Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 4

005

Unlike his icy expression, Alfonso was greatly embarrassed.

He was confident that he could make thugs who swaggered around back alleys weak in the knees and piss their pants with just a glare filled with murderous intent. He actually had such experiences.

Evan withstood his murderous aura.

Instead, he was sending a look that seemed to ask if I could even kill him.

“How did you know?”

“Is that important? Ah, you don’t have to worry since I’m the only one who knows. And if you’re not going to eat me, I wish you’d stop glaring.”

“Ha….”

Alfonso let out a hollow laugh at the unexpected answer.

His gaze turned to the pendant around Evan’s neck. No matter how he looked at it, it was definitely the Third Queen’s keepsake that protected the wearer from evil spirits and various curses.

Evil spirits could never possess him.

He had heard stories a few times about people who became fools after suffering severe head injuries. But could they change so much as if they were possessed by someone else?

“How long have you known?”

Evan remained silent.

Sensing that he wouldn’t get the answer he wanted, Alfonso changed his question.

“What if I harm you and run away? Why are you suddenly interrogating me like this?”

This time, Evan opened his mouth.

“Alfonso, can you kill me? You must have come to the royal palace with some purpose. Even if I am a neglected prince, do you think you can kill a royal in the royal palace and get away with it? Wasn’t there something you had to do that required you to hide your identity and sneak into the royal palace?”

That’s right. Alfonso had something he had to do.

The enemies who had even slightly contributed to the destruction of the Einberg family. He had vowed to tear out their hearts and chew them, leaving none alive.

The heads of those hidden behind a veil. He risked everything to sneak into the royal palace to catch their tails.

But to think that Evan knew his identity!

“And honestly, I’m not that curious about your purpose itself.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I’m really interested in is the impact your actions to achieve your purpose will have on me. Who knows? There might be some crumbs for me to pick up. If there is, I might even help you a little.”

A moment of silence.

The wind that entered through the window repeatedly failed to bear the awkward atmosphere and left again.

It was Alfonso who broke the silence first.

“I don’t need your help.”

Evan chuckled at his words.

“Really? I don’t know what you’re doing in the royal palace, but just turning a blind eye to you leaving your post for a while when you should be by my side would be a huge help.”

He couldn’t deny it.

“Might my actions cause harm to you?”

“I’ve thought about it carefully, and it seems there’s almost nothing you can do that would be a loss for me. You know, my situation is already the worst.”

“Even if I assassinate His Majesty?”

It wasn’t a joke.

Alfonso had no intention of giving up his revenge, even if the person at the end of the trail he was following was the King.

“Hmm… regardless of the feasibility, that would be a bit difficult.”

Unlike his words, Evan didn’t look troubled at all. Alfonso couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.

“I need to know even more why you came to the royal palace. It would be a disaster if I got caught up in it and took the blame, wouldn’t it?”

“Can you answer just one question?”

“Ask away.”

“Are you really Prince Evan?”

“That’s right. The fifth prince of the Lionel Kingdom. Ninth in line to the throne. Evan Sol Philippe de Lionel.”

It was an immediate answer without a hint of hesitation.

“Why have you suddenly changed?”

“Weren’t you only asking one question? Well, I’ll answer as a service. Think of it as me going crazy after cracking my head open.”

Evan frowned, tapping the part of his head that the Fourth Prince had hit with his finger.

“Well, whatever. It’s okay if you don’t tell me right away, so think about it slowly. I won’t report you even if you disappear, so I hope you don’t think about harming someone who’s just minding their own business.”

He spat out a few more words in an indifferent tone and then turned his chair as if he had lost interest.

‘Interesting.’

It was a feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time. Alfonso unknowingly raised the corners of his lips slightly, then quickly put on his mask again in surprise.

“Ah! The wind is blowing so much that a lot of leaves have fallen again. The dark clouds are gathering, it looks like it’s going to rain soon, and if I don’t clean it up now, it’ll stick to the road and be a lot of trouble. I’ll go clean it up quickly!”

“Do as you please.”

***

Clang.

I stared blankly at Alfonso as he closed the door and left.

“Haa-”

It was only after a long time that I let out a sigh. It felt like the most tense moment in both my past and present lives.

Still.

‘I got what I wanted.’

I smiled contentedly as I looked at Alfonso’s status window.

[Relationship: Neutral]

The moment I turned my back because I felt burdened by Alfonso’s gaze, my relationship with him suddenly changed. What was written as ‘Caution’ in light red letters had changed to ‘Neutral’ in white letters.

And the notifications that popped up like crazy.

「Improved relationship with Alfonso Einberg.」

「Acquired 1,000RP [Relationship Points].」

「[Achievements] has been unlocked.」

「Achievement, ‘I am not your enemy’ has been achieved.」

「Acquired 1,000RP [Relationship Points].」

「Achievement, ‘Goodbye empty wallet’ has been achieved.」

「[Library] has been unlocked.」

「[Library] free trial ticket has been issued.」

In summary, my relationship with Alfonso had improved, and as a result, I had earned RP and two locked items had been unlocked.

[Achievements] and [Library].

I deleted all the minor notification windows that were popping up like crazy and investigated the two new items.

First, [Achievements].

It seemed that every time I met certain conditions, I would earn a large amount of RP or unlock items in the initial status window that had been locked.

Except for the ones I had just achieved, it was completely empty. It would be nice if I could know in advance what achievements there were….

“At least tell me how many are achievable. There’s no easy way.”

