Chapter 1006 – #99. The Story of the Three Thousand Concubines and the Emperor (64)
“The crown prince looks exactly like your majesty.”
“… That’s right.”
“You’re not even an adult yet, but you’re already showing off your intelligence, so I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ll show in the future.”
“Honestly, I’m a little scared.”
“Are you afraid of the Crown Prince?”
“Yes, aren’t you all scared? You still look like that now, but I wonder what will happen later.”
From a young age, he wielded his sword without hesitation on the battlefield.
I learned from His Majesty closely what war is and what politics is.
When the Crown Prince, who had already imbued His Majesty with his intelligence, grew up with his current intelligence intact.
“Wouldn’t a country bigger than the Geos Empire be established?”
“It’s a good thing for the Empire. It’s nothing to be afraid of, right?”
“We are old.”
“…”
The other nobles kept their mouths shut at the criticism that struck the noble’s bones.
“When His Majesty the Crown Prince rules the world for a long time, we will become old men and lie on the bed. The ones who will have to assist the Crown Prince by his side will be our successors.”
“I understand what you said you were afraid of.”
“Yes, is everyone safe at home?”
“Hmm…”
“Hmm!”
When one noble asked whether the family was in peace, the other nobles’ expressions became uncomfortable.
Like all nobles, they hoped to have a proud successor, but reality was often different from their wishes.
“If we don’t properly appoint the next successor, we will be eaten. That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“… It’s not the time to worry about others.”
Both the current emperor and the crown prince have amazing abilities.
The prince was still young, so there were times when he showed a clumsy appearance, but as the emperor began to teach him step by step, he grew up and now the nobles can no longer do anything.
They are seasoned politicians, but they are at this level. What would happen to a family that has not established a proper successor?
‘We may be eliminated.’
What nobles consider most important is family stability.
However, if they place their successor next to the smart crown prince, the weight is shifted to one side.
Her head was already pounding at the thought of the foolish heir being swayed by the crown prince’s skillful speaking skills.
“When I return, I think I will have to re-educate my successor.”
“Would it be okay to educate them again? It would be better for everyone to think broadly rather than just thinking about the firstborn.”
Although he may not be similar to the current crown prince, he must not be so stupid as to be blinded.
“… That’s definitely true.”
“It will be necessary to show determination in order for the family’s power to fully move on to the next stage.”
The nobles who heard the news of His Majesty’s fall initially tried to take the lead in the issue of war compensation.
I knew that His Majesty the Emperor had delegated full authority to the Crown Prince, but I thought it would be problematic for the Crown Prince, who was still young, to lead the compensation issue.
Although the crown prince has grown up much more maturely, isn’t he still a minor and not yet an adult?
Naturally, it was thought that the nobles should lead the crown prince and discuss compensation issues.
However, the crown prince was angry at the actions of such nobles, asking if they were being punished for their actions.
He noticed the subtle tone of ‘teaching’.
“I should have come to my senses before His Majesty the Crown Prince got angry…”
The nobles were unable to come to their senses at the crown prince’s first displeased command and tried to persuade him.
They say that it is right for the ‘adults’ themselves to take the lead in doing this.
“What happened to Count Ensor?”
“You’re still trapped. You’re not angry at all.”
“I guess he wants to set an example for us. There will be nobles who will try to satisfy their shameful greed while His Majesty is lying down while preserving his position.”
The fact that the emperor has fallen is a weakness for the crown prince.
It was nothing more than an opportunity for the nobles who had been oppressed by the emperor and unable to show their courage, and if the crown prince had not been angry, nobles who behaved manipulatively like Ha Geuk-sang could have emerged.
He punished one nobleman in advance as an example and warned other nobles not to do anything rash.
“When did His Majesty the Crown Prince grow up like that?”
“Your Majesty taught you really well.”
Thanks to this, the nobles began to think that he was the son of his father.
It also meant that even if the emperor died, the day when the nobles would raise their spirits would never come.
“Isn’t the future of the empire busy? It is a blessing to the empire to have someone as intelligent as His Majesty the Crown Prince securely maintaining his position as Your Majesty’s successor.”
“Of course it is… Who cares? It’s not that they don’t like us, is it? They’re just worried about the succession issue.”
His Majesty the current Emperor really hates incompetent people.
