Chapter 245: Crown Prince (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 245: Crown Prince (1)
The distance between the Imperial Capital and the Duchy of Jeyka isn't that far.
Or rather, to be more precise, the physical distance is vast, but since it’s one of the Empire’s premier Great Territories, it’s connected by every imaginable mode of transportation.
In this fantasy world, even the Leon Kingdom—which would take at least a month to reach by carriage over land—can be reached in a single day via the Magic Tower. Naturally, there are countless ways to travel between the high-tech Imperial Capital and House Jeyka, one of the Empire's most prominent estates.
Because of this, Senior Loreliya could technically commute to the Academy from home if she really wanted to...
But even though vacation had started, she wasn't going back. There was only one reason she was lingering here.
It was to drag me along with her... well, not exactly.
"I don't want to go home."
It sounded like something a teenager going through a late rebellious phase would say, but after hearing her out, she had her reasons.
"They say the house cleaning isn't finished yet. If I go back now... it'll be incredibly tedious."
The main family had been using the dark mage incident as leverage to pressure the collateral branches, but even so, they were still the collateral line of House Jeyka—one of the Empire's most powerful noble families.
They were a faction so strong that even the main house couldn't easily touch them.
They weren't directly linked to the dark mages; it was just that a few dark mages happened to be among the people they worked with.
Purging them solely because they were involved in the Academy election process, without a direct link between the family itself and the dark mages, was an incredibly difficult task.
In fact, if the dark mages hadn't caused that incident in the first place—and if the Imperial family hadn't started their "sword dance" fueled by the public's rage—the whole thing would have likely blown over with nothing more than a period of reflection.
Thus, the tug-of-war continued: the Jeyka main family was determined to use this chance to decisively crush the collateral branches, while the collateral branches knew they just had to survive this one storm.
It was obvious that returning to the family at this timing would result in a mountain of annoying chores.
So, Senior Loreliya was holding out at the Academy, making up all sorts of excuses.
However.
"They keep telling me to come back."
Senior Loreliya was a famous figure in Imperial high society.
In a situation where factions were jockeying for power, she was someone with enough influence to act as a variable.
It seemed there were many people from the family calling for her.
The problem was...
"Then you can just go."
" I can't go alone."
"You said the family matters are complicated..."
"Which is exactly why I can't go alone."
"..."
This woman was trying to drag me down with her.
"You've become quite shameless."
She didn't seem like this when I first met her.
...Wait, actually, if she hadn't been shameless, she probably wouldn't have suggested a contractual relationship in the first place.
But one thing was certain.
"I was told that nobles are supposed to be shameless. The higher your position, the more so."
"Who told you that...?"
"Junior Violet."
"Ah."
I wondered if the root of all evil in this world wasn't actually the Evil God, but Boradori.
Was it just my imagination, or was that joke starting to feel more like the truth every day?
I was already feeling uneasy because she had gone off on a trip to "track the traces of Silence" after taking an advance on her salary, but...
"I—I can't live like this anymore!"
"Why...?"
"Ge-get out of my house!"
It seemed the RoFan Female Lead's anxiety was even worse than mine.
The RoFan Female Lead, who felt like her home—no, her family—had been stolen, finally exploded.
"This is my house! These are my mom and dad!"
"And that's why I'm treating them well."
"You're treating them too well! Why are you being so nice?! I thought you'd only treat them the way you treat me!"
"And how is that?"
"I thought you'd see them once and then never again! Why do you visit once a day?!"
That's harsh.
What does she take someone from the Land of Morning Calm for?
And besides.
"Can I be honest with you?"
"Go ahead! Why are you doing this to me?!"
"I stayed at the Academy because of this, but if I don't even do this, I'll be too bored..."
"Then go train or something!"
To be honest, training hasn't been very efficient lately.
Even before becoming a Sword Master, I had already reached a plateau.
Having reached the level of Sword Master in that state, physical training was now almost useless.
I only went to the training grounds occasionally to spar with the ultra-rare High Elf who rarely left the dormitory, or to maintain my reputation with the Swordsmanship Department.
I had reached a realm where meditating on mental imagery was more beneficial than actually swinging a sword.
Therefore, I was bored.
Having lived a dopamine-filled RoFan life for nearly two years, the boredom was even more acute.
"Honestly, this is largely Daisy's fault."
"I—it's true you stayed because of me, but...!"
I was talking about how the incidents in this RoFan world had turned me into a dopamine addict that made my past life's addiction to YouTube Shorts look like nothing, but Daisy seemed to take it purely as me being bored because I stayed at the Academy for her sake.
"......T-then. To keep you from being bored. There's a party at the beginning of the year. Let's go to that together."
"What kind of party?"
"An Imperial Party."
"......?"
No, wait, fuck that.
No matter how much of a dopamine addict I am, there are lines you don't cross.
"Why would I go there?"
"That's a good idea."
"Senior Loreliya?"
I looked at Daisy with an incredulous expression, only to hear a familiar voice from behind me.
"There's a limit to how long I can hold out here anyway... I can use the New Year's Party as an excuse to return."
"Excuse me?"
These people weren't even asking for my opinion.
"How can I even go there? I'm not even an Imperial noble."
"It's possible."
"..."
Seriously, fuck.
