Chapter 84: CHAPTER 84: A Gift
"A rather 'warm' welcome, I must admit."
Leon rode the white horse with his head high.
He arrived at the chosen territory, and the people living in this land gathered on both sides of the road, and then they all gave him a hostile look.
After two generations of nobles, this place became the poorest in the kingdom.
It can be said that the royal family is made up of the leaders of the nobility.
It was impossible for them to receive the enemy commander.
As mentioned before, the reason why there was no rebellion in this place yet, was not because there was no will, but because the people were too poor to even fight.
"Prince Leon..."
Euphilia's eyes in the carriage were dull.
If those angry eyes were focused on her, she would definitely be scared and unable to move. In fact, at yesterday's banquet, just having a few dozen people look at her like that made her feel suffocated.
But for now.
Leon greeted everyone's gaze with his head high. He didn't run away or ignore it, nor did he show fear or hesitation.
Euphilia gritted her teeth and pushed open the carriage door.
She also rode on a white horse and arrived at Leon, facing everyone's surprised and hostile gazes.
Now that she has decided to become his wife, how could she hide?
"Hey~ I'm impressed with you." Leon showed admiration.
"I'm still inferior to you." Euphilia sighed in relief and shook her head.
"It doesn't matter, at least you have the courage to stay by my side, which is great, but... it's better to back off a little now."
"Eh?"
Before Euphilia could react, she saw some small balls being thrown under her horses, and then thick white smoke instantly appeared and covered her vision.
This isn't a magic tool, it's just a tool that compresses large amounts of lime and releases it with an 'explosion'. The only people in this world who would use such a tool... are just murderers.
"Go to hell."
"I've been waiting for this for a long time!"
"What?!"
A long golden needle that almost pierced Leon's heart was easily held. It was in such thick smoke, and it was a very quick hit, but it was still blocked.
The assassin codenamed Princess of Thorns was shocked, but she still came to her senses immediately. Leon was too strong for her to pull the needle back, so she simply gave up on the weapon.
With hands condensing magical power, even a hand knife would be more threatening than an ordinary sword. As long as you aim for the vital point, you can kill in one hit.
However, Leon's eyes seemed to be able to ignore the smoke, easily blocking a series of its deadly moves.
In the process of impasse.
The lime smoke gradually dissipated.
[This is not good!]
The assassin frowned and thought something was wrong.
Even with the smoke as cover, she was unable to kill the prince. Now that the smoke is about to clear, wouldn't it be even more impossible?
Leon looked at the sharp needle in his hand indifferently. For him with spatial magic, it was not easy to sense the surrounding environment.
Even without the use of magic, he can detect every movement of any creature within a hundred meter radius, even if it is separated by a wall.
"Well, I'm quite capable."
Then he threw the needle to the floor.
Leon was impressed with his attacker. Although she certainly learned the art of assassination on her own, her strength was comparable to that of Night Raid's weakest members.
The knights accompanying him quickly came to protect him.
"Your Highness, we will…"
"No need, I'll deal with her."
At the same time, the surrounding area fell into chaos.
The people watching were also shocked by the sudden assassination attempt. All showing sympathy for the assassin who was surrounded.
It's a shame it didn't work out.
This killer will suffer in the future.
Attempting to murder a royal family will certainly result in the death penalty.
No, according to the nobles' style, it would probably be even worse, especially since this assassin seems to be pretty, they know what kind of hell awaits her later.
Thinking of this, when they looked at Leon, the emotion of resentment became more intense.
The Princess of Thorns gritted her teeth, picked up the sharp needle from the ground and launched the final attack Leon.
But she also knew that her efforts would be in vain. Not to mention that there were so many knights around him that she definitely wouldn't be able to escape. The prince's abilities were also beyond expectations.
So this was just a blow to dignity, not even aimed at the vital point.
But what people didn't expect was...
"What?"
Leon put his hands in his pockets and proudly received the stab, which penetrated his left shoulder.
The Princess of Thorns widened her eyes in surprise, and so did the surrounding crowd. Everyone could see that Leon deliberately received the blow.
The assassin unconsciously took a few steps back, without even removing the sharp needle that penetrated Leon's shoulder.
"Why…?"
"I am taking this blow in the name of the king. It is truly His Majesty's mistake to allow you to be taken advantage of by two bastards for so long."
Leon easily pulled out the sharp needle.
It was clear that blood had gushed out, but his expression remained unchanged, as if he felt no pain. Euphilia quickly rushed over and used healing magic on him regardless of the immediate danger.
At the same time, she was also horrified.
Is this Leon's plan?
Is this his way of resolving public grievances? If she had known earlier, she would have definitely stopped him!
But what is undeniable is that the eyes of the people around him are no longer so sharp. Although this does not mean forgiveness, it is just that he was temporarily stunned by Leon.
