In This Life, I Will Be The Lord

Chapter 205

The whole country was in a state of disarray.

It was only a natural reaction to the fact that the First Prince had attempted to kill the Emperor but was caught in the act by the imperial knights.

The nobles also became restless.

In the meantime, those who had been currying for favour behind Astana were stunned and anxious to be seen well by Perez.

Although he was the first and legitimate prince that was sired by the Empress, it was all useless in the face of the fearsome charges of attempted assassination and treason.

“There are nobles lining up in front of the Second Prince’s Poylac Palace every day.”

Bate reported to me.

“Even now, they’re still trying to gain favour and follow behind Perez. But I don’t know if I can say that.”

Perez will not push them away.

He is not a crown prince who cuts off those who choose not to follow him.

But he’ll definitely cut off the heads of some of those who had opposed him.

“How many people still remain on the Empress’ side these days?”

“There are a lot more than we expected.”

Bate answered my question while shrugging his shoulders.

“First off, right now, the power of the few remaining loyal households, including Angenas and their vassal families, are still quite strong. There are also many who have been married into the Angenas family through the arrangement of the Empress.”

“You’re saying those that can no longer sever their connections with the First Prince are still standing firm.”

“There is a rumour going around that the First Prince was out of his mind when he tried to kill the Emperor. The amount of people that also want to take the external factors into account are also not small in number.”

“So, was he in his right mind?”

I can still clearly remember Astana’s face from that day, when he was rushing forward with a knife.

He definitely must have been out of his mind.

Sure enough.

Bate shook his head.

“He was drunk on magic. To the point where he would not have been able to recognise his mother or father.”

“But it’s probably not easy for someone to get so drunk on magic to that extent. Am I right?”

Bate nodded this time.

Even if it was Madman’s Forest or catching a monster, it was not easy for magic to spread to that extent.

Furthermore, for it to be near the entrance of Madman’s Forest as well.

“Could he have possibly taken some sort of medicine that could absorb magic...”

The fact that Bate says it like that means that he can’t reveal the exact source, but there was definitely information that had come in about it.

“Medicine you say...”

It was Perez.

Even from the beginning, it was him who had proposed to hold a hunting competition in Madman’s Forest.

Preparing the gold armour for the Emperor was also one of his requests.

“Did you identify the monster I told you about last time?”

“Yes. Kangpara is a monster with long claws, and like crows, has a habit of collecting items that sparkle.”

As always. It went according to my expectations.

Perez had deliberately led the Emperor down that path in order to swap his own armour.

“Seems like it’s finally started.”

Perez’s revenge.

In his previous life, his revenge was long and thorough.

Starting from the crown prince and working his way up from there, he returned all the pain he had suffered.

However, I had never thought of stopping Perez.

No, instead, I was planning to help him.

I turned to look back at Clerivan and said.

“Sir Clerivan. It seems like the time to use ‘that’ is approaching soon. Make sure you’ve prepared for it properly.”

“Yes. I’ll move it to the Lombardy mansion.”

Clerivan replied with a relaxed smile on his face.

• • •

Emperor Yovanes, unable to sleep, poured alcohol into a glass with a haggard complexion.

He drinks to the point of unconsciousness and falls asleep under the influence of the alcohol.

Then, when he gets up the next morning, he reaches for the liquor bottle once again.

It was the recurring daily routine of the Emperor after returning from the hunting competition.

Eventually, it reached a point where a servant took the initiative to contact Rulac separately.

“Have a glass.”

Yovanes said, putting down a glass of liquor in front of Rulac.

“Are you drinking this kind of hard liquor every day?”

Rulac asked while frowning as his forehead wrinkled.

“I can’t sleep well unless I drink this.”

A weak Yovanes replied helplessly.

Even so, he quickly poured the golden liquor into his mouth and swallowed it in one gulp.

“I wish I could convey some good news to Your Majesty, but...”

Rulac broke the silence and started to talk, putting the wine glass back down without tasting it.

“You need to pay attention to the public sentiment that’s going on outside the palace.”

Emperor Yovanes frowned at the truth in Rulac’s words and grimaced, pressing down on his temple.

It meant that he didn’t want to hear it.

But Rulac continued to speak, disregarding the Emperor’s actions.

“The rumour regarding the First Prince’s assassination attempt on you has spread, making the public anxious. Furthermore...”

Rulac deliberately dragged out the end of his sentence to incite Yovanes’ curiousity.

“The story of the Brown family has become a hot topic again.”

“The Brown family?”

Yovanes, who was already pouring his second glass, suddenly lifted his eyes.

“What exactly is the rumor?”

“It was the old rumour about the Angenas household attacking the Brown household and killing the Brown Patriarch more than forty years ago.”

“So what exactly is that old rumour...!?”

Rulac gave Yovanes a look that seemed to ask, ‘do you really want to know?’

After a moment of silence, Rulac opened his mouth.

“Isn’t the First Prince, who is the legitimate heir, going crazy and trying to kill the Emperor, a punishment and retribution for betraying and abandoning the Brown household, who were loyal subjects long ago...? ...Well, that’s the rumour.”

