Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 41

041

Bert, who had been gazing at the night sky with a troubled expression, turned back to me.

“Prince, Lady Reina is officially assigned to the 2nd Order of Knights.”

“Though temporarily, she’s also affiliated with the 3rd Order.”

“She is also a talent that the Second Prince is watching with interest.”

“Considering that, she’s not being treated properly enough to almost be handed over to a military tribunal.”

“Hmm…”

Frankly, I knew I was asking a bit much.

Bert probably thinks I’m being shameless, like someone who was saved from drowning and then demanded a reward.

‘If I can bring Reina, I can handle that kind of look.’

She is the ‘real’ genius I’ve seen.

After the hearing.

When I visited the 3rd Order of Knights a few times, Reina kept her promise to oversee my swordsmanship training.

That’s when I knew.

Unlike me, who could pretend to be a genius thanks to the skill-imprinted swordsmanship, she was the real deal.

Honestly, as I started training in swordsmanship in earnest, I had a little thought of, ‘Huh? Am I perhaps a real genius?’

Five years ago, or was it six?

Anyway, if I had received proper knight training without that incident, I might have been praised as much as the First Prince, who is often called a national foundation-level swordsmanship talent.

Even though I was helped by skills, the fact that I could often find shortcomings in the Guardian Swordsmanship displayed by the 3rd Order’s reserve members gave me that confidence.

Reina was different.

The Guardian Swordsmanship she displayed when she gave me guidance duels was special.

Reina’s sword sometimes drew incomprehensible paths. It was Guardian Swordsmanship, but not really Guardian Swordsmanship.

– Lady Reina… Was that the Iron Wall of the 6th Form of Guardian Swordsmanship that blocked my attack just now?

– Ah, yes. Originally, the Iron Wall of Guardian Swordsmanship is quite uncomfortable for my body type. It’s nothing great, just a bit of a trick, so I’m sure Your Highness will soon be able to use your own Iron Wall.

She called it just a trick, but in my opinion, it was her own unique swordsmanship that could be called [Reina-style Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship].

I opened my mouth to persuade Bert, who was humming in thought.

“Lady Reina, praised as the future Sword Queen, I know very well that Damian took her to the 2nd Order of Knights exceptionally because he had an eye on her. But the 2nd Order cannot embrace her. If she stays there, Lady Reina, who should become the kingdom’s treasured sword, will surely break. I don’t think Councilor Bert would want that situation.”

“Prince, I am well aware that Lady Reina possesses dazzling talent. But whether she will become the kingdom’s treasured sword remains to be seen.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I was once called a ‘genius’ myself. It is more common than you think for those who sprinted happily without any obstacles to encounter an insurmountable wall and kneel before it.”

Bert’s expression seemed to reflect his regret for not being able to overcome the wall to become a 7-star knight.

“It is impossible to know when a late-blooming person like your maternal grandfather, the Sword of the North, who has steadily overcome walls, will show his potential. Do you know what happened to the military academy cadet who was called a ‘monster’ before Lady Reina was called a ‘monster’?”

I had never heard of that story.

“He failed the test to become a royal guard and became a knight in an ordinary noble family. What if we forcibly bring Lady Reina as your Highness’s escort knight, and she becomes not the kingdom’s treasured sword, but a common steel sword?”

Bert, having said what he wanted to say, stared intently into my eyes.

I did not avoid his gaze.

– It’s now or never.

It was as if someone was whispering in my ear that the opportunity to have Reina under my command would never come again.

If I don’t trust my own judgment, who will? I slowly opened my mouth.

“It is right that I should bear the losses caused by my lack of insight.”

Bert nodded as if he understood.

“Alright. Since Your Highness wants Lady Reina so much, I will try to help. But! You must know that as a result, the Third Princess may cross the sea to the Arya Kingdom.”

“······.”

His words reminded me that the Second Prince was capable of holding my sister hostage in exchange for sending Reina to me.

My mind raced.

Whether it was the Hamel Empire or the Arya Kingdom, the Second Queen’s backyard, both were the worst possible matches.

I glanced at Bert, who had a strange smile on his face. He seemed to be asking if he could show the same ruthlessness he had shown in cutting off Beortio to my sister.

I chuckled and opened my mouth.

“Are you going to agree to send Gracia to the Empire? Otherwise, Annette won’t be able to go to the Arya Kingdom, will she? Lucas and Count Miloa won’t like that, and there will be a lot of backlash.”

“If Your Highness wants Lady Leona that much, we will have to do so.”

“I see. Let’s do that then.”

Bert’s expression turned bizarre at my sharp reply.

“Just avoid rushing the wedding. Delay it as much as possible, and if it’s unavoidable, an engagement would be good. You can do that much, right?”

“Are you saying…”

I smiled.

“Could you have imagined that you and I would be having this conversation a couple of months ago?”

“······.”

“By the time my sister’s engagement is realized, I will be different from who I am now.”

In noble families, a couple of broken engagements were nothing to be ashamed of. Just look at Count Miloa.

***

I returned to the Emerald Palace.

Alphonso, with a puffy face, attended to me.

“Your Highness, you’re back really early?”

“You sound like you just woke up?”

“How can you say such a disappointing thing? I was focusing on my work with my eyes wide open. I’m just tired. Tired. Ahem.”

The guy cleared his throat.

