Chapter 67: What Did I Just Hear?

“Why don’t you join hands with me?”

He seemed about twenty now.

A gentle and warm expression on a well-groomed face.

He had green hair and a scholarly yet strong face, typical of a member of the Kaistein royal family who was good at sword fighting.

The Fourth Prince, Servin Kaistein, sending back the attendants following him, was smiling at Ian.

And seeing his smile, Ian tilted his head and smirked as if smelling some trickery behind his act.

“Join hands? I don’t know. You and I don’t have much in common, do we?”

“Huh. Can’t we be friends from now on? As the old sages said, brothers will strengthen their bond with each other, and then…”

Servin spoke very long-windedly.

At first glance, he seemed like a scholar who liked to study.

But Ian wasn’t fooled.

Hence he asked with cold eyes.

“So, what do you want me to do?”

“Even though we were not born from the same womb, we have the same father. There is no need to ostracize each other.”

“I’m sure there are other brothers and sisters, though?”

“I’d rather join forces with you than them.” n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“!”

It was a curious thing.

Servin, who ignored him so much in his previous life, came to team up with him.

But Servin continued with a smile.

“I felt it when I saw your performance. You must have the power to beat the other brothers. In particular, you seem to be the only one who can beat the First Princess.”

“Is that so?”

It was definitely different from Ian’s previous life.

In his previous life, the Fourth Prince joined forces with the Third Prince and fought with the First Princess and the Second Prince. Thanks to this, Ian was able to save his strength in Garcia’s territory while they were fighting.

Servin spoke to Ian with a confident look on his face.

“You and I are not such a strong force, but we have our own way. So, what do you think about joining hands with me and beating other brothers in the competition?“

Ian made an amused expression.

It was because Servin was confident without knowing all his cards.

“What do you have in mind?”

“I’m going to take this opportunity to eliminate the First Princess from the ranking.”

“!?”

Servin reached into his pocket.

At the same time, he brought out the edict he had received earlier.

[The Fourth Prince Servin Kaistein is to clear up the abandoned territory of the North and make it prosperous.]

There was nothing particularly difficult about it.

Rather, what did such a mission have to do with the First Princess?

But the eyes of Servin, the most cautious among his brothers, glinted sharply.

“My mission and the mission location of the First Princess overlapped.”

“…!”

Ian narrowed his brows.

The First Princess’s mission Ian knew was to take charge of the first legion of the Northern Expedition and invade Bahara.

It was a possible mission because she had a powerful faction coupled with her powerful maternal family.

“And if it’s her, she’s going to sweep my territory pretending to make a mistake.”

Wasn’t she their nasty sister who beat them with the sudden declaration of the Battle of Ranking at Ian’s legitimate ceremony?

But Servin believed there to be a chance.

“There are two ways to advance from my territory to Bahara. But what if you and my army took over Bahara before our sister?”

Naturally, the First Princess had no choice but to fall out of the competition.

Even with the aid of the royal forces, she couldn’t get good grades.

Instead, expectations would be drawn to Ian and the Fourth Prince.

But something was off.

‘Come to think of it, you were certainly supposed to take charge of the barren land of the South.’

Strangely, the territory commanded by the Fourth Prince was close to Ian’s Helgaia territory.

It was clear that the information he knew had changed a little.

Regardless, Ian thought he would know why Servin was anxious.

“Do you want to borrow my troops?”

“I also want you to keep our sister in check. As you can see, I’m not well versed in combat.”

Of course, it was a lie.

Unbeknownst to many, Servin had been deceiving his excellent swordsmanship skills.

The scholarly appearance was only a facade. It was a move to put other people’s guard down.

What set Servin apart from the other princes was his high ambition and spirit.

He was a fearsome enemy when Ian recalled the future.

Of course, it wasn’t a bad deal for Ian. One of the most formidable enemies in the past was the First Princess.

And.

‘Anyway, as long as the First Princess messed with my envoy reception, I can’t just gloss over it.’

Besides, the First Princess would want to engage in a fierce battle with him at any time anyway.

The Battle of Ranking was a one-on-one match that took away everything the opponent had. It was the key to turning the tide that could make the first place the last place and the last place the first place.

‘No, I’m sure she won’t let me do all the competitions.’

He probably wouldn’t make it to the end. Therefore, there was no need to avoid the First Princess. It would be better if he could strike her first.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend. But I think I’m losing too much if we go along with your proposal, Brother.”

“Then, what do you want?”

“My territory needs a lot of hands. I hope you can give support with the scholars and officials you have.”

“Hmm…”

Servin pondered for a moment.

