Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 26

026

While Evan was meeting Fran, Miloa, Countess and Chief Secretary of the Royal Intelligence Agency, was enjoying a brief respite after finishing a mountain of paperwork.

Sss, haa… Sip.

A puff of cigarette and a cup of black tea.

Her eyes, once clouded with fatigue, began to regain their vitality.

“I hear the First Prince has been contacting members of the Royal Committee,” read a report submitted by her assistant secretary a moment ago.

‘Perhaps I don’t need to worry about the Fifth Prince anymore?’ Miloa mused.

Miloa’s workload was beyond imagination.

Not only was the quantity immense, but the importance was also significant. Understanding the movements of the Hamel Empire, which occupied the northwestern region, was fundamental. Recently, a massive pirate group formed by consolidating small-scale pirates in the east had been disturbing her peace of mind. On top of that, there was the silent war being waged in the shadows with the Second Prince’s faction.

If there were a mage developing a spell to divide the body and distribute the workload, she would be willing to invest her entire fortune.

For her, burdened with excessive work, the Fifth Prince’s affair was merely a diversion for stress relief.

Immunity from arrest?

Seeing him struggle to save a cherished servant was, in a way, pitiful.

‘Poor fellow, I’ll let it slide this time,’ she thought.

It was something that could have been overlooked with such generosity. Although it was a bit embarrassing, it was much more beneficial to enjoy leisure like this than to worry about the Fifth Prince.

‘Was I too harsh? When you think about it, the Fifth Prince was just used as a tool when the Second Prince discarded the Fourth Prince.’

But she didn’t know why the situation escalated to the point of holding a hearing to invalidate his immunity from arrest.

‘Well, it’s over now,’ she thought.

Thirteen out of the 30 royal members who make up the Royal Committee supported the First Prince.

‘Now that the Second Queen has come to her senses, the Second Prince’s members will try to avoid getting involved in anything related to the Fifth Prince as much as possible, and the stubborn old folks, trapped in the ghosts of the past, will definitely attend…’

No matter how you calculated it, a majority attendance and a majority vote in favor of invalidating Evan’s exercised immunity from arrest were inevitable.

Knock, knock.

“Countess Miloa! Urgent news from the south!”

Miloa frowned, looking at the cigarette she had barely smoked.

“Damn it.”

Sss-haa-

She quickly took a puff and exhaled the smoke.

“Come in.”

She stubbed out the cigarette roughly in the ashtray and opened her mouth irritably.

***

Fran burst into laughter at Evan’s words.

Seeing Evan’s unwavering expression, she straightened her posture, which had become relaxed.

“Alright, tell me. A plan to clear the Northern Liberation Army of the suspicion of assassinating the Fourth Prince, to inform the kingdom’s citizens that they are not a gang of thugs, and to bring down a member of the royal family involved in the downfall of the North to satisfy the hardliners within the Liberation Army—such a ridiculous plan.”

‘I didn’t realize it when I was saying it, but it does sound absurd when I hear it from someone else,’ Evan thought.

But it was something he had to do.

That’s how he could protect his first retainer and create a good relationship with the Northern Liberation Army.

“First, the way to clear the Northern Liberation Army of the suspicion of killing the Fourth Prince is simple. The real culprit needs to appear.”

“The real culprit? How? Do you perhaps know the identity of the real culprit? The hushed rumors suggest that the Second Prince dealt with his reckless younger brother, but is that true?”

Only superficially had the rumors died down; among the people, the opinion that the Second Prince assassinated Akard was still dominant.

“That’s right. The Second Prince did it. Or rather, he ordered it.”

“Oh, do you have any evidence?”

“No. I don’t have any evidence. But I’m certain. …But, the Second Prince can’t be the real culprit.”

Fran tilted her head.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. The real culprit needs to appear, and that real culprit is the Second Prince. But he can’t be the real culprit?”

“Yes, the Second Prince can’t be the real culprit. I advised him to deal with the Fourth Prince. And the Second Prince followed my advice.”

Her expression changed comically.

“So, you told the Second Prince to assassinate the Fourth Prince? And that actually happened?”

