First Prince Benjamin had never believed that any other prince was more qualified than he was to ascend the throne.
He thought so, and he acted accordingly.
After Third Prince Chorai fell from power, Benjamin immediately offered him "protection."
By then, he had already understood how his Guardian Spirit Beast's ability worked.
Ninth Prince Halkenburg had also offered to shelter Chorai, but Benjamin thought nothing of it.
He had seen through his younger brother long ago.
He was full of self-righteous talk, but was also overambitious and knew no limits. He intended to use sheer force to get everything he wanted, without considering the consequences.
Halkenburg's fate was obvious: he couldn't control the Ai Yi Family, a gathering of madmen, or protect his loyal private soldiers. In the end, he became helpless prey.
How did he plan to protect Chorai? With his sense of justice? By moving everyone with it?
Having lost nearly everything and overcome with fear, Chorai had no choice but to accept Benjamin's "forced protection." It did, in fact, keep him alive for several days.
But Benjamin's generosity came at a price. It wasn't just forced upon him—it was a terrifyingly high-interest loan.
Benjamin had, in effect, protected Chorai from the "Lower Class Curse" cast by Second Prince Camilla and from assassination attempts by other factions.
He had even staged an attack himself, sending his own men to assassinate Chorai before stepping in to protect him.
That way, the "protection fees" Chorai owed Benjamin kept mounting until repayment became unavoidable.
First, Chorai entered "Zetsu," rendering him unable to use his Guardian Spirit Beast. Then even the beast itself was taken from him.
In the end, the debt kept growing until Chorai lost his mind and chose to kill himself to pay it off.
Thus, Benjamin had circumvented