Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 181

181.

I gave Karen several nicknames.

Most of them were words honoring his spirit of saving ordinary people from the evil empire through his noble sacrifice, such as ‘hero’ and ‘guardian’.

When I heard Elraim call him the Guardian of Balance, I was overwhelmed by the weight of the words.

‘The Master of the Covenant!’

I am not a hero like Karen, nor am I a particularly special person. If I were to say I am special, perhaps I am, but my mental strength and convictions cannot compare to Karen’s.

After sending all the spirits back, I fell into thought.

‘The secret organization worships the Demon King. This must be one of the signs that the power of the Demon Realm is growing stronger in the Middle Realm [the mortal realm]. An organization that merely worships the Demon King is influencing the entire continent.’

And the secret organization is my most powerful enemy at this point.

Ted and Chen, including my other siblings, are merely competitors for the Crown Prince position. I will meet Karen someday, but he is also just a human, and he doesn’t have any direct grudges against me.

On the other hand, the secret organization is my real enemy, and they cursed my mother to death.

‘It feels like fate.’

Once I sorted things out to some extent, I felt much more at ease.

I was able to come to my own conclusions about Ted as well.

“I should attend the Great War Conference.”

There was no need to be overly conscious of my competitors. I was already far ahead in the competition for the Crown Prince position and was confident in my victory.

Karen’s growth is frightening, but I am also sufficiently talented, and I possess a powerful background that Karen does not have: the position of Crown Prince, capable subordinates, and, above all, the fact that I have the strongest man in the current world as my father.

‘I should have a meeting with Lilian before she leaves for Grenian.’

Grenian is the new name given to the old capital of the Pyreon Kingdom.

I walked from the training ground to the palace.

Coincidentally, the Great War Conference was scheduled for this afternoon, and I was naturally notified to attend.

I intend to grant Ted’s request at today’s Great War Conference.

‘Mitchell, the next head of the Aetran family!’

I still lack information about Mitchell, but Hamilton will be reporting soon. What I know so far is that he is an even more ambitious person than his father.

A person who is not satisfied with being the head of the Aetran family and wants to change the imperial family name to Aetran instead of Leord!

Beregon also wants to make his family name the imperial family name like Mitchell, but unlike Mitchell, Beregon knows better than anyone how great his father is.

That’s why Beregon is always cautious.

‘Judging from Ted’s words, Mitchell doesn’t seem to hide his ambition.’

Revealing the desire to change the imperial family name is treason.

The reason Mitchell has been safe so far is that he doesn’t hide his ambition from those who are definitely on his side, but he thoroughly conceals it from the outside.

As I arrived at the palace, I changed my clothes, tidied myself up, and headed to the Great Hall with David and Riorden attending me.

“How is the training going?”

I asked about the two men’s recent activities on the way to the Great Hall.

Since returning from the Eastern Expedition, Gale has been pushing his knights even harder.

“The amount of training has increased even more lately.”

At Riorden’s answer, I smiled and asked.

“Is it tough?”

“It’s true that it’s tough, but our skills have improved that much as well. Gale is sharing and teaching not only his swordsmanship but also his mana breathing technique [a method of controlling internal energy], so no one complains that the training is difficult.”

I clicked my tongue and was surprised.

Revealing swordsmanship and mana breathing techniques is like revealing everything about a knight, but Gale seems to be passing it on to his members without hesitation.

“That’s amazing.”

“Yes. Thanks to him, my swordsmanship, which had been stagnant, has greatly improved.”

David nodded in agreement with Riorden’s words.

It’s a pleasure to see my subordinates getting stronger.

I encouraged and praised the two men as I walked.

Before I knew it, I arrived at the Great Hall and sent the two men to the place where the attendants were waiting.

As I entered the Great Hall, many nobles were already in their seats, chatting in groups of three or five.

Everyone bowed and paid their respects at my appearance.

I accepted the greetings appropriately and moved to my seat, and James spoke to me.

“Have you arrived?”

“Ah, yes.”

“I heard you achieved Grandmaster. Congratulations.”

At Duke James’s words, the commotion in the Great Hall subsided for a moment, and everyone looked at me.

I was quite used to being the center of attention now.

I didn’t panic and answered Duke James’s words.

“It’s a small achievement.”

“Breaking through the limits and advancing to the path of a true transcendent is by no means a small achievement. His Highness is the first to achieve the accomplishment of becoming a Supreme Spirit Master in this era.”

Duke Austin and Duke Beregon also offered me their congratulations.

‘Supreme Spirit Master is considered to be on par with Sword Master. It’s certainly not surprising that the nobles are shocked.’

Most of the nobles looked at me with a mixture of awe and fear.

And my father entered the Great Hall.

Everyone fell silent and bowed their heads.

My father, sitting on the throne, was the first to speak to me.

“I heard you reached Supreme?”

As expected, rumors spread quickly in the Imperial Palace. There was no way my father wouldn’t know what the nobles knew.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Good. Then we should start preparing for the coming-of-age ceremony, right?”

Everyone held their breath.

My father’s words were nothing short of a declaration.

The competition for the Crown Prince position was over.

* * *

Before anyone could object, my father brought up another topic.

“Reports have come in that the movements of the Southern Alliance have been unusual recently. Who is in charge of the southern front right now?”

At my father’s question, the story about my coming-of-age ceremony was naturally cut off.

“Knight Mitchell and Frontier Count Servache are in charge.”

At the words of a noble, my father nodded.

