Chapter 48. First Mission

Willow replaced the coachman's position, taking control of the horses.

The carriage continued to drive down the path.

Dimitri sat in his seat, in between Lucilline and Augustine. His dazzling white suit was flawless, with not a single speck of dirt insight. He crossed his arms domineeringly, his hair curled and glistening like golden ore. White and polished gloves caressed his thick calloused hands, while the Sword of Gravity was placed aside on a wall.

"...to be fair, I'm not sure how I got the Book of Revelation either." Dimitri began.

He reminisced to the past events, "All I remember was investigating the streets for thieves who robbed the book. It was dark, and all the lights were out. But then I noticed a shining light inside a house. Inside the house..."

Dimitri's throat gulped, the adam apple bobbed.

His face seemed to pale subconsciously. "The walls were covered in black mucus. It was slimy and fertile, as if the scales were torn off of a snake. Although I had examined the mucus and confirmed that it did not pose any harm to living beings, I still felt as if it was alive."

The Crown Prince ruffled his hair, revealing his fine neck. "On a table was the Book of Revelation. Beside it on a chair was... a corpse of a man."

He remembered the corpse in great detail. The body's clothes had been littered across the ground, torn at edges and ripped at corners. However, it was as if all the man's flesh had disappeared into thin air. All that was left of the corpse were bones and a blackened bloody skull.

"...that's horrible." Lucilline's eyes thinned from disgust.

He raised his head, "Could it be the Book's doing... or..." a demon?

"The black mucus is often a trait found by demonic beings, so I suspect a demon is behind this." Dimitri rubbed his temples, feeling a migraine come upon him. "However, why did the demon leave the Book of Revelation behind?"

This was also an odd question.

"The investigation team is also having trouble identifying the corpse. After all, that man is left down to only bones and a skull. There is not much to confirm." Dimitri revealed a vague look of fatigue.

Having stayed up for an entire night, Dimitri decided to leave his position as Crown Prince.

"I found no clues, so I decided to follow a different lead." Dimitri explained, resting his chin handsomely on his palm. "Nearby, there is a small village by the name of Kirvin." He gestured gently, "Kirvin Village is known to be situated near wetlands. Recently, a report informed me that demon encounters became more often at Kirvin Village."

"I suspect that this is the doing of Swamp demons."

Lucilline tilted his neck, thinking silently. The carriage was nearing Kirvin Village, which explained the earlier encounters.

"Swamp demons are afraid of light," Dimitri informed, "Therefore, they were quite frightened by the Book of Revelation just then."

Silence encumbered the moving carriage.

Trees swarmed the horizon, leaving behind only a mirage of darkness. Shadows shifted from tree to tree. It was unknown whether those shadows were just a lighting effect, or perhaps it was the demons observing their next prey.

"Young Master Rubius—well, since we're out of the Capital City and we've met quite some time," Dimitri wore a gentlemanly smile. "Lucilline," he dropped the title and went with the name, "Would you be willing to help me in exterminating the demons?"

The black-haired nobleman stilled.

He'd seen this relaxed and gentleman-like smile before. Whenever the Crown Prince tried to persuade him, he would wear this facade and charm him into agreeing.

It made him feel as if he had a choice.

In fact, he didn't.

"I agree," Lucilline heaved a sigh. "We are already nearing Kirvin Village, so I couldn't possibly turn away now. Additionally," his golden eyes flickered to the Crown Prince's widening smile. "I trust that the Crown Prince had a reason for saving us earlier, right? I must return the favour after all."

The Crown Prince smiled bigger.

It wasn't like his usual gentle and harmless smile. Rather, it felt as if he was a lion blending in with the field of rustling wheat. His tail would drop dead to the ground, while his gaze would stick unmoving to his prey. Excitement was spinning in his hazel brown eyes.

"As expected of Lucilline. Your analysis is always on the spot." Dimitri clapped his hands.

Lucilline looked away. His analyses weren't always so accurate. Rather, he just had a good idea of the Crown Prince's true personality.

"Young Master, we've arrived at Kirvin Village." Willow's voice alerted them from the front. The carriage came to a gradual stop, the wheels rooted in a wedge of mud.

Augustine stepped down from the carriage first. He outstretched a hand.

Lucilline took the hand, softly landing on the muddy ground.

