The Terminally Ill Prince is the Mad Dog of the Underworld (Novel) - Chapter 20
Chapter 20. Keep Your Nose in Check
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Discord
“Straighten your back. Stop crying already. What a pathetic sight, bawling over a broken bone.”
As I kept Baklava in line, who was clutching his broken hand and sobbing, the palace guards, pale with shock, came running.
“Y-Your Highness!”
“What on earth is going on here?!”
There were no guards assigned to my annex, but Baklava had a few following him around. This favoritism is exactly why the brat disrespects his elder brother.
“Prince Allenbert, why have you committed such an outrageous act?”
I looked at the guard who had raised his voice.
“Are you speaking to me?”
“…Yes, Your Highness.”
“You’re reprimanding me without knowing the full story? Do I seem so insignificant to you?”
“!”
The guard quickly bowed his head at my sharp words, which were bordering on verbal abuse.
“No, Your Highness. I apologize for my rudeness.”
At least he was a soldier who knew how to admit his mistakes without hesitation once he realized them. It showed that he still had some discipline left in him.
“Baklava.”
I turned to the youngest prince, who was still sniffling.
“Tell them yourself. Did I start this fight?”
“…”
Baklava’s silence spoke volumes about who had initiated the conflict.
“You can ask anyone here who witnessed it for the details.”
I pointed at Baklava’s face, now a mess of shame, fear, and pain.
“Take him away. He’s an eyesore. His injury isn’t too severe.”
“…!”
The guards and servants cautiously approached Baklava and helped him up while keeping an eye on me.
“But before you go, let’s get one thing straight.”
“Please speak, Your Highness.”
The guards responded respectfully.
“This fight started because Baklava insulted my servant Peter and went on to disgrace both me and my mother, as well as the head of our family. Throughout this entire ordeal, I never once laid a hand on him—everyone here can attest to that.”
I directed my words toward the servants of the annex, who had been watching everything from a distance.
“If anything I said is wrong, speak up now.”
“…”
No one dared to say a word. That irritated me even more.
“Come on! Say something! Do you think staying silent will make this situation go away smoothly?”
“…!”
Finally, some semblance of shame appeared on their faces.
“There’s no loyalty among you lot. Not one of you stepped in to stop or defend poor Peter while he was being humiliated?”
“P-Prince… that’s not—”
“If you’re going to offer some pathetic excuse, be prepared to face the consequences. Are you afraid of Baklava but think I’m easy to deal with?”
“…”
I glared at the servants who had grown complacent over time. But then again, how could I blame them entirely? Allenbert, this is partly your fault for not handling things properly before.
“From today onward, anyone who tries to bully Peter should remember what happened to my dear little brother.”
“…”
“When someone speaks to you, answer them. This is your final warning.”
“We understand.”
“We’re sorry.”
Leaving behind the servants who were too overwhelmed by the atmosphere to even breathe properly, I placed my hand on Peter’s shoulder.
“Let’s go.”
“Y-Yes.”
Peter looked like he had a lot he wanted to say but lacked the words for it. Seeing his expression made me chuckle softly.
“Oh dear, what a pitiful guy.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You have so much to apologize for. Did they hit you anywhere?”
“No. They didn’t.”
“I should’ve shown up a little later then.”
“…”
As we began walking back inside, one of the guards cautiously approached me from behind.
“Prince Allenbert.”
He bowed his head respectfully toward me.
“After hearing everything, it’s clear that you showed mercy in your actions. I thank you on behalf of Prince Baklava.”
It was the same guard I had scolded earlier.
“You’re responsible for guarding Baklava?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Remember this—you failed in your duty today.”
“…!”
“It’s also your job as a subordinate to stop your master from putting himself in danger with foolish actions.”
The guard bit his lip in frustration.
“Wise words, Your Highness. I am ashamed.”
“But I do appreciate that you can recognize the truth and admit it cleanly. That’s how a man should be.”
I looked again at the young, promising guard. The amount of mana coursing through his well-trained body was impressive. Each of these guards was no less powerful than a knight.
