Some time later, Ritz returned to the Winter Kingdom. King Hayden meticulously checked the agreement documents and inspected the items from the first shipment sent by the Autumn Kingdom. A cynical smile curved his lips.
"I may not have succeeded in eliminating Leticia yet," he murmured to himself, his voice dripping with venom, "but at least the Autumn Kingdom has fulfilled its part and sent products of the highest quality. A small consolation."
"Majesty, there is something else I must inform you of..." Ritz began, his voice low and hesitant, aware of the storm his next words could unleash. "The knight who accompanied Princess Leticia, Aleph... in truth, he is the second prince of the Autumn Kingdom."
The revelation struck Hayden like a devastating lightning bolt. With a roar of fury, he violently kicked one of the supply crates, which shattered, scattering its contents across the floor. The mere mention of Ryuuichi's lineage was enough to ignite his deepest hatred.
"What?! That insolent brat, a prince of Autumn, here, in my kingdom? Did he come to spy? To mock my authority? I detest every single member of that cursed family! All of them, without exception, remind me of the damned Ryuuichi!"
"Majesty... there is one more thing..." Ritz's voice was almost a thread, fear strangling his words.
"Out with it, you useless worm!" Hayden bellowed, his rage transforming his voice into a roar, his face congested with choler.
"The knight... I mean, Prince Aleph... he knows. He is aware that it was Your Majesty who orchestrated the assassination attempts against Princess Leticia."
Hayden exploded in a blind fury. He began to smash everything he could find: vases shattered against the walls, furniture was overturned, tapestries torn. The sound of destruction echoed down the corridor.
"Summon Laurenn!" he shouted to the guards posted outside, his voice hoarse with hatred. "Bring that useless wretch to my presence immediately! Why didn't he inform me that this so-called knight was a damned prince of Autumn?!"
Laurenn, oblivious to the storm brewing in the castle, was near the lake's gazebo, his thoughts immersed in the worrying situation of the Winter Kingdom. It was then that one of King Hayden's trusted assistants approached him, informing him that the king summoned him with extreme urgency. Accompanying the assistant, however, were two guards of robust build and visibly hostile auras, whose faces Laurenn did not recognize as part of his personal guard. A chill of foreboding ran down his spine. Something was wrong.
Laurenn hesitated, but the assistant, perceiving his reluctance, gave an impatient and authoritarian signal to the guards.
"Bring him. By force, if necessary."
The two men exchanged a quick, uncertain glance, hesitating for a brief but tense moment at the order to use violence against the crown prince. That tiny fraction of a second of distraction was enough. Laurenn, his attention focused on the three men before him, did not notice the stealthy approach of a fourth individual from behind. A swift, precise blow to the nape of his neck plunged him into a sudden and deep darkness.
When he opened his eyes, the first sensation was a piercing pain that throbbed in his head. Someone roughly tore the hood from his head, and the blinding brightness of the room made him blink repeatedly, trying to focus his vision. With effort, he looked around: he was in a damp and gloomy room, firmly tied to an uncomfortable chair. And, to his complete astonishment and growing terror, King Hayden stood before him. The king's gaze overflowed with an icy mixture of contained rage and absolute contempt.
"I am... profoundly disappointed in you!"
"What... what did I do, Majesty?" Laurenn managed to stammer, confusion and fear beginning to suffocate him.
"Why did you not inform me that the knight Aleph was, in fact, a prince of Autumn?!" Hayden accused, his face inches from Laurenn's, his eyes flashing.
"I... I couldn't say..." Laurenn's voice came out trembling, almost a whisper, fear paralyzing his throat. "He was here for training... by order of Master Yoshi."
"Training? Or espionage?!"
Hayden delivered a brutal punch to Laurenn's face, who felt the sharp impact and the metallic taste of blood fill his mouth.
"That is so you learn never to contradict me again!"
