Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Fake Crown Prince (4)
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I coldly watched the Fake Crown Prince rising from his seat.
“You’d better answer my questions honestly from now on.”
“How insolent! I’ve clearly revealed my identity as the Crown Prince. And you dare call yourself a subject of Francia!”
The guy still hadn’t grasped the situation, his face flushing red with anger.
“I already know you’re a fake.”
“To call this body a fake! What nonsense are you—”
Crack!
“Gaaah!”
The guy let out a shrill scream and crouched down, clutching his head.
“Think before you speak.”
“To dare lay hands on this body! You’re nothing but a traitor!”
Even with bloodshot eyes from enduring the pain, he kept spouting nonsense.
He still hadn’t come to his senses.
I mercilessly flicked his forehead again.
Crack!
“Gueeeh!”
Hitting the same spot again, he rolled on the floor in agony.
I gazed down at him impassively.
Seeing my past life’s face twisted in ugliness felt strangely off-putting.
Like the feeling of hitting myself, I suppose.
That didn’t mean I’d go easy on him, though.
“I said I know you’re a fake.”
“…….”
Clutching his head, he just glared this time, saying nothing. His eyes suggested he didn’t want another hit, not that he was admitting he was fake.
“I know you changed your face through surgery, so there’s no need to keep up the act.”
“Who’s acting? You must be mistaken. This body is the sole legitimate heir of the Francia royal family, Genes Kuhn Francia. I’ll personally forgive your rudeness so far, so bow your head and apologize deeply.”
I stared impassively at the guy who’d shot to his feet, trying to act dignified with his nose in the air.
His expression made it seem like he truly believed it.
What the hell was this guy’s deal?
Was he just dense?
Or...
I shifted the direction of my questions.
“Are you under some kind of restriction? If so, nod.”
“Restriction? Who would dare place one on this body?”
Since he could freely talk about restrictions, that didn’t seem to be why he was acting.
I sensed something off about how this was unfolding.
He was different from the fake Halent.
I stared straight through him.
He flinched under my gaze.
He didn’t seem to be lying. So I completely changed tack.
“You’re claiming to be the real Crown Prince?”
“That’s right. If you’re a subject of Francia, show your respect at once.”
“I was at the Whalen Palace in the past. I have questions only the Crown Prince would know. Can you answer them?”
“If you worked there, you’d know my face well enough not to doubt me.”
“Then I’ll ask one.”
“W-wait a moment.”
He hurriedly reached out to stop me.
“I can’t answer that question.”
Of course not.
With an awkward expression, he continued.
“I have no memories up to age fifteen. I lost them all.”
So that’s how he played it...
It made more sense to claim total memory loss than to have memorized details superficially.
I nodded lightly, admitting I’d been uncharacteristically chatty.
Probably because he had my past life’s face, I’d subconsciously shown mercy.
Despite having a simple way to make him tell the truth, I’d put it off.
“Bite down hard. It’ll hurt more than you think.”
I mercilessly unleashed the Bone Shattering Palm.
Crack.
With the sound of twisting bones, he collapsed again, screaming and thrashing.
“G-gaaah!”
As the torture continued, Iriel couldn’t bear to watch his pitiful state and grabbed my sleeve.
“Wait! Hold on, stop!”
“Even if he’s a fake.”
She shrieked at my words.
“He might be real!”
“No, he’s fake.”
“Stop right now! Just stop!”
Iriel shook my sleeve, yelling sharply. Tears welled up in her glaring eyes.
Tch.
I reluctantly stopped the Bone Shattering Palm.
“Ugh...”
The guy curled up like a fetus, groaning.
Iriel quickly approached him to check his condition. I clicked my tongue at his whimpering.
“Making such a fuss over that.”
Iriel glared at me with eyes full of venom.
“How can you be so sure he’s fake? What if he really lost his memories!”
“I told you, I saw it. The Crown Prince died at Tenasta Square.”
“The executed Crown Prince could have been the fake! If they can make a fake look real! The one executed could have been fake!”
Iriel’s outburst left me speechless for a moment.
She was right.
I could swear he was fake because my past self had died then, but others couldn’t.
As she said, if the enemy could make a fake indistinguishable from the real thing, the executed Crown Prince might have been fake.
I fell silent for a bit before speaking.
“You expect me to believe you conveniently forgot everything from fifteen years ago?”
“Halent might have erased them on purpose! A guy who can even replicate appearances perfectly!”
She might be right again.
If he’d truly lost his past memories, this got tricky.
The atmosphere didn’t feel like mere acting.
It was too early to judge, but definitely different from the fake Halent incident.
My head throbbed.
As I hesitated, Iriel said boldly.
“To tell if he’s real or fake, we just need to restore his lost memories.”
She fiddled with her ruby necklace and continued.
“You know how people sometimes regain memories lost from sudden shock.”
Hum.
Vibrations emanated faintly from the necklace, and for the first time in a while, Iriel’s hair and eyes turned blue.
The color of a deep blue sea.
“I suspected as much. So this young lady really is that Iriel.”
It was Nederman.
He now seemed convinced she was Iriel Serious, the Crown Prince’s former fiancée.
With her original color restored, Iriel approached the Crown Prince, still reeling from the Bone Shattering Palm.
“Your Highness, it’s me. Iriel. Don’t you remember me?”
“Urgh. What are you talking about? I lost all memories up to age fifteen. I remember nothing!”
The Crown Prince forced his huddled body upright, brushing off Iriel’s helping hand, and glared at me.
Iriel pleaded earnestly with him.
