[Translator – Vine]
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[Proofreader – Sato]
Chapter 2. Venting (1)
Looking back, this man had quite a lot piled up against him.
How much I suffered because of the prince.
To that extent, if asked who I dislike the most in the world, the name ‘Kalios van Ortair’ would come out without even passing through my brain.
I ended up in prison because of this man.
I was worked to the bone in prison because of his training.
After leaving prison, I was dragged from battlefield to another because of him.
Of course, I received all his apologies.
The middle-aged Kalios was more mild-mannered than now, and he was a fool who knew he was a fool.
But you know what?
If everything in the world ended with an apology, why would we need the guard?
Of course, some might ask why we have apologies if things don’t end with them, but there’s a limit to what can be resolved with just an apology.
Human emotions are truly terrifying, aren’t they?
As I dreamed of the moment my life plummeted to rock bottom, the indignation from that time seemed to rush back as well.
So, that’s why my words got a bit harsh out of frustration.
“This is exactly what you do. You don’t attend banquets, you neglect your studies, you have no intention of training, all you do is sneak around. You’re the very image of a wise ruler deeply concerned with the lives of his people.”
As I smiled, lifting just one corner of my mouth, the crown prince’s expression twisted.
“You, watch your mouth…”
“Oh my, I apologize. This isn’t a mouth, it’s an asshole.”
“What…”
“The farts won’t stop. Please bear with me. Or what, does it hit too close to you? Well, if it doesn’t bother you at all, that would mean you have no conscience.”
And this crown prince has no conscience.
His future self can attest to that as well.
– I didn’t realize I had become so lazy. Looking back now, I was truly the epitome of a negligent crown prince. My head was so full of her that I couldn’t even think about what I should be doing.
What a great lover he turned out to be.
Of course, that’s all in the past.
It’s none of my business.
I sarcastically spoke based on facts I knew, facts he had told me, and rumors or stories I had heard.
It was an insult delivered with all my might.
“These days, the way high society views Your Highness is quite interesting. A negligent crown prince who doesn’t attend to state affairs. The shadow of a dark ruler. The black sun of the empire. Or the last emperor of the empire… presumably.”
At that moment, the crown prince’s body flinched.
How should I put it, it felt like a 20-year-old indigestion was suddenly cleared.
But I couldn’t end it here.
“Even today’s incident is like that. Now, what’s my name? Yuren Paros. The heir to the great Paros family. A name that proves the legitimacy of this empire.”
Thinking about it again, I really was born into quite a good family.
Of course, by the time the war was in full swing, it had already become a ruined family.
Well, that’s also a sad past.
For now, I should focus on the present situation.
“Let’s examine this. Your Highness intimidated me for the reason of slapping the cheek of a commoner girl. High society gossip spreads quickly, you know. Or perhaps one of those knights in your retinue might spread word of today’s events. Saying something like ‘His Highness, mad over a girl, intimidated a great family…’”
I didn’t make up these words.
In fact, today’s incident will become one of the decisive reasons why that man is dethroned and imprisoned.
It’s about political friction.
Other princes’ factions who usually looked down on the crown prince, or factions who had their weaknesses exposed to him, were always desperate to bring down the crown prince.
No matter if he’s the officially appointed crown prince, not all actions are forgiven, right?
This incident will become his political weakness for years to come.
Of course, his other misdeeds were quite effective too.
“Your Highness will lose your footing. Even those who assert Your Highness’s legitimacy will start to turn away in disgust.”
Still, the crown prince is a smart man.
He’ll understand my words well, and indeed, it was showing on his face.
‘Now, how should I deliver the final blow?’
How can I make that man feel utterly miserable?
Thoughts intertwined with catharsis wove several sentences together.
As a result, I was able to find the words he would hate the most.
Hardening my expression, I spoke.
“What on earth are you doing? Where has your mind wandered off to?”
The crown prince’s expression hardened.
“Are you so incapable of discernment? You dare to put some common girl on the same scale as the position of crown prince?”