“Mitchell is Duke Beregon’s son, isn’t he?”

Duke Beregon answered.

“That is correct, Your Majesty.”

“Is Knight Mitchell currently serving as a knight under Frontier Count Servache?”

Beregon said politely.

“He is currently in charge of communication with the central government and is patrolling the border of the Southern Alliance with a knight order under Servache.”

“Exactly how are the Southern Alliance guys moving?”

“According to Mitchell’s report, the number of times the Southern Alliance crosses the border has increased significantly compared to last year, and the number of soldiers they mobilize has also increased beyond simple reconnaissance, forming mid-sized units to provoke, and the level of provocation has increased.”

My father leaned his chin at an angle.

Duke James stepped forward.

“The people are very tired due to the recent events in the west and the war on the eastern front. A full-scale war with the Southern Alliance seems difficult considering the current situation of the empire.”

“What is Duke James’s opinion? If we continue to accept the provocations of the Southern Alliance because the empire’s situation is difficult, the authority of the empire and the authority of the imperial family may decline.”

“Frontier Count Servache is an outstanding person. If you tell him to stabilize the southern front, wouldn’t he come up with his own methods?”

My father pondered at Duke James’s recommendation to give power to Servache.

‘Unlike Ted’s words, my father already knows about the unrest in the south to some extent. My father’s intelligence is far superior to that of other ducal families.’

My father’s absolute power is completed by his own powerful strength as well as his unfathomable intelligence.

Since he always knows information one step ahead of the nobles, the nobles have no choice but to fear my father.

“Wouldn’t it be difficult for Frontier Count Servache to bear all the burden alone?”

As I opened my mouth, the nobles’ eyes sparkled.

I was already exerting considerable presence in the Great Hall, and the words coming out of my mouth now had a great political influence, unlike before.

The nobles were looking at me as if they were surprised at the slightly different opinion from Duke James.

‘In the eyes of the nobles, James and I are already in the same boat.’

I took a breath and said.

“Frontier Count Servache has been guarding the southern front for a long time. And recently, Knight Mitchell joined him, making the southern front even stronger.”

“At least on the surface.”

At my father’s words, Beregon flinched. Beregon couldn’t have felt good because it could be a word that devalued Mitchell.

I said calmly.

“What if a member of the imperial family joins the southern front to raise the morale of the southern soldiers and send a clear warning to the Southern Alliance?”

“A member of the imperial family?”

At my father’s words, I nodded.

“There are two advantages to a member of the imperial family going down to the south. One is that, as I said before, the morale of the soldiers there will be raised. They will feel firsthand that the imperial family is taking care of them, because a member of the imperial family is directly joining them.”

The nobles focused, and my father also looked at me with an interesting expression.

“The second advantage is that it can calm the provocations of the Southern Alliance. For example, if a prince like me or Ted joins Frontier Count Servache’s camp, their provocation can be seen as an intention to prepare for a full-scale war against the empire.”

“Hoo.”

An exclamation flowed from my father’s mouth.

I deliberately mentioned Ted’s name directly.

“I would like to go down to the south myself to raise the name of the imperial family and prevent the provocations of the Southern Alliance, but since I already have a mission from Your Majesty, I think it would be a good idea to send another prince down. Isn’t it time for the other princes to gain experience as well?”

Duke Austin stepped forward.

“It’s too dangerous. They are all still young.”

“I solved the problems in the west and stabilized the eastern front. Being young cannot be a reason. No, rather, because they are young, they should go to the front lines. If the imperial family shies away from border issues, who will sacrifice their lives to protect the empire?”

At my eloquent words, which were like a speech, Duke Austin closed his mouth.

And Duke Beregon made eye contact with me.

I couldn’t read anything in his eyes.

But one thing was certain.

‘He guesses why I’m sending Ted.’

Mitchell wouldn’t be putting in effort in the south for no reason. All the southern nobles are under Beregon’s influence, and even Frontier Count Servache is the same.

Frontier Count Servache was a person who had made many contributions under Duke Beregon during the Conquest War. It would not be a big stretch to say that he was Beregon’s personal retainer.

‘Servache was Beregon’s knight during the Conquest War. Although he is not from the Aetran family.’

My father opened his mouth.

“That’s quite reasonable. I also think it’s too much for the Crown Prince to go himself. He is in charge of the eastern front, so he should focus on that. It’s too much to go down to a new front. Then let’s receive applicants from the princes.”

As my opinion was passed at once, Duke Austin tried to object once again, but my father raised his hand.

“Okay, that’s enough of that story. It’s not a full-scale war with the Southern Alliance, but a light dispatch to temporarily suppress border provocations. Don’t make things bigger. And Duke James.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Your daughter has had her coming-of-age ceremony, right?”

At the sudden story of Olivia, not only Duke James but also me and the other nobles looked at my father with tense faces.

“She had her coming-of-age ceremony a while ago.”

“Then that’s good. I will hold the Crown Prince’s coming-of-age ceremony in a month. At the same time as the coming-of-age ceremony, we will also proceed with the wedding with your daughter.”

“Yo, Your Majesty.”

I stuttered without realizing it.

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“It’s not that, but not yet…….”

I couldn’t bring myself to say that Olivia and I hadn’t sorted out our feelings for each other yet. In this era’s marriage, especially the marriage of nobles, each other’s feelings were not important.

Duke James proposed the marriage, and my father accepted it.

That was the end of it.

‘I need to meet Olivia.’