The Penniless Prince's Gamble
"I am..."
"Wait, before you speak, pull back that cloak."
At Kim Tae-hyun's words, the man pulled back his cloak. Beneath it was a luxurious outfit! Tae-hyun's eyes sparkled.
"Are you from this castle?"
"Pardon? No, I am not."
"Aw, come on... You're not? Really?"
Tae-hyun had been planning to use the Second Prince's name to squeeze him dry if he was from this castle!
"I truly am not." But the man was stubborn.
"Tsk. Fine. Then who are you?"
"I am... serving the Third Prince..."
"Ah, not buying. Not buying. Go away."
"Excuse me? Please hear me out!"
"Why are there so many princes in this royal family? Did the late king do nothing but breed instead of doing his actual job? Pretty soon we'll have a Fourth Prince, Fifth Prince, Sixth Prince popping out."
"There is no Fourth Prince, but..."
"Ah, whatever. Two princes are more than enough. If I get any more involved with the Auston royal family, my name isn't Kim Tae-hyun, it's Choi Tae-hyun. Shoo, go away! Do you want to get beaten up before you leave?"
"I-I heard Count Kim Tae-hyun was a highly reputable man who saved the continent from crisis and revived a forgotten god...?" The man muttered, utterly bewildered by Tae-hyun's attitude.
Hearing this, Cain choked and coughed. Man, how distorted can rumors get?
"Dealing with the First and Second Princes was already annoying enough. I don't want to hear the Third Prince asking me to do passion labor. I'll give you five seconds, so get lost, kid!"
"O-Our Prince is different from the First and Second Princes!"
"How is he different? Does his credit card have a higher limit?"
"Pardon? A card? What does that mean?"
"Don't worry about it."
The man clearly had no idea that Tae-hyun was using the names of the First and Second Princes to scrape up gold wherever he could.
Grab!
The man suddenly clung to Tae-hyun's ankle. A very familiar sight!
Is this guy Pelmas's long-lost brother?
"Just once! Please meet him just once and then decide! Our Prince is different!"
"The First and Second Princes said the exact same thing. You can't trust anyone blinded by loyalty."
Tae-hyun said that, but he didn't kick the man away. Since he was begging so desperately, he could at least take a look, could he not?
And while I'm at it, I can see what he's got.
Tae-hyun had made a pretty penny from the castles of the First and Second Princes, so maybe he could squeeze something out of the Third Prince's base too.
"Whew. Fine. Where is this Third Prince of ours staying? Which castle?"
"Pardon? Our Prince does not have a castle..."
"Ah, so it's a city instead of a castle? A city is fine too. More gold there..."
"He doesn't have a city either..." The man spoke while cautiously reading Tae-hyun's expression.
The atmosphere was growing strange.
"Hey, hey," Cain tapped Tae-hyun's shoulder and whispered. "Don't you know about the Auston Kingdom's civil war? The First and Second Princes are the ones fighting."
"Yeah, I heard about that."
"If he's a prince who can't even get his name in the ring, do you think he has anything to his name?"
"...!"
The man looked at Tae-hyun with a dejected face. It was true. The Third Prince had absolutely nothing. No territory, nothing—his situation was worse than a common noble's!
"Seriously, this Auston royal family is unbelievable!"
Tae-hyun coldly shook his ankle free. His technique for shaking off a clinger was practically an art form.
"Please! Just hear us out!"
"No, I'm good. The First and Second Princes actually have things to extort, but your prince has nothing. We're done here. Go find someone else. I'm sure there are other nobles."
"The corrupt nobles of the Auston Kingdom are useless! If it isn't Count Kim Tae-hyun, who came from the outside, personally resolved the continent's crisis, and is the noble administrator of the Church..."
While the man babbled, Tae-hyun was already walking far away. Cain patted the man's back and said kindly,
"I think you've got the wrong idea about him."
"..."
"If you want a favor, you pay upfront. No exceptions."
Ultimately, Tae-hyun sat down at a table. Across from him sat a boy NPC who looked like he had committed a crime, and a middle-aged male NPC. This was the entirety of the Third Prince's faction! Just the Third Prince and his former royal guard knight.
"O-Our Prince does not possess the gold that the other two princes have, but..."
"Then go earn some gold! The world doesn't run on charity. Those two, the First and Second Princes, are trash with terrible personalities, but why do you think they have people around them? Because they have plenty of this!"
Tae-hyun made a circle with his fingers. Gold!
Meanwhile, the Third Prince raised his hand. Though he was still a young boy, he hadn't lost his composure even while Tae-hyun was throwing a fit.
"Speak."
"If I don't have gold, would something else do?"
"If you don't have gold, I accept castles, cities, and jewels. Expensive sculptures or artwork are fine too. Of course, you know it's payment upfront, right?"
"..."
The Third Prince's royal guard stared at Tae-hyun in disbelief. This man was completely different from the rumors.
"Upfront payment is impossible."
"Figures," Tae-hyun replied half-heartedly.
But the Third Prince remained steadfast. To anyone watching, Tae-hyun was clearly the villain here. Seeing this, Cain suddenly felt like cheering for the Third Prince.
Hang in there, Third Prince! Don't back down!
"Since I cannot pay you upfront, I will promise you a much greater reward if you help me."
"That's just passion labor, you brat!"
"T-That... is a bit different..."
"So what is this great reward?"
"...I haven't thought of it yet."
Scrape!
Tae-hyun immediately tried to stand up and leave. The royal guard knight lunged to grab his ankle again!
