Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Long time no see, Father
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Originally, it was meant to be a celebration for the achievements of the 3rd Prince Carmen.
An eight-year-old genius who had reached the 2nd Circle—an unprecedented prodigy.
With the rare affinity for light magic to boot, it was only natural to praise him.
They had planned to invite the Tower of Light and hold a festival, but the other empresses weren't about to let that slide.
'How dare they ruin Carmen's moment...!'
Josephine Empress bit her lip hard.
Her mouth had run ahead of her, boasting to the other empresses about Carmen reaching the 2nd Circle.
Now, with talks of reinstating the crown prince gaining traction, they were all desperate to put their own sons in that spot.
And yet, inviting the Tower of Light to hold a festival before the emperor?
Besides, every descendant of the imperial bloodline was a genius by nature. It would be weirder if an eight-year-old hadn't reached the 2nd Circle.
For all those reasons, the four towers had ended up arriving on the same day.
'Carmen has to stand out the most.'
Now it had turned into a contest of who could catch the emperor's eye.
Simply inviting the Tower of Light wasn't enough.
"Alberto. Is everything ready?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Golden Knight Order stood in perfect formation.
Thirty resplendent knights in full armor lined up in a row.
To make the 3rd Prince Carmen shine even brighter, they had to overwhelm everyone from the moment they entered.
Draw all eyes so far away that the other princes were invisible.
That was the purpose of the knight order.
Josephine Empress herself was dressed to the nines in golden light armor.
She loathed uncomfortable garments like armor, but for Carmen to be named crown prince, she would dive into fire itself.
"Your Highness Carmen. Are you dressed?"
"Yes, Mother."
Moments later, Carmen waddled out from the side room with his maids.
Carmen was clad in golden armor as well.
With a helmet adorned with real lion's mane and a mithril sword at his side, he cut an impressive figure.
"You look splendid, Your Highness."
"You look splendid too, Mother."
Preparations were complete.
Josephine Empress glanced at Captain Alberto.
"Let's go."
Was a military send-off like this?
With grim determination, they stepped out of the Lion Palace.
At the palace entrance, the emissaries from the towers waited in their prepared seats.
High-ranking mages sent to foster close ties with the empire.
It was also about overwhelming them—not just the emperor—to build friendly relations.
"His Highness the 3rd Prince Carmen arrives!"
Bwooo-!
Soldiers and knights—a procession of about a hundred—reached the palace entrance.
But upon arrival, Josephine Empress had no choice but to stiffen.
'These fox-like bitches...!'
The other empresses were thinking the same.
It was a battle to stand out the most.
They hadn't made as much of a fuss as her, but each empress and prince held their positions with distinct flair.
All of them had brought their knight orders, exuding an air of rivalry.
"Whoa, the imperial family is something else. Better than any circus troupe..."
"Shh, please!"
One mage spoke carelessly and drew glares from the others.
Every prince's entrance brought a spectacle.
It was more entertaining than any circus.
Ignoring the murmurs, the other empresses sneered at Josephine and Carmen.
"What clowns. As expected from country nobility... tsk."
"The kid looks so tacky too."
The 2nd and 4th Empresses.
Only the 1st Empress didn't even glance her way.
Josephine, the 3rd Empress, pretended not to hear.
Did they really not realize insulting her was the same as insulting themselves?
Thus, everyone except the emperor had gathered.
To be precise, the crown prince was missing.
It would be odd for him, who lacked any magical talent, to be here.
He had no sponsoring tower or knight order.
'Still, I pulled strings in advance, so the crown prince should show up.'
However, Josephine had tipped off the emperor to ensure the crown prince attended.
So that incompetent Crown Prince Reinhardt would despair seeing the talented princes.
Become even more isolated.
And if he lost his mind and rampaged again, all the better.
'Today is Carmen's day.'
The crown prince was no issue.
The other princes?
The 3rd and 4th Princes were close in age.
But the 1st and 2nd were full-grown adults.
If reinstating the crown prince became an issue, it would go to those two adults—but today was the day to show Carmen was their equal.
The 4th Prince, the same age?
Carmen was on another level from that brat still suckling at his mother's breast.
To compete, it had to be the 1st or 2nd Prince.
The 1st Prince was a sword genius.
At just nineteen, he had reached peak Sword Expert. Rumors swirled he'd become a Sword Master soon.
They said if he awakened flame on his sword and himself, he could even fight a Sword Master.
The 2nd Prince was a magic genius.
At seventeen, he had mastered 6th Circle wind magic.
An realm even prodigies reached past thirty—he'd arrived thirteen years early.
'All just common elemental affinities.'
