Chapter 208 – If It Works, It’s a Revolution (6)

While the Second Princess was preparing an urgent letter to Dian—

The secret prince Verken was being briefed on the current state of the capital by the Emperor.

“Well, I’ll be damned.”

Verken chuckled as he downed the rest of his tea in a single gulp.

“What a complete mess this is. While that Mirelis girl was running around, what the hell were the rest of you doing?”

“We did everything we could, but...”

“Must not have been enough.”

Verken cut the First Prince off.

“I heard Mirelis racked up some impressive achievements during the Four-Year War. Meanwhile, the princes haven’t done a damn thing.”

No one among them could refute that. They all lowered their heads in silence.

“But what about you, Father? You were foaming at the mouth not too long ago, swearing up and down that you’d kill her. And yet all you’ve managed to do is cripple that concubine-born girl and nothing more?”

“Ahem!”

It was a rude remark, but instead of his usual outburst, the Emperor merely cleared his throat.

“Well, fine then.”

Verken slapped his knee, making everyone flinch.

“So the bottom line is, you want me to help out because the royal house is about to get flipped on its head by Mirelis, yes?”

“W-Well, something like that…”

This was all due to the First Prince’s idiotic blunder.

But instead of addressing that, the Emperor had made up his mind to use Verken to completely expel the Second Princess.

“Then what do I get out of it?”

“What is it you want?”

“Restoration of my royal status. And a place in the official line of succession.”

“T-That’s—!”

The First Prince shouted, but Verken turned to look at him.

“Got a problem with that? I’m just as legitimate as you are, brother.”

Verken’s eyes drifted briefly toward the withered corpse on the floor, and the First Prince followed them uneasily.

“Hah. What? You think I’d do that to you just to be Emperor? If I were going to do that, I would’ve drained every last one of you right here and now instead of sitting here making polite conversation.”

Everyone’s faces went pale.

“I’m not asking for much.”

Verken shrugged.

“For the past twenty years, I’ve roamed the continent and gone through all kinds of hell. Because of this cursed power of mine, I’ve never been able to settle anywhere.”

Green flames flickered ominously in the hand he raised.

“I’m getting older, and I figured it was time to find a place to put down roots. And lo and behold, big brother here somehow knew and sent word.”

The Emperor glared daggers at the First Prince.

“This palace may have exiled me, but it’s still where my childhood memories are. There’s nothing strange about wanting to come home, right, little brother?”

“Y-Yes, of course…”

The Fourth Prince bowed his head.

“Then why demand a place in the succession? Why not just live here quietly…?”

The First Prince asked, and Verken grinned.

“So you can’t just kick me out again, of course. You’re not planning to exile me the moment I’m no longer useful, are you?”

When no answer came, Verken smiled as if he had expected it.

“Not that I’d go quietly like I did twenty years ago.”

Goddamn it.

If he could, the Emperor would’ve gladly taken a hammer to his son’s stupid skull right then and there.

How could that fool think to include him in a summons to all princes?! That lunatic Third Prince?!

Even if he was his own son—how could he be so dim-witted?!

Verken was right.

If he were still a boy, they might’ve been able to subdue him by force. But now, as a grown man hardened by life, it was a different story.

From the looks of him, he’d been through plenty.

Could the palace guard or the Imperial Knights truly take him down now? Not a chance.

Even back when he was just a kid, barely anyone dared cross him.

“Let’s not waste time. Let’s make this official.”

Verken said.

“Write up a formal agreement. Everyone sign it, make a proper document. Let’s get it done.”

“A-A written agreement?”

“What, you thought we were gonna seal this with a handshake? I’m not that naive. Youngest, bring me a pen and paper.”

The Fourth Prince reluctantly handed over the writing tools, and the First Prince reached for the pen.

“Ah-ah.”

But Verken grabbed it first.

“I’m the one in charge here now, aren’t I?”

While Verken began scribbling down the agreement, the Emperor and the other princes exchanged uneasy glances.

“There. That’ll do.”

When he’d finished, Verken handed it to the Emperor.

“Sign it.”

The Emperor scribbled his name with visible reluctance. Verken stood up, satisfied, and carried the document to the Emperor’s desk.

He rummaged through the drawers, found the imperial seal, and stamped it dead center on the agreement.

“This makes it official. If either party breaks the terms—”

Verken didn’t finish the sentence. He simply smiled.