I shook my head and headed to the bedroom. After a quick wash, I threw myself on the bed.

“But really, why did you come back so early?”

“I just listened to the New Year’s address and left.”

“Huh! In the middle of it?”

“Yeah. The atmosphere turned chaotic in the middle.”

It was just a moment after Bert and I hurriedly returned to the banquet hall. Fortunately, we weren’t late, and the King and two Queens appeared a few minutes later, and the New Year’s address soon began.

And then.

– ((Hey, why are the women of this tiny kingdom so big?))

– ((Glutt-nim [Gluttony Incarnate]! It seems the King is giving the New Year’s address.))

– ((What does that have to do with me?))

The fatso, who had entered the banquet hall noisily, went straight to the buffet and began rummaging through the imperial dishes. It was only natural that a nose-rotting, foul smell permeated the banquet hall.

– ((Ugh, damn it. It tastes like crap.))

After taking a few bites, he threw the plate at a nearby maid.

Clang!

– Ah!

The plate hit her, breaking and cutting the maid’s forehead, causing blood to stream down.

– ((My mood is ruined. Let’s go back.))

– ((Yes, Glutt-nim.))

It was such an arrogant act that even the Second Prince, who had brought him, frowned.

He must have come to the kingdom because there was something to eat. But even so, it was clear how much the Hamel Empire people despised the Lionel Kingdom.

If he had been a direct descendant of the imperial family, not a collateral one, wouldn’t he have told the King to kneel?

I briefly told Alphonso about what happened at the time.

“Wow! What if that fatso gets stabbed?”

“The guards he’s dragging around are all 5-star knights and mages. If you want to stab him, the Knights Order would have to move, right?”

“Then that would be war right away. The Northern Liberation Army would love that.”

“They wouldn’t be that thoughtless, would they?”

“You’re saying that because you don’t know the crazy hardliners.”

“······.”

I became a little uneasy at Alphonso’s words.

What if the Northern Liberation Army touches that royal? It’s physically impossible, but I thought I should say something.

“Tell Austin to never, ever touch the royal. Make sure to tell him that the day they touch him is the day the Northern Liberation Army and I disappear from the world at the same time.”

“Hey, I’m sure Senior will do well.”

“Still, do it.”

“Yes.”

“You can go now. I’m tired. I’m going to sleep.”

“Have a good night.”

Alphonso checked the windows and the magical tools with alarm magic and left the bedroom.

As soon as I turned off the lights and lay down, I became wide awake. When this happens, there’s something I always do: check the status window.

I started by looking at [Support].

‘It went up?’

After averaging it, it barely exceeded 5%.

Barona in the capital and Merton Territory in the west rose particularly high. Merton Territory, in particular, exceeded the magic 40%.

Come to think of it, it’s about time the story of me stopping the fatso who was harassing Ira a few days ago was published in newspapers and magazines. It seems that it moved the hearts of the kingdom’s people more than I thought.

I immediately opened [The Everything Store] and set the conditions to items that can be purchased in Merton.

As far as I could tell, high-end items from the area could be purchased the moment support exceeded 20%. Merton’s support exceeded 40%, so it was highly likely that rare items that could be obtained there would appear in the store window.

[Sansrea]

I was immediately able to find Merton’s rare specialty, Sansrea tea.

‘As expected.’

I looked around the newly available items with satisfaction.

Then my gaze was fixed on one place.

[Lowest Grade Magic Stone]

I woke up completely.

There was a magic stone mine in Merton?

‘I’ve never heard of it. Is the production not enough to sell outside?’

I recalled the kingdom’s map in my head.

Merton Territory is one of the few flat areas in the west, and most of the territory was farmland. The only place to mine magic stones is…

‘Is it the border area with the dwarves?’

I felt like I needed to have a cup of tea with Ira soon.

***

If I thought of it, I would put it into practice right away.

The next day, I immediately sent word to my sister, and a tea time was prepared with Ira invited. After spending time with various formal stories, I felt that the time was right and brought up the main point.

“By the way, Miss Ira, I vaguely heard that magic stones are produced in Merton Territory. Is that true?”

“Huh? How did you know that magic stones are produced in our territory in a tiny… no, a little bit? It’s recent.”

“I happened to overhear it. Is it produced in such small quantities?”

“If you distribute it to the family’s mages for research, there won’t be anything left, will there?”

She smiled shyly and began to explain further.

“Actually, we didn’t develop the mine either. Originally, the Black Anvil Tribe thought it was their territory and were developing the mine, but it turned out that they had slightly invaded our territory.”

“Oh my, whoever found that must have received a big reward.”

“That’s actually me. Hehet.”

“Miss Ira, you have considerable knowledge of surveying.”

“J-just a little bit.”

At my sister’s compliment, Ira shyly admitted it, spreading her thumb and index finger a little.

I glanced at Ira’s skill window. I chuckled as I saw one that was [?] unlocked and [Surveying] was created.

But one question arose.

“By the way, where are the Black Anvil Tribe, who developed the magic stone mine, selling the produced magic stones?”

“Ah, there was friction with us, and the mine development was stopped not long after. I don’t know the reason. The atmosphere was a bit rough because of the issue of the mine invading the territory.”

“I see.”

I nodded slightly and sipped a cup of tea. Suddenly, I felt a strange smell from the tea.

‘What is it?’

Suddenly, I realized.

Ah! This is the smell of money!