Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 143

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Arya Kingdom.

An emergency cabinet meeting was called, gathering key officials to discuss matters of state.

Before the King’s arrival, the participants were actively sharing their opinions. Interestingly, they were divided into left and right sides, as if a line had been drawn.

The left side represented the noble faction, and the right side, the royalist faction.

“His Majesty, the great King Otto Arya of the Arya Kingdom, is about to enter!”

The aide’s announcement.

The ministers took their seats one by one. After a moment, the door to the conference room opened, and King Otto Arya entered.

Otto moved to the head seat, glancing over the faces of the noble faction.

A force similar to the royalist faction in both quantity and quality.

‘If it weren’t for that Evan Lionel…’

It all started with the Joe Bayley pirates.

A privateer fleet built with great effort.

It was intended as a secret weapon to control the pirates and disrupt the funding of the Arya noble faction. They were even equipped with the latest armored ships made in secret.

But before they could even gather the pirates and begin their activities in earnest, they were sunk into the sea, an event that heralded the emergence of two heroes, Evan and Reina.

-When the shooting star that broke the jewel catches the falling star, it will be your worry.

Etrim, the eight-headed guardian dragon of Arya, had clearly warned.

Looking back, the loss was painful.

At the very least, they should have sent a 7-star powerhouse….

Suddenly, he remembered that 7-star summoner Amika Arya had been deployed to the Lionel Kingdom and lost her life in vain.

He involuntarily ground his teeth.

By losing Amika, the balance that had been leaning towards the royalist faction was now even.

‘Shooting star, and falling star.’

Otto recalled the two beings that Etrim’s prophecy said would be the worries of the Arya Kingdom.

He now clearly knew that ‘shooting star’ meant Evan. But what drove Otto crazy was that he still didn’t know what ‘falling star’ meant.

Some even suggested that ‘falling star’ was the serial killer who recently appeared and caused chaos in the palace.

Otto remembered his initial disbelief when he first heard that opinion.

Of course, the prevailing opinion was that Reina, now the Queen Mother of the Lionel Kingdom, was the ‘falling star’.

But.

Otto somehow didn’t like that opinion. He couldn’t explain why.

If he had to give a reason, it would be his gut feeling, honed from walking a path stained with blood to sit on the throne….

“Your Majesty seems deeply concerned. You don’t look well.”

The voice of Rihid Pross, the leader of the noble faction, broke Otto’s train of thought.

Rihid, the Prime Minister and an 8-star magician, was someone that Otto, the King of Arya, could not easily ignore.

“How can I be comfortable when the country is in turmoil both internally and externally?”

Otto answered Rihid’s question and sat down. After looking around the crowd, he began to speak.

“I believe everyone knows why this emergency cabinet meeting was held, so I will get straight to the point. The core forces of the Lionel Kingdom are heading north to stop the unprecedented invasion of the Khan tribe. I want you to present your opinions, without exaggeration, on what actions our great Arya Kingdom should take.”

“Your Majesty, many people have gathered here after receiving urgent contact yesterday. Shouldn’t a detailed explanation of the current situation come first?”

Otto’s expression slightly soured at Rihid’s objection.

Just as Otto was about to speak, a member of the noble faction quickly added to Rihid’s statement.

“Haha, Duke Rihid is right. I, like others who have nothing to do with the Lionel Kingdom, have no idea why this emergency cabinet meeting was held today.”

Naturally, a member of the royalist faction retorted.

“What nonsense! I know that your company handles goods from the Aitz Trading Company! And you must have already known that the Khan tribes were showing unprecedented movements!”

“Handling goods from the Aitz Trading Company is something that my subordinates take care of. And I heard about the Khan tribe, but I didn’t pay much attention to it since it’s a problem in a neighboring country anyway. But… ‘you’? Would Marquis Dorrance be happy to be called ‘you’ in such an important meeting like this?”

“Count Oren! Don’t stray from the point!”

Duke Rihid Pross quickly intervened.