“What sort of nonsense!”

Yovanes was outraged.

“But that’s not something I did, is it?! That’s something that the late emperor did!”

Yovanes felt wronged.

It had been the late emperor’s decision to support and back the Angenas household, which he had remained close with since the time he had been a prince.

So in some way, they had turned a blind eye to the ousting of the Browns and the establishment of the Angenas in the West, joining their children, Yovanes and Lavini in marriage afterwards.

Everything had been the late emperor’s choice! Why should Yovanes himself accept this curse?

Already burdened by constant appearances in his dreams and trouble sleeping, he couldn’t believe that he had also been passed such a troublesome thing.

He was like a man who stood in the way of his child, even in his death.

“How would the ignorant know any better?”

Rulac appeared to take Yovanes’ side soothingly and said.

“It’s just the hushed whispers are saying that the royal family is receiving retribution for abandoning the Brown family. The Brown family which is famous among the commoners for their imperial swordsmanship.”

“Hmph.”

Yovanes snorted.

“I understand why your father felt so bitter about the Brown family. The Brown family whose imperial swordsmanship excited the populace, the Brown family, what a sight.”

The jealousy of the emperor is scary.

For the Brown family, the price of that jealousy was the destruction of their family.

“But under the current circumstances, there wouldn’t be anyone who could quell such rumours as quickly as the Brown family.”

“What do you mean?”

Yovanes, the emperor who hated receiving hate, perked his ears up.

“Reinstate the Brown family. If you do that, the futile rumours about the Angenas would also calm down.”

“The Brown family you say...”

Yovanes asked Rulac whilst rubbing his chin.

“Wouldn’t that be difficult? I mean, reinstating them now, after a few decades have already passed.”

“As long as Your Majesty brings up the Brown family as a topic of conversation at the next aristocratic meeting, everything else will fall into place”

The Second Prince behind him, that wild dog would take care of it.

There must have been a plan to that extent when the Brown family had been snapped over.

“At least while discussing the Brown family, wouldn’t talk of the royal family be blown over?”

Rulac smiled leisurely.

Yovanes, who had been agonising over the issue for a while, replied shortly after.

“Okay, I’ll do as you say.”

It just so happened that a noble meeting was also scheduled to be held in a few days, so the timing also made it an appropriate decision.

“What are you planning to do about the matter pertaining to the First Prince?”

At Rulac’s question, Yovanes downed another glass again.

It was because the bloodshot eyes of the late emperor, who had brought down a curse suddenly came to his mind.

Yovanes, who merely shrugged his shoulders, asked Rulac in response.

“Do you know why I left the Second Prince in the hands of the Empress?”

Rulac had already answered that question in his mind, ever since the day he had first seen the Second Prince, living in a dilapidated detached palace.

“Probably because the Second Prince greatly resembles the late emperor.”

“That’s right. That’s why I’ve been keeping him far away from me, ever since he was a kid.”

The truth was that it was actually the First Prince that was the product of that curse.

Yovanes, as if he didn’t want to think about it anymore, shook one hand in a swatting motion and said.

“I intend to leave this matter to the Second Prince. After all, he was there with me when it happened, so he’ll be able to investigate the details properly. I don’t want to worry about it.”

Oh dear, bless your soul.

Rulac clenched his fist tightly in an effort to quell his sudden urge to laugh.

When he saw the foolish owner of a fish store entrust it to a cat in front of him, he felt like laughing. who left the fish shop with the cat in front of me, he felt like his sides were going to split from laughing.

• • •

Crash!

A loud crash came from the room where the First Prince was currently being detained in.

“Medicine! Bring me the medicine! Ahhhhh!”

Desperate screams also leaked through the crevices of the door.

At around early evening when Astana had woken up, ever since then, he had started screaming like that to no end.

“W-What should we do...”

A prince was still a prince, even if he was imprisoned for an unforgivable sin.

Two maids who were assigned to clean up the mess of such a prince became anxious and were at a loss at what to do once they heard the sounds that had leaked out from the inside.

“I’ve already given you all the medicine though...”

“S-Should I let the palace know?”

It was when the maids whose eyes were shaking nervously because they couldn’t stand it, that someone said.

“There’s no need.”

A low voice was heard from behind them.

“Your Highness, the Second Prince!”

The maids’ faces brightened immediately once they saw Perez with the imperial knights.

“You can come back tomorrow morning. Go back.”

At Perez’s command, the maids ran out as if they were fleeing and didn’t want to be caught again.

“Let’s head in.”

Lord Sloan was leading them.

As soon as the door opened, Astana’s shouts broke loose.

“Hey! You! Do you think you can tie me up like this and leave with your neck intact?! Let me go! Now! Argh!”

Astana, who had one foot tied to the bed, contorted his whole body and screamed.

“I’ll kill you for insulting me like this...!”

Astana’s shouting stopped shortly after Perez entered the room.

“Astana Nerempe Durelli. We’ll start the interrogation of your failed assassination attempt on the Emperor and treason.”