The Everyday Life of an Incompetent Crown Prince

12: Expectation, Concern, and Urgent News

“By the way, His Highness the Crown Prince seems to have a very bright face today.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yes. You have a radiance like the sun that makes every woman you pass by turn around.”

“That’s an exaggeration.”

As I watched Jarnal laugh, I gently touched my cheek.

I’ve been told that by Zeel and the other servants since I woke up this morning, but is it really that obvious?

I admit that I’m in a good mood. After all, I’ve created my own magic for the first time, and now I can practice it without any hesitation. There’s no way I wouldn’t be happy.

I hid my rising smile as I sipped my tea.

“So, is there anything different?”

“Yes, there is.”

Back to the topic, today is the usual time for Journal to provide me with information. He’s the only source of information I have about the outside world, so I appreciate him very much.

“First, about the village of Yaina.”

The village of Yaina, I heard, is a pioneer village located in the mountains of the Archduchy of Are, northwest of the royal capital. It’s one of several small villages scattered around.

Apparently, a large number of magical beasts and a powerful magical beast have recently appeared near there. At first, an adventurer (Adbel) who had received a request from the village went to investigate and defeat some of the magical beasts, but he was no match for the powerful magical beast and reported it to the brokerage, which then reported it to the country.

There are several ways to deal with such cases.

One is to send a notice from the brokerage to each guild and have them go as a guild unit, or to have them form an alliance (raid) with multiple adventurers and guilds to defeat it.

Another is to leave it to the judgment of the lord, who can hire adventurers or mercenaries (soldiers) on their own or call for support from neighboring territories to defeat it.

The third is to send troops directly from the country to defeat it. These are the three main methods.

The third option, from the country, is basically used when it is judged that the other two options are not sufficient, so I thought that would be the case this time as well――but apparently the story doesn’t end there.

“Apparently, there is a movement to send His Highness Dine there due to the voices of the Second Concubine’s faction.”

–Credit. That was the first thing that came to mind.

Currently, the throne is being contested by two people: my younger brother, Croitz, and my older brother, Dine. The easiest way to gain an advantage is to make a name for yourself. The two most obvious ways to do this are through personal strength and leadership of a group.

This time, my brother’s faction must have forced it on my father with that in mind.

“So, what’s the situation?”

“It seems that they are currently conducting a detailed investigation of the magical beast, but depending on the results…”

“I see.”

They say a detailed investigation, but they will probably send him unless it is an extremely weak magical beast. At the very least, it must be a formidable magical beast for the brokerage to report it to the country. This factor alone would be enough to justify his credit, almost certainly.

“Anything else?”

“Yes. It’s about the Dool Kingdom that His Majesty destroyed――”

Now another troublesome topic has come up.

The story goes back to about five years ago, just after I came to the Crown Prince’s Mansion. The Arei Kingdom army, led by my father, destroyed the neighboring Dool Kingdom and expanded its territory. The story is about several free city-states bordering the Dool Kingdom and the Naaz Kingdom.

The Dool Kingdom, which was destroyed, had been actively interacting with the free city-states and had formed an alliance with the Naaz Kingdom. It seems that they had provided logistical support and even sent reinforcements during the war.

The problem this time is that the surviving members of the Dool Kingdom’s royal family have fled to the Naaz Kingdom, and some of the nobles have fled to the free city-states.

“What a pain…”

“Yes.”

The fact that the royal family of a destroyed country has fled means that they have a just cause to wage war against us. This is where the trouble starts.

And what’s even more troublesome is the free city-states. Basically, they don’t belong to any country, nor do they claim any specific territory.

However, free city-states often possess dungeons within their borders, develop their own unique technologies, and experience a great deal of movement of people, goods, and money.

If you’re not careful, you could incur the unnecessary resentment of neighboring countries, and it could also affect adventurers and merchants (Orvals) from other countries. There’s also the concern that it could become more difficult to acquire new technologies.

In a sense, neighboring countries are like magical beasts watching our every move, and we never know when they might attack. And behind them is something that offers blessings that we don’t want to touch.

“So?”

