Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 129

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I became aware of my past life in my late twenties and my ‘future’ beyond forty, all while being a healthy five-year-old prince of Hellmanguk just entering puberty.

I might have more years of life memories than Fran, right? But that doesn’t mean my mental age is like that of an old man.

It seems that the mind and body are complementary, tending to balance each other. This would explain why the vessel of the body is rapidly completing to catch up with the excessively advanced mind.

So.

“Hehe, you look tired.”

There’s no need to be ashamed that the male instincts I’ve been suppressing exploded after the wedding.

I brushed past Alphonso, who greeted me with a mischievous smile as soon as I opened the office door, and sat down at my desk.

“Stop with the nonsense and bring me the newspapers.”

“Haha. Here you are.”

My eyes were drawn to the headline of one of the newspapers Alphonso handed me.

『The Emperor of the Hamel Empire Collapses!』

I focused and read the article.

The title was sensational, but the content was very simple. It was a story about how the Emperor felt dizzy and caused a brief commotion as he was getting up after a ritual to pray for a bountiful harvest.

“What article are you so focused on… Ah! Your Majesty was also caught by that article. I was so surprised when I read it, but then I felt empty. The reporters’ headline-grabbing skills are truly…”

I looked away from the newspaper and stared at Alphonso. I asked the guy who was shaking his head and criticizing the reporters.

“Why did he feel dizzy?”

“Yes? Hmm… Isn’t it because he’s old and it was hard to perform rituals in the hot sun?”

That’s true.

But.

I had a feeling that this small news might be a signal that death was approaching the Emperor step by step.

Even in the ‘future,’ the Emperor’s health began to deteriorate rapidly with the recurrence of common events and accidents.

There was a question.

‘Why is it faster?’

The Emperor’s death was expected to be two years later in my predictions.

It’s too early now.

‘Is it really just a simple happening?’

I have an idea why the king’s death was faster than I thought. Because he enjoyed Arja’s poisonous cigarettes, which he didn’t smoke in the ‘future.’

Could it be that the lifespan of the Hamel Empire’s Emperor has been shortened due to a butterfly effect caused by me, like that?

I had no idea at all.

“Alphonso, please get me some Jenesen tea to clear my head.”

“You mean the one you usually enjoy? I understand. I’ll prepare it and bring it to you soon.”

While Alphonso was preparing the tea, I continued to read the newspaper.

『The Daichi Kingdom, the leader of the Brissen Alliance, declares the end of the Red Star Fever』

『The Golden Fragrance State and Green Garden State of the Hamel Empire are still suffering from the Red Star Fever』

The chaos caused by the Red Star Fever in various countries around the world has virtually ended, except for some areas.

It’s not that sales of Genesia, an antipyretic, and Generol, a treatment, have stopped completely.

The Red Star Fever still makes a village cough in an instant if it’s forgotten. However, most people have had it once, so its power has weakened to the level of a cold.

People still look for Genesia and Generol when they get the Red Star Fever.

The steadily declining sales of the Aitz Merchant Guild have been constant since some point. If the time when the Red Star Fever was rampant was the head, now it’s about the knee?

It will rebound again soon.

『Aitz Merchant Guild Announces Red Reaper Vaccine ‘Angel’s Touch,’ 100% Prevention Rate in Phase 1 Clinical Trials?』

『’Angel’s Touch’ Enters Phase 2 Clinical Trials Immediately After Phase 1 Clinical Trials』

『The Aimen Empire Praises Schuitz Leming, the Creator of ‘Angel’s Touch,’ as a Historical Figure』

The world’s first vaccine, which successfully completed Phase 1 clinical trials, is undergoing Phase 2 clinical trials.

『Anonymous Hamel Empire Healer Dismisses ‘Angel’s Touch’ as a Fraud』

I skipped the article that didn’t need to be read.

If the efficacy of the vaccine is recognized, they will say that Schuitz stole what was originally theirs.

『The Pantheon Says There is Still Insufficient Data to Acknowledge the Safety of ‘Angel’s Touch’』

『The Pantheon’s Position That There is a Risk of Infection with the Red Reaper if the Vaccine is Administered Incorrectly, What is the Response of the Aitz Merchant Guild?』

During the Red Star Fever, the Pantheon moved quickly because of the timing, but it didn’t seem like it would this time.

‘I need to do some lobbying.’

I don’t like it, but trying to save a small amount of money can lead to losing a large amount of money.

I kept reading the newspaper, and there was an interesting article in the middle.

『Prince Charles and the Black Knights Announce They Will Not Return to the Imperial Capital Until They Obtain the Golden Fruit of Mandra』

News of Charles and the Black Knights.

They were still carrying out a mission that was just right for dying under the Emperor’s orders.

Mandra is a monster covered with plants, and its head has a peach-like fruit that turns golden or pitch black depending on its emotional state.

There is a rumor that Mandra’s golden fruit is comparable to the World Tree’s fruit. Maybe the Emperor, who felt dizzy during the ritual, told them to get it for him to improve his health.

‘······Ah! Maybe?’

Anything in excess can be poisonous.

I had a feeling that the precious elixirs that Charles and the Black Knights were bringing might actually be shortening his lifespan.

Well, or not.

However, the golden fruit is known to be seen only when Mandra is in a good mood.

Mandra hates humans. As soon as they encounter Charles and the Black Knights, the color of the fruit will immediately turn red or black, so how are they going to get the golden fruit?

‘Is it none of my business?’

Knock, knock.

“Your Highness, I have brought the tea you requested.”

“Come in.”

I smelled the aroma of the teacup that Alphonso handed me.

The cool mint chocolate scent cleared my head.

I took a sip and looked at the last newspaper.

