The son of the Half-Human King wandered through the halls of the royal palace after reaching an agreement with his father.
As soon as the messenger from the Dwarf Kingdom arrived carrying the tracking and search artifact, he would personally take on the task of finding his aunt's killer.
And once everything was over…
he and his father would settle their old scores.
He walked through the vast corridors with his massive body and terrifying presence, his heavy footsteps echoing across the marble floor.
It was impossible to ignore him.
He possessed the unique royal aura of the Half-Human royal family, an aura that made anyone who saw him feel that he was someone born to rule.
Some of the older guards and servants who had lived in the palace for many years recognized him, but most of the newer faces had no idea who he was.
So they stared at him with intense curiosity.
Some with fear.
Others with admiration.
As for the prince himself, he did not care about their gazes at all.
However, he had a very bad habit.
Whenever he saw a beautiful woman inside the palace…
he would stop for a moment,
then begin flirting with her in a bold—and sometimes frightening—manner.
His sharp smile and predatory gaze made the maids extremely nervous, while the knights and guards struggled to decide how they should react.
That strange man moved freely through the royal palace, and it was obvious that he was no ordinary person.
But at the same time…
no one dared to stop him.
Because his aura alone was enough to tell them that he was connected to the royal family somehow.
And within a very short time…
the news spread throughout the entire palace.
"There's a huge, strange man harassing the beautiful maids!"
The rumors quickly reached the king himself.
And when one of the commanders came to ask him about the matter with concern, the king frowned, placed a hand on his forehead, and said with obvious exhaustion:
"Do not do anything foolish toward that boy."
Then he sighed and added:
"He is my son."
Silence filled the room for a moment.
Then chaos erupted.
Rumors spread throughout the palace at a terrifying speed, to the point that stories began appearing out of nowhere.
One guard said to his companion while cautiously looking around:
"Did you hear? That huge man who was flirting with the maid… it turns out he's the king's son!"
The other guard was shocked and replied in a low voice:
"What?! Is that true?"
Then he frowned in confusion and continued:
"But… how has he never appeared all these years?"
The first guard looked around nervously before leaning closer and whispering:
"I heard he was on a secret mission inside the Elven Kingdom."
And within only a few hours, dozens of different stories appeared.
One maid said excitedly:
"The king sent him into the wilderness when he was young so he could become a powerful warrior, which is why we never heard about him."
Another quickly replied:
"No, no… I heard he was hiding all these years because he was waiting for the right moment to appear and inherit the throne."
Even the cooks and servants started adding stories from their own imagination.
Some claimed he had killed thousands of monsters.
Others said he had traveled to distant kingdoms and fought secret wars.
The ridiculous rumors spread throughout the palace in a way that even the Half-Human King himself could not stop.
And in the end…
the king sat upon his throne, glaring at his son standing before him.
As for the prince, he looked extremely annoyed by everything happening around him.
The king finally sighed and said in a tired tone:
"Why do you always create problems, you fool?"
Then he pointed at him irritably and continued:
"Can't you act normally for once?"
The prince's eyes widened immediately, and he shouted in protest:
"Impossible! I didn't do anything!"
Then he pointed at himself angrily and added:
"All I did was talk to the ladies of the palace, nothing more!"
The king laughed sarcastically and said:
"Talk?"
Then he shook his head in exhaustion and continued:
"You behave like a predatory beast chasing its prey, not a prince."
The prince's expression did not change despite his father's sarcasm. Instead, he narrowed his eyes slightly and said suspiciously:
"The spies who infiltrated the palace must be the ones spreading these sick rumors."
The king raised an eyebrow and slowly said:
"And were the spies also the ones who made you flirt with half the palace maids?"
The prince fell silent for a moment.
Then he coldly replied, as if he saw nothing wrong with it at all:
"I was only raising their morale."
The king stared at his son for several long seconds…
The king was disturbed by his son's words and even began suspecting something himself.
After thinking for a moment, he realized something strange.
