Chapter 261 : Chapter 261

Chapter 261. Do You Intend to Become Emperor?

“Ghk!”

Arteo, the 2nd Prince, stumbled out of the reception room as if he had been driven out. Only after confirming that no one was around did he let out a groan through clenched teeth.

What was this feeling supposed to be?

It was something he had never experienced even once since being born as the 2nd Prince of the empire.

‘Thea actually brought up our maternal grandfather…!’

More than anything else, that fact shocked Arteo deeply.

Their maternal grandfather, Marquis Kudente of the borderlands, was Shartea’s most steadfast supporter. A man whose swordsmanship had once been considered the finest in the Cretian Empire, he regarded Shartea as nothing less than a fully prepared candidate for the throne.

Their grandfather used to tell Shartea this repeatedly.

‘Thea, when you become emperor, you must restore the empire’s swordsmanship.’

Restore it?

When had the empire’s sword ever been stronger than magic?

Arteo had thought that silently to himself while listening, but he never let it show in front of his grandfather. If a man so respected among the knights threw his support behind Shartea, there could be nothing better.

However, unlike his affection for Shartea, their grandfather did not particularly like his grandson Arteo. The reason was simple: Arteo paid no attention to the sword and devoted himself solely to magic.

‘Above all, he dislikes my way of doing things.’

Marquis Kudente, a rigid and upright swordsman, despised underhanded methods. It was painfully obvious that he disapproved of Arteo secretly eliminating obstacles that stood in Shartea’s path.

Even so, their grandfather, who cherished Shartea, would never be able to stop him.

Arteo was certain of that.

“…But if Thea herself says she does not want to become emperor, then it becomes a different matter.”

Muttering quietly, Arteo took a small orb from his pocket. It was a magical tool capable of sending a signal to a designated target.

As soon as Arteo activated the orb, someone appeared before him not long afterward. It was Heinrich, the escort knight who secretly followed Shartea at all times.

“You summoned me, Your Highness.”

Heinrich was a man hired by the 2nd Prince. His duty was to protect Shartea from various dangers whenever she was outside the academy. In addition, when Shartea was attending the academy, he stayed in Marcellent and was responsible for relaying information to the 2nd Prince.

“Tell me why Thea is acting like that. Was the problem that she went on major practical training?”

When Arteo asked, Heinrich answered with a composed expression.

“The Princess approached her major practical training sincerely, in a manner befitting an academy student. There were no issues in that process.”

“That is not what I am asking. I am asking whether she went all the way to the desert and picked up some pointless delusions!”

Arteo’s expression twisted.

He had never expected Shartea to head into such a harsh wilderness for her major practical training while she was out of contact.

This had never happened before.

Whenever Shartea went on major practical training, she always informed him beforehand and chose relatively safe locations. It was to reassure him, knowing how worried he was about her.

That gentle Shartea had changed.

And it had all started after she became acquainted with the 8th Prince.

“That bastard 8th Prince must have coaxed her. He probably tempted her by saying he would teach her a new sword technique or that she should go to the desert and fully show off her swordsmanship!”

Arteo snapped angrily.

In his mind, he pictured the sly 8th Prince deliberately egging Shartea on, fully aware of her weakness for swordsmanship.

He must have intended to push her deeper into the sword, deliberately drawing her away from the throne.

“It is obvious. She must have been flying around, swinging her sword instead of using magic. Thea restrains her swordsmanship at the academy, after all. It would not be strange if indulging that thirst made her lose her way.”

The cunning calculation of the 8th Prince made Arteo’s teeth grind.

However, Heinrich shook his head.

“In the desert, Her Highness did not even display half of her true ability. She did use the sword, but she deliberately kept herself within the level of an ordinary student.”

From Heinrich’s perspective, what Shartea gained from this major practical training was not knowledge of swordsmanship. At first, she showed interest in the swords used by the Horizon Knights, but as time went on, her attention shifted away from the sword and toward the realities of the desert itself.

For example, how the Horizon Knights demanded ransoms from merchants, how they took care of abandoned children, and how desperately the lizardmen longed for water.

And in the process of understanding those things, she achieved significant growth. Had she not earned recognition from His Majesty the Emperor by resolving the desert’s problems?

For Shartea, this major practical training had been an enormous stroke of good fortune.

“It is also undeniable that the 8th Prince played a large role in this incident. He discovered the water source and improved relations with the lizardmen.”

“Ridiculous! That man had the audacity to use Thea as a backdrop! He only received twice the attention because he was with her. There is no way that crafty bastard did not anticipate this.”

In the Cretian Empire, Shartea, the 3rd Princess, and Inette, the 7th Princess, were far more well known than the 8th Prince. If Radel had acted alone, he would not have received such tremendous attention.

“He is using Thea. The strain between Thea and me is also entirely his doing. Ever since the 8th Prince enrolled in the academy, Thea’s behavior has started to become strange!”

Arteo ground his teeth.

However, Heinrich thought differently.

“I hesitate to say this to you, Your Highness… but Lady Shartea has always been sincere about the sword. Would it not be time for you to finally acknowledge the Princess?”

In Heinrich’s eyes, Shartea had not been swept up by empty fantasies.

Nor was she being toyed with by the cunning schemes of the 8th Prince, as Arteo claimed.

Rather, she was steadily growing stronger.

It seemed that only Arteo refused to acknowledge that fact.

At Heinrich’s words, Arteo’s gaze turned sharp.

