The Extra Prince Sets Out To Conquer The World

The Queen’s eyes that met mine contained contempt for my foolishness.

Certainly, my coming to see the Queen was a politically incorrect move.

It was clear as day that the King would be furious, asking what I was doing after finally cornering the Queen.

But what do I care?

I’m not the King’s pawn.

After the Queen’s court ladies withdrew, leaving just the two of us, I greeted according to palace etiquette.

“It’s been a while, Your Majesty.”

In response to my greeting, the Queen suppressed her typical dirty temper and responded with a smile.

“Indeed, it’s been a while. Please have a seat.”

At the Queen’s invitation, I sat directly across from her.

My actions made the Queen’s brow twitch.

The seat directly facing the host is given to those equal or comparable to the host.

My sitting in this seat was tantamount to declaring that a mere prince was on par with the Queen.

“Yuan, it seems you don’t know since it’s your first time in this reception room…”

“This seat is for someone of equal standing.”

As I brazenly cut off the Queen’s words, her expression contorted.

“Now, knowing that…”

“Yes, I’m sitting here.”

When I interrupted her again, the Queen shouted, “You! How dare…!”

About to express her anger with a flushed face, the Queen took a deep breath to calm herself.

She seemed to have noticed that getting angry here would not benefit her.

Indeed, she’s a fox-like politician.

My current actions were enough to warrant anger.

Moreover, she could have used my behavior to stop the current political offensive.

That is, if she could prove my actions.

“Are you relying on His Majesty and daring to insult me?”

The pathetic Prince Yuan acting so rudely to the Queen?

There are only the two of us here, so how will you prove my actions?

The image of my weakness is deep-rooted.

If I tried to reveal my actions now, I would only face backlash for making an ineffective move.

At the Queen’s question, I lightly smiled.

“I’m acting this way because I believe in myself.”

“Do you think you’ll be safe after this?”

Despite my answer, the Queen could only gnash her teeth and threaten me, unable to directly harm me.

Her budget authority was temporarily seized by the King, and using violence would only jeopardize the Queen’s position.

I took out the dagger I had diligently sharpened, called “rumor”.

“Yes, of course. When I leave here today, I will say that you abused me.”

“…What?”

Dumbfounded by my words, the Queen soon came to her senses and spoke as if advising me.

“Do you have evidence? If it’s just words, I have plenty to refute…”

At her words, I slowly took off my top and showed her.

My body was mottled with bluish bruises and raised blood vessels, as if I had truly been abused for a long time.

If I wailed that the Queen had been abusing me, who would believe her words?

Even the Queen’s confidants and family would have no choice but to regard her with suspicion.

I stabbed the Queen’s heart with clear words.

“Well, now there’s more than enough evidence, right?”

Seeing my body, the Queen trembled and broke out in a cold sweat.

“D-did you self-harm? T-to attack me…?”

At the Queen’s question, I asked back with a bright smile, “What do you mean? Aren’t all these wounds what you did, Your Majesty?”

In fact, they were the result of steadily developing Aquila’s mana circuits.

As the mana circuits spread throughout my body, I thought I would really die from the pain as if being scorched by red-hot iron all over.

This damn body without a shred of talent.

“W-what hiccup! What do you want?!”

At the Queen’s question, I crumpled and tore my clothes as I answered.

“Well, I was going to demand what I wanted, but someone offered me something bigger.”

The commotion outside was gradually growing louder.

I simultaneously kicked the sofa over and laid on the floor.

“What the…?”

While the Queen was startled by my actions, the reception room door suddenly burst open.

The Queen tried to get angry at someone abruptly entering, but she couldn’t.

“Y-Your Majesty…!”

The ones who entered the reception room were the King, leading knights.

“So the rumors were true? Queen.”

“Ah! No!”

Although the Queen cried out like that, none of those who saw the current situation believed her words.

Even the Queen’s confidants among the knights looked at the Queen with distrust.

“Sniff… Sob sob…!”

Amidst the numerous gazes, I shed pitiful tears.

As only the sound of my crying rang out in the quiet stillness, the King looked at the Queen with cold eyes.

“Sir Horazon, arrest the Queen and confine her to the guest room in the inner palace.”

“I shall obey Your Majesty’s command!”

Horazon grabbed the Queen’s arm and tied her with rope for formality.

“No, no! It’s not true! Your Majesty! I’m being wronged!”

Despite the Queen’s cries, the King declared in an icy voice as if not hearing them.

“The Queen’s crime will be carefully investigated before the sentence is carried out. Until then, no one is to have an audience with the Queen. Anyone who violates this will be dealt with as treason.”

Afterwards, the King took off his coat, draped it over me, and embraced me in a political performance.

“It’s my shortcoming that has made you suffer so. I’m sorry.”

There was no agitation at all in the heartbeat I heard next to my ear.

What an actor. Then I should respond with acting too.

“…N-no. It’s because I’m weak… Sob!”

“You’ve been through a lot. Rest well.”

“Yes, Father.”

The King and I smiled at each other.

To others, it looked like a beautiful affection shared between father and son, but underneath, various glances passed between me and the King.

After returning to the annex, I laid on the bed and stretched.

“Ugh, that was tiring.”

“Your Highness!”

As I tried to lie down and rest, Precia entered the room with tears in her eyes.

“Are you alright, Your Highness?! You’ve been abused all this time…! I, I…!”

The force of Precia embracing me while crying bent my waist backwards.

“Guh-ack!”

“Ah! Your Highness!”

Precia’s back-bending was more fatal than the injuries I suffered from Aquila’s mana circuits. I almost died.

Grasping my lower back, I spoke to Precia.

