Chapter 9
Chapter: 9
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 9
>Chapter Title: Unexpected Visitor
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>“That means there were visitor restrictions until now?”
Seongjin tore into his simply grilled morning bread and asked Edith.
“Since when exactly?”
“I don’t know the precise period. It’s been two years since I started working here, so I can say for sure the restrictions were already in place before then.”
Edith replied as she poured water into his cup.
According to her explanation, aside from the few servants and resident knights, entry to the Pearl Palace had been restricted for all visitors. Even those who absolutely needed to visit had to submit an application to the Main Palace first. No exceptions, even for members of the imperial family.
And most applications had been rejected. It was effectively a total ban.
“No way... even outings were forbidden?”
Edith shrugged.
“Not particularly. It’s just that Your Highness dislikes leaving the Pearl Palace so much that outings were rare.”
Fortunately, it seemed Mores hadn’t been confined to the annex.
Of course, he’d skipped regular audiences because even going to the Main Palace once a week was a hassle.
The Holy Empire’s prince’s social life— was this really okay?
“Still, about once every two months, he would go to the townhouse to meet friends.”
“Friends?”
“Yes, most were appointments with Young Lord Scarfapino.”
So he did have some friends.
“Hmm...”
Seongjin chewed his salad, lost in thought.
There were no such restrictions on the palaces of other princes and princesses, like the Blue Rose Palace or Silver Rose Palace, so this measure was clearly targeted at Mores alone. It might be related to why the Pearl Palace had so few servants.
But even if he was a notorious wastrel, was it right to isolate him in the annex by blocking visits from family and friends?
Mores might have had a rotten personality, but he wasn’t some heinous criminal. Locking him away like this might have damaged his character and position even more.
“But if it’s lifted, it’s lifted— what’s this partial lift?”
“High priests and holy knights are still forbidden entry.”
“That’s...”
So, anyone with strong divine power was banned from the Pearl Palace entirely?
The Demon King whispered.
[Suspicious.]
‘Yeah, totally suspicious.’
What on earth was the Holy Emperor scheming?
If he’d known, he should have probed more aggressively while the Demon King could still detect souls. Seongjin finished his meal with a nagging unease and sighed.
Well, no point brooding over it now; there was no way to read the Holy Emperor’s mind alone. Whatever the reason, the restrictions lifting right after their meeting meant the impression Seongjin had made yesterday wasn’t too bad. Probably figured he wouldn’t cause trouble if given some freedom now.
Better focus on what he could do.
Brushing aside the trivial thoughts, he dashed straight to the training grounds.
“Hup-two! Hup-two!”
As usual, Seongjin began his stamina training by circling the training grounds. He could now maintain a steady jog without much strain— a huge improvement from when he’d first arrived and could barely waddle around.
He even started incorporating strength exercises intermittently, worried about muscle loss from his unexpectedly rapid weight drop.
The Pearl Palace knights, now somewhat accustomed to Seongjin’s appearances, trained while avoiding his path. Their unfriendly gazes remained, but they no longer showed open hostility.
‘Of course— whose training grounds are these? Who dares act all high and mighty?’
Chuckling inwardly as he caught his breath, he noticed a stranger at the training grounds entrance. A sturdy-built man with impeccable posture.
The man stood at the entrance, scanning around, then spotted Seongjin and approached with a bright smile.
Hm? That friendly, big retriever-like face— where had he seen it?
“Your Highness!”
Golden blond hair fluttering, the man strode over briskly, slapped his right hand to his chest, and gave a crisp salute.
“I, Masain Kranos, greet Prince Mores.”
“......”
Where had he seen him again?
The man’s eyebrows drooped.
“...Imperial Guard, 2nd Knight Division Captain, Masain Kranos. Your Highness.”
Ah, the polite knight captain who’d escorted him at the Main Palace yesterday.
Feeling guilty, Seongjin smiled a bit too widely in welcome.
“Captain Masain! Never thought I’d see you at the Pearl Palace. What brings you? Day off today?”
