1 – The Only Way
It was early morning.
I was walking alone in the palace.
The cold of dawn hadn’t completely dissipated, and the breeze brushing against my face felt refreshing.
The sun, just rising, was painting the world golden.
The newly sprouted branches and the already blooming white flowers shyly gestured in the blowing wind.
It had already been a month.
Under the vast expanse of the blue sky.
The palace, sprawling in its place, felt familiar as if I had lived here all my life.
It was because the memories of the man I possessed came flooding back.
In the span of a month, 19 years of his life were added.
From his composed voice and manner of speech to his restrained gestures, even his natural elegance emerged effortlessly.
In the eyes of everyone, including myself.
I was Eos Caldebrion, the first prince of the Mersenne Empire.
“Hey, you, scum-“
“Run away quickly!”
I was on my way back after taking a walk.
The approaching maids quickly covered their mouths.
Then I hurriedly turned around and walked in the opposite direction.
The faces that occasionally glanced back were filled with fear.
It had become quite familiar by now.
Whether it was soldiers patrolling or maids carrying laundry.
Whether they were servants or maids.
Most of the people I encountered showed this kind of reaction. It seemed like they wanted to avoid and ignore me if possible.
Of course, if I put myself in their shoes, it was understandable.
Eos Caldebrion, the scum prince of the Mersenne Empire.
It was because his notorious reputation was far from being favorable.
The only failure of the prestigious royal family, a dirty half-breed mixed with elf blood.
After the death of his birth mother, who was the empress, he became an irredeemable scoundrel who drowned himself in alcohol and committed all sorts of wicked deeds every day.
And then, one night.
He was even accused of killing more than ten palace guards.
In the end, he became the infamous scum prince who lost even his position as a crown prince.
At the carefully crafted end of the script was a complete, malicious accusation.
But there was no way to reveal the truth.
Neither the witnesses nor the evidence remained.
They had already been neatly extinguished long ago.
Above all, what remained vividly was
only infamy.
So, whether I touched the tree or put my ear to the ground every morning, or dipped my hands in the pond or not,
I never even considered getting close.
I don’t even know why I became possessed by such a person.
However, one thing is certain.
If I stayed still like this, I would end up dead at the hands of my stepbrother.
I seriously contemplated for a while.
Isn’t it necessary to run away immediately somehow?
But as the enemy of the royal family,
as the spark of a rebellion that might happen someday,
unless I was a fool, there was no way I could be kept alive.
Wherever I went, it was obvious that assassins would be sent to eliminate me.
So, I have only one way to survive.
To become the emperor by any means necessary.
Only that.
In this incredibly treacherous world of the novel, it was the only way to survive.
Leaving behind the soldiers who avoided eye contact, I returned to the Yellow Palace and quickly finished my meal.
But the situation wasn’t too bad.
This novel was my favorite.
From the extensive main story to the no less substantial side stories.
I had already read it more than ten times.
And as a result.
I knew in great detail about the major events that would happen in the future.
And also about the characters who would be helpful and how to become stronger.
So becoming the emperor wasn’t an impossible task.
However, the current empire was already deeply corrupted.
Due to the power-hungry faction led by the Empress and her father.
As a result, the Mersen Empire would continue to decay at an accelerating pace. And in a few years, it would be completely destroyed.
“Hoo-“
But for now, I thought it was more important to live and see, so I sat on the bed with a heavy heart.
Knock knock!
The person I had been waiting for finally arrived.
After a perfunctory knock, without waiting for permission, the door was opened by a certain individual.
The Crown Prince’s attendant, Glentino Gerund.
This man, with a sturdy build and restless eyes, was the loyal watchdog of the Empress who monitored me every day without fail.
“I brought alcohol.”
With an arrogant expression, he coldly smiled and placed the bottle and glass on the side table.
It was a scene no different from any other morning.
But I knew very well.
Everything was a result of the alcohol brought by Glen Tino.
Even the sudden outbreak of the highly anticipated prince’s violent behavior.
And the fact that he had killed over ten palace servants and ended up being falsely accused.
All of it.
It was all orchestrated by Glen Tino, under the command of the Empress.
The alcohol he brought contained a special poison that amplified aggression. Sometimes it contained a sleeping pill, but most of the time it was poison.
Even though it was an undetectable trace amount, if consumed consistently, it would turn a person into a terrifying creature, losing even their humanity.
Moreover, the poison had the effect of sealing the abilities of elves.
It was a poison optimized to bring down Eos, who was once the crown prince.
If he had continued to consume it without knowing the truth.
Having consumed it for years, it wouldn’t be long before Eiji completely lost himself and disappeared like dew in the morning sun, just as the novel described. He would end up dancing with a sword in the palace in broad daylight and be captured, only to vanish into the mist of the execution grounds.
Of course, Eiji, who had been possessed, didn’t say a word.
He poured it all out through the window when no one was around or into the potted plants in his bedroom.
In fact, his daily morning walks were all to release the remaining poison through the power of plants when there were fewer people around.
And from today on.
The decoding was finally complete.
It meant that Glennetino could finally fully utilize the Elf’s abilities flowing through his veins.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
“Just a moment.”
Without even a simple bow, Glennetino turned slowly at the doorstep.
There was a slight hint of confusion in his eyes, due to the unexpected situation, but he soon resumed his usual arrogant expression.
“Do you have something to say…?”
Every time I feel it.
This guy is truly a man of few words.
He hadn’t even used the brief word ‘Your Highness’ once in the past month.
His twisted lips and scrutinizing gaze were equally repulsive.
“Come closer.”
Glennetino smirked as if he couldn’t believe it, and approached with an expression that seemed to say, “What can you do?”.