And it was natural for the crown prince, who learned politics under him, to resemble the current emperor’s tendencies.
“I don’t know if I can please the Crown Prince just by educating him now.”
They sighed deeply as they thought of their successors playing and eating comfortably at home.
⁘ ⁘ ⁘
The crown prince couldn’t tell how the days passed these days.
Life was all about waking up when the sun rose, working, and sleeping when the sun set.
The reason he had no choice but to live such a stereotypical life was because the authority to decide on the issue of compensation for the war with the White Flag-raising Geos Empire was delegated to the crown prince.
I was prepared to be busy.
However, much more happened to the crown prince than he had anticipated.
Since the crown prince had to make decisions on each issue himself, he had to deal with a burden of responsibility that weighed heavily on his shoulders, and he was always pressed for time.
Is that all?
Work was work, but there were many things the crown prince had to worry about.
‘Now that the war is over, we have to decide on rewards.’
The allies who had fought together to destroy the Geos Empire were now chirping at the crown prince with their mouths wide open, demanding compensation for their fight.
There wouldn’t be a problem if you just take what the crown prince gives you, but the problem was that everyone kept saying they wanted to eat more than the guy next to them.
I did better, no, I did better.
The crown prince had to worry about it all day long so that he wouldn’t complain and ask, “Why is he giving me that, and I’m giving this to him?”
I knew that what I was doing now was a valuable opportunity to lay the foundation for power that could help the crown prince’s future, but…
‘I’m too busy.’
The crown prince, who spent each day in a hectic manner, was exhausted, and he couldn’t help but feel resentment toward Abama.
That is, if Abama, who should have been the object of his resentment, was healthy.
“Are you busy today?”
“… I have no shame. I apologize.”
“I know you’re doing your best, but it’s not working, so everything seems in vain.”
The crown prince no longer blames the therapist’s incompetence.
Because I know that they really aren’t as incompetent as they say.
The healers did not reject the priests in treating the emperor for reasons of pride.
On the contrary, even when things got a little worse, he requested a priest and tried to help His Majesty recover normally.
But for some reason, the emperor’s condition was getting worse.
“Why can’t you recover like last time?”
“You used an unknown amount of power continuously without resting. I think the side effect was that your Majesty’s vitality was diminished. Otherwise, we cannot explain why all of your organs are failing at the same time.”
“It’s called life force.?”
The therapists were not fools, so they knew that the emperor’s physical condition was not recovering but was getting worse.
They tried to find out what the cause was, but it was not easy to guess the emperor’s physical condition with their knowledge.
Even the priests could not figure out why the emperor was in such a state.
The therapists had several meetings and were able to guess several reasons as to why the emperor’s health continued to deteriorate and why the medicine had no effect at all.
One was the speculation that the power the emperor used ‘life force’ as energy, and that he was dying because he had used much more of that life force than expected.
And the second…
“You don’t need anything else!”
The crown prince, who was listening to the therapist’s explanation, suddenly burst out in anger and spoke.
“What I want to know is how to save Your Majesty!! The cause and all, what’s so important about it!! Your Majesty is alive! That’s what’s important!”
I understand that His Majesty’s condition is getting worse.
So, what is the way to save it?
That was the most important thing to the crown prince.
The problem was that the therapists could not answer the crown prince’s questions.
“There is a way to save…”
“How?”
Shake it up!
The therapists simultaneously knelt down and bowed their heads.
“”Kill me!””
“What are you doing now!!!”
“The priests’ abilities are not working at all! The body itself is not accepting any beneficial energy. We don’t know anything about the method.”
“No? Then what are you going to do? Are you saying we should just leave it like this until His Majesty dies!!”
The crown prince thought that with time, His Majesty would wake up in the same state as before.
However, the therapist’s words shattered the crown prince’s faith.
“Prince…”
“Abama!”
The physical condition was not the only evidence that things were a little different now.
Unlike before, when he was sound asleep, the emperor now wakes up frequently.
Once you wake up, your physical functions decrease significantly.
So, the emperor’s awakening was not a good thing for his physical condition.
So the therapist said it would be better to put the emperor to sleep and made him take sleeping pills.
However, the emperor woke up frequently, as if laughing at the effects of such medicine.
And after waking up like that, when he goes back to sleep, his physical condition is worse than before.
