Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 11

11.

Succeeding in the contract with Undine brought a quest reward.

-A Water Barrier will be unlocked.

“As expected.”

I smiled as I looked at the status window.

‘With this, I have talent comparable to Karen. It’s no exaggeration to say that all the foundations to become strong are gathered.’

As I was organizing my thoughts, I heard Gale’s voice from afar.

“Your Highness!”

I calmly spoke to Gale, who was approaching with a stern face.

“Ah, I know why you’re here, but I didn’t do it on purpose. It seems the aftermath was quite severe?”

It was the summoning of a high-grade spirit. It was easy to predict that the mana’s wave spread far.

Gale nodded heavily.

“This time, it couldn’t be hidden. The scent of the spirit is strong… If they are skilled, they would know that a high-grade spirit was summoned in the Crown Prince’s palace.”

I hummed and pondered.

“Still, except for His Majesty the Emperor, everyone else can only guess, not be certain, right?”

Gale paused for a moment at my words.

Gale replied soon after.

“I was inside the palace, so I accurately felt the spirit’s energy, but others far away would have only felt a strong mana wave.”

I immediately suggested a solution.

“No one will ask, but if anyone does ask what happened, you can say you were training and it happened.”

Gale nodded as if agreeing with my solution.

“That’s a plausible method.”

“By the way, Gale.”

Since Gale was here, I revealed my thoughts on future training.

“Two Sylphs and one Undine. These are the spirits I contracted with.”

Gale couldn’t hide his surprise at my words. It was fun to see Gale’s expressions becoming richer day by day.

I was making Gale surprised with positive changes rather than bad ones, so I felt quite proud.

“They are all low-grade spirits, but either way, succeeding in contracting with spirits of two attributes this quickly means I have some talent, right?”

Gale said in a stern voice at my words.

“Complacency is not good for those who train.”

Gale added encouragement.

“The previous head of the family and the one before him were also biased towards the wind spirit at Your Highness’s age.”

I guessed at Gale’s words.

‘The affinity with the wind spirit seems to be inherited from my mother’s side, and the other talents… are from my father’s genes?’

I could have thought that I had tremendous talent myself, but I set the spiritists themselves as beings with significant genetic factors.

The companion of the wind was clearly inherited from my mother’s side, and the guardian of the water from my father’s side.

‘The high-grade water spirit said as if there was still talent latent within me… The one who follows the primordial oath that has not awakened… that must have been referring to talent.’

Since I couldn’t be sure, I decided to focus on training the opened talents and skills for the time being, then opened my mouth.

“Anyway, I think I need practice handling spirits.”

Gale nodded.

“I will prepare the training grounds.”

Gale added one thing.

“I hope you will always train under my supervision.”

“Okay.”

I readily answered and moved to do the real work left for today.

“Then let’s go. You talked to Ken yesterday, right?”

Gale’s eyes flashed.

It was a clear look of anger, and I flinched.

It was anger towards the deputy head butler, maids, and servants.

Gale’s voice was also slightly cold.

“Yes. I will clear them all out before Your Highness’s lunch time.”

“Let’s go for now.”

Gale and I headed to the palace.

As we left the garden, Ken was waiting in front of the palace entrance.

“Everyone is waiting.”

I looked at Gale at Ken’s words.

“I gathered everyone in place, thinking of proceeding publicly.”

I nodded, and soon we entered through the entrance. Before entering the palace interior, there was a large courtyard, which was crowded with people.

I realized anew that there were quite a few maids and servants in the Crown Prince’s palace.

I looked for the deputy head butler.

He was at the very front.

‘Even though he’s the deputy head butler of the Crown Prince’s palace… that outfit is like a noble’s.’

Some of the maids and servants are from slave backgrounds, but most are from commoner backgrounds.

In particular, those who work in the palace where the imperial family resides are filled with people who have received high-level education even in this era.

‘Having slaves in my palace… it’s because I’m being ignored, but it also means that there are slaves among those from the Attran family academy.’

I walked among the people with Gale and Ken as if I didn’t know anything.

Everyone was showing courtesy.

There was curiosity about why everyone was gathered, but there was no sign of anxiety.

Gale stood in front of the deputy head butler and opened his mouth.

“Everyone, listen carefully.”

Attention was focused on Gale.

I leaned slightly against the entrance wall and watched Gale.

Gale didn’t mince words.

“Deputy Head Butler who privately embezzled the Crown Prince’s palace budget, maids who privately used the Crown Prince’s palace property, servants who sold things out. I think you all know your sins well.”

Only then did the faces of the maids and servants turn pale.

But the deputy head butler’s expression didn’t change.

I internally exclaimed, ‘Hoo.’ Gale’s voice was cold, and there was even a murderous aura, so maintaining composure was by no means an easy task.

Even I was slightly trembling.

The deputy head butler opened his mouth with a sneering smile.

His gaze reached me, not Gale.

“Embezzling the Crown Prince’s palace budget? That’s impossible. Your Highness.”

The deputy head butler made it clear. He wanted to talk to me, not Gale.

‘Look at that bastard.’

I could feel mockery in his eyes. Like the knights Ted brought, his attitude clearly disregarded my incompetence and timidity.