“Marquis Dorrance. Count Oren didn’t say anything wrong. Shouldn’t you apologize first? Come on, if it’s difficult, just follow along. I’m, sor, ry.”

.

.

.

The cabinet meeting quickly devolved into a mess.

The discussion about the benefits that the Arya Kingdom should seize in light of the Lionel Kingdom’s current situation vanished, replaced by a heated debate about noble etiquette.

Otto gritted his teeth at this.

The noble faction ministers were not fools.

They couldn’t possibly be unaware that the Arya Kingdom could gain significant advantages from the current situation in the Lionel Kingdom.

At the very least!

They had to invalidate the humiliating agreement they had made with those guys in the past to beg for a cure for the Red Star Fever [a fictional disease].

The return of Lionel shipbuilders.

The abandonment of ownership of Goldmoon Island.

Permission for duty-free trade for 10 years.

Also known as the Goldmoon Island Treaty.

Otto wanted to overturn that at this opportunity. But the members of the noble faction were just skirting around the issue like this?

‘Duke Rihid! That human!’

The noble faction had no intention of getting involved in the affairs of the Lionel Kingdom at all.

Why?

Otto thought he knew the answer.

The Goldmoon Island Treaty, especially the permission for 10 years of duty-free trade, was indeed an unequal treaty for the Arya Kingdom.

But there were those who benefited from it. Especially when the ultra-large trading company, Aitz Trading Company, was involved, the spoils were considerable.

And coincidentally, they were all members of the noble faction.

The merchants of Lionel were playing tricks in the middle.

The merchants of Lionel always joined hands with the noble factions of Arya whenever there was a chance to share profits.

Otto wanted to return to his residence and rest immediately due to a throbbing headache.

But he was the King of Arya.

“Now is an important time to gather the strength of the kingdom in line with the rapidly changing global situation! But what is this useless debate!”

Otto’s thunderous roar silenced the cabinet meeting hall.

Just as he was about to speak again.

Thud!

The door that should not be opened during a meeting was thrown open. Everyone’s eyes turned to the door.

Otto’s as well.

‘My mother’s chief maid?’

Questions swirled in his mind, but he reflexively spat out words of anger.

“What’s going on! Don’t you know how important this meeting is!”

“Your Majesty! Please kill me. The Queen Mother has been poisoned.”

Otto unknowingly scratched his ear with his finger.

It was because he thought he had heard something wrong.

“The royal serial killer!”

“Could it be that he even laid his hands on the Queen Mother!”

“Huh······”

.

.

.

The ministers were equally shocked.

Clang!

Suddenly, the 8-star knight and the sword guarding the Arya Kingdom, the commander of the Royal Knights, slammed the table and stood up.

“Rihid Pross! You have finally crossed the line you should not have crossed!”

“What nonsense are you talking about all of a sudden! The serial killer has nothing to do with us!”

“Then how is it that all the elders on our side have been attacked by the serial killer!”

“How would I know that! Shouldn’t you blame your incompetence for not catching the culprit yet?”

“Tsk! I have been patient because you are helpful to the kingdom just by being an 8-star magician, but now it’s over!”

The commander of the Royal Knights reached for his sword.

“Your Majesty! Use this opportunity to wipe out those thugs who are eating away at the country from this place. If you order me, I will immediately cut off the head of Rihid, who is the accomplice of that serial killer······.”

Beee──

A ringing sound started in Otto’s ear.

The face of the commander of the Royal Knights that he was looking at was distorted, and the world was spinning around.

Unbearable dizziness.

It was hard to hold on to the string of consciousness.

In the end, Otto let go.

The vision began to darken.

Crash! Thud.

“······Ha? ······Ha!!”

“······ Stretcher! ······ Bring it!”

“······ You guys! ······ Don’t move······.”

“······.”

The noise that Otto heard in his ear disappeared.

It was very comfortable.

Enough to not want to wake up again.

***

I felt good from the morning.

