The Third Prince Of Darkness

On a windy day, we finally reached the village of Blackswamp. The unmelted snow on the hills to the east of Blackswamp provided a beautiful view from a distance. Blackswamp looked more like a town than a village. Though not well-maintained, it had walls surrounding it and its roads were paved with stones, albeit quite neglected.

In fact, the biggest problem in the village was its neglect and humid environment.

When we entered the village, the guards bowed respectfully, and I got out of the carriage.

"Is there a problem, Your Excellency?" asked Alexis, the captain of the cavalry unit.

"No" I said and mounted my special royal horse.

I had gotten off the carriage because I wanted to see the village up close, but the unbearable smell of the village made me regret it for a moment. The rebellion had actually already been suppressed in Blackswamp and security had been established in the village, at least according to the reports I had read...

Moreover, the lord who was on duty when the rebellion broke out was still managing the village, which was very interesting. Also, three teams from the royal 12th cavalry unit, sent months ago to ensure security, consisted of very young men, and I didn't like the expressions on their faces.

As we moved a little further into the village, two horses quickly approached us, and I realized that the well-dressed man on the horse was Baron Dayoesnis, the lord of the village. He approached us and looked at me with a smile. His long mustache and chubby cheeks, combined with his short stature, made him look quite comical.

"Your Excellency Prince Ethan! You have honored our poor village with your visit."

"Indeed, poor... As far as I know, a large amount of money was sent to you from the capital to improve the condition of the village, right?"

The man's face began to sweat. A laugh involuntarily escaped my lips. Since I had never participated in any activities outside the palace, no one, including the nobles, knew what kind of character I had. They must have thought I was an easily manipulated boy since I was only twelve years old and had never left the palace.

"Y-yes, sir, it did, but I was so busy dealing with the rebellions that I didn't have time to renovate the village" he said. He grinned foolishly, as if he had come up with a very clever excuse.

Our conversation was suddenly interrupted by a little girl running towards me. The little blonde girl had black streaks on her face from dirt and messy hair. As she ran towards me, she was stopped by a soldier wearing the uniform of the royal unit sent to the town earlier.

"My lord, please help! My mother! She-" She was cut off by the soldier and was lifted by him with brute force.

"Let her come!"

My loud voice, especially, startled Baron Dayoesnis. The soldier let go of the girl and she ran to my side. She looked up at me with pleading eyes.

Now I realized that the streets were completely empty, even though it was still bright. At first, I attributed this to the local people's fear of me, but it didn't seem normal. I noticed some locals secretly people watching me from behind some windows, but why were they afraid of me? Or rather, what were they afraid of?

I bent down from the horse and reached out my hands to the little girl, pulling her up in front of me without caring that she was dirty. The little girl seemed surprised by this and kept glancing at Baron Dayoesnis with worried eyes.

"It's okay, child... I am stronger than him. Now, tell me what happened to your mother" I said.

At this point, Emilia, noticing the oddity of the situation, approached me on her horse. The girl's dry lips and dark circles under her eyes told me she was realy realy hungry.

"Oh, my mother... She's not moving. Please help her! I tried to wake her up, but I think she's in a very deep sleep" she said.

"What? Where is your house?"

"Oh, we don't have a house... She's sleeping over there by the garbage dump on the left side of that back street."

I signaled one of the men with my hand and a mounted cavalry quickly headed in the direction the girl described.

"Well, little girl, can you tell me if the lord of this village takes good care of you?"

The girl's eyes filled with worry. A flash of fear passed through Baron Dayoesnis's eyes, but it twisted into a smile.

"Of course, Your Excellency. I take the best possible care of these poor people" he said, maintaining his smile. However, the girl's eyes contradicted the baron's words.

"No, my lord, he... He never helped us. My mother always asked for help and... and it's very hard to find food" the girl whispered, lowering her head.

Baron Dayoesnis's face turned as white as a sheet. "This... This child doesn't know what she's talking about, Your Excellency. This is just a misunderstanding" he objected, unable to hide the panic in his voice.

