The Extra Prince Sets Out To Conquer The World

When Prince Yuan’s old servant brought in the last ranked court physician, I handed over the chef to him and left the kitchen with Precia and the old servant.

   When we were far away from the kitchen, Precia, who seemed to have much to say, turned to me more cautiously.

   “Prince, may I ask for what reason you brought that alcohol?”

   Was that an even question?

   I smiled at her question and popped the cork with the corkscrew I had brought with the alcohol.

   POP!

   A clear, crisp sound rang out, and the wine popped out of the bottle.

   That’s a nice, clear sound!

   I grabbed the bottle by the neck and took a big swig.

“Good!”

It tasted so good because it was royal wine. If it was cheap, it wouldn’t make it into the palace in the first place.

   “W-what, Prince?”

   I smirked at Precia’s bewildered face.

   “I just thought I’d try it.”

She made a dumbfounded face at my words.

   I may have decided to pose as Prince Yuan, but at my core, I’m still An Yuan.

   It’s just like me to start my day with a drink.

   After all, my brain works best with alcohol.

   “I know what you’re worried about, but don’t worry, I won’t get drunk.”

   Precia is probably worried about the dinner with the king that evening.

   But it’s unnecessary. I am a man who abhors losing my senses.

   I don’t drink enough to make myself sick, so I’m fine.

Hmm, maybe because it’s not my body, but I feel like the alcohol is getting to me.

   Well, it’s a good thing I’m getting drunk on less, right?

   Seeing Precia’s worried face, the old servant soothed her.

   “A little bit will be fine. It might even be good for you to relax. Of course, I wouldn’t recommend too much….”

   The old servant seemed to think I was drinking because I was nervous about meeting the king.

   I wanted to tell him how I was nervous about meeting that damned political monster, but I decided that a misunderstanding was better than interrupting my drinking.

   At the servant’s words, Precia muttered, “Aha, I see,” and nodded.

   I don’t know what convinced her, but yes. Think what you will.

   I’ll go on my way.

   “So, are we going to the garden this time?”

   Precia asks, and I shake my head lightly.

“No. It’s been a while since I’ve seen my Royal Father, so I thought we might need a little something to talk about.”

   A plausible excuse, I thought.

   “So…?”

   “Let’s go to the royal study. Nothing like a good book to make you appear learned.”

   Now that I’ve gotten what I want most, I’m going to get what will actually save my body.

   * * *

The royal study was located not too far away from the separate palace where Prince Yuan lived.

   The size of the study was such that it took up an entire palace, so it would be more accurate to call it a library, but since only the royal family’s bloodline was allowed to enter, the term study made more sense.

   Of course, Jade, the protagonist of The Sage of the Winterwood, casually ignores such rules and sneaks in.

   The royal study was half-abandoned at this point.

   That’s to be expected, as few people from a royal family are close to books.

   The princes were all required to attend various schools, but they kept all the books they needed for instruction in their own spacious rooms and never bothered to come to the royal study.

   Generations later, it was half abandoned.

   The royal study was itself the property of the royal family, so there was a librarian nominally in charge of the study.

However, due to security issues, the librarian was not a professional but rather a low-level member of the royal family who was not married to a powerful family and occupied the position for a living.

Naturally, the librarian would often sit in the entrance foyer to kill time or not even show up for work.

Even now, no one was sitting where the librarian was supposed to be.

   “You two can wait here,” I said, “there are plenty of books in the foyer for you to read.”

   They nodded and saw me off.

   “Okay. Take your time.”

“Bye.”

   “Oh, was it ‘The El Dorado Adventure’? That book looked interesting.”

   I recalled the name of the book that the future Precia had shown interest in here in the foyer, recommended it, and went upstairs to the study.

   As I ascended the stairs, I felt a thin film of something like a bubble pass over my body.

   Is this the eponymous magic that keeps outsiders out?

   It was the reason why only those of royal blood were allowed to enter the royal study.

Considering that Jade, the protagonist, broke through this magic like breathing air, it must not be that great.

   Inside the study, the condition of the room is not the best.

   The bookshelves were filled with books, but there weren’t a lot of them, and the books were stacked in a disorderly fashion in one corner of the room.

“This place is disorganized.”

   Honestly, it didn’t matter to me. I took what I wanted and left.

   There are six hidden secrets in the royal library.

One is a book that can only be read by the protagonist, the heir to The Sage of Winterwood, and two are objects used to advance the story.

   The other three are things I could use as well.

   The other three are things I could use as well.

Of the three secrets, the one I’m prioritizing is the Ancestral Legacy.

   The Ancestral Legacy is a secret book about body modification, which is why the royal library was enchanted to prevent anyone outside of the royal bloodline from entering.

   By embracing the Ancestral Legacy, a knight of average talent can become the greatest Sword Master of all time.

   The downside is that it is merely a modification of the body and requires great effort on the user’s part to become stronger, and at first, the user’s entire body can only become as hard as armor for a short time when desired.

   “It’s not much use, but it’s the best thing I can do to save my body right now. Let’s see, if the novel is correct, It should be somewhere around here.”

   I climbed to the top floor, remembering the novel’s description, and fumbled behind the bookshelf on the right wall.

I activated the hidden mechanism I felt in my hand.

   Drat-drum-drum!

   “There!”

   The device activated, and several bookshelves moved to reveal a small room.

Inside was a luxurious-looking book, the eponymous Ancestral Legacy.

   With excitement, I pricked my finger with a clothespin and smeared the blood on the book’s cover.

   The book glowed faintly and suddenly levitated into the air and opened with a “cha-ching!” sound.

“Oh, oh! It’s fantasy!”

   Then glowing magical characters began to emerge from the book and wrap around me.