『Shock! Sudden death of the Queen Mother of the Arya Kingdom』

『Is it the work of a serial killer again?』

I reconfirmed the content I already knew through the newspaper. I tried hard to suppress the smile threatening to break across my face.

Although it was not announced to the media, I confirmed through [Library – a magical archive], that the conflict between the royalist and noble factions of Arya had reached a boiling point.

There was virtually no chance that what happened at the cabinet meeting would leak out through the media.

『8-star magician, Duke Rihid Pross, expresses his intention to actively participate in the capture of the serial killer』

Still, those who could deduce the truth, like Julian, would have noticed something was amiss.

‘Is this the end of the serial killer’s activities?’

It seemed like it was only a matter of time before the Arya serial killer, who had been running wild, was caught.

I wondered how he avoided the eyes of the Royal Knights all this time, but it was a different story once an 8-star magician started cooperating.

Personally, I believed that the non-cooperation of magicians was a major reason why the Arya serial killer had not been caught so far.

The 8-star magician Duke Rihid Pross leads the noble faction of Arya. It is an environment where the high-ranking magicians who follow him have no choice but to be uncooperative with the royalist faction.

‘Still, killing the Queen Mother was a bit too much.’

The serial killer’s actions this time finally spurred Rihid, the leader of the noble faction, into action.

He couldn’t stand by and watch any longer.

According to [Library], it seemed that the situation had reached a point where a civil war in Arya could break out if he remained idle.

‘The commander of the Royal Knights said he would cut down all the noble factions in the cabinet meeting hall, right?’

Perhaps Rihid didn’t care much about the deaths of the royalist elders. Wouldn’t he have clapped and said it was a good thing?

However, after the commander of the Royal Knights’ remarks, he must have come to his senses.

Only the royalist elders are being killed?

Anyone would have no choice but to think that they were the culprits.

‘Hmm… Is there no article about the King of Arya?’

There was no article mentioning that Otto had fainted.

I once again thanked Genie, the librarian of [Library], who gave me information that was impossible to obtain through the media.

I imagined him being shocked and collapsing during the cabinet meeting. I thought it would be even better if he just lay down like the Emperor of the Hamel Empire.

‘That wouldn’t work, would it?’

He is still a 6-star knight who enters the ranks of transcendents [individuals who have surpassed the limits of normal human ability]. Perhaps it is an unprecedented case for a transcendent to faint from mental shock alone.

That’s how scary stress is.

“Okay, there’s nothing to worry about Arya at all.”

I folded all the newspapers I had read and put them in a corner of the desk.

Knock, knock.

“Your Majesty, the Queen has come to see you.”

“Let her in.”

Alphonso opened the door, and Reina entered.

“It’s almost time for you to move to Berrington Fortress. You’re busy until you leave.”

“Has it already become that time?”

I glanced at the desk clock.

“Oh, it’s already time. I was so engrossed in reading an interesting article that I didn’t realize the time was passing. Alphonso!”

“Yes! I was about to report that it was time to depart. Everything is already prepared.”

Alphonso handed me my coat.

“Give it to me.”

Reina took it instead and put it on me.

“It’s cold, you don’t have to see me off.”

“No. I will definitely see you off.”

“Thank you. Shall we go then?”

I left the office and headed to the airship dock. All preparations to leave for Berrington Fortress were already completed.

Before leaving, I hugged Reina one last time.

“Then, I’ll be back.”

“If you get hurt… be prepared.”

“Don’t worry.”

“If I hear any bad news, I’ll run straight to Berrington Fortress.”

Her eyes were filled with sincerity.

“That won’t happen.”

“······ I’ll believe you.”

No more words were needed.

After giving Reina a peck on the forehead, I boarded the kingdom’s only large airship, the Golden Dragon.

“Golden Dragon! Ascending!”

The Golden Dragon slowly rose.

I kept my eyes on Reina until the end, and only when she was out of sight did I look in the direction the Golden Dragon was heading.

The prelude to the Northwestern Reclamation Operation has begun.

The Lionel Kingdom’s rise is not far away.