“Look at me, please. We spent a lot of time together as kids.”
“I said I don’t remember! No matter how much you torture me or tear me apart, lost memories won’t come back!”
“Think hard! You promised to protect me forever. To cherish only me for life!”
Hm.
...Did I say that?
Whether I did or not, it was past life talk—nothing to worry about now.
Only then did the Fake Crown Prince look at Iriel properly amid her desperate pleas.
His eyes trembled faintly upon seeing her.
“...Who are you?”
“I’m Iriel. Your fiancée too.”
“Y-you’re my fiancée?”
The Fake Crown Prince’s eyes widened as he stared at her. For a moment, his pupils glazed over dreamily, a faint blush coloring his cheeks.
He looked utterly smitten at first sight.
What the hell was this guy doing?
“Do you remember me now?”
Heartened by his suddenly changed expression, Iriel asked. He opened his mouth cautiously, embarrassed.
“For some reason... it feels like I might...”
Should I just kill him?
“A Crown Prince regaining his memories from his fiancée’s beauty. Francia’s future looks incredibly bright.”
At Nederman’s words, the Fake Crown Prince’s face turned beet red, as if it might explode. Iriel shot him a look, and he shrugged with a grin. For once, his banter amused me.
The Fake Crown Prince cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Ahem. In any case, this body does not speak falsehoods. No amount of torture will change the truth.”
Nederman regarded him.
“Then what has Francia’s Crown Prince been doing here all this time?”
“There were circumstances. I’ll explain everything. Then you’ll clear up your misunderstandings about me.”
The Fake Crown Prince sounded quite confident.
From observing him so far, he seemed a bit dim, but I was mostly convinced he wasn’t lying.
I said.
“Is the Governor here?”
“Yes. He arrived not long ago.”
“Do you know a Dr. Jurha?”
“Dr. Jurha?”
“The skull-headed one.”
“Ah. Yes, I know him.”
“Is he here too?”
“...I’m not sure of the details, but I think he left a while ago.”
Nederman chuckled at the Crown Prince.
“His Highness’s lips seem looser than mine.”
“How insolent. It’s not loose lips—it’s that there’s no reason not to speak. Aren’t you my subjects too? Fighting for the nation’s independence. I’ve no reason to lie to you.”
Nederman glanced at me.
He was saying the same: the Fake Crown Prince wasn’t lying.
I asked.
“Why come to the mines?”
“To inspect the situation. And check on the miners’ health.”
“After your inspection, the miners didn’t look so good.”
“It was unavoidable. Beyond my control.”
“That’s why you came, wasn’t it?”
“...But there’s a mountain of other things to check too. Like maintaining drainage for rainy days, repairing building exteriors, tool conditions for quarrying. And ensuring food supplies aren’t lacking.”
The Fake Crown Prince spoke as if they were crucial matters, but he wouldn’t have come here for that.
There had to be another reason.
Just as I was about to press him, Nederman smirked.
“Coming all the way here just to nitpick everything—His Highness must’ve been really bored.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? You think I came here because I was bored!”
Iriel snapped at the teasing Nederman, who protested innocently.
“Why not? It could happen. Stuck alone on this island for so long, meddling might be your only joy. Do you think Halent left His Highness free to roam?”
“Bored? I said it was extremely important! All things requiring my personal confirmation. I’m not bored at all!”
We said nothing for a moment in the face of his sincere protest.
As silence stretched, Nederman spoke.
“Looks like I hit the nail on the head. Let’s just say no.”
“I said it’s not!”
“Enough.”
I cut him off.
He looked displeased but clamped his mouth shut.
The Bone Shattering Palm’s effect was impressive.
Anyway, it seemed boredom really was why he’d come.
I said to Nederman and Iriel.
“We’ll take the fake to the City of Immortality for now.”
“I’m not fake!”
“We can resolve the questions once we meet Halent.”
“You don’t believe me!”
I looked at the guy who kept interjecting.
He hurriedly averted his eyes from mine, pretending to stare into the distance.
To think such a pathetic wretch was impersonating me...
It was infuriating beyond words.
“Let’s go to Allen.”
With that, I turned away.
He’d probably reported the general situation by now.
No reason to linger here.
We could sort out the questions on the way to the City of Immortality.
“Can you walk?”
Turning at Iriel’s voice, I saw the Fake Crown Prince grinning sheepishly, face red.
I looked at Nederman.
“Help him.”
“Tch. Talk about entitled.”
Nederman grumbled but went to Iriel and took the Crown Prince from her.
“A green kid like you bossing around an adult—what are you?”
Feeling my cold stare, Nederman pointed at the prince beside him.
“Not you—I meant His Highness over there.”
“W-what did I do!”
The Crown Prince panicked pointlessly.
I shook my head at his pathetic display.
A short while later.
We stood before the stockade, ready to depart for the City of Immortality.
The miners, with shadowed faces, had come out to see us off.
Even after explaining the full plan, they couldn’t help but worry.
Allen shared a deep embrace with Als.
“I’ll be back soon. Take care of yourself.”
“You too. Stay safe.”
Cheris, the longest-serving miner, approached me. He glanced at the embracing Allen and Als before looking at me.
I said.
“Don’t do anything stupid.”
“...Yes, sir.”
He scratched his head awkwardly.
“Then go safely.”
I nodded in response.
As long as someone stayed until things wrapped up, there’d be no further threats.
“You’ll soon return to normal life.”
He grinned broadly, revealing yellowed teeth.
“Yes. We’ll be waiting.”
And so, leaving the miners behind, we set off for the City of Immortality.