Veins bulged on the back of his fist.
“Branches may sway in the wind. But the roots must not shake. Yet, Your Highness is now no different from a tree with shaking roots.”
I took a deep breath.
And then, I drove in the final nail.
“Turn around. See for yourself what expressions those knights are wearing, what kind of gaze they’re looking at Your Highness with right now.”
– All around me were those who looked up to me. That’s why I couldn’t come to my senses. I was intoxicated with admiration, you see.
I showed the crown prince the reality that only his future self belatedly realized.
The crown prince’s gaze creakily turned behind him.
The knights accompanying him in their stealth uniforms flinched.
Just as they had been throughout my speech, their faces were filled with shame or fear.
They hadn’t had time to compose themselves.
The reason was that they were still in shock, unable to recover from the surprise of my words.
“……”
Even from behind, I could tell.
That the crown prince surveying them must feel like he’d been hit on the back of the head.
That he must be confused, having just broken out of the delusion that everyone admired him.
My thoughts were correct.
The crown prince’s eyes, turning back to me, were wavering.
Unlike his future self who never wavered at any temptation, his current aura was so feeble it seemed he might collapse if you just blew on him.
I said,
“Release this. If you do, I’ll erase today’s events from my memory.”
“Your Highness…!”
The knights, now worried about future consequences, finally opened their mouths.
The crown prince’s lips were tightly pressed.
His eyes were bloodshot.
The shock seemed quite severe.
However, that emotion was unlike anger.
This was an aura that closely resembled utter confusion.
Finally, the crown prince spoke.
“…Release him.”
That was the end of his voice, cracked and mixed with a metallic sound.
I was freed from my restraints with the help of the knights.
“Then, I’ll be on my way.”
Leaving behind the petrified crown prince, I casually left the abandoned warehouse after saying such a farewell.
The outside air was very refreshing.
A sense of exhilaration rose to the tips of my hair.
I stretched.
‘How long has it been?’
Since I breathed such refreshing air.
In prison, I breathed stale air, and after becoming a soldier, I always lived amidst the stench of blood.
The memory that had been sleeping deep in my mind finally shook off its dust and spoke to me.
‘…That’s right.’
This is what the capital was like before the war.
‘It’s beautiful.’
There are lights illuminating the main streets even at night.
There are patrols going around until late at night for public safety.
The empire’s spirited young men walked the streets drunk on alcohol, and there were elderly people smiling as they watched them.
“Hahaha…!”
Laughter came out.
It was because I was reminded of my own idiotic past.
Living in a world like this, what was I so dissatisfied with that I lived like a thug?
What made me so angry that I went around causing trouble?
But regret is always too late, no matter when you do it.
I shook my head to erase the thoughts.
‘I’m still in a dream. So I can enjoy it a little more, right?’
After this comes death.
It will be either rest or punishment.
Then shouldn’t I enjoy this moment as much as possible?
I walked the night streets of the capital.
I sold a ring and bought cheap rum from the street, and drank with the empire’s night people.
“Come on, enjoy. It’s a peaceful day.”
“Woohoo! Young Lord Paros! You’re truly generous!!!”
“It’s nothing.”
I fell asleep like that, completely drunk.
The next day came.
The hangover was deathly painful, and,
‘…Why am I still in a dream?’
The dream hadn’t ended.
Only then did I feel that something had gone wrong.
* * *
Morning comes early in the imperial palace.
This doesn’t just mean that people move about busily.
Physically, the sunlight enters earlier.
Because the imperial palace is the highest point in the entire empire, beyond just the capital.
Among them, the Dawn Palace where the crown prince resides is the second highest after the Sun Palace where the emperor stays.
It’s the palace where the rising sun is best seen, and today, on the terrace of its highest floor, there was a man of elegant appearance gazing at the dawn.
It was Crown Prince Kalios, the master of the palace.
There were dark shadows under his eyes.
It was because he hadn’t slept a wink all night.