Dimitri politely declined the hand. He was the Crown Prince and didn't need a butler's supporting hand. Willow patted the horses, then jumped down from the carriage.

Kirvin Village was dark and gloomy. A veil of unmatched fog had enveloped the village. Contrasting to the solid lands from other cities, Kirvin Village was built on a wetland. Just merely a few metres above the swamp, a long wooden floor board was built. A few sturdy legs helped keep the floor stable and above the wetland. Houses were situated on that wooden floor.

They were shrouded in mushrooms, the fungi lurking in corners of rooftops. In the centre of the village, the long wooden floor boards opened up to a square of pure wetland. In that square was a large bald cypress tree, its arms outgrown to stretch over the entire village.

Its large stature blocked the sunlight, leaving behind only a shadow to Kirvin Village.

"...this..." Willow's mouth twitched. "The entire village is built above a swamp!"

"No wonder it attracts so many Swamp demons," Lucilline felt a headache come over himself. "However, it has been centuries since demons dared to enter Lydia Kingdom. I wonder what brought this.."

"Well," Dimitri wore a lofty grin, "Nobody knows the cause of the recent demon attacks. Demons generally do not have a consciousness. They have bloodlust, insatiable thirst for bloodshed, overwhelming power and strength, but they won't attack without orders from the higher ups."

Lucilline fell silent.

He had a theory in mind, but he did not have enough evidence to back it up.

"Well, we're here to only exterminate the recent demons. Don't bother puzzling yourself by thinking too hard on the entire cause." Dimitri chuckled.

The black-haired nobleman pursed his lips.

The Crown Prince was testing him.

"Let's go." Lucilline sighed.

*****

The entire Kirvin Village was in a state of unrest.

"Here are your keys for two rooms," the innkeeper passed the two bronze keys, "Please stay safe, travellers. I've heard that there are more sightings of demonic activity recently."

"We will." Willow took the keys.

She turned to look at her three companions. "Young Master, how should we arrange the rooms?"

Dimitri wore his gentlemanly smile. Meanwhile, Augustine lowered his head in contemplation. For once in her life, Willow had never seen such a serious expression on the butler's face.

Lucilline didn't need much time to decide. "You take the first room, Willow. The rest of us will take the second."

Willow: ???

Augustine: !!!

The Crown Prince couldn't help but open his mouth agape. "I am quite confident that each room only contain two beds. How will the three of us fit in one room?"

Lucilline just tilted his head, "I will have Willow move one bed from her room to ours. Simple, right?" He couldn't have anyone share a room with Willow—after all, she was a girl.

Dimitri: ...

He remembered witnessing the strength and power that the maidservant withholds. It certainly was possible for her to move a bed to their room without a sound.

They were in common attire, a mere cheap shirt and a pair of loose sweatpants. This was to make sure that they'll be unidentifiable. Even Willow changed to a pair of pants and a shirt. As planned, the innkeeper did not realize he'd taken in the Young Master of House Rubius, two servants, and the Crown Prince.

Soon enough, in Room #2, an extra third bed became present.

"The swamp demons will show themselves at night," Dimitri informed. "We will begin action at nighttime. As for now, we should prepare ourselves."

Everyone else agreed.

Sitting cross-legged on a carpet in his room, Lucilline sharpened a dagger. He borrowed the small weapon from Augustine, but unfortunately, the blade had dulled from earlier training. The black-haired nobleman sharpened it against a knife.

"Hmm," Dimitri hummed subconsciously.

His Sword of Gravity was placed in a spare suitcase borrowed from Lucilline. The leather material was just enough to block the blinding light from the sword's sharp glow.

Dimitri took out his sword, polishing by wiping dust off of its glowing surface.

"Have Your Highness gone on similar missions like this one?" Lucilline asked. The sound of blades scraping against each other had sounded in the room.

Dimitri raised his head, meeting his eyes with the black-haired nobleman's pair.

His lips curved upwards, "I have indeed. When I turned five, my dearest mother died from giving birth to a second child. In the end, the child did not survive either. My father refused to remarry. Since then, it was destined for me to become the Crown Prince and take responsibility."

Despite speaking of such a dark past, a mere smile fell on Dimitri's lips. It was as if he was speaking of something completely unrelated to himself.

