Chapter 86 : Chapter 86

Chapter 86 - Plotting a Rebellion

Tinkle—

“Welcome. Levering Firearms…. Ah, it's you, Young Master.”

Reggie, who was managing the store as always, was wiping a gun barrel.

These days, he spent more time alone than before.

Josephine was practically living in Belir, and Kio had recently met his family and was living with them.

So Reggie picked up a cloth more often than usual.

He wiped the guns more often than usual, and the shop sparkled more than usual.

“Are you planning to see your reflection in the barrel?”

He laughed awkwardly.

“Maintenance is a hobby, and it makes time fly. Despite how I may look, I'm quite the neat freak.”

“‘Despite how you look,’ you say. You have no choice but to be a neat freak, don't you.”

“Haha. I’m not sure what you mean. In any case, what brings you here? Josephine is in Belir.”

“I came here for you.”

“Are you planning on expanding the gun shop for me? If so, I’ll devote my entire being to helping you.”

Reggie, who answered slyly, finally put the firearm down and began to assemble it.

He set down the soot-covered cloth and fitted the parts in order.

“When you wipe and polish them like this, foreign substances sometimes come out from the inside. Every time that happens, my heart sinks.”

A misfire.

It was only natural that the moment one had to pull the trigger was a moment when life teetered on the brink of death.

A misfire that unluckily occurred at such a moment was perfect for ending one's life.

“Since misfortunes like misfires can be eliminated beforehand. Isn't this a hobby that extends one's lifespan, in a way?”

“Speaking of that lifespan, now that you've extended it this far, have you any thought of betting it on a big job?”

Reggie laughed heartily and slowly shook his head.

“I don't know what it is, but I'll take care of my own affairs, and you, Young Master, will be able to accomplish anything without the help of someone like me.”

“Well. I agree with that statement, but I have no choice but to refute it this time.”

I took my hands out of my pockets and naturally clasped them behind my back.

The well-built man standing before my eyes.

His stance, his maintenance method, his meticulousness.

He was a trained soldier, and from his posture, an officer.

But he didn't become a soldier because he wanted to.

He became a soldier to survive.

But he had to die on the battlefield against his will.

“William Reggie Krawl. The third prince of the Julsin Kingdom.”

“……”

The soldier's hand naturally caressed the gun.

But it had no bullets, and he couldn't shoot.

He couldn't do that to the benefactor of those he considered family.

A hand that couldn't move.

A body that had frozen stiff.

His ears had to keep listening to my ensuing words.

“He withdrew from the succession competition and suddenly entered a military academy. After graduating with excellent grades, he was commissioned as an officer, but for some reason, he wandered the front lines.”

“…Please stop.”

“A soldier is a being who receives someone's orders. After the ‘mysterious’ death of the Second Prince, Commander William was always made to wander only the most dangerous battlefields. What was the reason?”

There was no answer.

It didn't matter.

Since I knew the answer anyway.

“It was because of the check from the First Prince, who is confirmed to be the next king of the current Julsin Kingdom. You faked your death to escape that check.”

His beard trembled faintly.

From below it, a small, empty puff of air escaped his lips.

“You know one thing. But you don't know the other.”

“What is it?”

“First of all…”

That it wasn't a faked death but a planned crime by someone else.

Secondly, that he had no intention of running away.

And that he never once had the slightest thought of wanting to sit on the throne.

“I believed the throne belonged to my older brothers, and my mother, who was of no great status, always told me.”

Stay out of the competition.

That is your path to survival.

“So I lived my whole life lying low. I cast aside the little power I had as a prince and the people who followed me, and became a soldier.”

But they were still not at ease.

Ssk—

He lifted his shirt.

An ugly burn scar ran across from his side to his chest.

“A ground-based cannon supplied from above to hunt a monster. When the shell placed in it self-detonated, my resolve also died along with my subordinates.”

Resolve.

I will not become king.

Even if someone places the crown on my head, I will take it off again and yield it to my older brother.

The young prince's resolve died that day.

“Did you say my life? I'll bet it all. As long as I can achieve my new resolve.”

What could have changed anew?

Neither of them said it, but they could tell.

A big job and a new resolve.

That compound word once again came out of the Youngest Son's mouth.

“Rebellion”

Reggie’s shoulders trembled slightly.

“Even if you don't want to, I will make you king. That is why I came here.”

How could he not want it?

How could he possibly refuse?

Josephine and Kio both met the wave that was the Youngest Son and were swept away, and in doing so, they obtained what they wanted.

But having watched from the side twice, Reggie seemed to understand.

This man was not a wave.

‘The wind…’

He was the wind that creates the waves.

This time, that wind was about to stir up a new wave.

Why did that wave and wind come to us, and why did they push us forward?

“Is all of this… a coincidence?”

“I don't know what you mean.”

“You know what I mean. Me, standing here in this demonic realm. Kio, who is with his family. Josephine, in her engineering workshop. I'm asking if all of this is a coincidence.”

A coincidence that fit the situation too well.

From the listener's perspective, it was a strange question to answer.

It was as if…

“The revolution and rotation of a planet. The life that came into being because of it. Is this coincidence? Or is it fate? Why don't you try to answer.”

“……”

“The answer is, I don't know. Isn't that it? It's the same for me. Whether it's a coincidence or not. Why you all are in front of my eyes. I don't know.”

The Youngest Son turned around, his hands clasped behind his back.

“It's tomorrow. A meeting to plot the rebellion will be held at the Dark Moon Grand Castle, so follow the Head Maid’s guidance.”

