Chapter 244 - The Crown Prince's Virtues (1)

Was I merely going to tell them who their master was?

I intended to make them pay in blood for coming to this land without permission and harming the innocent.

I was confident, too.

In my own way, I had been preparing for a day like this. I had not yet finished preparing perfectly, but I had cultivated more than enough strength to wipe out the inhuman things that would rise up in this land.

But then,

"No."

The king would not allow it.

"Your Majesty!"

I stared blankly at the unexpected answer, then shouted in frustration.

"This is something that can be done without you."

His answer held not a trace of hesitation, so I once again explained why I had to go.

I had sharpened my sword in anticipation of a day like this. If he asked me to explain my plan right now, I could offer dozens of countermeasures; if he told me to go out and wipe them out immediately, I could finish the job faster than anyone.

"Others may be able to do it, but I can assure you that no one can do it better than I can."

The king nodded at my words.

"You may be right. No—you are surely not wrong. You have always possessed an oddly profound knowledge of ancient history."

"Then..."

"However!"

Just as my face brightened, the king added one more thing.

"I will not allow it."

"Why not?"

When I asked why, the king looked straight at me and asked in return,

"Whenever something ugly and dangerous happens, are you going to step forward and solve it yourself, as you are now?"

I was about to ask what was wrong with doing something I could do, but I shut my mouth again.

"Whenever such dreadful news arrives, do you intend to clutch your sword and storm out every time?"

The king's eyes asked me far more than his words did.

"Is this kingdom so feeble that it cannot overcome even a minor crisis unless you step in?"

I kept my mouth shut and listened quietly to the king.

"I am not blaming you."

His expression softened considerably.

"I know that you have struggled alone because the Royal Family was not steadfast and the kingdom was not whole. How could I, of all people, reproach you for that, or say that you were wrong?"

Yet his tone remained firm and severe, leaving no room for argument.

"But from now on, things must change."

The king spoke to me.

He said that I had driven my roots deep and grown a sturdy trunk, and that now it was time to spread my branches wide.

"Let the people living in this land lean on your steadfastness. Let those weary from the bitter wind rest beneath your luxuriant branches."

The king repeatedly told me that the virtues of a Crown Prince were quite different from those of a knight.

"You cannot accomplish this by moving lightly. A tree with deep roots is not easily shaken."

I turned the king's words over and over in my mind: that I was to become a great tree with deep roots.

Then I suddenly scowled.

For all his grand talk, what he ultimately meant was that I should stop being so quick to move and sit still.

"Count Ballorhard."

I was about to step forward and argue again, belatedly, when the king called Vincent.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Vincent looked at the king with a markedly formal show of respect.

He made no attempt to hide the long-standing resentment flickering in his eyes.

The king did not rebuke Vincent for his insolence.

He simply rose quietly from the throne, descended from the dais, and spoke.

"As head of the Royal House of Leonberk and the lawful ruler of the Leonberk Kingdom, I hereby revoke the Count's title bestowed upon House Ballorhard."

"Your Majesty!"

At the sudden declaration, I clenched my teeth and stepped forward.

I opened my mouth to protest the king's decision. Or rather, I tried to protest.

But I could not.

Despite the king's preposterous declaration, everyone else looked utterly calm. Those who knew better than anyone the devotion and sacrifices of House Ballorhard offered no resistance to the king's action.

Only then did I realize that the situation was unfolding in a strange way, and I fell silent.

The king glanced at me standing awkwardly, then turned back to Vincent.

"Vincent Ballorhard."

Vincent sneered at the king calling him by name, without even his title.

It was a cold, bitter face I had never seen before.

The king spoke to Vincent again.

"I hereby bestow upon you the title of Duke of the North (Herzog Norden)."

A crack appeared in Vincent's ice-cold expression.

"Furthermore, in honor of the sublime and noble spirit that has remained unchanged through the passing of centuries, I grant you the middle name Erhabenheit (Sublime—Erhabenheit)."

"Honor to the devotion and sacrifice of House Ballorhard!"

The kingdom's dignitaries, led by Marquis Bielefeld, shouted as though they had been waiting for this moment.

