Chapter 6
Chapter 6
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Childhood (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ten years had passed since Yuno's younger sibling was born. Yuno himself had turned eleven, reaching the age where he needed to seriously study the education and martial arts befitting a prince. As such, he left the empress's palace, where he had grown so attached during his childhood, and began living in his own palace.
"Your Highness, please look at this map. This is the place where His Late Majesty ascended to the throne and reclaimed the vast Xenon Plains from the wicked Theseito Empire, proclaiming our empire. The Theseito Empire lost the expansive Xenon Plains to our Valkan Empire and was demoted to a kingdom, from which it still hasn't recovered its strength. But we must never lower our guard, as those vile bastards could strike again at any moment."
The instructor, who had been rambling on for quite some time, turned back to check if the prince had understood his explanation.
"Your Highness! Did you follow my explanation?"
"Zzz... Snore... Zzz..."
Bam!!
"Your Highness!!"
"Ow!! Huh? Uh? Ah? Ah~ Baron Kimberly~ Sorry about that. I was training late into the night yesterday, so I didn't get much sleep... I must have dozed off for a bit. Haha."
Anyone could see that Yuno hadn't just dozed off—he had been sprawled out fast asleep. But Baron Kimberly couldn't scold the noble prince for it. Barely containing his anger, the baron returned to the map to explain again and asked Yuno.
"Haa~ Understood, Your Highness. I'll explain it once more. What do you remember from today's lesson so far?"
"Hmm~~ Sorry. I don't remember a thing."
At the prince's brazen admission that he hadn't listened to a single word of the lesson, Baron Kimberly's pent-up fury finally erupted.
Bam!!!
"Prince Yuno Your Highness!! Please listen to the lesson! You are the third prince of the Valkan Empire!! For the sake of maintaining your dignity, you must at least acquire basic refinement. What I'm teaching is the fundamentals of history, etiquette, economics, geography, administration, and law. Fundamentals!!"
Just hearing the list of subjects made Yuno shudder, his head already throbbing.
"Ah~ Those are my brothers' majors. Can't they just teach them?"
"Your Highness!! Crown Prince Franz His Highness and Second Prince Heinrich His Highness both mastered those by age ten!! If you keep this up, I will have no choice but to report to Her Majesty the Empress!!"
"No~~ Shouldn't I just do what I'm good at? Franz brother is destined to become emperor, so he has to master it, and Heinrich brother wants to serve as prime minister under Franz brother, so he needs to study hard too."
"Then! Your Highness should as well!!"
"I'm not really interested in running the empire, so isn't it fine if I just train in martial arts to protect myself and live leisurely? If I studied imperial studies or something, my brothers might get worried. Baron Kimberly! Hahaha."
Only then did Baron Kimberly calm his anger and regard Prince Yuno with a cold gaze. From what he had observed so far, Prince Yuno was just a child who hated studying, preferred playing outside and training in martial arts. But the current Prince Yuno seemed to perfectly grasp his position, carefully avoiding being seen as a political threat to his brothers—an ambitious schemer in the making.
"Of course, training and playing with the knights is the most fun for me too! Haha."
'Hmm... Did I misjudge him? No... Prince Yuno is hiding his fangs. And someday, he'll bare sharp claws at his brothers! To that end, I must teach him, even if by force... He's the third prince, and succession rights are real no matter what!! If Prince Yuno ascends the throne, his teacher like me could rise too... Keh."
But contrary to Baron Kimberly's thoughts, Yuno had no fangs or anything of the sort. His goal was to become independent from the imperial palace as an adult, receive a fief, and live happily with Empress Yuria, sister Isabella, and Marie as a family.
'Father's almost eighty now, so he won't last much longer... At most ten years. Then Mother will either become Empress Dowager and meddle in politics or retire to the countryside. Given her personality, she won't touch politics...'
Yuno was already worrying about his and his family's futures. To ward off any potential assassinations, he was focusing on improving his physical abilities.
'If I retire to the countryside, my brothers will give me a decent fief. Then I can bring Mother there and live happily together... Even if she says she's not interested in politics, as long as she holds a position, flies will swarm. If our family retires together, it'll help my brothers rule the empire without distractions.'
Though he couldn't become lovers or marry since she was his mother, Yuno wanted to give happiness to Yuria, his love from his previous life. She valued family happiness above all—even naming herself after the goddess of the hearth—so Yuno wanted to grant her that joy.
'And honestly, studying is boring... As long as I can protect myself and my family, that's enough...'
