WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Arsène

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

Chapter 6: Cleaning Time (4)

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"So, this time, the Romper Church sent us some Holy Water... To be honest, I was so grateful, but I wondered whether it was really all right for us to accept something like that. They gave it to us as an investment, though... It made me realize that we absolutely have to repay them someday. The Macelin Kingdom must grow strong and repay them."

"Just as expected of Mirne...! How can your heart be so lovely and beautiful?"

At that very moment, a thin sheet of ice was forming over the Round Table Conference Room.

Second Imperial Prince Bedin was speaking with Mirne, the First Princess of the Macelin Kingdom, through an artifact in his room.

Their topic of conversation was investments.

They had started with everyday matters before naturally shifting to the subject of governing their countries.

It was a result Mirne had guided them toward to some extent.

'I must never let it show that I want material things.'

The key was to make the other person feel as though they were naturally filling what I lacked.

To do that, rather than saying, 'Give me something' directly...

"But it wasn't just ordinary Holy Water... It was filled with the Church's power. It felt so incredible."

"Uh, huh? But Holy Water like that... Well, not Holy Water, but the Velos Empire has elixirs like that too!"

The important thing was to make the other person bring it up first.

Mention another man's faction in front of the man before her, naturally making him compare himself to them.

Then make him say on his own that he could do something similar for her.

That was the heart of conversation.

"Really? Ah, I know you have things like that. This is the great Velos Empire, after all. The Empire created by the Great Prophet..."

"Wow, Mirne, you know our Empire's history too?"

"Of course. I've always thought the Velos Empire was incredibly wonderful."

Even if the other person had taken the bait, it was foolish to immediately yank up the fishing rod.

Like actual fishing, she had to push and pull until she brought him close enough to reel in easily.

"Hehe, come to think of it, Mirne said you wanted to see and learn many things about our Empire. That's why I sent you so many talented people too!"

"Yes, that's right. So everyone is packing now... We're making extensive preparations on our side to send them safely to the Velos Empire."

"Preparations? Do you need preparations?"

"There are quite a lot of people, after all. We need to be thorough when moving them. They're precious talents."

"Hmm, the Macelin Kingdom has to prepare for the Velos Empire's talented people to return? It must be burdensome with so many people. In that case..."

As their conversation continued naturally, Mirne prepared to squeeze something else out of the Empire as the topic drifted again.

'Why isn't he answering right away?'

She found it strange that Bedin did not quickly follow up, "In that case, we'll make preparations on our side."

Bedin normally would have said that the Empire would handle the preparations right away, but...

'What if Brother refuses to allow it right away again?'

Once he remembered the Crown Prince, his brother, getting angry, the words would not come easily.

Still, when he thought about it, authority over everything related to the Macelin Kingdom, from investments to dispatching talented people, generally rested with him.

'It's fine if I do this much, isn't it? No, I'm a member of the imperial family too. What's the problem?'

Just as he was about to casually say that the Velos Empire would bear the cost...

"You can't go in."

"It is the Crown Prince's order. Do you rank above His Highness the Crown Prince?"

"That's not it. His Highness the Second Imperial Prince ordered that no one be allowed inside..."

"Does the Second Imperial Prince rank above His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Bang!

After a brief commotion, the Second Imperial Prince's door was thrown open.

Throwing open a member of the imperial family's door with enough force to seem threatening was a crime worthy of immediate execution.

Bedin also hated being interrupted while speaking with Mirne.

And since Mirne could hear everything, he deliberately raised his voice, wanting to show her his manly side.

"Who is it? What the hell do you think you're doing...!"

But the moment he saw who had entered the room, his face stiffened.

By family relation, he could casually call him Uncle.

By strict official protocol, he was a Grandmaster.

A superhuman who had never turned his back on a single battle and had forgotten what defeat was.

Grand General Arkham Velos.

"His Highness the Crown Prince orders you to come to the Round Table Conference Room at once."

The Emperor's sharpest and greatest sword.

Even after the Emperor disappeared, Arkham was certain he lacked the talent to govern the country.

So he had placed himself under the Crown Prince and sworn to become the sword that protected him.

As he delivered the order, Arkham detected unauthorized energy in the room.