“Under, stood.”

The Youngest Son came out of the gun shop.

I'm good at uncovering lies, but I don't know if I'm good at telling them.

Seeing that Reggie just let it slide, it seemed I had some talent in this area as well.

‘Coincidence, you say. What coincidence could there be in this world?’

It was my personal theory, but I believed it to be so.

At least from the moment I suddenly began living as the Youngest Son, there were no coincidences.

Josephine. Kio. Reggie.

For the three of them, meeting me was a coincidence.

But from my perspective, it was fate, it was a plan, and it was a struggle for survival.

If it looked like a coincidence, I was grateful.

***

As if by coincidence.

As if such coincidences piled up to become an inevitability.

Or as if it were fate.

Four individuals, entangled like the fine roots beneath a lawn, gathered in a single garden, at a single table.

The discussion proceeded quickly.

There was no room for awkwardness.

It would be strange to be timid when they had come to plot a rebellion.

They knew their roles, their uses, and spoke within those bounds.

Except for the collateral branch member who did not yet know hers.

First, the Youngest Son.

“A coup d'état. First, we must not call it a coup d'état.”

As the one standing at the very top, he did what only he could do.

“This is the homecoming ceremony of a war hero. It must be welcomed, and it deserves to be praised. The reinstatement will be achieved amidst everyone's blessings.”

He framed the coup d'état as a homecoming ceremony.

This was the privilege of a noble.

The great merchant also nodded and continued.

“To do that, rather than laying siege with a large-scale force, we must make the people of the kingdom open the gates themselves.”

Therefore, a large force was not needed.

That was one of the reasons for recruiting a small elite mercenary company.

“However.”

Reggie opened his mouth.

William Reggie Krawl.

Everyone's eyes turned toward him.

Perhaps because it had been a while since he received such attention.

Reggie continued in a slightly softer voice.

“Isn't this an overly optimistic situation?”

Not just one thing.

Most of the plan was dangerously reliant on a single coincidence.

“You say an incident that could overturn the kingdom will occur, caused by the king himself or his actions.”

He said kingdom, not a domain belonging to the kingdom.

This meant.

“Doesn't that mean the capital city, Krawl, will fall?”

“Correct.”

“Is there any evidence that a major incident of this scale will occur in the future?”

“The evidence.”

This time, everyone's eyes turned to the Youngest Son.

“Doesn't exist yet.”

But what came back was a disappointing answer.

A drop of sweat trickled down Anthia’s back.

It was surprising enough that a legitimate heir, who was thought to be dead and whose whereabouts were unknown, had appeared.

But regardless of what was surprising or not, a rebellion had to be perfect in every aspect.

Even then, success was not guaranteed in a treasonous plot.

Silence fell over the room.

“The tea’s fragrance is especially good today.”

And yet, the Youngest Son leisurely enjoyed his tea.

The tea's aroma was indeed good.

But if things continued like this, the next thing I might smell could be the stench of my own burning corpse.

Jubel was the one to speak up.

“…Young Master. I am prepared to believe everything you say. Even that the gun shop owner is in fact the third prince who was processed as deceased.”

“Thank you.”

That brief thanks left him at a loss for words.

But he had to say what he had to say.

“Is there even a sign that this major incident will occur? In the first place, why would a king destroy his own capital?”

“The king won't do it. What kind of king would be mad enough to do that?”

“Then who on earth would? Who would do such a thing?”

The Youngest Son smiled.

“It would be the person who is most desperate right now.”

Knock, knock—

Someone knocked on the door from outside.

It was the Head Maid.

“Young Master. An urgent message has arrived from Cailin-nim.”

“Already?”

It’s faster than I thought.

“He must have been more desperate than I thought.”

“What should I relay to Lady Cailin?”

“It's fine. I will go to the scene myself. Tell ‘The Watchman’ to prepare to accompany me.”

“Understood.”

The conversation through the door ended.

Anthia asked blankly.

“The scene… what are you referring to?”

“The scene of the incident. The one full of the evidence we want.”

The faster I go, the more valuable the evidence will be.

That's why I had the wolves' ears perked up.

And that bite just came.

“Today’s meeting ends here. Return to your respective places and act as you normally would.”

Grabbing his overcoat, he was the first to leave the meeting room.

Silence once again filled the place.

If anything had changed, it was that one person’s face had brightened considerably.

“I'll see you all next time. With healthy faces.”

Jubel Maxman.

He left the room with a relaxed expression and a relaxed tone.

The money-grubber who had been grilling a direct blood relative just a moment ago was gone.

Once again, only trust remained.

Anthia, unable to believe what she was seeing with her own two eyes, grabbed the wrist of the departing man.

“W-Wait a moment.”

“What is it?”

“How did your worries vanish as if you'd flipped your hand? There was no reason for them to.”

Jubel gazed into the air for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“The Young Master once said to me. Let's each do our best in our own positions.”

“…What about it?”

“The reason I became serious was that it seemed there was no place for the Young Master to do his best.”

“Yes…?”

“But the Young Master has just found that place, and he has gone to do his best. Then the job will succeed.”

She couldn't understand even after hearing it.

Her questions only multiplied in size.

Anthia’s face wavered with question marks.

Jubel patted her shoulder.

“Relax. And wait. Until your turn comes. So that you can do your best when that turn comes.”

“Ye-Yes.”

“I will now go to do my best.”

Jubel opened the door and left.

“Best….”

Reggie muttered quietly.

Then, after a moment.

He grabbed his coat and strode away.

It was the walk of a man who had realized what his best was.

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