The Mad King's Heir

Click!

Click!

Click!

Clicking sounds echoed in a young man’s ears, disturbing his sleep. He tried to ignore it but it grew louder and louder. Unable to bear it anymore, he opened his eyes, about to yell at his attendant to keep it down. But what he saw when he opened his eyes scared him half to death.

He was lying on a stone altar, staring at the vaulted ceiling that he was quite familiar with. The dimly lit room, entirely made of stone, was damp with a biting chill. The only source of light was a faint red light from the luminous pool surrounding the altar.

Consumed by fear, the young man tried to get up but he found that he couldn’t move. He was drenched in sweat, his heart racing as he struggled to move his fingers, but he couldn’t get free. He opened his mouth and tried to cry out for help, but he knew no one was coming to save him. His mother was gone and his father was the one who restrained him and put him here. There was no one in this world who cared enough to come find him.

Tears streamed down his face as the clicking sound drew closer and closer. A shadow crept up towards him and his fear grew stronger and stronger. He tried to scream, "Get away from me," but no sound came out of his throat. A claw ten times his size emerged from the shadows, its scales as red as blood. As they drew closer and closer, his body grew colder, the biting chill making him tremble.

As those claws loomed over him, wisps of white light came out of his body like his soul was being sucked out of him. The excruciating pain brought tears to his eyes. He just wanted to die. He would rather die than face this pain all over again. His father’s voice echoed in his ear, saying, "Jun Jun... Be strong for father, okay? This is what you have to do for us... for our people?"

The young man wanted to cry in anguish, but he wasn’t even granted permission to. Suddenly, someone called him, "Your highness... your highness." The young man jolted awake and he was met by a pair of green eyes staring at him.

He sat up with a start and wiped his face while asking, "What time is it?" He felt the wetness in his hand and realized that he had been crying.

The beautiful woman standing beside him didn’t react at all when she saw the tears on his face. She seemed used to it. The prince sometimes had nightmares, and he would wake up with his pillow wet. She said, "It’s a little past sunrise, you should probably get ready."

The young man got out of bed and walked towards the bathroom, his expression colder than usual. He stepped into the shower, and the sound of rushing water soon filled the room. His name was Li Jun, the imperial prince of Aurelia, with seven planets under its control.

His father, the late Imperial King Mingze, or as others called him, the Mad King, had long died five years ago. That throne was rightfully his and all he had to do was sit on it but because of his father’s reputation as a blood thirsty tyrant, Li Jun was unpopular.

They cursed at him, called him all sorts of names, because he was the tyrant’s chosen heir who had been personally raised by him. Thinking the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, they all expected him to be as ruthless as his father. Li Jun couldn’t fault them. After all, he had fully experienced what his father was like firsthand.

Thus, he didn’t accept the position. He gave it up to his step-mother, Xiu Ying and stepped back from all imperial duties. They all thought that he had been forced or coerced to let the position go but in fact, he was glad to. Why work himself to death when he could live his life as an idle prince? He wasn’t short of money and he could live the rest of his life in luxury.

He spent most of his days at his nightclub, sleeping right above it. When he first moved from his grand palace to this shabby club downtown, the court was in an uproar and he was scolded to death on Starnet with others demanding he be stripped of his position. Li Jun didn’t care. He didn’t even care if he was stripped of his title as long as no one came looking for trouble with him.

When he stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, his imperial ceremony regalia had already been laid out by Yan Jia. Yan Jia was the young woman who woke him up earlier. She had been his attendant for ten years and was the only one who chose to leave with him. She was one of his two most trusted subordinates.

The other one was Yu Xuan, the son of a minor official in the court. Li Jun had saved his life seven years ago and ever since then, he stuck to him like glue. No matter how much his father forbade him from associating with Li Jun, he would still come running like a loyal dog.

Li Jun got dressed and looked in the mirror. He looked especially dashing in the black garments with gold serpent patterns embroidered on them. He ran his fingers through his hair, stopping only when he was satisfied. He stepped out of the room and found Yan Jia waiting for him. She hung his cloak on his shoulders and said, "The car is ready."

He hummed in response and walked into the elevator and Yan Jia, her expression serious, said, "They have been smearing you on Starnet again, calling that you get stripped of your title. I can shut them all up, your highness... You can’t keep enduring this yourself."

Li Jun chuckled, the smile not quite reaching his eyes. Yan Jia couldn’t stand it but Li Jun didn’t care. The more they dragged his name through the mud, the better. It meant he could execute his plan sooner and explore the world freely.

He met her gaze and said, "You can’t possibly shut them all up, can you? And if you do, they will accuse the evil tyrant of censoring them."