While everyone was panicking and attending to Arthur, Lysandra quickly went toward Lucian, who was sitting alone in the garden as usual. The night air was calm, a sharp contrast to the chaos inside the palace.
"Lucian! Your speculation was right, Arthur was heavily injured by someone."
"I know."
"Huh? How do you know?"
"I had a shadow watcher spy on Arthur, as I wanted an opportunity to expose his weakness. According to him, Arthur was trapped inside an array with a masked swordsman, and the shadow watcher couldn't enter to help him. So he recorded everything instead and showed the clip to me."
Mana stones had the ability to record visuals and sounds and project them onto a screen, making them extremely valuable for surveillance and evidence.
"Wow… this feels like a heaven-sent opportunity. He must have lost pretty badly against that man. Why don't we make this public?"
"Lysandra, this is too much. Arthur was almost killed by an unknown assassin, and you want to exploit this situation? We want to destroy his reputation, not harm him."
"And what harm will it cause him if we release this footage? Lucian, we won't get such a rare opportunity again. Just think about it, you were always considered the weakest son, and Arthur never suffered any defamation."
Lucian hesitated. His expression tightened as old memories surfaced again. This truly felt like a heaven-sent opportunity.
'So I'm alive…'
Five days later, Arthur finally woke up. He saw Alice, Seraphina, and Darius sitting near him, their bodies slightly slumped as they had fallen asleep while keeping watch over him. Their faces showed clear signs of exhaustion.
'These people really care about me… but why? What have I even done to deserve their affection?'
'That pain… even after months of chemotherapy when I was Allen, I never experienced anything remotely close to that. I never imagined there would be a device capable of suppressing my mana like that.'
Arthur looked toward the mirror.
'So I've been healed completely… that's good.'
He got out of bed. His movements were steady, though his body still felt a bit rusty.
After stepping outside, he was informed about the rumors spreading across the capital. Someone had displayed his fight with the masked man publicly on a huge screen, that clip was also cut and only parts where Arthur was at a disadvantage were shown. The whole conversation about the mana suppressing device was cut, the first confrontation which was evenly matched was cut, Arthur's final victory was cut, only the parts where Arthur struggled were shown
'There was someone else present in the alley?? How did I not notice him? A person whose presence could not even be detected by me?'
He immediately thought about the shadow watchers, but he dismissed the idea.
'The shadow watchers can only be commanded by the royal family, and no one here has a reason to publicly damage my reputation like this.'
'So the organization decided to ruin my image after failing to kill me?'
As he was lost in thought, Seraphina approached him.
"Arthur, how are you now?"
"I'm fine, but what's going on outside?"
"The public is furious. They believe you used them to secure your position as crown prince once you became weak."
'Of course… the public can raise you to the top and then throw you down just as quickly.'
"Also, Duke Kezith's only son has challenged you to a duel. He is a sixth-tier swordsman and is considered one of the strongest in this generation."
Arthur let out a short laugh.
"So now any random npc can challenge me to a duel?"
"What's an npc? Anyways, it's up to you whether you want to accept it or not, but you understand the consequences of refusing, right?"
"Yes… I'll be labeled a coward on top of a faker in front of the public."
"Accept it. And hold it in the grand arena. I want every seat filled."
"Alright then."
After reassuring his mother and siblings about his condition, Arthur returned to his room.
He opened the original Arthur's spellbook. Every spell written in it had been created by Arthur himself. Each one was categorized and ranked. The pages contained a wide range of spells, some simple, others extremely complex, showing a level of mastery that few could achieve.
'Last time I only learned a few… this time I'll practice everything written here.'
A few days later, the Grand Arena, the largest arena in the capital, was filled with thousands of spectators. The structure was enormous, designed to host large-scale duels and events.
The seating was strictly hierarchical. Nobles were placed in luxurious enclosed chambers closest to the battlefield, protected by defensive barriers and offering the clearest view. The royal family occupied the most prestigious section.
Seraphina knew that Arthur wouldn't let such disrespect slide and had already guessed Keizard's fate. Darius firmly believed Arthur would dominate, regardless of his current condition. He had witnessed Arthur's strength too many times to doubt him. Lysandra expected the opposite. She believed that even without the mana suppressing device, Arthur was still weakened and would be humiliated again. Lucian's eyes carried guilt… and perhaps regret. Even though he had wanted this outcome, it didn't bring him satisfaction.
The crowd buzzed with discussions.