"Moreover, I shall bestow upon the former Count Ballorhard, Vale Ballorhard, the title of the Indomitable Knight (Starker Ritter), and posthumously honor him as a Paladin in recognition of his unyielding spirit and nobility."

"Honor to the Indomitable Knight! Honor to the kingdom's Paladin!"

The Royal Knights pounded their chests in unison and offered the highest honor they could.

"Ah..."

Vincent stared at them blankly for a long while.

"Vincent Erhabenheit Ballorhard."

The king called out to Vincent.

"Yes? Yes, Your Majesty."

"I offer you my heartfelt thanks for your family's devotion and sacrifice, and I bow my head in apology for the hardships and misfortunes House Ballorhard has had to endure because of an incompetent Royal Family."

These were not merely formal words.

The king actually bowed his head slightly.

The greatest thanks and apology a monarch could offer.

Vincent, who had already looked half out of his mind, now seemed completely stunned.

After standing there for a long while, Vincent abruptly turned to look at me.

His lips moved several times, but in the end he could not utter a single word.

I was no different.

Whether the passion and countless emotions roiling in his eyes had been conveyed to me in their entirety, or whether they had surged up from within me, I could only clench my teeth to hold back the feelings welling up inside.

I could not even open my mouth to offer congratulations.

All I could do was give him a small nod.

Lift your shoulders. Stand proudly.

Seeing my gaze, Vincent straightened his shoulders and raised his chin.

His chin rose so high it seemed about to touch the sky, and it was so ridiculous that...

I laughed without meaning to.

What an idiot. What was he doing?

Yet at some point, without realizing it, I had raised my chin just like him.

My vision blurred and faded, but I forced my eyes wide open.

In my heart, I spoke to someone dear whom I would never be able to see again.

'You should have lived just a little longer. Wouldn't that have been wonderful?'

Wouldn't it have been wonderful if you had lived to enjoy the honor of seeing your son become a duke?

No answer came.

Only the shouts of the king and the others reached my ears.

"Long live the Duke of the North! Long live House Ballorhard!"

The kingdom's dignitaries chanted the name of Ballorhard, now raised to a ducal house.

"Honor to the Indomitable Knight!"

"Honor to the great knight, Vale Ballorhard!"

The Royal Knights pounded their chests and cried out the name of the Paladin born for the first time in 120 years.

As I listened to the fervent cheers, I squeezed my eyes shut.

Something hot finally spilled down my cheek.

* * *

A considerable amount of time passed before the cheering finally died down.

But the heat within me remained, and Vincent was no different.

"I will do my best."

Vincent answered in a plain tone, but his eyes were hot enough to burn.

Not a trace of the resentment and long-held bitterness from moments ago remained.

All he had received was a single title, and nothing more than words of apology and thanks.

Perhaps some would curse Vincent as a materialist. Perhaps they would condemn him as shallow for forgetting his resentment over a few words of praise.

But I knew.

Vincent was no materialist. He was not so shallow that a few words could easily sway him.

He was simply foolishly steadfast.

He had never wanted immense compensation or some grand apology in the first place.

He had only wanted people to know—to remember their presence on the walls battered by the bitter wind, and his family's devotion and sacrifice in fighting for this land where no one knew of them.

What he had wanted in return for centuries of devotion and sacrifice was that modest.

And it was the same for his father. His forebears, too, most likely. Otherwise, they would never have fought for so long in that harsh land, unknown to anyone.

A family like a flame that never dimmed, even before the bitter wind.

I cherished his family and the Ballorhard people dearly.

But even I had failed to anticipate one thing.

"I will take this mission."

I never expected the heat that could not be extinguished even by the bitter wind to...

"I shall personally wipe out the monsters that have appeared in Branbrut County."

...swallow the feast laid out before me whole.

"I have thousands of trackers under my command who can determine a monster's kind and number from its tracks alone, as if they had seen the creatures themselves. I also have hundreds of brave knights who will never retreat before any monster."

"Indeed. What you say is entirely true. No one knows monsters better than you and your army, who have fought them for generations in the North."

The king praised Vincent loudly enough for me to hear.

"If you give the order, I shall rush there at once and wipe out every last monster that has appeared in Branbrut County."

Unaware of how I felt, Vincent boasted as he thumped his chest.

