Surviving As the 5th Prince of the Ruined Kingdom

020

The Royal Guard Corps.

In front of the Chief Clerk’s office of the Intelligence Department.

A man in a Guard Corps uniform cautiously knocked on the door.

Knock, knock.

“Count Miloah. An urgent report, sir.”

“Come in.”

The duties of the Royal Intelligence Agency, the highest intelligence organization in the Kingdom of Lionel, are diverse and crucial.

They range from minor tasks like assisting in royal trials to major operations such as gathering intelligence on enemy nations, counterintelligence, detecting and manipulating domestic and foreign public opinion, and conducting inspections.

– Whoever controls the Royal Intelligence Agency will ascend to the throne.

No one would dispute that statement. Due to its political significance, the head of the Royal Intelligence Agency is merely a figurehead from the former ruling faction.

The recent appointment of Count Miloa, a close friend of the First Prince, as the chief secretary of the Intelligence Division signified the First Prince’s advantage in seizing control of the agency.

With her short, dark blue hair and fair complexion, exuding an intellectual aura, she spoke without lifting her eyes from the file she was reading.

“Report.”

“The Fourth Prince has been assassinated.”

“…….”

Miloa paused upon receiving her subordinate’s report, set down the file she was reading, and took out a cigarette case from her chest pocket.

“When?”

“Shortly after leaving the royal capital.”

“The culprit?”

“…….. We’re in pursuit.”

They missed them, in other words.

“The cause of death?”

“He was struck in the heart by an arrow and died instantly. The arrowhead and shaft are of a style primarily used in the northern regions, now annexed by the Hamil Empire. Rumors are already spreading that it was the Northern Liberation Army’s doing.”

Miloa scoffed at the mention of the Northern Liberation Army.

She could easily guess the true culprit. Amid the uproar from the royal trial’s outcome, where the Second Prince abandoned the Fourth Prince, they had been keeping a close watch on the Second Prince and his associates. They were aware of the suspicious movements of his shadows, bustling about.

Rising from her seat, Miloa opened the window and lit her cigarette. Inhaling deeply and exhaling the smoke, she muttered softly,

“Damn it…….”

The Second Queen, who favored the Fourth Prince, would be furious, yet the Second Prince dared to order the assassination.

Honestly, Miloa hadn’t anticipated this.

She roughly ruffled her dark blue, short hair with her left hand.

– It seems you’re destined to become king after all. You’d better keep your promise to make me a duke when you ascend the throne.

– What’s this all of a sudden? And watch your language in the royal palace. No matter how casually we’ve spoken since childhood, you should mind my standing.

– There are only two of us here. That’s not important. I’ve uncovered an astonishing number of cases. You good-for-nothing brat, you must be a changeling after all. Look forward to it. I can’t wait to see the Second Queen’s expression when the truth comes out.

Miloa’s head ached, wondering what to tell her friend, the First Prince.

‘You were too cautious.’

She had gathered enough evidence to bring down the Second Queen.

All she needed was to find the decisive proof that the Fourth Prince was not of the King’s bloodline. When all the pieces fell into place, she intended to cut off his lifeline in one fell swoop!

‘I should have just used Barisada.’

[Barisada].

The half-demon sword created by the founding King Lionel using the corpse and his own blood after defeating the half-demon tribe of the same name.

Only those with royal blood flowing in their veins can draw the sword from its sheath.

The problem was that the Trial of Barisada would be forcibly imposed.

Those who failed would have their mana surge through their bodies, rendering them unable to wield magic ever again.

That was why [Barisada] was known as the half-demon sword and was only used for ceremonial purposes.

‘That bastard surely couldn’t draw the sword.’

Miloa was 99% certain that the Fourth Prince was a cuckoo’s child.

If, by some slim chance, the Fourth Prince became crippled because of Barisada, the political backlash against the First Prince’s faction would be tremendous.

It was that 1% possibility that made her push the Barisada plan to the back burner.

Now, at this moment, she regretted it madly.

It was too late.

Even if the Fourth Prince, who would return as a cold corpse, held Barisada in his hands, the First Prince’s faction would be nothing more than a band of ruffians.

‘Perhaps it would be alright to reveal the letters between the Second Queen and her lover?’

No.

The Second Prince had already made the decision to assassinate the Fourth Prince. Even if only half-hearted, it meant he had already severed the bonds of heaven. A vicious snake like him could even devour his own mother.

And he would announce it.

“My mother took her own life to prove her innocence against the slander of the cruel First Prince’s faction!”

“The shadows of the Second Prince are quite something, it seems.” ****

Were they the ones who had studied the secrets of the Arya Kingdom? The bold assassination of the Fourth Prince meant they had realized that information about the Second Queen was being dug up.

‘I let my guard down, thinking they were just trailing behind, and now I’ve been hit.’

How did they catch on?

I was certain the security was airtight.

Not to mention the clever use of the Ghost Prince of the Emerald Palace.

‘The Fifth Prince, Evan Lionel…….’

There had been various reports about him recently.

My downfall was being negligent in the finer details while focusing all efforts on uncovering the secrets of the Fourth Prince’s birth.

That price was this painful.

‘At least the rift between the Second Prince and Second Princess was all that was salvaged.’

Sip- ha-

Miloan gazed at the subordinate who had reported after roughly stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray.

“Withdraw all those toiling in the Arya Kingdom.”

“Understood.”

“Ah! And check if there’s anything around the Fifth Prince.”

***

My sister visited the Emerald Palace.

Along with the tasteless tea Alfonso brought out and sweet cookies, we had a chat.

