Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 17

017

This world isn’t Earth.

The people of the Lionel Kingdom call this world ‘Teira.’ A world where gods exist and mana flows. Yet, sometimes I witness flora and fauna that are astonishingly similar to those of Earth.

The most representative example is humans.

Besides them, there are pigs, chickens, roses, cherry blossoms, and cuckoos that kill all the offspring of the host bird in whose nest they are raised.

The Lionel royal family’s blood is thick.

The rumor that the red-haired Akard might be a cuckoo’s chick was inevitable. It only quieted down because those who spread it disappeared without a trace.

Immediately after the [Library] was opened, I also tried to verify the truth of that rumor.

┕ Is it true that the Fourth Prince doesn’t have royal blood?

「Your RP [Relationship Points] is insufficient to answer this question.」

The result was, of course, a rejection.

I had forgotten about it for a while.

Even after dramatically improving my relationship with Reina and achieving the ‘Turns Out I’m Popular’ achievement, when I had a little over 30,000 RP, Genie’s answer remained the same.

But yesterday, the answer to the question changed.

「The information fee for this question is 30,000RP.」

About 300 million won [approximately $250,000 USD] in my previous life’s currency.

I didn’t buy the information.

Even if I poured all my RP into finding out the truth, it wouldn’t be very useful. Even if the answer was Yes, I couldn’t go around shouting, ‘The Fourth Prince is a cuckoo’s chick!’

If the answer was No, I would probably cry, thinking about the 30,000 RP I wasted on the [Library] to satisfy my useless curiosity.

What I focused on was.

‘The price of the information has changed.’

The price of a question that couldn’t even get a Yes or No answer has changed? Why? There was only one thing I could think of.

The value of the information has decreased.

Why?

After much deliberation, I came to a conclusion.

The information is being leaked.

What if everyone knew that Akard was a cuckoo’s chick? The more people who know, the lower the value of the information.

So why is the secret about his birth being revealed? Who is sharing that secret?

The answer came quickly.

‘The First Prince and his supporters.’

The moment I inferred that, I scrapped all the plans I had prepared to persuade the Second Prince.

And instead of using the huge sum of 30,000 RP to get a Yes or No answer, I tracked the Second Queen’s movements between 9 and 11 months before Akard’s birth.

As a result.

The fact that a delegation from her home country, the Arya Kingdom, visited the Lionel Kingdom at that time. Furthermore, the fact that her cousin, who had spent her childhood with her, was in the delegation. Furthermore, the fact that there were rumors in the Arya royal family that the Second Queen had a romantic relationship with that cousin in the past.

The Second Queen, who was so homesick that she decorated her residence like a palace in Arya. And then, an old flame she met after a long time?

That’s 99.99% certain.

“I heard you’ve become a little strange, but it’s beyond that. You’re insane. Do you know that no one who spouts such nonsense gets away with their head?”

The Second Prince’s gaze seemed like it could devour a person. I pretended to avoid it for a moment and quickly checked his status window.

[Relationship: Alert]

The word ‘Alert’ was red, almost like ‘Hostility.’ It didn’t change to hostility. It even seemed a little fainter.

The Second Prince didn’t jump up or immediately kick me out.

I felt a little more confident.

“Copence Miken.”

“······.”

The Second Prince’s eyebrows twitched slightly at the name I mentioned. The 99.99% certainty turned into 100%.

Furthermore, I became convinced that the Second Prince knew Akard’s secret.

“······ How do you know that name?”

It was a natural question.

The Second Queen’s cousin had changed his name after becoming an adult and even changed his surname after marrying into his wife’s family, so his name at the time of the delegation was not Copence Miken.

“I heard that Count Kurus of the Arya Kingdom had a break-in at his study the other day, are you aware of that?”

“!!”

Kurus Kanos. That’s his current name.

Information is truly amazing.

The fact that a count’s study was robbed in a neighboring kingdom across the sea. The count’s past name. The women who had rumors with that count.

If you look at them one by one, they are small pieces of information that don’t require a lot of RP. If you assemble them well, you can complete a powerful weapon that can stab a queen of a kingdom.

“Count Kurus’s study was robbed? How do you know something I don’t?”

“Isn’t who robbed it more important than how I knew about it?”

Of course, the Second Prince will also guess.

That the First Prince’s faction robbed it.

I don’t know if they caught any physical evidence. What is clear is that the clock on the time bomb that the Second Queen had secretly hidden has started ticking.

The Second Prince has only one option to choose.

“This royal trial will be a good opportunity.”

If the clock on the time bomb has started ticking, you can just remove it before it explodes.

As soon as possible.

That’s how you avoid being blown to pieces.

***

“You’ve used up the promised 30 minutes. I’ll be waiting for good news.”

Damian tried to stop Evan from leaving the reception room but gave up.

Soon, the chief attendant appeared with his coat.

“Your Highness, the next schedule······.”

“Cancel it. And I want to be alone, so don’t let anyone in.”

“······ Understood.”

Damian, who was alone again, got up from the sofa and approached the window. He could see Evan and his attendant walking away.

“That guy······.”

Five years ago, Damian watched Evan’s maternal grandfather, Marquis Beyren, collapse and those related to him disappear as dew on the execution ground [a swift and complete demise].