After talking with Vincent for quite some time, the king disappeared somewhere to devise a response.

Taking only the Grand Marshal and Vincent with him. Leaving me out entirely.

All I could do was stare blankly at them as they disappeared.

"They say a trusted ax cuts your foot."

There could hardly have been a situation that fit those words better than this.

I cursed Vincent furiously.

But it changed nothing. In the end, I had no choice but to return with my shoulders drooping.

When I reached the palace, the Silver Lions and the knights were waiting for me in the middle of the training grounds.

I did not even change my clothes before heading straight toward them.

Then I told them

that today might be a somewhat grueling day.

"I only wish for the kingdom to become stronger because of you, so please do not resent me."

It was only to make every preparation possible with our departure for war so near, and I had not the slightest ulterior motive.

The extra force behind my sword, and the longer sparring sessions than usual—

that was all it was for.

Truly.

* * *

That night, Vincent came to see me.

"What brings you here when you should be busy exterminating monsters?"

I blocked the doorway, making my displeasure clear with my entire body.

"I hurried here with news I thought Your Highness would like, but it seems my arrival is unwelcome."

At the mention of news I might like, my ears perked up.

I quietly stepped aside and pointed to the sofa.

"Why are you still standing there? Come in and sit down."

Vincent, who had been standing at the entrance, chuckled and plopped down in the seat.

"What news would I like?"

"I was just about to tell you."

Contrary to his words, Vincent did not speak at once.

With a sly grin, he took his time enjoying me fidgeting impatiently in my seat.

Then, just before my irritation surpassed my curiosity—right before I ordered him out—he finally spoke.

"If it were only the matter in Branbrut County, the Rangers could handle it alone, but if something similar is happening throughout the kingdom as Your Highness said, I told His Majesty that Your Highness must be there to minimize the damage."

At his sudden words, I asked eagerly,

"And? And? What did His Majesty say?"

"After considering my words for a long while, His Majesty said..."

Vincent grinned.

"He said he would permit Your Highness to leave the palace."

I clenched my fist, rose from my seat, and cheered.

"That's my Vincent! You never let me down!"

At that moment, the sense of betrayal I had felt toward Vincent vanished completely.

"There was one condition."

Seeing me like that, Vincent added a caveat.

"In this monster-extermination party, Your Highness's official position is not a combatant, but someone under protection. Your primary duty is to calm the populace, who have been thrown into turmoil by these sudden anomalies."

I did not stop grinning.

"You heard me correctly, didn't you?"

Vincent demanded confirmation from me several times.

"Noncombatant. Person under protection. My duty is to calm the disturbed populace."

Each time, I repeated my position and role.

"I'm already beginning to regret sticking my nose in. I should have just stayed out of it—what glory did I think I would gain? Maybe I should go back now and take back what I said."

At Vincent's groaning, I boasted once again,

"Don't worry. I intend to devote myself solely to the duty assigned to me."

"Is that lie really true?"

"Have you lived your whole life being deceived? I mean it—I really will."

I did not bother telling the suspicious Vincent about the various possibilities flitting through my mind.

Such as a situation where the enemy was too strong and even the person under protection had to take up a sword and fight, or one where a noncombatant happened to get caught up in battle,

"I said it again, but please focus only on your assigned duty. Think of nothing else; focus solely on calming the populace."

Even on the day of our departure, Vincent remained anxious and continued whispering in my ear.

"Your duty this time is to cultivate the virtue you ought to possess as a Crown Prince. Above all else, devote yourself to tending to the hearts of the people trembling in fear."

Even the king, who had come to see us off at the city gate, joined in and showered me with nagging.

"I shall remember, I shall remember! My mind is entirely occupied with thoughts of how to calm the populace as quickly as possible!"

It was not a lie.

I had spent the entire time before our departure considering the matter, and I had even devised a plan of my own.

I was firmly convinced that nothing could calm the populace faster than eliminating the root of the problem.

I had no doubt of it.

So if—just if, in the most improbable coincidence imaginable—I were somehow forced to fight the monsters, that would merely be one means of calming the populace.

"Ha. What am I going to do?"

And that moment came far sooner than I expected.

"I really didn't want to do this."

I quietly drew Twilight.

I quietly drew Twilight.