Chapter 5
Chapter: 5
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 005
>Chapter Title: Pearl Palace (2)
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>While Sungjin was gradually getting used to his new life through physical training in the corner of his room, rumors began to circulate in the imperial palace that the notorious prince had become a bit strange.
The Pearl Palace, which used to be filled with daily outbursts of cursing, breaking objects, and never a quiet day, had been as calm as a windless sleep for several days now.
At first, people thought that after falling ill, the guy simply lacked the energy to cause trouble anymore, but they slowly began to notice the prince's changes.
"He's not complaining about the food at all? Before, days without him flipping the table were the rare ones."
"He used to throw tantrums demanding snacks at all hours, but now he doesn't even ask for them. They say his meal portions have drastically decreased too."
The agitation spread gradually.
The servants, who had kept their mouths shut under the watchful glare of the imperial consort, now began gossiping freely as the peaceful days continued, evading the eyes of surveillance.
"Why is he so well-behaved? It makes me anxious, like something's about to explode."
"They say his memory isn't fully intact yet? People don't change that easily. Once he recovers, he'll be back to his old rampages in no time."
"I don't know. They say he's changed completely as a person. With that high fever, maybe his head's a bit off now?"
"Shh! If someone hears you saying his head's messed up..."
And these rumors were being reported without exception to the chief chamberlain through the dense network of eyes and ears in the imperial palace.
"...This is truly peculiar."
After hearing the reports from the attendants, Chief Chamberlain Luis rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought.
"It's not uncommon for someone to undergo a complete personality change after a high fever or severe injury," the attendant added, but Luis silently shook his head.
Prince Moress's change was undoubtedly surprising and welcome.
However, what concerned the chief chamberlain more was not the prince's transformation itself, but the Holy Emperor's attitude toward it.
He had served faithfully at the young Holy Emperor's side every single day since his ascension. Thus, he knew well how much the emperor invested in managing the Pearl Palace without variables.
He personally selected the servants, strictly limited visitors, managed the ledgers separately, and even reviewed and vetted the support documents for the resident knights in charge of security.
So, the fact that there had been no mention at all of the prince's sudden change, and he was simply observing quietly, felt strangely off.
The trigger was clearly the unexpected fever, but if he assumed even that was under his lord's control, was that excessive suspicion?
"Conveniently, it's almost time for Prince Moress's audience."
He decided he should visit the prince beforehand and examine him closely.
Stroking his smoothly shaved chin, the chief chamberlain resolved as much.
* * *
"Did you sleep well through the night?"
"Yeah, more or less."
If there was anyone Sungjin saw as often as Edith, it was the Pearl Palace's resident physician.
This elderly doctor named Ninnia, for a palace-affiliated healer, had an unusually shabby appearance.
His breath reeked of alcohol every time he spoke, and his red nose gave off the vibe of an alcoholic.
Yet this ragged old man examined Sungjin twice a day—morning and evening—for regular check-ups, and nothing he did inspired confidence.
With cloudy eyes—whether from age or hangover—he'd glance vaguely at Sungjin's complexion, nod, and one had to wonder if he was seeing anything properly.
He'd take Sungjin's pulse with severely trembling hands from what seemed like palsy, and his shaking fingers didn't even touch properly.
"Good. Very good."
Good? What exactly? Is this guy even a reliable doctor?
Sungjin, bewildered, glanced at Edith standing beside him, and she sighed in response.
"Lord Ninnia mainly attends to the Pearl Palace's resident knights. Your Highness originally had separate personal physicians..."
According to Edith, until recently, several proper palace physicians had served as Moress's personal doctors.
They were renowned healers from the highly respected 'Laiora School' in the capital.
But after the prince collapsed from the fever without proper treatment, they fell out of favor with the Holy Emperor and were all demoted to menial posts.
Now they were probably tending to plague patients in the slums.
What? Then shouldn't they hurry up and send a new personal physician? Is this how they treat a prince who barely survived?
"Kekekekeke."
Ninnia, who had been quietly listening to Edith, suddenly let out a low chuckle.
"That suits those fools perfectly. That damn Laiora School is always spouting nonsense about fighting plagues on the front lines."
At the doctor's sudden cynical remark, Sungjin and Edith widened their eyes and stared at him.
