The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 208 Demon Kron (6) - Unannounced Inspection Official name: Imperial Academy. People who first set foot in the facility commonly called Eizern Academy are surprised by the fact that the building is unexpectedly located in the outskirts. Because a building attended by not only children of high nobility but also members of the imperial family would naturally be expected to be in the center of the capital region. However, considering the aspect of space utilization, this isn't so strange. Naturally, the capital region has a large population, and buildings are densely packed accordingly. Not only are land prices themselves high, but it also means that ownership rights and interests are complexly intertwined. So it's difficult to secure a large site for the academy, and even if they tried to build additional facilities, there would be many obstacles to overcome. The same was true from the aspect of training. Naturally, whether it's swordsmanship or magic, to develop beyond mere superficial style into real skill requires various practical experience, but in the middle of an urban area, what one can do is restricted in many ways. Rather than creating places like lakes, forests, and caves in the capital region to give students plausible experience, it's more rational to just build the academy near places where such things already exist. Therefore, the academy's location was within the capital region, but almost on its outer perimeter. Even from Count Ospin's Territory, which was close to frontier nobility, it was a distance that could be easily traveled by carriage using the empire's well-maintained roads. Count Ospin, seething with rage, urged his coachman forcefully as they raced like lightning to the academy, and requested the guard at the main gate to bring his daughter in a very dignified and genteel manner. And then. "Student Kuella Ospin has refused the summons." "What?" At the gatekeeper's extremely businesslike words, the count looked as if he'd been jabbed in the bridge of his nose. "So now, that... child ignored my call despite me summoning her?" His attempt to somehow soften what he was going to call 'that bitch' was the count's own struggle to maintain dignity. However, he couldn't prevent his voice from trembling and his face from gradually reddening. "Hah, she's lost her mind. She's really completely lost her mind. This won't do. I'll go in directly myself, so open the way." "That is not allowed." With a firmness that wouldn't let a single needle pass through, the gatekeeper blocked the count's path. The count's eyebrows twitched. "What are you trying to do right now?" "Entry of outsiders into the Imperial Academy is strictly controlled. You must fill out the necessary documents at the checkpoint next to us, and only after the paperwork is received inside can entry be permitted." "What, you're going to stop a parent from going to meet his daughter?" "We are merely following procedures." The count ground his teeth while glaring at the gatekeeper, but couldn't bring himself to raise his voice any further. If a mere gatekeeper had shown such behavior to a count anywhere else, it would be cause for immediate alarm, but this place was an educational institution directly established and sponsored by the imperial family. Even the gatekeeper right before his eyes, though he might look ordinary at first glance, could very well be a knight from some prestigious family without it being strange. "Then, how long does it take to process the documents?" "That's a matter for internal administration to handle, so we cannot know." "...Tsk! Fine! I'll just wait in front of the gate then." "Since it interferes with entry, we would appreciate it if you could move your carriage back a bit while waiting." After roughly glaring at the gatekeeper who added one last remark, the count ground his teeth as he returned to his carriage. Though his anger flared up anew, anyway, just by guarding the gate like this, Kuella would have no choice but to come out. After waiting with such thoughts for about several hours. Finally the bell signaling the end of classes rang, and students began coming out through the main gate one by one. Some students joined with servants who had been waiting at the main gate and departed via private carriages, some students headed toward the dormitories, and some students presented tickets and boarded the circuit carriages that were said to have been developed by the imperial family several years ago. The count, who had been glancing sideways at the bizarrely-shaped circuit carriage that looked like multiple carriage compartments connected and stretched out in a long line, soon muttered anxiously. "Why isn't she coming out?" *** "To think he's guarding the school gate like that with the single-minded desire to meet his daughter, what truly impressive paternal love." Meanwhile, Kron, who was observing that scene from a nearby tree, shook his head as if dumbfounded. It wasn't particularly any amazing skill. When many students rushed out at once, he had simply hidden in their shadow and quickly escaped from the count and his subordinates' line of sight. "I think children only rejoice at parent observation classes when they're young. From the perspective of a student who's grown old enough, I think parents coming to school is usually just embarrassing, don't you think?" [Certainly I also think that would be embarrassing... no, that's not the point! Isn't this a big