I Hate Systems

The Queen got up from her seat, standing before Compass Carburettor as she looked at his condition, 'He's completely drunk? How is this possible? All he did was sniff it once.'

She gently patted his shoulder, seeing that Compass Carburettor was trying his best to respond to her but was slowly losing consciousness. Soon, he fell asleep. Upon seeing his actions, she burst out laughing, 'This guy's interesting.'

She then brushed his hair to the side, looking at his face as she sighed, 'With such a handsome appearance, if you hadn't been born a prince, your life would have been hell.'

…

"Dammit, I am the Prince of this blasted kingdom. You hear me? Prince! I'm the Prince!" Regriel shouted as he was dragged out of the palace by a couple of guards. Arriving at the entrance, they dumped him into a carriage, looking at the driver as they nodded.

A couple of guards were already seated inside the carriage, grabbing hold of Regriel the moment he was thrown inside, constricting him with a rope. The carriage immediately began to move, reaching the end of the city soon after.

It looked no different to an automobile, only less sophisticated in appearance. The driver held his hand above a certain marble sphere while inserting his energy into it, using it to fuel the vehicle and make it move.

Along the journey, the guards laughed, "To think we would have the honour to board the royal carriage."

"It's all thanks to sir scourge here." Another guard slapped the back of Regriel as he laughed.

"I dare you to touch me again, pleb. I'll have you executed." Regriel cursed as his face turned red. No sooner than when he said it, his face turned pale as an impact had slammed into his stomach, causing him to gasp for air.

"It seems sir scourge here is still under the illusion of being a Prince." The guard retracted his fist, smirking as he displayed a hint of anger in his eyes, "You have spoiled the lives of numerous innocent girls. You'll get your justice soon."

Once they reached the end of the city, the two guards carried Regriel into a horse-drawn carriage. The carriage left the capital city, crossing the well-paved roads and trod into the mud road, heading towards the edge of the kingdom, intending to head into the neighbouring kingdom.

Upon seeing the route they took, Regriel's eyes widened as his face paled, fearing the worst when the guard patted his back, "Relax, you won't be killed. You'll be married off to a noble from the Dedicus Kingdom. You have been perfectly useless as a Prince, so at least contribute to our kingdom this way."

"I heard the noble lady he'll be marrying has a fetish of collecting the skulls of men." The other guard snickered.

'Human skulls? Dammit, not her! Not that psychopath!' Regriel cursed mentally as he tried to wriggle out his way. But, he was unable to overpower the guards who easily subdued him.

He had never trained all his life. And due to a lack of exercise, he was fat, lacking the strength to even carry his own weight for more than twenty steps. Against the veteran guards that had experienced a couple of wars, he was nothing.

It was evening by the time the carriage left their kingdom border, heading into a forest path. Their kingdom wasn't big by any means, only spanning a maximum length of 260 kilometres and a maximum breadth of 140 kilometres at a stretch.

And, the Capital city, Ellipster was situated only 40 kilometres from the border, so the carriage crossed the border soon, despite travelling on a mud path.

Regriel had resigned himself to his fate, 'Even if she were a psychopath, as long as I have a status, I can enjoy my life without worries. As long as she's not too ugly, I can put up with her.'

But, his thoughts were soon shattered when he noticed the oddly shaped trees and the snow-covered ground, shuddering as he shouted, "This is not the way to the Dedicus Kingdom. We have entered the Heroica Empire!"

"Bingo! You aren't entirely stupid then." The two guards chuckled.

"You said I'll be married off to that psychopath noble lady in the Dedicus Kingdom!" Regriel shouted as he tried to wrestle his way out.

"Silence!" One of the guards shouted in irritation before slamming his elbow into Regriel's thigh, causing the other party to shut up in pain.

"It was our plan at first," The other guard said, "But, you are no longer a prince. So, we can't marry you off to nobility. The Queen said you were better off dead, just like the rest of your useless siblings and the King."

"W-What…? What happened to my father?" Regriel stammered in shock when the carriage stopped. The two guards dragged him out and slammed him to the ground.

Regriel felt difficulty in even getting up on his own as a guard snickered before propping him up into a kneeling position, "Trash is best disposed of properly."

Regriel despaired as he heard the guard's voice. But, the moment he stared before her, rage filled him as he shouted at the silhouette that had appeared before him, "General Artica! You bitch! You had sworn loyalty to the King. How dare you point your blade at the royal family? What have you done to my father, the King?"

There was a group of four standing before him, all veiled except for the one named General Artica. Though, she hadn't worn her armour at present, only dressed in commoner clothes to make it seem like the work of bandits. As for the other three behind her, they seemed lifeless—her puppets.

Upon hearing his shouts, General Artica nonchalantly dug into her ears, looking uninterested as she motioned at the guards. One of them took out a knife and cut the rope binding him. But, Regriel tried to get up and run when he noticed his legs were in pain, having travelled for so long—seated in the carriage.

He didn't have enough strength left in him to run, only able to stutter as he said, "S-Spare me!"

General Artica took out a cylinder and inserted her energy into it, creating an energy sword as she flashed it.

Regriel saw the blade in her hands, despairing as he could hear derisive laughter around him. But right when he had given up all hope, he heard a sound in his ears, one that seemed like his lifesaver.

<Ding!>