Sure enough, he wasn’t in knight division uniform but simple casual clothes, with just a single sword at his side— looking relaxed.
At Seongjin’s question, Captain Masain smiled faintly and scratched his head.
“I heard the visitor restrictions were lifted as of today, so I came right away. I couldn’t get permission before. I’m sorry I couldn’t visit while you were ill.”
Surprised by the unexpected answer, Seongjin blinked.
So he’d applied to visit often before? And rushed here first as soon as it was allowed?
Wait, was this knight captain closer to Mores than he’d thought...?
The Demon King grumbled sourly.
[Your fault! You messed up! Forgot the guy from yesterday already? How many people treat this wastrel nicely?]
Ugh. Truly sorry for not recognizing you, Captain Masain.
Swallowing his guilt inwardly, Seongjin was relieved the captain noticed nothing and continued brightly.
“I heard you’ve been working hard on physical training lately. Do you always come to the training grounds at this hour?”
“Yeah, unless something comes up, I spend most of the day here.”
“Splendid!”
Captain Masain nodded with a warm smile.
“Then, unless there’s something special, I’ll join you here at this time from now on.”
“You, Captain Masain? Why?”
“By His Holiness the Holy Emperor’s order. He wants me to check on Your Highness’s swordsmanship from time to time.”
Sending the knight captain himself when he’d said he’d send someone suitable?
Seongjin had requested it yesterday, and the Holy Emperor’s processing was faster than expected.
“My skills are modest, but I have expertise in basic aura cultivation training. It’ll definitely help.”
“Ooh, really?”
“Yes, I mainly handle training the new squires when they first join.”
He looked young for a knight division captain. His skills were surely top-notch, and for such a humble personality to be that confident, he must really excel at basics.
Noticing the expectation and admiration in Seongjin’s eyes, Masain smiled bashfully and scratched his head.
“It’s embarrassing, but I was quite late starting aura training myself. My foundation period was much longer than others’, so it naturally became solid...”
Some people master it quickly despite late starts— this guy must be one. Proven skill with a rock-solid base. Perfect choice.
Seongjin grinned.
“Reliable as they come. Looking forward to it, Captain Masain.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Masain bowed deeply, honored.
“Hm, but...”
Seongjin glanced around the training grounds, feeling oddly empty compared to usual.
Sure enough, the Pearl Palace resident knights, who’d been training slouched all over moments ago, had all vanished.
Why? They’d definitely been there before Captain Masain arrived...
Staring blankly at the empty grounds, Masain asked.
“Your Highness, I mainly teach swordsmanship, but do you have a preferred weapon?”
“Weapon?”
Seongjin pondered.
Back when he fought monsters, the world’s infrastructure had collapsed, supplies were scarce.
Weapons especially— firearms bounced off thick hides, and rare melee weapons dulled or broke after a few swings.
Hunters had to rely on their enhanced bodies, bare-knuckling it. They’d occasionally sharpen monster claws, pincers, or teeth, but were those even weapons?
“...Not really.”
“Then, any memories of swordsmanship from your childhood...”
“Gone. Clean slate.”
Seongjin answered with utmost cheer, and Masain sighed.
“Yes. Then we should start with the Imperial Knight Division’s standard swordsmanship and the Banahas cultivation method.”
“Other options?”
“Imperial knights train in both sword and spear, but for aura cultivation, the principle is to master one before starting another. Most begin with the intuitive Banahas over the spear-oriented Wiroz.”
Ultimately, you end up learning both anyway, he added.
Seongjin tilted his head.
“Isn’t specializing in one better time-wise? Once you reach a certain level, cultivation methods become irrelevant...”
“Eh?”
Masain made a strange face.
“Who told you that?”
“‘Aura follows where your heart leads,’ my father said...”
Tch!
Masain’s face hardened suddenly, barking loudly enough to startle Seongjin.
Whoa, a usually mild guy getting serious is kinda scary.