Not a single real rumor had spread about his son flirting with the maids, even though that was the thing he had done most since leaving prison.
Instead, every rumor revolved around one thing only…
Who was that prince?
Where had he been all those years?
And how had he suddenly appeared inside the palace?
It was as if someone was deliberately spreading those stories for a specific purpose.
A purpose that would make everyone keep talking about the prince constantly.
The king frowned thoughtfully and said to himself:
"Are they trying to force us into revealing the truth ourselves?"
He sighed slowly, then raised his eyes toward his son and was about to speak…
But before he could say a single word, the voices of the guards standing before the throne room doors echoed loudly:
"My lord! The messengers you sent to the Mermaid Kingdom have returned!"
Then the guard quickly added:
"They used teleportation magic and request to meet you immediately."
The prince looked at his father in confusion, then frowned and said after a few moments of silence:
"What?"
Then he continued with shock mixed with disdain:
"You are still allied with that weak race?"
His tone grew even harsher as he said:
"Why are you doing that? We no longer need them."
But the king did not allow him to continue.
He quickly raised his hand, signaling him to be silent, then told the guard:
"Let them enter."
The moment he finished speaking, the massive doors of the hall opened.
The messengers the king had sent to the Mermaid Kingdom entered, confidence and relief clearly visible on their faces.
And the instant the king saw them…
he understood the result immediately.
They had succeeded.
The alliance had been renewed.
The messengers approached the throne, but their eyes quickly stopped at the prince standing beside the king.
Confusion and shock appeared on their faces.
They did not recognize him immediately.
But one of the messengers—an elderly man who had served in the palace for many years—suddenly widened his eyes as he stared at the prince.
Then he said in clear shock:
"Prince…?"
He froze for a moment before continuing in a trembling voice:
"I-Is that really you? How is this possible? Didn't you die years ago during the assassination?"
The prince first looked at his father, then a faint and mysterious smile appeared on his face.
After that, he turned toward the old man and calmly said:
"Oh, no… you are mistaken."
Then he stepped forward and continued:
"I did not die."
The entire hall fell silent as they listened to him.
As for the king, his expression changed slightly when he heard his son's words, but he did not interrupt him.
Instead, he allowed him to speak freely.
The prince continued:
"I was merely hiding away from everyone's sight all these years."
Then his eyes narrowed with a cold smile.
"Waiting for the right moment… to trap the people who tried to assassinate me."
Silence filled the hall.
Some of the messengers felt chills from the way he said those words.
As for the old man, he sighed in both shock and sorrow before speaking in a low voice:
"So… you are here to avenge the people who assassinated the princess."
Then he hesitated slightly before correcting himself:
"I mean… the duchess."
Suddenly…
the prince's smile disappeared completely.
He waved his hand in irritation, then shouted angrily:
"No!"
The hall trembled slightly from the intensity of his voice.
Then he continued with eyes full of fury:
"She is a princess… and she will always remain a princess."
His tone grew even harsher as he continued with contempt:
"That fool she married could not even protect her."
Then he growled angrily:
"So he does not deserve for my aunt to carry his title."
Silence once again filled the hall.
As for the king…
he slowly nodded in agreement.
Because he himself thought the exact same way.
And for that very reason, the title written upon his sister's grave was "Princess" rather than "Duchess."
In fact, the king himself…
had personally killed that man after his sister's death because he considered him responsible for failing to protect her.
(Author's Note):
Hello everyone! Thank you for your continuous support of this novel; your comments and interactions mean the world to me.
Stepping away from our story here for a moment, I wanted to share another project I've been working on with great passion. I have started publishing a webtoon (comic) on the Webtoon platform titled "Me and the Wolf."
It is a [Comedy / Fantasy] story about a miserable young man and a cunning wolf who is constantly getting him into trouble! If you enjoy my writing style and the way I build scenarios, I promise you're going to love this comic.
I would be so grateful if you could go check it out, subscribe to the series, and let me know what you think in the comments there!
🔍 Search on the Webtoon app for: [Me and the Wolf]