Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 142

142.

The atmosphere in the assembly hall was heavy.

My father’s face, as he sat on the throne, was its usual mask of indifference.

He looked detached and bored.

The nobles were holding their breath, sensing, perhaps, something amiss despite my father’s usual expression.

From my now-familiar place beside the dukes, closest to the throne, I glanced up at my father, my head bowed slightly.

‘Is he angry?’

I couldn’t tell. It was always difficult to read my father’s true feelings.

“Kailaha has fallen to the Pyreon Kingdom.”

“We are deeply sorry, Your Majesty!” Duke Beregon was the first to speak, and soon everyone joined in, begging for the Emperor’s forgiveness.

I added my voice to the chorus.

“I heard that Eric led the vanguard himself and captured Kailaha,” Duke Yan said, stepping forward.

“Your Highness, the remaining forces in Kailaha consisted of ten thousand infantry and five knight orders.”

Everyone focused on Duke Yan’s words.

“With that many troops, they wouldn’t have been able to stop the enemy’s large army, especially with a Sword Master leading them.”

My father listened quietly to Duke Yan’s explanation. Some nobles nodded in agreement.

“Kailaha is a strategic point with high and strong walls, but that’s only true for blocking enemy countries coming up from the south. The northern walls, which face the Pyreon Kingdom’s capital, are weak. With our forces alone, it would have been difficult to defend Kailaha against the enemy forces, including Eric.”

Even with Duke Yan’s reasonable explanation, my father’s expression didn’t change.

‘Is he simply indifferent?’

My father finally spoke, his voice quiet.

“What does the Crown Prince think?”

“Pardon?”

Surprised by my father’s sudden question, I stammered.

“Ah, yes. I don’t think much differently from Duke Yan. The forces defending Kailaha were small, and the enemies were elite. The terrain wasn’t advantageous either…”

My father stared at me, and it was clear that wasn’t the answer he wanted.

I cleared my throat.

“The recapture of Kailaha may be just the beginning.”

At my father’s expectant gaze, I paused for a moment. He seemed to be urging me to continue.

I needed time to think; my father had thrown me a curveball. Fortunately, he didn’t rush me.

The nobles also waited patiently.

I realized that my voice carried increasing weight within the assembly.

I cleared my throat again and began.

“Until now, the policies of other kingdoms have focused on defense. Even if part of their territory was captured, they concentrated on protecting what remained rather than trying to reclaim what they’d lost.”

Before the overwhelming power of the Empire, before Ron Carl Leord, the final boss, the kingdoms were like candles in the wind, their only desire to avoid being extinguished.

“The Pyreon Kingdom’s recapture of Kailaha is significant. There are still many lords in the provinces who haven’t been fully integrated into the Empire and who long for the old kingdom.”

It hadn’t even been thirty years since the founding of the Calpeon Empire.

It was the only empire on the continent with such power and vast territory, but internally, it was still a country with many unresolved issues.

Ron Carl Leord, my father’s immense power, suppressed many things, but the underlying problems remained.

I viewed the Kailaha situation with grave concern.

“If the Pyreon Kingdom, led by Eric, recovers the rest of its territory with the power of two other Sword Masters and mages, the entire east will be shaken. We cannot rule out the possibility that local lords who haven’t forgotten the old days will also be emboldened.”

Before I knew it, I was speaking directly to my father, no longer concerned with the gazes of the nobles.

“If it isn’t suppressed early, the entire empire may be engulfed in the flames of war.”

“Divide the army into two.”

My eyes widened at my father’s words.

“The 2nd Army, led by the Crown Prince, will conquer Pyreon. Advance the departure date to stop Eric’s army from marching south and retake Kailaha. Furthermore, capture the capital of Pyreon and bring the fate of their royal family into the hands of the Empire.”

My father declared this to the nobles without waiting for my answer.

“The 1st Army, led by me, will advance through the northern front to the Kingdom Alliance. Accompanying me are Duke Beregon, Duke Austin, and Duke Yan.”

My father’s gaze turned to Duke James.

“You will remain in the capital to lead the assembly.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The scale of the war had grown exponentially in an instant.

‘Can the Empire handle this war right now?’ I quickly racked my brain.

“Your Majesty.”

My father turned his gaze back to me.

“The Empire cannot afford to maintain two armies right now.”

A heavy atmosphere settled over the assembly.

I was doing something unprecedented: opposing the Emperor’s opinion!

Once a decision was made, no one dared to challenge my father’s will.

I raised my head.

“If Your Majesty goes directly to the Kingdom Alliance territory through the northern front, the Sword Masters in the Pyreon Kingdom will have no choice but to change their course. However…”

My father looked down at me with indifferent eyes.

Even with the feeling of being scrutinized, I silently stood my ground.

“Many people are already weary from the first expedition. Until now, war has brought rewards, but the first expedition was only about consumption.”

Although many territories of the Pyreon Kingdom were conquered, the gains were limited. Even the food used as supplies couldn’t be replenished from the conquered territories.

The heart of the Pyreon Kingdom is its capital and the surrounding area.

The Magic Tower was also located there.

It was in the capital, not in the other territories of the Pyreon Kingdom that my father had conquered.

The first expedition was, to put it bluntly, a failure.

Simply maintaining the conquered territories was draining wealth and manpower.