『Mysterious Death in the Royal Palace. Accident or Murder?』

There was news from Arja, where the infighting between the Royalist and Aristocratic factions was in full swing. The content was that one of the missing elders of the Royalist faction had surfaced in the lake.

‘Is it the work of the Arja Aristocratic faction?’

It should be a good thing for the Lionel Kingdom, but it was strangely unsettling.

Suddenly, I remembered the letter from the First Princess of Arja, which had stopped abruptly after the wedding.

Eh, no way.

I shook my head and erased her face from my mind.

In any case, the Kingdom of Arja, which is in the midst of infighting, will not be able to turn its eyes outward for the time being. I don’t have to worry about it.

The important thing is the Hamel Empire.

If my hunch is correct, the Emperor will die within a year at the latest.

I have to retake the lost Northwest.

It was time to prepare for war.

***

The southernmost part of the Hamel Empire.

A monster-infested area untouched by humans, the Forest of Mandra. There were people passing through it. Knights in black armor holding spears with burning figures.

It was Charles and the Black Knights.

But there was one person who didn’t look like a knight at all.

Klaus Lovitz.

Dressed in the traditional literary attire of the Hamel Empire, he fanned himself incessantly in the humid heat that seemed to pierce the sky, trying to cool down.

Weeng- Weeng-

A mosquito the size of an adult male’s finger continued to hover around Klaus, annoying him.

“Ugh, these mosquitoes. Ugh.”

Booong- The mosquito, avoiding Klaus’s swinging fan, flew towards a blonde man who was emitting a fragrant blood smell.

It was Charles.

The scar across his left eye twitched.

Wajik, Pshoo-

The mosquito was crushed by the pressure from the magic.

The blood that the guy had sucked splattered everywhere, staining Klaus’s white fan and literary attire.

“Ugh! The blood doesn’t even come off.”

“Who told you to wear such white clothes?”

“Isn’t it because the Prince suddenly dragged me here? Honestly, you should have given me time to prepare.”

As someone who had been kidnapped just as he was about to have a drink at a newly opened girl’s house in the Imperial Capital, it was something he could feel wronged about.

“That’s why who told you to run away. If I had given you time to prepare, you would have disappeared again.”

“Hahaha, no way.”

Klaus covered his face with a fan and avoided Charles’s gaze.

‘It’s like a ghost.’

Klaus silently chased away the mosquitoes and followed Charles. After walking like that for a while, he felt that the surroundings were getting a little darker.

“It seems like the sun sets early because it’s a monster-infested area. Vice-Captain, prepare dinner.”

“Yes, sir.”

During the subjugation of the 8-star monster, the Ape King, the Black Knights Captain, who was a 7-star knight, died when his head was smashed like a watermelon by the Ape King’s fist.

Naturally, Charles, who was the vice-captain, became the captain of the Black Knights.

Klaus, who was eating the tasteless meal that the Black Knights member had given him, glanced up and looked at Charles in front of him.

The scar on his left eye caught his eye.

It was obtained in the process of sparring with Evan in the Lionel Kingdom.

“Aren’t you going to remove the scar on your left eye?”

“Is there a reason to remove it?”

“It’s very divisive among the courtesans in the Imperial Capital. You’ll be more popular without it.”

Charles’s expression crumpled.

“Are you telling me to forget the humiliation for such a useless reason?”

“It was a joke. The real reason is… you know that a prince with a physical defect is a serious disqualification for succession to the throne.”

“Humph, it’s just a bad habit created by the royal parasites who have nothing to brag about except being born as royalty.”

“Hmm… come to think of it, it seems like not treating it and just going around like that would bother them more. Let’s leave it alone.”

“I’ll treat it when the time comes, so don’t worry about it.”

Charles’s gaze turned to the east, where the Lionel Kingdom was. Klaus, who read the anger in his eyes, shook his head.

‘Why did you go to the Lionel Kingdom?’

You can tell that Evan Lionel is a dangerous person just from the news you hear. Klaus couldn’t understand why Charles went all the way there to confirm it.

It’s not like he didn’t get anything at all.

He knew that the first target of conquest should be the Lionel Kingdom the moment Charles sits on the throne.

Originally, it was about the third priority.

Klaus looked up at the sky.

The image of the Emperor staggering and collapsing from dizziness after finishing the harvest prayer ceremony kept flashing in his mind as he observed the stars in the night sky.

‘Is it time for the Emperor to go?’

For some reason, he had a strong feeling that he would be very busy once this Mandra thing was over.

‘I won’t be able to set foot in the girl’s house for a while.’

Klaus put the tasteless stew in his mouth, thinking of the alcohol he had left in the girl’s house.

***

I called my vassals for a meeting.

“The Emperor of the Hamel Empire hasn’t been seen for half a month. As His Majesty thinks, there may be a problem with his health.”

“Count Miloa, isn’t it possible that it’s just a simple cold?”

“Lord Vernon, the Emperor is still at the level of a 5-star knight. He’s not someone who would be bedridden with a cold for half a month.”

It was clear that the red light on the health of the Hamel Empire’s Emperor had grown.

In my estimation, the Emperor will die within half a year at the earliest, and within a year at the latest, and the Hamel Empire will enter a civil war.

The moment I got up from my seat to explain that to those gathered at the meeting.

“Oop- Oop-”

Suddenly, Reina next to me vomited.

“Your Majesty! Are you alright?”

Schuitz, who had participated in the meeting for an interim report on the vaccine’s Phase 2 clinical trials, quickly examined her.

“Gasp! This is!”

I felt like I knew what was coming.

“Your Majesty! Congratulations. Her Majesty the Queen is pregnant.”

As expected.

At the meeting held to prepare for the war with the Hamel Empire, I heard the news that Reina had conceived the royal heir.