The Extra Prince Sets Out To Conquer The World

Yekatrice brewed tea with medicinal herbs obtained from the Winter Forest and handed it to Dalanta.

“The aroma is nice. Is it tea brewed with the third petal of mandrake?”

“This land is prone to gathering yin energy, so it’s easy to obtain.”

At her words, Dalanta laughed and sipped the tea.

“I’m not envious of anything else, but I envy that you can easily procure rare ingredients.”

The Bastille Mountains, untouched by human hands, grew various rare magical ingredients.

However, due to the vastness of the mountain range, it was difficult to find the places where the ingredients were, so Yekatrice purposely created an environment to obtain rare ingredients.

“Hohoho, it’s the only advantage.”

The old friends who gathered without disciples or guests shared stories about how they had been doing.

Yekatrice, who guarded the seal, didn’t have any special topics to talk about other than raising a disciple, but Dalanta, who wandered all over the world, had plenty of stories to tell.

Dalanta always recorded and brought interesting things for Yekatrice, who silently guarded the seal for a long time in this boring and quiet place.

Guarding the seal to another world was a task that all the Sages of the Four Seasons had to bear, but for various reasons, the Sages of the Winter Tree had taken responsibility for generations, and there was a sense of indebtedness.

Knowing her friend’s heart, Yekatrice always listened to Dalanta’s travelogues with interest without complaining.

“Hmm, I’m in trouble because I told most of the stories I had during the meal this time.”

“It hasn’t been that long since your last visit.”

Yekatrice nodded in understanding at Dalanta’s sigh mixed with exaggeration.

Then, while savoring the mandrake petal tea, she asked,

“So why did you suddenly visit without notice?”

At her question, Dalanta erased his smile.

“Dmitrikron asked for information about Arcana.”

When the name Arcana came up, Yekatrice also put down her teacup and became serious.

“Dmitrikron, who doesn’t often come down from the Sky City? As expected, Arcana’s claws have reached there too.”

“We expected that. It’s a city called the holy land of magicians, so it’s also a good place to persuade talented magicians.”

“That’s true. So what information did Dmitrikron ask for?”

At Yekatrice’s question, Dalanta let out a deep sigh.

“It seems Arcana has found the Duplion bloodline that inherited the seal of ‘Pandora’.”

At Dalanta’s words, Yekatrice’s expression momentarily hardened.

It was because the bloodline that inherited the seal had been with them until just now.

Seeing his friend’s stiff expression, Dalanta spoke, guessing,

“It’s natural for you to worry. There’s no place Arcana’s hands can’t reach. By the time it reached Dmitrikron’s ears, it’s likely already too late.”

“…Are you sure they really found the bloodline of the seal?”

When Yekatrice looked at him with disbelief, Dalanta made a bitter expression.

“Probably with a high probability. I also couldn’t believe it when I first heard it from Dmitrikron. But the circumstantial evidence is too clear.”

“Circumstantial evidence? You and Dmitrikron also know who inherited the seal?”

At Yekatrice’s question, Dalanta nodded.

“Based on the circumstances, it’s the 1st Prince of the Duplion Kingdom.”

“The 1st Prince?”

“Yes, there was an attempted assassination targeting the 1st Prince earlier this year. And that too in the royal palace.”

An assassin infiltrating the royal palace, which was not only heavily guarded but also protected by the Sword Tiger Horizon, was impossible for an ordinary organization.

“Assassination of princes is quite common historically.”

At Yekatrice’s rebuttal, Dalanta shook his head.

“That’s only the case when the prince has power or is likely to succeed to the throne, but the current 1st Prince has no backers at all and no influence.”

He added that the prince was famous for being weak and lacking ambition, a typical and ordinary prince who would be exiled and barely survive in the countryside once the crown prince was decided.

At Dalanta’s words, Yekatrice became even more confused.

Weak? That was completely different from the image of Yuan she had seen. So she thought Dalanta was misinformed or Arcana had guessed wrong.

“And above all, the 1st Prince went missing about two months ago after engaging in battle with assassins sent by the Queen while heading to a resort city for recuperation.”

“The 1st Prince is missing?”

“A command letter stamped with the Queen’s seal was found on the assassins’ corpses. As a result, the royal palace is currently in political turmoil over the impeachment of the Queen. Depending on how Arcana, based in the Empire, persuaded the Emperor, it seems even a marquis from the Empire has intervened in the political strife.”

Dalanta’s story was a tale of a far-off country for Yekatrice, who had lived in seclusion all her life.

“Anyway, Dmitrikron also urgently headed to the capital to confirm the 1st Prince’s disappearance and Arcana’s movements. He’s probably staying at our house in the capital and investigating by now.”

Dalanta sighed and said while drinking the mandrake petal tea,

“I hope the 1st Prince doesn’t fall into Arcana’s hands, but he was probably kidnapped by them when he went missing. Still, it will take at least 2 years to completely break the seal, so the important thing is something else.”

“Something else is important?”

