Chapter 23 – Yuno’s Coming of Age Ceremony (4)
Yuno’s Coming of Age Ceremony (4)
As the sun rose, the news that Yuno’s villa, where the body change was in progress, had been attacked by magic quickly spread throughout the imperial palace.
And in the first villa where the crown prince lives, Prinz’s angry words erupted.
“What do you mean? The villa where Yuno is located was attacked by magic? And it is presumed to be Hellfire, the highest level magic?”
“Yes, that’s right, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Viscount Speyer went out to search with the Knights of the Royal Guard, but the beast had already committed suicide, and it appears he used magic with a scroll.”
“More than that, what happened to Yuno? If it was Hellfire, the shock would have been enormous, but did anything go wrong with Yuno during her body change?”
“According to Viscount Speyer’s report, His Royal Highness the Third Prince is safe. I heard that while Master Aragorn and Viscount Speyer were weakening the magic, His Highness the Third Prince woke up and blew away Hellfire with a fist of immense power. And what could have happened? It is said that Master Aragorn has begun checking the body of His Highness the Third Prince.”
It was only then that the crown prince consoled himself of his shock upon hearing the news that Yuno was safe.
“Whew, that’s a relief… I almost lost the Empire’s Morning Star for nothing… Does His Majesty the Emperor know about this?”
“Yes, Your Majesty! Your Majesty was furious and ordered a thorough investigation to uncover the evildoer. According to His Majesty’s order, the Empire’s Ministry of Magic has mobilized all of its members to investigate, so the background will soon be revealed.”
“Yes… This must be revealed. How dare you infiltrate the imperial palace and target the royal family! And with such a mean surprise!! I will never forgive you!!”
A anger so terrifying that it could not be said to have come from the crown prince’s weak body erupted, and that anger led to a rebuke of his subordinates.
The crown prince was a generous prince who rarely got angry, but when his anger exploded, he was so scary that it made people look different, so the subordinates bowed their heads deeply and quickly followed the prince’s instructions and ran out of the villa.
‘Heinrich… I hope you will never get involved in this… Furthermore, I guessed that you had been rebelling for a long time, but as his older brother, I showed mercy and turned a blind eye to it. However, if you tried to harm my younger brother, I would no longer consider you my younger brother.’
Prinz recalled the image of his younger brother, whom it was difficult to see these days, and prayed sincerely that he was not behind this incident.
As the orders of the crown prince were added to the orders of the angry emperor, the entire Adriatic Castle, the capital of the Balkan Empire, fell into fear. As the will of the 1st and 2nd place in the imperial power hierarchy came together, a very severe investigation was carried out for several days, and all servants and maids of the imperial palace were investigated.
All nobles were placed under house arrest and searched by the Knights of the Royal Guard and the Imperial Ministry of Magic, and thorough checks and searches were conducted on passers-by at the castle gates.
However, even after several days, no evidence of the mastermind who manipulated the assassin was found anywhere, and the emperor’s anger continued to soar.
“What? I found the raider’s family, and they’re in Tesseito Kingdom?”
As the emperor’s loud voice filled the royal palace, the head of the reporting intelligence chief, Baron Legasota, lowered his head even further.
“Yes… Yes, Your Majesty. They say he already left for the Tesseito Kingdom a year ago… There is a possibility that he was hidden as a spy all this time…”
“What has the head of the intelligence department been doing all this time? Isn’t it true that Tesseito’s ganja has been roaming freely in the imperial palace for a year?”
“I have nothing more to say, Your Majesty!”
After briefly reprimanding the intelligence chief, the emperor ordered him to return to his seat. As soon as the intelligence chief’s report ended, the royal palace was filled with the voices of various nobles.
“As expected! There is no doubt that the Teseito sent assassins! We must immediately declare war and punish them!”
“What are you talking about? There is no evidence. There is evidence!!”
“What more evidence do you need? Evidence? The conclusive proof is that those abominable Teseito bastards are alive and breathing!!”
“Ha! So what are we going to do with the declaration of war? No one is dead and there is only minor damage to the villa, but the evil beast’s family is still alive somewhere in Tesseito, so let’s declare war on that? Are you out of your mind?”
