Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: -21
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Hatching
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Croft gazed at Reinhardt, who was leaning back against the carriage with his eyes closed.
'I can't read his mind.'
Reinhardt had been arrogant and insolent, looking down on everyone.
The man who had only cared about himself had left the palace and come to the North.
To save Edis's granddaughter, no less.
As unbelievable as it was, it had been Reinhardt who stopped the carriage to rescue those two children.
On the surface, it was to hire a guide through Thebeus, but Croft had seen through the true intent.
'He's changed.'
In the end, even Croft had to admit it.
The mad Crown Prince Reinhardt had changed.
It wasn't just that he had escaped his mania; the man himself had become someone entirely different.
To the point where it was impossible to think of him as the same person.
And his attitude toward Thebeus...
'He used Thebeus's personality to draw out all the answers he wanted.'
In an unexpected situation, setting up the board and guiding someone to the desired response was something even seasoned political nobles struggled with.
In the end, Reinhardt had saved the two children and subdued Thebeus.
He had strategically revealed his aura, even using Croft himself to build trust.
In a proper confrontation, it would have been an even match, likely ending in Reinhardt's defeat.
'...Far from mania, those eyes and that presence were the mark of an emperor.'
However, such presence was something even Holy King Deus lacked.
A kingly talent that none of the other princes possessed.
How had they never noticed it before?
Perhaps this change in the Crown Prince wasn't so sudden after all.
'We paid him no attention. No one ever truly looked at the Crown Prince.'
They simply hadn't known.
Croft clenched his fist and let out a silent sigh.
If that were the case, it wasn't hidden by mania.
Everyone had smothered Reinhardt with the prejudice of his mania.
In the end, Reinhardt had broken through that thick veil of prejudice all on his own.
He had emerged without anyone's help and roared into the world.
Just a week ago, Croft had thought that roar far too dangerous.
Reinhardt's talent would drag the empire into civil war.
He had only become Crown Prince because he was incompetent and mad.
If his competence were revealed, the grand dukes would never sit idly by.
So even after breaking through the shell, Croft had secretly hoped he would stay inside.
But seeing how Reinhardt dealt with Thebeus changed his mind.
'He's carving out his own place.'
Toward the hundreds of knights, toward Thebeus, toward Grand Duke Carlos, toward the nobles and the imperial court—Reinhardt was declaring it.
That the position of Crown Prince was now rightfully his.
That he would break through the shell, climb higher, and refuse to live as a puppet.
That resolve could destroy them all.
But... it might be better than letting things stay as they were.
The imperial glory had become the nobles' possession.
The long peace had only weakened imperial authority.
The nobles' dark ambitions were even eyeing the supreme imperial power.
"Sir Croft."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Do you think the Northern Expedition will succeed, or fail?"
Reinhardt opened his eyes and asked.
The conquest of the North had begun half a year ago.
He only knew they were still locked in stalemate, unable to reclaim the holy site.
He had heard it was neck-and-neck, but something felt off.
"I'm not sure."
"It will succeed."
He stated it with complete certainty, as if the Northern Expedition's success was a foregone conclusion.
"Why do you think so?"
"Don't you find it strange that there are so many knights stationed in the rear?"
The rear, which should have been wiped out long ago.
Even if it was for Thebeus's protection, the number of knights was excessive.
At least three hundred. That was just what was visible; there were surely more.
And they were all skilled fighters.
It didn't make sense for knights who could take on a hundred enemies at the front to be handling remnants in the rear.
Grand Duke Carlos, who valued efficiency above all, wouldn't make such a choice unless he had lost his mind.
"Do you mean there's some ulterior motive?"
"Grand Duke Carlos is a thorough man. Haven't the reports from the agents we've planted been dwindling?"
"What do you mean by that, Your Highness?"
"No need to hide it. I already know you're the one in charge of the Shadows."
Shadows.
The fixers who handled the imperial family's itchier matters.
And Croft was the one directing those fixers.
Croft had kept a low profile, hiding from the nobles' blades.
Instead, he moved the Shadows to monitor their movements.
This was a fact known only to a handful, including the Emperor.
How could Reinhardt know what even the grand dukes didn't?
"I also know you're disguising transfers of the Imperial Dragon Knights here and there as using them as Shadows."
On the surface, they were said to have left the Imperial Dragon Knights in disappointment with the Crown Prince or been reassigned elsewhere.
But in reality, Croft was operating them directly as Shadows to watch the nobles.
'How in the world?'
Knowing that meant he knew everything.
Croft nodded heavily.
How he knew wasn't the important part.
What mattered was why the Crown Prince was bringing it up now.
"...Yes. Contact with most of the Shadows sent to the North has been cut off."
He had mentioned Grand Duke Carlos and the Shadows.
It meant the grand duke was intentionally eliminating them, not that they had died in battle.
"Grand Duke Carlos is hiding his strength. He's extremely wary of letting the imperial family see all his power."
