Surviving As the 5th Prince of the Ruined Kingdom

029

She has no name.

To be precise, she had resolved to forget her original name until she could rebuild the fallen noble family from the North.

Still, she needed a name for others to call her, so she asked to be called Luna, a pseudonym she thought was pretty······.

“Oh, Jane, right? I heard you infiltrated the palace with Alphonso, when did you return?”

She glared at the bandit who had called her by the name of an old woman found in every village of the rural marquessates.

“Huh? Wasn’t it Jane? What was it?”

“Luna. Originally it was Kate, but she changed it before infiltrating the palace because she didn’t like it for some reason.”

“Ah! That’s right. My apologies.”

The bandit smacked his forehead at the female mage’s words.

“Please be careful next time.”

Luna, with a fresh expression, asked the bandit and glanced at the fox mask.

The blood relative of her teacher, the leader of the Northern Liberation Army.

The sole heir of the Saturn Marquessate.

Whether male or female, neither she nor Alphonso, who trained together under their teacher, knew exactly. That mask had been worn since the first time they met. Did something happen to severely injure the face?

The fox mask, meeting her gaze, spoke.

“Luna, although you didn’t work at the Emerald Palace for long, you did infiltrate the palace together with Alphonso. Tell us everything you saw and heard about the 5th Prince.”

“Oh, um. I can’t refuse a senior’s request, but could you let me know the situation first?”

Luna didn’t know why she had been summoned to this meeting of the leaders.

As soon as she heard the news that the Royal Guard Inspectorate was trying to capture Alphonso, she had fled the palace without looking back and was on her way to the Northern Liberation Army’s headquarters.

In the middle, when she encountered the Hamil Empire’s reconnaissance squad in the border area and was having a hard time, the fox mask suddenly appeared. Saying it was fortunate to meet her, the fox mask swept away the reconnaissance squad and brought her here.

“It turned out well, rather. It will be more credible coming from someone who doesn’t know the situation.”

“I think so too. Just tell us what you know about the 5th Prince.”

The bandit and the woman with the eyepatch welcomed the situation. The man in black and the female mage nodded in agreement.

Luna’s Report

Luna scratched the bridge of her nose as she began speaking.

“Well, you said earlier that I saw the 5th Prince up close, but I only saw his face from a distance. Without any proper affiliation, I was just doing laundry endlessly until Alfonso got me into the Emerald Palace, but there I was just washing dishes…… That bastard! Anyway, all I did was wash dishes.”

“Luna, as you know, you and Alfonso were the only ones who infiltrated the palace grounds. Most of what we’ve heard about the 5th Prince recently is just hearsay and rumors spread by the palace servants when they went out. Tell us the vivid information you heard firsthand.”

At the female mage’s request, Luna frowned.

“Didn’t Alfonso’s report come up?”

“The last one was about two months ago, saying ‘The 5th Prince has become strange. Will continue observing.'”

“Anyway, he’s just being lazy……”

Luna muttered softly.

“Well, okay. Ask me what you’re curious about. I’ll answer what I can.”

At her words, the officers paused for a moment, thinking about what to ask.

The bandit asked first.

“Did the 5th Prince really beat up the 4th Prince?”

“At the time, it was hushed up, but it seems to be true. A maid I knew said she saw a battered wretch screaming and being carried from the direction of the 3rd Knight Corps’ training grounds.”

“What was the 4th Prince’s achievement at the time?”

“He was a 2nd-rank knight. That’s for sure. The 2nd Queen held a banquet to celebrate his achievement.”

“Hmm, there were rumors that he lived like a ghost, confined to the palace, but he one-sidedly beat up a 2nd-rank knight? The 5th Prince was 13 years old? If he had neglected swordsmanship, that would have been impossible……. Were the rumors false?”

“That’s what I wondered too. During the almost a year I was infiltrated in the palace, I never heard a single story about the 5th Prince practicing swordsmanship? I heard several times about him getting beaten by wretches. But less than a month after word spread that he was training, he beat up that wretched guy. How had he been holding back all that time?”

There was a brief silence.

The Black-Robed Man, nodding as if he understood something, spoke up.

“He was hiding his true self. He had donned the guise of the Ghost Prince. So secretly that no one, not even Alfonso, noticed.”

“Is that possible? And even if it’s true, why did he suddenly reveal himself?”

The female mage took up the Blindfolded Woman’s point of doubt.

“Perhaps when Alfonso reported that the 5th Prince had become strange, he judged it was time to shed his guise? Looking at how he dealt with the wretched 4th Prince by joining hands with the 2nd Prince in the royal trial afterward, he must have had his own criteria that we don’t know about.”

“If that’s true……”

“Whoa, I got chills. The 5th Prince turned out to be a really scary guy. Wasn’t he 8 years old five years ago? Had he been waiting for his chance since then?”

“Could it be that he had calculated trying to contact us from his childhood……”

The Blindfolded Woman brushed off the goosebumps on her arm, and the Black-Robed Man fell into deep thought.

“If nothing else, he certainly wasn’t a back-alley saint. He one-sidedly beat a 2nd-rank knight at 13…… That means he was close to 3rd-rank. An outstanding achievement. His bloodline didn’t disappear after all.”

The bandit closed his eyes for a moment, recalling the great Northern Sword, Count Richard Bairn.

Soon, he opened his eyes and spoke.

“Luna, is the Fifth Prince a trustworthy person?”

“Huh, what? That is to say…… As I mentioned earlier, from a distance……..”

“Just tell me what you think.”

Luna recalled the stories she had heard about the Fifth Prince while working as a kitchen assistant at the Emerald Palace.

– Did you hear? The other day, Royce was debating whether or not to buy some land recommended by an acquaintance. As he was passing by, the Prince overheard and told him absolutely not to buy it. Turns out it was a scam. The Prince saved someone’s life.

