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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Entering the Palace (3)
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5.
The air in the main palace was bitingly cold.
Karron gazed at the throne, situated at the highest point of the grand hall.
The throne where the master he had once served used to sit.
Carved from the Empire's most precious materials, it was the highest seat in the land.
The Emperor who had invited them should have been seated there, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Instead.
Welcome to the Imperial Palace. Leo Leston. Karron Leston.
A young-looking man greeted them from below the throne.
Sharp features.
Neatly styled short black hair.
And above all, his faintly glowing golden eyes gave a clear hint as to his identity.
A member of the imperial family in his early thirties who could greet guests in the main palace on the Emperor's behalf.
As far as Karron knew, there was only one such person in the entire Empire.
Karron knelt on one knee in a show of respect, and Leo followed his lead.
We greet His Highness, the Crown Prince.
Crown Prince Ioreun Karyen.
The current Emperor's first son, the man who would inherit the throne.
Ioreun slowly approached Karron and Leo.
His Majesty the Emperor is unwell and resting in his chambers. He asked me to convey his apologies for not being able to greet you himself.
A voice laced with power and dignity echoed through the grand hall.
His Majesty sent me, the Crown Prince, in his stead, so do not be offended.
Ioreun's aura was completely different from his younger brother, Rebellio's.
While Rebellio exuded an uncontrollable sense of freedom, this man radiated the grace and formality befitting a crown prince.
He was the very picture of a crown prince.
I heard you subjugated the villains plaguing the Barony of Velus. I commend your achievements and look forward to the future that young heroes like you will shape.
We only did what was necessary.
A fine sentiment, worthy of Grand Duke Halo's grandsons. Raise your heads.
At Ioreun's command, Karron slowly lifted his head.
And in that moment.
He couldn't help but clench his fists tightly.
The moment he saw Ioreun's face, the rage he had barely suppressed on his way up the stairs threatened to resurface.
He looked just like him.
He looked so much like the Evil Emperor who had trampled his life and sold his soul to a demon.
But Karron quickly suppressed his anger.
He was the Evil Emperor's grandson.
It wasn't so strange for a grandson to resemble his grandfather.
Karron Leston. I've heard a little about you from Rebellio. Thank you for befriending the youngest of the imperial family.
Ioreun offered his praise.
But his words were barbed.
Rebellio is a lonely child. No one in the imperial family looks after him. So, to hear that a grandson of Grand Duke Halo has become his friend... as his older brother, I am simply grateful.
It was a warning.
Though wrapped in pleasantries, the underlying meaning was entirely different.
Rebellio is already an outcast in the imperial family.
I'll be watching you for getting close to someone like him.
This is why I can't stand these imperial types.
They never just say what they mean, always talking in circles.
Just look at Leo's expression, unfamiliar with this kind of rhetoric.
He was smiling faintly, taking the Crown Prince's gratitude at face value.
He wanted to tell him to mind his own business, but this was right in front of the throne.
He had promised Halo he wouldn't cause any trouble, so he couldn't be rude.
Instead.
I am truly grateful that Your Highness thinks so. I will continue to foster a good relationship with the Sixth Prince and contribute to the friendship between the Imperial Family and the Leston Ducal Family.
He returned the favor, imperial style.
His words were packed with the nuance that he might openly support the Sixth Prince.
The Crown Prince smiled, amused.
Karron Leston, you are just as the rumors say.
Karron replied with a smile.
What rumors might those be?
I heard you taught De Gaulle of the Kian family a lesson yesterday. Hearing that, I thought you were quite an interesting boy. Seeing you in person, I'm certain of it. It seems watching you in the future will be enjoyable.
I am honored that Your Highness thinks so.
I will be sure to tell His Majesty the Emperor all about you.
Ioreun's golden eyes scanned Karron's entire body.
For a thirteen-year-old, he was quite bold in this battle of wits.
Before the two arrived at the palace, the imperial intelligence agency had already gathered information on them.