From the time twilight fell until now, Kalios had been watching the celestial bodies pass by from this highest terrace.
No one had been able to disturb him.
Except for one person.
Thump thump!
There was someone approaching with particularly angry footsteps.
Calios’s keen senses picked up on the approaching sound.
– Y-Your Highness the Princess! Just a moment…
– Get out of my way.
And then,
Bang!
The door to the highest floor opened.
Calios glanced over to look at the door.
With an irritated expression, blonde hair and blue eyes like his own, wearing a splendid dress, it was his sister, the First Imperial Princess Erilda van Ortair.
“…Why have you come at such an early hour?”
“Why? Why?!”
She approached Calios with the same angry steps as before.
Then suddenly grabbed him by the collar.
“Kalios. You fucking idiot.”
Her tone was practically identical to the growl of an enraged beast.
She was originally a person with a lot of anger, but this level of fury was unusual.
“How many eyes and ears does the imperial family have? Wasn’t it you who said to always be careful of your behavior from the moment you open your eyes until the moment you fall asleep?”
“…What do you mean?”
“You messed with a great family heir and you have no thoughts about it? Have you really gone mad?”
Erilda smiled a distorted smile.
Kalios frowned.
‘Has the story already spread?’
That brought displeasure to Kalios’s heart.
Next, it brought a choking sensation that would cover the displeasure.
It was because he was reminded of the expressionless face of the man he met the night before.
– Your Highness will lose your footing. Even those who assert Your Highness’s legitimacy will start to turn away in disgust.
Not even a day had passed.
It was just that night had turned to morning.
Yet everything he had predicted was coming true.
Kalios was confused.
‘…He was a thug. Surely.’
His previous actions were like that, and even at the moment he was captured, he was a thug.
Busy shouting “Do you know who I am?”, busy yelling to release him.
Then trembling and being brought in.
But, after I revealed my identity, his demeanor changed.
At that moment, he was so coldly cynical and unfeeling that it was hard to think he was the same thug Yuren that Kalios had seen before.
Every word he spoke was like a chilling dagger, making one reflect on oneself.
How should one describe his attitude?
…That’s right.
‘I was being evaluated.’
The moment I thought that, Erilda sighed and spoke.
“…This incident can be easily covered up. The people of the capital saw the young lord Paros, who was supposedly kidnapped, drinking on the streets all night. The kidnapping will end up as just a rumor spread by conspiracy theorists.”
That wasn’t it.
Kalios recalled his last words.
– Release this. If you do, I’ll erase today’s events from my memory.
In other words, it means this.
‘He created…’
An alibi.
A perfect alibi that would prevent anyone from intimidating Kalios over that day’s events.
Kalios asked himself.
‘Is he truly a thug?’
No, that doesn’t make sense.
It would be more credible to assume that his thuggish behavior was a mask.
When one thing is doubted, everything becomes suspect. That’s human nature.
Kalios was no different.
‘Why did Yuren Paros slap her cheek?’
Was it intentional?
To create an opportunity for last night’s private audience?
If so, delivering those words must have been the goal.
And if that was the goal, then.
‘He sees through all of my behavioral patterns.’
Following that, one question.
‘…Am I, doing something wrong?’
He was confused.
Kalios felt that if he couldn’t resolve this frustration, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.
He lifted his head to look outside.
However, even the dazzlingly brilliant dawn of the eastern palace couldn’t dispel the shadow cast in his heart.
The name of that shadow was doubt.
Words caught in my throat.
My breath was choked off.
It felt like a very heavy stone inside me was crushing my lungs.
Because my sister was so pitiful, and because I was the one who made her so pitiful.
Also, because I was detestably grateful for the fact that I could see this face again.
At the end of such overflowing emotions.
I bowed my head and answered.
“…Yes, I’m fine.”
That’s what I said.
My sister was the only woman in the world who could make me feel like a sinner.
[Translator – Vine]
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[Proofreader – Sato]
