The Romance Fantasy’s Pushover Crown Prince Is No More - Chapter 14

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Arsène

◈ The Romance Fantasy’s Pushover Crown Prince Is No More ◈

Chapter 14: A Walk in the East (4)

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But when I thought about it, it wasn't completely impossible to understand.

To put it bluntly, the protagonist of I'm Full Because Everyone Keeps Giving Me Things was Mirne, and its main setting was the Macelin Kingdom.

How important could the Empire, which was only a side setting, really be?

I hadn't read the novel to the end, but as I'm Full Because Everyone Keeps Giving Me Things went on, Mirne would eventually need to become stronger than the Empire.

It would be ridiculous to flesh out the Empire's setting in great detail.

When the protagonist stepped forward and tried to surpass the Empire in strength, it was much more convenient for the plot if the Empire conveniently collapsed at just the right time.

'Build the Empire up in detail and make it powerful... Then how are you supposed to destroy it later?'

Even if a meteor or ninjas suddenly fell from the sky, an Empire with unmatched military might would surely endure.

Instead, they completely ruined the Empire from within and let it rot away.

Then, if they planted traitors throughout that powerful Empire like maggots crawling over a corpse...

I could picture the Empire's future, all neatly packed up and ready to be consumed when Mirne needed to defeat it.

"Thanks to you, there's so much to clean up that I don't know how I'll ever repay this debt."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, this lady! Has returned."

Arveda, the dragon who had brought down the Marquisate with a single Dragon Fear.

She stood beside me with the same bright, clear eyes she'd had when we first met.

'Does her dragon form only show when she uses her power?'

Looking at her now, she just looked like a dark elf.

But why did she choose that form for her polymorph?

"Good work."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Since she herself didn't seem particularly bothered by it, I decided to let it go.

It was strange enough that I was receiving discounted formal speech from a dragon.

'I also sent a messenger bird to the Chancellor, so the cleanup should proceed quickly.'

Two days at the latest.

The problem was that I had no idea how a territory without its head would function during those two days.

Normally, there should've been a suitable heir to take over.

"Did you kill them all?"

"Yes, as Your Highness the Crown Prince ordered, all but the innocent were made to face their sins."

There was no one left in the Verda Marquisate to succeed them.

I could've put the servants, who knew the situation in the Marquisate to some extent, in charge, but...

'They must be dead too.'

There was no way they hadn't been in league with Marquis Verda, so it was right to assume they were all dead.

That meant the Verda Marquisate was now filled with nothing but starving residents.

If I simply left it alone, confusion was obviously all that would follow.

I needed to get things in order.

"I'll be back shortly."

"Then may this lady remain here and attend to Your Highness's work?"

She's using proper formal speech again this time.

Muttering that inwardly, I nodded.

I was going to speak to the gathered residents about how the Empire would change from now on.

+++++

"...No, what is this?"

The residents of the Verda Marquisate still couldn't adjust to how suddenly their situation had changed.

It was true that they had prayed to the heavens to free them from their hellish lives.

"This easily...?"

But they had never imagined it would happen so quickly.

They didn't know exactly what had happened at Marquis Verda's residence.

Still, it was clear that something enormous had occurred.

They had seen soldiers and knights who had been nearby rushing into the marquis's residence.

As the residents gradually gathered in the square, wondering what was going on, people with unfocused eyes emerged, repeatedly saying, "I'm innocent."

Then, people without heads emerged while holding their own heads, only to turn to ash and vanish on the spot.

Among them were all the members of Marquis Verda's family who had tormented them.

That included everyone associated with them as well.

"S-So what happens now? They're all d-dead, aren't they?"

Someone quick to grasp the situation threw the question into the air.

But there was no one who could answer it.

"S-Should we loot the marquis's residence? They're all dead now, right?"

"But what if we go there and d-die too...? We could be killed as well."

"Shouldn't we leave the town? What if a plague is spreading? A dark mage could've appeared or something! Right?!"

"The people who came out alive still haven't come to their senses. You're telling us to leave them behind? How could we do that?"

Looting the marquis's residence wasn't a proper solution either.

Who knew what was inside? How could they enter without fear?

Of course, whatever was inside had only killed the trash who had treated the residents like toys.

But they only had one life. How could they boldly walk into that place?

Running away from the territory? That wasn't easy either.

How could they so easily leave the place where they had been born and raised?

As the residents gathered in the square struggled with their confusion...

Saaah.

A gentle breeze blew through the square, naturally drawing everyone's attention in one direction.

At the end of their gazes stood...

"Do not be afraid."

The Crown Prince was slowly walking toward the square.

The residents had never seen a member of the imperial family before.

Still, they instinctively realized that he held a status far beyond theirs.

Conditioned by years of oppression, they naturally lowered themselves as far as they could and pressed their foreheads to the ground.

"I have not come to harm you. Raise your heads."

Even at the Crown Prince's words, the residents didn't move. They kept their heads against the ground, their bodies trembling.

There had been people who believed those words, raised their heads, and were whipped for it.

The Crown Prince didn't try to change the scene before him.

The oppression they had endured would weigh more heavily than a few words he spoke now.

And it wouldn't disappear simply because a member of the imperial family they had never seen before said a few things.

'I need to show them that things are changing before they'll finally raise their heads.'

The Empire would change.

The rot had grown too large, and cutting it out would bring immense pain each time.

Even so, I would carve all of it away.

"People from the capital will arrive within two days at the latest."

Until then, please endure your anxiety for a little longer.