I grumbled softly and moved on to [Library], where an empty screen and a virtual keyboard appeared.

What is this?

「Welcome to the Library, Evan. I am the librarian ‘Genie’. How may I help you?」

Ah, is it like TalkGTP [a reference to the AI chatbot, ChatGPT]?

Using my ghost hand, I quickly typed a question on the virtual keyboard.

┕ What do you do here?

「My job is to provide users with information that is currently ‘recorded’ in this world.」

I couldn’t help but think of the Library of Arcana, which transcends time and space and records knowledge from all worlds.

I cautiously brought it up.

┕ Is this library, by any chance, the Library of Arcana?

「This library does not have a special name.」

It said no, and even if I pressed further, it didn’t seem like anything would come out. I decided to ask a question related to the [Library]’s inherent function.

┕ Is the information provided for free?

「In order to provide information of a certain grade or higher, a reasonable level of RP is required depending on the quantity and quality.」

Yeah, it couldn’t be free.

‘What other questions should I ask….’

After thinking for a moment, I asked what I had been wondering since I became aware of my past life.

┕ Can you tell me why I gained this ability?

「As I understand it, it is difficult to give an accurate answer because it is not clear what ‘this ability’ is.」

Isn’t it obvious if I just hint at it?

┕ Emperor Raising Simulation, Lost Saga. I’m talking about this system.

「It is difficult to answer because information about the content you asked about is not recorded anywhere in this world.」

┕ What exactly do you mean by recorded?

「It means that it is preserved so that it can be conveyed to entities other than the author. Representative examples include information recorded in books, documents, and video equipment.」

┕ What level of information can I get with the RP I have?

「To help Evan understand, here are a few examples of information that can be obtained with 2,000RP [Relationship Points].

1. The first love of Baroness ⴦⴦.

2. The identity of the person Baron ⴦⴦ is in love with.

3. The hidden illegitimate child of Sub-Baron ⴦⴦.

That is all.」

I roughly got the idea.

‘Is it about the gossip of lower-class nobles?’

It was information that would be quite popular if released at the tea parties of noble ladies. The person involved in the gossip would be quite dishonored, but not fatal.

Suddenly, I remembered that I had received a [Library] free trial ticket.

┕ Are there any restrictions on the use of the free trial ticket?

I thought I should keep it safe in case there were.

「The free trial ticket can only be used if the value of the information is within 1,000RP [Relationship Points].」

I knew it.

I paused the conversation with Genie for a moment and got up from my chair and went to the window.

I could see Alfonso diligently sweeping the road with a broom. Noticing my gaze, he grinned grotesquely and bowed his head.

While watching Alfonso sweep the fallen leaves, I thought about how to use the information I could get through the [Library].

I was doing that for a while when I saw a large man approaching Alfonso. He was one of the Fourth Prince’s exclusive attendants and hated Alfonso.

Why did that guy come to the Emerald Palace?

– ······ Alfonso. ······ Fate······?

– Haha······ That······

As expected, the guy immediately put Alfonso in a headlock and started bullying him. It was a bit far, so I could hardly hear what he was saying. It was obvious that it was nothing important, so I didn’t care much.

In the past, I would have felt a little sorry for Alfonso when I witnessed such a scene, but now… knowing that he’s wearing a mask, I think he has great acting skills.

But what was that guy’s name?

‘It was a very common name.’

I flew my ghost hand and poked the guy’s forehead.

━━━━━━━━━×

George Waterson

Gender: Male

Age: 19

Race: Human

[Stats]

[Skills]

[Relationship – Distrust]

━━━━━━━━━

‘Ah, that’s right. George Waterson.’

I stroked my chin with my right hand and looked at the status window that appeared in front of me.

He often bullied Alfonso, and judging from the way he treated the servants, he was a typical bully. I didn’t feel like getting close to him.

Wait a minute.

Regarding the relationship with someone who distrusts me, can we only say that getting closer is an improvement?

‘Emperor Raising Simulation….’

The genre of Rosa flashed through my mind.

It’s a story that feels very far away right now, but the purpose of this system must be to make me an ‘Emperor.’

I don’t know why.

Right now, I’m just hoping it’s a pastime game for some bored god, and I’m just thinking about using the given abilities sparingly.

Back to the main point.

The Emperor was not someone who existed alone. The support of all the people and vassals was essential. That’s why I speculated that the relationship after ‘Trust’ would be a relationship related to the monarch and his subjects.

‘Not all vassals can be loyal subjects.’

No, rather, wouldn’t loyal subjects be in the minority? I think most of them can be established because they are ‘beneficial’ to each other.

Besides that….

There would also be vassals who hide emotions such as dignity, fear, and terror and follow the monarch.

I brought back the conversation window with Genie that I had pushed to the corner of my vision.

┕ Can you tell me a fatal weakness of George Waterson that would get him kicked out of his position as an attendant?

「The usage fee for this information is 950RP [Relationship Points].」

The information usage fee was 50RP short of 1,000RP, which was the limit of the [Library] free trial ticket.

After thinking for a moment, I decided to use it once.

I thought it would be difficult to find a case where the information exactly matched the limit of the free trial ticket.

┕ I will use the free trial ticket. Tell me, George Waterson’s fatal weakness.

「George Waterson stole the ruby earrings presented to the Fourth Prince, Akard Lionel, and gave them to Dorothy Estina, a maid in the Emerald Palace.」

Dorothy Estina?

Ah! That maid who cleaned my room this morning. Somehow, the earrings she was wearing looked too expensive.