The information on Leo Leston was unremarkable. The only noteworthy point was his closeness to Karron Leston.
It was the younger brother, Karron, who was the special one.
The youngest grandson, who had shown no particular talent in his youth.
A thirteen-year-old boy who, after three years at Azure Fortress, had perfectly completed his first mission.
A peculiar detail was that every place Karron visited underwent a change.
The Barony of Velus, once nothing but barren land, had joined hands with the Leston Ducal Family to begin mine development, and the same was true for the Thebes Autonomous Territory.
According to information received today from Thebes, the knights of the Leston Ducal Family were expanding their influence in the autonomous territory.
It was hard to dismiss it all as coincidence.
The giant that had projected no influence for nearly fifty years was now moving in step with this thirteen-year-old boy before him.
Dangerous.
Contacting the Sixth Prince might have been his plan all along.
Could this boy be the reason Grand Duke Halo had yet to name his successor?
Ioreun smiled gently as he looked at Karron.
This evening, a banquet will be held in your honor. I hope the young heroes of the Leston Ducal Family will enjoy it to their hearts' content.
The probing had gone on long enough.
If such a talent had emerged from anywhere but the Leston Ducal Family, he would have surely coveted him, but for now, he had to set that desire aside.
The Leston Ducal Family and the Imperial Family were like oil and water; they could not mix.
They were once rebels who had stormed the palace, and to the people of the Empire, they were like a second sun.
There cannot be two suns in the same sky.
We will attend the banquet with gratitude.
Karron mirrored Ioreun's smile and bowed his head.
He felt the faint hostility emanating from the Crown Prince.
Crown Prince Ioreun's maternal family is the Marquisate of Diaz, I recall.
He had a rough idea of how things were playing out.
Even after all these years, the relationship between the imperial and ducal families hadn't changed.
There was no room for the Leston Ducal Family in the Imperial Palace.
Perhaps they still considered the Lestons their enemies?
But that wasn't much of a problem for Karron.
He hated the Imperial Family just as much as they hated the Leston Ducal Family.
...Though calling them my sworn enemy is a bit of a stretch.
Still, they were the descendants of the man who had stolen his entire life.
Of course, it would be unfair to hold them accountable for the Evil Emperor's sins. But he didn't like the idea of just letting it go, either.
We thank His Great Majesty the Emperor for his grace.
And so, Karron smiled as he looked at Ioreun.
Still, I can't just let this slide.
Even his old subordinates who died protecting the Evil Emperor would probably expect him to land a blow on them.
Now that he was reborn, didn't he have a duty to appease their spirits?
Brace yourselves, you imperial bastards.
It was definitely not because this crown prince brat looked like the Evil Emperor.
...Definitely not.
6.
After their meeting with the Crown Prince, Karron and Leo headed to the palace quarters assigned to them.
A palace where they were to rest until the banquet began.
It was a palace far more opulent and spacious than their maternal grandfather's mansion.
Karron, holding Guillotine, inspected every corner of the palace.
Guillotine, do you see any traces of listening magic?
-It's clean. But using me as a detector is rather unpleasant.
Better than using you as a demonic sword, isn't it?
-That's true.
Rest up.
After confirming there was no listening magic, Karron promptly tossed Guillotine onto the floor.
Then he sank into a plush sofa and closed his eyes.
I'm exhausted, Brother Leo.
Leo, munching on a cookie from the plate in front of him, replied.
I have a question.
What is it?
Grandfather deposed the Evil Emperor, right?
Right.
But the current Emperor is the Evil Emperor's son, isn't he?
He is.
Usually, when a rebellion succeeds...
To think you'd utter such irreverent words in the Imperial Palace... My brother has grown up so much. Still, you need to watch your tongue and choose your time and place. That tongue of yours could be trouble, you know?
...You're one to talk.
Karron snatched a bite of the cookie Leo was eating and continued.
Compared to other kingdoms, it is unusual. Normally, the deposed king's direct bloodline is completely driven out. That's how it usually is. Usually... but if the crown prince himself gets involved in the rebellion, the story changes.
