Chapter 313
“However, even I cannot simply let this go when there is such clear evidence. As things stand, Your Highness will be subjected to a Holy Trial.”
It meant he would have to be burned at the stake after horrific torture.
“W-what are you talking about?! This is clearly my second brother's conspiracy! My second brother is colluding with the Four Kings' Castle!”
“But there is no evidence. If the second prince were actually colluding with the Four Kings' Castle, he would never have left a trace. The operations of the Four Kings' Castle are famous for their secrecy.”
“Please help me! No, please help me! Sir Hero, you are the only one who can save me!”
The third prince clung to Chris and begged.
Chris played hard to get at first. To make the third prince desperate.
“I will try my best, but I cannot make any guarantees.”
“No! Please save me! Please think of it as saving an innocent lamb!”
“…Since you've put it that way, very well. There is one method, but will you follow it?”
“I will follow anything! Just tell me!!”
Chris gestured to his companions with his eyes.
The companions left the room, and the two were left alone.
The third prince's face hardened, sensing he had to do something unusual.
“What must I do?”
“You must prove your devotion to the Constellation.”
“I possess a firm devotion to the Constellation!”
“Simply thinking it inwardly is not enough. You must be able to prove it outwardly.”
“How do I do that? I'm not a priest of the Holy Empire; isn't that impossible?”
“No, there is one way.”
Chris looked directly into the third prince's eyes.
“Offer your soul to me.”
“!!”
“Then I will guarantee Your Highness's innocence.”
The third prince had a flustered look on his face.
It was a ridiculous proposition.
“Th-that is…”
“There is no surer proof that Your Highness is not a demon worshiper than offering your soul to me, the Hero. Otherwise, you'll have to prove your innocence separately, and that will not be easy.”
“…B-but still.”
Chris let out a low sigh.
“Shall I be honest? It doesn't matter to me whether Your Highness accepts this proposal or not.”
That was a lie.
If the third prince refused, it would honestly be very troublesome.
But the basis of any negotiation is bluffing.
“I am simply making this proposal for Your Highness's sake. To help you.”
The third prince's eyes wavered with conflict.
And then Chris delivered the final blow.
“And it is because I believe that among the three princes, Your Highness is the one most suited for the throne.”
“!!”
The third prince sucked in a breath.
“Th-that means? Are you saying you'll back me as the next emperor? No, weren't you, the Hero, trying to become the emperor yourself?”
Chris debuted in the Karn Empire as a member of the imperial family.
“I must fight for the sake of the world, so becoming the emperor is realistically impossible. The only reason I first appeared in the imperial capital as a successor to the throne was to efficiently eliminate the darkness hiding in the Imperial Palace.”
If he had appeared as a mere Hero, he wouldn't have dared to stir up trouble with the imperial family.
“I believe that Your Highness can lead the Karn Empire righteously, but if you do not wish to follow my proposal, then there's nothing to be done.”
“I-I will follow! I will offer my soul to you, Sir Hero! However, there is a condition. Please help me ascend to the throne.”
“I will help you. In return, will you swear to offer your soul to me?”
“Yes. I swear it on my soul!”
It was right after that oath.
Chris's expression changed.
From the sublime expression of a Hero to his usual, wicked one.
“Yes, I accept your oath.”
“!!”
It was the moment the third prince's eyes widened at the completely changed atmosphere.
Bzzzt!
A brand in the shape of a black moon was seared onto the nape of the third prince's neck.
“N-no? This energy is?”
The third prince had also learned the mana of light.
He recognized the energy of darkness, Demonic Energy.
“H-how can you, Sir Hero, have Demonic Energy?”
“Aah. That's because I'm not a real Hero.”
Srrr.
Chris's face changed.
The moment he saw the deep black hair and the black eyes tinged with red, the third prince's eyes widened as if they would tear.
The third prince knew who that face belonged to.
“D-don't tell me? You're from the Dark Demonic House...?!”
“Yes, now do you understand?”
Chris raised the corner of his mouth in a grin.
“You've been scammed. I'll be in your care, new slave.”
It was the moment he captured a new emperor-sucker.
***
There was a reason Chris had reeled in the third prince, Lauren.
‘He's a bad guy, but a useful bad guy.’
To be clear, the third prince was by no means a good person.
He was the typical image of a tyrant, full of greed and with no interest in the well-being of the empire or its people.
But surprisingly, Lauren, after becoming emperor, showed a not-so-bad performance during the Age of Ruin.
He had united the Karn Empire and stood against the Magus Empire.
It wasn't that he had turned over a new leaf.
Quite the opposite.
‘He resisted the Magus Empire so fiercely with the mindset that he couldn't have his own honeypot stolen.’
Something about how the only one who could exploit the Karn Empire was himself, the emperor?
With that greedy heart, he tried to desperately protect the Karn Empire, and he achieved some merit in his own way.
‘In a way, he's a person with some similarities to me. Since I also took the emperor's seat for the sake of wealth and glory.’
Moreover, since I've put a leash on him with a slave contract, he won't be able to do as he pleases and will do a good job. He's a capable person in his own right.
Chris grinned.
“Wipe that look off your face. I'll make you the emperor, just as you wish.”
“You! You! A demonic being, daring to impersonate the Hero! To think you can get away with this...!!”
