Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 43

043

‘Who could it be?’

That was the first question that came to mind.

Bandits attacking trains was quite common, but the fact that the arrow aimed precisely for my heart felt unsettling.

Starting with Miloa, countless faces flashed through my mind.

I quickly came to a conclusion.

I don’t know.

Whether it was the First Prince or the Second Prince, there were too many people who would be happy to see me dead.

Even among the neutral faction, there must be those who weren’t pleased with my sudden appearance disrupting the situation. There are always people who resist change.

Lastly, there was the possibility that they were just simple train robbers. In reality, the only way for me to find out who was behind it was to capture and interrogate the guy who shot the quarrel [a type of crossbow bolt] at me.

“Your Highness! Are you alright?!”

Reina rushed out of the bathroom, and Vernon, who had been sitting in the back, came with Adol and surrounded Ayra and me.

I looked towards the window over the escort knights’ shoulders. Masked figures on horseback were running alongside the train.

A mage with flames flickering above his head was particularly noticeable.

‘So that was the source of the explosion?’

Shuaaa-

The flames flew towards the train again.

Kwaaaang!

– Fire! Put out the fire!

Fortunately, it wasn’t powerful enough to cause a derailment. Since bandit attacks were frequent, the train had basic defensive magic installed. It seemed to be doing its part.

The trains in this life aren’t as fast as the ones in my previous life.

About 60km per hour?

For a short distance, horses could definitely overtake the train.

“How do we deal with those things?”

“Um… jump off?”

“Let’s say you take one out while jumping off, what about the rest? And how are you going to catch up with the train again?”

“Run?”

“Are you a 6-star knight? Do you have an endless supply of mana?”

While the knights frowned and tried to figure out how to deal with the attackers.

“It’s not like the train is fast to begin with. What a bunch of annoying pests.”

Fran, whose face was half its normal size due to motion sickness, approached the window.

“It’s dangerous.”

Vernon, the pug-nosed knight who knew Fran as my personal tutor, was horrified and tried to stop her.

─!

Then, he paused, sensing the powerful wave of magical energy emanating from Fran.

“Get lost, you bastards!”

Bang! Bang! Kwaaaang!

Pajik- Pajijik─!

Bolts of lightning struck down from the clear sky, accurately targeting the attackers.

– Hiiiiiing!

– Kkeuaaaak!

The horses and attackers that had been following the train turned into charred corpses and disappeared from view.

The situation was over in an instant.

Fran annihilated them all, leaving no one to ask about who was behind it.

“That’s so refreshing.”

That’s a 7-star mage.

A moving strategic weapon capable of taking on a division-level force alone.

“Uh…”

Fran, with a nonchalant expression, returned to her seat. The escort knights were speechless as they watched her pull her hood down and recline her chair.

The process of having Fran as their ‘teacher’ flashed through their minds.

***

“You’re going to Mearton Territory in two days? Why there?”

“Superficially, it’s to give my mind and body a rest from the royal court trials and hearings.”

The King approved it more easily than I thought.

Our relationship remains ‘normal’… Is it out of goodwill, or just a slight curiosity about me struggling to survive in the royal palace?

Well, he quickly handles most of my requests, so that’s good enough for me.

“‘Superficially’ means there’s another reason? But why are you telling me this?”

“I was hoping you would come with me, Fran.”

“Me? Why would I go there?”

There’s always a chance.

Perhaps the Faceless One might react differently than I expected. If Fran, a 7-star mage, was with me, we might not be able to defeat it, but at least we could retreat.

That was the biggest reason why I wanted to bring her along.

Alright, time to persuade her.

I picked up a crumpled piece of paper lying around in her lab.

“Don’t you need a lot of mana stones?”

“Do you even understand what I’m researching?”

“I have a vague idea. Aren’t you trying to artificially create the output of a higher-grade mana stone by using multiple lower-grade mana stones?”

“You were carefully looking at that scrap of paper last time, so you’ve been studying a bit? You said you were busy, but you had time for that?”

“I was interested because it’s Fran’s research, who might become my teacher.”

“How flattering.”

I had memorized the formula written on the paper. I learned spells through the skill window, even though I couldn’t use them due to a lack of mana, just to get an idea of what kind of research she was doing.

After learning a few 3-star spells, I finally grasped what Fran was researching.

‘Thanks to that, my RP [Resource Points] was cut in half.’

But I would have had to learn them later anyway, so it wasn’t a big loss.

Honestly, if I was just looking for a simple magic teacher, I wouldn’t need to be so attached to Fran.

I also discovered hidden messages from some mages in the magic books of the Blue Tower, which was an enemy of her home tower, the Red Tower.

It might sound a bit much to say myself, but I had a talent that even a 7-star mage coveted. Plus, I’m a prince of the kingdom. Surely one of them would be quite interested in becoming my teacher.

But the thought of finding another mage besides Fran was quickly dismissed from my mind.

‘I don’t just need a simple magic teacher.’

Always keep 30% of your strength hidden.

Unless it’s a life-or-death crisis, I want to hide the fact that I’m learning magic.

The First and Second Princes are looking at me with subtle gazes. If they find out that I have more talent for magic than swordsmanship…

‘They might join hands and eliminate me first.’

Fran was a close friend of my maternal grandfather, so it wouldn’t be strange for her to stay at the Emerald Palace under the guise of looking after my well-being.