“The unconscious Second Princess still hasn’t awoken, they say.”

“She doted on her youngest, so it’s understandable she ended up like that.”

Fourth Prince Akard, who was being exiled to the pirate prison of Dongbu’s Seokhamdo, returned to the palace as a cold corpse.

His funeral was held yesterday.

For some reason, feeling like I had to witness the end of the bastard, I watched the funeral from afar where the Second Princess wouldn’t notice.

“The Royal Guards and Second Knightly Order are tracking down the culprit, so it’ll be noisy for a while.”

“I suppose so.”

At the words ‘Second Knightly Order’, I almost let out an involuntary laugh.

The culprit’s family tracking down the culprit?

No, they could be the culprit themselves.

“There are rumors the culprit is the ‘Northern Liberation Army’, but you don’t seem too concerned.”

My sister’s gaze toward me was strange. Her eyes then turned to the pendant around my neck.

[Brilliant Iana], my mother’s memento that protects the wearer from evil spirits and curses.

I’m used to that kind of look now.

Thank you, Mother. If not for this, I would have already been captured by the paladins and suffered terribly.

I smiled wryly and opened my mouth.

“You’re right. It’s Evan Lionel.”

“…I’m sorry. You’ve grown so tall suddenly, and you seem so unfamiliar from the Evan I knew.”

“It’s because I haven’t seen you often. By the way, you have a hobby in the tea ceremony too, Sister?”

I changed the subject to move past the awkward atmosphere.

As they laughed and discussed how to get Alfonso to brew a delicious cup of tea, time quickly passed.

“It’s already this late. I’ll come again next time.”

“Please take care.”

After my sister left, Alfonso grumbled softly as he cleared the tea tray.

“Hey, what’s wrong with the tea I brewed? It tasted just fine.”

“Were you supposed to taste it before serving?”

“Of course!”

It wasn’t that he couldn’t brew tea. His taste was unique. Since we rarely dined together, I hadn’t noticed until now.

“By the way, how’s the new kitchen assistant doing?”

Right after the maid who had [poisoned the milk] was expelled from the Emerald Palace, a royal trial erupted.

The kitchen staff’s discontent soared to the heavens, to the point where even those with declining relationships emerged.

Fortunately, a new maid was assigned the day after the trial ended.

“She’s adapting very well.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Just look at how he immediately expelled the kitchen assistant who was the culprit when I discovered the poisoned milk.

He handles things discreetly. That’s why I don’t intervene.

‘It’s been a year since he became my attendant, hasn’t it?’

It’s an absurd thought. Twenty years would be too soon.

People should indeed know their place.

Well…… Alfonso and I both know how precarious his position as the 5th Prince’s sole attendant is. But to others in the palace, he might as well be holding a golden thread.

– A recent rumor circulating in the palace is that the 2nd Prince has taken the 5th Prince under his wing.

To those unaware of the royal trial’s proceedings, it would certainly appear that way.

And.

‘He’s actually trying to do just that.’

I took out a small object, about the size of a palm, sent as a gift from the 2nd Prince.

I tapped it with my phantom hand.

━━━━━━━━━━━━×

[Telestone]

Rank: Rare

Can communicate with other Tellystones using mana codes.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

It’s like a walkie-talkie.

Even those who can’t handle mana can easily use it if they know how. The communication range varies greatly depending on the maker, but I’ve heard that the one I received is enough to cover the entire palace.

‘A gift that’s also a shackle.’

I frowned and put the Tellystone back in my pocket.

Ironically, the incident where the 2nd Prince exposed the 4th Prince’s negligence and cleared my name boosted his popularity among the nobles.

Of course, there were those who looked at the 2nd Prince with suspicion after Akard, who was exiled, returned as a cold corpse.

Suddenly, I recalled his appearance at the funeral.

His face seemed calm, yet a single crocodile tear rolled down amidst it all. If he had been born on Earth, he would have made a name for himself as a renowned actor. Even I briefly suspected if he was genuinely sorrowful.

That single tear spoke louder than a hundred words, fueling rumors that the 2nd Prince was behind the 4th Prince’s assassination.

At least on the surface.

I decided to stop worrying and opened the [Name Register]. I gazed contentedly at the green names sorted by ‘Relationship’.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━×

[Annette Lionel]

[Alfonso Einberg]

[Reina Jeanne]

.

.

.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

It feels like looking at a stock chart that hit the ceiling.

Alfonso and Reina’s name colors are noticeably deeper than others with the ‘Friendly’ relationship. Almost as deep as my sister’s, who is nearly at the ‘Trust’ level.

I don’t understand why Reina, who almost got caught up in Akard’s schemes because of me, has a favorable impression of me.

Did she develop feelings for me?

I know it’s an absurd thought. I’m only 13, just starting to go through puberty. It’s just that I can’t comprehend it.

‘Alfonso pushed Reina away.’

Another puzzling matter is Alfonso.

During the royal trial, his friendship level with me started increasing rapidly. Before I knew it, he had claimed the second spot.

‘Well, it wouldn’t be bad if our relationship improves.’

With that thought, I stood up from the chair and went to the window.

And then.

‘Those guys.’

I couldn’t help but frown upon discovering the royal guards striding arrogantly along the garden path that Alfonso had diligently swept and cleaned.

The symbol of the Royal Guard was originally a golden lion with three eyes roaring. The main golden lions on their badges all had their eyes closed.

The Royal Guard Inspectorate.

Those who could sink their fangs into even their own palace kin without hesitation.

‘Why did the Inspectorate suddenly come?’

Knock, knock.

“Your Highness, I’m back.”

It’s Alfonso!