Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 33

33.

I used to be timid, a coward, someone everyone ignored.

But I changed.

Because I myself changed.

“Chen, shouldn’t you be more careful with your words if you don’t want to be misunderstood?”

Chen couldn’t answer.

I took a step towards Chen, ignoring Ted and Duke Beregon beside him.

“Chen.”

When I called Chen again, he finally spoke.

“I… I’m sorry, Brother.”

From Chen’s perspective, it was a huge humiliation.

He bowed his head to me in front of Ted, the person he felt the most competitive with, no less.

Moreover, Chen didn’t think of me as a person, let alone the Crown Prince.

There was no reason to pick a fight there.

After lightly tapping Chen’s shoulder, I briefly bowed to Duke Beregon and left.

I was now the Crown Prince.

I was fully aware of the Crown Prince’s position, and I also fully realized that the authority that had waned wouldn’t be restored so easily.

However, there was no rule stating that the authority that had diminished should continue to be neglected.

I had to change things, one step at a time.

I had to suppress each person with skill, not just simple mind games, if I wanted to survive.

“Hoo!”

I sighed lightly as I looked at the entrance to the Crown Prince’s palace.

The afternoon’s events felt like a dream.

‘You are not the first.’

My father’s words clouded my mind.

Honestly, every time I tried to make a contract with a spirit, the highest-level spirit was summoned, and when I heard the voices of the lower-level spirits, I thought I was special.

And I guessed that a strong person like my father would naturally know my specialness. In reality, my father knew more about my talents than anyone else.

That was it.

My father was only surprised for a fleeting moment about my talent, and after that, he didn’t show any further emotion.

It was the same for the other princes and princesses.

‘What my father values is not invisible talent, but visible ability.’

That was the conclusion I came to after countless observations of Ron Carl Leonhardt, whom I had set up as an example, and after actually meeting him a few times.

To my father, talent that hadn’t yet blossomed had no meaning.

“Talent is only complete when it blooms. Talent that has not been developed… is not talent.”

I also came to my own conclusion.

I can never survive in this imperial palace if I am satisfied with my current level, and I cannot prove myself in the upcoming spring evaluation competition.

I headed to the office.

Ken and Soris approached me with curious expressions, but I dismissed them, saying I wanted to be alone for a while.

I was going to review the sparring session with my father and briefly check the plot for what was to come.

After entering the office, I opened the window wide.

The cold wind cleared my mind.

Before reviewing the sparring, I opened my notebook.

It was a notebook in which I wrote down the plot I remembered in as much detail as possible.

Since human memory has limitations, I wrote down everything that could be helpful for the future without missing anything.

“Perhaps… since I wrote it from the protagonist’s point of view, there is surprisingly little information about the imperial palace. The same goes for the entire Calpheon Empire.”

In particular, the current point in time was the beginning of the hero Karen’s overall story.

In the beginning, the focus was naturally on the protagonist’s growth, and there were only brief mentions of my father, the final boss.

The Calpheon Empire was not much different.

The only major event was the sign of the Second Conquest War.

“I don’t have any memories of the spring evaluation competition… well, the protagonist is currently dealing with evil on the western border…”

I stopped talking to myself.

I quickly searched my memory.

There was an event that rapidly accelerated the growth of the protagonist Karen in the early stages.

I had been too focused on memories of the empire and forgot about it because there was a big war called the Second Conquest War.

“The resurrection of Goran.”

I wrote the sentence ‘The Resurrection of Goran’ and then reorganized the races of this world once again.

“Humans, elves, dwarves, dragons… they really added a lot of other races. And Goran was a corrupted elf.”

There is a vast forest on the western border, and its size was larger than the combined size of four countries.

A forest wider than the Amazon. It was considered sacred as the home of the elves.

In that place, the corrupted elf Goran is resurrected. Goran, who was resurrected near the western border of the Calpheon Empire, stained the west of the continent with blood.

And Karen gained great fame by killing Goran on behalf of the empire, which was busy preparing for the conquest war. That was the beginning of the hero Karen’s story.

“I was so focused on my own situation that I didn’t think about the protagonist’s growth and Goran’s resurrection, which would later play a big role in the empire and my father losing public sentiment.”

One more thing came to my mind.

“Gale!”

Gale is currently dispatched to clean up the bandits on the western border.

As I searched my memory, a phrase came to mind.

Ron Carl Leonhardt forgot about the bandits by sending a knight and was busy preparing for the conquest war, but Karen was different. He did not turn a blind eye to the people dying from Goran’s blade.

“Ah!”

I became impatient.

I simply wrote ‘knight,’ but when it became reality, the meaning itself changed.

I never thought that knight would be Gale!

“Ken!”

I urgently called Ken.

* * *

Ken came in with Soris.

He was already curious about why I had a private meeting with my father, but he seemed happy that I called him after being alone.

Of course, I was more concerned about Gale’s situation.

“Have you heard any news from Gale?”

Ken thought for a moment at my question and answered.

“I received news this morning. It was in the form of a letter, and I was just about to deliver it to you.”

“Bring it to me right away.”

At my words, Ken hurried out.

Soris couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked.

