Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 42

42.

Knock-knock!

I responded tersely to the knock.

“Enter.”

The door opened, and I heard the servant’s voice.

“Your Highness, a person from the Imperial Palace has arrived.”

“The Imperial Palace? Let them in.”

A man appeared from behind the servant.

After the man entered, he bowed to me.

“Did Father send you?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

It was a short answer, but I looked up sharply at the man’s chilling voice.

The man’s doll-like face was expressionless. The energy he exuded was also cold, as if even the air in the office was freezing.

I turned my gaze to the servant.

“You may return to your duties.”

The servant bowed and left.

“So, what brings you here?”

“I came with a message from His Majesty regarding the situation in the West.”

It would be impolite to receive the Emperor’s command while sitting comfortably, so I stood up and moved in front of the man.

“Your Highness, you don’t need to stand on ceremony. His Majesty instructed me to simply deliver the message and return.”

I didn’t need to show respect? I moved to the leather sofa in front of the table to take a seat.

“Alright. Take a seat over there. If it’s about the West, I assume Father also told you to listen to what I have to say, correct?”

“That is correct, Your Highness.”

I didn’t show it, but I sensed it as soon as I saw the man.

‘A Shadow.’

I had added some special settings to Ron Carl Leord, who is now my father but was once the final boss in my novel, and the Shadows were an even more special setting.

The Shadow Organization was an organization that not only protected the Emperor at close range but also suggested policy directions.

I didn’t specifically name it in the novel, but the Shadow Organization was like the Emperor’s hands and feet.

The number of members belonging to the Shadow Organization was about twenty, and among them, the man before me was known to all nobles, not just me, and was called the Outer Shadow.

‘This person is looking for me…’

The Shadows, except for the man in front of me, were thoroughly veiled [kept secret].

Only Beregon of the Aetran family vaguely guessed about Father’s secret organization, but he didn’t know exactly.

I knew very well since I set it up myself.

Still, I didn’t show it and just opened my mouth casually, thinking of him as one of the Imperial Palace’s servants.

“So, what’s the reason Father sent you?”

“It’s about the situation in the West.”

I had already heard the story from Ken in the morning, but I pretended not to know and asked naturally.

“What about Gale?”

“The lords of the West, following His Majesty’s orders, investigated the Western Forest and the southern part of the Forest of Darkness, and many people died in the process.”

Goran had already been resurrected, and even the Orc King was born.

The western lords and soldiers, who were not prepared at all, could not have stopped them.

The Orc King, controlled by Goran, was by no means a simple monster.

I had set up several races in the continent, and monsters could be called the race of darkness.

Elves were the race of light, and humans were the intermediate race.

‘Karen made a name for himself in the continent because he prevented the revival of the race of darkness in advance, or blocked them on behalf of the Empire when they had already revived.’

It was an opportunity for me to raise my reputation like Karen.

If I, the Crown Prince, did what the Empire had not been able to do, I could greatly prove my political position as well as my ability itself.

As I was lost in thought, the Outer Shadow, who had been catching his breath for a moment, continued calmly.

“We have confirmed that the Orcs have formed a legion… and we have recovered some of the bodies of the knights who were dispatched to suppress the bandits. In the process, Gale’s body was not found, so we have reported him as missing for the time being.”

I asked briefly.

“Did you come all the way here to tell me that?”

Even if I cherished Gale, Father would not have sent someone to tell me the news in person.

The Outer Shadow replied.

“Gale’s news is news, but His Majesty sent me because he wanted to hear more details about what Your Highness experienced in the Forest of Darkness.”

I hid my troubled expression.

‘I made that up…’

I had to inform him about Goran’s resurrection because of Gale, and I couldn’t reveal the source of the information in detail, so I made up the curse of the Orc Shaman.

I pretended that I heard the Orcs’ story before I lost consciousness at the time.

I asked to buy some time.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

I couldn’t call him the Outer Shadow, so I asked his name.

The man seemed to think it was an unexpected question and didn’t answer right away, but soon revealed his name to my question.

“Jin.”

“No surname?”

“No, Your Highness.”

I nodded and continued.

“Alright, Jin. Tell Father well. There’s nothing more to report. As you know, at the time, I was cursed by the Orc Shaman…”

It wasn’t something to be proud of, so I paused for a moment, but soon took a breath and said calmly.

“I didn’t hear much because I was in a confused state of mind before I was cursed. I wasn’t sure about the information, so I was worried a lot until I reported it to Father. If I had reported it earlier, Gale wouldn’t have gone missing.”

Jin seemed to agree.

“I will report that to His Majesty.”

I asked Jin for some information I was curious about.

“I heard that preparations for a new conquest war are in full swing, but a problem has erupted in the West, so Father must be very worried.”

Jin didn’t say anything.

I asked more directly.

“Will this issue be officially discussed in the Imperial Palace soon?”

“I cannot know that. I am just someone who runs errands for His Majesty.”

I stood up.

“Then go back now. Give my regards to Father.”

Jin bowed and left.