Evan, who was crushed to the point where it seemed impossible to rise again. After the nickname ‘Ghost Prince’ was given to him, he didn’t have any interest in him.

But.

“To think he was hiding his teeth [secretly harboring power or skills].”

How did he find out information that even he didn’t know, including the fact that Akard was a cuckoo’s child? There was only one conclusion Damian could draw.

“The remnants of Marquis Beyren’s family.”

Perhaps······ a secret unit that handled information. It was clear that they and Evan had been hiding under the guise of the Ghost Prince all this time.

Why did he take off his shell now [reveal his true abilities]?

Ah, maybe he didn’t take off his shell? Maybe he was forced to reveal it because of that good-for-nothing.

“Did you know that Count Kurus’s study was robbed?”

Damian, who was alone in the reception room, spoke to someone.

“I’m sorry.”

Surprisingly, the answer came from near the fireplace.

“You didn’t know.”

“It might be a deception.”

“Did it seem like a deception?”

Damian’s intuition was whispering that Evan had told the truth.

“······ I was tracking the movements of some of the First Prince’s shadows who had moved towards the Arya Kingdom.”

“Incompetent.”

“I’m sorry.”

He looked at Evan walking away and opened his mouth.

“Put a shadow on that guy [assign someone to secretly monitor him].”

“······ It will be a meaningless sacrifice.”

“What?”

“The Fifth Prince’s attendant, I made eye contact with him earlier. It’s clear that he’s not an ordinary attendant.”

“I should have known from the beginning when my mother gave me the shadows who had learned the secrets of the Arya Kingdom. Their abilities are outstanding. You’re going to go and tell her about what happened today, right?”

“We are only loyal to the Second Prince.”

“Thank you. I’m so grateful I’m going crazy [being sarcastic].”

“······.”

Damian had the thought of exchanging Evan’s attendant for his shadow.

“Evan Lionel······.”

A variable that suddenly popped out in the confrontational relationship with the First Prince, which was equal, or frankly, slightly inferior. Damian thought that Evan might be a useful dagger.

At least much more useful than that good-for-nothing.

The handle might be a little sharp. But he was confident that he could smooth it out enough. He didn’t even think that he might be stabbed by it and bleed.

‘It might be okay to get rid of that good-for-nothing at this opportunity. And now I need to reduce my mother’s influence a little.’

***

On the way back from the Opal Palace to the Emerald Palace.

“Your Highness, what did you talk about with the Second Prince alone? Could you tell me just a little bit, just a tiny bit?”

Alphonso kept pestering me from the side.

I ignored him and moved on. I was already exhausted from the power struggle with the Second Prince. I didn’t have the slightest intention of spending energy to satisfy his curiosity.

“It wasn’t just the two of us.”

“Yes?”

The moment the ghost hand, which was wandering aimlessly and roaming around the reception room of the Opal Palace, stopped near the fireplace, the status window suddenly popped up.

‘Was his name Muyoung?’

It was like catching a mouse by accidentally stepping backward.

When I opened my third eye that sees mana and glanced at that part, I felt a slight sense of incongruity.

“······.”

Alphonso suddenly became quiet.

I was annoyed, so it was rather good.

‘By the way, what a waste.’

I glanced at the Opal Palace and thought that.

If I were the First Prince and someone had reported the secret about the Fourth Prince’s birth to me, I would have treated him as a benefactor.

Of course.

It’s information that requires 30,000 RP just to confirm the truth of the rumor. Even now that its value has fallen.

┕ Is Kurus Kanos the Fourth Prince’s biological father?

「The usage fee for this information is 29,000RP.」

Correction, the number of people who know that Akard is a cuckoo’s chick has increased in the meantime, so it’s 29,000RP. It’s strangely like searching for apartment prices.

Seeing it drop as much as the apartment prices in a bear market [a period of declining stock prices], I thought it was a bomb that would explode anyway.

It’s like a stock certificate just before being delisted [removed from the stock exchange]?

I’m glad I used it like this, even if only this much. I comforted myself like that.

‘The aftermath is more severe than I thought.’

I only beat up Akard as my heart moved, but the damage is much greater than I imagined.

I had simply predicted that pranks like [Poisoned Milk] would increase a little······.

Not only am I standing trial, but the fact that the Second Prince will start paying attention to me is especially concerning.

Imagine the Ghost Prince, who had been holed up in the Emerald Palace, suddenly finding out about a robbery at a count’s house across the sea. What would you think? Fortunately, the ‘Alert’ relationship didn’t turn into ‘Hostility’······.

Suddenly, the back of my head felt cold.

Isn’t that Muyoung guy following me?

I had a headache thinking about adding the task of scanning every corner of the bedroom with the ghost hand before going to sleep.

‘But I don’t regret it.’

I recalled the thrilling feeling of the sparring. The ghost hand repeated clenching and unclenching its fingers as if reminiscing about that time.

The situation surrounding me was changing more rapidly than expected. I desperately needed someone I could trust and rely on.

The only person I could think of was my sister.

······ My sister is also barely managing to take care of herself.

I had refused her visit today because I was busy, to avoid causing her any trouble.

I inadvertently glanced at Alphonso. His eyes are slits, and it was impossible to read what he was thinking.

That’s an advantage, if you can call it that.

Ha······.