The Princess Betrothed to the Prince
“……You are indeed righteous.”
“Suddenly?”
“No, perhaps you feel no need to secretly do anything.”
The king of the foreign realm raised his cup and drank it down.
“I wonder why you earned the nickname ‘Elephant Prince,’ but it truly suits you.”
“……”
The prince wondered if the king of the foreign realm might be mocking him, but the tone suggested otherwise.
“Those who know nothing take lions and tigers as kings of the wild beasts. But the true king is the elephant.”
“Why do you think that?”
“When they are young, perhaps you cannot say. The elephant does not die. Lions and tigers hide their bodies to hunt, but just by walking, the vast majority of beasts are too busy fleeing. Do you know how many predatory beasts starve to death after failing to hunt? The elephant eats whenever it wants, sleeps whenever it wants. Everyone fears it and does not care about others’ eyes, so how could it not be a king?”
The prince of the foreign realm had no idea the king of that realm thought so much about the elephant.
The prince did not know whether he liked the elephant in his own nickname.
“Even though the last of the half-divines who inherited Vishnu’s bloodline has vanished, this world still lets any individual overwhelm the masses. I believe the one who possesses power is the one most suited to sit on the throne.”
“……Indeed.”
The prince decided to respond neutrally for now.
“Even so, I know my place. I lack the qualities of a king. I do not enjoy fighting, as you know.”
“Ehehe~”
“I do not require you to respond one by one. But even without the qualities of a king, I have at least some eyes to see people.”
The king of the foreign realm met the prince’s gaze.
The prince could not see the eyes, but he knew the gaze was directed at his own.
“At first, I went to the banquet out of curiosity about which son of the half-Shindu king was so treasured. And when I saw you, I had a hunch. You are a baby elephant. Though you are still young and lack natural enemies now, when you mature, no one will be able to oppose you.”
“You flatter me.”
“Of course, I do not believe that strength alone makes one fit for the throne. Still, I believe you will become king because of the destiny surrounding you.”
“Destiny, you say?”
Why another mention of destiny?
The prince did not like the word destiny.
He was satisfied now, but years ago he could not find the reason for his life, and he had decided the cause lay with some immortal who spoke of destiny.
Thus, when the king of the foreign realm spoke of destiny, the prince felt both puzzled and distaste.
The king of the foreign realm continued speaking without noticing the prince’s feelings.
“I have a talent. Do you see the massive flow of destiny surrounding that person? This is no abstract guess. I even suspect you might not be Vishnu’s avatar.”
“Ah…”
Vishnu is the god of order and maintenance.
More advanced and grand than Lokapala, he said he would send down his avatar to protect the world and destiny.
It was, quite literally, legend, so the prince had only regarded it as ancient tales.
“You are clearly a man who will accomplish great things. This tournament is merely a place to confirm that to some extent.”
“Just a martial arts competition?”
“Precisely, I wanted to know the way you would overcome it. Whether luck or wisdom, I never doubted you would win the tournament in the end.”
“……”
“That destiny has chosen you and my daughter to form a marital bond is itself glorious. Go and convey this to the king. I will send a dowry that is not stingy.”
***
Yirsha staggered, bleeding, but still moved away from the arena as far as possible.
‘Damn damn damn!!!’
The plan had collapsed.
He had been too hasty.
Too underestimated.
Too emotional.
The mistake he had committed was not one or two.
In the first place, he should never have participated in the tournament so clumsily.
He should have built up more power and gathered more forces.
He should have prepared properly.
“Stop right there, Deva@#.”
Someone blocked Yirsha’s path.
“Xanti@#……”
Seeing his uncle the prince, Yirsha whispered his name with fury.
“Are you here to kill me?”
“No, that is not it. Someone wants to meet you. My job until then is to keep you here.”
“I see. No one but you could hold me here.”
“I thought so as well, but seeing you like this, it seems you were greatly deceived by the Elephant Prince.”
The prince’s jaw tensed at the words.
“Since my nephew won the tournament, the guy must be quite delighted.”
“That may be true, but your great-uncle is His Majesty, so is it not improper to block his path?”
The two continued their standoff.
After a suitable time had passed, the king appeared before Yirsha with soldiers in tow.
“Long time no see, @#dita.”
“Do not call my name with that mouth!!”
Yirsha roared with fury.
“Insolent wretch!!”
The soldiers beside him aimed spears at Yirsha.
But when the king raised his hand to stop them, they retreated.
“Fortunately, you have lived until now.”
“Why? Are you sorry? That I am alive?”
“……I must say again that I did not poison my brother.”
