Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 15

015

The day after beating up the Fourth Prince.

I started the day refreshed, working up a sweat with swordsmanship training.

Just another ordinary morning.

Nothing special had happened yet. I did find it strange that he hadn’t backed down after taking a few hits.

‘He must have caused a ruckus, seeking revenge as soon as he came to his senses…’

Perhaps because of these distracting thoughts, my training wasn’t going well. Still, I completed my allotted time and went to wash off the sweat.

Swishhh-

After a quick shower, I headed to my study. Sitting at my desk, I waited for Alfonso to bring my chicken breast sandwich and perused the [List of People].

A feature unlocked thanks to the achievement ‘Turns Out, I’m Popular,’ which I earned as I made more friendly connections.

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[Alfonso Einberg]

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[Annette Lionel]

[Richard Valdes]

[George Waterson]

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[Acard Lionel]

[Reina Jeanne]

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I could now open the status windows of everyone I had ever touched with my ghost hand to check their information at any time.

I could sort them by name, most recent activity, registration date, relationship, etc. Currently, they were listed by registration date.

‘Sort by relationship.’

As I changed the settings, my sister’s name rose to the top, followed by a cascade of names in order of positive relationship. Even within the same ‘Friendly’ relationship, the font color was subtly different. The higher up the list, the greener the hue.

I checked to see if anything had changed since I first looked at the [List of People] yesterday when it was unlocked. Like if any of the green relationships had suddenly turned red. Especially Alfonso and George; those guys needed constant monitoring… Huh?

‘George, he’s not here?’

George, who was clearly right below my sister until yesterday, was gone. I quickly scrolled through the entire [List of People], scrutinizing it carefully. George’s name was nowhere to be found.

There was only one explanation.

‘Was he eliminated?’

Knock, knock.

Just as my head was starting to spin, Alfonso knocked on the door.

“Your Highness, I’ve brought your breakfast.”

“Come in.”

I glanced at the wall clock.

“You’re a little late.”

“I heard some hot news this morning, so I was delayed.”

“What is it? Tell me.”

“Last night, the Royal Secret Service took George away. Huh? You don’t seem surprised. Did you already know?”

I shook my head and took a bite of the sandwich he brought.

“Do you think George is okay?”

“Are you really asking because you’re curious?”

“Well… I’m sure they’ll say he coughed a bit during the interrogation and was so startled that his heart stopped, right? Like that maid who was caught badmouthing the Fourth Prince before.”

I nodded slightly in agreement.

In the early days of the Lionel Kingdom, anyone who committed murder, regardless of their status, was tried and punished according to their crime. Even if they were royalty.

But those principles had long faded with time. The world always moves according to the convenience of the powerful. Even my past life, which pretended to strive for equality, was like that, so how much more so in this life?

Looking out the window, the clear sky was like a painting. I admired the passing clouds and wished for George’s peace in the afterlife. And then, as I took another bite of my sandwich.

‘Huh?’

I saw a man walking towards Emerald Palace. The epaulettes on his shoulders bore the roaring golden lion with three eyes, the symbol of the Royal Secret Service, the Lionel Kingdom’s top intelligence agency.

“Alfonso, did you do something behind my back?”

“Not at all!”

“Looks like you’ve been caught.”

“Haha. Your Highness, you’re joking…”

The Secret Service was notorious for making it difficult to return in one piece once you were dragged in. The always-smirking Alfonso looked visibly nervous.

“Leave the door open. Looks like he’s coming this way.”

“Yes, sir!”

A moment later, the Secret Service agent appeared.

He was a sharp-looking man with glasses. He looked at me and was about to knock on the open door when I spoke first.

“What business does the Secret Service have here?”

“I have something to deliver.”

The man reached into his coat and pulled out an envelope. I nodded to Alfonso, who quickly took it.

“I have delivered it. Then, I’ll be on my way.”

I waved my hand as I broke the seal on the envelope. A single sheet of paper was inside. I checked the contents, listening to the Secret Service agent’s footsteps fade away.

“Your Highness, what is it?”

“There’s a royal trial next week.”

“What? A royal trial?”

I tossed the document I had finished reading to him.

“Uh… Evan Lionel, you are hereby notified. Fourth Prince Acard Lionel claims to have suffered irreparable humiliation due to your surprise attack and assault. If the plaintiff’s claims are true, this threatens the royal hierarchy and is an intolerable act. Therefore, a fair trial must be held to determine appropriate punishment…”

Alfonso, who was reading the summons for the royal trial aloud, looked at me.

“Perhaps you ambushed and assaulted the Fourth Prince last night… No, that couldn’t be. I apologize. I misspoke.”

Alfonso refocused on the summons, seeing my gaze that suggested he was an idiot. After reading it all, he looked up.

“Uh… this is a big problem.”

“Indeed. Alfonso, you’ll have to be a witness for me. Say it was a fair duel.”

“Haha. You know that not just anyone can be a witness in a royal trial, right?”

Of course, I knew.

Only nobles with the rank of Baron or higher could be witnesses in a royal trial. Meaning no one who witnessed me throwing the sweat-soaked handkerchief at Acard could testify.

“There is such a stupid law.”

