Ancient Imperial Calendar Year 1800
Two years had passed since the execution.
Ricardo was now five years old.
His fluent speech, extraordinary maturity for his age, and sharp intellect constantly amazed his mother and servants.
But none of these traits were visible from the outside.
Seliarnevre wanted her son to remain permanently out of sight.
This way, a second Zelfhaya incident could be prevented.
Everyone had different opinions about how intelligent and talented he was, but no one showed any signs of it.
Seliarnevre had taken every precaution to make Ricardo appear unremarkable—not dangerous.
At that moment, a major crisis was about to erupt in the throne room of Kislavein Palace.
Orsman had been away from the palace for two years, fighting the raids of monsters whose numbers had recently increased.
At the same time, he was closely following events in the palace.
He had remained indifferent to news of his sons' deaths,
Because in the Harem, wives killing other wives' children so that their own sons could ascend the throne was normal—
A situation the Kislavein Dynasty had sanctioned for dozens of generations.
But one day, Orsman received news that surprised even him:
His daughter had been killed, and he wondered about this situation.
A girl could not ascend the throne and pose no threat to him—
Which wife or concubine had done this?
Some time later, when he received word, he learned who the murderer was and flew into a rage.
If it had been someone from his harem, he wouldn't have cared,
But a worthless baron had laid hands on his own bloodline.
Orsman set out for his palace to kill the baron.
But by the time he returned to the palace, the baron had already been brutally executed.
Upon learning the details of the execution, Orsman was satisfied.
However, to vent his anger and remind his vassals of his dynasty's authority and power, he summoned all his commanders and vassals to the throne room.
Orsman IV sat majestically on the palace throne.
He stared with blood-chilling eyes at his commanders, his vassals, and the palace dignitaries.
His powerful, dark, and dense aura had permeated every corner of the hall.
As a complete tyrant, he was above everyone.
"A worthless baron dares to lay hands on my bloodline, and you cannot do anything!"
Orsman IV roared, his voice echoing off the walls and making everyone tremble.
"Did my dynasty raise you to become worthless wretches?"
Palace Guard Commander Oscar Pleyciys was crushed under the pressure of the bloody and intense aura Orsman was radiating.
Not only Oscar, but the other four guard commanders beside him couldn't breathe, couldn't raise their heads, didn't know how to respond, and were terrified of dying; all of them were praying inwardly.
"God, please help us… Save us, I beg you!"
Unconsciously, the prayers they repeated in their minds grew louder, and they would pay a heavy price for it.
Orsman heard their prayers and stood up angrily, shouting in his thick, powerful voice,
"I asked you a question, but you consider praying to a non-existent god more important than answering me."
When Orsman stood up angrily, there wasn't even a breath of oxygen left in the hall.
If this continued, the throne room would become the scene of over a hundred deaths.
Orsman continued his words as he descended the steps with heavy strides,
"A disgusting pig looks at my daughter with lustful eyes, enters her private chamber and slaughters her, and you do nothing. There is no place in the Kislavein household for insects like you."
Orsman's furious words were so powerful that they made ears ring when he finished speaking.
One of the commanders wanted to beg for mercy, but before he could even begin his plea, their heads were separated from their bodies—yet not by a sword.
Orsman had severed their heads with a spell.
The people in the hall were once again horrified.
Non-verbal magic was considered the lower tier within high-level spells.
The fact that he cast the spell without moving his hands revealed that Orsman was at the middle tier of the high level in magic.
What Orsman appeared to do in a moment of rage was actually theater—a display of his power.
His children's deaths meant nothing to Orsman.
Orsman himself had killed fifty of his siblings.
Neither the deaths of his brothers, wives, nor children held any meaning for him.
Orsman simply could not accept the power of the Kislavein family being questioned and a bastard in the palace touching his own bloodline.
To demonstrate his power once more to his vassals, he killed the guard commanders.
He displayed his high-tier magical prowess.
Thus, he shouted without words this message to everyone: Whoever lays a hand on the Kislavein Dynasty will have their head torn off.