By Zephyria 
“It’s definitely Cecile’s. Where is the Marquis?”
“Well… I haven’t seen him since earlier.”
While everyone was busy searching the mansion, the Marquis had vanished without a trace.
Alexis barely suppressed his rising anger. His clenched teeth parted, and a calm voice emerged.
“Gather everyone inside the mansion immediately.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
The knights moved swiftly, scouring the vast mansion and dragging out every last person from the Marquis’ household who had been hiding inside.
About twenty people gathered in the central hall. They were all servants working in the mansion.
Alexis’s blue eyes scanned the frightened faces.
“Did Cecile Adrian come to the mansion?”
“…….”
Only the sound of trembling breaths filled the quiet mansion. Most of them were encountering the Crown Prince for the first time, leaving them frozen and unable to respond.
The knights shouted at them to answer, but it only heightened the servants’ fear.
Alexis raised his hand to stop the knights and pointed to the oldest-looking maid.
“You answer. Have you seen Cecile?”
“Y-yes, Your Highness.”
The head maid trembled as she recounted everything she knew.
She explained how Cecile had arrived late at night in the Marquis’ carriage, how she had prepared the bathwater at the Marquis’ command, and how they had served him dinner—all of it.
“I don’t know what happened afterward. My lord commanded us not to wander around the mansion since we had a precious guest. He told us to stay locked in our rooms.”
“Are you saying none of you know Cecile’s whereabouts?”
The head maid didn’t seem to be lying. Just then, a knight approached, gripping an old man by the collar.
“Your Highness, we’ve caught someone trying to escape. It seems to be the Marquis’ Head Butler.”
The Head Butler, thrown to the ground at Alexis’s feet, lay flat as if he had become one with the floor.
“Your Highness! P-please spare my life! I was just following the Marquis’ orders!”
Alexis squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. His anger surged to the point where the world before him flickered white, but he had to maintain his composure until he found Cecile.
“What have you done?”
“W-well….”
“Where is Cecile?”
“I will tell you. I know where he is! Please, just spare my life.”
“Lead the way immediately.”
The knights grabbed the Head Butler’s arms and forced his limp body to rise. As he barely managed to lift his trembling knees, the Head Butler inadvertently met the Crown Prince’s gaze.
The Crown Prince, whom he had only heard about in rumors, had hair so bright it could rival an angel’s, and his face was noble and beautiful.
But within those icy blue eyes lay a chill that could freeze flesh and bone. It was undoubtedly a murderous intent.
‘I’m definitely going to die!’
The Head Butler swallowed hard. He had never felt such a certain premonition, and his limbs trembled.
As the door leading to the basement opened, the Head Butler cautiously descended the stairs, holding a candlestick.
The deeper he went, the stronger the damp, musty smell became. There were bizarre adult toys hanging as if on display. The knights grimaced at the sight.
The Marquis was hiding in the basement like a rat. In the innermost part, there was only a large bed, and the Head Butler could see the Marquis’s back as he climbed on top of a person lying there helplessly.
He was hurriedly adjusting Cecile’s clothes, desperately trying to hide the perverse act he had committed.
The knights attempted to stop the Marquis, but Alexis rushed ahead of them.
The Marquis was so engrossed that he didn’t notice the presence behind him until it was too late. Before he could turn around, a kick came flying, and his massive body fell with a thud.
While the knights dragged the fallen Marquis away to deal with him, Alexis checked on Cecile’s condition.
“Cecile! Open your eyes!”
Cecile, cradled in his arms, was limp. He didn’t respond to Alexis’s call.
When Alexis slapped his pale cheeks, Cecile finally opened his eyes, but his pupils were unfocused, failing to recognize Alexis.
“What on earth… why are you in this state?”
Alexis’s gaze gradually fell lower.
Cecile’s clothes were in disarray, and on his exposed neck and wrists were reddish marks.
With undeniable sexual evidence before him, Alexis’s jaw clenched tightly.
“Marquis, you must want to die!”
The Marquis swallowed hard at the piercing voice. In a desperate attempt to escape immediate danger, a stream of incoherent lies poured out.
“Y-your Highness! Please, listen to me! In fact, Cecile and I were in a romantic relationship. He came to me first, saying he needed a plaything. And he… he took a lot of drugs. If the palace finds out about this, it will be chaos, so he asked me to keep it a secret!”