“I will end the conquest of Pyreon within three months.”

“Crown Prince.”

“I will bet my position.”

I made a gamble.

* * *

Ken and Gail, Soris, Hamilton and Lioden, David, and even Olivia were all in my office, and they all shared the same opinion.

Ken said with a disapproving expression, “It was too hasty a decision.”

I leaned back in my chair and replied, “Hasty? That’s right. It’s a bit early. It’s also a gamble. But if I hadn’t bet my position, I wouldn’t have been able to change Father’s mind.”

“You are probably the first person to even think about changing His Majesty’s mind,” Ken said.

I shrugged at Ken’s words.

“The Empire doesn’t have the capacity. It looks incredibly strong on the outside, but Father’s personal influence is absolute. Not only the 1st Eastern Expedition but also the Western War… If we had divided the army and set out this time, even the Empire could have been shaken to its foundations.”

At my words, Ken sighed and agreed.

“Of course, Your Highness’s words are correct, but…”

I calmly interrupted, “What do you think is the real reason for war? Expanding territory? Securing more wealth? Those are secondary. In order to conscript people when starting a war, there needs to be a basis to say, at least with minimal lip service, that this war is for their benefit.”

As I spoke, I felt a little emotional.

“Dividing the army into two and attacking the Kingdom Alliance and the Pyreon Kingdom at the same time is nothing more than Father’s desire for conquest.”

“Your Highness!” Gail reacted somewhat sternly.

“About His Majesty…”

“I know, Gail, that my words are disrespectful to Father. But we have to face reality. If I hide what the people think of Father, it would be more disrespectful as the Crown Prince.”

I quickly continued, “If it’s just the conquest of the Pyreon Kingdom, we can convince the people. The endlessly wide arable land near the capital of the Pyreon Kingdom, the best Magic Tower on the continent in the capital… The rewards for obtaining those two things can be sufficiently returned to the people.”

The arable land near the capital of the Pyreon Kingdom could greatly increase the Empire’s food production.

The harvest from that place alone is about the same as the harvest from the entire eastern part of the Empire.

The result of a combination of good climate, fertile land, and research by the mages of the Magic Tower was the Pyreon granary.

A granary that anyone on the continent would covet!

The Magic Tower was no different.

Although the Magic Tower of the Pyreon Kingdom, which is older than Duke Austin’s Riverhill family, doesn’t have particularly strong mages, it is highly regarded for its specialization in practical research.

It is no exaggeration to say that the completion of the granary was thanks to the research of the Magic Tower.

“We didn’t get any of those two things in the 1st Eastern Expedition. Soldiers were sacrificed, and wealth was consumed, but we only ended up with the local territories of the Pyreon Kingdom. Among them, Kailaha, one of the gateways to the capital, was recaptured.”

I concluded, “It’s impossible to strike the Kingdom Alliance and the Pyreon Kingdom at the same time. There is also a lack of justification. Now is the time to focus on the Pyreon Kingdom, and I had no choice but to bet my position to change Father’s mind. It’s impossible to persuade Father without that kind of determination.”

My gamble was accepted.

‘That was the first time I saw that look in Father’s eyes.’

Tiredness, boredom, and curiosity.

Those were the emotions I had read in my father’s eyes so far.

And when I bet my position, what appeared in my father’s eyes was clearly surprise.

My father wasn’t surprised even when my spiritism progressed further and proved a better spirit affinity than his own.

He just felt curiosity.

Whether I had become strong enough to stand against him.

But this was far from mere curiosity.

I looked around at the people and spoke again.

“I’m sorry for deciding without consulting you. Since no one opposed Father’s opinion, I had no choice but to act immediately.”

David was the first to speak.

“I believe that everyone should emulate Your Highness’s righteousness in betting his position for the sake of the people. I think it is wiser to discuss future actions than to argue about what has already been decided.”

It was a remark that was quite conscious of Ken.

Soris and Lioden didn’t seem to think much differently from David. Hamilton didn’t have any particular opinion either.

Gail reluctantly nodded.

And Ken said, “Yes. Sir David is right. You have set a time limit of three months, so you must move faster.”

Ken turned his gaze to Olivia.

“Young Lady, I think I have to ask you a difficult favor.”

“What is it?” I asked.

Ken continued, “We need more support from the White family. Not only the White family but also all the nobles need additional support. We need to increase the size of the troops and the supplies.”

“To win in a short amount of time, we need to reinforce our forces that much more,” I added.

At my words, Olivia said quietly, “My father is fully aware of the current situation. But I’ll tell him one more time anyway.”

“Thank you, Young Lady.”

“It seems that you will have to go with the dukes who were scheduled to go to the northern front with Your Highness and His Majesty.”

Ken even requested the participation of Dukes Beregon, Austin, and Yan.

“If the dukes join and the number of soldiers is further increased, we will be able to conquer the Pyreon Kingdom like lightning.”

I sighed at Ken’s words.

“I also requested the participation of the dukes. And I was rejected.”

“Pardon?” Ken’s eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe it.

“If you bet your position and guaranteed the conquest of the Pyreon Kingdom, but the dukes cannot participate…”

I said briefly, “Father said that he would give separate missions to the three Sword Master dukes.”

Everyone’s face hardened.