Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 23

023

Lionel Kingdom’s North.

It’s not exactly a land where people can thrive. Crop yields are so meager that starvation is a constant threat, and every winter, it’s plagued by barbarian invasions. It’s not even rich in natural resources.

So, it begs the question.

‘Why did the Hamel Empire invade the North?’

Especially a land that had barely recovered from a devastating plague. Considering how vast their territory already is, and how poorly managed, it makes no sense.

┕ Why did the Hamel Empire invade the northern part of the Lionel Kingdom 5 years ago?

「With your current RP······.」

Naturally, I had asked Genie, the librarian of the [Library]. It only made me more curious about what great secret was hidden.

I plan to look into it slowly when I have the time.

The entire North wasn’t annexed by the Hamel Empire. Only the Northwest. The Northeast still stands… well, barely clinging to life.

Maybe about 20% of its original strength?

Still.

‘That’s enough to throw some serious sand in their gears [cause problems for them].’

“Your Highness? Why are you smiling all of a sudden while we were talking?”

Oops, the corners of my mouth were raised without me realizing it. I quickly straightened my expression and asked Alphonso.

“I was just thinking about something. I’m curious, what are the feelings of the Northerners towards the 1st and 2nd Princes?”

I had a rough idea, but I was curious to hear firsthand information from a local.

“The worst. Isn’t it obvious? When the Hamel Empire invaded, the East and South joined forces to oppose the dispatch of the Central Army.”

The East is the 2nd Prince’s,

The South is the 1st Prince’s support base.

The West?

The West doesn’t have the luxury to engage in political infighting like the East and South. Many of its territories are just as harsh as the North.

That’s because massive mountain ranges block the paths to the continent in the West. Monsters and magical beasts living there descend frequently. Every year, during the red moon, there’s an annual event called the Monster Wave.

The few land routes that exist between the mountains are occupied by different races, leading to frequent conflicts with them.

Because of this, the Lionel Kingdom is practically a peninsula.

Unlike the devastated North and the cursed West, the South, with its granaries, and the East, with its developed maritime trade, are in good shape.

Well, that’s why they’re busy with political infighting, supporting either the 1st or 2nd Prince. If they were struggling to survive, they wouldn’t have the time for that.

I asked Alphonso what I was most curious about.

“What do Northerners think about me?”

“Your Highness? Hmm… most people think you couldn’t even take care of the nanny who raised you…”

Alphonso trailed off.

“They think you’re a weak prince.”

He seemed to be sugarcoating it.

Northerners are known for their harsh words, so they probably called me a brat or an idiot, or something like that.

“Actually, you’re barely mentioned at all. It’s more accurate to say there’s no expectation. Half of them probably think you died during the purge five years ago, right? And frankly, even though you have the blood of Lord Bayern, the Sword of the North, what can they expect from a prince who can barely survive in the demonic palace?”

I’ve heard that indifference is scarier than attention. I felt that now.

Perhaps noticing my bitter expression, Alphonso added a word of comfort.

“Ah! I do remember a crazy old woman claiming that they should bring the prince with the blood of Lord Bayern and enthrone him as the Duke of the North.”

“It would have been better if you had left out the part about her being mentally unstable.”

“Ah, she said that when she wasn’t in good condition.”

I frowned and opened my mouth.

“Let’s stop talking about that and tell me about the Northern Liberation Army. How did you join, and what did you do there?”

At my question, Alphonso scratched his nose and hesitated slightly.

I quickly realized why.

“If the Northern Liberation Army didn’t do anything that black magicians or demon contractors would do, I’ll try to resolve the situation in a way that minimizes the damage. And as I said before, I can find out if I want to.”

‘If I have enough RP,’ I didn’t bother saying.

“Minimize the damage?”

“I can’t guarantee anything if my life is at stake. Why, is the survival of the Northern Liberation Army more important to you than your life, Alphonso?”

“Because that’s the only way we can return the pain we’ve suffered to those bastards, even if I die.”

Alphonso’s blue eyes, visible through his narrowed eyelids, were extremely cold.

“Don’t worry. If the Northern Liberation Army can’t do it, I will.”

“…Your Highness?”

Alphonso and I stared at each other in silence for a moment.

In his eyes, I saw a young ghost prince, trembling under the covers after hearing the news of his nanny’s execution, vowing revenge.

I don’t know what Alphonso sees in me. Is he seeing his past self, vowing revenge?

Suddenly, he chuckled.

“You promised.”

“Why, should I write a blood oath?”

“That would be nice.”

「Alphonso Einberg has acknowledged you as his liege.」

「You have acquired 10,000 RP.」

「Achievement, ‘The First Step of a Lord,’ has been achieved.」

「You have acquired 10,000 RP.」

The notification windows popped up with a fanfare-like effect. I try to focus on the conversation as much as possible when meeting people, but I couldn’t help but look at this.

Since I’m looking at it, I might as well check Alphonso’s status window.

[Relationship: Vassal]

In dark green letters. As I expected, the relationship related to lord and vassal was next after ‘Trust’.

‘My first vassal is Alphonso…’

It was an indescribable feeling.

What’s certain is that it wasn’t bad.

I chuckled and opened my mouth.

“You write the blood oath. I’ll at least put my thumbprint on it.”

“Ugh, you don’t know how much I’m afraid of blood.”

I slyly moved my ghost hand and opened his skill window.

━━━━━━━━━━×

.

.

.

[Poison Herbology]

[Anatomy]

[Stealth]

[Torture]

.

.

.

━━━━━━━━━━

The hidden [?] were revealed without exception. [Anatomy] and [Torture] stood out.

