Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 14

14.

Despite everything that had happened, I slept soundly and comfortably.

I woke up in the morning, opened the window, and felt the breeze clear my head. Since I started practicing the Breathing Technique of the Wind, the wind itself has had a positive effect on me.

As a habit, I quickly scanned my status window and then thoroughly read my mother’s book on Spiritism.

Also, during the quiet morning hours, I never fail to review the memory notes about the hero Karen that I’ve organized.

After spending about an hour doing that, I also practiced the Breathing Technique of the Wind.

The biggest advantage of the Breathing Technique of the Wind is that you can subtly adjust your breathing in everyday life without having to concentrate.

Of course, much less mana accumulates than when sitting in a lotus position and breathing with full concentration, but the fact that it accumulates at all is a huge plus.

‘No wonder Father recognized it. He’s more discerning than anyone when it comes to getting stronger.’

As the mana that had accumulated overnight circulated through my body and refreshed my mana pathways, I got up and said,

“Are you outside?”

“Yes, Your Highness. It’s Gail.”

Gail’s voice was heard, and he immediately opened the door and came in.

“Ask Ken to prepare breakfast.”

Even after coming to the Calpheon Empire, I still wake up at 6 AM.

Whether it was at the orphanage or when I was a day laborer, my wake-up time never changed.

When I was young, I had to wake up a little earlier to rush to the cafeteria so I could get a good portion of breakfast.

When I was a day laborer, it was important to arrive at work early to secure a job for the day.

Now, the difference is that I can use the morning hours solely for self-improvement.

‘That’s a blessing.’

Putting aside the memories of the past, I brought up the main topic as Gail went out and came back in.

“Congratulations, Gail.”

Gail’s eyes widened with doubt, as if he didn’t understand what I meant.

I smiled faintly and said,

“You predicted that Father would break through his limits soon, right? That means you’ll soon reach the realm of a Master [a high-level practitioner of Spiritism].”

“Ah, yes. Thank you, Your Highness.”

Gail bowed briefly. Although Ken is present, Gail is naturally the one I can trust the most.

Perhaps Gail would be the first person who comes to mind as someone I can unhesitatingly trust with my life.

‘I’ve brought Ken, who was one of the protagonist’s companions, under my command for now, but I haven’t earned his loyalty.’

Currently, Ken is practically by my side against his will.

But I plan to win him over slowly.

‘I know more about Ken’s background than anyone else…’

I knew very well why Ken had no choice but to become a thief, and why he wanted to help the hero Karen establish a new empire.

I organized my thoughts and brought up yesterday’s events with Chen to Gail again.

“About Chen.”

Gail’s expression hardened slightly. Chen’s insults yesterday were so severe that Gail almost drew his sword against the prince.

Of course, I smoothed things over appropriately and even retaliated with a provocation, but that doesn’t mean the resentment has disappeared.

I had no intention of just letting it go. I was careful in dealing with the deputy head manager, maids, and servants, let alone Chen, who is a prince.

Among the princes, he is quite prominent, and his maternal family is one of the empire’s four great guardian families, so he has a powerful backing. I couldn’t touch him rashly, but an opportunity arose.

“We agreed to compete next spring, right?”

Apart from the resentment towards Chen, Gail evaluated him quite calmly.

“It’s impossible with his current level. Moreover, the spring evaluation is different from the regular evaluations, and His Majesty presides over it directly… It’s customary not to hold participants accountable for any outcome during the sparring. Chen will definitely try to… Your Highness…”

Gail couldn’t bring himself to say it directly, so he trailed off.

I smiled.

“He’ll try to kill me, right? But… wouldn’t that be the same for me?”

Gail flinched at my words.

‘They are more exposed to crime than modern people… but murder is a different story.’

But I steeled my heart. This is not modern times, but the Calpheon Empire in a medieval fantasy setting, and even at this moment, small-scale wars are taking place in the provinces.

Territorial wars between lords of various kingdoms, local wars on the border with the empire, etc. Countless people die every day under the name of ‘war’.

I have no choice but to be prepared to some extent. Moreover, I am already in a position with many enemies.

The position of crown prince itself inevitably creates enemies.

I looked at Gail and continued calmly.

“I realized a lot after being cursed by the Orc shaman [a tribal magic user]. I can’t just live being insulted by my siblings forever… and I don’t want to live up to my mother’s expectations. Gail is also happy with my change, right?”

Gail didn’t answer for a moment. From Gail’s point of view, I must have felt like a completely different person. Nevertheless, Gail never expressed any doubt.

I explained for the first time myself the reason for the change, and Gail nodded lightly.

“Of course, Your Highness.”

“Is Chen’s level around an intermediate spiritist beginner?”

Gail has more accurate information than what I have in my memory.

“He’s between beginner and expert. He may be able to reach expert level by the time of the spring evaluation. All of his teachers are excellent, and his maternal family spares no support.”

As expected, Gail knew everything about the other princes, even though he hadn’t spoken about it.

‘I didn’t ask and wasn’t curious, so Gail wouldn’t have told me this information, given his personality. But it’s different now.’

I nodded.

“I need to be at least an intermediate spiritist by then.”

It’s late autumn now, soon it will be winter.

Gail also seemed worried.

Because there isn’t much time.

I smiled and opened my mouth.

“You’d object if I said I was going back to the Forest of Darkness, right?”

Gail replied like lightning.

“It’s still too dangerous for you. The Forest of Darkness is…”

“Then Gail, go and come back. I realized something after feeling the mana. I saw something on the way to meet the Orc shaman.”

I smiled at Gail, who didn’t know what I meant.

* * *

As usual, I finished my morning training and was eating lunch when Ken didn’t leave and complained next to me.

