Beyond the Throne: The Monarch's Return

This way."

Ian headed toward the carriage, guided by the soldiers.

At that time, the villagers who saw Ian from afar seemed shocked.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know. The Lord told us to gather in the plaza. But why is that idiot Ian over there?"

"I don't know either. Is it okay for Ian to be there? I thought the Lord and the supervisor were looking for him for punishment."

"Hey! Ian! What are you doing there? Hurry up and come here!" 

Some residents even shouted at Ian.

It was only after Galon stood behind Ian that their mouths clammed up.

"!"

Galon was donning a knight's suit.

No matter how backward their village was, there was no way they could not recognize a knight. When Galon headed toward Ian, the villagers turned ashen. It was because of Ian standing upright even though Galon was approaching.

"Hey! Ian! Are you crazy? A knight is passing by!"

"Don't block the road. Get out of the way! You're going to be in big trouble, dude!"

"How scary are the knights…"

But soon the villagers were taken aback. 

It was because Galon took off his cape and draped it on Ian. 

"There are many eyes seeing."

The villagers were surprised by the sight and could not say anything more. And there was a buzz about what happened and a sound came from afar.

"Hey, big news!"

"What's going on? What is this riot?"

"This is not the right time! Now that damn Lord and supervisor have been taken away by the knights! We are free now! He won't take any more of our money."

"What?"

"And Ian is a prince! Prince!"

"What?!"

They looked at Ian with wide eyes. 

"What, what, what happened?"

"Then, don't tell me?"

Were they here to pick up Ian?

People looked at Ian in shock. 

"I'm not sure why, I didn't pay attention to it. The knight even took off his cape to that serf."

Only then did they stop shouting informally at Ian. 

And Ian, who received the cape, also looked at Galon as if it was unexpected.

'I'm sure you took off your cape on purpose.'

They couldn't bear to see the prince they picked up to be slandered.

'It would be a nuisance to the Duke's name.'

Galon was loyal enough to be trusted by the Duke, so it was understandable, but still it was surprising.

This was a situation where only commoners were watching, not the nobles. 

'Did my first impression change a little?'

It was definitely different from before. 

No, in the first place, it's different from the fact that he's so close to a knight like Galon. He could feel that he was treating him well.

It was when Ian got on the carriage.

"You can change into the clothes inside."

The bag in the carriage had folded clothes for Ian. 

"These clothes were prepared by the people of the Duke family when they heard that the prince was coming. It took a long time to prepare, so it looks like they put a lot of thought into it."

He must have paid attention to the prince's arrival. 

Galon left his seat so that Ian could change clothes comfortably.

Now Ian was alone in the carriage.

'This is also the same as in the past.'

Ian opened the bag and lifted the clothes.

The small pants stuck like tight pants, and the thighs were pumpkin pants with circular tubes as if they were filled with air. The neck also had a cumbersome decoration like a frilled lizard.

'It's a typical aristocratic attire.'

How precious were these clothes in the past?

'I was so happy as if I had become a nobleman right away.'

It was very sad to leave his hometown and lose his mother's belongings. However, it was also true that he was excited about ending his serf life and becoming a royal family.

But Ian's eyes looking at it were cold.

'It was good. Even if it's not just these.'

Ian threw away the clothes in his hands.

The clothes prepared by the Duke's people were actually made to humiliate him in the past.

He had no choice but to think so.

All of these clothes were about 50 years old.

It was only worth wearing for the falling aristocratic families of rural villages.

In fact, Ian, who entered in that outfit, was greatly laughed at by the nobles.

It wasn't just that.

'Maybe because I am a serf-born prince, so they didn't hesitate to insult me by saying that the outfit suited me well.'

Ian heard everything behind his back. Of course, he didn't know much about the law at the time, and he was discouraged in an unfamiliar environment and didn't intend to punish the united nobles. And although they said they could not find the criminal, it was probably the Duke's aides who ordered these clothes to be brought.

'They must have hated seeing me a serf bragging about being called the king's son.'

And there was a high probability that the Duke knew and yet tolerated it.

'In the end, they were all one team.'

But this time, it wouldn't work out as they wanted.

Ian looked at the clothes with gleaming eyes. 

***

"Pardon? A messenger?" 

"Yes, a messenger."

Nathan was talking to the centurion. It was also a very secret mission.

"Send a messenger in the name of the Duke to a nearby Duke's follower. We need to deal with the lord's mess."

"Should I announce that the crime is blasphemy against the royal family?"

At the centurion's words, Nathan fell into thought.

"Sir Nathan?"

"No. Just… you can say that he insulted me as a knight. Don't say it's for the prince."

"!"

Nathan recalled Ian from before.

Earlier, he said that summary execution was the punishment, but in fact, summary execution was not a good solution in that situation.

'In fact, there were very few summary executions done in recent years, although it is customary.'

Ian was a bastard who had not yet been recognized as the blood of the king. The nobles could have already opposed the appointment of the prince for wielding the authority of the royal family.