One of Hayden's henchmen, who was observing the scene with professional coldness, intervened:
"Majesty, perhaps it would be better... to strike him in less visible places. To avoid unnecessary questions."
Laurenn barely registered the words. Panic and pain overwhelmed him. A cry of protest, a question about the reason for such cruelty, formed in his mind, but the words found no path, frozen by the terror that Hayden's implacable gaze inspired. His eyes teared up, his body trembling uncontrollably as he tried in vain to articulate a defense, a plea. King Hayden, however, sought no explanations; only a receptacle for his accumulated fury. Laurenn felt his strength drain away, the ability to speak or fight abandoning him.
Suddenly, a dull thud echoed. One of the henchmen holding him collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
A stunned and tense silence filled the place for an instant before panic set in among the others.
"Who dares invade this place?! Seize the intruder, immediately!" Hayden ordered, the initial surprise quickly converting into a renewed fury.
Following the order, Hayden was promptly escorted out by some of his most loyal guards, seeking a safe refuge, while the remaining henchmen spread out, searching the shadows for the unknown invader. Laurenn, his vision blurred by pain and the recent blow, could barely distinguish the shapes moving in the gloom. He then heard the low, hurried voice of a young man near him. It was Daniel, who, with impressive agility, was already loosening the ropes that bound him.
"I won't be able to get you out of here now, Your Highness, there are too many of them and they're armed. But I will do everything I can to inform Princess Leticia and bring help as quickly as possible!"
Laurenn, gathering the last of his strength, grabbed Daniel's arm, a desperate plea in his tear-filled eyes.
"No! Please, don't tell her anything! Hayden... he will hurt her if he knows she's involved! Leticia must not know! Protect her, please!"
Daniel heard the hurried footsteps of the henchmen approaching. With an agile movement, he hid in the deepest shadows, but not before discreetly slipping the letter Leticia had entrusted to him into the pocket of Laurenn's attire.
The pursuers' footsteps moved away, sweeping the adjacent corridor. A short while later, when the tense silence was re-established, one of Hayden's trusted counselors cautiously approached Laurenn, who remained stunned, his aching body still partially tied to the chair. Laurenn flinched upon seeing him, panic threatening to resurface; he had been insulted countless times by Hayden, but this was the first time the cruelty had manifested in physical aggression, and the shock still paralyzed him. With a calculated swiftness and a falsely solicitous expression, the counselor undid the remaining knots of the ropes that bound him.
"King Hayden has ordered that we tend to your wounds, Your Highness," the man said, in a clear attempt to manipulate the prince and minimize the gravity of the king's actions. "He deeply regrets what happened, a terrible misunderstanding, and sends his most sincere apologies. His concern for Your Highness's well-being is immense. We will take you to the infirmary at once so you may receive the proper care."
Laurenn, still processing the brutality of the attack and the veiled betrayal, could barely assimilate the counselor's words. However, even with the physical pain and mental confusion, a more urgent thought dominated his mind, a concern that surpassed his own suffering.
"Will he... will he hurt Leticia?" he asked, his voice hoarse and weak, the anguish for his sister overpowering the fear for himself.
"Of course not, Your Highness!" the counselor replied with a reassuring smile that didn't reach his eyes, the falsehood in his tone almost palpable. "It has never crossed King Hayden's mind to cause any harm to the Princess. He greatly values the alliance and her well-being. It is all a regrettable misunderstanding."
With that empty assurance, they took Laurenn to the castle infirmary, taking care to use discreet and seldom-used passages so that the other counselors, especially those who still held loyalty to the memory of Queen Elyza and openly distrusted Hayden's actions, would not see the deplorable state the prince was in.
Hidden in the shadows of a nearby alcove, Daniel, who had overheard the entire conversation and the counselor's shameless attempt at manipulation, clenched his fists, indignation rising in his chest.
"I don't know what kind of brainwashing they're trying to impose on Prince Laurenn," he thought, his indignation growing. "But I must immediately inform Aleph of this cruelty."