As if surprised by his own slip, the doctor flinched and quickly tried to backpedal.
"Ah, of course, I deeply respect the teachings of the venerable Laiora School, the only one recognized by the Delcross Holy Church! Naturally!"
[What a load of bullshit he's spouting.]
The Demon King quickly chimed in inside Sungjin's head.
[Old man just thought, 'Serves you right, you worthless Laiora quacks....']
Well, even without the guy pointing it out, the doctor's shit-eating grin made it obvious his talk of respect was all hot air.
It seemed less personal grudge and more resentment toward the school itself.
Naturally, Sungjin had to ask,
"Then, Doctor Ninnia. What school are you from?"
The doctor stared at Sungjin blankly for a moment.
His eyes seemed unfocused like never before, but Sungjin felt like the old man was looking at him properly for the first time.
After a brief silence, Doctor Ninnia slowly shook his head.
"I apologize for the impertinence, Your Highness, but I am merely an ignorant apothecary who picked up knowledge here and there."
"...."
"By sheer luck, I caught His Majesty's eye and got this steady job in my old age, but I've never properly belonged to any school."
[Liar.]
This time, Sungjin figured it out even before the Demon King tipped him off. The old man's expression was that honest.
"Anyway, I don't think daily check-ups are necessary anymore, Your Highness. You've fully recovered from the fever."
The doctor hastily packed his tools and stood.
"From now on, focus on eating plenty, doing outdoor exercise freely to rebuild your strength, and..."
"And?"
"Compared to ordinary people, your internal aura activation seems a bit weak, so if you put effort into aura cultivation, your recovery should speed up."
He'd only recently started examining Moress, so the old man clearly didn't know much about the utter wastrel third prince.
If he were one of the original personal physicians, he never would've said that last part.
At the mention of aura from the old man's mouth, Edith's eyes sparkled as she turned to Sungjin.
"....?"
Does this woman expect me to throw something or what?
When Sungjin just stared blankly back, she grumbled with a sullen face.
"My one joy in life...."
Edith, you're not some dog chasing a frisbee—why find life's joy in that?
Anyway, even without the doctor's advice, Sungjin was thinking it was time to manage his diet properly and start serious outdoor workouts.
"Edith. Tell the kitchen to cut back on seasonings from now on? Plenty of salad without sauce. And don't bring food I don't touch anymore."
It didn't seem like the atmosphere for requesting a low-sodium, low-carb, high-protein diet, so he'd have to pick and choose.
How much nutritional knowledge did people here have? From the looks, it seemed somewhere between medieval and early modern Earth.
Edith couldn't hide her puzzled expression at the unexpected order, and Sungjin added while rolling his shoulders to loosen them.
"Oh, and I want to check out the training grounds. Mind guiding me?"
* * *
>The Pearl Palace's training grounds had originally been built for Prince Moress's personal swordsmanship lessons.
Of course, after he quit swordsmanship early on, it went unused for a while, but it was kept pristine by administrators wary of the imperial consort's gaze.
Eventually, the resident guard knights of the Pearl Palace started using it as a convenient spot for personal training instead of the distant knight order's grounds.
But now, all the knights had stopped training and gathered in a corner of the grounds, glaring with axe-like eyes. The pig third prince had suddenly appeared and monopolized the not-so-large training area.
The prince was circling the entire grounds at an in-between pace—not walking, not running.
'What the hell's gotten into that wastrel to make him act like this?'
The knights' gazes weren't kind as they watched the hulking figure huffing along.
Unlike the strictly disciplined maids, these knight order members faced less pressure from the imperial consort.
They often treated the prince rudely on the regular. Some were even openly shooting him contemptuous looks now.
But to Sungjin, who had set his goals on physical training and aura acquisition and charged ahead, the knights' sour reactions weren't even on his radar. After huffing a few laps, without so much as glancing their way, he wiped sweat with his sleeve and strode back into the Pearl Palace.
What the hell just happened? The knights belatedly exchanged bewildered looks.
This was a situation where he'd normally explode over lack of proper greetings, but the wastrel had just quietly exercised and ignored them completely before vanishing?
The knights blinked for a moment, then resumed personal training, thinking,
'Never thought I'd see something this weird in my lifetime....'
Everyone chalked it up to a one-time whim.
But the next day, and the day after that too. The knights saw Moress appear at the same time and circle the training grounds.