However, there was one question.

To others, it may seem that the child was scared and hence stopped the execution, but…

'Did he really stop it because he was scared?'

On the contrary, it was the gaze of someone who stopped the execution order because he knew exactly a better way to deal with it. 

As if reading Nathan's intentions, the centurion smirked.

'You must be interested in the little one's attitude. Yes, that's just how you are.'

But he didn't show it.

"Well, certainly, as the Duke intended, it would be better for other nobles to not know the existence of the prince yet. I'll do that."

It was fortunate that the lord was not from a family with a backbone.

If so, it would have worked to say that he had simply arrested him for blaspheming the knight.

And it was when they came to where the carriage was parked.

"Prince? Please don't do this."

"If Sir Galon finds out…!"

It was a bit noisy around the carriage.

Nathan hurriedly approached the carriage where the soldiers were buzzing.

"What? What's going on?"

"Oh, Sir Nathan!"

Nathan tilted his head when he saw Ian standing outside the carriage.

It was because Ian still had the same dirty clothes as before.

"Didn't Sir Galon tell you to change your clothes? Why are you still…"

However, Nathan was surprised when he checked the inside of the carriage.

This was because the bag in the carriage was full of torn clothes.

Nathan was shocked and turned to Ian, but he said. 

"I came into the carriage to change into it, but it's all in that state. I guess a wild animal snuck in."

Ian spoke naturally, but Nathan's face frowned as he checked the clothes.

'This is… someone intentionally ripped it.'

Nathan quickly looked at Ian.

'Did this kid…?'

Ian's expression didn't show anything at all, but Nathan was three times sharper than others.

'Why on earth are you doing this?'

But then he immediately noticed that something was amiss with the torn clothes.

"Oh, my."

This was definitely a rustic outfit that even a countryside noble would not wear.

If you had lived as a noble in the city at least once, you wouldn't wear such clothes unless you were a fool. 

'Whoever it is, they were going to make a fool out of him.'

But Ian broke the trap neatly as if he knew it.

This was Ian, a boy who had lived as a serf in the countryside so far.

'He's… a more interesting prince than I thought.'

And it was then.

Galon, who went patrolling, returned. 

"Sir Nathan? What's going on?"

"Oh. There's a problem with the clothes we had prepared. I think the prince needs a new outfit." 

"What? Is there something wrong with the clothes?"

Likewise, Galon was surprised to see inside the carriage.

"What? What's with this outfit?"

Even Galon, who usually did not change his emotions, was startled. 

It was a shocking style even for Galon, who was a commoner. And it wasn't even the state of the clothes that he cared about.

"I didn't check the contents, but who in the world is playing such a bad joke?"

Nathan shrugged nonchalantly. In the meantime, he turned to look at the centurion sweating next to him.

"Well. It could be someone's mistake or someone's bad intention. Anyway, that's not what's important, is it? I don't know if the clothes were torn because they're already ruined…"

"I'll have to buy some clothes from a nearby village. No, it might be better to get some good clothes from a nearby aristocratic castle."

That made the centurion sweat even more, and Nathan chuckled.

'The culprit is probably the Duke's aides.'

When he returned to the castle, he was looking forward to seeing how the expressions of the culprits, who would be full of thoughts of teasing the prince, would change.

And Ian smiled as if it was going as planned.

Nathan probably noticed he had ripped it, but it didn't matter.

He'd be glad to know, and whatever he bought would be better than these clothes.

'You gave me clothes that even that stupid lord wouldn't wear.'

Unlike Nathan, Ian knew for sure who the culprit was.

That's right, the culprits were the people you would see when you arrive at the Duke's castle, and surprisingly, they were the ones the Duke assigned as his aides.

And they played this kind of prank for their own fun and to get a head start. 

'The centurion must have been one of them.'

Ian could tell just by looking at the centurion's embarrassed face.

But there was something else more important than such a prank.

'Galon and Nathan. Both are now of unknown worth.'

Even now, there were many people who were interested in Galon, but in the future, he would stand out more to be the strongest knight whose name would resonate throughout the continent.

Although Nathan was said to be the son of a marquis, he was deemed as a deadly knight who aimed at Duke Garcia's life.

It was more important to win their hearts.

'Of course it won't be easy.'

In fact, Galon didn't see himself being ridiculed by the clothes because he went back to the Duke's castle first due to an incident that occurred in the middle, but Nathan was different.

He saw his ridiculous clothes all the way back, but he didn't say a word. 

'You just thought it didn't matter.'

Therefore, it was a bit surprising that he said that he would bring good clothes.

So Ian looked at the two with eyes lit up.

'The upcoming raid is also a problem, but the first day is the most problematic. That's when everything is decided.'

Tearing this old-fashioned aristocratic outfit was also for that reason. 

In the past, Ian's aides were the ones who bothered him the most. Maybe the Duke would attach them to him again if he went into the castle this time. 

But this time it will be different.

'I will decide who I am in this life.'