CHAPTER 44: TRAITOR

Cassian took yet another step forward.

BOOM!

The ground trembled, and the weight of his aura pressed down harder. Garrick’s arms shook violently as he was forced to drop his hands to the ground to keep himself from collapsing face-first into the dirt.

"What did my son ever do to you that you wanted to assassinate him? If James were some unparalleled genius, then I would understand." Cassian stopped for a second and continued with a furious expression. "But... He was just someone who had no talent. Didn’t even possess any threat. And yet, you wanted to kill him?"

"Why?"

"Why?"

"WHY?!"

Cassian questioned Garrick again and again, taking one step at a time while increasing the pressure further and further, accompanied by another surge of killing intent. Even those watching from afar felt their hearts tighten painfully.

"Duke Cassian, don’t act recklessly. Please show us the proof if Duke Garrick truly worked with the Bladeborne Family to assassinate your son." Rowan said in a heavy tone, reminding Cassian to not be stirred by his emotion.

Cassian came back to his senses and stopped when he heard Garrick’s voice.

After taking a good look for a second at the pitiful man a dozen meters away from him, he sighed softly and retracted his power.

"You truly have no idea how close you just were to dying by my hands."

He turned back and took out a letter from his spatial ring, then threw it at Alexander. "Take a good look at it. Tell me... Do you still think this isn’t enough?"

Cassian gave it to Alexander instead of Rowan purely because the crown prince’s words have more weight since he was trusted by the King himself. Not only that, he believed Alexander wouldn’t try anything funny as he had already been scared away by him.

Alexander felt a chill on his spine, noticing Cassian’s glare as if telling him to quickly announce the content if the evidence was enough to label Garrick as a traitor.

His facial expression twitched from time to time and finally when he finished reading the content in the letter, he frowned deeply.

"Duke Garrick! How dare you betray the very kingdom that raised you!?" Alexander shouted angrily, glaring at Garrick as if he wanted to punish him immediately.

He pointed directly at Garrick with trembling fury.

"As Crown Prince of the Grimwald Kingdom, I hereby declare you—Duke Garrick as a traitor!" Alexander said in a chilling tone as he became serious to the point that the scared Crown Prince had already gone, replaced by the charismatic one.

The onlookers instantly turned into an uproar the moment the Crown Prince made the statement. They started to murmur among themselves, from expressing their disbelief, rage, confusion, and even sadness.

Rowan knitted his eyebrows and asked, "Your highness, may I see the letter?"

"Sure." Alexander tossed it without hesitation.

Rowan caught the letter with his two fingers and started to read immediately as he was curious.

A few seconds later, his expression said it all because he also became as furious as Alexander.

"You’re done for, Garrick..." He shook his head helplessly with a bitter smile, feeling a pity toward Garrick since he had known him for years. "I truly never expected you to fall this low."

That’s why he volunteered to accompany Alexander because he felt the need to see this thing until the end, putting aside the fact that he needed to protect the crown prince and did other things that were cancelled due to Cassian’s strength that had even surpassed his.

"Your Highness... You said His Majesty sent you to resolve the ’mess’ the Steelhearts supposedly caused, correct?" Cassian asked Alexander politely with a faint smile.

Alexander nodded. "More or less."

"Then remind me." Cassian chuckled lightly. "what is the punishment for treason?"

"Execution," he declared coldly.

"Since you said so, allow the Steelhearts to carry it out on the kingdom’s behalf." Cassian nodded and waved his hand, "Nyx. Do it."

Nyxrael was about to make a move but stopped when he felt invisible sword intent locked onto him.

"Stop!" Rowan looked at Cassian. "This matter should be handled—"

"No one should meddle with our business... Not this time!" Cassian said with a cold tone.

"Brother Cassian, don’t be careless—" Rowan tried to persuade Cassian because the King would definitely not be happy if he kept doing whatever he wanted to.

"I won’t repeat myself." Cassian frowned deeply, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword as he ordered. "Do it, Nyx."

Sigh!

Rowan sighed softly, shaking his head as he couldn’t persuade this stubborn man.

Looking at Rowan who had stepped back, Cassian chuckled. "Don’t worry, the Steelhearts will offer a solution for the mess we’ve made. I guarantee you will be satisfied. But first... Let us settle our personal account with him."

Garrick who had sensed the danger instantly came back to his senses fully and reacted by unsheathing his sword and swung it to block the incoming attack.

Nyxrael would’ve been at a slight disadvantage against Garrick if he were to fight him before, but the current Nyxrael has become much more capable in fighting against Garrick as he had mastered the 5th Move—The King’s Advance and it wouldn’t be a problem for him to kill Garrick with a given time.

"Garrick, since you tried to kill my son, I will return the favor in my own way." Cassian chuckled and glanced at Corvin, "Kill Darion slowly. I want him to understand what it means to watch his son face someone far stronger just as what he did to my son."

"Cassian, you bastard!" Garrick shouted in anger as he swung his sword and tried to come over toward his son. "Leave my son alone!"

"Leave your son alone, you said?" Cassian sneered.

"Why don’t you tell that to yourself? If he hadn’t been saved by someone, I would’ve lost my son by now." He instantly became furious at the thought of losing his son and wouldn’t even know the culprit behind it.

Corvin cracked his neck and stretched lazily.

"Finally," he said with a murderous grin, "it’s my turn."