“The one who killed your father is the Emperor, Gustav Friedrich von Freya.”
*CRUNCH!*
The Crown Prince’s teeth ground together as he mulled over those words.
It didn’t make any sense.
Wasn’t his father killed by Henderson’s attack?
That crow that had effortlessly slipped through the solid barriers of the Imperial Palace and the tight security of the royal guards······.
“Don’t tell me.”
The corners of the Crown Prince’s eyes twitched.
Now that he thought about it, why had he never questioned this before?
Maybe he overestimated Henderson’s abilities.
Or maybe he underestimated the royal guards before the restructuring.
Why hadn’t he ever considered the possibility that someone might have opened the barriers and weakened the guards?
Feeling as if he had suddenly woken up from a dream, the Crown Prince froze and trembled.
“Are you all right, Your Highness?”
“Yeah······. I’m fine.”
“By the way, thank you once again, Your Highness. I’m really grateful for being let back in······.”
The attendant beside him kept bowing her head.
She had been fired for the mistake of entering the bedroom without permission last time.
The Crown Prince glanced at the teacup she held, took a deep breath, and stepped forward again.
“Don’t spill the tea. Stop it.”
“Yes, I see······.”
As the Crown Prince stepped forward, the door began to open on its own.
It was the Emperor’s bedroom.
The attendant, who was seeing the scene for the first time, opened her mouth in awe but quickly remembered herself and clung tightly to the Crown Prince’s back.
Inside, the Emperor sat at a table, stroking his white beard.
Then *BANG*, the door closed behind them.
“Tea······ is served······.”
Silently, the Crown Prince and the Emperor faced each other.
The attendant, feeling the odd tension in the air, nervously trembled with the teacups in her hands.
Finally, after placing both cups down, the attendant bowed and timidly headed towards the door.
The door opened and closed again, leaving only the Emperor and the Crown Prince inside.
“Ah······! I thought I was going to suffocate.”
“What nonsense is that?”
“What’s the big deal?”
The noble demeanor he had maintained until now crumbled, and the Crown Prince slumped into a slouch.
Watching him, Gustav chuckled, picking up his teacup.
“Wait a second.”
“What is it?”
At that moment, the Crown Prince suddenly reached forward and grabbed Gustav’s hand.
Seeing the serious look in his eyes, Gustav slowly put down his teacup.
It seemed clear that his granddaughter didn’t come just to chat.
“I have a few questions. Schlus Hainkel······. Are you really going to kill him?”
“That’s a complicated matter-”
“So just put it simply.”
“Right. I will kill him. By any means necessary.”
The Crown Prince felt a rush of breath leave him.
“Then do you think Schlus Hainkel is a liar?”
“A liar? No. Schlus Hainkel is cunning but not a coward. He will take down his opponent with truth, not by attack through lies and slander.”
“Then what if you gave Schlus Hainkel an official position?”
“I’ve already given him one, but it was useless. He threw away everything, including the Duke’s position and the Imperial First Sword······. He must be the type who won’t be satisfied unless it’s a throne.”
“Hmm······.”
Nodding, the Crown Prince was actually having a different thought inside.
Could it be that Schlus Hainkel rejected a position tied to just one place?
Maybe he was pursuing freedom more than ambition to rise higher.
If that were true, then Schlus Hainkel wouldn’t have the intent to vie for the throne.
This meant that all the plotting was merely about surviving against the Emperor’s first move······.
“Grandfather. One last question.”
“Ask away.”
“My father. Why did you kill him?”
“······?!”
Gustav’s eyes widened.
The Crown Prince, not letting the change in expression pass by, felt sure.
What Schlus Hainkel said was indeed the truth.
*COUGH! HACK!*
Gustav began to cough dryly before grabbing his teacup and gulping it down.
Yet his thirst did not seem to ease.
Sitting right across from him, the Crown Prince’s piercing gaze made Gustav feel like his body was on fire.
“Please answer me, Grandfather.”
“Where did you even hear that? Whom did you hear this rumor from—”
“Don’t dodge the question! Just tell me! Why did you kill him?”
“That, well······.”
Gustav couldn’t meet the sharp gaze anymore.
There was no way he could tell his granddaughter that her father was a foolish, arrogant, and cruel brat who deserved to die.
He couldn’t say he killed him to take the crown from him and hand it over to her.
“If you want, it’s a complex story······.”
“I see you have no intention of answering. Fine. It was probably all just excuses anyway.”
“······?”
The Crown Prince suddenly stood up.
Looking up at him, Gustav felt a sudden wave of nausea hit his gut.
*BLORP!*
Suddenly, he felt the urge to vomit.
Warmness rushed up inside him and spilled out of his mouth.
“What the······!”
It was a massive amount of *hemoptysis*.
With blood splattered around his mouth, Gustav’s gaze turned back to the Crown Prince.
But the Crown Prince just looked down at him with cold eyes.
