Guard Captain

In the afternoon, Blue Lion City Royal Palace.

The sound of hoofbeats rang out as Richard returned to his residence with the guard captain and his men.

The first thing that came into view was an enormous square, nearly a hundred meters across, paved with large, smooth stone slabs and so clean that not a speck of dust could be seen. On one side of the square stood dozens of ascending steps, and above them loomed a massive palace.

Richard dismounted in the square. The guard captain knowingly directed the soldiers to unload the dead python and carry it into the palace, while Richard followed behind. He had only taken a few steps when a voice called out from behind him, followed by hurried footsteps—someone was catching up.

"Prince, Prince..."

Richard turned and saw a young man in his twenties running up behind him. His clothing was exceptionally luxurious, with gold trim embroidered around the cuffs and intricate patterns on the collar. His bright golden hair gleamed like gold itself, and his kind face seemed capable of dissolving all malice.

The man was Richard's Guard Captain, responsible for leading the entire guard unit in protecting Richard's safety. His name was Edward Anglie, and his background was far from ordinary. He was the son of an Earl—in other words, a noble. The reason he had willingly become Richard's Guard Captain was not because his family had fallen on hard times, but because his family wanted to strengthen its relationship with the royal family and demonstrate its loyalty.

This was a common practice among nobles in the Middle Ages. In a sense, it was a form of hostage-taking, but if handled well, it could also bring tremendous benefits. For example, if Richard became the next King, Edward and his family would naturally receive special treatment. By then, he might no longer be an Earl, but a Marquis.

Edward himself clearly understood this as well, and he usually spared no effort in serving Richard. But perhaps because all his thoughts were focused on that, his actual abilities were rather poor. He only knew a few flashy court sword techniques. They were barely passable for show, but in actual combat, he was worse than an ordinary soldier.

That was precisely why Richard had not informed him when he went to the dungeon to capture the python. He just did not know where Edward had heard the news...

As Richard was thinking, Edward had already caught up. He stopped one step behind Richard, took a slight breath, and said, "Prince, I heard you went to the dungeon this morning? Then at noon, you took people from the dungeon outside the city to catch some kind of python?"

"Mm." Richard answered and continued walking forward.

The moment Richard confirmed it, Edward grew anxious. "Prince, I'm your Guard Captain. The guard unit is your most loyal group of subordinates. You left us behind and went to the dungeon alone, then went to capture some python. What if someone wanted to harm you? What if you were injured? Even if the entire guard unit killed ourselves, we still wouldn't be able to wash away our guilt."

Richard glanced at Edward. He did not think the man was speaking sincerely, but he could not be bothered to look into it. He simply said, "Edward, if your swordsmanship were better, I would consider bringing you next time. Besides, who in the entire kingdom would dare harm me?"

Edward's eyes flickered. He leaned closer to Richard and quietly reminded him, "Prince, you really need to be careful. The First Prince has never been friendly toward you, and now King is ill as well. In case... in case..."

"There is no in case." Richard shook his head with a cold laugh. "The King isn't dead yet, so my dear brother—William Austin—still wouldn't dare lay a hand on me."

"But..."

Edward wanted to say more, but Richard waved a hand and ignored him. He walked to the end of the square and climbed the steps. After passing through twelve marble pillars thick enough for one person to wrap their arms around, he entered the palace hall. Edward had no choice but to hurriedly follow.

The entire hall covered more than two hundred square meters and should have been extremely spacious. Yet it was rather crowded at the moment. Dozens of tables had been arranged across the floor, each filled with various instruments and equipment. A maid stood busily before every table—fat or thin, tall or short, black or white—operating the instruments with tense expressions.

On a table near the entrance sat a complete set of crude distillation equipment. Its core was a jar being heated in boiling water. The mouth of the jar had been sealed shut, with only a leather tube leading out and connecting to a strangely shaped iron pipe.

The middle of the iron pipe was submerged in water, with one end higher than the other. The higher end was connected to the leather tube, while the lower end was attached to a glass funnel shaped like a cow horn. Colorless liquid was dripping from it into a porcelain bottle.

"Pssh, pssh." Because there were problems with the connections between the equipment, white vapor kept spraying out. A slightly pungent smell of alcohol filled the air, while the liquid dripped into the porcelain bottle at an increasingly slower rate.

"Drip, drip, drip, dri—ip—"

A ponytailed maid looked helplessly at the apparatus before her, her eyes wide as she had no idea where to begin.

Richard frowned and walked over. The ponytailed maid immediately stiffened as if struck by lightning. "P-Prince..."

"I told you to distill high-concentration alcohol. How is it going?"

"I... I..." The ponytailed maid's voice trembled, but to avoid being scolded, she forced herself to answer. "It's... it's going fairly... fairly well... I think..."

"Fairly well?" Richard's expression did not change as he pointed at the pungent white vapor constantly escaping from the equipment joints. "This is what you call fairly well? Where is the airtight seal I told you to make? The alcohol vapor is leaking out. How are you supposed to collect a high-concentration alcohol solution?"

"I..."

Richard reached into the basin of water surrounding the iron pipe, felt its temperature, and continued, "How long has it been since you changed the water? The water is warm. Do you think it can still condense anything? Do you think high-temperature alcohol vapor can turn into droplets when cooled, then be collected by the horn tube into the bottle? I remember explaining the key points of distillation to you and the others just yesterday. Why have you made it like this?"