“What? This guy is real!!”
“What? You bastard? Are you done talking now?”
As always, in an instant, the royal palace became a shambles. However, unlike usual, this time the hawkish voices were a little louder and the atmosphere seemed to have definitely changed from before.
Karl III looked at the nobles closely, as if his anger had disappeared, and then struck the floor with his cane.
When the emperor’s staff hit the floor and made a sharp sound, the nobles immediately put an end to their fight and waited for the emperor’s command.
“Good! I want to use this opportunity to punish Tesseito! We must firmly engrave in their minds what it means to them to dare show their teeth to this empire! Foreign Minister! Prepare to declare war!”
“I will take your orders, Your Majesty.”
Many nobles bowed their heads before the emperor’s solemn command, but the crown prince raised his head and advised the emperor.
“Your Majesty!! Please wait a moment! The mystery of the evil eye has not yet been properly revealed! Since the investigation is still in progress, it would be best to postpone the declaration of war…”
However, the emperor did not properly listen to the advice of the crown prince whom he had always cherished so much, and entered into a civil war. Then the crown prince followed him into the civil war and blocked the emperor’s path.
“Your Majesty! Please listen to me!! War is a hasty decision…”
Slam!!
The crown prince was dumbfounded after being slapped by the emperor. It was not because the cheek slapped by the eighty-year-old emperor hurt, but because it was the first slap he had received in his life.
“Ugly bastard!! Is this guy called the crown prince still so bad at reading the times? So… It definitely wasn’t an assassination attempted by Tesseito. The assassin’s family isn’t in Tesseito in the first place. That’s my information. “This is a report that was fabricated by the manager.”
The emperor sighed and looked at the blank-eyed crown prince and opened his mouth again.
“This empire has suppressed its power for too long. The last war was against the Kingdom of Leon, which took place almost 10 years ago. Just look at it. Didn’t you see the young nobles full of blood getting all hot and screaming for war?”
“B… But war causes damage to the people…”
The crown prince, who came to his senses, protested in a faint voice, but the emperor ignored it and took the crown prince to the balcony.
“Prinz. If you want to run an empire, you have to look far ahead. War is only a means. It is not the goal. It is just an extension of politics. My life is not long. And you will have to take over this position. As a successor, it will be the easiest. Don’t you know the way to maintain legitimacy?”
“…”
The crown prince did not answer, but the emperor nodded and continued speaking.
“My father led the Battle of Zenon Plains to victory when he was crown prince, so even after 60 years, my power is strong. And in this war, you will also walk the same steps as me.”
“So, does that mean that His Majesty showed such anger at Yuno’s assassination attempt? Your Majesty… No, my father doesn’t think of us as just another chessman running the country!”
The emperor smiled at the crown prince’s protest.
“Well, it wasn’t 100% acting, but… I guess it was a bit exaggerated. Of course, I would have been angry if Yuno had been hurt, but… Aren’t you fine? I heard that you have safely reached the level of master. If so, then I have to calculate how to use it. It is also the emperor’s duty.”
“Still… I can never just ignore the attempt to assassinate my brother. I will catch the evil beast somehow.”
“Of course it should be so. But! That will be after you win the war against Tesseito. Secretary!! Prepare for Yuno’s coming-of-age banquet this evening. It will be a celebration of the birth of a new master, so prepare it grandly. And send an invitation to all nobles in the capital to participate.”
“Yes! Your Majesty! I will follow your orders.”
When Secretary Marquis García bowed and disappeared, the Emperor looked at Prinz once again.
“Tonight. I will declare war on Tesseito at Yuno’s coming-of-age ceremony. And the commander-in-chief and deputy commander of Tesseito’s conquest army will be the crown prince and the third prince, so prepare yourselves.”
When the emperor disappeared, Prinz looked at the place where the emperor had disappeared and became lost in thought.
‘Your Majesty seems to have already figured out who is behind the evil trick. But His Majesty’s eyes are already on Tesseito… Of course, His Majesty’s words have a point… But the sequence of events is wrong. It will not be too late to tightly crack down on the inside and set out for conquest…’
But now there was nothing Prinz could do, and he had to move on to his palace.
