At that sight, Max felt the inside of her stomach twist. Riftan always appeared terrifyingly calm when his anger reached the tip of his head. While Max felt anxious on whether Riftan would lose his temper and attack the Duke of Croix, Princess Agnes, who had been silent, opened her mouth as if she could not bear it.
“What you’re demanding is excessive! Sir Calypse is undeniably an honorable knight. He is the warrior who risked his life by participating in the subjugation of the dragon on behalf of the duke! If you put him on trial, all the people in Whedon would place the blame on the duke.”
The duke’s face flushed red from the princess’s cold, indifferent cry. He looked at her with bloody eyes and refuted.
“The perpetrator infiltrated my castle and attacked me, who was unarmed. When that fact is made known to all, I doubt that it will be a subject of one-sided criticism…” The duke’s fierce gaze flew back to Riftan and he threw out his words with much indignation. “It does not matter if I become criticized. Through the trial, I am sure the perpetrator will pay for his sins committed. My decision won’t change no matter what happens.”
“It’s pointless listening to these endless words.”
Riftan, watching the duke’s pathetic face, unfolded his arms and slowly leaned to the table. He appeared exactly like a wild beast on the prowl just before rushing to attack its prey. Feeling threatened, Duke Croix visibly flinched and backed away. Riftan, who glared at him scornfully, muttered in a low, sinister voice.
“I have always thought that it’s excellent to have talent for coming up with a plausible cause. How about you just tell the truth? You’re scared of me to death.”
“The au-audacity of yours… what nonsense are you spouting!”
“You were terrified by my declaration of war.” He twisted the corner of his mouth and stated coldly. “It seems as if you think that you’ll be safe once my title of being a lord is stripped away from me… I want to tell you that you couldn’t be more wrong. When I am no longer bound by any vow or oath, only then you will come to know for yourself what kind of fucking insane I am.”
A chilling silence instantly fell in the hall. Riftan spoke slowly, like a tiger pushing its prey into a corner, ignoring the alarmed reactions around him.
“I have the talent for being stealth, to hide anywhere without making a single noise. When I was a mercenary, I did all sorts of unimaginably dirty work without even blinking an eye. Do you know what that means? It means that every night before going to sleep, you will think of whether you will be able to open your eyes the next day. When you wake up in the morning, the first thing you will do is check that your head is still attached to your neck. Whenever you leave the castle, you will be rolling your eyes from right to left, front and back, looking whether I am hiding somewhere around. Go ahead and strip me of that title, that is, if you are willing to live your whole life in such tension and fear, Duke…” As if checking the effect of his words, he looked across the table, towards the duke’s face, and slowly finished his speech. “If you can live through that, then by all means, try and see.”
“H-how… how dare you…! To make such a despicable threat to me…!”
The duke jumped from his seat, his face pale and frightened. His long, lean body trembled as if he was struck by lightning. He pointed to Riftan and addressed the king aloud.
“His Majesty, did you hear him too? The vulgar things this ignorant scoundrel is babbling about! How can it be said that such a shameless, groundless, boy like him is an honorable knight and a hero at that?! He is a dangerously insane person, that’s what he is! There is no need to even go to trial to prove it. He must be deprived of his title immediately and humble himself for blaspheming the great nobility!”
