The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 201 Crown Prince Alondre (13) - What do you mean by that? Originally, many monarchical nations adopt primogeniture as their principle. That's because it has the fewest destabilizing factors in terms of legitimacy and is most stable. However, the Eizern Empire deviated slightly from this principle, and this was because the founding emperor, called the Hero King, had cleanly ignored the primogeniture principle. He passed the throne to the fourth prince, who was the most outstanding among the princes. The ministers wanted even the second Emperor to pass the throne to the eldest son, but the second Emperor cleanly ignored such prayers from his ministers and once again demonstrated merit-based successor selection. The official justification was that the empire could prosper only if the most superior person became Emperor, but it was an open secret that the second Emperor, whose mood had soured, excluded the eldest son almost out of stubbornness, saying "Then do you consider it wrong that I became Emperor?" Since both the first and second generations used merit over eldest son priority as their justification, this soon solidified into the Eizern Empire's succession law and custom. Very naturally, the side effects were enormous. Political infighting among imperial family members aiming for the Emperor's position was routine, and in severe cases, it went beyond simple political battles to actual physical assassinations. There were times when the Emperor favored a particular child and attempted imperial succession with the extremely subjective evaluation of "this child is superior" despite no particular achievements, and conversely, there were cases where excellent children had their succession rights stripped due to the Emperor's hatred. One Emperor who could no longer stand this proclaimed an imperial edict that after him, the law of primogeniture must unconditionally be followed, but that imperial edict immediately became meaningless. It was because the eldest son who inherited the position that way displayed incompetence and wickedness that ranked among the worst of all past Emperors, tarnishing his predecessor's name. After countless twists and turns, the succession principle that ultimately settled in the Eizern Empire was as follows. "Select successors based primarily on ability and character. However, give bonus points to the eldest legitimate son." It was a compromise that could hardly be called a perfect solution, but no one could go further than this. Not only did the ministers have different opinions among themselves, but since it was originally an imperial family matter, the ministers personally stepping forward to chatter about this and that could easily be seen as potential disloyalty. However. The ministers of the contemporary Eizern Empire had no need to harbor great worries or concerns, at least in this regard. Alondre Arcandel Eizern. The eldest son Crown Prince's qualifications were so outstanding that discussing other candidates was considered a pointless act from the start. And if you ask how that felt to other members of the imperial family. "...Haah. How is there not even a single gap to probe?" Naturally, it was a story that wasn't fun at all. The empire's fourth consort, Beatrix, let out a deep sigh. When she was first selected as the Emperor's consort, she had been full of ambition. The Emperor, who had strong lustful tendencies, was not satisfied with just the Empress and welcomed dozens of consorts. The Empress, who had a gentle temperament and lacked political power, had a weak presence even within the imperial family, and she had only one child with the Emperor. In contrast, Beatrix lacked nothing - family background, feminine charm, outstanding beauty - and the Emperor also favored such a woman. Beatrix had confidence she could win. Those familiar with palace intrigue stories would know, but honestly, if the stage is set to this degree, naturally the child of the favored consort pushing out the eldest son and seizing the throne would be the standard, wouldn't it? Indeed, the Empress couldn't even properly respond to Beatrix's political maneuvering and pillow talk. If the eldest son showed even a small mistake, she could use that as an excuse to undermine his position. No, even if there were no mistakes, that would be fine in its own way. She could just claim that Beatrix's child was far superior. Politics is about inflating trivial things to seem like great achievements. Inflating talents and spoon-feeding plausible accomplishments is no big deal. Moreover, the one with decision-making power is the Emperor. When the Emperor says this child is superior, what could the ministers say in opposition? "A genius! A genius who will continue the founding achievements of the imperial family has been born!!" "He drew sword aura at age ten!?" "An advanced spell at merely twelve years old!?" "Composition! Martial arts! Horsemanship! Ah, what in the world can't His Highness do!?" "...?" And such plans of Beatrix completely crumbled before a meteor that suddenly flew in. No, strictly speaking, it didn't fly in from outside but was originally there, so it might be better to compare it to Mount Tai. The Crown Prince didn't snipe at her with some tremendous political maneuvering or counter her offensive. He just silently and diligently did his own work, but his weight class was simply too overwhelming. For Beatrix, it was simply exasperating and suffocating. How can a person be good at swordsmanship, magic, politics, and various other skills? Is he even human? Didn't some dragon or god switch places with him? Beatrix tried to somehow recover the atmosphere, but even after that, the Crown Prince's solo run didn't stop. Particularly decisive was the incident where the empire's renowned figures competed with each other to claim the position of the Crown Prince's teacher. No matter how overwhelming the great powers are in terms of weight class compared to other small and medium nations, and even though they have dozens of 6th Rank ability users that others would be grateful to have just one of, that's absolutely a matter of large numbers, not high ratios. (E/N: Meaning, the empire is big, so they have lots of powerhouse; they don't have a lot of powerhouse just because empire is vastly superior by default) Even the empire, evaluated as the strongest among the five great powers, doesn't reach even 0.00001%, let alone 1%, in terms of ratio. Naturally, they occupied high positions in society, and their fame