Carmen lagged in swordsmanship and circles, but he possessed the rarest light affinity on the continent.
Rare things always drew more eyes than the ordinary.
The emperor wouldn't be different.
That was when it happened.
"Reinhardt?"
"Why is the crown prince here...?"
Murmurs rose.
Josephine Empress smiled faintly.
With the Imperial Guard sent on the emperor's orders, Reinhardt had no right to refuse from the start.
It was as good as being dragged in by the guard.
A fitting punishment for a crown prince abandoned even by his own knights.
The mages buzzed too.
"That's Crown Prince Reinhardt?"
"His procession is modest compared to the others."
"Yeah. Just three?"
Where was the separate guard escort? The crown prince was trudging in on foot.
Beside him was the Versailles Countess's Daughter, and the last one was...
"Wh-why is she...?"
"Huh..."
Josephine Empress's lip twitched downward.
It couldn't be helped.
She now knew why the guard sent to fetch him was missing.
Because he had brought knights.
Just one, but that one could replace an entire order.
"...Sir Croft."
The captain of the Imperial Dragon Knight Order.
The strongest Sword Master, bearer of the Sword King title.
The man who stayed in the palace but never ventured out.
The man who had ground his teeth at the crown prince.
...was now at Reinhardt's side.
'The stares sting.'
Such gazes were more than familiar—they were everyday.
I crossed them with ease and poise.
Isabella looked stunned but matched my lead.
Croft stood rigidly by my side, face set.
'Didn't expect him to show up.'
I never dreamed Croft would come to me this quickly.
—Germin knelt and begged me.
The Sword King Croft, who had dismissed the Imperial Guard, said.
Germin.
He said if Germin hadn't come begging on his knees, he wouldn't have stepped forward.
The moment the Imperial Guard arrived, Germin had read the 'politics' behind it.
The fact that the empresses would use me as a scapegoat for their festival again.
—But I don't believe your mania is cured. It's just another whim.
Disappointment after disappointment.
After dozens, hundreds, thousands of letdowns, he realized there was no answer.
If not for the emperor's command, Sword King Croft wouldn't have left the palace.
—So I told Germin: If your mania flares up before my eyes again, I'll sever your head. The empire, His Majesty the Emperor—none can perish because of you, right?
Croft knew everything.
Whose empire this was now.
What they wanted.
Even what they'd do with me as their puppet.
In the end, when I ascended as emperor, Croft left the empire.
With the final restraint gone, the nobles ran wild openly.
Croft was a swordsman even nobles feared.
His presence maintained this fake peace.
Croft accompanied me not to serve, but to 'behead me if the worst happened.'
Brutal, but I agreed.
Better death than losing reason to mania again.
"Didn't the crown prince swear off public appearances?"
"He's way handsomer than the rumors."
"And not frowning?"
The mages murmured as they watched me.
No wonder.
I hadn't made a public appearance since the investiture—only rumors reached them.
And those rumors must have been vicious.
With all the tower representatives gathered.
A venue originally for celebrating their sponsored princes.
Regardless of age or gender, every eye fixed on me.
I sat in the seat beside where the emperor would be, who hadn't arrived yet.
A bit further was the empresses' seats.
They looked flustered or puzzled by my bold move.
'The crown prince who couldn't even meet His Majesty's gaze...'
Sitting so confidently beside the throne.
'Bluffing?'
'He's mad. Mania must have him again.'
It was all bravado anyway.
When the emperor appeared, he'd cower and stare at the floor.
I'met the empresses' eyes with a smile.
It had been so long.
Their screams still echoed in my ears.
I'd beheaded them myself, after all.
'Thanks to that, the imperial clan's power to check the dukes vanished.'
I'd fallen for the two dukes' slander.
The pent-up resentment toward the empresses who'd ignored me for so long had exploded.
Even now, it was a foolish, idiotic blunder that made me cringe.
I shouldn't have killed them. At least taking them would have been better.
"His Imperial Majesty the Emperor arrives!"
Bwooo!
With a chorus of trumpets, he finally appeared.
Everyone rose.
As the emperor, seated with hundreds of knights, raised his hand, all bowed their heads.
Holy King, Guardian of Peace—Deus.
...The indolent emperor who watched everything tied to that name.
In the past, I feared him.
Those emotionless eyes, like bottomless abysses staring at me.
Before him, I shrank, unable to do a thing.
Couldn't even speak, acting like a fool.
But now I knew.
He wasn't frightening at all.
I spoke with genuine feeling.
"Long time no see, Father."
And at that moment.
[Control over all unauthorized nanomachines has ended, Master.]