Trying to Save my Favorite Character from His Tragic Fate

"In the letter, you wrote that you will grant me my wish in exchange for three favors from me. You provided me this petal as evidence…"

The prince takes out a petal from the Midnight Queen and puts it on the table. The man lifts his head and the prince's heart quakes. He stands up in shock. The chair legs drag and scrape the floor. 

The mouth of the man is sewn shut, so where is the voice coming from? The prince looks through the room but sees no one else than the two.

"Tsk. No need to panic… Just sit back down," The voice comes from the man.

'Just who is this person? How the hell can he speak?'

The man frowns, and a shadow forces the prince back to the chair, drags the chair closer to the table till the prince's chest hits the rim. The prince becomes visibly shaken. 

The prince swallows hard again, "How are you going to get me the Midnight Queen?"

The man's sewn mouth lifts into a smile, "Seventh prince… I thought you were more ambitious! If someone were to grant you any wish, don't you think you should demand something bigger? Like… Becoming the crown prince? Isn't that the whole reason you want the Midnight Queen? Or… You want the emperor's position…"

No matter how the prince tries to control his shaking body, his body reacts like it wants to flee. This man is asking about a desire that his mind has never materialized before! This man is asking if he is coveting his father emperor's throne! It is getting to dangerous grounds of forbidden desires!

The prince lets out a breathy laugh, 'Right now is not the time to panic… Maybe I should accept but then reject later on. At least afterward, Osiath is by my side. Although-'

The seventh prince feels his desire for the title of crown prince starting to take root in his heart.

"What is it that you want in exchange?" The seventh prince cautiously asks because he needs to know what he is getting himself into!

The smile widens more, and the thread used to sow the mouth gets stretched.

"I want the half-elf as the first condition! He is a fine specimen…"

All the muscles from the prince's face start to twitch, "I can't give Osiath to you… He is not mine to begin with!"

"It does not have to belong to you… You just have to help me capture him!" 

The prince's eyes over the finger that starts to tap on the table like the man is getting impatient.

"Sorry… I don't think this is a deal…" The prince quickly backs up and runs to the door. However, the shadow on the floor grabs his ankle and drags him back. Then it lifts the prince into the air.

The prince is so scared that tears are spilling from his eyes. The man lets out a sigh of annoyance and stands up. He turns his neck around to crack his stiff neck.

"I didn't want to do this because you are not a good specimen, but I guess you leave me no choice!"

The prince drops to the table with the shadow restraining all his limbs. No matter how much the prince struggles, he cannot get away from the tightening grip of the shadow. The man takes out a rolled-up cloth and opens it to reveal numerous types of scalpels.

The prince screams and pleads with the man. However, the man does not respond anymore to his words, so he starts to scream for his knights.

No response.

His breaths become sporadic, choking him. His lungs squeeze, sending him pain signals all over his body. His tears run down from his eyes. 

The prince regrets coming here. There have been so many warning signs, but he has proceeded because he just wants to gamble this once. He just hates the idea of going back home with empty hands. He has even imagined how the emperor's face would look like once hearing the news and what type of laughingstock he will become. And the most frightening of all, the loss of opportunity to ever get the recognition he has starved for will definitely haunt him for the rest of his life. 

But… But he does not want to die. 

He screams for help once again with all his might, sacrificing his vocal cords. 

Just when the prince gives in to fate, the ceiling collapses, and the prince closes his eyes before the dust gets into them. When he opens them again, the moon becomes the first thing that he sees at the center of the night sky. Then, on the partially collapsed roof, two figures stand. 

The silver hair shines under the moonlight, and it flutters in the wind. 

Kyrie squats on the roof, "Sorry to interrupt, but you cannot take that kid. He is now under my protection..."

The prince becomes quiet, and his entire body relaxes. The sight of silver hair calms all of his nerves. A tear hanging on the corner of his eye flows down. He is now in good hands.

Kyrie and Federline jump into the room.

[What is a demon puppet doing here? Isn't the fallen saintess inside the gates? If not the fallen saintess or Sil, then the supreme witch Saskia.]

"What brings the supreme witch to the protectorate?" Kyrie asks the puppet.

The puppet jolts and smirks, "Wow… Are you able to see through with just this puppet? You have grown a lot since we last met!"

"He wants Osiath, holy paladin! He wants the half-elf to be the specimen!" The prince energetically shouts with his raspy used-up voice.

The puppet clicks its tongue and looks over to the prince with a warning stare. The prince quickly shuts his mouth, but his eyes shine when looking at the paladin. Even Vivienne is not as pretty as the paladin!

"I will consider this as bad luck…" The puppet murmurs and then, the body starts to burn in black flames. 

The prince gets scared silly again and screams at the sight of melting flesh. Then, he faints, banging his head on the table.

Kyrie frowns at this quick resolution. 

[Why did the witch give up so fast? Something does not sit right with this outcome.]

"Headmaster!" Federline hands over the flower petal that he picks up from the floor.

"Midnight Queen… No wonder the prince got lured to this place..."

The prince and the knights are unharmed, so Kyrie brings them back to the guest mansion. He also sends a quick letter to Lord Analybe to ask about any occurrences regarding the Midnight Queen before his arrival. Lord Analybe affirms an incident.

There has been a trespass aside from the prince's attempt. However, the thief also couldn't get past the relic's protection.

Kyrie has a rough idea of the reason since he now knows that Saskia is involved. The witch is reaching her limits. She must be breaking down now. In the novel, Saskia appears at a later stage of the novel. Still, she also emerges briefly and disappears altogether. The witch cannot contain the chaos energy that the fallen god bestows her any longer. Thus, in contact with a relic that partially uses essence to build the barriers, the witch must have experienced what it is like to be a flame in contact with water. 

She will appear at the ceremony where the prize gets handed to the winner.