Chapter 90 : Chapter 90

Chapter 90 - Prince Charming on a White Horse

Administrative Grand Officer Charles Hakoel.

Military Affairs Grand Officer Albert LeCovier.

The two grand officers in charge of the kingdom's internal and external affairs were summoned before the First Prince in broad daylight.

The reason was a report thrown before them like garbage.

“Read it.”

The First Prince, now old and finding it difficult to attend to state affairs, spoke in a voice mixed with fury in place of his father.

Now that he, the next king, was even acting as a regent.

The one standing before them was no different from a king.

The king, who could be considered to be in his prime along with his youth, was furious today.

His face turned red without any warning.

Why?

Military Affairs Grand Officer Albert carefully unfolded the reason.

“…!!”

At the same time, his eyes widened.

Administrative Grand Officer Charles, who was examining the contents from the side, closed his eyes.

It was a sign that what was bound to happen had happened.

So only the one who saw it for the first time broke out in a cold sweat.

“Your Highness. This is—”

“Your Majesty. Call me Your Majesty.”

Ssk—

A scepter that flashed as if gripping lightning even with minimal lighting.

A symbol of the king, and something only those with royal blood could hold.

“As long as this royal scepter is in my hand, I am the king of Julsin, your master, and the monarch of this land. Have you forgotten that?”

“……”

Charles remained silent.

Albert bowed his head and corrected himself.

“The contents of the report were so absurd that I misspoke. I offer my apologies.”

“That is enough. Tell me about the report. What on earth happened.”

Why on earth.

For what reason.

“Did this strange rumor that my youngest brother is alive come all the way up to the royal council chamber? You two general managers, answer me.”

Albert, on his knees, glanced sideways.

Isn't this something you should know?

—was the clear meaning contained in his gaze.

It was the same for the First Prince.

Administrative Grand Officer Charles, who had been silent, opened his lips that seemed sealed with glue.

“A week ago. I also heard this rumor.”

One day, while strolling through the capital in ordinary clothes as usual.

“Children were running around the streets, singing a song. The lyrics were as follows.”

The three little pigs.

The first ran away from the wolf and sold out the second to save himself.

The third, who built a good house and protected his older brother, had his house taken away by the first and was unjustly chased out.

Kudududuk—

A thick vein popped out on the hand gripping the royal scepter.

But the song was not yet over.

“The wronged third pig could not close his eyes. He refused to be bitten to death by the wolf. He will return alive and reclaim his house.”

“……”

The royal scepter trembled uncontrollably along with the body of the one holding it.

Albert banged his head on the floor and shouted.

“I will swiftly capture the one who spread such slander. I will have them put to death by extreme punishment, so Your Majesty, please calm your mind and body.”

Then he immediately turned his head.

“Administrative Grand Officer, how could you not have reported such news to me as soon as you heard it! No, why did you not track them down immediately!”

“Track them down, you say? Are you saying, Military Affairs Grand Officer, that I should have arrested the children who were busy playing?”

“If it leads to a clue for the investigation, then of course. Shouldn't we exterminate the scoundrels who made the children spread such a song!”

“The reason I did not report this matter to the Military Affairs Grand Officer first, and the reason His Majesty came to learn of this through a report. These two are the same.”

The First Prince's eyes narrowed.

“Speak.”

Ssk—

Charles raised his head and looked at the prince sitting on the throne.

“It was just a children's song.”

It was just a few lines of a song sung by children running through the market streets.

“His Highness, the Third Prince William, has once again risen to the surface of memory, regardless of commoner or serf.”

It didn't just stop at rising.

“People began to mourn him, and when the song rang out, some were seen wiping away their tears. Do you know why?”

“…Administrative Grand Officer. That is enough.”

“It is because of the military achievements of the Third Prince.”

Charles did not stop.

“The Third Prince roamed the front lines, protecting the sons and daughters of thousands of parents who had homes in the capital, and in turn was protected, striving for their safety.”