Tap.

With a casual gesture, he instantly cut off the connection to the Macelin Kingdom.

"Even so, isn't this too much?! I have my own life and relationships! You can't just barge in like this...!"

He had been frightened at first, but he was still a member of the imperial family.

Bedin gathered himself and stood confidently before the Grand General.

It was bad enough that Arkham had barged in while he was speaking with Mirne, but he had even cut off the call without permission.

Now Bedin could not show Mirne how impressively he stood up to the Grand General.

'Still, I can tell her later that something like this happened.'

Even if his brother had summoned him, Bedin should at least have been told why. Depending on that explanation, he could decide whether to go.

This was not right.

"Corruption has been discovered in the Macelin Kingdom investment process. You have been summoned to answer for it."

The Grand General's words only made the Second Imperial Prince more incredulous.

"No, even so... And corruption in the investment process? Don't tell me you intend to cut off investment in the Macelin Kingdom too? That makes no sense! Aren't matters like that already decided? I'll speak to Brother separately later! There was no corruption whatsoever in the investment process! It would be better for me to speak to him myself!"

Corruption?

How could there be corruption in an investment in the Macelin Kingdom, made with such pure and loving feelings?

He had even examined everything carefully. Corruption could not possibly exist.

"So you refuse."

Compared to his own anger, the Grand General calmly considered the word refuse.

'Is he just going to leave?'

Brother still likes me after all.

The Second Imperial Prince felt relieved and waited for the Grand General to leave.

"His Highness said it would be fine to knock you unconscious. Did he say that after foreseeing even this much?"

The Grand General continued calmly as he looked at the Second Imperial Prince.

"What? What do you mea..."

With a light tap, the Second Imperial Prince's head snapped to the side before he could finish speaking, and his consciousness shut down.

+++++

"...It's unfair! It's unfair! How can you change all the matters the Second Imperial Prince already approved now?!"

"You refuse to admit you were wrong until the end. Are you afraid that the moment you say it, the accusation will become true? But it is no longer an accusation. Will refusing to admit it serve any purpose?"

What was this?

"That's not it! It was all part of the investment process!"

"During that investment process, the exterior of your estate changed, and you acquired land in the Macelin Kingdom."

"That was all for the Velos Empire...!"

"Then why was the land acquired in the Macelin Kingdom registered in your name rather than the Empire's? You even sold crops grown there back to the Velos Empire at inflated prices."

"...I did not sell them at inflated prices. I placed a high value on the labor!"

"Hahaha! Yes! The value of labor! How amusing!"

Though his vision was still blurry, the chaotic voices around him pierced his ears.

His last memory was of refusing his brother's summons when Uncle came to deliver it.

'What happened?'

As he struggled to gather his senses, which showed no sign of returning, the Second Imperial Prince listened to the voices pouring in around him.

"These amusing things never end. What did you say earlier? A bridge in the Macelin Kingdom was built with the Velos Empire's resources. Though it was only right that the tolls collected there should fill the Empire's treasury... What did you say when it was discovered that they were going into your pocket instead?"

"Th-the tolls needed to be used entirely for the bridge's operation... S-so I said I was keeping them temporarily."

"Right! Keeping them. But what did you call it when someone keeps something in storage and uses it however they please?"

"...I called it securing funds according to changing circumstances."

A bridge in the Macelin Kingdom?

Yes, he remembered it clearly.

Mirne had said it would be nice to have a very large bridge.

He remembered bringing in the Empire's resources and technology to build an impressive bridge.

He wanted to give it to Mirne outright.

But kind Mirne had said she could not accept something built by the Empire.

She said that since they could neither take the tolls nor spy on the Empire's technology, they would entrust matters such as maintenance entirely to the Empire.

'She said, "Leave it entirely to me," and I even remember encouraging the senior officials to do a good job.'

Why was that being brought up now?

Surely Brother had approved of everything back then. He had even praised Bedin for thinking of building the bridge.

As the Second Imperial Prince's thoughts raced, his vision finally began to clear.

And the first thing he saw as it returned was...

"To be honest, I have no intention of speaking with any of you. I only wanted to see how you would behave when faced with your crimes."

