The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 272 Crown Prince Alondre (17) - Father and Son In the Greater Demon Lucidra's view, the corrupt boss Nigel was one of the most problematic individuals among all the clones the Crown Prince had created so far. There was no need to look far - one could tell just by looking at his final farewell method. "Did he really think there would be no problems with that?" He extended a helping hand to those who were in the extreme situation of slave life, treated them as humans, and let them enjoy luxuries that even ordinary royalty could not easily experience. When their loyalty had reached its extreme, would those left behind simply accept it if he waved his hand saying 'Ah, I'm leaving now, take care!'? It was fortunate that the beastkin woman named Noa quickly seized control of the organization, otherwise he would have been forcibly detained by the slaves who would have immediately risen up. Compared to his predecessors who had shown clean(?) farewells in various ways, it was truly an unsightly mess that barely survived through sheer luck. "...But actually, honey traps and such seem to work best on that type." Recalling how Nigel couldn't even handle his gaze properly and was swayed by the beastkin slave beside him, Lucidra felt complicated emotions. No matter how much modification he had undergone, Nigel's foundation was ultimately the Crown Prince. In other words, if you removed intelligence, awareness, and various other things from the Crown Prince, such honest reactions might emerge. Having no desires at all was completely different from suppressing them with self-control or mental strength. From Lucidra's perspective, aiming for the Crown Prince's corruption, she had glimpsed a strategy of sorts. But Lucidra couldn't simply rejoice. If she degraded various abilities, it would become easier to manipulate him... but then would that still be the Crown Prince? To use a gaming analogy, wouldn't it be like confidently selecting the highest difficulty, charging at the boss, failing, then lowering the difficulty all the way down and declaring 'I beat it, anyway I beat it'? As a Greater Demon had her pride, she couldn't bring herself to do such a thing. 'Well, doing it as a kind of play after completing the conquest wouldn't be bad.' As Lucidra was giggling with delusions befitting her title as a Dream Demon, Alondre beside her looked at her with the gaze of someone observing a truly pitiful creature. "You're drooling." "What? ...No, I'm not!!" "Well, there's no point in saying it after it's already drooling. This is all consideration predicting 3 seconds ahead." "How truly merciful, it brings tears to my eyes. Yes." "Well, you don't need to cry over something like this." He was truly a man who didn't understand sarcasm. *** The Eizern Empire, currently renowned as the strongest nation on the continent. The Emperor at the pinnacle of that empire was also famous for having as many women as he had power. This was both fortune and misfortune for the women around the Emperor. For those not receiving favor, it was a great opportunity and fortune since they could become one of the empire's imperial consorts whenever they seized the chance. Conversely, for those already receiving favor, it was misfortune since they never knew when the Emperor would visit again, and new competitors kept increasing. And the downfall incident related to Fifth Prince Nikolaus was also a great opportunity for the Emperor's women. 'The Fourth Consort, that woman, will be finished with this too!' 'Her son was stripped of his royal status and confined to an island no different from a prison. What law says that his mother won't meet the same fate?' 'Though she still has a daughter left, no matter what, she's of lower status compared to a proper prince.' If one were to pick the most prominent among the Emperor's numerous women, it would undoubtedly be Empress Eleonora and Fourth Consort Beatrix. Though, Empress Eleonora can be set aside as an exception. The Empress's strong position comes from being the legitimate wife and the Crown Prince's mother, and even if someone received more favor from the Emperor than the Empress, it wouldn't mean much. Whether the Empress herself receives favor or not, as long as the Crown Prince is well, her authority remains unshakeable. But Fourth Consort Beatrix's story is a bit different. She obtained her current position through her own political power and the Emperor's favor, but she doesn't have the legitimacy that the Empress has. Now that the Fourth Consort was politically shaken more than ever, if they could steal the Emperor's attention from her, becoming the second-in-command of the inner palace wasn't just a dream. "Your Majesty, are you uncomfortable anywhere?" "Hmm. I'm fine. Continue." "Yes, Your Majesty." The Sixth Consort who was currently cleaning the Emperor's ears was also one of the women harboring ambitions to surpass the Fourth Consort and take that position herself. Because the Emperor was using her legs as a pillow, her legs felt tingly and numb with poor circulation, but she could endure that much when thinking of the power shimmering before her eyes. "Your skin is quite damaged, Your Majesty. Have you been deeply troubled lately?" "Hmm, I do have some concerns lately." 