"Prince, I... I..." The ponytailed maid began trembling, her voice carrying a sob. "Prince, I was wrong... I'm too stupid. I can't remember it. P-Prince, please give me another chance. I... I definitely..."

"Forget it. There's no need." Richard said calmly, "I said before that the maids in my palace may make any mistake, even murder. But there is one thing they must do: after I explain something, they must understand what I say and carry it out.

"If you cannot understand and forget it, that is not because you are stupid, but because your learning ability is too poor. And the people I need least are those with poor learning ability. I do not have that much time or energy to teach basic knowledge, nor do I have enough time and energy to train every person into a middle school student with scientific literacy beyond the limits of this era.

"So from this moment on, you are no longer part of this palace. Pack your things this afternoon and leave. Do not make me say it a second time."

After Richard spoke, the beautiful ponytailed maid trembled, her face turning pale. If she were driven from the palace, it would mean she would never again find a place where she could earn five silver coins a month. Her poor family would be unable to survive, and this would undoubtedly be a disaster for her.

The ponytailed maid could not help crying out, "Prince, Your Highness! Please, give me one more chance. My... my father owes other people a great deal of money. If I leave here and have no money to pay his debts, he'll be beaten to death. Please!"

Richard acted as though he had not heard her and walked deeper into the palace. The ponytailed maid's face filled with despair.

Edward, who had been following behind Richard, saw this. He looked at the ponytailed maid's pretty face, then at the other oddly assorted maids busy in the hall, and his eyes flickered.

He quickened his pace, caught up to Richard, and said, "Prince, I think that maid named Eve was actually quite good. She may simply have been here too short a time and isn't familiar with things yet, which is why she did poorly. Her family is in such difficult circumstances too. Why not keep her for a few more days? Perhaps if she is willing to work twice as hard..."

Richard stopped and looked at Edward, his gaze utterly calm.

Edward's body shook, and a hint of fear appeared on his face. "Prince, I... I..."

"I know what you are thinking," Richard said. "But I must tell you, Edward: I can tolerate an ugly face, poor character, or corrupt behavior, as long as a person can complete the task assigned to them. On the other hand, if someone lacks intelligence, has poor ability, and learns slowly, then no matter how beautiful she is, I absolutely cannot tolerate her. In the field of science, there are only numbers, not looks. In short, I am very busy. Ever since I came into this world, I have been busy for more than ten years—busy trying to understand certain abnormal things, such as spells, and then attempting to answer a question. Therefore, everything that affects me is an obstacle, and I will never tolerate obstacles. If you pity that girl, fine. She can stay, but only if you help her get all her work done. That is all."

"I..." Edward lowered his head, his expression changing rapidly. After a moment, he lowered his head and said, "I understand, Prince," before turning toward the ponytailed maid.

The ponytailed maid watched Edward approach, her eyes flickering as she tentatively whispered, "My lord, do you think I..."

Edward said nothing and continued approaching. The girl looked puzzled and instinctively stepped back. Edward suddenly reached out.

"Ah!" the maid cried out. Edward had grabbed her ponytail in one hand.

Edward gave it a vicious yank, and tears nearly streamed from the girl's eyes in pain. Ignoring her, Edward dragged her by the hair out of the palace. Then, with a hard pull, he yanked her to the ground and said coldly, "I'm warning you. You angered the Prince. Get out of the royal palace immediately, and do not appear before the Prince again. Otherwise, watch your life!"

"I..." The maid stood up in utter terror. Edward had already flicked his sleeve, turned around, and returned to the palace, chasing after Richard with a smile plastered across his face.

"Prince, I've dealt with that pig-brained maid for you. This afternoon, I'll definitely have someone find a smarter, more obedient replacement for her. What do you think?"

"Do as you please," Richard said noncommittally.

"Actually... Prince, I think many of your affairs can be delegated. There will be plenty of people willing to handle them for you. You don't need to do everything yourself. After all, you are the Prince. You should be doing more important things." Edward spoke in a patient, persuasive tone.

"Such as?"

"For example... ahem. Prince, King has been in poor health for a long time. This time, he is bedridden, and no one knows whether he will pull through safely. If something were to happen and the First Prince succeeded to the throne, there would inevitably be matters unfavorable to you. It would be better to prepare early.

"You should contact more nobles and win their support. That way, at the very least, you can ensure your own interests are not violated. When the time comes, you could obtain a satisfactory territory and a satisfactory Grand Duke title."

Swallowing, Edward saw that Richard had not reacted much and continued, "Compared to that, I really don't think there is much need for you to search for all kinds of strange things and conduct all this research related to wizards. It is fine as a hobby, but devoting all your energy to it is truly unwise..."

"Heh." Richard gave a soft laugh. "You mean I should involve myself in Crown Prince politics?"

"Uh, well..."

"Edward, tell me: do you think Crown Prince politics are more important to me, or are wizards and spells more important to me?"

"I think Crown Prince politics should be more important to you, Prince," Edward answered with a serious expression.

Richard merely shook his head lightly. He walked forward, pushed open a red wooden door, and entered.

Edward's expression stiffened slightly as he stopped outside the door. He knew that beyond it was Richard's Independent Laboratory, usually used only when Richard personally conducted special research. At such times, Richard particularly hated being disturbed.

With a quiet sigh, Edward remained outside the door. Staring at the wooden door before him, he could not help muttering to himself, "Prince, you should listen to at least some of what I say. Otherwise... it will make things difficult for me. My family has placed half its hopes of rising on you, and now that the King is gravely ill, if you do nothing..."