"I started training ever since then. It was only when I turned thirteen did I go on my first mission. My first mission—let's see, it was about a serial murderer who kidnapped teenage girls and used their decapitated heads as decoration. It didn't take much for me to track the culprit down and capture him. His punishment was a death penalty. As the Crown Prince, I naturally carried out his execution as well."

Lucilline stilled.

He stopped sharpening his dagger, turning to look at the Crown Prince.

Dimitri's face betrayed no emotions. The Crown Prince have truly mastered the skill of wearing a facade. Except, Lucilline was able to find the small wavers in his hazel brown eyes.

"...I'm sorry." Lucilline spoke softly.

The gaze in Dimitri's eyes became gentler... in a more real way.

"Well, don't apologize." Dimitri's contours softened, as his golden curly hair shook to his forbearing movements. "I don't mind telling you this. After all, we've cooperated quite a few times already. I trust you enough with learning this information."

Meanwhile, in the corner, Augustine sat on the side of a bed. He felt shock numb his limbs.

The novel did not mention anything about the Crown Prince's past! All that the book gave was that Dimitri was a Crown Prince, and that he was stocked in cash.

This could really solidify his theory that the novel did not reveal every single detail.

...there were many details that the novel did not include. Very important details. Why did Lucilline Rubius turn into a villain? Why did Daphnne choose to marry Azalea in the end, despite her having no feelings for him at all? Why did the novel feel so inconsistent with this world?

Augustine flipped his palm, scanning his rough calloused hands.

This is my present body.

Normally in transmigration or reincarnation stories, the reincarnator would find themselves in a character's body. However, all reincarnators were in their own modern bodies.

Augustine knew this due to not a single difference in his appearance.

He was still his 19-year-old self. The same 19-year-old who dropped out of school to become an assassin, the same young man who killed many people, and the same young man who betrayed his superiors... for the greater good, despite not being the ideal good person.

Am I truly reincarnated? Augustine paused.

"Take some rest," Dimitri placed his sword back in the suitcase, clicking it shut. "You must be exhausted from the earlier attack. Sleep and then be active at night."

Augustine agreed.

In the end, his body's situation did not matter. Even if he remembered the crushing pain of his bones shattering under the truck's wheels, even if he remembered being pushed to the emergency department of the hospital, it did not matter.

He just needed to make sure of the chance now, and save Lydia Kingdom. Most importantly—save Lucilline Rubius.

*****

It was sunset, the sun beginning to set.

Dimitri opened his eyes, the pair of hazel brown irises serious and intimidating. The sun had fallen below the horizon, thawing out yellow yolk towards the skies. Shadows traversed past the unsettling fog, with darkness shrouding all the houses into silhouettes.

"Hmm," Dimitri sat up from his bed.

The entire time, he was not sleeping but meditating.

His sight wandered to the rest of the two. Augustine and Lucilline were sound asleep, tucked underneath their blankets.

Dimitri sighed. He was about to cough and wake them up, then caught the sound of blankets ruffling...

Lucilline slept sideways, his body tense and eyebrows frowned in turmoil. His face was pressed against the pillow, while quiet yet fretting breaths huffed.

Dimitri turned serious.

The Young Master of House Rubius seemed to be in a nightmare.

Translucent droplets of cold sweat hung on Lucilline's bangs. His curtain of eyelashes quivered, resembling a pitiful dove stripped of its wings and trapped in a cage. Although he struggled to open his eyes, they still remained closed, as if something unknown forced them shut.

Dimitri frowned.

The Crown Prince suddenly gained a flash of inspiration. He picked up the Book of Revelation, then settled it down at the headboard.

It shone a soft beam of light at the black-haired nobleman.

Miraculously, Lucilline's turmoiled expression had faded into nothingness. His contours softened, while his eyebrows relaxed. A still breath exhaled from his lips, signalling that he'd finally overcome the nightmare.

Dimitri found that his expression when sleeping was pure and angelic.

The black-haired nobleman's face was delicately shaped, his soft cheekbones and chin pressing gently on the pillow.

Dimitri ruffled his golden locks of hair. Well, it's merely sunset right now. I'm not in a rush either. Now that I think about it, this is Lucilline's first mission at... 15 years old. Hmm, I'll allow him to sleep for a bit longer.