problem right now!? F-Father came to catch us!!] "It was something we'd have to face eventually anyway, from the time we caused that commotion at home. Though it was a bit unexpected that he'd have enough initiative to come straight to the academy." More precisely, it was behavior that went beyond unexpected and even felt somewhat puzzling. That would be so, because anyway once classes ended, Kron would have no choice but to return home. From the count's perspective, it meant he could achieve his goal without the trouble of moving his body, just by sitting tight and waiting in his room. But the fact that he couldn't wait that long and came to catch her like this meant either his head was that heated with anger, or there was a reason he had to prevent Kuella from committing something more as quickly as possible. Crucially, the count's business trip was originally scheduled to take another week. The fact that he was here now meant he had canceled all those plans and rushed here urgently. What could be the reason? What could have flustered him so much? There was no need to ponder such things anew. "Tsk." Kron clicked his tongue lightly. Demon Kron, or rather 'someone' behind him, fundamentally doesn't welcome the main body intervening in a clone's affairs. A clone's affairs should end as a clone's affairs, because if the main body intervenes every time the clone falls into trouble, then it's no longer leisure or anything else. If it were a clone made with that concept from the beginning like 'the beggar and the prince,' that might be different, but having the Crown Prince intervene when a demon is in trouble is excessively unnatural and contrived. However. If there was a problem with the empire's system and administration... that was something he couldn't pretend not to see and let pass. "It's good that we converted the leftover byproducts from hunting into money. It would be better to stay at an inn for a while." [That might get us by for now, but wouldn't we not be able to last that long?] "It's fine. It won't take that long." [?] *** "Hey, you guys. Do you think I'm a joke? Huh? Do I look like a pushover because I've been giving you nice, friendly advice?!" The bundle of documents that had been thrown forcefully hit someone's head, then fluttered down. At their superior's shout with veins bulging, the two youngest members of the High Court kept their heads down with their eyes tightly shut. 'We were almost there...!' The return of the Ribespiegel family inheritance. Their action to independently investigate the case their superior had intentionally ordered them to cover up was swift and covert. They contacted acquaintances to gather related information and searched through records remaining in the court to examine who was in charge at the time and what process led to the territory's imperial ownership. They also detected that materials that seemed problem-free at first glance actually didn't add up, and prepared evidence to prove it. Just a little more. All that remained was securing decisive evidence of who committed this series of incidents, but they were caught by their superior just before that. "You guys, prepare yourselves. I absolutely won't let this slide. You youngsters have no fear, daring to try to touch the imperial family!!" Throwing away even his usual stern mask, the superior openly threatened the youngest members while pouring out abusive language. The other employees who heard this commotion also didn't have very good reactions. "They ignored orders from above and continued investigating arbitrarily?" "Tsk tsk, even if they're desperate for achievements, there are rules within the organization, but is it right to ignore those and rampage like that?" "Don't they have some personal connection with the student who submitted the petition?" No matter how much they treat status and rank as separate things within the empire's public institutions, that's only the official position. It's like how even if a regular new employee and a new employee who came in through the president's connections have nominally the same rank, people's actual reactions are completely different. Between the two youngest members from commoner backgrounds and their superior who was from proper nobility—nobility known to have connections with the 5th Prince—there were almost no one who would bother to take the youngest members' side. Moreover, in this case, weren't the youngest members' ranks even lower? Under these circumstances, no matter how hard the youngest members investigated and gathered materials, it would be difficult for that to exert any real power. Just when the future looked dark for the two youngest members who realized their coming days would be gloomy. "Hmm." Someone suddenly began picking up the documents that had been thrown on the floor, gathering them one by one by hand. The superior, the youngest members, and the other employees around them all blinked, unable to grasp the situation for a moment. The action of 'someone' itself was bewildering, but before that, no one had noticed when he had appeared here or when he had approached right next to them. To that extent, the man's presence was modest, and his aura was extremely faint. His age was roughly mid to late fifties. The middle-aged man wearing a plain suit without even a common pin decoration began calmly examining the documents he had collected one by one. Flutter, flutter. The sound of pages turning. The superior, who had been staring blankly at that scene