Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Fake Crown Prince (6)
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In response to the question about the Immortal Legion's strength, the Fake Crown Prince wore an arrogant expression.
Anyone would think he had already obtained that power.
“My uncle said that gaining the Immortal Legion is like acquiring an undying Sword Master. So it must be on the scale of a legion, at least.”
A legion meant roughly sixty thousand troops.
It was unclear whether that referred to the number of soldiers or the overall might.
But if undying beings possessed legion-level power, they would certainly be a threat.
Was that truly the case, though?
How certain were they of this power's existence?
“Have you confirmed its reality?”
“Not exactly, but that doesn’t mean it’s some unverified phantom.”
He smirked and puffed out his chest.
“The more the ritual progresses, the more the island’s ecosystem changes. Do you think this island was colorless from the start?”
The Crown Prince put on a grave expression and once again displayed the pattern engraved on his arm.
“As the pattern on my arm deepened and grew more vivid, the island lost its greenery. When I first arrived here, this place was a lush, beautiful island teeming with foliage. That alone proves some immense power is growing within me.”
Hm.
If the island’s ecosystem was changing in tandem with the ritual’s progress, it didn’t seem like mere illusion.
“How far along is the ritual?”
“We’re in the final stages. It’ll be complete soon. That’s why my uncle came here too. What do you think that means?”
The Crown Prince declared boldly. A spark of vitality flickered in his eyes as he continued.
“It means this body will soon return to Francia!”
“And then?”
“I’ll rule Francia with my own hands.”
His words brimmed with swelling ambition.
For him, it must have been the moment he had awaited for the past ten years.
The Fake Crown Prince spoke as if currying favor.
“So all you have to do is wait for me now. I’ll create a kingdom where you can all live with smiles on your faces.”
When we said nothing, he misinterpreted our silence and suddenly reclaimed the dignity he had discarded until now.
“If you apologize politely even now, I shall personally forgive your past rudeness. I am a man of such magnanimity. Hm-hm-hah!”
The Fake Crown Prince burst into hearty laughter from the depths of his delusions.
……Why on earth had Halent chosen such a dimwit?
“Allen, explain the overall situation to him.”
“Yes.”
Allen nodded bitterly.
We hadn’t corrected his misconceptions up to this point.
It was to grasp the general situation.
Now that we had a surface-level understanding, it was time to snap this fool out of it.
Only then could we have a proper conversation.
Of course, he wouldn’t readily believe us, but for the future, he needed to know the truth.
“Wait.”
He raised a hand to halt Allen.
Then he glared at me with displeasure.
What’s this bastard’s problem now?
“Something’s been bothering me for a while.”
The Fake Crown Prince pointed at me.
“You… we share the same name.”
That was a grievance for me as well.
For some impostor who wasn’t me to use my name.
As I stayed silent, his momentum grew, and he pressed on.
“You’d do well to change your name while I’m asking nicely. It irks me greatly that you share a name with the one true rightful heir.”
“Rather than changing names, it’d be quicker if one of us died.”
“……”
The blustering fool clamped his mouth shut.
He knew full well that if one of us had to die, it would be him.
After a moment of silence, he relaxed his stiff expression and forced an awkward laugh.
“Well, I suppose I can overlook something as trivial as shared names with my broad mind. A man who will rule a nation must have such magnanimity, after all. Haha.”
What a bountiful crapshoot.
I shook my head and signaled Allen with my eyes.
Meaning: get on with it.
Allen cautiously began.
“Your Highness, I have something to say.”
His tone was utterly deferential. Aside from me, the others were according him some respect, considering he might be genuine.
Pleased by Allen’s courtesy, he lifted his chin and nodded.
“Very well. Speak.”
“It seems Your Highness has many misconceptions about Francia.”
“Misconceptions? In what regard?”
“Hm. Almost everything. Rather than picking them apart one by one, it might be better to explain Francia’s current overall situation.”
“Fine. Go ahead.”
With the Crown Prince’s permission, Allen concisely yet powerfully recounted Francia’s events over the past ten years.
The Crown Prince vehemently objected to the facts that contradicted what he knew, but at my instruction to hear him out, he writhed in his seat and listened to the end.
