The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 216 Demon Kron (14) - Welcome! It's often said that the natural enemy of intelligent people is fools. Because they commit actions that cannot be understood with their knowledge and wisdom, making prediction itself impossible. To Fourth Consort Beatrix, her son Nikolaus was exactly that kind of existence. At first she doubted her ears, the second time she thought there must have been some mistake, and the third time she felt dizzy and collapsed on the spot. She had only one thought. 'Why on earth?' What was he thinking when he kicked away his fiancée from a ducal family and chose a girl with no backing? If he liked that girl so much, he could have just made her a concubine, so why did he cause all this trouble insisting on making her his legal wife? If he was going to cause trouble, he should have at least made thorough plans, but what kind of behavior is it to just conspire with other young people and then insist 'you're the bad one anyway!'? No matter how much she pondered and tried to understand his true intentions, she couldn't comprehend what confidence and reasoning led him to commit such acts. If Nikolaus had thoroughly prepared something before causing trouble, the Fourth Consort would have noticed the signs and intervened, but in this case, her response was delayed because he had pushed everything through hastily and carelessly. Though she wanted to just lose her mind and collapse like this, the Fourth Consort somehow gritted her teeth and moved her body. "There's a story that prestigious families with long histories and high-ranking nobles often babble about. That nobles and commoners are different from their very blood. That nobles are inherently superior and commoners are inherently inferior. Hearing that story, I thought. Then, what about the imperial family, who could be called the nobles among nobles?" The person the Fourth Consort sought out first. The Emperor of this country and Beatrix's husband appeared extremely composed. "The previous Emperor said that since we inherited the blood of the great Hero King, we are the most superior beings, but honestly I couldn't relate. Even I, who sit on this throne because I was the most outstanding among my brothers, have thought more than once while looking at my subjects, 'That guy is better than me.' Just look at you, Bea. If we had met as competitors rather than in a romantic relationship, I never would have been able to beat you." The Emperor neither got angry at Nikolaus's behavior nor raised his voice about sullying the imperial dignity. However, the Fourth Consort's heart sank even more at that appearance. Because that was proof that everything had already been decided. "Since that Alondre boy is so outstanding, I sometimes wondered if there really is something special about imperial blood... Hmm, this incident has taught me well. As expected, being of imperial blood doesn't make one particularly better. By burning himself to satisfy this father's curiosity, Nicky seems to be quite the filial son." "Your Majesty...! Please, please show mercy...!" The Emperor quietly gazed at Beatrix, who was prostrating herself on the floor and pleading. And then he casually said. "He won't die. When you think about it, this started as a matter of succession in a count's family, and having a member of the imperial family lose their head as a result wouldn't look good at all." The Fourth Consort's body flinched and trembled. "However, if we leave him with power and authority, who knows what kind of trouble he'll cause next to disgrace the imperial family, so I'll strip him of the Eizern surname and succession rights. I'll use a special sealing ritual to make his body unable to handle mana, and also exile him to an island in the west, strictly forbidding him from coming out." (E/N: That actually seems quite severe...Then again, that idiot must have been racking up the bad points) "Ex-exile? You mean to abandon him on an island? That's—" It was all too obvious what disaster would befall Nikolaus, who had lived in luxury all his life, if he were abandoned in the wilderness stripped even of his martial abilities. The Fourth Consort was afraid that this was really just indirect execution disguised as exile, but the Emperor shook his head as if he knew what she was thinking. "I'll have the old prison that was abandoned long ago for being cost-ineffective reopened, and he'll live there, so don't worry about that. He'll work hard with the friends who were involved in this incident and eventually return. It won't be immediate, but if he shows he's sincerely accepting his punishment, I'll even let him write letters. Does this put you at ease?" Put her at ease? Of course not. He had lost his status as a prince, lost the martial abilities he had developed with abundant support, and lost even the freedom to choose where to live and what job to have. Moreover, while the Emperor said he would 'return,' he didn't say when that would be. In other words, it meant he would decide based on Nikolaus's and the Fourth Consort's future attitudes. However, the Fourth Consort didn't dare show her dissatisfaction outwardly. Because her head was pressed to the floor, she couldn't see the Emperor's face. However, the Fourth Consort instinctively knew that the look in his eyes would be completely different from usual when she lifted her head. Though the Emperor was said to have lost enthusiasm for governing or to be preparing to abdicate, that was only superficial. Even if he had handed over work to the Crown Prince, that was only part of the Emperor's many authorities, and he was still the apex of the empire with absolute power. Therefore, her answer was predetermined. "...I am grateful for your great mercy, Your Majesty." Above the Fourth Consort's head as she tried to suppress her trembling voice, a soft chuckling sound was heard. The Emperor shuffled over and helped the Fourth Consort to her feet. A glimpse of the Emperor's face showed it was that of an idle man without any sense of intimidation, just like usual. "Yes, yes, let's stop the official talk here. Bea. And don't be too disappointed. Trisha is quite smart unlike her older brother, isn't