“You know the results of the royal trial, don’t you? The Second Prince and I have a closer relationship than you think. The detailed circumstances would make for a long story, so I’ll tell you when I get the chance. Anyway, it would be problematic if it came out that the Second Prince is the real culprit. There’s a high chance I’ll get hurt too.”

Fran frowned and thought for a moment before opening her mouth.

“You’re saying we should pin it on someone else besides the real culprit, the Second Prince, right? The Second Prince is the one driving the Northern Liberation Army as the assassin of the Fourth Prince, but you’re saying we should help him instead?”

“Shouldn’t we hit the one we hate even more than the one we hate?”

If Evan, along with the Northern Liberation Army, put in all their effort, they might be able to prove that the Second Prince ordered the assassination of the Fourth Prince.

But, what would he gain from that?

‘Nothing.’

It’s not that he would gain absolutely nothing. The problem was that he had more to lose.

Above all, it would only benefit the First Prince’s faction. Would those who handed him this bomb be happy? Absolutely not.

“Someone we hate even more….”

Fran tapped the table with her finger, lost in thought. After a while, she nodded.

“Are you talking about the Royal Committee members who support the First Prince?”

“That’s right. If we make the one who vehemently opposed the dispatch to the North, preferably someone rotten to the core, the real culprit, the hardliners would be very satisfied.”

“I roughly understand. But, there’s no reason for a royal family member who supports the First Prince to assassinate the Fourth Prince. In fact, most people are just sad that their reckless son is dead. Will people be convinced?”

“Do we need to convince them?”

“What do you mean?”

Even if there’s suspicion but no evidence, you can’t catch the culprit, but the opposite is possible.

“You can catch the culprit as long as there’s ‘evidence.’ Why, just recently, there was a case where a seemingly ordinary woman committed serial murders, causing a stir in the capital. Did the constabulary catch the culprit based on suspicion, or based on material evidence?”

And once the culprit is caught, the motive will naturally emerge as people talk about it.

“……”

Fran closed her mouth and fell into thought.

Evan paused for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Evidence—couldn’t the Northern Liberation Army create it if they put their lives on the line? They wouldn’t have been just playing around for the past five years.”

This was it.

Their help was essential in this part. It was nearly impossible for Evan, tied to the royal palace, to accomplish such a thing. External assistance was needed.

If there was anything that made him uneasy….

‘Does the Northern Liberation Army have the ability to do that?’

He thoroughly hid such thoughts so that they wouldn’t show on his face.

“……Tell me what else you left out. Making the kingdom’s citizens think that the Northern Liberation Army is not just a gang of thugs.”

“From there on, I can only tell you if the Northern Liberation Army gives me a definite answer that they will cooperate with me. It’s a bit, no, quite a bit sensitive. After hearing it, you’ll understand why I’m saying this.”

At his answer, Fran closed her eyes and pondered. Evan waited with a trembling heart for her to open her mouth.

Each minute and second felt like an eternity.

And finally, she opened her eyes.

“It was quite an interesting story. But it’s easier said than done; the process doesn’t seem that easy.”

Evan admitted it.

If the world worked the way he wanted it to, there would be no reason for him to be here earnestly using [Evan-style Agari Sul – a self-deprecating strategy].

He thought about how he would help the Northern Liberation Army with all his might using [the Library – presumably a source of knowledge or skills], and that they had exactly the level of ability he thought they had.

‘The success rate would be about 30%, right?’

That was the reason he was going to bow down to the Second Prince before he found Fran. It’s a bit of a debt, but it’s 100%. In contrast, what he’d been spouting to Fran was truly high risk, high return.

“What do you think the success rate is?”

“It will definitely work.”

Fortunately, the thoughts in his head didn’t jump out of his mouth.

“Even if it’s impossible, I’ll make it happen. I’ve already done something similar. Did you ever imagine that I would be behind the assassination of the Fourth Prince?”

The thought of making it a success was sincere.

***

Fran tilted her head, looking at Evan, who was confident in the success of the plan.

‘Why does Richard’s face overlap?’

She kept seeing his face in Evan, who had hardly any similarities with her friend, whom she couldn’t see now.

‘Fran, watch. Someday, our Bayern viscounty will become the center of uniting the power of this barren North. I, Richard Bayern, will make it happen,’ she remembered him saying.