“Is something wrong with Sir Gale?”

Soris had never met Gale, but he seemed to have heard quite a bit about him from rumors, and he continued.

“Dealing with bandits wouldn’t be difficult for him.”

I agreed with that.

“That would be the case for ordinary bandits.”

“Yes?”

The moment Soris asked back, Ken came in.

“Your Highness, it’s Ken.”

“Come in!”

At my words, Ken came in and handed over the letter.

I hurriedly opened the letter.

There wasn’t anything particularly important. It said that he had arrived safely at the border, that he would return after suppressing the bandits, and there was a story about Susan.

First, I calmly calmed my mind and turned my gaze to Ken.

“Gale sent Susan ahead as he went. Judging by the timing, she should be arriving soon.”

Ken’s eyes widened as if they were about to tear.

“Your Highness!”

“I will allow her to live in the palace, so prepare a suitable place.”

“Thank you!”

Soris also seemed very surprised. Well, Ken was looking for information about Susan when he was active as a member of the Shadow Walk Guild [a clandestine organization specializing in espionage and covert operations].

From Ken’s point of view, Soris had influence within the guild and was a trusted contact, so it was natural to assume that he would seek Soris’s help regarding Susan’s whereabouts.

He must have been surprised that I knew the whereabouts of someone that even the Shadow Walk Guild’s intelligence network couldn’t find.

I urged Ken.

“You know best that the Crown Prince’s palace is by no means a safe place. If you meet your sister again, protect her well.”

“Your Highness…”

That was the end of the matter regarding Susan.

“I heard a rumor about the western forest a while ago.”

When the story of the western forest, called the home of the elves, suddenly came up, Ken and Soris’s eyes were filled with questions.

I slowly began to speak.

“It was a rumor that the energy of darkness was reviving on the border of the western forest.”

Soris opened his mouth, and Ken shook his head.

“Your Highness, it is highly likely that it is just a rumor. The western forest is home to more than half of the elves on the continent. For the energy of darkness to revive there…”

I nodded and agreed with Ken to some extent.

“Of course, it’s a hard rumor to believe. But no matter how many elves there are, the energy of darkness can revive anywhere. There is also evidence to support the rumor. Orcs are running wild.”

I added just as Ken was about to speak.

“In addition, there was a rumor that the bandits there were also not ordinary.”

Ken did not ask about the source of the information.

He glossed over the information about Susan, and it seemed like he was thinking that I had a separate intelligence network for this rumor as well.

I honestly told Ken that I didn’t have such an intelligence network.

“The thing about Susan was that after I marked you, I happened to find out about you by chance. But this rumor… to be honest, it’s what I overheard in the dark forest.”

Ken and Soris were even more surprised than before.

I made up a suitable story about the source of the information.

“After the orc shaman cursed me, I didn’t lose consciousness right away. My body was paralyzed, but my consciousness was clear. That’s when I heard the orcs talking. A king was born in the western forest.”

Before I knew it, Ken was listening intently like a child listening to an exciting story.

My story gained momentum.

“The fact that a king of orcs was born is proof that the energy of darkness is strong. Orcs are a race of darkness.”

I broadly divided the entire race of the world into two categories.

Races of light and races of darkness.

The representative of the race of light was, as usual, set as the elves, and the race of darkness referred to monsters.

Orcs were representative of those monsters.

“Your Highness, do you think that the bandits that Gale went to subjugate are also related to the energy of darkness?”

I immediately took out a map from the drawer.

It was a map of the entire continent, and it pointed to the border of the western forest.

“This is where Gale was dispatched. If the energy of darkness has revived on the border of the western forest, the most likely place is where Gale was dispatched.”

Ken also looked at the map with a serious look now.

Soris was the same.

Ken opened his mouth.

“I heard that the elves live in the center of the forest. In that case, the energy of darkness is more likely to revive on the outskirts… and the place where Gale went is famous for having many monsters even in the western forest.”

Soris agreed with Ken’s explanation.

“Since it’s far from the elves and close to the dark forest…”

The dark forest is located on the western outskirts of the capital. The long, vertical dark forest extends to the center and is close to the north of the western forest.

And behind the western forest, a desert stretches out, and across the desert was the western continent.

The west was where the empire’s influence was the smallest. It was blocked by the dark forest and there was also the western forest. In addition, it was very difficult to advance geographically because you had to cross the desert to get to the human kingdom.

“If they are bandits, they are humans, so could they be related?”

Soris asked a fundamental question.

“Even just the orcs use magic to seduce humans. If it’s the king of orcs… his orc shamans will be formidable, and the bandits can be easily seduced.”

At my words, Ken narrowed his eyes.

“But… there’s nothing we can do here right now. To be honest, this is not the time to worry about that.”

I shook my head.

“I trust Gale, but it’s good to give him a warning. And… after the spring evaluation competition, we go to the western forest.”

Ken’s eyes widened.

I said firmly.

“Gale will subjugate the bandits… but it will be difficult to deal with the energy of darkness directly. The imperial family must step in.”

Only then did Ken understand my intention.

“You’re thinking of gaining merit… enough merit that no one can shake the position of Crown Prince.”