she? If there's a sore finger, there are also healthy fingers." Along with words that were rather inappropriate as comfort from a husband to his wife, the Emperor personally opened a wine bottle and began pouring its contents into glasses as if suggesting they have a drink. Watching the blood-red liquid fill the transparent and elegant glasses, the Fourth Consort sighed inwardly. She had tried to somehow soothe and live with him as her child, but... When he himself poured oil on his body and jumped into a fire pit, there was nothing she could do about it. *** When Nikolaus woke up from an uncomfortable dream one morning, he realized he had been transformed into a buzz-cut recruit in military barracks. "What, what is this place? How did I...?" "Ugh, my back hurts...! How can they make someone sleep on a floor like this!?" "Did they just give me this green rag as a blanket? And what are these shabby gray clothes!?" "Hey!! Is there no one there!!" Around him were young men with their heads shaved like Nikolaus, also in confusion. Though it was hard to recognize them due to how much their appearance had changed, they were undoubtedly Nikolaus's 'friends.' -Baba! Bababa! Babababa! Babarababa bababa babaraba! While they were bewildered wondering what on earth this situation was, a loud and shrill trumpet sound filled the room they were in. Though it wasn't a sound imbued with any special mana, Nikolaus felt an instinctive displeasure at that trumpet sound. Bang! The door to their room opened roughly, and a man appeared. The man's attire was similar to the imperial regular army uniform, but for some reason it was dyed green instead of the characteristic black, and on his head was a bright red hat with overwhelming presence that made one wonder what kind of sense that was. "Welcome to Norsand Island Special Prison! Recruits! From now on, you will receive training to become true people in this place. If you understand, come out to the training ground immediately!" Bang! After unilaterally saying what he had to say, the man roughly closed the door again and left. Nikolaus was so flabbergasted that he even forgot to get angry. Where in the world had he, a prince of the empire, ever received such treatment? However, that was only momentary. "Is that bastard insane right now?!" "From the looks of it he seems to be an imperial soldier, how dare he show such rudeness to us!!" "Your Highness! This matter absolutely cannot be taken lightly!!" As the surrounding rabble raised their voices in unison, belated anger also flared up in Nikolaus's heart. He shouted with a completely hardened face. "Ah, yes! I will definitely make that bastard pay for his crimes!! Everyone follow me!" Though objectively he didn't look very impressive with his buzz cut and gray workout clothes, the surrounding noble children cheered at Nikolaus's appearance and followed behind him. However, that momentum didn't last very long. The huge rectangular open space called the 'training ground.' Yellow sand and gray gravel. In that place where sparsely grown bushes gave a desolate feeling, numerous soldiers were already waiting in disciplined positions. Their expressions were uniformly hardened to the point where no emotion could be felt, and their gazes were as sharp as if they would devour the person in front of them at any moment. While Nikolaus and his friends hesitated in the face of such stern atmosphere, the red-hatted soldier standing on the platform shouted loudly. "Aren't you moving quickly!! Did you come here to play!? Form up in four columns, execute!!" "Wh-what are you—" "Look at that movement! Everyone down! Down on one and up on two!!" While those overwhelmed by the momentum were sneakily looking around, Nikolaus screamed. "You bastards!! What the hell is this nonsense!! Show proper respect to a prince!!" "No, you are no longer a prince. The same goes for the others." While Nikolaus froze at such a shocking statement, the soldiers brought a huge board-like thing with wheels in front of them. Several documents were densely attached to the board, and those who read their contents all widened their eyes and trembled. Letters of disownment signed in the name of family heads. These were documents proving that those here were no longer connected to their families in any way and were now strangers. [5th Prince Nikolaus becomes a commoner and not of imperial bloodline from this moment. Showing him respect as a prince or giving him any convenience in any way will be treated as an insult to the Emperor.] As Nikolaus stared intently at the text written in the precious handwriting of the Emperor, the calm voice of the red-hatted instructor echoed in his ears. "As you can see from the documents, you have all become commoners. Since His Imperial Majesty has personally ordered that giving you special treatment or consideration based on your past status would be an insult to himself, we merely follow that command." "If you faithfully follow orders and sincerely engage in training, the instructors will guarantee your food, clothing, and shelter. However, if you cannot comply with this, you cannot remain here." "Additionally, this Norsand Island is famous for its wild native creatures being so fierce that even coastal residents and fishermen don't dare set foot here carelessly. If you want to enjoy the wilderness mingling with them, I won't particularly stop you." At those words, Nikolaus and his friends unconsciously looked at the bushes spreading beyond the training ground's main gate. Whether some special barrier had been set up, not even a small wild animal set foot inside the training ground. However, beyond that thin line were all kinds of menacing shadows. -Guruk! Gueaek! A wild boar whose back height seemed to reach an adult man's chest. -Gyaeaaeaaeaeng! A giant roe deer that, despite clearly being a beast, somehow emitted cries that resembled those of a human. -Nyaaong. A cat that looked cute at first glance, but had dark red traces around its mouth as if it had just devoured someone's entrails somewhere. When everyone swallowed their saliva, the instructor spoke again. "I'll say this one last time. Everyone, get down!!" This time, no one dared to resist.