Through the crowd of nobles shrinking back as if avoiding something filthy, Karl stepped forward and came to stand before Ilias.
Ilias wanted to run, but he couldn’t.
“Big brother.”
“…Ah, right….”
Karl greeted him with a bright smile, and Ilias, unable to fix his expression, awkwardly nodded with a strained smile.
Karl stood there in a completely slack posture, as if he had forgotten all the etiquette he had just learned from the servant, looking up at Ilias.
He looked exactly like a clueless, perfectly harmless, foolish and weak scarecrow of a prince.
There’s a limit to everything. This is too much. This won’t just make it clear he has no interest in the throne. He won’t even be treated like a person at this rate.
Why are you doing this? You’re smart.
Ilias tried to convey that with his eyes.
Karl was someone who, despite having lived his entire life confined to a room without learning anything, was unbelievably quick-witted. You could tell how intelligent he was within just five minutes of conversation.
And yet now he was acting like a complete fool. How was he planning to deal with the aftermath?
“Thanks to you, I was able to survive. Thank you.”
“…I… see. That’s… good….”
Ilias was completely lost now. He had no idea what Karl was thinking.
After all this, he came just to say that?
Seeing Karl smile so innocently sent a chill down Ilias’s spine.
“Has Father not arrived yet?”
“Fa—!”
Ilias recoiled in shock, taking a step back, and the murmuring nobles fell abruptly silent in confusion.
There was no one in this world who called Madius “father”. Not even his own children dared to address him that way.
Madius was the supreme ruler of the thousand-year empire, the great emperor of all imperial subjects. His children were no exception.
Karl had completely torn through the party like a wolf leaping into a flock of sheep, and while the atmosphere fell into chaos, only the orchestra continued to play, sweating nervously with anxious eyes.
Ilias wanted to run from this place.
He had no idea why this lunatic had come to him and was causing such a scene.
“Kh—! …Ahem….”
In the party hall that was filled with tense music, a suppressed laugh rang out.
Everyone turned toward the sound, but in this dreadful situation, no one could tell who had laughed.
“…Have you lost your mind?”
Gavianne, her face stiff, pinched Eingir’s hand hard and whispered quietly.
Eingir, clearly flustered, tilted his head as if he didn’t understand what she was saying, putting on an act as though he had momentarily forgotten how to speak.
Gavianne’s pretty brows knit sharply.
“…His Majesty has not yet arrived.”
As Ilias barely steadied himself and spoke in a low voice, Karl nodded enthusiastically with a childlike expression.
Then, dragging his slippers along the floor, he walked over and began stabbing at the food laid out in the banquet hall with a fork and eating it.
“……”
At this point, the absurdity of the situation had grown so overwhelming that Ilias almost felt like just letting whatever happens happen.
He tried to fix his disheveled hair and approached his mother Adne.
“Mother.”
“…Ah, Ilias.”
Adne seemed frightened by the tense atmosphere, but when Ilias approached and took her hand, she softened instantly, smiling as she held his hand back.
With her honey-colored hair neatly tied up and her bright hazel eyes, Adne didn’t look like a mother with a grown son at all when she smiled like that.
“…That is the Fourth Prince, correct?”
“Yes, Mother.”
Answering her cautious question, Ilias quietly watched Karl acting like a fool.
Karl didn’t even bother to properly serve himself. He simply stabbed at a cake with his fork and shoveled it into his mouth. After sniffing some alcohol and frowning, he picked up a cup of a sweet drink and gulped it down.
To the imperial members and to the nobles, he looked nothing short of a barbarian.
…No, rather, he looked exactly like what everyone had expected: the foolish, incompetent, pathetic Fourth Prince Karl of low birth.
“It would be best to step back a little.”
Gavianne was completely stunned by the savage way Karl was eating. Something she had never seen before in her life.
Eingir who had been at the center of the party gently led her away toward the edge of the hall.
“His Imperial—!”
A servant who was about to shout something quickly shut his mouth as the doors of the banquet hall swung open forcefully.
“……”
Raising a hand to stop the servant, Emperor Madius of the empire slowly surveyed the now-silent hall with the presence of a lion.
A strange glint appeared in his sun-like eyes.
Step.
“Y-Your Majesty!”
The moment Madius took a step forward, it was as if time itself, which had been frozen, began to move again. Everyone lowered their heads toward him.