"Who would have thought the so-called chosen one of God couldn't even match a random assassin in speed?"
"I bet he was saved by his guards, otherwise he would have died miserably."
"Was he always this weak?"
"It's true that he was indeed the strongest in his generation, but I heard he suffered a permanent injury years ago and has been faking his strength since then."
"Then his fight with the emperor must have been staged."
"He'll probably get crushed by Lord Keizard today."
"To think he tried to manipulate us when his position was at risk… how shameless."
The noise continued to grow until both fighters entered the arena.
'I'll use this chance to improve my reputation and establish myself as the strongest in this generation. Killing him would create problems, but crippling him should be enough.'
Keizard remembered his father's words. Duke Kezith had held resentment toward Arthur ever since that warning after Kelthis's execution. Now that Arthur was rumored to be weak, he wanted his son to humiliate him completely.
Killing was allowed and even encouraged in such duels, especially in the Grand Arena, where almost every fight was ended with the death of one participant, even for the children of low rank nobles. However, Arthur's status made killing him nearly impossible without consequences.
Keizard sent a telepathic message.
'Times have changed, Arthur. I still remember when you defeated me 15 years ago. What did you call me? An ant not even worth pitying? Today I'll show you what an ant can do. Be grateful I'm only taking your hands, not your head.'
The commentator signaled the start of the duel.
Keizard immediately drew his sword and infused it with mana
But then he saw Arthur's arrogant smile, the same smile he saw back then
'Could it be…?'
"Rime."
As soon as he said that, the sunny weather immediately changed. Chills ran down the spines of everyone present there. The arena was instantly covered in clouds and it began snowing. Arthur's golden hair turned white, his appearance looking even more majestic
Keizard swallowed nervously.
'What is this…? Is he not weak? Then what was that footage? No… he's just trying to intimidate me.'
He charged forward at full speed, aiming to strike before Arthur could react but Arthur didn't move.
The crowd was confused.
"Why is he just standing there?"
"Does he have a deathwish?"
Finally, Keizard came right in front of Arthur, his sword aiming straight at him. But Arthur just raised his arm and caught his sword with his bare hand.
The entire arena froze.
This scene stunned not only the public but also Keizard. Catching the sword of a sixth tier swordsman with your bare hands when your mana core is severely injured seemed impossible. Also, no one knew what that spell casted by Arthur did. But they soon saw it
As soon as Arthur touched Keizard's sword, he didn't even get a chance to retreat before completely being frozen from head to toe, unable to even move a single finger now. His face filled with disbelief and horror.
"You wanted to cripple me? Hahahaha…"
Arthur's laughter echoed across the arena.
"When an ant grows tired of living, I'm more than happy to grant its wish."
Even though Allen didn't have such a personality, the suffering that day had really angered him, and the fact that the clip was edited and publicly shown, just added fuel to the fire. He wanted to make things clear now
Arthur stepped forward and placed his index finger on Keizard's forehead.
CRACK
Keizard shattered instantly into tiny pieces, it looked like a statue fragile statue being broken just by simple touch
Duke Kezith was very smug about the fight, the indirect humiliation he had suffered that day when Arthur looked down on the nobles was supposed to be avenged today. Arthur would not only suffer humiliation, but his position as the crown prince would also be in danger after he was crippled. He knew how strong Arthur was, but the public only cares about the present not the past, and he was clearly weak now. So he was very happy until… He saw his only son, his future heir being shattered into tiny pieces by the same Arthur. Killing a Duke's son is a massive crime, even in the Grand Arena, but the killer was Arthur, he didn't even need a reason to kill someone outside the Grand Arena as he cannot be touched because of his status. But it was too late to regret
The arena fell silent.
Arthur stood there, untouched, his white hair still flowing, his presence overwhelming.
Seraphina clearly expected this outcome and wasn't surprised at all. Lysandra was not only surprised but also furious, Keizard was her fiancé, she also had a very good friendship with him, and yet he was killed by Arthur without the slightest hesitation. Lucian looked down, his expression conflicted.
The entire arena was silent now, Arthur was still as strong as he was supposed to, so then was the footage fake? Who would dare to defame the crown prince? This is what came to everyone's mind
Arthur looked at them with clear disdain.
"I am Arthur Valerius Drakenhart. If you mistake my kindness for weakness"
He pointed towards the ground, where Keizard was standing a few moments before
Arthur left without saying anything else, his message was clear