He was weighing the benefit he would gain. But he quickly made up his mind.

“All right, let’s do that.”

“Oh! And if we mobilize soldiers together, can I be in charge of command?”

“That’s a little difficult…”

It would probably be hard.

As Servin’s face was about to stiffen.

“In return, I will hand over the credit to you. I’m only commanding it.”

“All right, let’s do that.”

Ian reached out his hand to Servin.

“All right, Brother. Let’s take this opportunity to strengthen our brotherhood.”

“Well thought out. It will definitely be a good opportunity for each other.”

Ian shook hands with Servin with a big smile plastered on his face.

It was only natural.

‘In any case, the First Princess and I have walked past the point of no return. But there is so much to gain from Servin.’

Of course, he would consider using Ian as a breakwater, but they should see later.

‘The Fourth Prince’s maternal grandfather is an Academy graduate.’

It wasn’t the only thing.

He boasted a great acquaintance with the faculty of the Academy. In addition, the grand scholar and the Fourth Prince used the forces that once followed Duke Adria as his power.

And in order to make the Helgaia territory prosperous, the powers of the Fourth Prince were necessary.

Even if he snatched away the Oddballs of Gratunias, they were nothing more than outstanding talents in their respective fields.

‘Using the Fourth Prince, I will make the First Princess the lowest in the ranking.’

Nathan looked on at his figure with an indiscernible gaze.

***

“Well, well. Even the Fourth Prince looked for you, Prince. You are a really popular guy. I’m jealous.”

After breaking up with Servin, Nathan approached Ian with a smile.

And Ian shot him a gaze as if to ask what he was getting at.

Nathan said with an unchanged expression.

“Ah, what is it, I heard a talk about marriage? Aren’t you interested in having a wedding with the Imperial Princess? Then your safety can be guaranteed.”

Ian raised an eyebrow.

This guy, hadn’t he already gone too far?

And seeing his expression, Nathan grumbled with a whine.

“Why? It’s a good thing. If you become the husband of the princess, you don’t have to worry about the Battle of Ranking. And with the most beautiful woman in the empire to boot. How good will it be?”

“And I am going to live in the empire.”

“Ah, if you live in the empire, that…”

Ian smirked as he caught Nathan’s slip.

“After all, Sir Nathan, it seems that the Kaistein family is better than the Adelas marquisate?”

“…Y, yes?”

Nathan was stunned for the first time. Fiosen, who was next to him watching, burst into a laugh.

“What’s with that look? You think my lord doesn’t know that you’re about to get married to the First Princess, don’t you?”

Nathan glared resentfully at Fiosen.

“Did you tell him?”

“No. My wise lord Ian has already seen through it. What is the reason Marquis Adelas, who does not like losing, sticks to the First Princess even at the expense of the loss?”

Fiosen snorted, not trusting Nathan in any way.

“Well, I don’t know why you ran away to Duke Garcia, but if you make the First Princess into a king, you can become a royal. Don’t you covet it?”

“No! I’m not interested in the First Princess at all! She is not my type! Who likes someone with such a dirty personality…”

“Oho, isn’t this blasphemy against the royal family? Can I deliver it as is?”

“Hey!”

Ian smiled as he watched them.

Then Galon whispered to Ian.

“Your Highness, the Fourth Prince is a good person, but the First Princess is truly powerful.”

He seemed to dislike the idea of joining forces with the Fourth Prince.

His concern was understandable. What Ian needed now was powerful knights, not scholars.

“The First Princess is strong enough to play an active duty in the royal guard. It is said that she has been overshadowed by the Second Prince so far, but she is undeniably the first…”

“I know that.”

“Then why did you team up with the Fourth Prince?”

“Why? You have to keep the most dangerous enemy close. And this is going to be a lot more helpful than the knights in this case.”

“What?”

Ian smiled instead of answering.

“Don’t worry. I will never be taken advantage of.”

It was then.

“Your Highness the Seventh Prince, you are ordered to enter.”

At last, King Eloin allowed him to visit.

***

“So, what made you want to see me in such urgency?”

King Eloin was seated in the audience room with a calm expression as usual.

“If it’s about this competition, go back.”

“It’s regarding the Kingdom of Magicians’ spies. They were hiding in my territory and cooking up some scheme.”

“?!”

The royal chamberlain unknowingly gasped in surprise.

A royal chamberlain should not show his expression, but this time, he really had no choice but to do so.

‘The Kingdom of Magicians is targeting this country?’

It was because it was a truly big deal.

