Chapter 4: I will not be a Pawn!

The white stone of the ring turned red in color after it absorbs the Princess's blood and a special connection was made between Keon and Cain

This connection is simply a master-slave connection. From now on, Keon's life would always be in the hands of the ring's owner which is in this case - Cain

There would be no way that Keon can ever betray nor harm his new Master. Since Keon is a person that is full of schemes, the Young Duke doesn't have a choice but to resort to doing such a 'lowly' thing

There is no guarantee that Keon would not corrupt the Empire again. Cain is willing to go against his 'justice' if he can prevent that

As soon as Cain turned Keon into his slave, the vines wrapped in the Imperial Moon's body instantly retreated. There was no need for them anymore since Keon could not resist the Ring's power

"This time, use your brain to prevent your Dear Brother from ascending into the Throne. Don't ever let him take control of everyone's lives again. And you have to help me destroy the Twilight Demons"

Twilight Demons are not real Demons but was a mysterious and hidden organization. Even the current Emperor does not have a clue that such an organization actually existed

Even without Keon's help, the 7th Imperial Sun still has a chance to obtain the Throne, he just wouldn't be as powerful as he was in the past nor would his path be that easy

Twilight Demons is an organization that has Lawrence as its Master. All members are extremely loyal to him and they are willing to sacrifice their lives for the master

Keon knew about that organization as he is Lawrence's accomplice but until now, he still doesn't know how they existed

Going back to the past and losing Keon's support at normal times is enough to prevent Lawrence from being the next Emperor but things are not as easy as it sounds

The Twilight Demons are formidable and Lawrence isn't necessarily an idiot. He is weaker compared to Keon when scheming but he is still a master schemer

Cain can only use Keon to fight such a man as Lawrence

"Your Grace, it seems like you are forgetting something" Keon stated and the Young Duke raised his brows in confusion

"The Ring of Absolute Obedience in fact does not suit its name as real absolute obedience is impossible for it" Keon started as he stood up from the ground while patting away the dirt from his clothes

"My life is now in your hands and you have the power to decide when I would die. You can also force my body to take actions without my control but..." Keon trailed as he moved dangerously close to the Young Duke that unconsciously took a step back

"At the end of the day, forcing someone to do something has its limits. There is no way that I would be at my best when I'm merely being controlled by the ring. Not to mention, my way of thinking is not something the ring could 100% influence and control"

To say it simpler, Cain can order Keon to kill himself, do shameless actions, and such but he cannot effectively force Keon to think in a certain way

He cannot force the Princess to think of a scheme that is of the 'highest quality'. Sure, Keon can think of something but if a person forces a writer to write a novel, that novel would certainly pale in comparison to the writer's real skills

"Also, the ring's victim would often obey the owner because of one thing..." Keon trailed off again as his long and slender fingers played with the collar of the Young Duke

".... They are afraid of death, Your Grace. But I am different than them, I don't fear death" Keon finished with a sneer

So what if he dies? In the past, he surely would be unwilling to leave his brother and die. But now, he doesn't have anyone he cared for anymore so what is the purpose of living?

The Young Duke's eyes trembled and he tightly grabbed Keon's wrist, almost twisting it from so much force yet the villainess didn't wince at all

"So what? Are you saying that you would rather die than help me?" Cain asked through gritted teeth

In terms of schemes, he is weaker compared to Keon or Lawrence. A need for someone to fight against Lawrence's scheme is the reason why he brought the Royal Villainess to the past with him but now, Keon seems to be insinuating that he wouldn't help. How could this not make Cain furious?

"That is not what I meant, Your Grace. What I'm saying is..." Keon's beautiful purple eyes darkened as his expression turned vicious. "I will take down that bastard brother of mine but don't ever treat me like a lowly pawn. I'm sick of people treating me as if I'm some sort of a weak and powerless person they could enjoy mistreating"

Keon grabbed the hand holding his wrist tightly and forcefully shoved it back to its owner before he turned his back to walk away

As of now, Keon's only reason for living is to destroy his brother. But he would rather die than become a lowly pawn. No one could ever treat him like a toy. That sort of thing is something he would never allow to happen

With large strides, the Royal Villainess walked away from the Young Duke but after a few seconds he stops and turned his head back

"Oh, one more thing. We are accomplices, not master and slave. If you want me to help you achieve your 'Grand Dream', convince your Family to have an engagement with me. I have to marry you as soon as possible. I don't want to stay in the Imperial Palace"

Keon said his last piece and he finally left Cain alone

The Young Duke could only watch the Royal Villainess' retreating back. Keon has always been a cruel and merciless person in his eyes

But today's interaction made him feel Keon's melancholy. It's like there is something inside the Princess that is causing him to act in this way

But how could that be possible? Keon is nothing but just a heartless villain that would do everything for his plan to succeed

Cain clenches his fist and his veins in them popped. He couldn't believe that despite holding Keon's life in his hands, he would still feel this powerless over the Princess

"Keon Blythe Morningstar... you are a key to save the Empire from a Tyrant's hands but if you would simply repeat your sins, I would have no choice but to kill you personally" Cain vowed to himself before also going in his own way to meet his mother

Qain Ybra - the Duchess that Nobles gave the nickname of "Strongheaded Flower '

He has the looks and body of a frail little flower but his personality was far from being like that

He is a person that has strong convictions and sticks to his own beliefs. A flower that is hard to sway

Cain misses his mother greatly and he also feels guilt towards him

Sheila Ybra's life was toyed with by Keon and part of the fault was with Cain himself

Cain is cold and uptight from the outside but he is soft on the inside. Keon acted as if he greatly adored the Duchess of Ybra and he wishes to have a chance to get to know him better

Because Keon is one of the Imperial Moon that even has the highest seniority among his siblings and his also his skills in acting as a pure and innocent man, Cain convinced the Duchess to have a private audience with Keon

What he didn't expect to happen was that his mother would be poisoned by the very person he pitied in the past

Keon with his schemes poisoned the Duchess. It was a kind of poison that even with the Ybra Duchy's capabilities was impossible to heal

Only Keon has the power to prolong the life of the Duchess that entered a long coma

As a result, Keon had the Ybra Duchy in his hands. With how the Duke and the Young Duke loves the Duchess, they could only submit themselves to Keon's influence and do his bidding

If not for Cain's naivety, his mother wouldn't have been poisoned and enter a coma that soon led him to death

This time, Cain returned to the past and he couldn't let his mother suffer the same fate

With that in mind, Cain heads out of the Great Sage Academy. He was someone that never skips a class but this time, he doesn't care about class anymore

The only thing he wanted to do was to meet his dear mother again

Fortunately, the Duchess was staying in the Ybra Family's manor in the Capital to make it easier for his son to meet him

It didn't take that long before Cain arrived at his destination and the servants that saw him were all surprised

Isn't the Young Duke in the Academy attending his classes? What is he doing here with such a hurried look on his face?