The Greed of Kronos

A Taste of his own Poison

Seventy-four: A Taste of his own Poison

Although the crown prince picked a ship on a whim, he also checked it well to see if they got the right person. Turns out that he was right again. 

“The report,” Kronos replied. 

With that being said, Eros looked at Kronos and then nodded before looking at the Baron once again. “Yes. That’s what the report in the customs handed me.”

Hearing this, Baron Willford felt relieved. The report was far from him being guilty with something as he was just a lowly baron with a shop. 

But then, of course, there was one fault. “Baron, have you done your research well?”

After hearing that, Baron Willford flinched as he replied in a nervous tone of voice. “Your highness?”

‘What does he know this time?’

In most cases, humans tend to commit crimes for their own selfish behavior. It could have been self gain or for the sake of other people. It could have also been for another reason, but one thing that every crime had in common was evidence that’s left at the crime scene. 

And that’s what the crown prince found out. “As far as I know, pocong leaves could be made into a cookie, a tea, and even a poison.”

That was correct. And in the report, the Baron was using the pocong leaves for selling cookies. 

After a moment of pause, the crown prince then continued as he looked at the Baron still with his angelic smile but with a chilling look. “However, Baron, it could not be made into a coffee.”

The report stated that he uses pocong leaves in everything. But the pocong leaves could not be used as coffee. But tea. 

The moment Baron Willford thought that he could no longer defend himself from his wrongdoings and act like he did nothing was also the moment that he deeply kowtowed and had a change of heart. “Your highness, the crown prince! Please spare me! I only did that because I need to maintain my status as a noble!”

If he could no longer act innocent, then he could still beg for forgiveness.  

Seeing the brazen act of the Baron, Kronos could not help but to look at him with his judging eyes and say one thing. “Neutral.”

That was what the report mentioned. That he was a Neutral Baron. He doesn’t side with the Imperial Faction. However, he also does not side with the Aristocratic Faction. 

With that being said, Eros looked at Kronos for a moment before he looked at the Baron and laughed menacingly. “I see. You’re a neutral noble kissing a royal blood’s shoes.”

Just how laughable the situation was?

Hearing this, the Baron’s face flushed out of embarrassment. But he could not waver as he sacrificed his pride in order to survive. “Please, Your Highness.”

Well, Eros was really in a bad mood to put up with the bold attitude, but at the same time, he was enjoying the view. So, it won’t hurt to tease a little more, right? 

Shortly after that, the crown prince heaved a sigh and pretended to be worried as he looked at the Baron, who was bowing his head and his eye locked on the ground. “What do I do? My father already issued a decree for you and your whole family’s execution tomorrow.”

With that being said, the Baron felt like the crown prince was giving him a chance to spare him and his family’s life. 

That was why he looked up to see the crown prince’s face and vigorously replied. “Your highness. I will do anything in my power! Please!”

“Sure, let’s talk about that after our little tea time. You have not tasted pocong tea leaves, am I right? Go on and taste it. After that, I will reconsider.” Eros immediately replied with his usual angelic smile. 

And right at that moment, the Baron felt like some snake was crawling around his bare skin and wrapping him up to devour him. Was it just an illusion of his, or was the crown prince’s smile was that of with killing intent?

Regardless of anything, the Baron really does not have any time to doubt at that moment. The crown prince was known throughout the Empire because of his kindness and angelic figure. That was why there should be no room for doubts.

Hence, the Baron once again bowed his head deeply and replied in a cheerful manner. “I am forever grateful, your highness!”

“Yes~” Eros replied.

And with that, the Baron stood up and straightened his back before joining the two gentlemen who were leisurely drinking their tea. When a maid served her a cup of tea, the Baron did not have any second thoughts and directly emptied it for the crown prince to reconsider quickly. 

But then, shortly after that, the Baron felt like his chest was tightening, and his organs were burning as he threw up a vast amount of blood. “Ack. Your… highness?”

The Baron could even barely breathe, and his vision was starting to get blurred. And even though everything was getting hazy, he was confident of one thing. 

“Oh my. Is something the matter?”

That the crown prince was smiling like a Cheshire cat when he asked those words using the angelic tone of voice that he would usually use to the public. 

When the Baron finally closed his eyes and died on the spot, the crown prince then raised his hands to ask for the maidservants to leave the greenhouse while he continued. “So it had a poison. It thought I made an ordinary tea~.” 

Wrapping things up, the Baron died from poison, and Kronos successfully required his heart as soon as nobody was around except for Eros. Shortly after that, his family followed him in the afterlife, with the crown prince personally executing them to set as an example to everyone who would dare to do something terrible in the near future or currently. And upon seeing those who were executed, Kronos felt guilty as he was part of those people who dared. But then, his guilt quickly dissipated as soon as Eros handed him the heart of the entire family. 

Well, he has the crown prince as his backing. What was there to be afraid of?