“It doesn't matter to me. Even if I'm caught, I can just return to the Magus Empire. Rather, if it's revealed that I'm a demonic being, you'll be the only one in trouble. Since you joined hands with one.”
Since he was right, the third prince let out a scream.
“Uwaaah! You devil-like bastard!!”
Evan, who had re-entered at some point, approached the third prince.
“You are mistaken, Your Highness.”
“…You're from the swordsmanship family?”
“Christian is not a devil, but a being more sublime than a saint….”
Evan was about to launch into another infuriating speech, but it didn't work on the third prince.
“Get lost! Are you possessed by a devil?!”
“That's right, Sir Evan! Don't pour oil on the fire, just get out of here! I'll console His Highness the third prince.”
Ruina whispered to the third prince.
“Your Highness has done nothing wrong. It's all that devil-like bast... I mean, person's fault.”
“…You are? From the Deer Merchant Group? Are you, perhaps, also?”
“…Yes, I'm in a similar situation, with a leash around my neck. Sob.”
“Aah! To think even the Deer Merchant Group had fallen into that bastard's hands. That devil's resourcefulness is terrifying!”
“That's right. He is a truly wicked devil bast... person. You will have a hard time ahead, so I will support Your Highness well from the side.”
“*Sob*, thank you.”
“Ohoho! Don't mention it. If you ever feel frustrated because of that devil, please call on me anytime. This Ruina! I may not be of much help, but I can curse him out with you! In return, there's just a little something I desire; once you become emperor... Ah, it will be a win-win deal for everyone, hoho.”
It was Ruina, using their shared animosity toward Chris to quickly get close to the third prince.
‘...She got close to Holy Emperor Istanya recently, too. Did she get close in the same way?’
Chris looked at Ruina with a sour expression.
Just then, an attendant from the villa approached.
“Sir Hero, Lady Asran has come to see you.”
‘It seems she's heard the news.’
Chris had just declared the third prince's innocence and announced that he would support him.
Asran, who was part of the Crown Prince's faction and had secretly hoped Chris would support the Crown Prince, seemed to have rushed over in a fluster.
“Welcome, Lady Asran.”
“I greet Your Highness, the Hero-Prince.”
“Did you come because of my decision to support the third prince?”
Asran had a troubled look on her face.
“Yes, that is correct. The third prince is not someone worthy of your service, Your Highness.”
“I, too, know that the third prince is not a righteous person.”
“Then why?”
Chris looked directly at Asran.
“Because even so, among the three princes, the third prince is the best of the bunch.”
“!!”
At the statement that not only the second prince, but also the Crown Prince was inferior to the third prince, Asran had a look of incomprehension on her face.
“Are you saying His Highness the third prince is better than His Highness the Crown Prince?”
“That is correct.”
“That's absurd. His Highness the Crown Prince may lack ability, but he is someone who has committed no wrongs and cares only for the empire.”
“No wrongs? Do you really think so?”
“!!”
Asran's eyes wavered at Chris's stiff tone.
“…What do you mean by that?”
“Lady Asran, are you confident that you know everything about the Crown Prince?”
Asran was at a loss for words.
The Crown Prince was a reclusive person.
Was it because he had grown up being kept in check since childhood?
He didn't trust even those close to him and did not easily reveal his inner thoughts.
‘Even I don't know the Crown Prince's innermost thoughts.’
Chris asked again.
“I asked you before, didn't I? Lady Asran, are you loyal to the empire, or are you loyal to the Crown Prince?”
“That is... of course, the empire.”
“Then, for the sake of the empire, could you point your sword at His Highness the Crown Prince?”
Asran bit her lip.
“Why on earth are you asking such a thing?”
“That's because….”
It was the moment Chris was about to answer.
Suddenly, an urgent cry was heard.
“G-grave trouble, Lady Asran!! Something has happened at the Imperial Palace!”
Asran turned her head in surprise.
“What is it?”
“The evil energy of Gehenna is encroaching upon the Imperial Palace!”
“!!”
Asran had a look of disbelief on her face.
It meant that someone had summoned a being from Gehenna.
“What do you mean, all of a sudden? Why at the Imperial Palace?”
“Th-that's….”
The imperial knight hesitated, as if he couldn't bring himself to speak.
“Speak at once! Who dared to commit such a terrible act?! Don't tell me it was His Highness the second prince?”
“…It is His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“…What?”
Asran's body froze stiff.
The imperial knight cried out in a disastrous voice.
“His Highness the Crown Prince summoned a demon while being persecuted by the second prince!”
***
-To think someone like that is the Crown Prince.
-I'm worried about the future of the empire.
These were the words that Crown Prince Fritz had heard countless times since he was a child.
He was the one who was supposed to succeed the great empire, but he had not a single strong point compared to his other brothers, and even his mother's family, who should have been his strength, was of humble status.
-He's the Crown Prince in name only; the next throne will obviously go to another prince.
-We need to make sure we line up on the right side, even now.
And so, he became a scarecrow Crown Prince, spending years of humiliation and being disregarded in every way.
Thanks to that, Crown Prince Fritz's heart festered severely.
‘I'll kill them all.’
He didn't know how many times he had cursed his brothers and the nobles who had looked down on him.
It was perhaps only natural that a demon's hand would reach out to someone like him.
-I will grant your wish.
It was a sweet whisper he couldn't refuse.
-Upon a sea of blood from those who looked down on you, you will become an emperor feared by all.