色戒无删除版

The crown prince slowly recovered after the initial attack. He too attacked and within seconds they already exchanged a hundred moves. Their swords were slowly covered with what the non-mages called an aura and for the next seconds that followed, their attacks had damaged the arena and injured the both of them.

It was a thrilling and breathtaking fight that no one expected to see. It even attracted the attention of the servants who were just passing by. The commotion then attracted the king and his guests who just finished their conversation.

Orpheus couldn't help but frown. He was sure that his son did it again and now with the duke's child. The three of them stood up and went to the arena to see what was going on. They were surprised at the number of people who were there to spectate.

They were too absorbed in the fight that they did not even notice the arrival of the king. Orpheus ignored this matter too as his gaze was drawn on the now unrecognizable arena. He knew that the duke's son was skilled in magic but he did not expect him to be also good with the sword.

The fight was already reaching its peak and the prince was already nearing his limit. He also didn't expect that his opponent had sword skills, Lindon didn't tell him about this information. The most annoying thing to him was that Rigel could push him to his limits.

He was barely defending himself from the man when he heard the sound of something breaking. The crown prince smirked because he knew that the time had come. With one last push and that sword will break, he would then take the chance and attack.

Cygnus raised the sword in his hand and swung it down. The moment his sword made contact with Eizen's sword, it broke. The crown prince took that opening to push Cygnus and stabbed his sword.

Both of them fell on ground with Cygnus who was pinned down. The prince's sword pierced through his shoulder while Cygnus's hands held the blade and stopped it from piercing him deeper. Eizen's face was contorted into a frown as he tried to push his sword deeper but he lacked the strength to do so and before he could do it, Linius appeared beside them and pulled him away.

"You've already won your highness," he whispered before crouching down to inspect his brother who was now bloody because of his wounds.

Eizen was not satisfied yet and tried to advance once again but the king came to stop him. He gave his son a glare and gestured at the guards to take him away. The doctor was also called so that he could take a look at Cygnus's wounds.

"Rigel, can you still hear me?" Linius calmly asked as he assessed his brother's wounds.

"Yes, I'm...not deaf," Cygnus answered followed by a gasp and grunt of pain.

The doctor came and gave Cygnus a first aid as he cleaned and bandaged all of his wounds. Orpheus suggested that they stay in the palace first but Linius politely declined his offer. They still left and told the king that they will send a letter soon regarding his brother's health.

Orpheus was furious at the crown prince for challenging the duke's son. Eizen was lectured for hours because of his behavior and even Glenn who did not participate was also lectured because he did not stop his brother. Even though it was considered his win, the prince was not satisfied with it. All the words he heard from his father clearly did not quell his anger nor changed how he viewed Cygnus.

Throughout the journey, Cygnus remained unconscious and Linius didn't know if this was true or he was just acting. They arrived at the manor with Ezio and Mr. C waiting for them. When the door to the carriage opened, both of them were ready to assist the master.

They then helped him to his room as the doctor of their family came to take a look at him. After making sure that he was alright, the doctor left after leaving bandages and medicine for Cygnus. The people inside the room were silent because no one wanted to talk.

"May I ask what happened?" Mr. C asked after a moment of silence.

"Crown Prince Eizen challenged him to a duel and this happened." He did not go into detail but Mr. C already understood.

"Alright, let us let him rest for the time being. He'll wake up when he wants to." The butler ushered them out of the room.

"Are we still going to Blackwell?" Ezio asked the butler after they left the master's room.

"Yes, we just wait for the master to wake up," the butler answered. Ezio was assured then assured after that.

For three days, Cygnus remained asleep but the manor was calm about it because Ari was constantly monitoring his vitals. The only concerning thing that the butler couldn't get off his system was that one information.

"The master's vital signs are all in the normal state," Ari stopped for a while before she continued, "but his Insanity State is at 25%."

Mr. C frowned when he heard Ari's report. "How is that possible? I thought it went back to zero after the Magus Maximus died?"

"After burning the enemy, the master's Insanity State went down to 25% and I initially calculated that if that Magus will die, it would return to zero but even after that, it remained at 25%. According to my analysis, it won't be going down anytime soon." Ari explained as she projected the data she collected.

"According to this, the percentage of those memories having an effect on the master's Insanity Level is the highest. Do you have any way to resolve this?" Mr. C asked after he pointed out the diagram that showed the possible factor that caused this stagnation.

"As of the moment I have none but I have sealed the other memories behind a stronger firewall. As long as the state will not experience any fluctuations, there would be no major problems," Ari reassured the butler.

Even after that, the butler was still unsettled. The master's Insanity Level was proportional to his health and as the butler he was in-charge of making sure that his master lives comfortably and healthy. He fell into silence at that thought because the master was now in the mode of hunting the people who killed his whole family. It may become difficult to stop the master from going berserk.

If Mr. C was human, Ezio would think that he had some kind of problem with how silent and detached the butler was acting. He had been doing all his chores mechanically without giving them a second look. Add to that the fact that the master was still asleep without signs of waking up.

Days gradually passed and a week was over but he was still asleep. Linius was also confused by this because the wounds on his body were not fatal. The butler was also reassuring them constantly but he couldn't help but wonder.

"Does this often happen?" He once asked the butler who just came back from checking on the bakeshops.

"Not all the time but it happened on a few occasions," Mr. C answered. "As you know the master is already a thousand years old, so this must be his body coping up."

Linius was stumped. He often forgot that the master was indeed living that long already. To be able to reach that age, he couldn't imagine what the master had to go through to survive.

"How did he even reach that age? The Magus who was able to live those years needed to transfer from one body to another inorder to stay alive." The general looked at the butler and was stunned because of the icy look Mr. C was giving him.

"You don't have to know the details because even us are not clear on what happened to him before we met him. The person who was by his side the longest is Master Ignius and maybe he knew the answer to that question. As for us, we do not ask. If the master wanted to talk about it then he would have told us a long time ago." Mr. C sighed and stopped walking.

It was rare for him to have flashbacks and yet he remembered the time when they first met Linius. It might be worth it to remind him about the master.

"General Linius, once the master wakes up, I want you to tread lightly, don't try to get your way and don't argue. The master's mental state isn't that good right now. A little fluctuation to it would create disaster for your world. This will be my one and only warning to you because at the end of the day, I will stay by my master's side." The butler reached out and patted the man's shoulder before he finally left.

Linius stood in the hallway while looking at the man's fading back before he sighed and looked outside of the manor. So many things have changed ever since their encounter and he was sure that many more would happen.

The next day General Linius Ginehart departed for the Western Border of the kingdom without waiting for the master to wake up. Mr. C and Ezio remained in the capital as they waited for the master to wake up.