Even in his previous life, Yuno had been far from studious. Reborn, he had no intention of studying hard when he could live comfortably as he pleased.
Oblivious to Yuno's true thoughts, Baron Kimberly began tormenting the innocent prince to fuel his imagined ambitions. Yuno squirmed desperately to avoid the lesson, but that evening, the baron tattled to Empress Yuria about his attitude. She rushed to the third prince's palace and declared she would test him herself, forcing Yuno to finally study properly.
"Aww~ I don't need to learn this stuff, but Mom..."
"Tsk! Yuno! Listen properly to the lesson! Mom really will test you after dinner tonight!"
In the end, that evening, Yuno got his first-ever spanking from his mother for not studying.
The next day, with the empress observing the lesson, Yuno stayed awake and attentive. Baron Kimberly beamed as he proceeded with the class.
"Your Highness, do you remember the political characteristics of each nation on our Ephoru Continent that I explained yesterday?"
".....It rings a bell, but... If I say I don't remember, I might get a few whacks from Mother, so I'll say I do."
"Yuno!! Keep that up and Mom will scold you again! Explain it once."
Though Yuno's lips protruded in a pout, his mother's stern command left him no choice but to speak.
'At times like this, I wonder if Mom really is Yuri... Yuri was so kind... Our mom is...'
But Empress Yuria, now in her mid-twenties, was growing more and more like the Yuri from his previous life in appearance, leaving Yuno confused at such moments.
'Sigh, what's the point of thinking about Yuri... I can't be with Mom anyway... Damn gods... I'll get revenge no matter what!!'
"Yuno? Why are you lost in thought instead of explaining?"
"Ah... Got it... Ahem. First, Theseito is a nation where all power is concentrated in the king. Under him, the administrative minister and military minister divide their domains to govern. And the Leon Kingdom has a structure most similar to our empire, with a cabinet of ministers for each field."
"There were many omissions and summaries, but you explained it correctly. Then, what about the Johannes Holy Kingdom and the Drogon Kingdom?"
"The Johannes Holy Kingdom is basically governed by the Pope and the College of Cardinals, with the Saintess mediating disputes when problems arise."
"And the Drogon Kingdom?"
".....Please explain that part once more."
"Boo hoo hoo. Still, I'm impressed that Your Highness reviewed and memorized this much. I'll explain in detail once again."
Baron Kimberly droned on at length about the Drogon Kingdom, the Alto Kingdom, and the Meikan Tribal Alliance. But to Yuno, it was just pointlessly long-winded.
'So, the Drogon Kingdom has its king appointed by the Dragon Lord in the center of the Dragon's Breath Mountains, and when the king dies, they offer tribute and ask for a new one... The Meikan Tribal Alliance elects a great chieftain every ten years through a grand tribal council... And the Alto Kingdom is ruled by the king and a parliament, electing the king from among the parliament members... Why explain it all so lengthily....'
Of course, Baron Kimberly's lessons excellently covered the historical backgrounds behind their political systems alongside history itself. But to uninterested Yuno, it was like reciting scriptures to a cow.
Thud thud thud thud
Deep in his focused lesson, Baron Kimberly frowned at the sound of military boots echoing from the corridor.
The door opened, and three Imperial Guard Knights entered. Startled at the sight of the empress, they saluted.
"Your Majesty! Are you well?!! The third prince's training session is about to begin. If it's alright, may we take His Highness?"
Before the empress could reply, Yuno lit up at the mention of training and tossed aside his book and pen. After a quick bow to her, he bolted out the door.
Yuria, the empress, gave a wry smile at her son's antics and apologized to his beginner refinement tutor, Baron Kimberly.
"Sorry, Baron Kimberly. The prince is still young and immature, so he prefers playing outside. But don't worry too much! I'll give him a stern talking-to tonight."
At the empress's courteous apology, Baron Kimberly shot to his feet and hastily bowed.
"Not at all, Your Majesty! The prince is plenty capable. He has a deep eye for assessing situations and responds accordingly from a young age—a brilliant one."
"Wh... What do you mean?"
To the empress's question, Baron Kimberly detailed what he had observed. Her hands began to tremble as she listened. She hurried back to her palace, dismissed all her attendants, and shed secret tears.
'Ah... My poor son... At an age when he should just be playing carefree, he's already thinking such things... Mommy's sorry... I'm so sorry...'
Unable to imagine his mother weeping like that, Yuno joyfully threw himself into training with the knights.