‘This is surprising. They must have handpicked only the elite for this unit.’
“I won’t reprimand you any further.”
“…Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Other than a broken bone, he’s not seriously injured, so don’t worry too much.”
“Understood.”
“Good. If my little brother still hasn’t learned his lesson, quietly report it to me. I’ll make sure he gets another round.”
“That’s, um…”
The guard looked troubled, so I chuckled.
“I’m joking. You can go now.”
“We will take our leave.”
Baklava opened his mouth as if to say something while watching the guards act like I was the one in charge here, but in the end, he stayed silent. If you’re upset, you should’ve fought better.
“Wait a moment, please.”
At that moment, a man dressed in butler’s attire hurried over.
“What is it?”
“I greet both Your Highnesses.”
The butler bowed first to me and then to Baklava. Judging by the fact that he greeted me first, he had at least some sense of the situation.
“The head butler has sent me after hearing the news.”
“Already? That was fast.”
Well, it wasn’t exactly a small matter when two princes from the ducal family got into a fistfight.
“Didn’t you bring a doctor?”
“The physician is on standby at the infirmary. We can escort him immediately if needed.”
So his business wasn’t with Baklava but with me.
“Then I’ll leave the cleanup to you.”
It wasn’t appropriate to continue sensitive conversations here.
“Where should I meet you?”
Look at that—he was quite an efficient man.
“Where else would I go? Come to my chambers.”
“I will come once everything is settled here.”
I nodded and started to leave but then turned back to Baklava.
“Baklava.”
“…W-What?”
“Why are you trembling so much?”
I patted his shoulder, and he flinched as if expecting me to hit him again. Poor thing—he looked pitiful.
“If you try to make excuses next time, it won’t end this easily for you.”
I whispered in his ear, and Baklava started hiccuping in fear.
“Oh dear, poor kid.”
“Hic!”
“I was worried for nothing. Anyway, I’m leaving now.”
With how things were going, it seemed Baklava wouldn’t be causing any more trouble for a while. That meant whoever was behind him would have no choice but to make their move next.
Remember this: when someone’s pulling strings from behind the scenes, this is how you drag them out into the open.
* * *
“I’m sorry, Young Master!”
As soon as I returned to my chambers, Peter dropped to his knees without warning.
“What’s with the sudden drama?”
“It’s all because of me…”
“Because of you what?”
“Prince Baklava is the son of the second wife and Count Bergen’s grandson! He suffered such humiliation today—I’m afraid they’ll take it out on you!”
“If I start standing out now, people will come after me whether they have a grudge or not. What matters is that I have justification on my side.”
“But still—”
“When word gets out about what he said today, they’ll be scolding him instead of me. In noble disputes like this, the one who loses their temper and spouts nonsense is always at fault. In our world, sins committed with your tongue are heavier than those committed with a sword.”
Peter tilted his head slightly as if trying to wrap his mind around my confident words.
“In any case, you took on unnecessary risk because of me…”
“You’re not wrong there.”
“You’ve already done so much for me… I feel guilty for causing more trouble. Why are you doing all this for someone like me?”
“You’re asking something obvious.”
I answered him plainly.
“You’ve shown loyalty to me. I know how faithfully you’ve served so far. If I can’t even do this much for someone loyal to me, how could I expect others to gather under my name?”
In fact, once word spread that I had beaten up my own brother for mistreating a lowly servant like Peter, the perception among the ducal household’s staff would change significantly.
‘This is how you earn people’s loyalty.’
A leader must protect those under their wing. A pride of lions that cannot defend its own will inevitably fall apart.
“How are you so good at fighting? I know you’ve learned martial arts, but Prince Baklava has been training for five years…”
“Let me tell you a secret—I’m actually a martial arts genius.”
Peter didn’t seem to believe me. What a fool, unable to grasp the truth even when it’s laid out in front of him.
*Knock knock.*
Just then, there was a soft knock at the door.
“Come in.”
The face that appeared as the door opened was not what I had expected.
“P-Prince…”
It was a maid with freckles all over her cheeks.
