pass this “fun” on to her own son.
Of course, Eric never thought this was something to be happy about, something that deserved a bright smile like his mother’s. But when he saw that the person he was whipping was someone he had always found disgusting, he made up his mind to give him a real punishment.
He wanted him to know, who was the master, and who was the dog.
Eric could no longer remember how he felt at that time.
He only remembered that his mother was even crazier than he was, laughing loudly beside him, while his own heart was filled with many strange emotions.
Even though making someone he hated admit their place felt good... was doing this really normal?
But Eric didn’t keep thinking about it. He simply felt that, since his mother taught him to do it, then he had to do it. Just like his mother always told him, everything she did was for his future.
…Mother loves me. She does all of this for my own good.
It was almost like brainwashing himself. Eric carved that thought deep into his heart.
After that, Eric continued to make life hard for Aegmed. Because he still wasn’t sure how he should act, he just poured all his emotions onto Aegmed.
Until one day, when he found out Aegmed was trying to escape.
It was Eric who ordered people to interfere and “kill” Aegmed during his escape. He even caught Furst, who had been hiding in the bushes, hoping Aegmed would come save him.
As a reward, his mother gave Furst to him.
Furst was a poor little boy, much younger than Eric.
But his mother told him, as a prince he had the power to easily change someone else’s life.
Furst was his mother’s “assignment” to him, and this time, Eric did a perfect job.
He copied what his mother had done before. He used all kinds of cruel methods to break Furst’s spirit. He shattered Furst’s personality and put it back together in the way he wanted.
And that’s how “Red Crow” was born.
Now, he had a loyal dog of his own, someone he could talk to about anything, someone he could make do anything, someone who could stay by his side, someone who could... be a useful tool, just like his mother had wanted.
But... was that really all he wanted? Just a tool with no emotions?
Not long after that, his mother met with a terrible accident.
He was forced to take control of everything in the House of Nightingales. He had to become the kind of person his mother had wanted him to be. He had to leave his past behind, and before doing anything, he had to think, what would Mother do?
From then on, Eric walked down a road he could never turn back from. In a way, he wasn’t even “himself” anymore.
But he didn’t feel regret for what he had done, because the only thing that mattered was the present.
He didn’t deny any of his actions, because they were necessary.
He no longer needed anyone’s pity, because he was going to become the King. He was the one who would show mercy to others. No one would show mercy to him.
The carriage the Second Queen was riding in had an accident. People said it was just a simple safety problem.
But Eric didn’t believe that.
When he saw the look in his elder brother’s eyes at the funeral, he was even more sure.
—Mother had been murdered.
After so many years, he finally found the killer.
That person he thought he had already killed hadn’t died. He had changed his name, joined Eric’s brother, and had even become the current captain of the knight order.
Now everything made more sense. It explained why he hated that man the moment he saw him. And why Armand was always so hostile toward him.
At first, Eric never thought about it, because he believed that man was already dead. He never expected that such a small mistake would end up costing his mother her life.
“—Ha.”
Faced with such a twisted fate, Eric let out a short laugh.
So in the end, he had sent the completely changed “Furst” to the side of the completely changed “Aegmed”?
What a cursed bond... for both of them.
In these past ten years, everyone had already changed their faces.