Once out of the carriage, He Sun felt a slightly cool breeze hitting his face and rousing him from his profound stupor. Lifting his head, he saw thick clouds accumulating in the previously clear sky, effectively blocking the sun rays. The hand locked around his wrist tightened even more, sending painful bursts through his arm. He could finally have a look at the perpetrator. It was apparently a shabby servant boy with a look of distress on his face, "Please, hurry."

Without adding any other word, he threw a large gray cape on the prince's shoulders and quickly dragged him away from the chaos taking place all around. Blood splattered in every direction. He Sun stumbled at some point and nearly felt his wrist being dislocated because of the tremendous force pulling at it.

Groaning slightly, he stared unblinkingly at that slender hand, and started wondering how it could easily manage to exert such great strength. Raising his gaze to carefully take in the appearance of its owner, he couldn't help feeling stunned once more. The youth's body was so petite and slander that he seemed as if swimming in his loose attire. Actually, what's more disturbing was the fact that their builds weren't so far apart. However, strength-wise, they couldn't even compare.

At that moment, a shallow smile appeared on his face as he felt his existence being so laughable. Adding in to the dim light in his eyes and the dried drops of blood on his pale cheeks, his face seemed to have lost all traces of vitality.

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He let himself being dragged all the way without expressing any protest. He was already feeling numb all over. Before his eyes, the word had lost all its colors and was then painted in shades of gray. Or was it because the sun rays no longer permeated through the clouds? As his mind was wandering away, he didn't even feel the grip on his wrist loosening and letting go. His feet still kept walking ahead, and eventually came to a halt when he ended up coming face to face against a huge obstacle blocking his way. It was a tall man, fully clad in shining armor.

"Your Highness." These reverent words resounded powerfully in a deep and firm voice, the tone actually lacking in some deference. But it wasn't clear if the prince was even listening at all, since he didn't show any reaction.

He Sun looked, unmoving, at that towering mass of iron slowly bending down while producing a ringing and discordant noise as the metal plaques collided and slid against each other. Shortly after, the man rested in a deep bow as he waited for the other's permission to rise. However, he waited for a long time and didn't hear any command. In actuality, he didn't feel any movement from the crown prince standing before him, even his breathing was so shallow to the point it barely was noticeable. His whole existence seemed to be drifting away, following his already absent mind.

For a fleeting instant, the man with heavily severe features let out an imperceptible sneer, which would normally never occur on his habitually emotionally deficient face. Though nobody noticed this anomaly since he kept his head lowered all along. After calling out once without receiving any response, the surrounding atmosphere felt even more tense, with the soldiers all around not daring to move an inch or make the slightest sound.

He wasn't willing to continue waiting forever, and finally raised his head to openly stare at the face of the dazed prince. He narrowed his eyes and wondered, did he make the wrong choice after all?