They wouldn’t easily think that I was learning magic from her.

And the biggest thing is.

‘It’s an opportunity to have a 7-star mage by my side. Money isn’t the issue.’

While I was thinking that, Fran narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth.

“But you know what? Mages really hate it when someone secretly peeks at their research.”

Even the owner of the neighborhood bakery would hate it if someone looked at the recipes he was researching without permission. I readily apologized.

“That’s… I’m sorry. I thought it was unimportant since it was just lying on the ground.”

“Alright. It’s also my fault for not thinking you would be learning magic. Just be careful next time.”

“Fran’s goal is to become the master of the magic tower, right?”

“Of course. That’s the long-cherished wish of every mage.”

“The research you’re doing now is for that as well.”

“That’s right. You can’t build a magic tower with just your mouth. Well, sometimes when I look at you, I wonder if it might be possible. If this research succeeds, I’ll be able to raise the funds to build a magic tower in an instant.”

Fran looked at the papers scattered around the lab and licked her lips.

“Fran, I don’t have enough funds to hire you as my teacher yet. But I know an investment opportunity that would make the teaching fee you mentioned last time feel like pocket change. I don’t tell this to just anyone.”

“That’s what scammers often say…”

“How could I possibly scam Fran, who was a close friend of my maternal grandfather and an advisor to the Northern Liberation Army? Once you hear it, you’ll pack your bags to take the train with me right away.”

“…… Tell me.”

At her words, I smiled.

From the undeveloped mine to Miloa and now Fran. I was a little worried about how I would handle the aftermath if things didn’t go as planned.

“You can’t tell anyone else, even if you don’t join me. I’m only telling you this because it’s you, Fran. So, that is…”

Once you’re on the tiger’s back, you can’t get off.

From the moment I swapped [Barisada] with a fake, I had crossed the point of no return.

A man should go all-in at least once…

Come to think of it, I already did something similar during the royal court trial and hearing? They say things happen in threes. This is the last time.

***

.

.

.

“…nim. Prince Evan.”

I opened my eyes at Alfonso’s voice.

“Did you sleep well? You were sleeping so soundly that we skipped the meal.”

Clunk, clunk.

The train’s vibrations were still unfamiliar. I stretched to relieve the stiffness. After rotating my head once to loosen my neck, I looked out the window.

A city could be seen in the distance.

It was Mearton, located in the far west.

Cheek— Squeak!

The train stopped, and I got off the train under the escort of the knights.

“Lady!”

“I heard there was a big incident in the capital!”

The figures from the Mearton County family were waiting. The one who seemed to be the commander of the knights glared at the knight who was in charge of Ayra’s escort as if he would devour him.

“I have committed a mortal sin!”

“Commander. Prince Evan is also here, so please be respectful.”

“Oh! I have committed a discourtesy. I am sorry, Fifth Prince. Thank you so much for saving the Lady.”

“It’s nothing. It’s rather embarrassing that such a thing happened in the middle of the capital.”

The slight commotion quickly subsided.

Perhaps it was thanks to stopping the fat guy from harassing Ayra, but everyone was friendly to me. The relationship shown through the status window was all friendly.

Compared to the royal palace, where caution and hostility were the default, it felt different once I left the Emerald Palace.

It wasn’t a bad feeling.

“Let’s move.”

“We will escort you.”

I moved to the lord’s castle and unpacked my luggage first.

A dinner was prepared with the Count family in the evening, so I rested comfortably until then.

And then came the banquet time.

The Count and Countess, the young master, and Ayra were present. I heard that the eldest son, who was not present, had left for business in the southern region.

“Prince Evan. I was really surprised when I heard the news. Thank you again for helping our Ayra.”

“Thank you so much, Your Highness.”

“Thank you.”

They repeatedly expressed their gratitude to me. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard it today.

“It’s nothing. I just did what I had to do.”

I responded appropriately and looked at the group.

The escort knights, who ate three or four times more than ordinary people, were just staring at the food, swallowing their saliva.

“But who is that person?”

The young master, who was seven years old, pointed to Fran, who was wearing a hood pulled down low. If she didn’t want to show her ears, she could easily hide them with magic, but she insisted on going around like that.

I vaguely heard that she felt a great sense of suffocation when she covered her ears. Well, it wasn’t a sensation that I, as a human, could understand, so I just accepted it.

“F, Fran?”

“It’s been a while. Albert, Merilda.”

Count Mearton, who saw Fran with her hood down, caused an earthquake in his pupils. Then, he glanced at the Countess.

The Countess chuckled and opened her mouth.

“Oh my. It’s Fran, my dear’s first love! Hohoho, you should have given us a heads up.”

“Stop teasing your husband, Merilda. You were the one who encouraged Albert to confess to me back then.”

“Hohoho.”

It seemed like they had an interesting past. The already pleasant atmosphere became even more pleasant thanks to Fran.

It was a hundred times more enjoyable than the New Year’s banquet.

After finishing the meal, I had a private meeting with the Count.

The role of the Mearton County family is very important in my plan. They would be responsible for the primary distribution of the mana stones produced from the mine. If they heard my plan, they would definitely participate actively.

That’s what I thought, but…

The Count, after listening to my explanation, let out a hollow laugh and opened his mouth.

“Developing the mine with those dwarf folks? It would be more realistic to carry out a logging business with the noble elves.”