I barely resisted the urge to call him the Outer Shadow.

I wanted to provoke him to find out about the Shadow Organization, but this wasn’t the time.

‘Father is not my enemy…’

* * *

Gale’s disappearance was a big blow to me.

Not knowing whether my most trusted subordinate was alive or dead gave me great anxiety.

Ken and Soris were definitely loyal, but I still couldn’t trust them as much as Gale.

The blunt sword, David, that I was trying to acquire was not even comparable.

Gale was a subordinate who had been by my side since I was young, and he was the one who heard my mother’s last words.

I focused on training to forget about Gale.

There was nothing I could do by worrying about Gale now.

‘It’s not like I can save him by running to the West… It’s not being cold-hearted. Showing him a more developed version of myself when he returns is the way to go for him.’

Gale was like a father to me in a different sense from Father.

“Gale…”

I was able to open my eyes here [begin a new life] and adapt without difficulty, thanks to Gale.

I pretended to be okay, but it was hard to calm my mind when I thought that Gale might be dead.

‘Is there anything I can do? Should I give up everything and run to the West?’

I clenched my fist.

Knock-knock!

I heard a knock.

I took a breath and opened my mouth calmly.

“Enter.”

It was Ken.

“Your Highness!”

“Yes. What’s going on?”

“I just saw His Majesty’s servant leaving the palace.”

I smiled.

“Both you and I are His Majesty’s servants.”

It was half a joke.

Strictly speaking, the owner of this empire was Father, and all the empire’s servants were Father’s servants.

I, as well as the other princes and princesses, had personal organizations, but that all happened under Father’s tacit approval.

Father’s superficial position on the successor was ability-oriented, and building power was also one of the virtues of the successor.

In the process, Father didn’t care much about the intervention of powerful nobles.

‘Confidence. Confidence that no matter how much the nobles build power with the princes, it will not harm his power at all.’

As I was thinking, Ken continued.

“Did His Majesty give you any separate orders?”

“No, he didn’t give me any separate orders. He only asked me in detail about the Orc Shaman’s matter… but I don’t remember much.”

Ken was lost in thought for a moment.

He seemed to have something to think about.

I didn’t urge Ken and waited quietly.

As I was drinking the tea I had brewed earlier, Ken finally opened his mouth.

“The conquest war may be suspended. The spring evaluation competition may also be brought forward.”

He had said before that the competition schedule might be brought forward.

“The conquest war is suspended? That’s not going to happen.”

Ken’s eyes widened at my very firm voice.

“As Your Highness also expects, the situation in the West is a very big problem. Looking at the history of the continent, there has always been enormous damage when the forces of darkness have risen.”

If the Empire ignores the revival of the forces of darkness, the damage Ken is talking about will only get bigger.

But I, who wrote the history myself, knew the future.

‘The Orc King and Goran are killed by Karen. So the elves of the Western Forest don’t even come forward… and it becomes an opportunity for the Empire to shake. Father’s infamy began to accumulate.’

Father ignored the revival of the evil forces in the West and proceeded with the conquest war.

“We cannot ignore the situation in the West and proceed with the conquest war. No matter how much His Majesty is, it will be difficult to proceed.”

I couldn’t confidently explain my future knowledge to Ken.

So I emphasized it first.

“Your opinion is valid, but Father… will probably ignore it. He’s likely to think it’s a small matter, and he’ll think that conquering a country that’s not yet under the Empire is a bigger deal than that.”

Ken’s expression twisted.

Ken couldn’t help but be dissatisfied with Father at my words.

He may be unscrupulous and doesn’t care about the means to achieve his goals, but Ken was also a person who sympathized with the cause of the hero Karen.

He couldn’t agree with the conquest war, which didn’t match the cause of justice and the salvation of the imperial people, and only felt like a personal greed.

“The West will become chaotic, and in a chaotic world, a hero will emerge.”

Ken narrowed his eyes at my words.

“What do you mean?”

I couldn’t stand by and watch Karen gain fame easily.

“It seems that the situation in the West is more important than the spring evaluation competition.”

Ken was slightly agitated.

“Of course. The spring evaluation competition is to select the talents of the Empire, but the situation in the West will kill all the future talents, as well as… innocent people will be caught up and die.”

“Is there anything we can do?”

Ken was lost in thought at my words.

Soon, he asked one thing.

“Do you… want to go to the West yourself?”

“Yes. I have to find Gale.”

I couldn’t just sit still.

“It seems that the western lords will be primarily mobilized to stop the Orc Legion. They were also excluded from the conquest war conscription.”

I asked.

“So?”

“It would be better to wait until the spring evaluation competition. You have to prove your ability there to get any position and have a justification to go to the West.”

Ken poured out his plan in one breath.

“If you cannot stop His Majesty’s will for the conquest war, you must magnify the situation in the West and confront the forces of evil on behalf of His Majesty as the Crown Prince.”

“Let’s make the situation bigger?”

Ken recommended at my words.

“Attend the Imperial Palace meeting. Use the conflict between His Majesty and the nobles this opportunity.”