The Prince in Question Is Not Stable

Chapter 69: Winds of Consequences

Two days after the Crescenda incident.

The Kingdom’s Herald – Official Bulletin.

"By the order of the Crown’s administration, the following is the official count of the incident occurring in the County of Crescenda on the 13th day of the current cycle."

"At approximately the third hour past midday, an unclassified demonic entity breached the county; the entity exceeded the standards of the projections..."

"Civilian evacuation was conducted successfully under the coordination of local military personnel and academy staff present in the region..."

*Shff!*

A page was flipped.

The Amavelle Record – Duchy Newsletter.

"We write this with the weight of what we witnessed still sitting in our chests. The County of Crescenda no longer has roads. It no longer has homes, and what remains is a crater of such scale that the scrriages sent to surround it did not complete the circle before the night was over."

"Duke Valante was present throughout. His Grace conducted himself with the composure of..."

*Shff!*

Another page was flipped.

"The entity has been classified as a completely new rank, introducing new threats that might emerge from the rifts in future. Marquis-rank is what the Duke states a demon to be. A noble, literate, demonic being, opens up a new documented region..."

"Two individuals contained it. First, Janus. Court official. Clearance Six. A name never known, and never seen operated before. Those who were present at the edge of the crater will not soon forget what the residual of his involvement..."

"The second. Professor Marcus Rile. Count of Rile. Faculty of Lunar Academy. Yes, you read that right. A county professor. Let us not pretend we have the language for what a county professor was doing inside a Marquis-rank containment, we will simply report what those present confirmed."

"He walked out unscathed..."

*Shff!*

Another page was flipped, this time, with slight aggression.

"Professor Jose, currently on field assignment in the Amavelle, is confirmed to have led civilian and cadet evacuation efforts during the initial breach escalation; his conduct was exemplary."

"Cadet Isabelle Voss, second year, sustained minor injuries during the evacuation and has been confirmed recovering under the Saintess’ care."

"Marcus Rile, faction associate of the first prince’s network and this is the part our correspondents keep mentioning, so we’ll mention it too, a man whose trade connections stretch considerably further than any county professor’s should."

"The Saintess arrived the following morning, currently healing the people who would otherwise not recover..."

*Shff!*

"Who is Marcus Rile? A man who holds the deepest grudge against the fifth Prince of the Lunar kingdom turns out to be not just any Professor, but possibly a transcendent..."

*Thuk*

Orochi dropped the newspaper on the desk and looked at Marcus, who had his eyes closed, resting on his chair.

"All eyes on Marcus Rile," he said.

"Remind me again, wasn’t this persona meant to be a bait so that you find who hates the fifth prince, and who is brewing rebellion?" Orochi asked.

"But now your own fake identity is more popular than you. And in a way, that royals, nobles, merchants want to associate with you, but they also fear the queen for associating with the man that hates her youngest son ...will turn things quite messy."

"People want Marcus to get rid of Ymir, and they support Marcus." Orochi said.

"..." Marcus didn’t say anything.

He sighed and lazily opened his eyes to look at Orochi.

"He was a count," Marcus finally spoke.

"Count of the Marbas family," he said.

"Marbas? They’re frontline warriors," Orochi replied, and squinted.

"Why was he there?" Orochi asked, "Marbas are fine warriors, they only hunt for power, not ...havoc."

"..." Marcus thought for a moment, and then tapped his head with his finger.

"Because of this," he said.

"?"

"Fragment of Lunar."

"..."

Orochi...was left speechless.

"Fragment of Lunar...is inside your mind realm?" he murmured.

"Trapped, yes," Marcus replied.

"You have a mind realm?" Orochi furrowed his brows.

"I just got to know that too," Marcus said.

Orochi walked quietly and took a seat on the sofa.

He thought a lot. He was, for the first time in his life... left puzzled.

"So, what’s the connection between the fragment and Marbas?" he asked.

"None, just a bad coincidence. Fragment had its own rift. A rift known as the mirror of the honest flesh. But when you...threw me into the rift, it was in the process of manifesting. That broke the flow of space. The owner of the rift was trapped within my mind realm, and the hollow space connected the two realms, instead of acting like a rift."

"The rift was supposed to have two gates, within the mortal realm itself. But since one was disrupted, it shifted and opened on the other side of the realm."

Orochi nodded and still stared at the edge of the table, lost in thought.

"Then...how do you have the mind realm? A mortal cannot have one," he said.

"I am not aware of that," Marcus replied.

"How does it look?" Orochi asked.

"Water beneath as a floor, endless darkness, lamp posts all over in the distance. Nothing specific, but it seems I can make changes."

"And...can you enter it willingly?"

"I am not aware of that."

"How did you exit the realm?"

"I slept and woke up back in reality."

"So, you don’t know anything about your mind realm, you cannot see your soul there, you cannot even enter and exit willingly, and you have a fragment trapped inside that realm?" Orochi listed.

"That’s one way to put it," Marcus replied.

Orochis sighed.

"What...what do you stay high on?"

"It’s not my problem, I don’t know a few things."

"A few things? Mind realm’s a few things?"

"One of the few-"

"Gods and Demons are on a fucking war because of the fragments that are inside the mind realm that you don’t even know how to enter," Orochi said.

"Mind realm in itself is a power that higher beings desire but fail to create, that’s not a few things, you’re not human," He continued.

"A human cannot have a mind realm; it’s beyond the comprehension of a mortal, beyond the capabilities of their bodies, even if they transcend their form."

"And you---Don’t even know how to use it?"

"What do you expect from me then...panic?" Marcus asked back.

"To control the mind realm, you don’t need a structure. It’s like a never-ending palace, just designate positions, and get accustomed to it." He then began explaining his theory.

"Your realms are visually stunning, different, and imaginative because those things are easier to remember. The same method applies to get a near-perfect memory, but to learn that...it takes a lot of time and practice to get familiar with it,"

"It’s just like...the method of loci."

"Loci?" Orochi asked.

"It’s a psychological technique, a mnemonic strategy that uses spatial memory and visualisation to help recall information. Except here, loci is not just a visualisation, but the interpretation of those visualisations."

"To say that I can learn from anyone or anywhere about the mind-realm would be foolish. Even you took years to get familiar with it," Marcus said.

"You already theorised it at a glance?" Orochi asked.

Marcus just nodded.

Orochi stayed silent for a long time.

"What’s concerning now isn’t the mind realm, but what comes after the count. The head of the Marbas family is missing. Marbas falls under the house of Sorrow."

"And...You know who leads the house of sorrow," Marcus said.

"I am well aware of the hierarchy," Orochi replied. "It’s that fucking monk,"