* * *

My brothers and sisters ignore me.

The dukes of the guardian families ignore me.

The nobles of powerful families ignore me.

Even the insignificant local nobles ignore me.

The commoners of the empire ignore me.

And now, even the butlers, maids, and servants ignore me.

It was a fact I had always known, and yet I was a timid person who couldn’t say a word to anyone and only locked myself in my room, looking for my deceased mother.

But there was something they were mistaken about.

No matter how incompetent, timid, or a mama’s boy I am, my father is Ron Carl Leord, the master of this empire.

And the current master of the empire has given me the position of Crown Prince.

Even though he doesn’t expect anything from me, even though Second Prince Ted Carl Leord is a strong candidate to succeed the throne, I am still the Crown Prince.

I strode towards the deputy head butler.

“Did you say it’s impossible?”

Gale tried to step forward again when I intervened, but I stopped him with my hand.

The maids’ and servants’ eyes were changing, as if Gale was scary and I was easy to deal with.

The deputy head butler looked around at them slightly and nodded.

“Of course. Your Highness.”

Instead of answering him, I asked Gale.

“Gale, do you have evidence?”

“There are ledgers, as well as evidence that the deputy head butler embezzled the budget to accumulate private property.”

I looked at the deputy head butler again.

The deputy head butler was still relaxed.

“Your Highness, I didn’t accumulate private property. I was executing the budget within the permitted range…”

I cut off the deputy head butler’s words with a smile.

“Are you daring to insult me?”

The deputy head butler’s face hardened.

It was because my response was so different from his expectations.

Even though he knew what happened to Ted’s knights, was he so confident because he trusted Ted so much?

Or is there something else he believes in?

‘Actually, none of that matters.’

I smiled even more intensely.

“Your Highness.”

I replied briefly to the deputy head butler’s voice calling me.

“The head butler said there is evidence of everything. That means you and all of you used the Crown Prince’s palace budget to fill your own bellies. That means you insulted me. Daringly…”

I took a slight breath and shouted.

“Unless you’re crazy, how can you use the palace budget to increase your own wealth? Gale.”

The deputy head butler tried to open his mouth quickly, but my voice came first.

“I will severely punish their sins. Imprison them all without leaving a single one.”

“Yes. Your Highness.”

There were dozens of people, but they all collapsed under the momentum Gale was emitting.

They are just maids and servants.

There was no way they could withstand the momentum of a top-level Sword Expert.

I bent down towards the deputy head butler, who was trembling while kneeling.

“Your sin is not only embezzling money and insulting me. If you reported every move of the Crown Prince to others, that is treason.”

The deputy head butler’s body trembled.

“Others may not know, but I will make sure you are charged with treason. There is more than enough evidence of your sins.”

I ignored the deputy head butler, who was making a futile expression, and ordered Gale.

“Gale, imprison them all. Oh, and imprison them in the Crown Prince’s annex.”

“Yes.”

Previously, Ted’s knights were imprisoned in the imperial palace prison, but I decided to imprison them in my annex.

It was to prevent them from contacting Ted.

‘I’ll deal with them and Ted’s knights all at once. To do that, I have no choice but to borrow the Emperor’s power…’

I could have handled it myself, but having the Emperor handle it directly would be a clear warning to Ted, and it would also help to re-establish the Crown Prince’s position.

I turned around and entered the palace.

Ken followed closely.

“I didn’t expect you to step up directly.”

“Have you ever seen a butler act like that in front of the Crown Prince?”

Ken chuckled at my words.

I lightly ignored him and asked.

“The evidence?”

“Of course, I have secured everything. Including the reports to the Second Prince.”

In just one day, Ken secured all the evidence.

No matter how openly the deputy head butler did everything, it was by no means easy to secure so much in such a short time.

“How did you gather it?”

“Don’t you know I have a unique background? Of course, I visited the deputy head butler’s office and house once each. Thanks to that, I didn’t get a wink of sleep.”

I laughed in disbelief at the story of him openly stealing.

Ken shrugged.

“Then can I rest now? The finishing touches…”

“Rest? All the maids and servants have been imprisoned, so new ones need to be hired, and of course, trustworthy people are needed. Cooperate with Gale and fill them all within a few days.”

“Your Highness.”

I shrugged this time at Ken’s dissatisfied voice.

“Ah, right. For the few days that there are no maids and servants, you’ll have to take care of me directly. I’m the Crown Prince, but it doesn’t make sense not to have a single attendant. Besides, you came in as the Crown Prince’s attendant, right?”

As I watched Ken’s face distort, I entered my office with a pleasant smile.

‘Now I need to start training my skills in earnest. And… I should see my father soon.’

In my memory, I had never visited my father first. Ron Carl Leord also rarely looked for me. All of them were when I was young enough that even my memories were faint.

After my mother passed away, my father visited my palace a few times, that was all.

“And when I was cursed by the Orc Shaman and woke up.”

I steeled my heart. Due to the aftermath of synchronization, my body still reacts with fear whenever I think of the Emperor.

‘A son who fears his father… I’m not the same as I was then, but.’

Of course, honestly, I was a little scared too.

“Because I’m meeting my father… who is the final boss.”