No matter how much he reached out for help, he was ignored.
“Ugh?! Gack······! Uuugh······!”
“You’ve been enjoying this for too long. I feel it’s time to pull you out before your insight fades any further, so please forgive my disloyalty.”
The Crown Prince bowed his head to pay his last respects to the greatest ruler of history who had led the Empire’s golden age.
But that ruler’s wit from his youth had already faded.
Before he tarnished his own name any further, it was his duty as a descendant to help him down before he completely lost his mind.
When the Crown Prince finally opened his eyes, Gustav was slumped over the table, completely still.
A faint smile appeared on the Crown Prince’s lips as he took his pulse.
“Father······. Are you watching?”
He had avenged him.
It seemed like it took too long, but in the end, he had done it.
His father would be happy, looking down from the sky.
The Crown Prince found himself shedding tears of joy.
Letting the tears flow, he hugged the Emperor tightly.
“Guards!!! What are you doing?!”
“What happened?!”
“The, the Emperor······! He suddenly spat blood and then collapsed like this! Get the physician! Call for the physician! Hurry!”
“Y-Yes, Your Highness!”
“Grandfather! Open your eyes······!”
“Emergency! This is an emergency······. Seal the Imperial Palace immediately.”
In the chaos of the bedroom, the Crown Prince wept and held his grandfather’s corpse tightly.
*WHIFF!*
Though he had never acted before, for some reason, it was all too natural now.
“Check the well! Quickly!”
“Arrest all the attendants who touched the tea!”
No one, absolutely no one suspected that the person burying his face in the corpse and weeping was the culprit.
And no one noticed that the sound of his weeping was slowly morphing into an eerie laugh.
*
At 10 a.m. A piece of welcome news arrived.
It was reported that two hours ago, the Emperor had suddenly died after drinking poisoned tea.
The sudden news sent shockwaves through the entire institution.
Typically, when something like this happens, the royal family would handle the situation internally first and then hold a brief meeting before announcing it.
Usually, this would take about a day to three days, but the royal family chose to announce it right away.
They couldn’t have done that without a thought; they must have had their own reasons.
But that wasn’t the only problem.
– The Crown Prince’s coming-of-age ceremony and coronation ceremony will take place in two days.
This absurd schedule was the real issue.
The Emperor’s death was shocking enough, but to have the coming-of-age and the coronation on the very next day?
Because of this, all the high-ranking nobles across the nation were thrown into a frenzy.
They would need to rush to the capital immediately.
Coincidentally, if they had just two days now, they could take the fastest carriage from anywhere in the nation.
There could be no excuses for being late.
Nothing could possibly take precedence over the Emperor’s death and the coronation ceremony.
‘Well, it worked out how I wanted it to······.’
Up till now, everything was running according to my plans.
The real question was what would happen next.
Though Aria had blinded herself with revenge and killed the Emperor, would she maintain the same course as Gustav or actively employ me after ascending the throne?
That was the real issue.
Of course, Gustav didn’t just seek to exclude me.
He had offered the position of Duke, despite it being a lame territory, and even suggested the position of the Imperial First Sword.
But what I wanted was not a position burdened with responsibilities and obligations.
I needed a place with greater power that also allowed me the freedom to act.
It sounded insatiably greedy, I know.
In any case, whether Aria would grant me such an unreasonable position was also critical.
“Shall we get going soon?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
“Are you saying you won’t be accused as the assassin after going there?”
Emilia asked with a worried look as she tied my tie.
Her skilled hands deftly adjusted the tie and tucked it into my coat.
Finding Emilia cute, I absentmindedly ruffled her hair.
“Don’t worry. That won’t happen. I still have too much to do. I can’t fall apart here.”
“Yeah······. If you fall apart, we’re in danger too.”
Emilia naturally leaned against me.
Holding this small being close, I buried my nose in her crown.
She smelled nice.
Just as I was about to part from her, Emilia tugged at my tie.
She often asked for a kiss this way when she wanted one.
It seemed she was too shy to ask in words.
“Okay······ mmph······.”
I held her tied-up hair and pressed my lips against hers.
One hand held my tie while the other was too busy trembling, unable to fully grip my chest—how adorable that was.
Since I was going to a significant event, I couldn’t risk ruining my clothes.
I spent a while passionately kissing Emilia, surrendering to all the pent-up desires.
Soon after, a wave of guilt washed over me.
Was it the guilt of imposing my baseless lust on a minor?
Maybe it was the guilt of deriving pleasure from someone I didn’t even like.
*PUFF······.*
“I’ll be on my way now.”
“Okay······. Take care······.”
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and pulled back.
Still, the kiss cleared my mind.
Where I was headed now wasn’t just to shed tears over the Emperor’s death and to congratulate Aria on her coming of age and ascension.
It was also to confirm my true political standing.
I was going to see whether the Intelligence Agency would live or die.
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