The Extra Prince Sets Out To Conquer The World

The ballot counting for the impeachment vote on the Queen’s deposition, whose outcome was impossible to predict, was finally coming to a conclusion in the Royal Palace’s Grand Council Chamber.

The King and all the nobles waited for the results with bated breath.

“Impeachment approval ballot.”

“94 approval votes!”

When the Senior Clerk opened the ballot, the recorder shouted vigorously.

“Impeachment opposition ballot.”

“74 opposition votes!”

Sometimes approvals were ahead, and other times oppositions were ahead.

“Impeachment approval ballot.”

“112 approval votes!”

“Impeachment opposition ballot.”

“121 opposition votes!”

As the last ballot of the back-and-forth counting was announced, the joys and sorrows of the nobles gathered in the Grand Council Chamber were starkly divided.

“I proclaim that the impeachment vote on the Queen’s deposition has been rejected with 131 approval votes, 133 opposition votes, and 15 abstentions.”

At the Senior Clerk’s announcement, all the nobles fell silent.

No one behaved rashly, whether they wanted to shout for joy or heave a sigh.

Although the discussion on the Queen’s impeachment had ended, politics had not yet ended.

No, it was no exaggeration to say that politics was only just beginning.

Everyone held their breath and waited for the King’s words.

The King, who had heard the rejection of the impeachment while sitting on the throne with a calm appearance, slowly rose and opened his mouth.

“I have heard your opinions, lords. It is true that there are still dubious parts to impeach the Queen. However, it is a clear fact that the Queen abused the 1st Prince for not being her offspring, and even though it is dubious, there is evidence that the Queen tried to assassinate the 1st Prince!”

The King paused for a moment and declared,

“I command the Queen, who has been involved in a dishonorable incident and has lowered the honor of the royal family, to be confined to a separate palace, and during the confinement, I will revoke her authority as the Queen!”

The separate palace was the most remote and smallest palace in the royal palace, the residence of the 1st Prince, Yuan.

Confining her there was the greatest humiliation for the Queen.

“This will continue permanently until I lift the confinement, so if anyone has a dissenting opinion, step forward before me now.”

No noble dared to step forward in the face of the King’s command.

It was because although the Queen’s impeachment was a major event for the entire kingdom, the Queen’s confinement was an internal matter of the royal family.

To discuss an internal matter of the royal family determined by the King was a crime tantamount to treason.

Although the power of the noble faction had grown, the royal authority was still strong.

When no one stepped forward, all the nobles bowed their heads and answered,

“Do as Your Majesty wishes! We will follow!”

At the answer of all the nobles, the King sat back on the throne and said,

“I will adjourn the council now.”

At the King’s declaration of closure, the nobles rose from their seats one by one, bowed to the King, and left.

At the sight, the King let out a small sigh.

“This is a big problem. As the 1st Prince said, from now on, I really have to be careful even with a single sip of water I drink.”

The moment the King collapsed, the noble faction would reinstate the Queen, the next highest authority in the royal family, and covet the King’s position.

Regencies have appeared countless times throughout a long history.

“The Royal Guard will protect you, so please do not worry too much.”

At Horazon’s words, the King smiled bitterly.

“Yes, I’m counting on you.”

It wouldn’t be strange to say that real politics and power struggles were only just beginning.

******

“This is the place. This is the first time I’ve brought an outsider here.”

Led by Yekatrice, my party and I entered the basement.

At the very back, Jade followed, magically carrying a stone tablet inscribed with the technique to close the hole to the other world.

Each of the five stone tablets had a mana stone of sealing embedded in it.

“Is that Ibilibisk’s stone tablet?”

At my question, Jade nodded with a bright smile.

“You recognize it! I heard that the previous Sage of the Winter Wood directly received it from the Sage of Records to use in closing the hole.”

“Directly? Ah, it’s not that strange in terms of timing.”

The period of activity of Ibilibisk, the Sage of Records, and the time when the hole to the other world was sealed was about 600 years ago, so it wasn’t strange even if he received the original stone tablet.

Wait, then isn’t that a world cultural heritage?

Hmm… is it any of my business?

“Is this the seal?”

“Yes, it is.”

I looked up at the huge sphere floating in the center of the spacious basement.

A cold chill flowed out from the seal with seven bands around it.

“It’s terribly cold.”

“Ah, that’s because Arcana made cracks in it. I patched it up with the Seven Stars Seal for now, but it seems the cold is still leaking out.”

Yekatrice apologized, saying she was ashamed, and I shook my head while blocking the cold with Navi’s power.

Jade set up the five stone tablets around the seal as the center.

“Now I will release the seal and close the hole. I never thought I would be able to close the hole before the end of my life…”

Perhaps overcome with emotion, tears welled up in Yekatrice’s eyes.

“Use this. It doesn’t suit a good day.”

“Thank you. That’s right, we should smile on a day like this.”

When I handed her a handkerchief, she wiped her tears and took out a magic staff.

Then she lightly tapped the floor with the staff.

Tap!

Then the hut above their heads disappeared, revealing a clear sky.

Tap!

When Yekatrice tapped the ground once more, this time the Winter Wood Forest noisily emitted mana.

I couldn’t help but admire the huge mana vortex.

The mana clumped and unraveled like a living thread, repeatedly connecting to the stone tablets.

“I will now release the seal. Be careful as you may feel dizzy while I release the seal and close the hole.”

At her declaration, Jade also raised his magic staff. Then the two began chanting spells as if exchanging with each other.

“******! *****, ****!”

“***, *****! *******!”

At the sound of the two’s spells, everyone covered their ears.

They looked like they were suffering from high frequencies, but I was unaffected.

But what spells did the two just chant?