“Ouch, my back. Precia, get a grip. When did the Queen have time to abuse me when you’re with me all day?”

“Huh…?”

Perhaps because her mind was occupied with me being hurt, Precia was at a loss for words, not having thought that far.

“While we’re at it, Precia, Herion, both of you be careful. I was often summoned by the Queen and abused. You two need to get your stories straight when the investigators question you, so listen well and memorize.”

I had Precia and Herion stand and explained the exact dates, times, places, etc. for them to memorize.

If I had many followers it would be a different story, but since I only need to instruct two people, my shallow human relationships come in handy at times like this.

As I kept drilling it into their heads, a small cry was heard from the window.

-Meow~!

“Ah, Navi, you’re here?”

Navi dragged a book bigger than its body on its back.

“The Spirit Book of Lisbeth”, one of the secrets hidden in the Queen’s palace.

“Good job! Navi! Aww, you cutie!”

Amidst the chaos of the King barging in, I had Navi bring me the spirit book.

With this, I can properly learn spirit techniques.

“What is this cat?”

Herion looked at me with surprised eyes, perhaps seeing Navi for the first time.

“Ah, my friend. Keep it a secret.”

At my smile, Herion let out a small sigh and nodded.

Then, a knocking sound was heard from outside.

When I nodded, Herion went out to check, and after briefly talking with the annex attendant, he returned with a letter stamped with the King’s seal.

“The royal messenger just came and delivered a letter from His Majesty before leaving.”

“Is that so?”

I immediately tore open the letter and read it.

The King’s letter was short, with just one line written without any embellishments.

“Come to the 7th gate of the inner palace at 1 AM.”

In short, he was telling me to meet him.

As it neared 1 AM past midnight,

Leaving behind the busy Herion, I headed with only Precia to the place the King told me to come.

The 7th gate, primarily used by porters, was so deserted at this hour that there weren’t even any guards.

No, even if it was a place with few people, the absence of guards was strange.

“You came early. I was waiting, Your Highness.”

Sangseon, the King’s closest aide, opened the gate and greeted me.

Indeed, he wants to meet in secret.

If he’s going out of his way to meet like this, he must have a rather confidential story to tell.

“Thank you for your hard work at this late hour, Sangseon.”

As I accepted his greeting, Sangseon smiled and guided me inside.

“His Majesty is waiting for you.”

The place Sangseon led me to was a small garden behind the inner palace.

The King and Horazon were standing side by side in the garden.

As Sangseon approached the King and informed him of my visit, the King saw me and gestured for me to come.

“Did you call for me, Father?”

The warm gaze he had feigned a few hours ago in the Queen’s palace was nowhere to be seen.

He looked at me with a cold and calculating gaze in response to my greeting.

“I received the letter you sent through Sir Horazon before going to the Queen’s palace. Good work. I didn’t expect much from you, but you did a great thing. I had no idea you would go to such lengths as to consistently self-harm.”

Even without being well-versed in medicine, one could tell at a glance that the wounds on my body weren’t something that could be faked in a day.

In reality, I had steadily developed mana circuits over the course of several days, so it was only natural.

“It’s nothing. I merely responded because the Queen crossed the line first.”

At my words, the King looked at me with interest.

“Crossed the line, you say. What line did the Queen cross?”

“There’s only one thing she’s crossed the line with recently, isn’t there?”

At my words, the King’s expression hardened.

“…Are you saying the Queen is the one who sent an assassin after you?”

“To be precise, the Queen merely opened the way.”

The King’s gaze toward me sharpened.

“Do you have evidence that the Queen was involved in the assassination attempt?”

“Of course not. If I had evidence, I wouldn’t have used such a convoluted method. If I presented evidence to you, Father, you would have handled it directly.”

The King fell silent for a moment at my answer. I could clearly see the gears turning in his head.

“The Queen’s power will greatly diminish. But the Queen’s position will still be maintained.”

Normally, it would be strange for her not to be impeached and stripped of her title for a felony of this magnitude.

“I’m aware. The Queen’s forces won’t just sit back and watch the Queen be deposed over the abuse of the 1st Prince, who has no backing or Crown Prince status.”

However, the Queen’s older brother, the Marquis, the aristocratic faction, and the shady forces aligned with the Queen wouldn’t allow that to happen.

Even if the Queen’s position is maintained, she will never wield the same authority as before and will have her freedom half-stripped away and be under surveillance.

Of course, that would require enduring a great sacrifice, but the position of Queen was worth that much.

If the King had noticed the shady forces, he would have purged them, but now that he’s aware, he won’t fall for their schemes.

“How much do you know?”

“Nothing. How would I know?”

When I answered with a smile, the King raised his hand and dismissed Sangseon and Horazon.

As if that freak who’s far beyond human would not hear us just because he’s a little further away.

The King must also be well aware of that fact, so this should be taken as a gesture of concession and goodwill.

I also nodded at Precia, instructing her to step back.

“Speak truthfully. How much do you know?”

“Probably less than what you know, Your Majesty. As you’re aware, I possess little.”

That’s a lie. I know more information than the King.

“Still, try telling me. How much do you know about the shady forces in league with the Queen? Your warning through Sir Horazon to be cautious even of the water I drink wasn’t solely to make me lend an ear to your words whenever the Queen, baited by rumors, summoned you.”

Indeed, he’s a sly old fox adept at politics. He noticed my intention behind those words.

“All I can tell you right now is the name of the organization in cahoots with the Queen.”

“The name, you say. What is their name?”

I smiled and answered the King’s question.

“Arcana.”

They were a group of madmen who sought to dominate the world and fate.