'Got it,' the Sixth Consort inwardly cheered. Her attacking the Fourth Consort by mentioning her affairs first would be the worst of the worst strategies. Once the image of being a jealous woman is imprinted, men tend to feel repulsed. When the Emperor brought up the topic himself, subtly agreeing and guiding the direction was the true technique. "What kind of matter is it? Though I am inadequate, I would like to offer even small wisdom to Your Majesty." "I want to rest." "...Pardon?" The Sixth Consort, who had naturally expected stories about the Fifth Prince or Fourth Consort to come up, unconsciously questioned him. He wants to rest? So is he saying he's working without rest now? While the Sixth Consort felt like a restaurant owner who asked a customer if they needed anything else only to hear 'I want to eat,' the Emperor continued in a languid voice. "I feel like resting more vigorously, passionately, with all my might. My ministers handle most things and I just make the final decisions, but those final decisions aren't easy." "Y-yes. You always work so hard." "So I'm considering whether I should gradually hand over the position to that Crown Prince fellow. What do you think?" Why is he asking me that? Is this a declaration of war saying he'll destroy me depending on my answer? The Sixth Consort felt the urge to sew up her mouth that had babbled about offering small wisdom earlier. Because of those words, hadn't the escape route of the most exemplary answer in such situations - 'Such a grave matter is not something I dare speak about' - been blocked? The Sixth Consort's mind raced quickly. Since the Emperor said first that he wanted to hand over the position to the Crown Prince, should she agree with him? 'No, this is absolutely wrong.' The Emperor is still young. Even though he had shown himself passing some policies to the Crown Prince and clarifying the succession structure, recognizing a successor and completely handing over the throne are separate matters. If she thoughtlessly agreed with the Emperor's words here and heard something like 'Oh, you also think it would be good for me to retreat to the back room?', there would be no greater disaster. Having finished her calculations, the Sixth Consort quickly spoke. "No matter what, I think it's too early. Your Majesty is still in your prime." "From my perspective, the Crown Prince seems to be restraining himself in various ways because he's being considerate of me. Wouldn't he work harder if I put him in a higher position?" "I absolutely don't intend to deny His Highness the Crown Prince's abilities, but doesn't he still lack the experience to shoulder the responsibility of being Emperor?" "Experience naturally accumulates once you're in position." What's this? Does he really want to hand it over? Should I bet the opposite way even now? The Sixth Consort felt momentarily wavering, but her courage was somewhat small to suddenly change her words here. "B-but. His Highness the Crown Prince hasn't even married yet, has he?" When people commonly hear words like crown prince or prince, they tend to think of young men, but surprisingly many crown princes and princes in the world are middle-aged men who have already finished marrying. Not only is it rare for a monarch to completely hand over their power while still alive, but having grown children itself adds bonus points as a successor. But the Crown Prince hadn't even married, let alone had children. In times of war, predecessor monarchs often meet sudden death, so young successors sometimes marry after ascending the throne, but that's not the case now, is it? "Hmm. Marriage." This reason seemed to work quite well, as the Emperor showed signs of contemplation for a moment before nodding. "...Indeed, I was somewhat negligent about that part." Originally, it's customary for parents to decide their children's marriages in the imperial family. But the Emperor had never really thought much about the Crown Prince's marriage. To begin with, the Crown Prince himself had no time to spare because he was simultaneously receiving successor education and handling state affairs. "I suppose it would be fine to remove education time for things like swordsmanship and magic now. Instead, I should give him more free time. He needs to meet women to form connections." "You're not deciding directly, Your Majesty?" To the Sixth Consort's question, the Emperor pondered and then spoke. "He would probably answer, 'Hahaha, I'll decide my partner myself, Your Majesty.'" It would be embarrassing to suggest someone first only to be rejected, so it's better to let him decide on his own from the start. At the Emperor's words, the Sixth Consort didn't know how to respond. The men of this family seemed somewhat strange. (E/N: If nothing else the emperor and crown prince are both...peculiar.)