The East was a land filled with yin energy.

The front lines of each kingdom, where human hands could hardly reach, were teeming with dangerous things.

“The Third Prince, who toiled while roaming such harsh lands and other harsh lands, eventually died in the line of duty in an ‘unfortunate accident’.”

A hero is not how he lives.

It is how he dies.

The Third Prince William was a prince and a noble who died protecting the common people.

He became the war hero of the common people, an almost unique existence that wouldn't even be in a fairy tale.

“Military Affairs Grand Officer, please answer. What was that unfortunate accident?”

“……”

He did not open his mouth.

He knew that if he opened his mouth here, a sword might enter that open mouth.

He himself should have known that.

Administrative Grand Officer Charles opened his mouth once more.

“Your Majesty. Please face the situation. The common people are still looking for the deceased Third Prince William.”

The reason, of course, was because life was hard.

It was because they needed a place to lean on.

“Recently, you have given the entire forest of the kingdom to an elder of Millesdusk and even provided conveniences, which has reduced the jobs of the common people and impoverished their lives.”

“Administrative Grand Officer! In return, did we not gain an advantageous position in trade with other countries by piggybacking on the elder's reputation!”

“That is our position. Not the lives of the common people.”

“You really—!”

“Enough. I want to hear how far this goes.”

The hand holding the royal scepter had already lost its strength.

If he put more strength into it, it felt like it would break.

He relaxed his grip because he felt he might smash the head of the powerful retainer in front of him.

Charles said.

“You must immediately reclaim more than half of the forest given to the elder of Millesdusk and return it to the people.”

The First Prince, who had been listening quietly, finally nodded his head.

“Everything the Administrative Grand Officer says is correct.”

“In that case…!”

Charles's face brightened for a moment.

“That I am still trapped in my youngest brother's shadow. That the people still miss my youngest brother. That I cannot even defeat my dead youngest brother.”

“Y-Your Majesty…! The Administrative Grand Officer did not mean it in that way—”

“That I, the king of Julsin—!”

Albert trembled and lowered his body even further.

“That I am currently blinded by my own interests and neglecting the people. Everything the Administrative Grand Officer says is correct.”

The First Prince slowly walked down from the throne.

He lowered himself in front of Charles.

And met his eyes at the same level.

“Is that so. Administrative Grand Officer. Should I accept it this way? Look me in the eye. Think again. And speak.”

They looked at each other at the same height as the king.

The retainer shed tears.

Tears so hot they felt like they would burn if touched.

They flowed down his wrinkled face and fell onto the luxurious marble.

“Where have you gone…. The one who, as a child, thought of the powerless people and pitied them, where on earth have you gone.”

“…Grand Officer Charles. The one who has changed is you.”

He continued, as if chewing his words.

“You treated me as if I were the one who would pull this country out of its slump, as if I would become a hero, but when my youngest brother was born…”

All interest was cut off and, as if by magic, shifted to his youngest brother.

He abandoned the First Prince and went to the Third Prince, teaching him and delighting in it.

And brought tension to the succession competition.

And yet, he did not stay by the Third Prince's side until the end and did not move to the front lines.

“William was killed by you. Your lack of decisiveness created an opening and killed him.”

The silent retainer finally nodded slowly.

“…Yes. I killed him.”

That is why he regretted it.

“I, who could not persuade the Third Prince to join the succession competition, now resent myself like crazy.”

“……”

The First Prince grabbed the royal scepter and stood up.

“Charles Hakoel. As of today, I dismiss you from the position of Administrative Grand Officer. You are to be confined in the capital prison. And Military Affairs Grand Officer.”

“…Yes. Your Majesty.”

“You are to arrest the sinner who is disturbing the state affairs by spreading strange rumors and bring them before me.”

“I will obey your command.”

The Military Affairs Grand Officer grabbed Charles's arm and pulled him up.