I could definitely hear it with my ears, but my head couldn’t understand it.

It felt like something was interfering with my understanding.

Come to think of it, even in the novel, Jade’s spells were distorted as if they had been erased.

I thought it was just a printing error, but could it be… No, it couldn’t be.

After chanting spells for a while like that, cracks formed in the sphere and the seal shattered.

And from within it, a hole appeared as if a hole had been made in the world, unable to let even a single point of light escape.

Staring into that hole, an unknown fear and chills ran down my spine.

“O threads of fate! Suture the world!”

At the same time as Yekatrice’s shout, the mana stones embedded in the stone tablets shone and emitted threads made of techniques.

The magic techniques touched the hole to the other world and reduced the size of the hole as if stitching it with suture thread.

Soon, when the hole was completely filled, the place was as quiet as if there had never been a hole to another world.

“Phew~! It’s all over.”

Unlike me, who had been watching leisurely to the point of being bored, Yekatrice and Jade, who had closed the hole to the other world, were sweating and struggling.

In the novel, Jade did the magic alone, so there were no incidents of the space distorting or monsters trying to pop out of the hole when the two of them did it.

I had hinted to Precia to draw her sword and slash the monsters if necessary. It was a needless worry.

Although in the novel, they didn’t worry much since they closed it before the monsters came out, it ended more blandly than expected.

“Good work.”

I handed towels to the two of them.

“Thank you. As expected, it’s tough getting old.”

Although she looked like she was in her late 20s on the outside, the words of someone over 100 years old certainly carried a different weight.

As expected, 100s!

“Please don’t say that. Master, you’re still in good health.”

Jade also laughed while wiping his sweat with a towel.

“No, now that I’ve fulfilled my lifelong wish, I think it’s time to pass it on.”

At Yekatrice’s words, Jade looked at her in surprise.

“Master!”

“Even if you shout like that, is there anyone here who doesn’t know that I’m your master?”

She laughed playfully and once again released mana to infuse it into the magic staff.

“I was going to have you inherit it anyway. Even if it was the original fate that wasn’t distorted, I would have had you inherit the title of the Sage of the Winter Wood soon.”

It was a natural thing to say, as if I hadn’t been there, her fate of death would have risen to her chin.

She had become as weak as she could be, so it would have been difficult for her to bear the name of the Winter Wood any longer.

“I… I still have a lot to learn from you, Master.”

Jade couldn’t accept the magic staff his master was handing him.

It wasn’t because he didn’t want to inherit the heavy position.

It was simply because he thought he was lacking, and he didn’t want to leave his master’s shadow.

“Don’t be childish. You’ve long passed the time when you needed my teachings.”

“But…”

“Or do you not want to succeed this incompetent master of yours?”

“No!”

At Jade’s shout, Yekatrice showed a mischievous smile.

“Master…”

“Kuk kuk, I’m sorry. It seems I’ve learned bad things from my benefactor.”

No, you’re blaming me here?

“I understand. Surprisingly, I think I’m the same way.”

“No! How can you say such nonsense when I’ve only stayed here for a few days!”

Even with my protest, the two people brushed it off as if it was nothing.

“Doesn’t that mean our benefactor’s influence on us is great?”

“Master’s words are correct. Although it was a short time, each of Yuan’s words and actions were a shock.”

This time, the two people teased me while giggling.

Before I could say anything, Yekatrice handed the mana-infused staff to Jade.

“My disciple, I can trust and entrust it to you. Trust your master, and trust yourself.”

Jade made a complicated expression with the staff in front of him. Then he slowly raised his hand and grasped the staff.

“I still think I am lacking. I wish you would guide me more, Master.”

At his words, the scene from the novel right after closing the seal seemed to come to mind.

‘I still think I am lacking. I wish you could have guided me more, Master.’

A brilliant light poured out from the magic staff grasped in Jade’s hand.

“But I want to repay Master’s trust.”

‘But now the Master I need to repay is no longer with me.’

He stroked the magic staff that was inherited through generations.

“I won’t regret it.”

‘I regret it. I should have said I loved you.’

The magic staff, as if encouraging, as if blessing the mission he would bear from now on, melted into his body.

“I will inherit the title of the Sage of the Winter Wood and move forward. That will be the way to repay Master’s trust.”

‘I have no choice but to move forward as the Sage of the Winter Wood. That will be the way to repay Mother’s trust.’

He steeled his resolve and became the new Sage of the Four Seasons.

It wasn’t very flashy, but it was the moment the Sages of the Winter Wood throughout the ages had dreamed of the most.

Jade expressed his gratitude to his master for everything and then looked at me.

“Yuan, if it weren’t for you, I might have despaired.”

“That might have been the case.”

When I didn’t deny it, he chuckled, saying it was just like me.

“You have fulfilled our wish, and this land no longer needs winter. It seems… you are my spring.”

At Jade’s greasy words, I smirked.

“I’m not happy to hear such embarrassing words from a guy.”

I didn’t know he would say to me what Precia said to him in the novel.

“Well, I didn’t know I would say such embarrassing things to a man either. But this is a thank you, so please accept it.”

Jade held up the magic staff and bestowed the blessing of the Winter Wood upon me.

“You seem to be spring.”

This blessing was not one that could be easily bestowed.

“Is it okay to give this to me? It will consume a lot of your stored mana, right?”

“Even if it wasn’t me, Master would have given it to you. So don’t feel burdened. It’s an incomparably insignificant blessing compared to what we’ve received.”

No, I’m not burdened. Why would I be burdened?

In any case, it was just a part of the power that would have gone into the seal being directed to me.

The reason I was being stingy was because it would have been more efficient for Precia to receive this blessing than me.

This body of mine is trash.