“You ate the food I gave and your father died! Isn’t that a coincidence?”
“Yes, it is a coincidence.”
“Shut your mouth!”
Yirsha revealed his killing intent.
The uncle blocked in front of the king and took a stance.
“You did not stop me to spout such lies.”
“Enough. I am not here to fight you. I am here to talk.”
“I have no intention of talking. All that remains between us is blood revenge.”
“Please, Deva@#. I do not wish to harm you, but if you keep trying to hurt me and my family with such misunderstandings, I cannot remain silent.”
“Fine. That is exactly what I wanted.”
The king looked at Yirsha with complex eyes.
He stayed silent for a long time, pondering, and finally made his decision.
“If that is your wish…”
The king raised his hand to order the soldiers to kill.
“Wait, Your Majesty!”
The prince appeared then, blocking immediately and kneeling before the king.
“May you spare this man?”
“Son, you do not understand, but this man is your cousin and harbors deep resentment toward our family. I do not want that either, but if we leave him like this, it could cause a great problem.”
“Indeed. Then why would my cousin try to harm our family?”
“……He believes I killed his father, that is, his own father.”
“Believes? For how long are you going to keep spouting lies? Why? Do you want to be a good father to your son?”
Yirsha, the prince’s cousin, eyes rolled and he roared.
To such a cousin, the prince asked calmly.
“Then does my cousin have clear evidence that Your Majesty killed his father?”
“Evidence? The father who ate the deer meat I sent died. What other evidence is needed?”
“From what I know, Grandfather was originally not in good health. Eating the deer meat you gave may simply have been a coincidence. Or was poison definitely found?”
“Why do we need to confirm that? Everyone else is making such a fuss anyway. And the father’s own minister told me directly.”
“Then was the minister who reported the assassination fact trustworthy?”
“That…”
No.
He was not at all reliable.
Thinking back, he was arrogant and mocked from behind.
There was no reason to believe the minister’s words.
But he could not reveal the truth now.
“Th-that is right! He was a trustworthy minister. There is no way he would lie!”
“Your voice is shaking too much, though.”
“What? Does that matter? When my father died, that guy became king! Where is the evidence more certain than that?”
“I know the reason Your Majesty became king is that Grandfather said he would pass the throne to you in his will. Has my cousin ever had a dispute with Grandfather over succession? Or felt such signs? Please speak the truth.”
The king of the foreign realm raised his cup and drank it down.
“I wonder why you earned the nickname ‘Elephant Prince,’ but it truly suits you.”
“……”
The prince wondered if the king of the foreign realm might be mocking him, but the tone suggested otherwise.
“Those who know nothing take lions and tigers as kings of the wild beasts. But the true king is the elephant.”
“Why do you think that?”
“When they are young, perhaps you cannot say. The elephant does not die. Lions and tigers hide their bodies to hunt, but just by walking, the vast majority of beasts are too busy fleeing. Do you know how many predatory beasts starve to death after failing to hunt? The elephant eats whenever it wants, sleeps whenever it wants. Everyone fears it and does not care about others’ eyes, so how could it not be a king?”
The prince of the foreign realm had no idea the king of that realm thought so much about the elephant.
The prince did not know whether he liked the elephant in his own nickname.
“Even though the last of the half-divines who inherited Vishnu’s bloodline has vanished, this world still lets any individual overwhelm the masses. I believe the one who possesses power is the one most suited to sit on the throne.”
“……Indeed.”
The prince decided to respond neutrally for now.
“Even so, I know my place. I lack the qualities of a king. I do not enjoy fighting, as you know.”
“Ehehe~”
“I do not require you to respond one by one. But even without the qualities of a king, I have at least some eyes to see people.”
The king of the foreign realm met the prince’s gaze.
The prince could not see the eyes, but he knew the gaze was directed at his own.
“At first, I went to the banquet out of curiosity about which son of the half-Shindu king was so treasured. And when I saw you, I had a hunch. You are a baby elephant. Though you are still young and lack natural enemies now, when you mature, no one will be able to oppose you.”
“You flatter me.”
“Of course, I do not believe that strength alone makes one fit for the throne. Still, I believe you will become king because of the destiny surrounding you.”
“Destiny, you say?”
Why another mention of destiny?
The prince did not like the word destiny.
He was satisfied now, but years ago he could not find the reason for his life, and he had decided the cause lay with some immortal who spoke of destiny.
Thus, when the king of the foreign realm spoke of destiny, the prince felt both puzzled and distaste.
The king of the foreign realm continued speaking without noticing the prince’s feelings.
