The emperor had been in a coma, and Felix made good use of the situation. He had established himself as the autarch of the imperial court. But just one nightfall overturned everything for the empress and Felix. After the emperor woke up, the empress was put under house arrest and Felix was jailed. The proverb, "there's many a slip twixt the cup and lip", seemed very apt for their situation. Felix dreamt of being the emperor, but just in an instant, everything changed for him.
When Felix was escorted by the guards into the prison, Andy was there to take Francis out of the prison. The two princes met face to face. Felix, who had been in high status, was now disheveled and frustrated. On the other hand, Francis remained unyielding and decent, even though he was put in prison. But now, he was a free man.
"Felix, I had warned you that you will get yourself into trouble if you do too many nasty things," Francis said slowly, without even giving a glance at him. "Now do you agree with me?"
"Francis, don't you dare show off in front of me! I may go to prison now, but I'll leave eventually from here. The next time we meet, I won't let you be so presumptuous about me," Felix groaned as he was furious. He hated that he didn't kill Francis while he had the authority. Now, Francis even dared to be so arrogant in front of him! Felix felt humiliated, and was raging in anger.
As Francis heard his furious response, it was very clear for him that Felix would not change his mind or attitude. Shaking his head helplessly, Francis commented, "You are so stubborn."
"Prince Francis, it's time to get out of here. His Majesty is waiting for you," Andy said after he took a glance at Felix. He was sure that there wasn't any possibility for Felix to rise again. Attempting to murder the emperor would be dealt with harshly, and no one, not even the crown prince, could escape from the punishment. Besides, the emperor had already drafted an imperial edict to dethrone Felix as the crown prince.
"Okay, let's go," Francis answered. He stood straight and walked outwards. Felix turned his head and looked at Francis, only to see him walking towards the sunlight. On the contrary, he was going into the darkness, farther and farther away from the light. Felix was unwilling to give up and struggled, but was controlled by the guards. The guards then dragged him to the depth of the prison. The light became dimmer and dimmer as he was taken forward, and finally, the light went out of his sight. Now, it was just pitch darkness surrounding him.
"Get inside the cell," the prison guard commanded and then threw Felix into the cell rudely. There wasn't an iota of leniency for him from anyone since he made an attempt on the emperor's life. Felix had lost all his glory as the crown prince he once enjoyed, and he would bite the dust in the dark dungeon. Whether the emperor would spare his life was a later story.
Because of his identity as a prince, Felix stayed in a separate cell. Although it was simple, it was still clean. "Stay here and don't make trouble. Since the whip doesn't differentiate between a prince and a commoner, it may come after you. Remember that you are now just a prisoner, and not the prominent crown prince," the guard scolded.
Felix glared at him with a fierce face. It made the guard feel a bit frightened and he stepped backward in reflux. But soon, he remembered that the man in front of him was no longer the crown prince. He then whipped Felix and shouted, "You bastard! How dare you glare at me like that!"
"All right, all right. Let's leave now," another guard soothed as he stopped that angry guard from lashing at Felix. Even though Felix was no longer the crown prince and was just a prisoner, he was still the son of the emperor. If the emperor didn't want to execute him and if he allowed him to continue his life as a prince, those guards wouldn't be able to resist him when he got discharged from the prison. Everyone knew that Felix was a narrow-minded man and he would take revenge for sure if he was given any chance.
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