Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 130

130.

The timing of my return to the Imperial Palace wasn’t up to me.

-Return and report on your achievements.

It was just a single line of message, but I couldn’t ignore it.

Along with the knights from the evaluation tournament and the guards Marquis Mike had assigned, I was heading to the capital.

Because of the messenger who arrived before Ken, everyone hurriedly packed their bags.

I had many unfinished tasks in the West, and I hadn’t expected to return to the Imperial Palace so soon.

The capital’s gates came into view in the distance.

There was no explicit order to hurry, but my father’s letter seemed to imply that I should come quickly.

I skipped even stopping by Count Boaffen’s estate and headed straight for the Imperial Palace.

Four days after departing from the West, I saw the main gate of the Imperial Palace.

I was greeted by the meritorious retainers. Dukes Austin, Beregon, Yan, and even Duke James, who rarely appeared in official settings, bowed to me.

After lightly dismounting from Gale, I nodded slightly.

“It is truly an honor to be greeted by the Dukes themselves.”

Duke Beregon replied on behalf of the others.

“As subjects of the Empire, it is our duty to grandly welcome the Crown Prince.”

I smiled faintly.

Behind the four dukes, the central nobles were gathered without exception.

I wondered if this was due to my changed status or my father’s instructions.

“Let’s go inside. Father is waiting.”

As I moved, the nobles parted to the sides, creating a path.

‘What’s certain is that my status has changed.’

The nobles’ gazes were different.

There was a mix of approving gazes, as if they were proud of my victory in the evaluation tournament, and wary gazes.

“My siblings are here too.”

At my words, Ted bowed.

“Congratulations on the victory.”

It had been a while since I saw Ted, and he seemed to have grown about a hand’s breadth taller.

He was at the age of rapid growth, and during my time in the West, Ted had grown tall enough to meet my eyes.

“Thank you.”

I didn’t bother having a long conversation with Ted.

The sight of all the other princes and princesses being present made it seem like I was watching my father’s victory parade.

Except for Ted and Chen, I was surprised to see that I was meeting all my other siblings for the first time.

Of course, I had memories of talking with my other siblings, and I even had memories of playing with them when I was very young.

As I entered the Imperial Palace, the surrounding sounds faded.

Not only my siblings and the nobles were at the main gate, but also many citizens living in the capital.

Beregon followed behind me and spoke.

“I heard many things happened in the West.”

He must be quite upset, but Beregon didn’t show it at all. As a seasoned politician and one of the continent’s leading powerhouses, Beregon excellently controlled his emotions.

“Yes. It was a place where many things had already happened before I even went. I will tell you in detail when I see Father.”

“Yes, Your Highness. I am very much looking forward to it.”

Even with a subtle probe, Beregon didn’t waver.

On the other hand, Duke Austin didn’t say a word to me.

Soon, we arrived at the Grand Hall.

As I entered the Grand Hall, the sun was rising to its zenith.

Father was sitting on the throne as always, leaning his chin at an angle, and greeted me.

I paid my respects to Father.

The nobles went to their respective places.

Everyone was waiting for me to speak.

“I, Arun Karl Leord, Commander of the West, have returned after resolving the chaos in the West under His Majesty’s command.”

“Bring it out.”

I knew what he was referring to without having to be told explicitly.

I took out a magic pouch from my pocket.

After taking Goran’s corpse out of the magic pouch, I calmly pieced it together.

Ah, exclamations erupted from here and there.

The Grand Hall trembled with a slight tremor as I fitted the last two wings.

Then, I took out the wyvern’s head.

Although the blood was hardened, the wyvern’s head, with its eyes wide open as if it were still alive, exuded a gruesome yet powerful presence.

“A demon and a wyvern.”

At Father’s words, the suppressed exclamations burst out from all over.

“The chaos in the West was orchestrated by this demon. Although it didn’t have complete power, the lich [a type of undead creature], the undead, and the Orc King, who regarded this demon as their master, started a war.”

To be exact, it was a war started by the lich and the Orc King.

I moderately exaggerated my achievements.

“I organized knights and special forces to eliminate the demon and the lich, and then led the war to victory through a battle with the Orc King. The Orcs, having lost their king, scattered, and the West regained stability.”

“Where did the remaining undead go?”

It was Duke James.

He rarely spoke, but he seemed genuinely curious.

I slightly turned my gaze to Duke James. He was much younger than the other three dukes.

He was still in his early 30s.

He was truly an amazing person. The fact that he was ranked among the meritorious retainers at a young age meant that Duke James’s contributions were significant.

Duke James’s contribution was simple.

He offered his country to the Empire in its entirety.

Unlike Dukes Beregon, Austin, and Yan, James didn’t have much presence in the central government.

All the nobles looked at him with prejudiced eyes, calling him a traitor. James never tried to remove those prejudices.

“I killed them all.”

I answered briefly.

Duke James’s question ended there.

I made eye contact with the other nobles one by one, but no questions came out.

I ended the discussion about the war there.

‘Now it’s time to talk about the West.’

After taking a moment to catch my breath, I brought up the story of the wyvern first.

“It was a wyvern called the Ruler of the Ruins in the Dark Forest. It was a monster that had caused enormous damage to the West for decades.”

“Did you go hunting after the war ended?”

I nodded at Duke Beregon’s question.

“Yes. If left unattended, the damage would only continue to accumulate.”

Father opened his mouth.

