Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 116

116

((Your Imperial language is quite proficient.))

((Thank you.))

As I shook hands with Charles, I tapped his forehead with my ghost hand.

Although its use has decreased recently, the ability to check the approximate emotions the other person feels towards me through ‘Connection’ is a significant advantage.

‘Friendly?’

That means he feels favorably towards me.

I had guessed he would be neutral or wary, but this was unexpected. I carefully managed my expression to not reveal my inner thoughts and released his hand.

((You must be tired from flying such a long distance. Please, go inside and rest. Count Royce, please guide the Prince and his knights to their accommodations.))

Count Royce stepped forward and showed respect to Charles.

((I am Count Royce, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lionel Kingdom. I will ensure your comfort. Please, come this way.))

Charles and the Black Knights followed Count Royce without causing any trouble. As they disappeared into the building, Alphonso quietly spoke so only I could hear.

“He seems more normal than I expected when he’s not on the battlefield?”

I stared at him blankly.

“Anyone would think you face him regularly on the battlefield.”

“I’ve heard many rumors. Well, they’re too cruel to put into words.”

“You don’t have to explain. I know it all.”

He’s probably talking about using the blood of enemies as drinking water or chewing on their hearts.

It’s not just a rumor; it’s the truth.

Such brutal acts are the foundation of what makes even the Hamel Empire fear the Black Knights.

“Let’s go back to Emerald Palace. I have a lot to do.”

“The First Princess of Arya will be arriving soon. Are you really not going to see her? Rumor has it she’s the most beautiful woman in Arya.”

“No.”

It’s best to avoid encountering crazy women as much as possible. I hope she stays quiet and leaves.

***

Fourth Princess, Gracia Lionel, woke up feeling a chilling cold.

Her brow furrowed with a throbbing headache from a hangover. She looked at the window with spinning vision.

The wind whistled through the broken window.

“Nancy! Nancy! Nan…”

Gracia called out the name of the maid who had served her for a long time, with a touch of annoyance.

She then remembered that Nancy had applied for a transfer to another palace half a year ago and moved.

Gracia bit her lip and wrapped herself in the blanket.

The musty smell from the blanket stung her nose. She already felt nauseous from the hangover, so she instinctively gagged.

“Ugh, ugh-”

Gracia covered her mouth and quickly got out of bed.

Throb!

“Aah!”

She quickly retreated back to the bed, something sharp piercing her foot.

The culprit was a piece of broken glass from a liquor bottle.

Blood gushed from her foot. Gracia used the pillowcase to stop the bleeding and looked around.

Pieces of broken glass and mirror fragments sparkled in the sunlight on the carpet. The traces of her drunken rampage from the previous night remained intact.

Just half a year ago, the room would have been cleaned up in less than a minute if it were messed up. Now, maids who clearly showed they didn’t want to work reluctantly pretended to clean once a week and disappeared.

– These things! Can’t you see the dust here!

– It seems the Fourth Princess is not in a good mood today, so we will come back next time. What are you doing! Everyone, get out now.

She remembered how they used to tremble at her words but now looked at her with contempt.

Gracia was filled with resentment.

“Aaaagh-! Aaaaaagh─!!”

In the end, she couldn’t hold back and let out a scream that seemed to shatter the window. She vented her frustration for a while.

‘Evan Lionel…’

It was all because of him.

The image of him looking at her with cold eyes after leading the execution of the Second Prince flashed through her mind.

Anger disappeared, and a terrible fear consumed her. Her body trembled.

‘If I do anything foolish, I’ll be killed immediately.’

I want to live.

No, to be precise, I want to live with the same power as before.

How can I make that possible?

It suddenly occurred to her that many important foreign dignitaries had visited this time.

She had a good idea.

She was the one who had even captivated the imperial family of the Empire.

If she could seduce a suitable imperial noble and succeed in remarrying, it would be possible to live the same life as before.

She carefully avoided stepping on the sharp fragments and approached the mirror.

Dull hair.

Rough skin.

Hazy eyes.

A skinny woman who looked like a drug addict was there. Gracia felt a little, no, very insecure.

***

I was in the office, busy with final checks for the upcoming New Year’s celebration and coronation ceremony.

Knock, knock.

“Your Highness, it’s Alphonso.”

“Come in.”

I looked up at him as he opened the door and entered.

“Just now, the delegation from the Brissen Alliance and the Ains Kingdom, which had been delayed due to weather issues, has arrived.”

“Really? Then all the foreign delegations have arrived. Has anyone caused trouble in the meantime?”

“Fortunately, no one has caused any incidents yet.”

“Any special issues?”

“Among the delegation members, there’s a debate about who is more beautiful, the First Princess of Arya or our Third Princess.”

I chuckled.

Even if they are high-ranking foreign diplomats, the stories they tell when men gather are all similar.

Of course, that can’t be all there is to it.

“That’s just what’s on the surface.”

“It seems many people are trying to contact Ira Blackwood.”

Ira, who holds the second-largest share of the Aitz Trading Company after me. She recently received the title of Baroness from the royal family for donating a large sum to help resolve the Southern Rebellion.

So, there are now two Merton families in the royal palace.

The existing Merton County in the West.

The newly established Merton Barony in the South.

It can be confusing, but it can be distinguished by delving into the full name, so there is no particular problem.

Well, that’s not important.

The Lionel Kingdom has calmed down, but foreign countries are just barely managing to contain the Red Star Fever. I fully understand the diplomats’ desire to have a private meeting with Ira.

I understand, but.

“Contact the Royal Knights and tell them to support Ira’s escort. Tell them that I would like the deputy commander level to lead until the delegation leaves.”