"How could I forgive with just one blow?"
Recovering from the shock.
The assassin would continue attacking.
However, this time Leon attacked first.
A simple punch hit her head directly, causing the assassin to fall to the ground with stars in her eyes.
He just displayed an apologetic attitude, and it didn't matter if he was accepted or not.
Then, two knights immediately rushed forward and caught the assassin in handcuffs.
"You seem to have resentment towards me, why?"
"Grr! If you want to kill me, just kill me at once!! I won't..."
"I order you to answer my questions."
The Geass crest appeared in Leon's left eye. The Princess of Thorns, who was willing to die now, could only answer his question no matter how reluctant she was.
"Because the first two nobles who dominated this territory killed my father and mother, now I only have my seriously ill brother left. I will never again let someone like you take the life of the last member of my family, that's why I decided to kill you."
"Then it's a misunderstanding. I'm different from those two losers. I'm here to bring you prosperity."
"Do you think I will believe this!? Do you think they will believe it!? You nobles are different from us. I have never seen any good nobles who are in power."
"I'm royalty."
Leon frowned and corrected his mistake. This was still a very important difference.
"And what's the difference? You live a different life than we do. Even working all our lives we couldn't buy even the simplest piece of clothing you're wearing. And the money to make these clothes comes from the taxes WE pay! !"
The assassin screamed.
What she said was the unquestionable truth.
Not to mention a piece of clothing, even the black gloves that Leon is wearing are custom made using very high quality leather, it was not something that ordinary people could buy in their lifetime.
"In other words, you are dissatisfied with my clothes?"
"The clothes you wear come from the taxes we pay."
"I don't know how many people worked hard for an entire year, but most of the harvest has to be used to pay taxes and make clothes for you nobles and royalty, but we commoners don't even have enough to eat like we would be satisfied!?"
The assassin said angrily.
The memory of his parents when they were still alive came to his mind. To leave more food for her and her brother, her parents went hungry, her mother still had to work hard to pay taxes, and finally she starved to death in the fields.
But what left her helpless was...
Leon's expression didn't waver at all.
Guilt, apology, contempt, ridicule, no emotions appeared on his face. Leon was just listening to her resentment carefully, that's all.
Then Leon asked blankly.
"Really? So let me ask you, are you willing to die for these people?"
"What are you talking about? Of course not, our lives are our own."
The assassin refused without hesitation. This was also the voice of all the people present. She wondered if the prince would execute him next?
However, Leon said.
"Yes, that's what ordinary people think, but... the royal family will die for this country."
"What?"
"The people are the foundation of a country. If it is to protect you, the royal family might even go to an enemy kingdom as hostages. If the kingdom is destroyed, it is the royal family that will go to the guillotine on behalf of the people, this so you can survive."
"Nobles should be like this, no, they have to be like this. When a war breaks out, they are the ones who must stand at the forefront and fight and die to protect the people."
Leon's words impacted everyone present, including the assassin, commoners, knights, Euphilia, and the Night Raid members who were secretly following him.
Leon raised his head and said proudly.
"Only those who can do this are qualified to be classified as royalty and nobility. At least that's what I think. This is a heavier responsibility than the luxurious clothes we wear, and these clothes are also proof that we can dedicate ourselves to our kingdom and to you."
[I think you are the only person in the entire kingdom who can make such a realization... Ah, I can't say those words.]
Euphilia smiled helplessly.
Leon really left her defenseless.
He is a stunning person, just like the sun that shines on all things, giving everyone the gift of light equally, but he is so out of reach.
"But, but..."
The assassin stared at the prince in front of her.
It's different from what she heard.
Shouldn't this prince be a bad guy who came to exploit them? Why? How could he say such words? Why didn't she think it was a lie?
Furthermore, his family died because of those nobles. What should she do now?
At this moment, Leon raised his hand and made a movement.
Suddenly, the knight behind him made a complicated expression and took out two large gift boxes decorated with ribbons.
"Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Leon Fol Palletia. I am the second prince of this kingdom. I am here to improve this territory and let you live a good life. That's why... I have prepared something for you."
The ribbon on the large gift box was untied.
The box opened and revealed two human heads.
"!!!"xN
Everyone present widened their eyes.
Even if they are ghosts, they will never forget that these two heads are the heads of the nobles who previously dominated this place, imposed severe and heavy taxes, and made countless people starve to death.
"It wasn't easy to prepare these two heads. It's not that my father didn't allow it, it's that these two old bastards were almost dead, so I had to quickly cut off their heads before they took their last breath."
Leon said and threw the heads of these two scoundrels to the ground. It really wasn't easy. He even used spatial magic to travel in order to cut off those two heads.
(End of chapter)
Now, getting straight to the point... GIVE ME YOUR POWER STONES NOW!!🤌 Ehem! Have a good night or good day? I don't know haha