Chapter 002: Requests

Du Fan naturally had no idea that just by boarding the carriage, he had already thrown several factions into confusion. He sat calmly in the carriage, observing the scenery outside carefully.

The carriage moved slowly through the streets and alleys of the capital. After making a large detour, it reached the southern part of the city but then headed further beyond it.

When they reached the city gate, the city guards saw Prince Fischer’s carriage approaching and quickly cleared the road, separating the pedestrians entering and leaving so that Prince Fischer’s carriage could pass. Only after all of Prince Fischer’s carriage had passed did the guards resume their duties.

Du Fan watched all this from the carriage and suddenly sighed softly.

Prince Fischer, sitting beside him, noticed Du Fan’s sigh and asked with a smile, “Du Fan, what’s wrong?”

Du Fan shook his head and said, “Nothing. I’m just a bit confused… Weren’t we going for dinner? Why are we leaving the city? Are we going camping?”

“What do you mean by camping?” Prince Fischer became interested.

Du Fan touched his nose and replied after a moment, “I guess it means hunting in the wild and staying there.”

Prince Fischer laughed and said, “I see. It sounds quite interesting. It seems Du Fan also likes hunting. How about we go to the royal hunting ground together one day? To be honest, I haven’t been there in ages.”

Du Fan nodded slightly but said nothing more.

Seeing Du Fan’s expression, Prince Fischer suddenly seemed to remember something and said calmly, “By the way, Du Fan, you just asked why we’re leaving the city, right? But think about it—what fun is there in the capital? The military is watching me, my elder brother’s people are watching me, my father’s people are watching me. Lately, even the Church and the Mage Guild are watching me. Under such circumstances, how can I have fun? I’d have to be extremely careful even just speaking. Moreover, the place I’m taking you to is a very interesting place—probably something every man would like…”

Du Fan felt a stir in his heart; he had already guessed somewhat. He couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Why did this man always have to go to such places as soon as they met…

Still, he gave a subtle smile and said, “Then I thank Prince Fischer in advance.”

Prince Fischer smiled lightly and said, “Du Fan, since we’re peers, just call me Fischer.”

Du Fan nodded in agreement, but inwardly he smiled bitterly. Though you say that, if I really called you by your name, those murderous-looking guys outside probably wouldn’t treat me kindly!

“By the way,” Prince Fischer glanced at Du Fan casually, “I’ve often heard about your affairs while I was in the palace these days… Du Fan, I want to ask you—did you really kill Ordas with your own hands?”
Du Fan’s heart skipped a beat. Why was Prince Fischer asking him this?
Yet he knew it was impossible to hide the truth, so he could only force a wry smile and say, “How could I possibly kill Ordas myself? Your Highness, such words shouldn’t be spoken carelessly… Ordas defied the judgment of our Holy Church, so this was the inevitable outcome. Besides, many others intervened before I did, and in the end, he was burned to death by the holy fire. To be honest, Ordas’ death has little to do with me, right?”
“Is that so?” Prince Fischer looked at Du Fan indifferently. “But Du Fan, I have several reports on this matter, yet no matter how I read them, I still don’t understand… I can understand Governor Modo sending troops, but why would even Bruce be willing to go to such lengths to capture his own student? If I’m not mistaken, our Holy Church and Roland Academy are sworn enemies!”
Du Fan trembled slightly. Those words “we” really put pressure on him…
Facing Prince Fischer’s gaze, Du Fan gave a subtle smile and said, “Well, although our Holy Church and Roland Academy don’t get along very well, we’re all followers of the God of Light after all… I think our attitude toward heretics is the same, right? Otherwise, Professor Bruce wouldn’t have taken such a selfless action!”
“Selfless action?” Prince Fischer smiled faintly. “Then Lord Bruce is truly great… It’s said that that so-called heretic, Kris, is actually from the royal family of the Lanni Empire… Lord Bruce is even willing to sacrifice her… That’s truly extreme selflessness!”
Du Fan’s heart skipped a beat. Few people in the world probably knew that the so-called heretic back then was Kris. It seemed this prince also had spies in the Holy Church. But what did he mean by using these words to pressure him? A threat? Or…

