The Third Prince Of Darkness

A few days later, in the port city of Aurandale, in the far west of the Kingdom of Asina.

The city of Aurandale was a beautiful summer resort. For some reason, it reminded me of the Mediterranean atmosphere in my old world. The endless ocean could easily be seen from the city, as it was built on a kind of hilltop. The sea was down below, and the white sands covered the entire coastline, offering a truly beautiful view.

The vastness of the ocean stretching into infinity, bathed in golden hues during sunsets, made the boundary between the sea and sky disappear.

But I wasn't here for a vacation, and I had to complete my task quickly. Since I had come here secretly, the carriage I was currently in was not the royal carriage, and it did not bear my princely emblem. Now I had to wait for nightfall, finish the job in a single night, and return to the capital.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a reliable team, so I would have to do everything alone, but I was confident that with my darkness element, I could handle it without difficulty. However, I still needed a team. No matter what, I needed a trustworthy and very strong team, which was the biggest reason I was attending the Dragon Academy. For now, I had to complete the task on my own...

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A few hours later, the night had already fallen, and the moon was at its brightest. After making sure no one saw me inside the inn I was staying at, I activated my dark armor ability and entered the realm of darkness. Fortunately, the inside of the darkness was absurdly bright, so I easily found my way.

According to the information I got from the servant guild, the mansion where Liam's child was staying was in a wooded area just outside the city, and luckily, I found it easily. Now all I had to do was find out which room the child and his mother were in.

As I jumped from shadow to shadow within the realm of darkness, I noticed that the inside of the mansion was very dark. As I got closer to the mansion, I realized its grandeur—particularly the way it was shrouded in darkness even in such a large city—set it apart from the others. Before entering, I did a brief observation outside. There didn't seem to be any guards, or they were very well hidden.

Although I doubted it, I had a good chance of detecting them thanks to my dark armor. I took a deep breath and used the advantage the realm of darkness provided, gliding through the shadows.

While inside the realm of darkness, I checked the rooms and noticed many men and women downstairs. Among them were servants and those supposedly responsible for security, but they were carelessly playing card games. It was clear they didn't expect anyone to attack. Ignoring them, I decided to check the upper floor.

After thoroughly checking all the rooms, I finally found a baby sleeping peacefully in the arms of a woman. I exited the realm of darkness.

As soon as I left the realm of darkness, I began to observe the room from the real world. The deep silence of the room was further highlighted by the woman's steady breathing and the baby's slight movements. The dim light of the room illuminated the woman's tired features. She had probably been caring for the baby for a long time and looked more exhausted than usual.

This was the person I had been searching for—Liam's child. After realizing that the security downstairs was useless, I approached the woman without hesitation and made a calm move to take the baby from her arms. But I was startled when I felt a hand on mine, and when I looked at the woman, I saw her wide-awake and staring at me in shock. The woman moved quickly and tried to escape.

She was quite surprised at how I got here, but she still managed to slip from my grasp with composure. I could have caught her, but the baby might have been hurt. When the woman moved to the other side of the bed, she looked at me with hatred and She put her hand between her two big breasts and took out a small knife.

"Do you think you can hurt me with that knife?" I asked.

"No, but at least I can defend myself until help arrives," she replied.

Hah… This is going to be quite troublesome.

"Help? Are you talking about those fools downstairs? While they were playing games, I quietly approached them from behind and killed them all."

The woman's eyes widened in horror, and she easily believed my lie. She probably knew how useless the guards were herself. I pulled my knee back from the bed and stood up again. I took a few steps toward the woman, who was quite short, but I stopped when she drew the knife at me.

"If you give me the baby, I'll let you live," I said.

My words surprised the woman again, but this time, her reaction surprised me as well. Wasn't it obvious that I had come for the baby?

"Are you here for my baby?" she asked.

"Yes, and don't worry, the baby won't be harmed. I'm only doing this to collect a certain amount of money. I don't intend to hurt the baby," I said, telling a reasonable lie. This way, I could later explain to Liam how I got hold of the baby thanks to this lie.

Since I was already in disguise and not cloaked in darkness at the moment, no matter what the woman said, no one would be able to claim that I was the one who stole the baby.

The woman was still holding the knife with trembling hands, but the hesitation in her eyes was becoming more evident. The fear and helplessness within her were reflected on her face. Although the fear of losing her baby gave her courage, there wasn't much she could actually do. Both of us knew this. Her only way out was with the offer I had given her.

But then, unexpectedly, the woman made a sudden move, holding the knife to the baby's throat.

"No matter what, I won't let you take my baby with your filthy hands!" she shouted.

Both her shouting and the knife held over the baby left me with no other choice. I took a few steps back, raising my hands and trying to calm her down.

"Okay, okay, the baby can stay with you. Alright? I'll leave, but you'll need to slowly back up towards the wall, and we'll move away from each other. Okay? Stay calm. You've won; I don't want the baby anymore," I said, and with those words, we both started walking backward towards opposite walls.

The woman drifted the knife away from the baby's throat, and fortunately, throughout all this time, the baby, trusting her mother, didn't cry and just looked at her.

"I'm going to teleport away now, alright?" I said, causing the woman's eyes to widen in amazement as she stared at me in disbelief.

"Teleport? A-are you… are you a dragon?" she asked, utterly shocked, and her focus had already shifted away from the baby. As I neared the wall, I activated my dark armor and entered the realm of darkness. And I literally disappeared

"He really was a dragon! I saw a dragon! I can't believe it!" the woman shouted in astonishment as I disappeared, moving through the dark realm to the wall behind her. I drew my sword and, while inside the wall, looked at the back of the woman's neck. Should I kill her? As her screams echoed through the room, I calmly observed from within the dark realm.

Pressing the tip of my sword against her neck would be a simple task. My heart urged me to kill her immediately and make the job easier, though my mind was conflicted.

After all, why was she so surprised when I said I was here for the baby? Did she think I came for her? What if this woman was someone important? But wouldn't that be another reason to kill her? Then again, if she's important and has been kidnapped by Liam, wouldn't that give me another advantage? Besides, she's seen my dark armor, and I can't allow her to fall into Liam's hands.

At the very least, I'll decide whether to kill her after finding out if she's someone important.

Before leaving the dark realm, I struck the back of her neck hard with a piece of wood, causing her eyes to roll back and she to faint. I quickly exited the realm of darkness entirely and hurriedly searched for black clothes. But before that, I checked if the baby was alright. After making sure the woman was fully dressed in the black clothes, I brought her into the dark realm.

Then I began dressing the baby in black as well. At that moment, a strange but somewhat logical thought crossed my mind. I looked at the baby's expression as it gazed at me, lifting it slightly to get a better view.

"Hey, I know you've been reincarnated," I said in English, the most popular language in my old world. "If you understand me, nod your head, or I'll kill you right now" I said, but... nothing happened. The baby just kept staring at me stupidly, and with a sigh, I finished dressing it in black. At least it was worth a try.

After all, if this baby had really been reincarnated like me, it could cause trouble for me later... With everything in order, I re-entered the realm of darkness, carrying the baby as its cries echoed around us.