He seemed to be urging me to try and do something, as if he had already overturned all the notorious rumors about the waste prince.
“….”
Of course, I couldn’t understand his arrogance either.
After all, he had put the Empress herself in the background.
Herpina Schleine, the current Empress of the Mersen Empire.
To become Empress, she had ordered the assassination of the former Empress, and she was the daughter of Duke Schleine, a prominent merchant.
And her husband was the commander-in-chief of the Empire, so it was quite understandable that Glennetino, who had put such people in the background, would become increasingly arrogant.
However, he doesn’t know.
To me, who has already accumulated a notorious reputation.
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There is no further reputation to be built.
After all, as a being with a high level of notoriety, I don’t even show a hint of common sense, something he can’t even imagine.
As I reached for the bottle of alcohol. Tsk, he laughed again.
It was a pathetic expression.
I jumped up from my seat with determination.
His eyes widened like spoons.
The speed at which I jumped was astonishing, enough to surprise him.
The agile movements that the Prince, who had lived as a cripple for years, could never show.
As I swung the bottle behind me, I barely avoided hitting the ceiling and landed back down.
Crash!
How strong is my strength. The solid bottle exploded, scattering red fragments and wine tainted with poison like blood. It felt refreshing.
And one after another, he instinctively kicked me in the head with a terrifying force.
Thud!
It must hurt quite a bit. I used the spirit of the earth, placing a stone in his throat just before the kick.
“Ugh!”
As expected.
Glentino groaned and naturally fell to his knees, like a pig that swallowed a hot piece of iron.
I grabbed his hair and forcefully pushed him backwards.
“Kkk…”
The arrogance that seemed to pierce the sky had now been completely erased. Only terrified eyes remained, trembling pitifully.
The sharp end of the broken bottle gleamed red, as if engulfed in sunlight.
Strangely, it resembled teeth soaked in blood.
From the broken glass, wine dripped like blood, emitting a sweet fragrance.
Revenge, too, seemed to be as sweet as that.
Of course, killing is an easy task. A single stroke would be enough.
But it wouldn’t help me at this moment.
Instead, it might make the empress more wary, and my future actions more difficult.
I’ve been contemplating for quite a while.
How can I become the emperor?
The biggest obstacles are undoubtedly the empress, the worst enemy, and the crown prince, the strongest adversary.
Both of them were incredibly difficult opponents.
In the first place, it was almost impossible to kill the empress within the palace.
Even before trying anything, the imperial knights would swarm and stop me in an instant.
Even if I somehow succeeded.
I would eventually be hunted down and unable to escape execution.
And Crown Prince Cervis.
At a mere eighteen years old, he already possessed swordsmanship skills that were on par with the empire’s strongest beings.
Among the knights, it was a shame to lose to the Imperial Knight Commander who claimed to have no worthy opponents. No matter what measures I took, it wouldn’t be easy to kill him.
In that case,
What I can do now is
To cut off the lifeline of the Empress and Crown Prince outside the palace and secretly gather my people.
For that,
First, I need to be free to enter and leave the palace.
However, the Empress’s people were scattered throughout the palace without any gaps.
Since I have already made the son the Crown Prince, perhaps I will be immediately eliminated the moment I step outside the palace.
So for now,
I need someone who can prove that I am always obediently stuck in the Prince’s Palace without arousing suspicion.
And as that person, I thought of Glentino.
If I can use him as a double agent to extract information from the Empress’s side, there can be nothing better than that.
I released the hand I was holding.
But he still couldn’t get up from his seat.
“Ugh… Why… Why are you doing this…”
***
Glentino Gerund.
He was the son of the famous novelist Gerund.
This morning, he faced the greatest crisis of his life.
“In the end, I’ve completely lost my mind.”
Prince Eos Caldebrion.
The one who had made his personality so cruel was none other than Glentino Gerund himself.
And so.
Even in a desperate situation where he could have become a victim himself.
There was no one to blame.
But revenge was possible.
“If I let the Queen Mother know about this….”
The Crown Prince would fall into an even more tragic situation.
“Eos, that trash….”
Eos, who was originally the Crown Prince, was a man of great character.
He treated everyone, including himself, who was just the son of a painter, with kindness and friendship, regardless of their status or class.
Once, he excelled in swordsmanship like the son of a great conqueror who swept the battlefield.
Inheriting the blood of the Queen who was once the Princess of the Elven Kingdom, he was also excellent in magic.
That’s why he admired him.
And as much as he admired him.
No, perhaps even more so. He was fiercely jealous.
His luck that made his own misfortune even more apparent.
He was so envious.
At first, it was jealousy, but then it turned into hatred.
If only he had the ability, he wanted to destroy him no matter what.
And so it was.
It was because she readily accepted the Empress’s proposal without any hesitation.
At first, she doubted her own ears. Truly, it was an incredibly dreadful proposal.
If discovered, it would not only mean the downfall of the Empress herself, but also the annihilation of all the families involved, a heinous crime of such magnitude.
But the Empress had promised to let her inherit the family, as she had nothing else to inherit.
As long as she did as she was told.
She had also added that she would be able to enjoy numerous privileges that she could never have dreamed of before.
For someone who was merely the son of a mediocre writer, it was an opportunity that would never come again.
That’s why she accepted.
To tarnish her reputation.
She poisoned Eos, who had been lost since her mother’s death.
She manipulated it as if she had killed someone for the sake of her position.
As always, today too, she had brought a drink laced with poison.
As the notoriety of the Crown Prince deepened, she hoped that the position of the Crown Princess would become even more solid.
Along with that,
She also hoped that she herself could live without any worries.
But what on earth is this situation right now?
Eos, who was on the verge of death,
Was looking down at herself with a cold smile.