Surviving As the 5th Prince of the Ruined Kingdom

010

I lack common sense.

I learned about the world from books. My experiences venturing outside the palace can be counted on one hand. And even those were before the age of 8, accompanied by a nursemaid and knight escorts.

After that, well…

“So you’re saying the ‘genius’ who self-taught the magic books can see the hidden messages left by the Matop mages?”

“hahahaha, yes. It’s just a rumor, a rumor. Even the little village kids of the rural counties know that story.”

So there was no need for me to feel embarrassed about not knowing the story Alfonso was telling me now.

I read the message visible in the spell again:

– At 34-231 Queen’s Crossing, King’s Road, loudly proclaim ‘Beautiful Madam Mage, please take me as your disciple!’ while bowing 9 times in front of the door.

What a narcissistic mage, I thought. I was a bit curious how beautiful she really was.

But I had no intention of going to find her.

I had already awakened my magic power and constructed the actual spell to solve the problem. Going outside the palace itself would be difficult… or would it? As a child, leaving without permission was absolutely forbidden, but now it seemed like no one would really care.

I decided I’d reconsider visiting if I gained enough confidence to protect myself.

‘A genius…’

The process of projecting the spell envisioned in one’s mind into reality is called ‘constructing’ in technical terms. If someone incapable of that discovered the message, they would rightly be called a genius.

It would be like a blind person feeling an elephant and drawing it on canvas like a photograph.

As for me… I simply opened my third eye to construct and easily solve the spell.

‘Fortunately, I understood the magic I learned through the skill window better than expected.’

A mage gifted with only mana sensitivity but lacking learning ability, or vice versa, would make a tasty contract candidate for the demonic tribe. Tales of such half-baked mages falling into the path of black magic only to be purged were common in children’s fables.

Just as memorizing all mathematical concepts and formulas doesn’t mean one can breeze through Olympiad problems, if only theories entered one’s mind without any understanding, I worried what would happen.

With no basis for comparison, it would be premature to judge, but I cautiously guessed that among other mages, I wouldn’t be called lagging behind.

With that thought, I shut the magic book with a thud and rose from my seat.

“Oh? Where are you headed, Your Highness?”

“The training grounds.”

“Ah, for swordsmanship practice? I’ll prepare…”

“No need. Go about your duties.”

“Aw, how cold of you.”

Ignoring Alfonso’s words, I left the study.

Three maids dusting the spotless window frames hurriedly bowed to me, then watched me with sparkling eyes.

‘This is so burdensome.’

Their biggest concern, I know.

However, I only advise based on the information I’ve obtained from using [the library]. I don’t have the skill to create their nonexistent partners. Smiling awkwardly, I receive their greetings and leave as if running away.

“Ah……”

“Heh, I guess we were wrong.”

“Oh……”

Feeling unnecessarily sorry for their sighs from behind, I quickened my pace.

“Prince~! Come with us! Why are you walking so fast?”

Alfonso, carrying a wooden sword, towel, and water bottle, came panting after me.

“Wooden sword.”

“I’ll carry it.”

“Okay, give it here.”

I took the wooden sword he handed me and walked ahead again.

“Prince! This isn’t the training grounds!”

“What do you mean it’s not?”

“If we go this way…… Ah! The 3rd Knight Squad’s training grounds! Are you really going there, Prince?”

I silently kept walking.

The Azure Unicorn Knight Squad.

The Crimson Unicorn Knight Squad.

The White Unicorn Knight Squad.

The three knight squads that make up the Royal Guards of the Leonel Kingdom are also casually called the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Knight Squads.

– The Royal Guards of the Leonel Kingdom are selected solely based on ability!

…… That founding principle has long been disregarded. The 1st and 2nd Squads scrutinize one’s family background thoroughly.

The Leonel Kingdom has not decided who the crown prince will be.

The 1st Prince, born to the 1st Queen.

The 2nd Prince, born to the 2nd Queen.

Those two, both 23 years old, are the leading candidates. To delve deeper is an endless story, but to summarize, the 1st Squad supports the 1st Prince, and the 2nd Squad supports the 2nd Prince.