He had deliberately shared this information with me here and now, so it couldn’t end here. When I urged him to continue, Jarnall frowned slightly, as if he was finding it difficult to speak.

“Recently, there has been a skirmish on the border with the Kingdom of Naaz. It seems that the atmosphere in the royal palace has become tense.”

“I see.”

“And, well, this is just speculation and conjecture…”

“It’s fine. Go on.”

“Yes, it is possible that His Highness Kreutz may be dispatched.”

“…Explain.”

As I had explained earlier, there are rumors that my older brother, Dine, may be sent to subdue the magical beast, and that they may be trying to give my younger brother, Kreutz, a chance to earn some credit as well.

It is already known that the reason I was not disinherited was because my father did not want to sadden my mother, the queen.

Similarly, it is possible that my father and mother may want my younger brother to be the next king.

If that is the case, then it is inevitable that they would want to give him accomplishments that are on par with my older brother, Dine. Therefore, it is possible that my younger brother, Kreutz, may participate in the skirmish, or perhaps even in the early stages of a war that may develop.

“…”

Hearing this, I felt a strange sense of unease.

My younger brother is one year younger than me. He is not even an adult yet. Although he is talented, there is a difference between subduing a magical beast and going to war.

If he succeeds, he may indeed be able to make a name for himself more easily than my older brother, Dine, but it will not be easy.

It may be too late, but I am grateful to my father, mother, and grandfather, and I also have affection for my younger brother, who has always looked up to me as his older brother, despite my incompetence.

However, perhaps because my spirit has been worn down by the days filled with emptiness, I am aware that my own emotions have become diluted.

Perhaps that is why, even though I have heard that my younger brother may be in danger, I feel a sense of dryness.

I see, I wish him good luck in battle. That’s all it is.

However, when I think of my once-cute younger brother’s innocent smile, I feel a strange emotion welling up inside me.

“Your Highness?”

“…It’s nothing. Is there anything else?”

Jarnall, sensing my mood, gave me a concerned look, and I shook my head and picked up my teacup. I closed my eyes and took a sip of tea, and as if he had been waiting for me to do so, Jarnall spoke up .

“There are two more things.”

“Hmm?”

“…The matter of the Shadow People.”

My heart skipped a beat as Jarnall said this, his voice lowered and his body leaning forward.

“Yes. What about it?”

“We are still investigating, but it seems that when the Kingdom of Dool was destroyed, a nearby village was also caught in the crossfire. It is possible that this village was a Shadow People village.”

“Oh?”

“The name of the clan was Sagara, and it seems that they were an outstanding clan of Shadow People. Apparently, some of the survivors are still living in the country.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“As the saying goes, snakes know where to find snakes.”

In other words, don’t ask. Well, that’s fine. It’s probably information that he got from his own Shadow People contacts. I have no complaints about Jarnall going to the trouble of investigating using that information.

“So, should we contact them? Well, I suppose we’ll have to ask them for help.”

“That is what I would like to do, but…”

“Are there any concerns?”

“…… During the war, it seems that the army of the Zarud Duchy attacked that village… Yes”

“…”

I couldn’t help but shut my mouth. That’s impossible, I thought.

Needless to say, I am the direct grandson of the head of the Zarud Duchy. I am also the direct son of the king who destroyed the Kingdom of Dool.

If a clan called Sagara lived in that country, it is not hard to imagine that they belonged to the royal family, the aristocracy, or the privileged class. It is also possible that they were a powerful family that even owned a small territory.

I have a father who destroyed his employer and a grandfather who killed his own clan. If I said, “Come be my subordinate!” wouldn’t they come to kill me without hesitation? At least I would never forgive them.

“I understand. I’ll ask you for something else if there’s anything else.”

“Yes, sir.”

I lean back in my chair. I’m mentally exhausted after this short time.

“This is the last one, but”

I thought he said there were two more, and as I looked at him with suspicious eyes, Jarnar opened his mouth.

“It is highly likely that the head of the Zarud Duchy will come here.”

Hey, you should have said that first.

I was shocked to the point that the previous reports flew out of my mind.