Karl’s bizarre behavior was nothing compared to Madius’s presence.
Like the sun rising, like a supreme being stepping forth to rule over insignificant beasts, the disorderly atmosphere was instantly brought back into order.
Without sparing even a glance for the nobles bowing before him, Madius walked straight ahead and stopped in front of Karl who was eating like an animal.
Karl who was now practically a barbarian stuffing food into his mouth with his hands, paused mid-chew.
His eyes flicked to the side, and after a brief moment of consideration, he turned to face Madius while still clutching food tightly in his hand.
Chewing diligently, Karl bowed his head deeply, then glanced around before awkwardly bending at the waist, mimicking what the other nobles were doing.
“Hello, Father.”
“……”
Everyone who heard it broke into a cold sweat.
As the nobles stood there, not knowing how to react to Karl’s absurd words, Madius slowly opened his mouth.
“Why did you bow your head?”
Why would he ask that?
Just as that thought crossed their minds, Karl answered calmly.
“Brother Ilias told me to.”
Still holding Adne’s hand and slowly stepping back, Ilias felt like he wanted to scream.
Startled, he cautiously lifted his head only to see Madius staring straight at him with those sun-like eyes.
“I see. You are playing the role of an elder brother well.”
“…Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Caught off guard by the unexpected remark, Ilias hesitated for a moment before responding quietly and lowering his head again.
He couldn’t understand what either Karl or Madius was thinking.
“Well done, Ilias.”
“……”
At Madius’s praise, chills ran down Ilias’s spine, leaving him unable to move. Still, he tightly held his terrified mother’s hand and, with his trademark bright smile, replied:
“I only did what was necessary for my younger brother, Your Majesty.”
Madius slowly nodded, then spoke with only his lips moving, wearing an unreadable expression.
“Even so, preserving the imperial bloodline is a great merit. Is there something you desire?”
For a brief moment, Ilias unconsciously glanced at Karl. But Karl still wore an innocent expression, avoiding Madius’s gaze while secretly stuffing the cake in his hand into his mouth.
“How could I dare covet anything of the imperial family?”
…A statement that could be interpreted politically.
“I see.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
That was the end of it. Madius took his gaze off Ilias and turned back to Karl.
“Why have you come here dressed like that?”
“Huh? Is something wrong?”
With his dirty hands, Karl fumbled at his pristine white nightclothes, only making them even messier.
Then, with a face that suggested he knew nothing, he looked straight at Madius… yes, meeting his eyes directly, and spoke.
“This is all I have. I didn’t know I was supposed to wear something else.”
At Karl’s words, Madius slowly nodded and spoke in an even tone.
“To allow one of imperial blood to wander about in such attire. The discipline of the imperial family has fallen to the ground.”
As if thunder had struck, everyone froze in fear, holding their breath.
“Punish the one responsible.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The head butler Orten bowed and answered at once.
Though Cecil is the only one who looks after Karl, there is still an attendant assigned to him according to imperial protocol.
It was Madius who wanted that attendant used for other duties, and it was the head butler Orten who understood his intent and reassigned him elsewhere.
However, the attendant would have to bear the responsibility.
“Karl.”
From the moment he entered the banquet hall, Madius called Karl’s name with the same expression, the same presence, the same voice.
“This is a gathering to celebrate your recovery, yet seeing you now, you do not seem fit to be here.”
“Ah, I just heard there was food, so I came. I’ll be going now.”
Karl spoke lightly, as if he truly knew nothing.
And while everyone else dared not lift their heads and thus could not see him, in this moment when only Madius was looking directly at him, he savored it.
Karl thought that, at least for now, there was only one thing he needed to know from the etiquette he had learned from the attendant.
For this very moment.
As he had been taught, Karl stepped his left foot back, placed his right hand over his chest, and gave a slight bow.
A posture that, to anyone watching, was flawless, disciplined, courteous, and elegant.
And yet, the gaze of a wild beast crouched in the undergrowth, eyes raised to sate its hunger.
Karl held that bow as he stared straight at Madius.
Despite his shabby appearance and filthy clothes, it was unmistakably something befitting the child of a lion.
Karl proved that Madius’s judgment had not been wrong.
He etched clearly into the mind of the emperor of the great thousand-year empire that he belonged here more than anyone else.