“Romantic relationship?”
Before the Marquis could finish his whimpering, Alexis laughed in disbelief. Then, in an instant, he wiped the smile off his face and glared at the Marquis.
“Shut up. You still have the audacity to speak such lies in front of me?”
“It’s the truth! Please believe me!”
“Cecile took an interest in a pig like you? You expect me to believe that?”
“W-well….”
The Marquis blinked as if he were having a seizure. Lies piled upon lies.
“It’s not a deep relationship to call it romantic, but it’s true that we share the same interests! You know that Cecile likes men, don’t you? I just lent him my Chimno because he was curious! I swear I didn’t lay a finger on him! It was all the Chimnos’ doing!”
Alexis didn’t even bother to respond anymore. He carefully laid Cecile down and gently stroked his head before rising from his spot.
He then approached a knight standing nearby and drew a sword from his waist. The sight of him approaching with the drawn sword was so intimidating that the Marquis could only back away, landing on his rear.
But even that was futile, as the knights seized him and forced him back to his knees. Facing the Marquis, Alexis pointed the sword’s tip at the Marquis’s thick neck.
“You will tell the truth. I don’t have much patience.”
“Eek! P-please spare my life!”
“Did you touch Cecile?”
The Marquis was drenched in cold sweat as he struggled to swallow. His throat brushed against the sharp tip of the sword. Feeling that he might truly die, he had to squeeze out the words that wouldn’t come.
“Yes… I touched him.”
With a swift motion, Alexis swung the sword, severing the Marquis’s right wrist.
“Ahhh! Aaaahhh!”
A scream close to a wail filled the basement.
The Marquis writhed in agony as he watched blood fountain from the cleanly severed stump of his wrist. He thrashed in pain, but the knights held his collar tightly, forcing him to maintain his kneeling position.
“From now on, answer my questions honestly, and I will spare your life.”
What Alexis said sounded merciful at first, but his gaze was as sharp as the sword he wielded. The Marquis nodded, trembling to save his life.
“Did you see Cecile’s bare skin?”
“…Yes.”
“Did you kiss him?”
“Y-yes.”
“Did you desire him and attempt to rape him?”
“Y-yes, that’s correct.”
Tears streamed down the Marquis’s face as he confessed everything. He knew well the gravity of touching a member of the royal family. However, since he had been promised his life would be spared, he admitted it without hesitation.
The Marquis raised his head, hoping for forgiveness. But what he faced was the cold, emotionless blue eyes.
“Y-your Highness, you promised! Please spare my life…!”
In an instant, the sword sliced through the air multiple times, severing the Marquis’s lips, both eyes, and the remaining wrist.
With a thud, the severed pieces fell to the ground, and blood gushed forth. A horrific scream followed.
“How dare you!”
Finally, the sword grazed the Marquis’s lower body. As the base of his manhood was partially severed, the Marquis let out a gasp and fainted.
Blood bubbled from his mouth, and bright red blood flowed from the severed areas.
As the massive body collapsed, a pool of red blood began to form beneath it. Alexis looked down at the convulsing Marquis with an indifferent gaze. He shook the blood off his sword and coldly said,
“Make sure he lives. If he dies, you will bear the responsibility.”
“Yes!”
The knights hurriedly rushed to the Marquis. Fortunately, thanks to Alexis skillfully avoiding vital points, it seemed he would survive if they could just stop the bleeding.
However, the Marquis’s appearance, with half of his facial features gone, was already unrecognizable as a human. The knights internally marveled at the Crown Prince’s cruelty but maintained their stoic expressions as they worked quickly.
Meanwhile, Alexis approached the bed again to tend to Cecile.
He took off the raincoat he was wearing and wrapped it around Cecile’s body, lifting him up carefully. Unlike before, when he had carried him like a sack, he cradled him gently, but Cecile twisted his body as if in a spasm.
“Ugh…! D-don’t. You’ll kill me, just leave me.”
Cecile’s gaze was still hazy, but he seemed to recognize that someone was holding him. Alexis felt the faint resistance as Cecile tried to push him away with whatever little strength he had, and he squeezed his eyes shut.
“It’s okay, I’m here now… you can relax.”