"Ugh! Hek! Gah! Hngh!"
[Hey, hey, you're gonna pass out. How many laps was that? Already dying?]
'What kind of trash stamina is this....'
Sungjin grimaced, panting disgracefully.
He'd planned light training for a few days to build base muscles for his frame, then shift to serious cardio once weight dropped...
'No, this is already full-throttle cardio?'
Just a few slow laps around the grounds, and his lungs felt like bursting, heart pounding madly. His whole body was soaked like he'd been caught in rain.
At this rate, when would he build stamina or learn aura? Irritation bubbled up.
The knights grumbling disapprovingly from the corner annoyed him needlessly, and sweat soaking his hair trickled into his eyes, stinging.
As he irritably rubbed his eyes, a dry towel suddenly appeared before him.
He grabbed it reflexively and looked up to see a dignified-looking old man smiling at him.
'Who....?'
The old man stood with several attendants. His hair was white, suggesting advanced age, but his back was straight, and his neat attire had not a button out of place.
Their eyes met, and the old man stepped back, placing his right hand on his chest and bowing politely.
"I greet Your Highness."
A picture-perfect archaic gesture. His attendants bowed in unison.
Sungjin stared blankly, unsure how to respond, and the old man looked slightly flustered.
"Oh dear... I've heard of the memory confusion after the fever, but I failed to consider it. My apologies, Your Highness."
He maintained utmost courtesy even toward the young prince. It was ingrained in him.
Sungjin inwardly admired as he wiped his sweat with the towel.
Watching, the old man smiled again, bowed lightly, and said,
"I am Luis Pelt, chief chamberlain of the imperial palace. I serve at His Holiness the Holy Emperor's side."
"....!"
Suddenly, the final boss's right-hand man appeared.
Sungjin's lips tightened briefly, but the old man, oblivious, took the sweaty towel with a bright voice and continued.
"How long has it been since you rose from your sickbed, and you're already doing such intense training?"
"Well, just exercising..."
"Seeing our young prince so valiant, the Pearl Palace knights will surely take inspiration and train harder. Truly the joy of the Holy Imperial family and the great fortune of Delcross."
Sungjin looked around with a baffled face.
No, old man. Read the room with the flattery. Look at those knights' sharpened glares—like they're about to shoot lasers.
The Demon King clicked his tongue.
[Wow, this guy's for real? Totally got the rose-tinted glasses on.]
Sure enough, the chamberlain beamed like a proud grandpa.
Sungjin averted his gaze awkwardly and cleared his throat.
"...Uh, hem. Luis. So, what brings you here...?"
Sungjin trailed off awkwardly—treating an elder casually felt unnatural—but the chamberlain didn't seem to mind.
"After Your Highness fell ill with the fever, His Holiness the Holy Emperor's worry was beyond measure. He set aside state affairs to inspect the Pearl Palace personally, and later even refused healing priests to expend vast holy power himself, finally subduing that vicious fever, did he not?"
"I... heard something like that."
He wasn't sure of the details, but let's go with that for now.
"Joyfully, Your Highness has risen healthy from your bed, yet His Holiness remains uneasy and has ordered me to check your condition thoroughly before the audience."
"Uh... that's, um, appreciated."
"Thus, since Your Highness is still recovering, if you wish, His Holiness will visit the Pearl Palace personally even for this tea time."
Huh? What? Visit personally?
Luis quickly added, catching Sungjin's confusion.
"Ah, it seems you've forgotten about the regular audiences too. His Holiness has long held regular tea times with the princes and princesses at least once a week."
"....!"
A king has time for that?
To Sungjin, who wanted to avoid the Holy Emperor as much as possible, it was unwelcome news.
"As you know, His Holiness's attention to his children is exceptionally devoted, so unless there's a major imperial event or unavoidable schedule change, audiences have never been postponed. In Prince Moress's case, however..."
However?
"They were often canceled on the day. It was common for a message to come right before the audience saying he suddenly felt unwell..."
"...."
"So recently, His Holiness has mostly asked the prince's intentions in advance and visited the Pearl Palace directly. He bade me ask if it will be so this time as well."
Moress, you mad bastard! You ditched the Holy Emperor's appointments left and right? Is this guy sane?
Sungjin felt cold sweat trickling down.