I frowned, stroking my chin.

Acard, you bastard, to frame me for assault, really? Just because the servants and knights present can’t be witnesses doesn’t mean what they saw and heard didn’t happen. Aren’t you ashamed?

“If the result is that it was a one-sided assault and not a fair duel, what happens?”

“Let’s see…”

I recalled the records of past princes who had been falsely accused in ruthless power struggles. The ending was usually one of three things.

One, suicide.

Two, exile.

Three, seclusion.

You could summarize it in one word: purge. But if I think of it as one of those three… wait? I’m already in seclusion. So that leaves only exile.

“I’d be stuck rolling around in one of the three major war zones until I die.”

“That won’t do…”

Alfonso looked troubled.

Of course, he would. If I were exiled, it would be natural for my personal attendant to follow. For a guy who infiltrated the palace with some grand purpose, that would be a problem.

“So you should come up with a plan quickly too.”

“Ha, haha…”

I refused to shoulder this troublesome problem alone. I looked at Alfonso, who was smiling awkwardly, and reached for the sandwich on the desk. Even if I had no appetite, I had to eat to fuel my explosively growing body.

I forced down my breakfast and pushed the empty plate towards Alfonso, who was standing there blankly.

“Clean this up. And don’t come back until you’ve found an amazing solution.”

“Yes?”

“What are you doing? Get out of here.”

I waved my hand, seeing Alfonso off. After he left with a constipated expression, I was left alone in the study, stroking my chin and lost in thought.

I imagined what would happen if I couldn’t clear my name.

‘Exile, huh…’

There are three places that new recruits in the Lionel Kingdom desperately try to avoid when they receive their assignments after training.

Berrington Fortress, where barbarians inevitably swarm when winter approaches.

The Eastern Stone Coffin, a prison for pirates.

The Belkas Mountains, where one must patrol the Twin Forests, one of the magical realms, as if taking a stroll.

If I can’t clear my name in the royal trial, I’ll probably be sent as a low-ranking officer to a unit with a particularly high mortality rate in those three places.

‘Maybe it’s not so bad?’

The royal palace is full of people hiding knives behind smiling faces. In contrast, it might be more mentally comfortable to have a clear enemy.

I’d be able to train my swordsmanship and magic much more comfortably than in the palace, without worrying about what others think, right?

Of course, being exiled to a place like the three major war zones is much more dangerous. But perhaps because I’ve already died and been reincarnated, I’m not very afraid of death.

What I fear more is a life where I’m manipulated by others. In this life, I want to live a life where I walk on my own, not one where I’m dragged along by someone else.

I absolutely refuse to be pushed into exile by Acard’s machinations.

So.

‘When I go to one of the three major war zones, it will be by my own choice.’

I got up from my chair and scanned the bookshelf.

There were a few books related to law, but most of them were for entertainment, introducing interesting precedents [legal cases]. It was woefully inadequate to prepare for a royal trial.

Only nine days until the trial.

It seemed like it would be a very busy time.

***

Late at night.

I was reading through a pile of precedents related to violence between royalty and nobles.

Alfonso returned with a gleeful expression, saying that he hadn’t found a way to clear my name in the trial, but he had learned some amazing information.

I pushed aside the precedent books from the royal archives, which were piled up like a mountain on my desk, and prepared to listen to him.

“There’s a rumor that Baron Garvis of the Royal Treasury Department is a witness for the Fourth Prince…”

I thought it was something else.

His words gradually faded at my indifferent reaction.

“…Did you perhaps already know?”

I had quickly purchased the information because it was being sold at a surprisingly low RP in the [Library]. If I had known Alfonso would ask me this, I would have waited a little longer.

Still, it wouldn’t make sense for me, who had been holed up in the royal archives all day, to know, so I shook my head and opened my mouth.

“No, he was just one of the candidates I expected. Everyone knows that Baron Garvis, who manages the budget for the Fourth Prince and Fourth Princess’s palace, is on the Second Queen’s side, right?”

“That’s true…”

The key point of the trial will be whether my beating up Acard was a fair duel or a one-sided assault.

And Baron Garvis, even though he wasn’t even there, will testify that I ambushed and assaulted him.

Once again, it was absurd that only hereditary nobles who owned territory were recognized as witnesses in a royal trial.

It was the epitome of absurdity.

…But, if the knights’ testimony is accepted, could I clear my name?

‘There’s no way.’

I smiled bitterly at the thought.

There’s no way there would be a knight who would risk screwing over the Fourth Prince for my sake.

Secretly throwing a wooden sword on the ground for me to use in training, that’s about the extent of the favor they and I have built up so far.

Looking at the ‘Relationship’ of the knights I’ve met so far in the [List of People], Reina, who was Acard’s escort knight, is the only one who has formed a ‘Friendly’ relationship.

“Then how about this news? Reina, who was the Fourth Prince’s escort that day, has been handed over to a military trial.”

Coincidentally, the second piece of information Alfonso told me was about her.

“Not just a simple disciplinary action?”

“Yes. There’s a rumor that she might even have her knighthood stripped.”

“Hmm…”

Something tickled my brain, and it felt like a clue to overcome the Fourth Prince’s scheme was coming to mind.