Afraid of blood?

‘Are you even telling the truth?’

Looking at the other skills, I didn’t even need to hear what he learned in the Northern Liberation Army. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Northern Liberation Army later changed its business to an assassin guild.

The thought that I might have been killed without even realizing it if he had made up his mind made my neck feel cold for a moment.

I opened my mouth with a sullen expression.

“Stop with the ridiculous act and tell me about the Northern Liberation Army. What I’m most curious about is who the leader is.”

“He was my teacher. He was the survivor of the Saturn family, who were the eyes and ears of Lord Bayern.”

“Was?”

“He passed away right before I infiltrated the palace. Due to the aftereffects of that cursed plague that swept through the North, the Darkbloom Fever.”

“Then currently…”

“It’s vacant.”

“Vacant?”

“Yes, the Northern Liberation Army’s affairs are currently decided through a council of executives.”

The only thought that came to my mind was.

‘It’s going to be a mess.’

Too many cooks spoil the broth.

***

Miloa, the chief secretary of the Royal Intelligence Department, hurriedly grabbed her coat and left as soon as it was time to leave work.

Her destination was Topaz Palace, the residence of the 1st Prince.

“Welcome, Countess Miloa.”

“Where is the Prince?”

“He is waiting for you.”

Miloa was led by the servant to the reception room. Lucas Lionel, the 1st Prince of the Lionel Kingdom, was waiting for her, munching on chocolate cookies.

“Yo, Miloa. Welcome. Everyone, leave us alone so we can talk comfortably.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The servants of Topaz Palace and his bodyguards left without a word. They had familiar expressions.

Miloa sat down in front of Lucas, crossed her legs, and looked at him.

Short black hair and broad shoulders. Just standing still, he looked like he was laughing heartily. If his skin were darker, a first-time observer might think he was a simple, rural youth who farmed. A very handsome one.

“The 5th Prince exercised his immunity from arrest.”

“Oh! Even Damian and I couldn’t use it, but the youngest used it? And for a servant? That’s not how it’s supposed to be used.”

Lucas asked Miloa with an expression that he was dying of amusement.

“Someone’s annoyed to death, but someone seems very excited.”

At Miloa’s hysterical tone, he quickly straightened his expression.

“Sorry, sorry. But I heard you were happily warning the youngest not to mess around, but you got a good taste of your own medicine?”

“I didn’t!”

Miloa shouted and rummaged through her chest with her right hand. Lucas quickly snatched the cigarette case she took out.

“Smoking is prohibited here.”

“Ah, sorry. It’s a habit. Give it back.”

“Tsk, why do you even smoke this stuff? Do you like it that much?”

“Don’t smoke it. I’m going to quit soon.”

Lucas scoffed at the word quitting. It was something he had been hearing for nearly 10 years.

“Then quit now. This is confiscated.”

“Ah, it’s a Doldae [expensive brand]…”

Lucas looked at the depressed Miloa, revealed his healthy teeth, and laughed.

“By the way, we’ve been hearing news about the youngest quite often lately. How much has he changed? I heard that his swordsmanship is so talented that the knights are surprised? I want to go and have a mock sparring match with him.”

“Don’t. The palace is already uneasy because of the assassination of that thug, so don’t do anything unnecessary and just move according to the schedule.”

“Geez, can’t I even have a mock sparring match with my youngest brother? It wasn’t even our doing. Or… did you do it behind my back?”

A sharp light flashed in Lucas’s laughing eyes.

“No! So don’t get the wrong idea.”

“Ah, I was just saying in case. That was Damian’s doing, right? I’ll have to teach that older brother a lesson later. How can he do that to his own brother, ugh.”

“What older brother? You were only born a month earlier. And that was because the Queen had a premature birth. You might have been the 2nd Prince. When I think about how the Queen was swept up in dirty rumors because of that in the past. The 2nd Queen was the one who had a passionate love affair.”

“That’s why I used my power, hahaha.”

Lucas wriggled his head grotesquely, like a newborn baby vigorously moving towards the world. Miloa felt like she was losing all affection for him at that sight.

“Don’t do that. I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

Lucas, thinking that he had gone a little too far, cleared his throat and straightened his posture.

“Stop with the small talk, so you came to ask me to invalidate the immunity from arrest that the 5th Prince exercised?”

“I never imagined he would exercise immunity from arrest for a mere servant.”

“It’s a bit of a spectacle to convene the members of the Royal Committee to invalidate the immunity from arrest exercised for a mere servant, right? You know how slow those people are.”

“It’s just as ridiculous to stay still. As time passes, rumors will spread that the Ghost Prince screwed over the 1st Prince after the 4th Prince, right?”

Miloa unconsciously bit her thumb while speaking. Lucas chuckled at the sight.

It was a habit she had when she felt like she was going to die of frustration.

“Okay, I got it. I’ll contact the Royal Committee members. Miloa, you owe me one.”

“Thank you. It’s true that we’re slightly ahead of the 2nd Prince’s side, but it’s a small difference that can be overturned at any time. We need to suppress any variables that could cause trouble in advance.”

Miloa, who was rambling on unlike her usual self, suddenly felt a surge of anger.

“Ah, now that I think about it, why do I owe you? Isn’t this all for you, not for me? Huh? Huh?”

“Okay, you already said thank you. No take-backs.”

Lucas chuckled.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.

“But you know what? What if the youngest gets through this safely again?”

“Hmph. That will never happen. I’ll make sure of it.”

Lucas felt that it might be quite interesting if that happened, although he felt sorry for Miloa, who was so assertive.