“Acknowledge her? I acknowledge more than anyone that Thea is closest to the throne! If I do not acknowledge my own younger sister, who else would?”

There was only one way for royalty to survive: to become emperor.

And yet Arteo’s eyes trembled.

It was because of a memory deeply engraved in his mind.

‘…Even my brother, who was so strong, ultimately passed away, did he not?’

There was no guarantee that the same would not happen to Shartea.

The only way Arteo could protect his younger sister was to make her emperor.

***

“Next is His Highness Prince Radel Silvert Cretian.”

The sole emperor of the Cretian Empire, Holium Verteff Cretian, nodded at the attendant’s words. The 7th Princess had just left, so it was now the 8th Prince’s turn.

The door to the office opened, and the 8th Prince walked in.

“I pay my respects to His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Very well.”

Holium replied without lifting his eyes from the documents he was reading.

“You worked hard in the desert. You resolved the issue with the lizardmen well.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Up to this point, everything was as Holium had expected. He then asked the same question he had posed to the two royals who had just met him.

“…Then let me ask you this. Whose contribution do you believe was the greatest in this matter?”

It was a question meant to identify which of the three royals had earned the most merit.

Depending on the answer, the evaluation could change.

The documents Holium was reading were reports submitted by the Ability Management Bureau.

They detailed everything that had happened with the Horizon Knights. The information was thorough enough that he would immediately notice if someone exaggerated or lied.

‘He will probably answer that it was the 3rd Princess.’

Even to Holium, that seemed like the safest response. According to the report, the 8th Prince had joined the major practical training by following the 3rd Princess.

Holium roughly anticipated Radel’s answer as he continued reading the report.

That was when it happened.

“It was me.”

Holium lifted his head from the documents.

Standing there was the 8th Prince, wearing an utterly nonchalant expression.

“You?”

“Ah, to be precise, it was my spirit. After all, it was the spirit that informed us of the water source’s location. However, since the spirit is contracted to me, it would not be incorrect to say that I was the one who performed the service.”

Radel answered calmly.

There was a reason he was being so brazen.

While riding the carriage toward the imperial capital, he had thought it over and realized that continuing as things were would be dangerous.

His goal was to live comfortably, not to become emperor. However, as Inette had said, resolving the desert conflict was exactly the kind of achievement that drew attention from the imperial capital.

At least it was fortunate that Senior Shartea and Inette had gone with him. Thanks to the two of them, the attention had been dispersed.

If he had been alone, there would have been no way to avoid the emperor’s question about whose contribution had been the greatest.

‘I have to break the flow here, no matter what.’

Radel devised a strategy to turn not only the imperial capital’s attention but even His Majesty’s favor away from him.

It was a plan to deliberately fall out of the emperor’s good graces by appearing as shameless as possible.

In other words, he would become a scoundrel.

A resolute light settled in Radel’s eyes.

To distance himself from the throne, he had to act as arrogant and unpleasant as possible.

Enough to destroy whatever goodwill he might have had.

However, there was something Radel had not anticipated.

His behavior had stirred something within Holium, the current emperor of the Cretian Empire.

“I see… is that so….”

Holium set the documents aside and looked directly at Radel.

It was the first time their gazes met.

Radel could not help but be startled.

The emperor’s golden eyes were empty.

They looked like the eyes of someone who had lost the will to live long ago.

***

After finishing his audience and leaving the emperor’s office, Radel noticed someone standing in the corridor. It was a stranger, yet Radel recognized him immediately.

‘The Imperial Hound.’

He was the one who had never removed his mask until the very end at the House of the Undead party. However, Radel’s senses, honed through numerous incidents, pierced through his true identity.

The second vice minister of the imperial administration, a man who had not yet aligned himself with any royal faction.

Davit Stinger.

According to what the Dice Shop employees had discovered, he had not displayed any particularly notable behavior since the House of the Undead party. He had neither become one of Radel’s followers nor contacted any other royal.

If so, had his attendance at the party that day been nothing more than a whim?

However, upon spotting Davit in the corridor, Radel realized that assumption was wrong. Davit behaved as though he had been waiting for him.

Approaching Radel, he asked his question without hesitation.

“Do you intend to become emperor?”

His eyes were filled with certainty that Radel would, of course, recognize him.

‘I did recognize you, but… that is a rather abrupt question.’

It felt like he was being asked difficult questions all day long. After a brief pause, Radel replied.

“I do not believe that is an appropriate question to ask upon a first meeting. Would it not be proper for you to first state your affiliation and name?”

Davit slowly looked at Radel. For a brief moment, a hint of surprise flickered across his face.

“I have been rude. Prince Radel Silvert Cretian. I am Davit Stinger, Second Vice Minister of the Administration of the Cretian Empire.”

He bowed deeply as he introduced himself. Then he straightened his back and continued.

“Please forget the question I just asked. I misspoke.”

“It is fine. I was merely surprised. And is it not a question that any royal might hear at some point?”

Radel added with a faint smile.

“If you ask whether I intend to become emperor… no. It is not a position one can obtain simply by wishing for it.”

Perhaps he sensed something in Radel’s response.

Davit’s expression hardened.

“…I was foolish. At present, that is the only answer you could give.”

Then, looking Radel straight in the eye, he said:

“I understand Your Highness’s intentions.”

Intentions? What did he mean by that…?

As Radel stood there in confusion, a familiar notification sound rang in his ears.

Ding.

[Davit Stinger’s Affinity has exceeded 10.]

It was an unexpectedly sharp rise in Affinity.