Once the tale concluded, he stared at me with a dazed gaze.
“……You expect me to believe that? That the empire I thought was like a father turned out to be a domestic abuser trampling his child’s nation?”
“Pathetic fool. Who’s the father? They’re nothing but thieves who stole our country.”
He blinked and bit his lower lip at my words.
“So the empire I believed was my father isn’t a domestic abuser but a thief who invaded the neighbor’s house uninvited?”
“……Yeah.”
I didn’t know why he framed it that way, but I agreed for now. He gaped like a fish in profound shock, then suddenly shot to his feet and bellowed.
“You bastards! How dare you! Are you mocking me? Who’d fall for such lies!”
He glared at us, seething with rage.
I figured he wouldn’t believe it so easily.
The situation was far from conducive to blind faith.
What we told him clashed entirely with what he knew.
Halent was our enemy, but to him, Halent was the one who had cared for him for ten years after his amnesia.
It was only natural he’d believe Halent over us.
“What’s your true purpose in coming here? Confess honestly!”
The agitated fool yelled and jabbed a finger at me.
“So you’ve all conspired to make a fool of me? You miscalculated! This body won’t be swayed by such petty schemes!”
“Sit down first.”
“Who do you think you’re ordering—?”
Crack!
“Gahhh!”
Clutching his head and screaming, he finally shut his mouth amid groans of pain.
As the pain subsided, he glanced around embarrassedly.
Feigning composure, he sat properly and spoke.
“Ahem. I may have gotten a bit carried away. Let’s calmly discuss and exchange views.”
Even in his state, he clung to his Crown Prince pride to the end.
He continued in a resolute tone.
“Regardless, I won’t believe you no matter what. I’ll be leaving this place soon anyway. I’ll see the world with my own eyes and be done with it.”
He had a point.
If he left here, he’d learn the truth easily enough.
That made me even more curious about Halent’s intentions.
Why had he twisted the facts for something bound to be exposed eventually?
There was no reason for him—who already controlled Francia—to install a puppet king just because this fool gained the Immortal Legion.
For now, Halent’s exact motives eluded me.
As I fell silent, the fool—who had regained his nerve—shot me a menacing glare.
“So that’s why you keep calling me a fake? Because you think I’ve seen the world wrong?”
“No, that’s unrelated. You’re just a fake.”
“You bastard!”
I ignored his furious roar and continued.
“I saw a fake Halent at the Governor-General’s office. He looked and sounded exactly like the real one. They said it was Dr. Jurha’s handiwork. Meaning he can replicate someone’s face perfectly.”
“And that’s your proof this body is fake? Ridiculous. By that logic, you could be fake too.”
Iriel had mentioned this to me as well.
Indeed, this alone couldn’t distinguish the real from the fake.
Except for me.
I said,
“Then let me ask you this: how do you prove you’re real?”
“Well, of course—”
I cut off his excuse.
“You remember nothing of your fifteen years as Crown Prince. You believe you’re the Crown Prince solely on Halent’s word. But he has the ability to make fakes seem real. In that scenario, how will you prove yourself?”
“……”
He only opened and closed his mouth, unable to respond easily.
Proving oneself in his situation was no simple task.
Even if he were genuine.
When real and fake share the same appearance, the only proofs are memories of one’s life and the bonds formed therein.
But he had none of that.
Just as my lack of a Genesis life led Lucian and others to mistake my name for an alias—(Though technically, it was an alias for me.)
He lacked any life as Crown Prince, leaving him without proof.
The problem was, I had no way to prove he was fake either.
Of course, that didn’t mean there were no methods at all.
Someone could prove he was fake.
“Do you believe everything Halent says?”
“Would you believe you?”
“Then we’ll make him say it himself.”
“What?”
Everyone turned to me.
“At the very least, Halent knows all the truths.”
“Y-Yeah.”
The Fake Crown Prince replied hesitantly, and Allen spoke up with anxious eyes.
“But will he tell the truth?”
“We’ll make him. In front of us all.”
“How?”
At Iriel’s question, I looked at the Crown Prince’s complicated expression.
“This guy just needs to become a white lion for a bit.”