Soon, she knew why.

Fran has half of the blood of the Elven race. She can feel the emotions of the person she’s talking to, even if only slightly.

Belief in oneself, conviction.

The two were similar in that.

And Richard had made the promise he had made to her a reality. He had made the declining Bayern viscounty the Margrave of the North, and he himself was called the Sword of the North.

‘What about you?’

Fran asked inwardly, looking at Evan, who was looking at her with unwavering, upright eyes.

After waiting for a while for an answer that didn’t come, she chuckled and opened her mouth.

“It was a bit of an interesting story to just listen to and pass over. But I know this. I have no intention of forcing any decisions on the Northern Liberation Army guys. I shouldn’t be standing one step behind, either.”

“Thank you.”

“What are you thanking me for? I’m just telling you that there was such a story.”

“That’s what I’m thankful for.”

Evan’s smile was like he had thousands of snakes in his stomach.

‘He’s nothing like Richard after all,’ she thought.

She shook her head and got up from her seat.

“Now that you’ve said everything you need to say, go. Alfonso will be contacted.”

“I understand.”

“Ah, wait a minute.”

Fran stopped Evan, who was about to get up, for a moment and began rummaging around the workshop.

“Where did I put it? I’m sure it was here.”

Fran pulled out all the drawers and turned them over, spreading them on the floor. The already messy workshop instantly turned into something resembling a garbage dump.

“Here it is!”

After rummaging for a long time, she finally found an old book.

“Take it.”

“What’s this?”

“The Bayern Mana Cultivation Method that Richard left behind. The person to receive it has finally appeared. What? Why the expression? Don’t you want to receive it?”

“That… No, I’ll gratefully accept it.”

Fran frowned and scanned Evan up and down.

She found that he was holding the paper she had crumpled and thrown away in his hand. It seemed he had been reading it while she was looking for the mana cultivation method Richard had left behind.

‘Read it?’

Geometric information that only a mage can understand, just scribbles to ordinary people.

Only a mage would be interested in such things. There are also eccentrics who are obsessed with magic engineering even though they can’t become mages. But those guys are obviously obvious, so they’re out of the question.

She remembered when she had severely scolded her disciple for losing a magic book recently, and she was crying, saying that Alfonso must have stolen it.

‘Did he take it to give it to that guy?’

Alfonso stealing the magic book.

The rumor that the Fifth Prince beat up the Fourth Prince with swordsmanship.

The expression of not being happy even after receiving the Bayern Mana Cultivation Method.

Fran thought she knew the reason.

“You, you’ve formed a core [a magical energy center in a mage’s body].”

That was the only thing it could be.

He couldn’t have received the mana cultivation method that he couldn’t train with.

“Ah, yes, well….”

Evan, who was caught for the first time that he had formed a core, nodded with a sullen face.

“Ew! A core? No, Prince. You have swordsmanship talent that would surprise even the knights! A coooree?”

Alfonso was horrified.

Of course. He believed that Evan had swordsmanship talent no less than Reina Jeanne, who was called a monster.

“Shut up, I’ll tell you later.”

Evan, who silenced Alfonso, looked at Fran.

“There were circumstances. I’m not particularly regretting it either.”

“Tsk, well, it’s not my business, so it’s okay. Go.”

“I understand. Let’s go, Alfonso.”

After the two left, Fran heard her disciple and Alfonso arguing loudly.

After a while.

Her disciple came back huffing and puffing.

“Master! It’s definitely Alfonso’s doing! That prince just said he’d give it back, saying he read it for a while!”

“Whether someone steals it or not, if you lose another magic book in the future, I’ll kick you out.”

“Hmph. You’re too much!”

The disciple made a sulky expression at Fran’s stern gaze. The silence that followed became frustrating, and she opened her mouth first.

“But that prince asked me if I shouted ‘Beautiful mage, please accept me as your disciple’ and bowed nine times to you. He’s a strange prince.”

“What?”

“That prince asked me if I shouted ‘Beautiful mage, please accept me as your disciple’ and bowed nine times to you!”

Fran’s eyes twitched at the appearance of Evan, who had solved a problem she had told him not to solve.