Whoosh!
But Tae-hyun pulled his foot back with agile movements.
"You call yourself a knight, but you act just like Pelmas. Are you really a knight?"
"I-I don't know who this Pelmas is, but please hear us out!"
"You haven't even thought of a reward! Why should I listen to you?"
"It's only because I didn't know what you would want, Count Kim Tae-hyun!" The royal guard desperately continued. "Count Kim Tae-hyun! This isn't even a dangerous task. It's something you can easily accomplish."
"Making someone a king isn't dangerous?"
"Pardon?"
"?"
The Third Prince and the royal guard stared at Tae-hyun as if he were speaking gibberish.
"So... you didn't want me to make him king, but rather help him seek asylum in the Atali Kingdom?"
"Yes! Since you have a high reputation, Count Kim Tae-hyun, you could surely convince His Majesty the King of the Atali Kingdom to recognize the Third Prince's status."
"Once His Highness's status is recognized, His Majesty will likely grant him a small fief. Then, we can sufficiently reward you..."
"You can't trust any fief granted by that king."
"...?"
This was sincere advice from Tae-hyun, who had been scammed into accepting the Valley of Despair and Sorrow. What made it even more absurd was that the King of Atali had actually given it to him with the best of intentions! Calling it a glorious land fitting for a count who subjugated demonic beasts and defeated the Sadique Order.
Keep your glorious land and just give me a normal, good one!
Tae-hyun clicked his tongue as he looked at the two. In short, they wanted help escaping the mess that was currently the Auston Kingdom.
Asylum of the Penniless Prince
The Third Prince is currently hunted by both the First and Second Princes. Having lost all supporting factions after the late king's death, he seeks to flee to another kingdom. If the Third Prince successfully seeks asylum, other nations may use it as a pretext to intervene in the Auston Kingdom's civil war. Thus, the First and Second Princes are determined to capture him at all costs. Safely escorting the Third Prince to another kingdom will yield a suitable reward.
🎁 Reward: ?, ??, ???
"I thought this was a quest to make him king."
"Pardon? How could we possibly ask for something like that?" The royal guard looked at Tae-hyun in disbelief. Tae-hyun spoke of it so casually, as if pulling something out of his own pocket.
"But actually, it seems surprisingly easy."
"???"
"If the First and Second Princes both die, he's the only one left. Won't the other nobles naturally flock to him? You said there's no Fourth Prince, right?"
"??????"
The royal guard and the Third Prince stared at Tae-hyun as if he were a madman, but Tae-hyun ignored them and fell into thought. Since helping him seek asylum would be a hassle anyway, wouldn't it be better to aim high and win big for the same amount of effort?
"Hey, Third Prince. If you become king, what can you give me?"
The Third Prince was flustered, but he thought hard about Tae-hyun's question.
"If you tell me what you want..."
"Hmm. A noble title is a basic given, of course."
"I can do that." Granting a single title was no issue if he could ascend to the throne.
"Ah. This would be perfect. Let's make the Archisus Church the state religion of the Auston Kingdom. And kick out all the other churches."
"?!?!?!"
The unexpected demand left both the Third Prince and the royal guard dumbfounded. This was on a completely different scale than granting a noble title.
"The other churches currently in the Auston Kingdom will be furious!"
"Well, if you don't like it, you can go ask them for help."
Tae-hyun was sick and tired of the Auston royal family. He had no intention of moving unless the reward was this substantial.
"...I will do it!"
"Your Highness!"
"We don't have a choice, do we? Count Kim Tae-hyun is right. The other churches won't help us anyway. I don't care if they get angry!" The Third Prince shouted resolutely.
"Count Kim Tae-hyun, if you make me the king, I will make the Archisus Church the state religion of the Auston Kingdom! Along with your noble title!"
With a determined shout, the Third Prince extended his hand to Tae-hyun. Seeing this, the royal guard looked deeply moved. When had the young prince grown so much?
But instead of shaking the Third Prince's hand, Tae-hyun slid a quill pen into it.
"?"
"Sign a contract. I've been backstabbed by too many princes to just take your word for it."
"..."
Tae-hyun had gained many things upon being appointed Pope of the Archisus Church, and one of them was a powerful curse he could write into contracts. He was the only person on the continent who could write: 'If this contract is breached, you shall be cursed in the name of Archisus.' Breaking a contract invoked in a god's name meant inviting that god's direct retribution.
Scribble, scribble—
With a slightly uneasy expression, the Third Prince signed the contract.
You have signed a contract with a high-ranking noble NPC in the name of Archisus.
Reputation and Holy stats have increased.
The Path of the Kingmaker
There are those in this world who actively seek out hardship. Although a satisfying reward was guaranteed simply by helping the Third Prince seek asylum, you have chosen to crown a prince who possesses absolutely no power or backing. But what can be done? You have made your choice.
Place the Third Prince on the throne of the Auston Kingdom. If you succeed, you will become the savior of the nation.
🎁 Reward: A noble title of the Auston Kingdom, the Archisus Church will be established as the state religion of the Auston Kingdom.
If I swallow the Auston Kingdom whole, we can instantly escape our status as a minor church.
Currently, the Archisus Church was so small that they had to run "buy one, get one free" missionary strategies! But if they could swallow the entire Auston Kingdom, they would grow large enough to rival any major church.
"But how exactly do you plan to make our Prince the king...?"
"Well, I have my ways."
Tae-hyun tucked the contract into his breast pocket and stood up.