There was no physical proof that could guarantee those words.

I was worried that giving them something for no reason might cause another dispute.

When the tiger disappears from the mountain, peace does not come.

Another tiger, or a wolf that had been holding its breath, simply takes its place.

So...

"I, Bellon Velos, promise that I will compensate you for the suffering you have endured."

For now, all I could offer was my name.

+++++

A peaceful morning.

"Your Grace! The Eastern Alliance nobles are being wiped out for unknown reasons!"

"Huh?"

Kailen frowned deeply at the words of his capable retainer, who had suddenly thrown open the bedroom door.

He had been sleeping well. Today was supposed to be a day when he napped until four in the afternoon.

Despite the irritation of having his sweet sleep interrupted, he asked,

"...Wiped out? You mean they're all dead? Even the heirs? For an unknown reason?"

"Yes, Your Grace."

"Why?"

He asked questions to slowly grasp the situation.

"The reason is... unknown."

"A curse? Or has a plague broken out?"

"There is no possibility of a plague. We suspect it is a curse because only nobles are dying."

A curse that only killed nobles?

And it was targeting only Eastern Alliance nobles?

"Hah... What sin did the Eastern Alliance commit...?"

"I don't know. We barely obtained this news as it is. One of our people happened to be passing nearby, heard the rumors, and used a single-use scroll to send word."

"Hmm... Why would only Eastern Alliance nobles die?"

As the East Grand Duke, Kailen Marin pretended to consider the cause.

"At times like this, shouldn't I ask Mirne?"

A perfect excuse had appeared, so he immediately pulled out the artifact he kept beneath his pillow.

He had heard that the Second Imperial Prince had been unable to properly contact Mirne since being punished by the Crown Prince.

This was the perfect opportunity to quickly close the distance between them.

Besides, Mirne was smart.

She might know about the curse that was killing only Eastern Alliance nobles.

"How long has this been going on?"

Still, rather than contacting Mirne right away, he wanted to gather some information first and earn praise for being smart.

"We received the report just now, but it seems to have begun about a day ago. Time is also why we judged it to be a curse. If ten noble houses are wiped out in less than a day... wouldn't that be a curse?"

"Didn't you hear any rumors from the residents in that region?"

Kailen questioned the retainer who had rushed over.

"Ah, I came here as soon as I received the report, so I couldn't obtain any other information."

"...?"

Kailen looked dumbfounded at that final answer.

No, if you're going to work, do it properly.

Why are you only doing half the job?

When Kailen stared at the retainer with that expression, the retainer gave the answer as if they had been waiting for it.

"Those single-use communication scrolls... Your Grace used two hundred of them on the spot because of an urgent romantic matter, didn't you? Because of that, the quality of the single-use scrolls issued to the members outside is extremely poor, so we only received a brief message containing what was absolutely necessary."

"Ah, ah... Hmm, right."

Grand Duke Kailen closed his mouth at the retainer's words.

Come to think of it, he remembered.

Was it exactly three days ago?

On the day he had set sail without bringing his artifact, he had been too lazy to return to the estate and simply talked through single-use communication scrolls.

He had stocked up on so many, and he had figured he could just ask the Empire for more when they ran out.

'Come to think of it, I forgot to request more supplies from the Empire.'

If he asked his Crown Prince brother for this and that, he would probably smile and provide them again.

Having reached that conclusion, Kailen said,

"For now... this is a serious matter."

That was the extent of the situation he could summarize at the moment.

"...Beyond the report, we need to discuss what to do about the vacant positions. We also need to learn what caused this..."

The retainer continued to stress how serious the situation was.

They were frustrated that the Grand Duke was still sitting leisurely on his bed.

Shouldn't he at least get up and pretend to head for his office?

'Or is he calmly thinking that the dead are already dead?'

Still, shouldn't he at least tell them which direction the Eastern Alliance should take?

With that thought, the retainer quickly added,

"The Eastern Alliance nobles are dying along a path from the imperial center directly toward us. This way. Marinapolis!"

"The path runs from the imperial center to Marinapolis? Directly here?"

The moment he heard that, Grand Duke Kailen remembered the letter the Crown Prince had sent some time ago.

'He said we'd meet soon... No, but isn't that different from this?'

Meeting soon and Eastern Alliance nobles dying didn't seem to have much to do with each other.

Why would the Crown Prince come here while killing Eastern Alliance nobles?

Kailen could swear there wasn't a single reason he could think of.

"It isn't coming directly, but we estimate it may arrive in Marinapolis as early as today."

"If they're not touching the residents and are only targeting nobles... I really can't even guess what kind of curse this is. First, activate any curse-prevention artifacts in the treasury, and contact the priests to ask for blessings or something."

"Yes!"

Since they didn't know what kind of curse it was, they had no choice but to use every means available.

'Now that I've done everything I can, it's fine to contact Mirne, right?'

Having done all he could, if he asked the smart, intelligent, wise, and beautiful Mirne for a solution to what was happening in the Empire's eastern region...

'We'll grow closer by sharing the same problem, I'll handle affairs in the eastern region better, and Mirne will learn more about me...'

He would gain the benefits of killing three birds with one stone.

A perfect conclusion.

Grand Duke Kailen waited until the retainer left the room, then was about to use the artifact to contact Mirne.

Whoooooosh.

"Hm?"

He heard something flying in from outside the window and turned his head toward it.

Something was rushing toward him at incredible speed.

The first thing Kailen saw was a red flash.

'What is that?'

The instant he blinked, the next thing he saw was...

"Huh?"