Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Risky Gambit
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“Are you crazy? Like, actually insane?”
“Just one verse, just one.”
The entire time I was doing my home workout after getting back, Wishit nagged in my ear nonstop.
He’d lost it when I told him I’d slipped a note to Lark.
“Didn’t I say I was going to help the Crown Prince?”
“I didn’t expect you’d help by charging in without a second thought. You’re an idiot.”
“Was it such an idiotic move that I deserve to be called that?”
“Obviously.”
Wishit ground his teeth and added,
“Who in this empire right now would know that the Crown Prince suspects his own aide of being a spy and is debating whether to cut his head off? Nobody but the Crown Prince himself. Unless someone crawled into his head and out again.”
“Exactly.”
“And you’re going to spill it? What, are you advertising that you know the future? You planning to spread rumors everywhere that it’s suspicious?”
“Sure! You nailed it. Advertising and spreading rumors.”
I answered plainly and finished my workout. Wishit let out a baffled scoff as he watched me calmly roll up the mat.
“There’s no way to help the Crown Prince without letting on that I know something. Even if there was, it’d be so frustratingly slow. I don’t have the bandwidth to plot every little move right now. I’m busy enough with my own stuff.”
“What are you...!”
“Listen up.”
I calmed the worked-up Wishit and said,
“The Crown Prince is probably shocked right now after reading the note. He knows I’m aware he suspects his aide of being a spy. So, here’s the question.”
“...”
“What do you think the Crown Prince’s first thought will be after reading it? Essay question. Answer.”
“What kind of shady woman is this? He’ll suspect you. A noble lady who’s been holed up at home and never comes out knows something she shouldn’t, and she’s trying to save the life of the spy he was planning to execute? He’ll probably think you’re on the side of his rival.”
“Good answer. If the Crown Prince were an idiot, he’d ignore the note, chop his aide’s head off as planned, and come interrogate me.”
In my previous life, the blond aide who was practically the Crown Prince’s right arm got his head cut off.
Evidence of collusion with an unknown ‘rival’ had leaked out bit by bit, reaching not just Lark but the ears of the council nobles too.
In the end, he was beheaded for plotting treason.
‘In truth, even the clever Crown Prince couldn’t bring himself to fully trust him... it was that elaborate a frame job.’
I only learned that Lark’s aide had been framed and executed long after the fact.
So long after that the aide was dead, Lark was dead, and Second Prince Nathan had been on the throne for another ten years.
It was because Victor oppa, who’d been doing well as a knight for the new emperor, came staggering over drunk out of his mind and let something slip.
“I... really... what a psycho, lunatic emperor bastard... I threw away years of my life in the knights’ order for him...”
“What’s that supposed to mean, oppa? Why’d you drink so much again?”
“Ruby, you remember Lark Highness from way back? Looking back now, there wasn’t a better emperor prospect than that guy...”
Nathan had gotten Victor drunk back then and boasted like a hero’s tale about how he’d taken out Lark in the past.
Nathan had been drunk too, spilling secrets... but it was ages later by then, and he was emperor with near-absolute power, so he probably didn’t care.
Sad to say, but imperial succession struggles were par for the course, and even killing kin to claim the throne was seen as skill.
“There was this aide named Ren... for Lark Highness? You might not remember, Ruby, but he got his head chopped off back in the day...”
“Oh, yeah. I remember.”
“The emperor bastard said that if he hadn’t dealt with Ren, assassinating Lark Highness would’ve been a pipe dream. The guy was scary good, overflowing with loyalty, stuck to his side 24/7—no way to make a move. So he took him out first...”
“Oh my god. So that man didn’t betray Crown Prince Highness and get executed?”
“Nah. Crazy, right? And the frame job? He got it sniffing around behind that Nathan bastard all by himself...”
That conversation was shocking, but that was it. Lark and his aide had been dead for years by then.
Victor just decided he couldn’t work under an emperor who’d seized the throne in a way that went against his moral code, and he retired on the spot.
That was the end of it. My memories of Lark.
“Ren the aide was such a skilled obstacle that the Second Prince had to eliminate him first no matter what. Put another way, he’s the bare-minimum safeguard keeping the Crown Prince from being easily assassinated. So we have to keep him alive.”
“You’ve gone all saintly. Trying to save everyone’s gonna get you killed, and you’re chill about it.”
“You’re right to worry. The Crown Prince will wonder how I know this top secret and stay on guard. He won’t believe me right away—of course he’ll suspect me first.”
“Yeah. The shocked Crown Prince could bust in here any second, and it wouldn’t be weird.”
“You know he’s not that dumb. He’ll probably try talking to me first. He’ll be curious how I know this.”
“So the key is getting the Crown Prince to trust you? How?”
“How do I make him trust me? I just tell him I know the future~ so cooperate if he wants in?”
Wishit’s jaw dropped.
“Are you seriously insane?”
“Perfectly normal. I hate headaches from overthinking. I provide future info, he cooperates without suspicion. That’s how we skip the wasted time and get our happy ending.”
“Hey, get your wits back. To reveal you know the future, you’ll inevitably have to reveal you have a spirit.”
“Probably. I was planning to come clean about having one anyway.”
“...”
Wishit gave up thinking altogether, his face going slack and dazed.
“Of course, I’ll lie a bit. I absolutely can’t reveal I have a Wish Spirit.”
“Lie?”
“Yeah. I judge the Crown Prince as basically decent, but separately, a Spirit User contracted to a ‘Wish Spirit’ is a threat to him.”
There’s good reason Wish Spirits are classified as dangerous.
What if a Wish Spirit User got any funny ideas? Swapping emperors or dooming the world would be easy. For Lark, future ruler of the empire, nothing could be more threatening.
“No matter how much I swear I won’t misuse the Wish Spirit, he’d have no choice but to stay wary. He might even try to eliminate me. That’d be a problem.”
“So what lie are you telling?”
“Sigh, you’ll see later. I sweated a ton; I stink. Gonna go wash up.”
Wishit blocked me as I shoved him aside toward the bathroom.
“Hey, no! Finish explaining!”
“My mouth hurts! Move!”
I hurried across the room so he wouldn’t grab me, then stopped dead.
“Right.”
“What.”
I turned to see Wishit glaring at me, arms crossed, face full of annoyance.
“Of course, my plan so far has tons of variables.”
“Good, you know that.”
“The Crown Prince might not even bother talking twice, just barge in and smash me and my family.”
“...”
“He might come to talk, but if it doesn’t go my way, it all goes down the drain.”
“Yeah, you should’ve considered those obvious risks from the start.”
“I did. That’s why I sent the note. It’s a high-stakes gamble.”
“You love the thrill. Got nine lives or what?”
“At least two. I’ve got two wishes left.”
“Aha.”
Wishit let out an exclamation.
“Now I see. You’ve been bold from the start, figuring if it flops, you’ll use a wish.”
I nodded at Wishit, who spoke like he finally got it.
“If the worst variables I mentioned happen, I’ll use the second wish. Telling you now so it’s not too late.”
“Fine. What?”
Only two wishes left. And I’d vowed to save one no matter what, so really just one.
‘I decided to use this crucial wish for you.’
Thinking of Lark’s face, I silently hoped he’d make the wise choice.
But if he didn’t play smart like I hoped...
“Since I’d have to overhaul the plan from scratch...”
What can you do? Fail, and retry.
“Turn back time. To before I meet the Crown Prince today.”
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The next day.
The Diorus Ducal House was thrown into chaos.
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