Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 31

Surviving as the 5th Prince of Hellanguk – Episode 31

031

‘Shouldn’t you take off that mask?’

Communication isn’t just about words. Even the smallest facial expressions are a great means of conversation.

Gert’s eyes, shaking like an earthquake at my question, and his averted gaze were good examples of that.

In that sense, having a conversation with Austin, who hid his face with a fox mask, was bound to be uncomfortable.

I had heard the general situation from Alfonso.

‘He said he has a big scar on his face, right?’

I’m confident I wouldn’t care much, but I can’t ask Austin, who clearly feels self-conscious about it, to take off his mask.

I glanced at Austin’s status window, which I had opened as soon as we met, for a brief moment.

[Relationship: Normal]

Still, I was relieved that I could sense dramatic psychological changes, and I silently stared at Austin, who was still exuding a cold aura.

Austin, noticing that I was staring intently at his fox mask, realized something was wrong and returned his leaning body to its original position.

“… Could it be… that there’s no such person?”

I smiled at Austin, who had found the answer himself.

If you think about it, it was an easy problem to deduce. I had clearly intended to frame a Royal Committee member from the 1st Prince’s faction as the assassin of the 4th Prince, creating non-existent evidence.

I just added a few spicy seasonings to it. Among them, the ‘Demon’ seasoning was as stimulating as MSG [monosodium glutamate, a flavor enhancer], so I refrained from mentioning it when I met Fran.

“We have to create it together. If there’s any royal from the 1st Prince’s faction you particularly dislike, feel free to tell me.”

“… 5th Prince, you’re more terrifying than I expected. The moment a demon gets involved with royalty, the dignity of the royal family will plummet to the ground.”

In my past life, when powerful people wanted to get rid of opposing factions, they often used treason as a method.

The present life isn’t much different.

But there’s something even more powerful than treason. That’s associating them with demons.

In the distant past, demons, who were said to have ‘raised’ humans and other races, were highly taboo.

Well, aside from those old stories, considering that a small village would easily be sacrificed to make a contract with a demon, it was understandable.

“I didn’t know that Austin, an executive of the Northern Liberation Army, would be concerned about the dignity of the royal family.”

The incompetence of the royal family and the resulting neglect also contributed to the downfall of the North. The Northern Liberation Army couldn’t possibly have good feelings towards the royal family.

“……”

“……”

A moment of silence.

I couldn’t read even a hint of emotional change because of the fox mask. Wearing a mask is cheating after all.

Just as I was about to open my mouth, Austin spoke first.

“If we try to link a Royal Committee member with a demon and fail, the Northern Liberation Army might be branded as enemies of the continent.”

“That’s why we have to do it right.”

“Haa… It’s not that easy. First of all, we need proof that the royal we’re targeting has made a contract with a demon, but as you know, the Necronomicon isn’t something you can get just because you want it.”

There are grimoires [books of magic spells or incantations] that demons left in the intermediate realm before they fell to the Demon World.

These, collectively called [Necronomicon], are dangerous objects that allow you to attempt a contract with a demon.

The Pantheon retrieves them whenever they are discovered.

– Alfonso, but about that crazy guy from the Northern Liberation Army who tried to make a contract with a demon, did you properly dispose of the Necronomicon he used? You didn’t report it to the temple, did you?

– Of course not! It would be a disaster if the Northern Liberation Army was implicated. It didn’t burn when we tried to burn it, so my teacher and I hid it in a place only we know about. It will never see the light of day again, so don’t worry… Prince? What are you thinking so hard about all of a sudden?

I smiled, recalling the conversation I had with Alfonso.

“Ah, don’t worry about that. I can get one. A Necronomicon.”

“… What? Where on earth!”

Austin asked back, his voice slightly breathless.

He seemed a little surprised by the way I spoke as if I could easily get it from a neighborhood general store.

“But after you hear this, the Northern Liberation Army will have to participate in my plan, are you okay with that?”

“… It’s starting to sound scary.”

“There’s one more way. To silence me here forever… but I don’t think you’ll do that.”

“I won’t! I won’t do such a thing!”

“That Necronomicon, someone from the Northern Liberation Army tried to use it but couldn’t, right? Was it Chris Baer?”

“……”

Ah, it’s no fun dealing with someone wearing a mask. What kind of expression is he making inside there?

The fact that someone from the Northern Liberation Army tried to make a contract with a demon was something that should never be revealed to the world.

“You really won’t do it?”

I asked, pretending to chop my neck with my hand.

“……”

He didn’t react as vehemently as before, so I got a little scared.

“… I don’t think someone who makes such terrifying plans as the Prince would have blurted out such a story without any preparation.”

That’s right.

I’m not an idiot.

There was no need to bring up the fact that if I disappeared here, a letter would arrive at every temple, or anything like that.

“Well, you can think of it comfortably.”

“Who knows that fact… Ah, it must be Alfonso. Besides Alfonso and the Prince, is there anyone else who knows that fact?”

“Now Austin knows too. Well, I don’t know how many other people know.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie, since it wasn’t recorded in ‘written’ form, but it might be in someone’s head.

“From the Northern Liberation Army’s point of view, it would be better to use the Necronomicon that crazy Chris Baer had, rather than have it hidden in some secret place.”

“……”

“Ah, I have a question. Do you have to hold another meeting with the executives after today’s meeting? I received a subpoena for a hearing this morning, so I don’t have much time.”

Austin, who had been sparing with his words, gave me an answer this time.

“Including me, the other executives also knew that the sooner the decision was made, the better. We have agreed to follow my decision after meeting the Prince.”

“So, what do you say? Will you join me?”

