The Former Holy Knight. Having Lost My Job and Childhood Friend, I Decided to Start a Dark Guild - Chapter 58.1

Prince Raymond stabbed the shadowgraph with his knife repeatedly.

“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!!”

No matter how often the knife was thrust, the shadowgraph became tattered, yet Prince Raymond’s irritation did not subside. He took out another of the same shadowgraph and continued his assault with the knife.

The figure depicted in the shadowgraph was the former Holy Knight, Leon Stein. This was the man who, according to the scheme hatched by Prince Raymond and the Deputy Captain of the Holy Knights, Nadale, should have been dead.

Had their plan succeeded, not only would they have been rid of this man, but Prince Raymond’s engagement to Cecil Wave, whom he had harbored feelings for since childhood, would also have been decided.

Prince Raymond reminisced, stabbing with his knife, about how the plan had initially gone according to plan with Leon Stein’s exile.

Prince Raymond’s plan was as follows:

While Cecil was away on an expedition, they would exile Leon Stein. Then, after framing him with numerous crimes, they would capture him and, following official procedures, execute him in front of Cecil.

Prince Raymond believed even Cecil would disdain the man upon learning he had violated a clergywoman.

Of course, the execution was not the end; Prince Raymond intended to inflict unimaginable humiliation on the man.

He planned to administer a strong aphrodisiac to Cecil once again, elevating her desires to the maximum, and then claim her in front of Leon Stein.

Prince Raymond could not count how many times he had imagined the man dying in despair, having his lover taken away from him.

However, the plan failed, and Prince Raymond also never anticipated that their collaborator, Nadale, was a high-ranking member of the Dark Guild.

The reprimand Prince Raymond had just received flashed through his mind. Each time he remembered his uncle’s words, his irritation grew, and his grip on the knife tightened.

Jean LeBlanc, a great noble and Prince Raymond’s uncle had summoned him to the audience chamber and reprimanded him before the king, considering the matter gravely.

Standing before the duke, who was as furious as a red ogre, Prince Raymond could only tremble.

Jean LeBlanc said, “Raymond, recommending a heretic disguised as the deputy captain to the position of commander of the Holy Knights? Were you blind? The Holy Knights, crucial to the nation’s security, were nearly overtaken by the Dark Guild!”

Jean LeBlanc, usually mild-mannered, was infamous for his uncontrollable rage once ignited. He was the person Prince Raymond feared the most.

Listening to Jean LeBlanc mention that man’s name filled Prince Raymond with bitterness.

Jean LeBlanc continued, “Be thankful to the former Holy Knight, Leon Stein. He alone uncovered Nadale’s true identity and even defeated him. You owe us an explanation for why such a competent man was forced to leave the Holy Knights.”

Prince Raymond was about to argue that a man without notable skills was unnecessary for the Holy Knights when his uncle raised his voice again, startling him.

“And I have received such reports. Raymond, you allegedly planned to administer an aphrodisiac to Saintess Cecil Wave and violate her purity. Is this true?”

King Raymond’s father was also shocked by these words. “Surely not, Jean. Even Raymond wouldn’t be so foolish. Anyone knows what would happen if one were to take the virginity of a saintess.”

“Brother, according to reports, this foolish act was indeed plotted by the lad!”

Faced with the scrutiny of the nation’s two most powerful figures, Prince Raymond was momentarily at a loss for words, but then his cunning surfaced.

He asserted, “Indeed, it is said that a saintess loses her powers upon losing her purity. However, there are exceptions, which I’m sure you both know.”

After a long silence, Jean LeBlanc said, “And what might that be? You and Cecil are bound by true love; thus, Cecil did not lose her saintly powers. Is that what you’re suggesting?”

“Yes, Cecil and I have been intimate. Yet, Cecil’s saintly abilities remain unchanged. This, I believe, is the best proof.”

Prince Raymond proudly produced a shadowgraph from his pocket and handed it to Jean LeBlanc, who remained expressionless.

“I am aware of this matter. Cecil herself reported being drugged and taken to bed,” Jean LeBlanc stated.

“Then you understand our relationship,” Prince Raymond replied.

“Cecil also said that she protected her body with holy magic, allowing no more than hand-holding. Moreover, she regrets injuring you with holy magic when you attempted to touch her…”

Prince Raymond bit his lip at these words. So, Cecil did remember that night. And with that, the bitter memory of nearly dying from powerful holy magic when he was about to claim Cecil resurfaced.

Jean LeBlanc’s expression turned terrifyingly furious again.

“You imbecile! To think you’d use an aphrodisiac out of selfish desire! You’ve endangered this nation with your reckless lust! Had you not been my brother’s child, I would have cut you down myself!”

Prince Raymond had to listen to the ensuing tirade with a bitter heart.

Prince Raymond stabbed the shadowgraph.

“All of this is Leon Stein’s fault! Cecil was supposed to be mine! Mine alone!”

The walls of Prince Raymond’s room were plastered with shadowgraphs of Cecil. They included images from their childhood when they were close friends before Cecil’s heart was captivated by the orphan Leon Stein.

Prince Raymond caressed a particularly large shadowgraph of Cecil before picking up a magical communication device and instructing his subordinates to administer a lethal aphrodisiac to Cecil.

“Cecil, I’ll do anything to have you, even if it means breaking you or the country…”

Then, through the magical device, Prince Raymond gave an order to his subordinates.

“Tell all three bosses of the major Dark Guilds. The family that kills Jean LeBlanc and Leon Stein will receive a noble title, something they’ve desperately desired.”