Chapter 35
Chapter 35
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Crown Prince Alondre (3) - Immersing Yourself in the Role
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Eisen Empire's capital, Calastia.
In the Golden Cloud Palace where the Crown Prince resided, over hundreds of personnel were quartered, and lately they had all been suffering from a peculiar affliction.
It was called "It's All My Fault Disease."
"As Your Highness's personal physician, I failed to protect your precious body—what use is this old man alive?!"
"All illnesses stem from unclean environments. This is all due to my inadequacy as head maid. I wish to return all my positions and wealth to the Golden Cloud Palace and retreat to the wilds, so please grant me your permission!"
"Ah! If my sword had reached true mastery, I could have slain even the illness tormenting Your Highness! How shameful to call myself your guard and martial arts instructor—I'm no better than the kitchen knife wielded by the old cook!"
Watching the scene, the archdemon gave her assessment.
"What the hell... these guys are scary..."
Lucidra felt genuine chills.
No, sure, people get minor ailments now and then, but making this much fuss over something like that?
And the funniest part was the Crown Prince's reaction.
"Kuhk! A lord bears responsibility. If you have sinned, then my sin is greater still—speak of this no more."
His subordinates instantly fell silent at the veiled threat of "Keep this up and I'll chew you out," and the Crown Prince lay abed for about three days before rising fully recovered.
Lucidra was utterly dumbfounded.
In truth, when the Crown Prince's first clone, Bern, had been destroyed, Lucidra had secretly harbored hopes.
The clone's destruction would deal significant damage to the original body, leaving the weakened Crown Prince ripe for coaxing into a new contract.
That hope had ultimately been dashed by the infuriatingly resilient Crown Prince, but now she felt relieved it hadn't panned out.
"...If this much chaos erupts over a mere cold, what if he'd collapsed vomiting blood?"
The palace might have turned upside down—no joke.
There would surely have been a massive investigation to root out the culprit, inevitably exposing Lucidra's existence.
Imagining hundreds of overzealous, fanatical loyalists pursuing her with eyes blazing murder, Lucidra shuddered.
"What's wrong? Do demons catch colds too?"
"Nothing like that. More importantly, is it really okay for you to be up already?"
"I'm not at full strength yet, but handling paperwork is no issue. I've skipped Crown Prince lessons for the time being, so I can use that time for backlog, but if it piles up too much, it'll be unmanageable."
"Wait, didn't you say you hate work? Then just keep faking it and rest."
At Lucidra's words, the Crown Prince looked at her.
With his statue-like features and gentle gaze, even the archdemon Lucidra didn't feel her heart flutter...
Not when his face plainly read, "Oh come on, seriously?"
"What's with that look?"
"Dodging work with feigned illness is only temporary. Long-term, it tarnishes your reputation and the esteem others hold you in."
And, he added,
"Strictly speaking, I don't hate work itself. I just hate doing only work."
"So you make clones with other identities to play around?"
"Hm. Life as an adventurer was truly thrilling."
"But your acting sucks."
The Crown Prince flinched.
His body stiffened.
At this first crack in the man's ironclad facade, a smile crept across the demon's lips.
"You keep slipping into that lofty 'highborn' Crown Prince gaze, and sometimes your speech reverts entirely."
"Mm."
"And for someone role-playing as a common adventurer, why are you so unnecessarily knowledgeable about magic? The info you gave that Blanca girl—most commoners wouldn't even know it."
"Erm."
"And at the end, you straight-up expose yourself as a 'clone.'"
"Kuhk."
Letting out a death rattle like an arrow to the chest, the Crown Prince soon mustered a defense.
"But hear me out. Wouldn't vanishing without a word make me a total bastard? She might carry that guilt forever. I couldn't reveal my true identity, but she needed to know at least that body was fake to dispel her misunderstanding."
"Hrm."
Lucidra hummed thoughtfully.
The Crown Prince wasn't wrong. He'd done the utmost he could.
The issue was, to Lucidra's eyes, that Blanca girl had interpreted it in a whole different way.
"Eh, whatever? Letting it fester might be more fun. It's this guy who'll suffer from the deepened misunderstanding, not me. Yeah, no problem."