"So you're saying he's working behind the scenes?"
"Exactly. Even though he could conquer the holy site right now, he's secretly pulling forces to the rear. He's even rooting out spies to keep secrets from leaking."
"Why go through all that trouble? What's the point?"
They were at war.
No matter the advantage, there was no room for such leisure or hassle.
Absolute control.
The entire North was sealed off.
The grand duke wanted a quiet victory.
And.
"It means there's something critically important right in front of him that he needs to block all information about."
A dragon, precisely.
The holy site worshipped by all the northern tribes housed a dragon.
By hiding his capture of the dragon and his hidden forces, Grand Duke Carlos would pressure the imperial family in one fell swoop.
Only after he marched into the palace would everyone realize it.
That the imperial family had lost.
Croft's pupils began to tremble.
"Could it be... showing himself to Thebeus was..."
Not just to save the children?
To closely inspect the knights in the rear and plant seeds of doubt.
And to discuss the unfolding situation ahead, Reinhardt had stepped out of the carriage.
If so, it was impossible to guess how many moves ahead he had seen.
As if answering that thought.
"He thought he'd blocked everything off, but I appeared. Grand Duke Carlos can't kill me outright, so he'll be deep in thought."
To install him as Crown Prince, the grand duke had pulled all sorts of strings.
The Northern Expedition was one of them.
But suddenly, he had shown up in the North.
Having subdued Thebeus, no less.
Would the grand duke really believe his mania had vanished?
'Prejudices don't change easily.'
Still, he would want to confirm it.
He would go mad wondering why he had come to the North with Croft.
After all, no piece on the grand duke's chessboard was as crucial as he was right now.
"We just need to avoid getting caught. A path will open naturally."
No one knew Grand Duke Carlos as well as he did.
The grand duke was known for his brutality, but no one was as cautious.
He wouldn't move rashly until he captured him and confirmed his true intentions.
The pursuer and the pursued.
It's always more fun to be the one running.
"A path, Your Highness?"
"Sir Croft. Don't you want to know what Grand Duke Carlos is so desperate to hide?"
He did.
He wanted to know like mad.
But what drove him even madder was Reinhardt.
'It's not just his talent with the sword.'
Sword talent.
Judging purely by talent, he was a genius.
In just a week, he had reached the level of an average knight.
Especially his ability to perfectly replicate what he saw was overwhelming.
Even with just the basics, he already shone with brilliance.
With proper training, he might even surpass the first prince's innate sword genius.
But that alone wasn't enough.
It wasn't sufficient to face Grand Duke Carlos.
Yet.
'Should I lend him my strength?'
Croft saw the potential.
Of course, the current changes alone wouldn't suffice.
What one man could do was limited.
However, Reinhardt had the talent to absorb everything.
That was the true talent of an emperor.
Something no other prince, not even Emperor Deus, possessed.
A unique talent only Reinhardt had.
'I was the fool.'
Croft berated himself.
If it wasn't a lack but mere lack of attention...
He should have been the first to recognize that talent, yet he had let it lie fallow.
He had plugged his ears, turned his head, and shut away the Crown Prince's possibilities.
No matter how lacking, he must have had things he was good at.
Things he wanted to do.
No one had ever asked him.
They only scolded and ignored him, making his mania worse.
The palace must have been hell for Reinhardt.
'And yet he hatched all on his own.'
The moment he escaped the palace, it was as if everything hidden exploded outward.
He even had the mercy to stroke the head of a grieving child.
Outwardly arrogant and proud, but beneath it, other facets existed.
So if he had hatched, they should celebrate it, not cover it up.
But... there was no one in the world to celebrate the Crown Prince's hatching.
Not even himself.
He had just hoped he would stay in the shell.
He had thought he was tired of the Crown Prince's incompetence and given up.
No. It was just self-consolation, rationalization.
Since he was an incompetent Crown Prince anyway, giving up was right. Better for him to stay incompetent.
He had even thought of killing him.
But deep in Croft's heart, perhaps he had secretly hoped for this day.
The joy when the Crown Prince was born, the first son of the Emperor, believed to be the empire's steadfast pillar without doubt.
—Sir Croft. Protect Reinhardt for me. I can entrust him to you.
—Please, Croft, my old friend. You're the only one I can trust here.
The emotion when the Emperor and Empress handed him the child, when he first held Reinhardt in his arms.
That tiny baby who smiled up at him.
It'suddenly came back to him.
"I just can't understand it."
Reinhardt made a face like he truly couldn't comprehend.
He tilted his head and continued.
"Why are you laughing while crying?"
...That's what I'd like to know, Your Highness.
Croft turned his head away with effort.
"Must be some dust in my eye."
"Even a Sword Master tears up from dust in his eye, huh."
"Because I'm human."
Human.
He was, and so was Reinhardt.
Croft thought.
Perhaps he wasn't the only one who had hatched.
Reinhardt had shattered the thick walls that had imprisoned him.
Hatching End
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