“I’ll be on my way now, Father.”
Karl once again took on the face of an innocent, ignorant child and, blatantly ignoring imperial etiquette, walked past Madius and left the banquet hall without his permission.
Madius watched Karl’s small, frail back with an unchanged expression before opening his mouth.
“I was so distracted I even forgot to speak. You may all raise your heads now.”
At those words, the nobles finally lifted their heads. However, none of them could meet Madius’s gaze and could only stare at the floor.
Madius moved forward with the unhurried steps of a beast, passing those who avoided his eyes, and took his seat. The one reserved for the emperor alone.
Madius had already known that Karl would take part in the struggle for the throne.
He had also long since seen through the fact that this Karl was a completely different, peculiar being compared to before.
However, even Madius could not tell how greatly this new Karl might expand the scope of the game.
And yet, that weak and insignificant thing had just spoken to him with confidence.
I have nothing, so there is nothing I can do on my own. So I suppose I’ll have to take a few things from someone who has plenty.
In a low voice, yet carrying a deep resonance that echoed throughout the banquet hall, Madius spoke.
“Why is no one enjoying the party?”
Reading the mood, the nobles approached cautiously and, starting with the highest-ranking noble, bowed to Madius. Following imperial protocol, they introduced themselves to the emperor first and paid their respects.
So, he saw through it. My intentions.
Madius accepted their greetings with an unchanged expression as he thought this.
He could not assume that Karl knew all of his plans through the memories of Han Chang-in, so from Madius’s perspective, it was a natural conclusion.
The First Prince Valos already behaved as if the empire were his.
The Second Prince Eingir possessed the greatest talent among the princes, yet had no desire to act.
The Third Prince Ilias had the support of the military thanks to his cheerful nature and formidable strength, yet spent his time wandering outside instead.
And yet, the so-called “failure” who had spent sixteen years on the brink of death doing nothing had suddenly risen above all adversity, opened his eyes wide, and declared to Madius:
That seat will be mine.
Madius found that rather amusing.
Originally, he had intended to back Ilias and shift the balance of power, but now he had gained another card to play.
If Karl possessed sufficient ability, it might not be a bad idea to support him and let him run wild.
“Valos already holds great power, and Eingir is reaching out from the shadows. I will raise Karl to maintain the balance, and use Ilias as the counterweight to restore it depending on the situation.”
Of course, Karl would have to prove that he had the ability.
If, despite his boldness, he turned out to be nothing more than a nobody. If he was merely an arrogant flea, then he would simply be discarded.
And then, as originally planned, Adne would be taken as a hostage and Ilias would be raised to form a triangular balance.
“How far will he go?”
Seated high above, Madius looked down at everything that looked up at him and leisurely made his next move.
***
The next day, Karl was rewarded by Madius for displaying the arrogance befitting a member of the imperial family.
The price of that reward was placing Karl’s life on the scales.
In one week, Karl would have to leave the imperial palace to subjugate a large outbreak of monsters in the northern part of the empire, in the territory of Baron Hilpin.
It was a duty personally assigned by Emperor Madius to the Fourth Prince Karl.
He had openly shown his intention to give that weak, lowborn whelp that was no different from a beast the chance to seize power.
However, the fact that Karl who until just days ago had been on the brink of death and unable to even breathe properly was now assigned to subjugate monsters could just as easily be interpreted as a sign that he was being disposed of because he was a nuisance.
The situation was so sudden that no one could make a clear judgment about it.
Except for Karl.
Originally, this subjugation mission had been assigned to Ilias in the original story.
And Ilias had taken knights and mages from House Beria and wiped out the monsters in an instant.
Saying things like, “It wasn’t much, not even interesting”, he rejected Madius’s intention to lend him support.
But for Karl, it would not be so easy.
Compared to Ilias, a genius who would reach the master level in just one year, and the power of the swords and staves backed by the immensely wealthy House Beria, Karl right now is no better than a newborn.
He could die. But Karl had to pass this trial.
After all, if he failed, death was the only outcome.
“Just as I wanted.”
Karl clenched his teeth against the overwhelming current of fate that relentlessly drove him toward death.
At last, he had taken his first step.
Now, there was truly no turning back.
He had no choice but to keep running forward without end.
Leave a Reply