The Kingdom of Magicians had continuously coveted the Kingdom of Swordsmen. However, they were always blocked by Kaistein and had to retreat.

And now those guys were hiding in the Beast Woods and plotting schemes.

‘If we make a wrong move, war may break out.’

As the royal chamberlain glanced at King Eloin anxiously.

King Eloin’s eyes gleamed.

“Is there any evidence that they are spies from the Kingdom of Magicians?”

“If you so wish, I can summon the dragon here to prove it. He was captured by them and brainwashed. I saved him.”

“!?”

The royal chamberlain got even more surprised, but King Eloin tapped his chin for a moment.

Then he spat out a word.

“Yes, I see. Well done on that one.”

“Your Majesty?”

This situation was unbelievable.

Ian caught the spies of the Kingdom of Magicians and retrieved them, but he merely told him he did well, and that’s it.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but this is a huge merit. We should get the ministers together and announce that the Kingdom of Magicians is targeting this place…”

However, King Eloin looked at the royal chamberlain with a tired expression and replied.

“What if that’s what they want?”

“Pardon?”

“What are you going to do if they have deeply infiltrated this country?”

“…”

Rather, they might rush the schemes they were planning. Therefore, they had to attack them at once after securing key evidence. King Eloin was saying that.

“But extracting information is one thing. Investigate and report on those brought by Prince Ian. Help Prince Ian, and do whatever it takes if necessary.”

“I’ll do so, Your Majesty.”

The royal chamberlain stepped down hurriedly, but Ian did not.

“Your Majesty, actually there is more to this.”

Eloin’s face lit up with interest at his words.

It was because Ian, who never ceased to surprise him, was indeed no different than a time bomb. It’s more important than when he had dragged out the spies from the Kingdom of Magicians.

At this point, the king was looking forward to what Ian would say.

But Ian said with cold eyes.

“I am afraid there are some people from the Kingdom of Magicians who help the nobles of our kingdom. They could be by your side. Please be careful.”

“I suppose so.”

The king’s eyes glinted as if he was already aware.

Although Helgaia was on the frontier, those spies even went past Lavaltor and hid inside the kingdom.

It obviously could never happen without being connected to one of the kingdom’s executives.

But it wasn’t what surprised the king.

‘Does he doubt the ministers?’

How could a child like him know that? It was quite a commendable feat.

But Ian knew it in a different way.

‘In my previous life, Father lived in seclusion at some point. It’s as if… he was being attacked by someone.’

Originally, the king was supposed to lead the competition of Kaistein.

But at some point, the royal chamberlain only delivered the edict. He couldn’t even see the king. Eloin was a king who never entrusted his work to others. Besides, he not only did not clash with the ministers after the declaration of the succession war but was also a mighty king that even the imperial emperor was hesitant to mess with.

Ian deduced that there was a high probability of a rat from the Kingdom of Magicians among them.

‘The ill-fated relationship between Kaistein and the Kingdom of Magicians has lasted for so long.’

Ian clearly remembered the king’s last moments in his previous life. He looked miserable unlike now.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t give you affection. But never forget. They’re around you…”

He was a king whom Ian had never felt a shred of fatherly affection from for even a second.

Yet, he could feel his sincerity at that moment.

After he met a strange death halfway down the succession war, Ian remembered his memory of the queen, who was seated on behalf of the king by temporarily performing the king’s duties, running away as if she was being chased by something.

However, King Eloin stared at Ian without saying anything for a moment.

“…”

He just wanted Ian to live quietly, unnoticed by anyone.

‘You’re so outstanding that I can’t hide you even if I want to.’

It was a problem from the moment Garcia found him first in the first place.

Now that this had happened, the king couldn’t help it.

For the first time, he looked at Ian with warm eyes, not cold eyes.

“You did a great job. Even though I can’t make an official announcement, I can’t help but compliment you.”

“It’s nothing, Your Majesty.”

“What do you mean Your Majesty? It’s okay to say ‘Father.’ ”

“…”

This time, Ian was at loss for words.

He had never used such an expression because they had not been very close in his previous life. The other brothers were not even familiar with such a kind expression of the king.

The king also seemed to have guessed the situation well.

Rather, he changed the subject.

“If it’s hard, do it later when you feel comfortable. However, since you did a great job, you should be rewarded. Is there anything you wish for?”

“Then, Your Majesty, can I ask you to open the treasury?”

“The treasury?”

It was the king’s private space.

“Alright. You can take as much as you want.”

“And.”

“And?”

“I have something I want to sell to you, Your Majesty.”

“??”

Sell? What?

Ian smiled softly.