And the 3rd Squad is……

To put it nicely, neutral; to put it badly, a gathering of those who couldn’t fit in anywhere else. Half of them are commoners, so that’s that.

It’s not a problem unique to the Leonel Kingdom—a trite story. Something that commonly occurs anywhere. Even a rural marquis’s knight squad is divided into factions in reality.

A deplorable situation.

In the north, the Hamil Empire, which treats the Lionel Kingdom as a semi-vassal state, is greedily revealing its ambition, and on the eastern coast, ships disguised as pirates from the Arya Kingdom come and go as if visiting their own homes, to the extent that the news reaches my ears.

‘And yet they are engaged in factional fights.’

Well, thanks to that, I may still be breathing. If the kingdom had rallied around either the First Prince or the Second Prince, someone overflowing with loyalty might have dealt with the likes of the Fifth Prince long ago to prevent any potential mishap.

The training grounds of the 3rd Knight Order are located on the eastern outskirts of the royal palace, just like the Emerald Palace. About a 30-minute walk.

“… Who……”

“For the first time…… the Ghost Prince……”

“… Really…… the 5th Prince……”

The palace servants I encountered on the way all had their eyes wide open. It seemed they all recognized me thanks to my jet-black hair, a symbol of the Lionel royal family. It was a natural reaction, as it had been nearly 5 years since I left the Emerald Palace.

“Wooaahh!”

“Kill him! Kill him!”

“You idiot! Dodge that!”

As I approached the training grounds used by the 3rd Knight Order, I heard the shouts of burly men mixed with curses.

When I arrived, the atmosphere was heated.

Two knights, one wielding a greatsword and the other with a brown crew cut, were engaged in a duel, while the others were divided into two groups, cheering them on.

Looking at the status windows of some of the knights, they all appeared to be around 20 years old. They seemed to be new recruits who had just joined the knight order. The senior knights who were supposed to supervise them were nowhere to be seen.

They must have noticed an outsider’s approach, but not a single one paid me any attention.

I could roughly guess the situation. The 3rd Knight Order was also divided into two factions based on their backgrounds. I had heard about it before, but seeing it firsthand made me sigh.

“Where do these commoner-born think they are, sweating in the same space as us?”

“Go, Adol! Show those pig bastards what you’re made of!”

The brown-haired knight seemed to be of commoner birth.

His swordsmanship showed strong traces of the [Lionel Style Swordsmanship]. It was clearly the [Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship] that officers and knights of the kingdom could learn.

On the other hand, I couldn’t identify the swordsmanship used by the greatsword knight. It must be a style passed down within his noble family.

“Kuhahahaha, too slow! You’ll only cut a slug at that pace?”

“Shut up, you-!”

“Ouch.”

The brown-haired knight was clearly being overwhelmed.

“You’re gonna lose-!”

“No, you’re the one who’s gonna lose!”

It was almost a mockery of a duel.

Shaa-ack- Puck!

The bald thug’s abdomen was pierced by the knight’s longsword.

“Ugh!”

Whoosh – thud!

The bald thug, struck in the chin by the sword’s hilt, lost consciousness and the situation ended.

“Tsk, where were you causing trouble?”

For those of noble birth from the beginning, it became a festive atmosphere.

“Awesome!”

“Did you see that, you guys!”

“Alright, from now on you lot will train over in that corner. Get lost quickly!”

The commoners set their faces grimly and surrounded the bald thug, moving to a corner of the training grounds. It was a place without even a shady spot to rest for a moment.

“But… over there……”

“……. royalty……”

“……. could it be a ghost……”

Only now did they all start whispering about me. It seemed they noticed my identity, but no one approached.

“Really…… that…… drenched in blood……”

“……. senior…… neck…… flew off……”

Their vaguely audible conversation.

It seemed they were talking about my guards from the 3rd knight order who were executed a day apart from my nursemaid.

– Your Highness! Even without magical talent, not at all! You have no need to worry!

– Of course. Your grandfather and the founding ancestor were also knights. Noble blood surely flows in you!

– Shall we start training right away tomorrow? hahahahaha!

My heart ached.