After settling his account at the imperial palace, he then rushed to go towards the Academy, seeing that it was still around lunchtime. And at those times, his classmates surely were in the classroom eating the lunch boxes that were specially prepared for them every lunch by the maidservants at the dormitory.

Now that he thought about it, Kronos was in the northern part of the Empire because of a business. If he had a little time to spare, then he could have bought a delicacy that’s famous around there. 

It seemed like Kronos had constantly been thinking about the other kids when he was away. That just showed how strong their bond was, with or without the mark that’s connecting them. 

While he was on his own thoughts, he did not realize that he was already creaking the door open and casually got inside the classroom.

It was then he realized when the rowdiest of the exi class greeted him with his usual smiley face and energetic aura. “Huh? It’s Kronos!”

However, despite the show off, Kronos still felt like something was amiss. 

Hence, even before he got to his desk, he looked at Asisi and asked in a simple manner. “What’s up.”

With that being said, even if the question was directed to Asisi, everyone inside the classroom flinched. It was as if something really happened. But they were keeping him in the shadows, so he could not get a grasp of what it could possibly be. 

Obviously changing the topic, Asisi laughed nonchalantly as he replied. “Dude! We haven’t seen your face in days! You have a lot of lessons to catch up!”

But it was not too long when Kronos shifted his gaze towards the direction of his desk. 

It was empty. 

“Astian?” Kronos mumbled.

When he was lost in his own thoughts, Kronos also imagined that the very first person that would welcome him back was Astian. But oddly enough, the two seats on the rectangular desk were empty. 

“Uhh..”

As soon as Kronos saw a hesitation in the other kid’s eyes, he then immediately knew that something terrible had happened. They were not eager to tell some bad news to Kronos, who just recently showed his face. But they were awful at hiding something too. 

However, Sir Samael sternly warned them to keep it a secret from Kronos. That was why when Kallen used her potential and saw Kronos approaching the classroom, they abruptly changed their moods. From a depressed one to a lively one. They faked a laugh and forced themselves to smile for the sake of covering Astian. But then, how long could they endure the anxious face of Kronos?

That was why when Asisi mustered up his courage to speak and tell Kronos how Astian had been doing, Kronos abruptly rushed outside the Academy when he just got back. 

“Kronos, remember our epitropi last week? It had something to do with Astian.”

He rushed through the Academy gates and looked at the line of carriages that were available for departure. Fortunately, the students were not allowed to go outside the Academy except for holidays, weekends, and epitropis. As for Kronos, his class was an exception.

“Dyclour Estate.” Kronos looked at the coachman as he handed him two gold coins. 

As much as Kronos wanted to teleport by just using Skia, he could not since Skia never went to Astian’s house. Which was why he was left with no choice but to be patient and trust the coachman to do a good job sending him in a flash.

Meanwhile, knowing what the extra tip meant, the coachman nodded in a serious manner and quickly departed his horse to get in the estate as soon as possible. 

“It is related to the relic that we retrieved at the public library. An unexpected commotion happened that led to Astian being seriously injured.”

As soon as Kronos reached the gate of the Dyclour’s Mansion, he approached the guards on duty and told them his intention.

He was drenched in sweat, and his heart felt like it was going to burst. His temples were also pulsating, and his mind was wandering while waiting for someone to pick him up at the gates. 

Only then did Kronos snap back to reality when a familiar and fragile figure in front of him smiled warmly. “Kronos, please follow me.”

It was Astian’s mom. Maybe because they had a similar warmness of smile that Kronos felt lighter than before. However, the anxiety did not leave him. 

“You know how sensitive vampires are when it comes to holy relics. That was why Mikhail only stationed Astian as a look out. But because we were almost caught changing a replica to the original one, Astian risked his life and secured the relic even though it was a poison to him with just a single touch.”

The more steps they took, the more nervous Kronos was. Asisi explained everything to him with a depressed look. And more importantly, Astian got hurt while he was away. Even if it felt disrespectful to be in a daze while visiting a sick person, Kronos could not help but to overthink. 

When they entered a particular room, Kronos looked around and thought that it had a similar style back at the dormitory.

So it was Astian’s room.

Somehow, he felt like the ambiance was soothing him and telling him to calm down. But then, when he saw the frail figure of Astian lying down on the bed with his eyes closed, Kronos felt like his heart had stopped for a second. 

“Astian he… he has been asleep for almost four days now.” Astian’s mother broke the silence. Her voice was solemn, yet it was still obvious how heartbroken she was in the sight of her son lying down unconscious. 

However, she just could not bring up being disheartened, and somehow she felt like Kronos would not take the sight of Astian.

Hence, she smiled and looked at Kronos as she comforted him with her words. “But don’t worry, dear. Astian will be awake sooner or later. We just need to wait, okay?”

Regardless of everything that had happened so far in his life, it was as if something was inside Kronos. Some sturdy wall that was built ever since he was able to think and was used to suppress his emotion. It was as if the wall could support the bottled up emotions anymore. 

A hot liquid trickled down the rim of Kronos’ eyes.