The Aitz Trading Company, which will develop into one of the world’s leading trading companies when Fran’s Stella and Isabel’s Magic Superconductor are announced later. She is the working-level person there.

It would be troublesome if something unfortunate happened.

“The deputy commander level? Are you saying that the deputy commander of the Royal Knights should escort the Baroness? I’ll pass it on, but I wonder if they’ll accept it…”

“Tell them that the Aitz Trading Company will replace all the facilities of the knights in charge of Ira’s escort with new ones.”

“They’ll be fighting each other to do it.”

Good, let’s move on from the Ira issue.

“Any other special notes?”

“Ah! The Fourth Princess visited the Third Princess.”

“The Fourth Princess visited my sister?”

“It seems she asked for help to attend the welcoming event for the delegation and the banquet after the New Year’s celebration.”

I roughly guessed what she was thinking.

She was obviously trying to hook a foreigner who came as part of the delegation and start a new life.

‘Does she think that’s possible?’

It would have been entirely possible when the Second Queen and Second Prince were powerful.

But now, she has less influence than a royal maid. I think she’s on par with or below when I was called the Ghost Prince.

Besides, I led the execution of the Second Prince.

They would know how I feel about the Fourth Princess, so there’s no way a fool who would be caught by her would come as a member of the delegation.

… Well, honestly, I can’t guarantee there won’t be one at all.

Sometimes, things more absurd than novels happen in the world. Maybe there’s one of those people?

“So, what did my sister say?”

“She said she wouldn’t help, but she wouldn’t prevent her from attending.”

That was a very sister-like response.

“What should we do? Should we prevent her from leaving the palace? We told her to find a suitable temple and send her to a monastery as soon as the coronation is over.”

“Leave her alone. When she sees how the foreign dignitaries treat her, she’ll realize the reality and quietly go to the monastery.”

***

A welcoming event was prepared for the delegation that visited to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the founding of the royal family and Evan’s accession to the throne.

The lights of the Rasaya Palace, built for banquets, shone brilliantly for the first time in a long time.

The smell of mouth-watering dishes stimulated people’s taste buds, and the orchestra’s performance pleased the ears as Yandersia Arya, the First Princess of Arya, entered the banquet hall.

‘Finally, I can see Prince Evan in person.’

She looked around with a fluttering heart.

Evan was not to be seen.

‘Where is he?’

Just as Yandersia was about to move to find Evan, a man approached her.

((Oh! Aren’t you Yandersia, the First Princess of Arya? I am Count Sino from the Hamel Empire. May I have the honor of having a conversation with you?))

He was objectively handsome.

A significant number of women attending the banquet were stealing glances at him. However, to Yandersia, who had already lost her heart to Evan, he was just a greasy man with oily hair.

((I am not familiar with the Hamel Empire language… I’m sorry.))

She deliberately pronounced it slightly awkwardly.

((Oh! I see. Then how about we converse in ‘Rune’?))

The man kept pushing, oblivious.

((Ru, Rune is also a little…))

It didn’t make sense that a princess who came as a delegation was not proficient in Rune, the common language of the world’s nobles. Only then did the man realize he had been rejected, bit his lip, and stepped back.

Other men who witnessed him retreating with a flushed face did not readily approach her.

Yandersia looked around the banquet hall again to find Evan.

There were a few places where people were gathered.

She moved to one of them with a graceful step.

“I never imagined that the Princess would know so much about the history of our Brissen Alliance.”

“You flatter me.”

“If so, are you also aware of the current problems facing the Brissen Alliance?”

“With my shallow knowledge…”

.

.

.

It was Anette Lionel, the Third Princess of the kingdom, and men trying to say even a word to her.

Yandersia clicked her tongue slightly and turned her head.

‘Huh?’

A woman she seemed to have seen somewhere was staring at Anette with a venomous look.

Small stature.

Skinny body.

Bust that was gathered up to the soul [meaning pushed up by a corset or similar garment].

At first, she thought it was a maid.

She remembered after seeing her red hair, which was the same as hers.

A relative, Gracia Lionel.

Was she a fourth cousin? Sixth cousin? She couldn’t remember that far. Yandersia shook her head after thinking for a moment.

‘It has nothing to do with me.’

She quickly lost interest and moved her seat.

Evan, she wanted to see Evan in person.

***

I was looking down at the people on the first floor of the banquet hall from a secluded spot near the third-floor terrace.

I had been working hard until just before coming to the banquet hall, so I was taking a break away from people’s eyes.

Places where people were gathered stood out.

That’s around Count Miloa.

That side is around Count Cliang.

Ah, that side has my sister with many men.

‘Come to think of it, my sister is already 19 years old.’

It was customary for women who were not recognized as proper magic awakeners, 3-star knights, or mages to marry by the age of 20 at the latest.

I was starting to worry about finding a good match by next year.

‘Oh, that woman.’

A woman with burning red hair caught my eye as she looked around.

Yandersia Arya.

If you look closely, there was a subtle resemblance to the Second Queen and the Fourth Princess. Of course, as there was a rumor that she was the most beautiful woman in Arya, she was incomparably more beautiful than the two.

‘She’s objectively pretty.’

But knowing her hideous inner self, that appearance felt even more unsettling. I flew my ghost hand and tapped her status window to check her relationship.

[Relationship: Obsession]

A scarlet color almost as bad as the worst relationship, ‘Hostile.’ It was a relationship I had never seen before.

‘What is this?’

「Achievement, ‘Receive My Love!’ has been achieved.」

「50,000 RP has been acquired.」

In the meantime, I also achieved an achievement.

「Notification from [Library]. You can view the blueprint of the Hamel Empire’s Titan, ‘Jegote-00’.」

In addition, the notification that I could acquire the Titan blueprint that I had been waiting for appeared.