for a while, soon came to his senses with a "Hah!" and raised his voice. "What, what! Who are you!! How dare you in a place like this!!" "Your response is wrong." "What?" With his eyes still focused on the documents, the mysterious man answered calmly. "When someone whose face you don't recognize suddenly appears at the workplace, naturally you should first consider two possibilities. First, a skilled person capable of breaking through all security and infiltrating. Second, someone in a position where the guards have no choice but to step aside. Your response would be ruined regardless of which type you're dealing with." "What nonsense...!" Just as the already highly agitated superior was about to lash out again. A loud clattering sound came from the distant corridor, and soon a middle-aged man with an impressive long beard and stout build rushed frantically into the office where they were. The employees who turned their gazes wondering who this might be now all jumped up from their seats in shock. The Chief Justice. The de facto supreme authority of the court and their leader, who usually rarely showed himself at the court, was there. "Oh my, Samuel. If you were coming, you should have said so in advance. My heart hasn't been good lately, and if you put strain on me like this too, what am I to do." "I apologize, senior. I tried to come and go as quietly as possible, but I've caused trouble." "Haha. What trouble could there be." Judging only by apparent age and manner of speaking, the Chief Justice was the superior and the man called Samuel was subordinate. However, the Chief Justice's obvious eagerness to please and Samuel's indifferent attitude proved that the actual power dynamic was the complete opposite. Then, the pages Samuel had been continuously turning finally reached the end. After organizing the documents once more, he soon bowed his head to the Chief Justice and spoke. "I apologize, but senior. I have something to discuss briefly regarding these documents. Would you permit me to speak freely here for a moment?" "Uh, uhm? P-please do." The Chief Justice gave permission with a somewhat reluctant expression. Yet his gaze continued to focus on the documents Samuel was holding, showing an attitude of being unable to contain his curiosity about what the contents might be. Samuel bowed his head to the Chief Justice as a sign of respect, then turned back to the court employees. "—Golden Cloud Palace General Treasurer. My name is Samuel Isaac." A moment of silence passed. The employees briefly tried to interpret the meaning of what they had heard, and as each finished their interpretation, their faces turned pale one by one. Golden Cloud Palace General Treasurer. In other words, the pinnacle of all those who manage the Crown Prince's assets under him. Judging by the position itself alone, it was roughly similar to or slightly below the Chief Justice, but originally this type of position isn't just about rank. Why would such a close confidant of the next emperor suddenly barge into the High Court? "S-sorry!! I didn't recognize such a distinguished person and showed great disrespect!!" The first to act was the superior who had poured abuse on the youngest members and had also spoken rudely to Samuel. He begged for forgiveness while almost prostrating himself on the floor, but Samuel coldly addressed him. "—You. Is your surname by any chance Eizern?" It was a word that seemed to freeze the air. "I asked you. Is your surname Eizern?" "N-no! No! What a frightening thing to say!!" "Then why do you, by what qualification, arbitrarily judge the imperial family's will?" Samuel's tone was cold, but his eyes were extremely intense. "Making rulings unfavorable to the imperial family would upset their feelings. So we must 'take care of' filtering out such things on our own." "Do you know what you've done? You dared to equate your own, your pathetic judgment with the imperial family's judgment. You've claimed that your will is the imperial family's will." "Are you sane? No, you couldn't be sane. You must be insane. Or else you're a traitor." Treason. The moment that guillotine-like word rang out, everyone present felt as if a cold blade had touched the back of their necks. "T-t-treason! No! I absolutely, absolutely never had such thoughts! I was just, out of loyalty...!!" The superior, who had been desperately making excuses, looked around as if seeking help, but no one responded. The Chief Justice's face was especially worth seeing, as he looked like he would chop up that cancer before his eyes with a blade right now if he could. Instead of continuing the conversation with the superior, Samuel addressed the Chief Justice. "Thank you for allowing me to speak in another department." "N-no, no, not at all. I'm the one who should be ashamed for not managing my subordinates properly. I'm truly sorry." "It's fine. Looking at this material, I can see it was just the misconduct of some thoughtless individuals, not a problem with the entire High Court. His Highness has asked for a re-examination of lands that are registered under his name. Could I request your assistance?" "Just say the word. I will very, certainly, help you." The last words were spoken as if emphasizing each syllable separately. The superior and those in his line, who guessed what that 'help' entailed, all wore expressions of despair. The two youngest members, who had survived by a hair's breadth, communicated with just their eyes. 'What is this.' 'Is this a dream?'