“I have a talent. Do you see the massive flow of destiny surrounding that person? This is no abstract guess. I even suspect you might not be Vishnu’s avatar.”
“Ah…”
Vishnu is the god of order and maintenance.
More advanced and grand than Lokapala, he said he would send down his avatar to protect the world and destiny.
It was, quite literally, legend, so the prince had only regarded it as ancient tales.
“You are clearly a man who will accomplish great things. This tournament is merely a place to confirm that to some extent.”
“Just a martial arts competition?”
“Precisely, I wanted to know the way you would overcome it. Whether luck or wisdom, I never doubted you would win the tournament in the end.”
“……”
“That destiny has chosen you and my daughter to form a marital bond is itself glorious. Go and convey this to the king. I will send a dowry that is not stingy.”
[Movement/form description]
***
Yirsha staggered, bleeding, but still moved away from the arena as far as possible.
“Damn damn damn!!!”
The plan had collapsed.
He had been too hasty.
Too underestimated.
Too emotional.
The mistake he had committed was not one or two.
In the first place, he should never have participated in the tournament so clumsily.
He should have built up more power and gathered more forces.
He should have prepared properly.
“Stop right there, Deva@#.”
Someone blocked Yirsha’s path.
“Xanti@#……”
Seeing his uncle the prince, Yirsha whispered his name with fury.
“Are you here to kill me?”
“No, that is not it. Someone wants to meet you. My job until then is to keep you here.”
“I see. No one but you could hold me here.”
“I thought so as well, but seeing you like this, it seems you were greatly deceived by the Elephant Prince.”
The prince’s jaw tensed at the words.
“Since my nephew won the tournament, the guy must be quite delighted.”
“That may be true, but your great-uncle is His Majesty, so is it not improper to block his path?”
The two continued their standoff.
After a suitable time had passed, the king appeared before Yirsha with soldiers in tow.
“Long time no see, @#dita.”
“Do not call my name with that mouth!!”
Yirsha roared with fury.
“Insolent wretch!!”
The soldiers beside him aimed spears at Yirsha.
But when the king raised his hand to stop them, they retreated.
“Fortunately, you have lived until now.”
“Why? Are you sorry? That I am alive?”
“……I must say again that I did not poison my brother.”
“You ate the food I gave and your father died! Isn’t that a coincidence?”
“Yes, it is a coincidence.”
“Shut your mouth!”
Yirsha revealed his killing intent.
The uncle blocked in front of the king and took a stance.
“You did not stop me to spout such lies.”
“Enough. I am not here to fight you. I am here to talk.”
“I have no intention of talking. All that remains between us is blood revenge.”
“Please, Deva@#. I do not wish to harm you, but if you keep trying to hurt me and my family with such misunderstandings, I cannot remain silent.”
“Fine. That is exactly what I wanted.”
The king looked at Yirsha with complex eyes.
He stayed silent for a long time, pondering, and finally made his decision.
“If that is your wish…”
The king raised his hand to order the soldiers to kill.
“Wait, Your Majesty!”
The prince appeared then, blocking immediately and kneeling before the king.
“May you spare this man?”
“Son, you do not understand, but this man is your cousin and harbors deep resentment toward our family. I do not want that either, but if we leave him like this, it could cause a great problem.”
“Indeed. Then why would my cousin try to harm our family?”
“……He believes I killed his father, that is, his own father.”
“Believes? For how long are you going to keep spouting lies? Why? Do you want to be a good father to your son?”
Yirsha, the prince’s cousin, eyes rolled and he roared.
To such a cousin, the prince asked calmly.
“Then does my cousin have clear evidence that Your Majesty killed his father?”
“Evidence? The father who ate the deer meat I sent died. What other evidence is needed?”
“From what I know, Grandfather was originally not in good health. Eating the deer meat you gave may simply have been a coincidence. Or was poison definitely found?”
“Why do we need to confirm that? Everyone else is making such a fuss anyway. And the father’s own minister told me directly.”
“Then was the minister who reported the assassination fact trustworthy?”
“That……”
No.
He was not at all reliable.
Thinking back, he was arrogant and mocked from behind.
There was no reason to believe the minister’s words.
But he could not reveal the truth now.
“Th-that is right! He was a trustworthy minister. There is no way he would lie!”
“Your voice is shaking too much, though.”
“What? Does that matter? When my father died, that guy became king! Where is the evidence more certain than that?”
“I know the reason Your Majesty became king is that Grandfather said he would pass the throne to you in his will. Has my cousin ever had a dispute with Grandfather over succession? Or felt such signs? Please speak the truth.”