Karron recalled an old memory.
The current Emperor's name was Pelin.
He had once been the Third Prince and Crown Prince of the Evil Emperor, a man Karron himself had once guarded.
He remembered him as having a quiet disposition.
A small frame and a thin voice.
A crown prince who was often criticized for lacking his father's gravitas.
But the current Emperor had one innate gift.
The ability to seize an opportunity.
The current Emperor, you see, played a major role in bringing down his own fatherthe Evil Emperor.
The Crown Prince who was the first among the royals to condemn his father and join the rebels.
Thanks to him, the Leston Ducal Family and other nobles gained a just cause, and with the overwhelming support of the people, they were able to depose the Evil Emperor.
The Crown Prince had been immensely popular with the people.
In return, he ascended to the throne.
He was fated to become a criminal alongside the Evil Emperor, but that single choice changed his life.
An opportunist.
At least, that was Karron's judgment.
Looking back now, his rise from a mere Third Prince to Crown Prince might also have been thanks to that unique sense of his.
The current Emperor had used that sense to stabilize the chaotic political situation and had led the Imperial Family for the fifty years since.
Bestowing the title of Grand Duke upon Halo and appointing him a great hero was also the current Emperor's doing.
Does His Majesty the Emperor hate our family?
Karron shrugged at Leo's question.
He can't possibly like us. We're a thorn in his side. But he isn't hostile, either. His Majesty is well aware of the power we possess.
...I don't know if it was just my imagination, but earlier, His Highness the Crown Prince seemed to...
Wow, you've really grown up, brother.
Karron looked at Leo and chuckled.
It seemed Leo had developed some intuition after all.
To issue a direct warning like that... for a royal who values etiquette, that was as good as showing open hostility.
Why?
The reason isn't complicated.
Karron briefly picked up Guillotine, which he had tossed on the floor.
Humans are creatures that rely on experience. If someone doesn't draw their sword from its scabbard for a very long time, people start to think. 'That person doesn't draw their sword. There's no need to be so afraid of them.'
A full fifty years had passed since the Evil Emperor's deposal.
Many who remembered those days had died, and new people had taken their place.
And for those fifty years, the Leston Ducal Family had remained as quiet as possible.
All while tracking traces of demons and fending off monsters in the northern seas.
Eventually, some people even start to think, 'It's not that they won't draw their sword, but that they can't.'
Smiling, Karron drew Guillotine from its scabbard.
For people like that, you have to draw your sword. It's even better if you swing it a little, and best of all if you cut them down. Only then do the fools realize. 'Ah, I was mistaken.'
Karron swung the sword through the air a couple of times before sheathing it again. Then he turned to Leo and gave him a bright smile.
You understand what I'm saying, right?
...More or less.
This is all because Grandfather coddled those bastards. If he'd beaten them with a club, beaten them to within an inch of their lives, they wouldn't be acting so high and mighty. Tsk.
Of course, Halo wouldn't stay idle from now on.
He would show them exactly what kind of family the Lestons were.
Karron tossed Guillotine back onto the floor. Sinking into the sofa again, he mused.
The Emperor, that opportunist, wouldn't have a change of heart about Halo now.
Could this be related to the Emperor's illness?
Considering the Emperor was over seventy, being sick wasn't that strange. But something still felt off.
I can't wait to see what kind of banquet that Crown Prince brat has prepared for us. Right, brother?
I saw a lot of beautiful noble ladies earlier. They'll be at the banquet, won't they? Oh, right, the formal wear I brought...
Brother Leo.
Yes?
Just go die.
Karron fired a burst of mana at Leo's back and let out a small sigh.
The situation was taking a serious turn, but in its own way, this was good.
The Imperial Palace is always best like this.
A palace rife with all sorts of schemes and conspiracies.
Perfect for raising some hell.
Karron found himself wondering which mess to start with.
The break passed quickly, and the time for the banquet was drawing near.
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