I bit my lip hard, pushed them back into a corner of my mind, and moved toward where the commoner knights were.

They were the reason I came here. More precisely, it was because of the [Lionel Defensive Swordsmanship] they were practicing.

After mastering [Extremity Mana Cultivation Method] and improving relations with the Emerald Palace staff, using the RP gained, I learned basic magic like [Ignition] and [Lionel Defensive Swordsmanship].

Magic was at least reasonably priced, but the problem was [Lionel Defensive Swordsmanship].

‘It was expensive.’

Whether they meant it as a set with [Lionel Formal Mana Cultivation Method] or not, the price was the same 10,000 RP.

Only yesterday could I finally learn it using the RP I had saved up frugally bit by bit.

From the start, I didn’t bother looking for something like a hidden piece like [Extremity Mana Cultivation Method] among sword techniques.

There were too many types of swordsmanship, so it took time to find them, but there was a bigger problem.

While mana cultivation methods can easily hide what one is practicing as long as one doesn’t talk about it, swordsmanship is not the case.

‘I cannot avoid people’s eyes.’

Would the ghost prince, who was suddenly confined in the Emerald Palace, fiercely train in an unidentified swordsmanship out of the blue? Moreover, if that swordsmanship didn’t seem ordinary?

It’s not logical. If I’m unlucky, I might be accused of being a fallen prince who made a contract with the demon tribe and get purged. Regardless of the actual truth.

‘Did I go too far?’

No. In some foreign countries, there were cases where princes aiming for the throne were purged for making contracts with the demon tribe, and some historians argue that many of them were merely sacrificed politically.

Everyone thought it was natural for me to practice the [Lionel-style Swordsmanship] that anyone can learn without handling mana.

They probably thought I had learned it long ago, that there was a textbook in the study, and most people would have thought so.

‘The [Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship] is a different case.’

The [Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship], which only officers and knights can learn. As it is a swordsmanship that utilizes mana extensively, it is strictly managed. It is impossible to obtain a textbook from somewhere.

If I practiced such [Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship], it was obvious that everyone would look at me with suspicious eyes.

‘I must not be accused of being a prince who made a contract with the demon tribe, even if I learn the guardian swordsmanship.’

Noble-born knights like the great sword knights mostly neglect the [Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship] and dedicate themselves to their family’s secret swordsmanship techniques.

Commoner-born knights, who have no family secret techniques passed down for generations, mostly hone the [Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship].

That might be the reason why commoner-born knights tend to lose in duels.

Even if noble-born knights neglect the Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship, they don’t completely avoid training in it. As the kingdom’s royal guards, they must learn the basics.

If I don’t know my opponent, but my opponent knows me? Anyone can guess that if the skills are equal, the former will find it difficult to defeat the latter.

Back to the main point.

The minimum plausibility for me, who has no escort knights, to learn the [Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship].

It’s simple.

Just watch them directly.

No matter how much of a ghost prince I am who doesn’t care about anyone, I am still a royal, so I can at least observe the knights’ training.

A prince suddenly learning an unidentified swordsmanship might be accused of being a fallen human who made a contract with the demon tribe, but wouldn’t it be understandable if a prince who was watching their training imitated it?

I positioned myself where the knights could see me well without disturbing their training.

The chubby knight still hadn’t regained consciousness. The rest were gloomy from their defeat. Everyone seemed unmotivated.

Since I didn’t want to waste time idly, I picked up a wooden sword.

“Phew, there’s not a single shade here. Are you really going to train in this place?”

“Yes, bring a portable chair to rest on later and a parasol to block the sunlight.”

“……”

With feeble steps, I watched Alfonso go to retrieve the things I had mentioned, gripping my wooden sword.

“Our little brother. With your trashy talent, it’s obvious you’ll be kicked out of the palace after your coming-of-age ceremony. Be grateful that I’m personally training you, you bastard. Don’t ignore me!”

The usual welcome from the 4th Prince, always becoming my imaginary punching bag. He was particularly talkative today. His trademark line before starting a duel, or a beating under the guise of “training.”

‘Trashy talent…….’

From today onwards, I will pretend to be a genius swordsman.