“Please give me some time to think… just a moment.”

“Alright.”

I waited for an answer, watching the ghostly hands tap-dancing above Austin’s head.

***

Austin looked at Evan, who had a relaxed smile, and thought it was fortunate that his expression wasn’t visible thanks to the mask.

It felt like receiving an exam paper with only one choice.

Evan knows that a member of the Northern Liberation Army tried to make a contract with a demon. He even knows the location of the Necronomicon.

It’s something that could brand them as enemies of the continent. If they don’t want to become enemies, they have to get on the same boat.

‘5th Prince, Evan Lionel…’

I couldn’t grasp the depths of his mind.

Austin imagined what would happen after Evan’s plan was carried out.

‘The 5th Prince will expose the royal who was framed as the culprit, right?’

It’s better for a member of the royal family to cut off their own rotten flesh than for the Northern Liberation Army to step in.

During the conversation, he looked like he didn’t care about the dignity of the royal family, but he will definitely step forward.

‘It will be an opportunity to clearly imprint the name of the 5th Prince, Evan Lionel, on the kingdom’s people.’

What’s more?

Naturally, the Northern Liberation Army will be recognized as an organization under the 5th Prince who helped him. Even if he says no.

So, is it a loss for the Northern Liberation Army?

‘No.’

It’s not really a loss for the Northern Liberation Army either. The perception of being an organization under the 5th Prince and the perception of being a leaderless guerrilla group are worlds apart.

Austin couldn’t even guess how many birds Evan was trying to kill with one stone.

‘Only 13 years old…’

Is the palace a place that turns a boy who hasn’t even had his coming-of-age ceremony into such a monster?

At the same time, heroic tales about the good-for-nothing 4th Prince flashed through Austin’s mind.

‘The 5th Prince is special.’

Austin had no choice but to admit it. And he sighed inwardly with regret.

‘Someone like that should have been in the Northern Liberation Army.’

Austin shook his head in surprise at the thought that had momentarily crossed his mind.

Evan, seeing him, asked with a serious expression.

“Is that a rejection?”

“Ah, no!”

“Then you’ll join me.”

“Just a little, just a little more time.”

“What’s bothering you so much? I don’t think my proposal will harm the Northern Liberation Army… Ah, it would be a little difficult if the plan fails.”

That’s not it!

Austin shouted inwardly.

For some reason, he didn’t think that Evan’s plan would go wrong at all.

What Austin was worried about was… yes, that this incident might be an opportunity to hand over the entire Northern Liberation Army to Evan.

His father was the one who gathered the survivors of the North to form the Northern Liberation Army. He had an instinctive aversion to being handed over to someone else like a vine.

“If things go smoothly, what will be the relationship between the Prince and the Northern Liberation Army?”

“What do you mean? It will be a good relationship.”

Evan replied with a smile.

“Are you perhaps worried that I might later take control of the Northern Liberation Army and shake it up?”

Austin was momentarily speechless at the question that hit the nail on the head.

“Do you dislike it?”

“… What are you talking about?”

“It seems much better than the current state of the Northern Liberation Army, which is run by the ‘agreement’ of executives without a central figure.”

Austin couldn’t think of anything to say.

Even with this matter.

It was something that required a quick decision, but time was wasted because the executives gathered and held meetings. Fortunately, a smooth agreement was reached.

“From the Northern Liberation Army’s point of view, isn’t it enough if they can avenge the guys who brought about the downfall of the North and rebuild their family? It doesn’t seem to matter at all who is giving them instructions. Ah, of course, I don’t mean to forcibly do anything to the Northern Liberation Army as a result of this.”

“It sounds like you wouldn’t refuse if the Northern Liberation Army followed the Prince.”

“It would be a grateful thing.”

Austin closed his eyes for a moment at Evan’s brazen answer.

He pictured the 5th Prince, who had united the power of the North, marching towards the kingdom’s lost territory.

A sight that filled his heart just by imagining it.

Austin couldn’t understand why such a future was being drawn.

– Father, why do we follow Marquis Bayern?

– I know what you’ve heard. You must have heard something like the Saturn Barony cleaning the latrines of Marquis Bayern.

– No, well…

– It’s okay. It’s not exactly wrong. Hmm… Someday you will meet someone who makes you think, ‘Ah! That’s the person! I have to follow that person!’

– Was that Marquis Bayern for you?

– It was for me.

– I’d rather drag someone along than follow someone.

– Hahaha, do so if you can.

– You’re laughing because you don’t think I can do it now, right?

– Think as you please.

A conversation with his father from his childhood kept ringing in his ears.

‘You weren’t wrong.’

Now he knows that he is not capable of leading anyone.

Austin slowly opened his eyes.

“So, who is the target that the Prince has in mind?”

Evan, who smiled brightly, opened his mouth.

“Beortio Leon. A wealthy man who owns a large plantation in the South, a man who is rumored to bathe in the blood of virgins every night.”

“Beortio Leon…”

“The hardliners in the Northern Liberation Army will also like him. He betrayed the royalists during the Hamel Empire’s invasion and switched to the 1st Prince’s faction, preventing food aid to the North.”

“That seems like a good choice. So, what’s the detailed plan?”

Austin waited for Evan to open his mouth, wondering what extraordinary plan he would surprise him with this time.

“……”

“Prince?”

“… We have to think about that together now. How can I make a detailed plan when I haven’t properly grasped the Northern Liberation Army’s strength?”

“That’s… true.”

“Don’t worry. A perfect plan will be made soon.”

Evan’s confident appearance firmly held onto Austin’s heart, which had been wavering slightly in its evaluation of him.