“Is that the reason you bothered to hunt the wyvern? You could have just returned and reported your achievements.”

“Wyvern hunting was impossible with the West’s capabilities alone.”

“It changed because the Crown Prince was there?”

Father raised his voice at the end. Watching a smile spread across his face, I broke out in a cold sweat.

I replied without showing any emotion.

“Gale and I played pivotal roles.”

“Well, with the combination of a high-level spirit master and a sword master, you could even conquer a kingdom.”

Amazement spread throughout the Grand Hall.

* * *

Father’s words shocked everyone.

The fact that Gale had become a sword master didn’t seem to surprise many nobles, as they had already guessed it.

“Even at the evaluation tournament, you were only a mid-level spirit master. You truly have amazing talent.”

Duke James’s words represented everyone’s feelings.

What surprised everyone was not only my level but also my rate of growth.

From their perspective, I, who had surpassed stages in a matter of months, must have seemed like a monster.

The nobles didn’t know what kind of experiences I had in the West or whether I had faced life-or-death situations.

In particular, Dukes Beregon and Austin were biting their lips tightly to suppress their trembling.

Beregon glanced at Father.

Father had an inscrutable smile on his face.

“You have achieved great feats that no one else has accomplished. You discovered the revival of the forces of evil that no one knew about.”

Everyone began to focus on Father’s words.

I was a little uneasy, but I couldn’t interrupt Father’s words.

“At the time, no one believed it. That the forces of evil in the West would revive. But the Crown Prince found out about it and volunteered to be the commander himself.”

Originally, Father wasn’t one to speak much at the Grand Hall meetings.

“Most people expressed negative opinions, but the Crown Prince proved his abilities by winning the evaluation tournament.”

My unease grew.

What on earth was he trying to say?

Now even the nobles had curious expressions on their faces.

It was unusual for them to see Father talking so much.

“He personally eliminated the seeds of evil and led the war with the Orcs to victory. He also succeeded in hunting the wyvern that had plagued the West for a long time.”

No, why is he emphasizing the report I made again?

I gradually felt more curiosity than anxiety about Father’s intentions. If there was a main point, he never beat around the bush.

“Everyone knows, right? We haven’t conquered the Pyreon Kingdom yet.”

I involuntarily raised my head to look at Father.

It was an unbelievable statement.

‘I didn’t hear any of the latest information because I rushed to the capital.’

Father had never failed in war.

I had never doubted Father’s victory.

“The results of the investigation into the problems that occurred in the Eastern Expedition will be released soon.”

Something must have happened.

The fact that Father stopped the war and returned meant that it was not a light matter.

Tension filled the Grand Hall.

Some people were even suppressing the sound of swallowing.

‘Did Dukes Austin and Beregon cause problems?’

I didn’t think that the Pyreon Kingdom had used some clever trick to stop Father.

Ron Karl Leord’s only rival was Karen.

“The Pyreon Kingdom will be finished if we destroy just two more places. I will leave that task to the Crown Prince.”

“Your Majesty!”

It was Duke Austin.

Duke Austin, who hadn’t said a word since greeting me at the gate, vehemently opposed.

“Conquering the Pyreon Kingdom is not an easy task. The Crown Prince is still young.”

Father just smiled and didn’t answer.

Duke Yan’s soft voice flowed out.

“Your Majesty, the Crown Prince’s achievements in the West are very great, but that doesn’t mean we can entrust the entire Eastern Expedition to him. I wonder if you would reconsider.”

It was rare to see the nobles rebelling against Father’s decision.

Duke Beregon added a word.

“Your Majesty, it is said that the Pyreon Kingdom will be conquered if we destroy just two more places, but one place is called the last bastion of the Pyreon Kingdom, and the other is the capital. Only the two most important places in the conquest of the Pyreon Kingdom remain, and it is unreasonable to entrust them entirely to the Crown Prince.”

Father smiled.

That smile felt so beautiful that it gave me goosebumps.

Father, who was known as the epitome of a cruel monarch, made people feel even more fear because of the occasional smiles he showed.

Instantly, all the nobles closed their mouths and lowered their heads.

“I turned the army around without conquering those two places. I don’t want to explain the reason in detail here.”

I looked not at Father but at Dukes Austin and Beregon.

This time, the two dukes couldn’t hide their feelings. There seemed to be something going on, and they couldn’t raise their heads.

‘Is the Riverhill and Aetran family going to be torn apart soon?’

I was extorted a lot because I had their weaknesses, but it’s a different story if Father has their weaknesses.

They will really be annihilated.

“Crown Prince.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“What is needed to finish the conquest of the Pyreon Kingdom?”

I couldn’t refuse.

Unlike the other nobles, I didn’t have a choice.

Before I could answer, Father once again threw the Grand Hall into shock.

“Three sword masters have recently joined the Pyreon Kingdom. It seems they were supported by the Kingdom Alliance.”

“S-Sword Masters, you said three?”

Father’s smile deepened.

“It seems the Kingdom Alliance is making a desperate effort. If Pyreon falls, they will directly face us at the border. They dispatched three sword masters and an 8-circle mage [a powerful magic user].”

They were clearly all prepared for Father’s attack.

It meant that they calculated that they needed three sword masters and one 8-circle mage to stand against Father.

And now that Father has returned to the Imperial Palace, they have become my opponents.

Father said as if passing by.

“Crown Prince, is being the commander of the Pyreon Kingdom conquest burdensome?”