“Yes, Dmitrikron predicted that Arcana would make a move to prevent us from acting due to the 1st Prince’s disappearance.”

At those words, Yekatrice narrowed her brows.

“The Sages of the Four Seasons are each burdened with different problems, but none of them are as exposed as a target as winter. If they aim for something first…”

“It would be here. History proves it.”

In the first place, it was Arcana who opened the hole to another world.

Historically, whenever Arcana feared the Sages of the Four Seasons’ check, they always attacked the seal to hold back the Sages of the Four Seasons.

However, each time, the other sages could not actively help.

“I don’t know whether to be happy or lament that the barrier of this land is strong.”

The power of the barrier, passed down and accumulated over 600 years, had become too bloated.

It was excellent for protecting the seal, but in this land, the sages of other seasons could hardly breathe without Yekatrice’s permission.

Dalanta could at least resist because spring suppresses winter.

However, it was impossible for Dmitrikron, the Sage of Summer Fruit, who was the opposite, or the Sage of Autumn Leaves, who was suppressed by winter, to even resist.

“That’s true. And if Arcana aims for something, it won’t be just here. Is Delebvrion okay?”

Delebvrion was the region where the current Sage of Spring Flowers was staying to solve a problem.

“The problem there is almost resolved, so it should be fine, but I should go back again. Even though I passed on the Spring Flower to Asha, a disciple always seems lacking.”

“Same here. I also have to pass on the Winter Tree to Jade.”

The two people who had lived for a long time laughed in mutual understanding.

“Well, Dmitrikron would be angry if he heard that we couldn’t even find a successor candidate.”

“Hohoho, indeed.”

Dalanta, who emptied the cooling teacup, stood up from his seat.

“Be careful, Yekatrice. I have a bad feeling. Perhaps… No, never mind. I’m sorry.”

He closed his mouth with a heavy expression while speaking.

Yekatrice knew why her friend was worried.

The end of her life she had foreseen was approaching soon.

Dalanta was concerned that the attack by Arcana that might happen this time would be the turning point of that fate.

“Take good care of your health. Jade was worried that your cough had worsened.”

“Alright, I’ll be careful.”

Yekatrice showed a smile. At the end of her smile was a small confusion and worry.

Outside the window, it was dark, and the day was bitterly cold. When would spring come to this land where spring never arrives?

She, who thought she should have a conversation with the guest when morning came, couldn’t easily fall asleep.

*****

Jade stared at me with a stiff expression as if glaring. Then he smiled awkwardly.

“That’s too much of a joke.”

But he only showed his uncomfortable mood without intending to make the same mistake again after just apologizing.

“Well, is it really a joke? I don’t know.”

“What do you mean by that?”

I didn’t answer his question and downed the brandy-mixed black tea I was drinking. Then I answered the question with a question.

“Come to think of it, you said you read medical books when we first introduced ourselves, right? It’s good to study hard, but is it okay to be distracted by something other than magic when you haven’t inherited the Winter Tree yet?”

Perhaps my question was a bit abrupt, as Jade narrowed his brows.

“Master said that I have already built the foundation, so it’s up to my will to build my aspiration on top of that.”

“You sound like a magician with that complicated way of speaking. Doesn’t it mean you’ve learned the basics, so you should learn the application on your own?”

“You can understand it that way.”

I smiled and took out a strong, cheap liquor from the subspace magic tool food storage and placed it on the table.

“Let me ask you one thing, was it your will to start learning medicine? No, it must have been your will, so it was a pointless question. There’s no way your master would have deliberately made you learn it.”

I kept drinking because it was cold, so I guess I’m a little drunk too. I should be careful.

“What is that…?”

Jade looked at me as if he didn’t understand.

“You actually know it too, don’t you? That it’s dangerous to leave your master’s illness alone. Sensing it but not recognizing it means you’re just turning your eyes away because you want to ignore it.”

Nevertheless, the diligent him studied medicine.

I don’t know if it’s an instinctive realization or a desperate struggle.

But one thing is certain: if you can’t face it head-on like this, all that will be left in the end is regret.

“Your master already knows that not much of her life remains. And she’s not the type to desperately struggle to escape her own fate.”

Jade would know that better than me.

With a talented and diligent successor like Jade, Yekatrice would calmly accept her death, saying she had lived long enough.

“Have a sincere conversation with your master, putting everything down. Otherwise, you will definitely regret it.”

At least the Jade in the novel regretted it.

He should have had a more sincere conversation with his master, that he thought of her not just as a simple master but as a mother. That he should have told his mother that he loved her.

I pushed the cheap liquor I had placed on the table to Jade.

“It’s a potion of courage. It works very well when you drink it when you’re afraid of something. Ah, don’t overdose just because you’re nervous. A magician shouldn’t lose his reason, right?”

I smiled playfully and got up from my seat.

“If you open up your heart and get scolded, come find me. I’ll think together with you about a way to save your master.”

It was better not to create things to regret.

Truly so.