Did a portal just open up or something?
I turned my head toward the voice, and this time Esid appeared, inviting me to the party.
"Various things have happened, but regardless, you and Ellen have made a great contribution to the Empire. The Imperial family was already planning to commemorate that..."
"No, you already gave Ellen a commendation..."
That should have been enough. What else are they trying to do?
And an Imperial New Year's festival filled with the RoFan cast?
That's the kind of event where dark mages would bring a demon along just to get revenge for the Empire's purge.
Why would I...
—I'm truly sorry to have to say this.
"If you're sorry, then don't say it..."
—You know it's just a formality. Subordinates do what they're told.
"..."
Just you wait, Captain.
The moment I get a little stronger, I'm forcing you into retirement.
—Go.
"Yes, sir..."
But for now, I was the weaker one... so I had no choice but to obey.
To commoners, noble parties might look like a massive waste of money.
Well, actually, they are a massive waste of money!
But unlike appearances, a noble party is another kind of battlefield.
The host of the party flaunts their power through the scale and quality of the event.
Those who attend judge the host's strength while simultaneously checking if they're just bluffing.
They also assess the status of the other families in attendance.
If that's the case for a normal noble party, imagine what an Imperial party is like!
It's a battlefield where the Imperial family drags nobles in under the guise of a party to put them on a leash, while the nobles smile and decline, trying to claw away every bit of profit they can.
...Or so Boradori explained, based on the original work's description.
Honestly, I didn't really get it.
"Why leave behind such a great tool as a sword and..."
I recalled the first Leon Royal party I had seen.
The King challenging anyone with a grievance to a duel, and the Duke drawing his sword saying it was a "harvest of bullshit"—it was a fantastic scene that still occasionally appeared in my dreams.
Of course, that wasn't exactly a normal occurrence even in Leon.
I hadn't seen anything like it since that day.
Still, it was a vivid memory, and I wished the Empire would import some of that energy.
The reason being...
"Senior, why are those bastards glaring at us with such dissatisfied expressions?"
"Because they're from our collateral branch."
"Are they going to come over?"
"They're in a disadvantageous position, so they'll probably just glare like that until the party ends."
Because they lacked the excellent communication tool known as a sword, there were too many people just annoyingly staring.
"Is that group also from the collateral branch?"
"That side... they're probably looking at Daisy, not you."
"Me? Why?!"
"That faction is one of the most religious among the nobility."
I wondered if they wanted to strike up a conversation with Daisy because she was the Saintess...
But looking at their expressions, that didn't seem to be the case.
"B-but why are they looking at me so scarily?"
Daisy must have felt it too, as she asked Senior Loreliya.
"They were a faction deeply connected to the former Cardinals."
"Ah."
That was a very convincing explanation.
"Before the former Cardinals fell, they wielded significant influence in the Empire as a channel of communication with the Holy Kingdom. But as the crimes of the former Cardinals were revealed, their prestige didn't just shrink—it hit rock bottom."
Apparently, they only survived because they were good at laundering bribes, so no evidence of them delivering the money was found.
I heard that some families were caught bribing the former Cardinals and had their titles confiscated.
"Of course, it's not just enemies. If you look over there..."
"To me, that side looks even scarier."
"M-me too..."
How should I put it? The former Cardinal faction showed a normal(?) grudge.
But the faction on the opposite side radiated an unstoppable madness.
"......They are the faction that supports the religious reformation of the Holy Kingdom. They believe the Empire's Church should follow the Holy Kingdom's example and reform. In short, they are the current Holy Kingdom's support base within the Empire."
I nodded at Senior Loreliya's words, noting that the former Cardinal faction was classified as the Old Church, while those supporting the current Holy Kingdom were the New Church.
"I see..."
"Why—why are you looking back and forth between me and the New Church people with such an 'I understand' look on your face?!"
Daisy looked utterly wronged, but the fact that she even said that meant she had a guilty conscience.
As I was listening to the lecture on Imperial noble factions by Professor Loreliya and sampling the Empire's culinary skills, a voice rang out.
"His Imperial Majesty enters!"
As the master of the Imperial Palace made his appearance, every noble showed their respect.
As a noble of another country, I did the same.
"The Empire is currently experiencing a great crisis."
Looking out at the nobles, the Emperor spoke with a voice that wasn't particularly loud, yet seemed to carry a powerful weight that reached everyone in the banquet hall.
"..."
Watching the Emperor, I recalled what the Captain had said.
—I'm not telling you to go for no reason. There's a purpose behind it.
Normally, he's the kind of guy who'd send me just to get gossip from an Imperial party.
But our Captain is officially the Knight Commander representing the Kingdom, not just a royal instructor.
He might be a "leaky pot" at home, but abroad, he was one of the knights representing the Kingdom of Knights and a name always mentioned as a successor to the Sword Emperor.
—Information has come in suggesting that something very big is about to happen. Well, it's still in the realm of speculation...
An uncertain realm of speculation.
However, it was something that could change the continental situation, as well as the RoFan story itself.
"To stabilize the center of this chaotic Empire, I hereby appoint the 1st Prince, Erild, as the Crown Prince!"
It was the one thing that never happened in the original work: the gay—no, the appointment of the 1st Prince as the Crown Prince.