Way of the Knights

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"Oh my god!! Look at his arm!!"

The loud shriek of the lady immediately caused a sensation in the crowd. The crowd instinctively looked at the guards arm only to see an astonishing scene.

Previously, they were shocked to see the effectiveness of the medicine. They saw how the gaping wound from the guards arm close in a speed visible to the naked eye, yet it only took mere seconds before another change occur.

The arm that was previously closed, immediately darkened. Under the horrified and dumbfounded gazes of the crowd, it quickly transformed into something that resembled an old tree bark, withered and almost rotting.

The guard paled and nearly pissed his pants in fear. Alfred, Lord Mort and Zelor had their jaws opened due to shock and terror.

"H-help! Sir! Help me!" The guard implored while stepping closer to Alfred. The old alchemist himself panicked and also didn't know what to do. He was cursing every possible saints and gods for playing him like this. Without any further actions, he instinctively opened another Healing Salve from the crate and poured it on the guards arm. The withering of his body stopped, which caused a momentary relief for everyone. But it seems that that was just the calm before the storm.

The guard thought that everything was over and was about to express his thanks to Alfred for saving his life, but before he could open his mouth, the withering of his body resumed and it was much faster compared before. In fact, it was so fast that he become a rotten piece of flesh before anyone could react to it.

Silence.

There was only a deafening silence in this room. Everyone felt chills running through their spine as they recalled the sudden death of the guard. Some of the guests here were lucky to witness a gruesome death for the first time in their lives. Balmung who was watching over the corner had a chilling glint in his eyes as he saw the events transpired. He placed both of his hands behind his back and slowly made his way towards the front. Being a Crown Prince, he has responsibilities to fulfill and he won't stand idly by to see any unnecessary deaths without receiving any explanation.

"I believe your name is Alfred, right?" Balmung's calm and slightly amused voice echoed like a thunderclap inside the room. For those who haven't associate with him before, they will think that he was rather calm and taking this easy. But those who knew Balmung's true nature, they were shivering and sent ther best regards towards Alfred.

"Give me an explanation as to why I shouldn't separate your head from your shoulders right here, right now." Contrary to his smiling face, Balmung's words were venomous and cold. The hairs on Alfred's body nearly ran away from sheer terror. Seeing the smiling yet upset Crown Prince and his glaring guards behind almost made him prostate on the ground.

"A-allow me to explain, Prince Balmung. It s-seems that we encountered a small mishap on this presentation. I didn't do this on purpose! Lord Mort could testify to this!" Alfred hurriedly explained, he didn't dare to be careless since this prince could decide whether he lives or not depending on his whim right now.

"Is this true Clan Head Mort?" Balmung asked Lord Mort after hearing Alfred's testament. Hearing Balmung's interrogation made Lord Mort's face crumple, he was inwardly cursing every fiber of Alfred's existence. He repeatedly told him to be careful and make sure that everything was proper and correct in the concoction yet it's obvious that this fool didn't listen.

That or this fool just seeks to drag him down with him. Either way, it was obvious that Lord Mort can't allow his reputation to take damage in front of many influential people. That would cause a significant damage on his grand plans.

"His words are true Prince Balmung." Lord Mort answered with difficulty, "He shared to me the recipe of the Healing Salve and during his first demonstration, it worked like it was supposed to. This potion could cure any lethal wounds so long as it was used as a first aid. Many of my clan members were present during his presentation so we could testify for that. As for the accident right now, I am ashamed but I haven't expected anything like that happening, he supervised the whole process of concoction himself so it shouldn't have any problems."

"Is that so?" Balmung raised his brows as he heard Lord Mort's explanation. This man was truly cunning, it was clear from his words that he was trying to take as little responsibility as he could in order to not suffer from the accident. Alfred was too stunned and flabbergasted to even notice it, he was just focusing on trying to prove his innocence.

"So who do I blame then?" Balmung frowned and release a tiny bit of his animosity, "Both of you are trying to say that you're innocent. If that's true then how come this one's dead?" He said while pointing at the corpse in front of him.

"Don't tell me I am suppose to turn a blind eye towards the death of my citizens?"

Balmung's words created a formless pressure towards Lord Mort and Alfred, even Zelor wasn't spared. It is clear that the prince doesn't plan to let this matter go without conclusion. The crowd behind also didn't dare to move, most of them were scared and wanted to stay further away from the conflict but they know that if they do that, the Prince would personally drag them back here.

Alfred tried to reach out towards Lord Mort for help, but the latter stood unmoved by his gaze. Alfred was suddenly enlightened, he understood that maybe the reason why Lord Mort isn't helping him all the way was because of his status. Lord Mort is a clan head, and he had to tread carefully or else a simple mistake could lead to severe repercussions for his clan. But Alfred knew better, he wasn't dumb. Before he was seduced by Lord Mort's flowery words, he had heard some rumors about him. Of course, he wasn't one to judge but now he can't help but believe that those awful rumors might be true.

Alfred smiled wryly, in the end he had to fend for himself in order to secure a better future. There was a pang of bitterness on his heart when he realized that he's all alone. He started to wonder, if he hadn't betrayed Richard, will an accident like this happen? Is this Karma doing it's thing? He truly didn't know.

"I implore Prince to believe my innocence. I truly never meant for something like this to occur. I only want the best for people." Alfred said solemnly, "In fact...how about this? Why don't I concoct the Healing Salve in front of you? With everyone present, we should be able to spot any potential accidents or sabotage attempts right? And after my concoction, we will test the efficacy of the medicine." Balmung can't tell if this person had any ulterior plan or not, he thought about his suggestion and found no reason to decline. He gave him his word and allowed him to proceed. Alfred expressed his thanks and immediately took out the necessary ingredients from his spatial ring.

Everyone watched closely and studied his actions, the guards were alert and glared at every possible corner to check if someone was trying do mess with Alfred's concoction. No one even tried to move from their place in fear of being suspected, everyone patiently waited until Alfred was done concocting his 'miracle potion'.

Time went by fast, Alfred knew that the difficult process was already over. Still he didn't dare to be negligible and focused whole-heartedly on the concoction. After checking that the process went very smooth and without any hitch, he sighed deeply and poured the contents of the vial. He stood up and faced the crown prince.

"I am finished crown prince, this is the Healing Salve. This should have no problems to be tested, I wonder how we should go about the testing?"

"Good question." Balmung nodded, but it didn't take him long before he could answer. "Why don't you test it to yourself?"

Alfred froze when he heard the crown prince's words. His stomach lurched as his heart started to pound even more.

"What's the matter?" Balmung smiled and raised his brows. "Aren't you confident about you creation? We saw you personally concoct it and you even said that there should be no problems. Since you've been boasting about it's 'miraculous effects', then there shouldn't be any problems if you use yourself. Am I correct? Former Pill Saint Pavilion Chief Director Alfred Garvas?"

Alfred nearly coughed up blood from hearing the prince's words. Seeing the reaction of the crowd when his previous identity was exposed, Alfred nearly went irrational from rage. But he calmed himself down and placed on a determined look.

'Fine! You all are ruthless enough!' He thought, he wounded himself using the same dagger that he used and made sure to have everyone witness how deep his wounds are.He grimaced as he felt the pain, but he gritting his teeth and poured the newly concocted Healing Salve on his arm, as if that wasn't enough, he also directly consumed it. After seeing that his wounds were recovering and his body felt light and relaxed, a smile formed in his lips.. He was about to confirm the success when he suddenly saw the horrified expression of the crowd.