Having reached a delightfully demonic conclusion, she snapped her fingers.
Changing from her signature skimpy, glossy outfit into a crisp white shirt and black suit pants, she addressed the Crown Prince like a salesperson pitching a product.
"With that in mind, how about striking a new contract with me, Your Highness?"
"Your speech changed. What are you proposing?"
"A spell to let you 'immerse' more deeply in your acting. It prevents confusion between original and clone."
Lucidra's red eyes gleamed seductively.
"Prevents confusion between original and clone" sounded appealing at first glance.
But in truth, it wasn't much different from the original and clone each possessing distinct egos.
Of course, the clone could be dispelled at the original's whim, making rebellion impossible, but the clone still held a fragment of the Crown Prince's soul.
In vulnerable moments like sleep, tempting the clone into a contract could lead to all sorts of entertaining scenarios.
"Ah, nothing like that—I already made one, so no need."
A crack appeared in Lucidra's demonic smile.
Ignoring her, the Crown Prince calmly explained his own spell.
"I tweaked the clone magic a bit more. Think admin account and sub-account... though that might be unclear. In plain terms, it separates the original's and clone's consciousnesses. The original can access the clone's info, but not vice versa. The original can interfere with the clone, but the clone can only 'request'—no direct interference. Memory access is restricted too."
Lucidra blinked.
Blinked, then asked,
"When the hell did you...?"
"I've been lying around resting these past few days. Worked on it in spare moments. Good rehab exercise."
Rehab exercise, my ass.
From what she'd heard, it wasn't a tweak—it was a full recreation.
"D-Does that even work? That's not some simple fix! What about identity issues or ego confusion?!"
Dropping her sales patter, Lucidra's hysterical reaction drew a solemn reply from the Crown Prince.
"An actor immersed in a role doesn't forget they're an actor. Yet deep in that actor's consciousness, their true self endures. Applying that principle isn't so difficult."
"...Ah, I see."
Lucidra gave up thinking.
This was a human casually wielding and modifying demon-exclusive clone magic, meant only for demons.
His mental makeup was utterly unlike a normal person's—couldn't judge him by ordinary standards.
"So, what's the plan for the next clone? Reviving Bern?"
"Mm, I thought about approaching Blanca casually for a check-in, but it's too risky. Even if she buys it, the other adventurers think Bern really died— in a lich's dungeon, no less."
An adventurer reported dead in a lich dungeon sneaking off to meet the lich-slayer? Perfect recipe for suspicion.
Genuinely wishing Blanca growth and success, the Crown Prince didn't want her tangled in needless scandal because of him.
"New clone it is, then. What this time?"
"Digging deeper into Birka Kingdom."
Through adventurer Bern's eyes, Birka Kingdom had been a total mess.
Especially the royals and nobles letting threats like Goblin Lords and liches proliferate unchecked—suicidal governance that made one question their sanity.
"Renya mentioned an intriguing rumor amid his chatter."
"Rumor?"
"A family with top-tier power and influence in Birka, but their young miss has such a nasty personality that servants quit daily. Normally, such a prestigious house fills roles with trusted retainers, yet they can't even manage that—settling for whoever's available."
"Spoiled brat with a foul temper, or a natural-born bully. Either way, no sane girl."
"Thus, infiltrating as a servant there."
"...You, the Crown Prince, becoming a servant in a foreign noble house?"
"That's the essence of role-playing. Plus, approaching nobles as an unknown is tricky. This strikes me as a prime opportunity."
Moreover, he added,
"Teaming with Blanca taught me something. Turns out I quite enjoy nurturing talent. If I can mold that nasty noble lady into enlightened ruler material, it'd contribute to stabilizing Birka. Private gain and public good aligned."
"A chaotic, crumbling foreign kingdom benefits an imperial crown prince, no?"
"Too shortsighted. If undead hordes or a goblin kingdom emerge, it's a headache for us too. Better extinguish the neighbor's spark before it catches our house."
"Yes, yes, how very noble of you."
Sneering, Lucidra asked,
"So, name decided?"
The Crown Prince replied.
"Cedric."