“Now, then, let’s take down the Second Princess—”

“No.”

Verken interrupted and shook his head.

“I’m tired from the journey. First, I’m going to eat. Then I’ll sleep. My old room still here? Don’t tell me you got rid of it.”

With long strides, Verken left the office.

“YOU BASTARD!!”

The Emperor leapt after him and grabbed the First Prince by the collar.

“I should kill you! Rip you limb from limb!”

“But you said to summon all the princes! If you didn’t want him, you should’ve said so!!”

“He was stripped of his title! How is he even a prince?!”

“But you just restored him!!”

“That was after he arrived!!”

The First Prince’s idiotic reply nearly made the Emperor lose his mind.

“Oh, and I almost forgot.”

Just then, the door swung open again and Verken stuck his head back in.

“My men will be coming in shortly. Make sure they’re let through.”

“Your men…?”

“They’re probably starving too. That’s all.”

The door shut again, and the Emperor and First Prince scrambled to the window.

“Son of a…”

The First Prince muttered a curse under his breath as he saw who was crossing the drawbridge.

“Where the hell has Verken been for the past twenty years…?”

Meanwhile, the Emperor turned and shouted to the other princes.

“Summon the Chief Court Mage—now! It’s urgent!”

The princes rushed out, and the Emperor grabbed a pen to hastily write a letter.

Not just him—but he brought others with him into the palace?

This isn’t just a problem for Security.

The entire capital could fall.

Linus. Only Linus can handle this. I must call Linus!

# # # #

The second semester had begun, and as always, I was aimlessly wandering around campus.

Well, to be precise, I was mostly hanging out at the dessert cafe.

It was too hot to be walking around in the sun.

So I sat under a parasol out front, sipping cold drinks and picking petty fights with students as they passed. That was my little slice of joy these days.

Kirrin had become hard to see lately.

After clearing things up with Nemara, she’d fully embraced her role as Headmaster of the Academy.

Of course, she’d already been Headmaster before—but back then, she considered herself nothing more than Nemara’s puppet.

Now, she had finally realized she wasn’t just a pawn—that Nemara truly cared for and cherished her.

And that realization had made her a true Headmaster at last.

These days, she was swamped with all the neglected Academy business she’d put off.

Naturally, this made both Vice Principal Ismera and Head Theoretical Professor Kaiden equally busy.

I ran into Ismera occasionally, and surprisingly, she didn’t seem annoyed—in fact, she looked rather cheerful.

She said that seeing Kirrin finally taking things seriously had made her want to give her all to support her.

She’d always been deeply devoted to the Academy, after all.

Thank goodness.

As for Kaiden, he seemed to be going about his duties without much fuss.

He was so smart that even with the elves scrambling to keep up, he handled everything with ease and minimal effort.

Among the students—

Merilda was diligently focused on her studies as usual.

Lately, she’d developed a new dream: to join the Imperial Security Office’s Cryptanalysis Division.

It was a place where only the brightest minds in the Empire were accepted.

She wasn’t particularly strong in combat, but she excelled academically, so it was a perfect fit.

And Knightley—

“Professor! Hurry up and give me an answer!”

“Answer to what, exactly?”

“My father said it himself! And then you ran away in the middle of it!”

She was talking about that arranged… thing from back at the duke’s estate.

Her parents wanted me to marry her.

As if. She’s still a minor.

“I’ll be of age soon after graduation! Come on, hurry!”

“You little… I’m not about to mess up my own student’s life. You should graduate, find a job, meet people, and take your time. Don’t rush into it with zero experience.”

“What’s there to think about?! We can just go ahead and do it! Make a baby first and—aaagh!”

I flicked her on the forehead, and Knightley ran off in tears.

“So shameless. Tsk, tsk.”

Clicking her tongue, Hindrasta appeared in front of me.

“What do you want?”

“Hey, Dian.”

“What?”

“Let’s do it.”

“No.”

Hindrasta was about to yell when a teaching assistant came up.

“Professor Dian. A letter for you.”

“Thanks. On your way out, take her with you. Class already started, and she’s still loitering here.”

“Let go of me!”

The assistant dragged Hindrasta away, and I opened the letter.

No sender. The contents were brief.

‘Come save your future wife. Right now.’

…What the hell is this? Who’s pulling this prank?

I crumpled the letter and tossed it straight into the trash.