Seeing Du Fan’s strange expression, Prince Fischer chuckled softly again. After a moment, he spoke in a low voice, “To be honest, Du Fan, I have no interest at all in who is greater or who has sacrificed what… The only thing that interests me is how you managed to convince Bruce to risk his life for you in such a short time. By the way, Bruce seemed extremely angry before dying; surely he didn’t willingly attack Ordas, did he? So, Du Fan, can you tell me… what methods did you use to do this?”
Du Fan’s hair stood on end. This Prince Fischer really hit the nail on the head with every word he said… His intelligence and cunning were probably beyond even Du Fan’s own.
Unable to get a reply from Du Fan after a long while, Prince Fischer suddenly turned to look at him, smiled slightly, and said, “Of course, I’ve never liked Ordas anyway. If he’s dead, so be it… It’s nothing. I just want to say that no matter how you made Bruce obey… such methods are truly interesting… If these methods were used on the Imperial City Guard, I’m afraid even hundreds of thousands of them would obey you. Unless you tell them, no one else would know, right?”
Du Fan shuddered. Using speech magic on the Imperial City Guard to make them obey him? That was treasonous talk… What did Prince Fischer mean by using such words to “joke” with him?
Moreover, things had gone this far, and some truths could no longer be hidden.
After thinking for a moment, Du Fan smiled and said, “Since Your Highness has already guessed it, I can’t hide it anymore. Making people obey is just a type of mental attack magic. But as for exactly which type, I can’t say. Although this magic has such an effect, it’s useless against mages and the like. For ordinary people, controlling dozens at a time is already quite impressive. Controlling hundreds of thousands? I simply can’t do that… Besides, the Green family has been loyal through generations—how could they do such a thing? Your Highness, please stop joking about me like this.”
“Oh… is that so…”
Prince Fischer nodded casually as if it didn’t matter, then turned to gaze at the scenery outside the window…
Under the setting sun, the imperial capital behind them appeared even more majestic and towering, as if coated in a thick, lingering layer of blood-red light!

Suddenly, Prince Fischer turned to look at Du Fan carefully, so intently that it made Du Fan’s scalp tingle. “What if… I mean, what if… I asked you to help me control a few people? Not too many—just a few military generals?” Du Fan was shocked. This Prince Fischer had such great ambitions! If he helped control a few high-ranking military officials, wouldn’t that mean the military power of the empire would fall into his hands? He absolutely couldn’t agree to this; otherwise, he would likely be the one to die once this was done! Du Fan smiled lightly, pretending not to understand the prince’s sinister intentions, and said calmly, “Your Highness… you’re teasing me again. Such tactics might work on ordinary people, but when it comes to military officials, though I consider myself highly capable, I wouldn’t dare do such a thing. Not to mention, even my father wouldn’t allow me to do this!” “Is that so?” Prince Fischer replied indifferently. “Then forget it. I was just joking. Du Fan, just ignore what I said earlier.” Du Fan nodded carefully, secretly sweating profusely. This Prince Fischer was indeed not someone easy to deal with. He said he’d give up now, but who knew what he was planning? He was alone now, while the prince likely had countless experts around him. If the prince decided to use force, he had little chance of winning in this desolate area. Thinking of this, Du Fan couldn’t help but start worrying secretly. But just then, the carriage, which had been moving smoothly, suddenly stopped. Prince Fischer frowned and said loudly, “Alva, what’s going on?” A moment later, Alva’s cold voice came through, “Your Highness… something seems wrong. Please be careful!” Du Fan and Prince Fischer exchanged a glance, both secretly alarmed. But before Prince Fischer could say anything else, Du Fan heard a familiar sound—“Swish swish swish”—the same sound of crossbows from the night he was attacked on his way back to the capital. Du Fan’s pupils contracted instantly. Without time to speak, he rushed toward Prince Fischer. The two rolled around on their seats and ended up hiding under the chairs together.