The Third Prince Of Darkness

Listen to me, my brothers! I am your proud prince, Ethan Asina Lenistark, but now I stand before you defeated, merely as Ethan. Like many of you, you might also be in a phase of despair or acceptance because of my challenge and defeat against the one with many titles, most notably known as the Wolf of War or the Blood King. But listen to your prince.

Did I not know that I had no chance of defeating the Blood King? Or that even if I did, it wouldn't change the outcome? The truth is, my beloved brothers, I did not challenge the Blood King; rather, I challenged myself, or more precisely, the despair within me. Perhaps I lost the brave challenge against the Blood King, but at least I defeated the darkness of despair inside me. Brothers, hear me!

Though nothing remains of the Asina Kingdom but ashes and rubble, though towers are built from the skulls of our soldiers, is it not clear what we must do? What should one do when in such a dire situation? Should we pull the covers over our heads and cry like children? Or should we grow angry and blame everything on fate, cursing the gods? What should we do? Tell me, what should we do?

Should we stop walking because our shoes have holes? Or should we curse the sharp stone that made the hole in the shoe? Tell me... what should we do?

I know what to do, brothers and sisters. Even if my body falls to the ground and my blood becomes a drink for the flowers, I will not abandon my ideals! I am laying down my life so that the kingdom of the sun and the noble people under it may rise again like a phoenix from the ashes. In the end, as long as I have blood to spill, I have not lost hope.

To me, there is no hopeless situation; there are only hopeless people, and I have never lost hope, my brothers. Even if they uproot my humble body from the homeland and imprison me on a distant island, regularly patrolled by large ships, I will never allow the words "there is nothing we can do" to leave my lips. Join me, brothers, and help me rebuild everything better than before!

When the time for vengeance comes, I swear by all the gods and their emissaries that I will show my enemies what true darkness is.

Respectfully, third prince Ethan Asina Lenistark.

This letter would be sent to a newspaper Ethan founded himself in the year 5467 according to the Quyan calendar, which is two years from today, and would be secretly printed in the paper. Immediately after, this newspaper would be secretly distributed throughout the Asina Kingdom, leading people to gather around Ethan again and sparking a rebellion against the puppet princes.

After all, the letter contained words that resonated well with the Asina people, and since they already saw Ethan as a hero for challenging the seemingly invincible Blood King, things would be easier for him. But there was still time for that, And now let's go back to the present day 5465 or two years ago to see what Ethan is doing now.

Well… he wasn't in the best of situations. After all, in just under two weeks, the two women he loved had literally left him, and neither had been kind while doing it. Although how anyone can be kind in a breakup is a mystery, and it's highly likely that a "kind" breakup doesn't even exist, Ethan couldn't dwell on such thoughts at the moment.

After all, he had been cruelly abandoned in his previous life, and seeing that nothing had changed in this new world hurt him deeply, to the point where he now believed himself to be flawed. Yet, blaming Ethan for these two breakups wasn't entirely fair. Althea was too jealous to accept being in a prince's harem, but wasn't that the nature of love? Or at least true love.

Whether true love exists is debatable, but it's a common belief that the love closest to true love is one built on sacrifices. According to that, either Althea would have to make the sacrifice of sharing Ethan, or Ethan would have to make the sacrifice of not loving anyone else but Althea.

However, the impact of the Roxanne factor on Ethan had grown exponentially, especially after the moment she risked her life for him. Ethan didn't want to make the sacrifice of giving up on Roxanne. As for Althea… well, she was Althea. Her not wanting other women around Ethan was understandable, or at least it had been in his previous world.

In this world, harems were quite normal. In fact, harems were common, even in Ethan's previous world. Only fanatical beliefs like Christianity made harems impossible, yet even Christians had something called mistresses. In this new world, fanatical beliefs like Christianity existed, as the power of a religion lay in its ability to mobilize its followers.

But if a religion's rules were to eliminate something deeply ingrained in a culture, like harems, then that religion wouldn't likely become very popular.

In short, in this world, especially for powerful individuals, having a harem was not only normal but expected. It wouldn't be right to say Althea was wrong; after all, like everyone else, she had a past. Now, as for Avanne… well, there's probably no need to explain why her relationship with Ethan broke down. But unlike Althea, Avanne had a higher chance of getting back together with Ethan.

Now, back to Ethan. He was sitting on the green grass, gazing at the magnificent, harmonious sight created by the endless fields before him. He was just outside the capital, in the farmlands. And he would continue staring at those vast, golden fields for hours without moving. Although his eyes were fixed on this breathtaking landscape, his mind was a battlefield.

As Ethan sat on the grass, his thoughts waged a battle as fierce as any war. On one side, the deep sorrow echoing in his heart reminded him of the loves he had lost, while on the other, his princely identity and responsibilities pushed him to act. Though he appeared motionless, the storms within him resembled a relentless inner war.

The pride and determination that rose within him remained alive despite all the romantic failures and losses he had endured. But in the end, Ethan was still human. In his eyes, he had lost three women in a short period of time, and it was only natural for him to be in a kind of depression.

After all, the primitive human brain didn't understand the finality of those lost relationships, the reality that they were gone and would never return. Memories of those women constantly flooded Ethan's mind, tormenting him. But the primitive mind, unaware of chemical reactions or needing to know them, couldn't grasp that those memories would never happen again. She, or they, were gone. It was over.

As he did at the end of every day, Ethan looked up at the sky where darkness had triumphed over the light. Night had fallen, but it was as if the sky was sending a message to Ethan, for the moon, at its brightest and fullest, stood directly above him in all its glory, covering the surrounding stars with its radiance.

The sky seemed more beautiful than ever for Ethan, as if it were helping him stand up. He rose to his feet and pulled out the flask he had been holding against his chest. Of course, it was filled with fine wine, and this would be the start of a night of drinking for Ethan. It seemed like it was finally time for him to get drunk for the first time in his life.

After taking a few large gulps from his flask, Ethan began walking slowly toward the palace. His thoughts grew more blurred with each sip, yet instead of easing his emotional turmoil, every step seemed to magnify it. The servants and knights around him, afraid of what might happen, kept their distance.

They knew how aggressive the other princes could become when drunk, and they didn't want to provoke Ethan in any way. For Ethan, the sorrow of losing the women he loved, combined with the crushing weight of defeat and his responsibilities, had turned the voices in his mind into an overwhelming cacophony.

But just then, his favorite stepmother, Isabella, saw Ethan's unusual and defeated expression—something she had never seen on him before—and quickly approached him.

Isabella quickened her steps toward him, her face showing deep concern, the intuitive worry of a mother who had spent many years alongside this young prince and could read his mood. She had always known Ethan to be strong, proud, and determined. But now, instead of the confident, powerful prince, she saw someone on the verge of being crushed under the weight of life.

When she reached him, Ethan suddenly hugged her, catching her by surprise. At first, she tried to talk to him, but it was no use, so she decided to take him to a nearby room and asked the servants to bring a special drink made from the eggs of a bird native to this world to help him recover. She then carried him inside with her strong arms.

After all, Isabella was one of the most powerful people in the kingdom, second only to Richard and a few others, so she had no difficulty carrying Ethan. But Isabella could never have predicted the consequences of carrying Ethan to his room that night. She would find herself in a situation she never could have imagined, but afterward, she would never regret taking him to his room.

On the contrary, she would come to see it as one of the best decisions of her life... Ethan had no idea he would win someone new that night, someone he could never have predicted.