– You know our youngest was admitted to the Royal Academy of Administration, right? There was a book the Prince Evan said must be studied thoroughly. Well, the same problem appeared in the exam. If he had gotten it wrong, he would have failed. Phew!

– Big news! Big news! Prince Evan……..

– Prince Evan……..

.

.

.

The servants gossiping as they came and went through the kitchen. As Luna racked her brain, she found one common thread.

She spoke carefully, “Well…… This is separate from whether we believe it or not……..”

“What is it? Tell me.”

“Yes, don’t hesitate.”

“It seems no one has suffered any harm by following the Fifth Prince’s advice.”

Whether he is trustworthy or not.

That was an even more decisive statement for the Northern Liberation Army officers.

***

I visited the training grounds of the 3rd Cavalry Division with Alfonso after a long time.

As I appeared, a few knights who spotted me bowed their heads slightly. I nodded in response and surveyed the training grounds.

It had changed a lot since my first visit.

Not only the knights’ reactions, but the most noticeable change was……..

“One.”

“Comraaades!”

“Two.”

“Loooove!”

The crew-cut knight and the one using a greatsword, who were sparring when I first visited the 3rd Cavalry Division training grounds, were now marching shoulder-to-shoulder, grimacing in rhythm to the drill commands as they waddled around the grounds.

‘Wow, those two are even marching arm-in-arm.’

There were also many other probationary members following behind them. It seemed like they were receiving encouragement from fighting, as commoners and nobles were amicably linking arms.

“Louder! One!”

“Comraaades!”

I looked at the knight who was watching them with narrowed eyes.

“Two!”

“Saragaaang!”

‘Senior knight.’

Shortly before the bomb called the Royal Inspectorate was delivered to Emerald Palace, the knight commander and senior knights who had gone on an expedition to the western region had returned.

“Your Highness, I don’t see the commander.”

“Yeah, you said he would definitely be here training the members at this hour.”

“Heh, it was true. Same yesterday and the day before.”

“Let’s wait for now.”

I folded my arms and looked out over the training grounds, recalling why I had come here.

‘Bert Leon.’

Excluding the direct lineage of the king, the royals of the Leonel Kingdom use the surname ‘Leon’. Bert Leon is the younger brother of a previous king, my great-uncle.

He was the former commander of the 3rd Knight Order and can be considered the representative of the six neutral members of the Royal Council.

If I went to see him directly, the Crown Prince faction would narrow their eyes and try to uncover the reason. Pondering how I could secretly contact him, I came to the 3rd Knight Order’s training grounds.

‘Gert Leon, the current 3rd Knight Order commander, is his son.’

My thought was to attempt secret contact with Councilor Bert through him.

‘I wonder if he’s the kind of person I’ve heard about?’

There are two main reasons a member of the former king’s faction wasn’t purged:

One, their ability was too valuable to dispose of.

Two, they had no interest in factional conflicts.

I understand Councilor Bert falls into both categories. The majority view is that he only moves for the sake of the nation.

‘I’ll know once I meet him in person. But first I need to meet the 3rd Knight Order commander…….’

As I was thinking this, someone approached me.

“I’ve been wanting to meet you, Prince Evan. You’ve been out of sight for a while, but you’ve finally come.”

“Lady Reina?”

Why is this woman here?

“Thanks to you, Your Highness, I didn’t have to relinquish my knighthood. Thank you.”

Did she mean the time I was almost court-martialed?

I knew it had been quietly dropped after Akard’s conspiracy was revealed.

“No. It’s just that Reyna got caught up in it because of me. I should be the one apologizing, not thanking you. I’m embarrassed.”

She looked me up and down with sparkling eyes.

“Have you come for training?”

“Ah, not today. I wanted to meet someone……. By the way, why is Reyna here?”

“She’s been dispatched for knight order exchange.”

Was there such a thing?

As if reading the doubt in my eyes, she answered.

“Ah, it’s a new thing.”

“I see. When will she return?”

“Um…… I don’t know. They said they’ll summon her when the time comes.”

Well, there seemed to be some backstory I didn’t know about. I was curious, but I didn’t have the leisure to look into it further.

“So, what does she do while dispatched?”

“The same as when she was with the 2nd Knights. Eat, train. Ah! She also had duels.”

“Duels?”

“Yes. After the first day, no one asked for them, so it’s been a bit boring.”

Reyna said with a bright smile.

I became curious about the duel results.

“If you don’t mind me asking, the outcome……”

“I did struggle against some, but luckily I was able to win them all.”

It made sense why the 3rd Knights hadn’t even glanced this way since Reyna arrived.

“By any chance, did you duel the 3rd Knight Commander?”

“……. I lost. Cleanly.”

Reyna’s face clearly showed her frustration.

Talking to her, I felt she was pure, like an untainted child.

I had been curious about her personality since she was called a monster at the Royal Knights Academy and after becoming a Royal Guard, but she came across as refreshing.

“Um…… If you had come for training, I could have watched over you.”

My ears perked up.

This was the first time Reyna had made such an offer to me. I had no reason to refuse, but the timing wasn’t good.

I smiled faintly and opened my mouth.

“I’ve been having a bit of a headache lately, so please take care of it for me. Definitely!”

“I’m looking forward to it. Oh, by the way, who are you here to see?”

“The 3rd Knight Commander.”

“Ah, the Commander.”

“Do you happen to know where he is?”

“He’s been over there for a while.”

I turned my head towards where Reyna’s eyes were pointing. A middle-aged knight with a sturdy shield-like presence stood there with his arms crossed, looking at me.

‘Hmm…….’

For some reason, it felt like even if I unleashed my full [Evan’s Yapping Technique], it wouldn’t leave a scratch on him.