After bowing his head, he dragged him away.

He was left alone in the council chamber again.

Nothing was different from before.

From some point on, he had always been alone, and because he was alone, he was the only one to inherit the throne.

But recently, he had a visitor.

“Your Majesty. Elder Kian requests an audience.”

“…Elder Kian? Yes, yes. Show him in at once.”

The First Prince hastily tidied his appearance in front of the mirror.

From now on, the Julsin Kingdom, with the Millesdusk elder on its back, would leap over dozens of steps.

That would be an achievement that even William could not accomplish.

And a king who achieved such a feat would be remembered by all as a monarch like no other.

***

Dark Moon Grand Castle.

The secret archives of the demon worshipers.

Recently, the Youngest Son had been spending his time cooped up here when he had no work.

There were written accounts of methods of sacrificial rituals and cases of failure.

The Youngest Son indulged in those pasts and accumulated knowledge.

The Butler and Enad had said that the knowledge of the worshipers could affect his mind, but.

‘To a player, this is nothing more than lore.’

The Youngest Son scoffed and put the knowledge into his head one by one.

So he could roughly guess Elder Kian's plan.

“Yes. Are you saying you are on a different level from the demon worshipers who lived here?”

[What do you mean by that.]

Enad chimed in.

Since it was about that damn old man, he was strangely motivated.

“The scale is different. Eclipse was built up little by little, like the worshipers building a tower, but Kian is trying to do it all at once.”

[Are you saying he's trying to create a new Eclipse.]

“It feels like that, but. I have a feeling there's something more. The family would never allow it.”

[To turn a country's capital into a demonic realm without revealing himself. Why would he willingly jump into hellfire.]

Why, you ask.

The answer was simple.

“Because to him, this is hell right now. It's the opposite for us.”

Being unable to catch the Family Head's eye and being branded as incompetent and a failure in the family was hell for him.

If he was already on top of hellfire, why couldn't he jump into the inferno?

As an elder of Millesdusk, he seemed to have a lot, but he had already lost everything.

The tenth strongest in the family with nothing to lose.

That was the enemy he had to face this time.

“Young Master!”

While he was buried in books.

The Butler came running down.

“The Head Maid said everyone's gathered!”

It was already the fourth rebellion plotting session.

It looked like a school club meeting, but the words exchanged were not light in weight.

Didn't they just see the effectiveness of the rumor last time?

The name and presence of the Third Prince had once again risen in the Julsin Kingdom.

Not only in the capital, but also on the front lines where his influence was strong, they said they had even raised the Third Prince's flag, however small.

Reggie looked bewildered.

That he, who was just a royal who had been dead for a long time to others, was still being talked about.

“Now that we've raised his existence among the people. The next step is to highlight it.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“I'm thinking of utilizing the demons' specialty. To touch the weak parts of the human heart and make it manifest as a huge emotion.”

“Then am I the main focus this time?”

The Youngest Son smiled and shook his head.

“There's no need to use such real power. If we do that, we'll be the ones leaving a pretext.”

Seeds of discontent had already been sown in the capital, and they had grown and were just waiting to be harvested.

Ironically.

The king himself had planted the seeds and watered them himself.

Since he had sown them so well for passersby to harvest, how easy it was to use.

And last time, he even gave them fertilizer.

“We spread a rumor. We told an interesting song to someone with a good imagination. As they exchange their impressions and chatter among themselves, internal strife also becomes easier.”

Not only that.

“The king, who has lost one place to lean on after another, will rely more on the elder, and the elder, thinking it's the right thing to do, will add fuel to the plan.”

Then the demonic transformation would accelerate and show a gap.

That gap is the hardship and rebellious spirit of the people, which accelerates along with the plan.

When the torches and farm tools are raised as if to touch the sky.

Right at that moment.

“Our fabricated hero will appear before the populace, and on a white horse, with a sword in hand, he will attack the king.”

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