"W-what do you mean by that...?"

"But your attitude, shouting loudly and claiming you are innocent even when faced with your crimes, is deeply unpleasant. Bring them down."

"Yes."

Slash!

Everything below the knees of the nobles who had handled the Macelin Kingdom investments alongside him hung suspended in midair.

The parts that should have remained attached to their legs rose over the round table before crashing to the floor.

Not a single drop of blood splashed. Instead, the smell of burning flesh filled the air.

Sol Velos.

His blazing Aura, reminiscent of the sun, had severed their legs and cauterized the wounds at once.

"Arghhhhhhh!"

"Uaaaaaagh!"

"Your Highness the Crown Prince! Your Highness! How could you?! How could you do this?!"

"Urghhhhh!"

"I was wrong! I was wrong! I was wrong!"

The five great nobles who had handled Macelin Kingdom investments alongside him rolled across the floor, screaming.

"Grand General, do you see?"

"Yes, I see."

"Only after their legs are cut off does one finally confess to having committed a crime... Haha, it is the way of beasts to listen only after punishment. How can Velos Empire nobles show such disgraceful behavior?"

"I think perhaps they are not truly nobles of the Velos Empire. Would Velos Empire nobles ever show such disgraceful behavior?"

"So that was it... I can only be amazed by the Grand General's insight. How wise. Isn't that right?"

Clap clap clap clap clap.

Applause suddenly broke out.

Listening to it, the Second Imperial Prince could not tell whether this was a dream or reality.

He had clearly regained consciousness, and his vision had returned.

'Is what I'm seeing... truly real?'

The nobles sat around the round table as if dead, their heads bowed.

His aides were screaming in pain after their legs vanished in an instant.

The Crown Prince was amazed by the Grand General's wisdom, and the Grand General accepted his praise.

Finally, the Imperial Guard Knights gave the Crown Prince and Grand General wholehearted applause.

"Ah, ahhh..."

Only then did the Second Imperial Prince realize where he was seated.

At one end of the round table.

The only seat that faced the Crown Prince.

His aides lay scattered around him with their legs cut off.

All the remaining senior officials sat clustered on his brother's side.

No one sat in the seats around him.

What did that mean?

'I don't know. I don't know.'

Forcing himself to look away from reality, the Second Imperial Prince slowly opened his mouth.

"B-Brother... I-I think there was some kind of mistake in the investment process... I can fix it all, okay? I can fix it..."

There was no need for this. There was no need to be this extreme.

Whenever he said he could handle everything, Brother had always told him that he trusted him.

But now...

"Yes, Second Imperial Prince. That is why I am personally setting things right."

A gaze gone cold met his own.

How could this be? How could he change like this?

As if he had decided to change so completely in an instant...

While his thoughts tangled into a mess, the nobles who had handled the Macelin Kingdom investments were carried away by the Imperial Guard Knights.

What the hell was going on?

+++++

Looking at the Second Imperial Prince, who still had not come to his senses.

'But you shocked me too.'

I immediately brought up the shocking information reported by the Grand General.

"Is it true that the Second Imperial Prince possesses an artifact in his bedchamber that allows him to contact the First Princess of the Macelin Kingdom privately?"

"Uh, huh? Uh, um... Yes, y-yes... That's right. I have one, and we've been in contact."

There had been no artifact like that when I was reading the novel.

Ha, just how far had their relationship progressed?

But there was something more important than figuring out how far the novel had advanced.

"And is it true that you discuss not only private matters but public matters through that connection as well?"

What exactly was he discussing with the Princess?

If it was private conversation, I could simply think of it as being used like twenty-first-century social media.

But if they were using it for official business too?

"Yes? Yes, b-but I only use it under the Second Imperial Prince's authority..."

"Hah."

I wondered how he was selling out the country.

So he had been coordinating with the other side in real time from his bedroom while selling it out?

"...."

Too many ways to screw over the Second Imperial Prince came to mind, and I had to decide where to begin.

Still, the first thing I needed to do was...

"Second Imperial Prince, summon every noble who handled Macelin Kingdom affairs with you."

I needed to cut away every leech clinging to that idiot and profiting from him.

Footnotes:

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