At that moment, the cavalryman I had sent returned, his face filled with concern. "Your Excellency, we found a woman there. Her condition is...-" I stopped him with a gesture of my hand.

I could guess what had happened, and my gaze turned back to Baron Dayoesnis.

"The condition of this village is entirely your fault, Baron Dayoesnis. By the authority granted to me by His Majesty King Richard and the council of the Asina Kingdom, I hereby remove you from the lordship of Blackswamp village. Furthermore, there will be a thorough investigation in the village, and to prevent any interference, you are to be detained" I said.

Quickly, the cavalry surrounded Baron Dayoesnis and his aide.

People like him are everywhere... The only thing they can boast about is their nobility, and the inheritance left by their fathers. This visit to the village of Blackswamp revealed only the surface of what was happening here. There might be bigger problems lying in the depths of the village.

"Oh please, Your Excellency! I did nothing wrong. Let me explain for you" Baron Dayoesnis said as he was roughly seized by the arm.

"Take him to a secure place... and make sure no one but our men approach" I said.

The soldiers nodded and led the baron away.

"Also, send our men to Baron Dayoesnis's manor and don't let anyone escape from there. Lastly, arrest all three teams of the royal 12th cavalry unit stationed here and the interrogation" I said.

"Yes, Your Excellency!" the captain said and quickly set about carrying out the orders, effortlessly neutralizing the men from the 12th cavalry unit who were with us.

Emilia examined the little girl carefully. "Can we take her with us, Your Excellency?" she asked. "We can help the children in this village. We also need to check on her mother's condition immediately."

"Alright, you take care of it" I said, handing the little girl to her.

Emilia took the girl into her arms and held her in front of the horse. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Katie" the girl replied, still with a mix of fear and worry in her eyes.

"Take her and her mother to the manor. Also, check on the situation there" I said.

"But, Your Excellency, what about you?" she asked, despite the more than ten cavalrymen surrounding me.

"I'll be fine. When you get there, tell the captain that we need more of the army camping outside the village" I said.

"Alright, I will... And please be careful" she said.

After assigning a few cavalrymen to Emilia, she proceeded to the manor to safely relocate Katie and her mother.

I then directed my horse towards the center of the village. Probably no one expected me to arrest the baron, the lord of the region, so swiftly and decisively. But despite appearances, as someone who had already reached his late thirties, I knew such fraudsters very well. Moreover, the first thing I could proudly say about myself was my observational skills.

After paying attention to every detail in this village, I realized something was wrong... Actually, even a fool could understand this.

In my previous life, having read hundreds of anime, manga, and novels, I could smell a clichéd villain from miles away.

As we moved towards the center of the village, more villagers came out, looking at me with hopeful and anxious eyes. By the time we reached the village square, the villagers had begun to gather slowly. I dismounted from my horse in the middle of the square and looked at the villagers one by one.

"I am Ethan Asina Lenistark, the third prince of the Asina Kingdom. I have been sent here to quell the rebellion and address the problems of the local people. I want to help you, but I will need your cooperation in this process" I said, raising my voice as much as possible.

A murmur spread among the villagers. Some looked at me with hope, while others were still apprehensive. At that moment, a woman stepped out from the crowd. "Your Excellency, please help us. We have been living in hardship for years. Baron Dayoesnis kept the aid sent from the kingdom for himself, and we are starving."

I listened carefully to the woman's words. "From now on, everything will change,"I said resolutely. "The needs of every individual in the village will be met, and no one will be allowed to go hungry. Additionally, all injustices and corruption in this village will be investigated, and the culprits will be punished."

More than half of the villagers looked at me with disbelief, too afraid to voice their thoughts, but what I wanted most was to plant a seed of hope in their hearts. After all, everything I said was true. I was sent here not only to quell the rebellion but also to rectify the dire situation in the rebellion zone.

However, looking at the village, it was clear that my task was bigger than I had imagined...

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