“Hm? Why are you here?”
“I-I’m sorry!”
Without warning, the maid dropped to her knees. What’s with everyone kneeling today?
“I-I was the one who told Prince Baklava about Peter serving you. Please punish me.”
Her thin arms and legs trembled like leaves in the wind.
“Did someone send you here?”
“No, I came on my own, even though they told me not to.”
“And why is that?”
“Because it’s my fault. I couldn’t refuse Prince Baklava’s orders and ended up telling him…”
I looked at the maid, who was even younger than Peter, with a curious gaze.
“How old are you this year?”
“Huh? I-I’m twelve years old.”
“So young. Peter, is she around the same age as your youngest sibling?”
“Yes. My youngest sister is twelve.”
Peter mouthed silently to me: *I’m fine.*
How kind-hearted you are, Peter.
But on this matter, Peter and I were of the same mind.
“What’s your name?”
The maid lifted her head slightly and answered with anxious eyes.
“Julia.”
“Julia.”
As I looked at her freckled face, I was reminded of a girl from the backstreets who used to follow me around long ago—one who was abused daily by her father.
Despite being powerless and scared, Julia still had a streak of integrity running through her.
“What could you have done in that situation? Baklava forced you into it, didn’t he?”
“…”
“And why do you think he singled you out? It’s obvious. The older servants probably pushed you forward because they didn’t want to deal with him themselves.”
“T-That’s…”
“How cowardly of those adults to shove such an uncomfortable task onto a child like you.”
“…Sniff.”
Julia bit her lip and lowered her head. A single tear rolled down her freckled cheek like a bead of glass.
“It’s not you or Peter that annoys me. It’s those adults hiding behind children like you while they whisper behind my back and spread rumors about me.”
“Oh…”
Julia’s eyes widened in realization, perhaps recalling things she’d seen or heard over the past few days.
“And yet these people think their petty schemes are clever. I won’t tolerate such faithless individuals any longer.”
I looked at both Peter and Julia as I continued.
“They might have their reasons, but Peter, do we need to consider the circumstances of those who betray us?”
“No, Your Highness.”
“That’s the difference between us and them.”
I gazed at Julia, who had come to confess her wrongdoing of her own accord. This child was far braver than those pathetic adults.
“Julia, from now on, you’ll serve alongside Peter. It doesn’t matter who told you what before—this is my decision. If anyone questions it, send them directly to me.”
Though young, Julia had been working in this household long enough to understand what that meant.
“I understand, Your Highness.”
“And from now on, don’t speak about me to anyone. If anyone tries to pry information from you or harasses you for it, tell Peter immediately.”
I patted Peter on the shoulder.
“Anyone who threatens or intimidates you is disrespecting me—and they’ll end up just like Baklava did today.”
The maid trembled as if overwhelmed with gratitude.
“Thank you… How could someone as lowly as me—”
“Who said you’re lowly? The only thing lowly here is Baklava’s mouth.”
Julia bit her lip tightly again.
“You’re holding it in well. If you’d laughed just now, that would’ve been a serious offense.”
“S-Sorry!”
“I’m joking. You’re allowed to laugh.”
“Y-Yes!”
“But keep working on it—your nostrils flared just now.”
“Eek!”
Julia quickly covered her nose with her hand.
“For now, go rest. From now on, I’ll pass messages through you for smaller tasks.”
I dismissed Julia with a wave of my hand.
“As you wish, Your Highness.”
“And move your room closer to mine. Peter will help you clean it up.”
“Huh? Oh! Yes… Understood!”
Peter answered in surprise.
“Look at how you’re answering—do you not want to help?”
“No! Not at all!”
“You’d better not.”
Julia left quietly after that.
See? Now I’ve gained another ally already. Sometimes having the moral high ground can be more powerful than any practical advantage.
“Peter.”
“Yes?”
“Baklava called me the son of a lowborn earlier too.”
“…”
“So tell me now—what exactly happened? Where is my mother?”
Peter’s expression darkened significantly at my sudden question.