“When will the staff be replenished?”

“Ah, Gail will be back tomorrow, and we’ll proceed with that issue right away.”

Ken sat down next to me with a thud.

There wouldn’t be many people who could act so casually next to the crown prince.

He didn’t seem to be aware of how big his nerve was or who I was, and continued to speak.

“I think I’ve done my part. I’d like to go home now.”

I said calmly.

“I clearly stated my ambitions, but wanting to go home means you haven’t found potential in me?”

He seemed to have realized that my situation was even more miserable than the rumors after entering the Crown Prince’s Palace.

Still, he would have known that I wasn’t completely incompetent, unlike the rumors, but it seemed to be far short of Ken’s standards.

“Yes.”

At Ken’s firm answer, I briefly put down my utensils and stared at him.

I couldn’t let Ken go here. I had already decided to make Ken my advisor, and once I made a decision, I never intended to go back.

There was no one as talented as Ken, and Ken was the most suitable advisor in my situation.

‘Karen has several advisors, but Ken is the only one who is ruthless and dedicated to his purpose, even when using tactics close to black magic [morally questionable methods]. That’s why he couldn’t come to the forefront… but he’s the most suitable for me. Rather than an advisor who clings to the cause and is sensitive to reputation, one who is faithful to the purpose itself. That’s my style.’

Even if I get cursed, even if the result is negative, I will definitely see a job I started to the end.

Ken is a very good advisor for me.

Besides, isn’t there already someone who can appropriately restrain me from the side, even if the means and methods are somewhat malicious?

‘Because there’s Gail.’

I said calmly.

“Are you thinking of going back home and living as a thief again?”

“Well… if you don’t blame me and let me go, I’ll become a master thief without getting caught again.”

I chuckled as I watched Ken answer without hesitation.

“What are you thinking of stealing as a master thief?”

“I’m thinking of becoming a master thief who can easily break into the imperial palace treasury. That might be more difficult than making Your Highness the emperor.”

I stared into Ken’s eyes and provoked him.

“Your ambition is smaller than I thought.”

“Pardon?”

“I thought you’d answer that you’d steal a country as a master thief, but it’s just the imperial palace treasury.”

I clicked my tongue.

“Just go home. I heard you were stealing from nobles in front of the imperial palace, so I thought you had a lot of nerve, and I thought you were quite capable after seeing you deal with the deputy head manager, but a person’s character doesn’t change easily.”

I deliberately shook my head and concluded.

“If that’s all you’re capable of, there’s no reason to keep you by my side.”

Watching Ken’s expression harden, I pointed to the dishes.

“Clean everything up. After you’re done, you can leave the imperial palace with your luggage. I won’t blame you for your sins, and I won’t track down the Thieves’ Guild.”

My provocation didn’t end there.

“What’s the point of raiding the Thieves’ Guild you’re in? The level is obvious, and there’s no reason to step in to steal from the nobles’ pockets.”

I got up.

“The possibility of Your Highness becoming emperor is extremely low.”

Watching Ken get angry, I opened the door and replied.

“That’s none of your business. I won’t tolerate insulting words from now on. The reason I’ve accepted your personality so far is because I thought you were someone I needed, not because I liked you or because I was patient.”

Ken flinched.

As if to confirm, he asked me.

“Are you saying you’ll endure any insults in necessary situations?”

“There’s a line, but if I’ve decided to walk the path to becoming emperor, can I worry about every little thing?”

“But the Second Prince’s knights, even the deputy head manager…”

I chuckled.

“They’re not people I need. It’s also a kind of inducing carelessness.”

Ken had a troubled expression.

“That’s it. There’s no reason to talk to you anymore. And… was it Susan? If she comes up to the capital, I’ll send her through Gail.”

Ken’s eyes widened.

‘I know where she is, so it’s the same as finding her.’

Only I know this information. The fact that I know the events that will happen in the future and the stories of each character is my greatest advantage.

“Wh, what…”

Ken, who always had a sly smile and seemed to be intoxicated by his own brilliance, was collapsing at the story of his younger sister.

“Did you think I’d let just anyone into the imperial palace? Of course, I looked into everything before letting you in. I heard she was a younger sister lost in the war. The reason you joined the Thieves’ Guild was to find your sister’s trail that was cut off on the way to the capital, right? Susan is in the Central Border Count’s territory. I’ll send her to you, so just go back. I won’t waste any more time on you.”

I left Ken, who was stunned, and went straight out of the room.

As I headed to the training grounds, I pondered about Ken.

‘I’ve thrown the dice for now.’

I mentioned Susan as one of the ways to keep Ken on my side.

If I had talked about Susan as soon as I met Ken and demanded loyalty with information about her as a pretext, Ken would never have given true loyalty.

Given his personality, he would have stayed with me until the end because I had fulfilled his lifelong wish, but he probably wouldn’t have shown his true abilities, and he wouldn’t have shared my sense of purpose.

But I pardoned his sins and told him to leave because he was small-minded. I informed him that a kind of relationship was over. And then I fulfilled his lifelong wish.

It wasn’t planned from the beginning, but I did everything I could. If Ken leaves as is, I’ll have to find another way.

Ken has two wishes.

One is to find his younger sister who was lost in the war.

The other is to build an empire with overwhelming power to eliminate the war itself on the continent.

‘The Calpheon Empire was lacking in that respect. The result of the Second Conquest War was insignificant, and that’s why Ken chose Karen.’

After arriving at the training grounds, I took a deep breath.

Ken’s future is now in his hands, and I must continue to train.

‘Should I try summoning first? Gail will bring the treasure tomorrow.’