and influence were correspondingly enormous. But when such people, no, those counted among the very top among them, grabbed each other by the collar fighting while saying "Swordsmanship! Swordsmanship! His Highness the Crown Prince should learn the sword!!" "You crazy old geezer!! Of course it's magic!! If he focuses on just one field, a new history of magic will be written!!" - where could there be a human who would think the Crown Prince is ordinary? "This is a problem with a predetermined answer. If I don't choose him as Crown Prince, won't those fellows over there stage kidnapping dramas trying to make him their own disciple?" After the Emperor made that statement with a chuckle at an official occasion, the Crown Prince's position became unshakeable. No matter how much the Emperor had lost motivation for politics and wasn't so thorough in distinguishing public from private after aging, he was still a man who met the standard of an ordinary ruler. While pillow talk might have some influence when choosing between evenly matched candidates, he wasn't such a foolish ruler as to choose someone else when one candidate was so uniquely outstanding. "Haah..." Therefore, all Beatrix could do in recent years was quietly sigh when no one else was watching. Political offensives are attempted when there's some angle to work with, but trying to clumsily scratch the surface when public opinion is this unshakeable would only result in breaking your own nails. As they say, one should not fight battles that cannot be won. Beatrix, who had ambition but was not foolish, had already conformed to the general trend. "Mother!! Have you heard the news!? They say brother Alondre has collapsed!!" Then one day. At the news her son brought, she unconsciously frowned. The content itself was problematic, but more than that, it was because her son's face was clearly bright with joy as he chattered about the story. His eyes sparkled brightly and a smile was clearly visible around his mouth - anyone could see he was rejoicing at that news. It was meaningless for him to dutifully attach the title "brother" when he acted like that. "Be composed, Nikolaus. To rejoice at a family member's misfortune - you must maintain dignity as a member of the imperial family." Of course, Beatrix also didn't consider the entire imperial family as family. But thinking so inside and showing it outwardly are different matters. No matter how much the imperial palace is a ruthless battlefield before power, if a younger brother so openly shows signs of cheering at news of his older brother's collapse, what would people around think? "Ah, yes. I'll be careful." Fifth Prince Nikolaus agreed like that for now, but it was clear to anyone that his answer was perfunctory. Suppressing a sigh that seemed ready to escape unconsciously, Beatrix urged the story along. "So, what do you mean His Highness Alondre collapsed?" "They say he suddenly gained enlightenment during his duties and entered his personal training room, but when he came out, he was almost in a state of exhaustion!" According to the story Nikolaus told with an excited attitude, the Crown Prince did an impulsive action he had never done in his life, then suddenly lay in bed unable to move his body. The imperial physician personally stepped forward to examine his body, but since the exact healing time is unknown, those involved are greatly anxious. "I've heard that when a martial artist makes a mistake while trying to reach a high realm, the aftereffects are enormous. In some cases, permanent disability can occur. Mother, this is an opportunity!" Opportunity. Beatrix quietly rolled that word around in her mouth and savored it. And she spoke. "Nikolaus. Keep this mother's words in mind." "Yes!" "You must live quietly as a mouse for a while. Absolutely, absolutely do not do anything that catches others' attention." "What?" Nikolaus blinked as if he couldn't understand her words. Beatrix felt frustrated enough to want to pound her chest. It's not like he didn't receive proper education, so how could he be so insensitive to political situations!! The imperial palace originally had many listening ears, so she wanted him to figure things out on his own if possible, but if he was this dull, she had no choice but to explain everything one by one. "What if by any chance His Highness the Crown Prince's condition isn't that serious? How do you think he would regard brothers who seem excited and act up as soon as he collapses? Wouldn't he think of revenge later?" "But if the illness is real, staying still would mean falling behind others. I'm not the only prince, am I?" "Even if the illness is real, it's the same. After all, designating a successor is His Majesty's role. A child who grieves and restrains himself at his brother's pain versus a child who acts up as if his brother's pain is an opportunity. As a father, which would be more endearing?" "......" Nikolaus's face was subtle. It was clearly a reaction of 'That's not what I think, but since you say so, I'll keep my mouth shut for now.' Or perhaps he thought his mother's concerns were excessive. "Nikolaus. Do you understand?" "...Yes, Mother. I will restrain myself." And similar conversations took place throughout the imperial palace. Someone worried that the stable peace might be broken, someone's eyes lit up saying an opportunity had arisen, and someone simply wailed. Also, if you ask what the Crown Prince's actual situation was like. "The exact cause is still unknown!?" "It seems like a rebound from using some very advanced technique, but the specifics are still unclear...!!" "Begin additional examinations!! Bring all the latest magical equipment!!" "No need!! I'll help, so tell me anything!!" "Oh, Chief of Magic!! Then this part here─" 「Agh! Agh! I'll be discovered! I'm telling you, I'll be discovered!! You bastard Crown Prince!! Hurry up and do something!! Do you know what will happen if I'm detected like this!!」 "Hmm, you'd become a public enemy as an evil demon who cursed the Crown Prince of the empire?" 「If you know, then move right now!!」 "No, this rebound is quite severe. I essentially made the clone the main body, so I can't move the original body very well." 「I'm going to die, you bastard!!」 "Ah, then how about this? Why don't you try moving my body for a bit? Don't worry! I'll properly coach you from the side!" (E/N: Wait, is he serious?) 「...And you?」 "Me? Hmm. Maybe I'll try playing the role of a demon. A demon appearing in mirrors shouldn't need a physical body." "What do you mean by that, Crown Prince?"