“A certain level? What level do you think that is? How many people even touch the edge after devoting their lives?!”
“Uh...”
“‘Where your heart leads’? Is that something to tell a beginner? Huh?!”
Why’s he yelling at me...?
Sweating coldly, Seongjin watched Masain thrust his face close, emphasizing strongly.
“Forget learning anything from that man! If you heard something, erase it right now! You absolutely must!”
“......”
“Got it?”
The Demon King chimed in slyly.
[Hey, doesn’t he have some grudge?]
‘...Yeah.’
Somehow, Seongjin had a bad feeling their lessons wouldn’t be smooth.
It was a memorable first lesson, but they didn’t swing a sword yet. Masain circled the grounds with Seongjin or did light exercises, thoroughly checking his overall fitness.
Along the way, he gave overviews of the Imperial Knight Division standard swordsmanship origins and aura cultivation features, filling the morning quickly.
He ended with a simple meditation method.
“If I adjust my Main Palace duty hours, I might be able to add afternoon lessons.”
Seongjin waved him off in horror as the captain burned with zeal, even offering to use vacation time.
Overtime on top of duties, and now vacation too?
Despite his solid first impression, Captain Masain seemed endearingly clueless up close.
* * *
That day’s surprise visitors weren’t just Captain Masain. After lunch, while doing stretches in his room, Edith knocked with a troubled look.
“Your Highness. Lady Amelia has arrived, so I’ve seated her in the drawing room.”
Who’s Amelia?
Fortunately, the nerfed Demon King still had cached info.
[Your sister. The 1st Princess.]
1st Princess?
“No word she was coming? And you just let her in?”
Even if Mores was the discarded prince, the prince’s palace wasn’t open to drop-ins. Even Empress Consort Elizabeth always sent word ahead.
“Well... she insisted on seeing Your Highness and barged in...”
Ah. As a princess, Edith was stuck— couldn’t turn her away or easily refuse.
This was another surprise. Hadn’t Mores been on bad terms with other princes and princesses? Surely not a sick visit.
[Especially with Amelia— their relationship fell apart long ago.]
‘Whose fault?’
[Obviously Mores. He bullied her hard, calling her the lowly-born princess.]
‘......’
This visit’s purpose was definitely not good. Seongjin sighed.
“Show me.”
Dragging his feet heavily to the drawing room, he heard a chair scrape back inside before Edith even opened the door.
Then, light heels clicking rapidly.
“Huh?”
Bang!
The door flew open violently, nearly knocking Seongjin flat on his butt.
Bewildered, he looked up to see a tall girl gripping the doorknob, staring intensely at his face.
[Whoa.......]
‘Whoa.......’
Seongjin and the Demon King sighed in unison— the girl before them looked like an angel stepped from a holy painting.
Wavy, lustrous rose-gold hair framed a pure white dress. Delicate porcelain cheeks trembled under long lashes.
A rose-like beauty gazed at him with teary eyes.
“...Mores.”
“Uh......”
So this was Amelia? But why the affectionate gaze at Mores? Their relationship seemed different from expected.
The Demon King muttered uselessly.
[He used to call her a lowly wench. No need to mind, though.]
‘Shut up!’
Sweating, Seongjin opened his mouth to the girl.
“Uh... sis? What brings you...”
But he couldn’t finish. At his voice, something snapped— tears burst from her like a dam breaking.
And then.
“Mores!”
Whoosh! Her sudden embrace bowled Seongjin over, flat on his butt.
“Huh? Huh?”
“Mores! Mores! Mores!”
Ignoring his fall, she burrowed into his arms, calling his name desperately, like a chick to its mother. His chest soaked with her tears instantly.
What the hell is this?
Dumbfounded, Seongjin tried to speak but soon closed his mouth, patting her back gently instead. Her slender shoulders shook pitifully.
Sobbing bitterly, she murmured incoherently.
“Ahh, you’re alive! You came back! I came back... really, really glad!”
...What?