Rene, who had been uncomfortable being with the First Queen, had slipped out of the office with some work in hand. Yet, his hands kept moving, pausing, then moving again, repeatedly.
Normally, it wouldn't have taken him even an hour to finish what he had to do, so why was he hesitating so much now?
As soon as Rene asked himself that, the memory of a long-lost connection resurfaced.
“That damn kid.”
When they first met again at the Partan Festival, Rene thought it was intentional to ignore him. He assumed the kid was deliberately being distant, misinterpreting things and leaving without saying a word.
Even though a long time had passed, that same kid made him angry. Seeing him laughing with others, after abandoning Rene, made him even more irritated. He intentionally picked fights, even though he could have let it go.
Rene never thought he would lose. After all, the kid had only just gotten out of his confusion and was no more than a year older than him.
Meanwhile, Rene had been continuously training to become king, so the gap between them must have been enormous.
His only concern and agonizing thought had been what kind of punishment to impose on the kid after winning.
And then, he lost.
Even now, thinking about it, Rene could only let out a bitter laugh.
What kind of strategy was that?
What was even more ridiculous was Lucy Allen's usual way of tackling dungeons, according to her brother’s testimony.
He had thought it was just a trick for a mock strategy, something only possible in that scenario, and he had accepted his loss, but he never expected her to be acting that way in real life too.
And then, seeing her surrounded by her friends, glowing with energy, a sense of jealousy crept up on him, but at the same time, he felt relieved.
After everything was done, he mentioned a debt that he didn’t need to, but he hadn’t thought about meeting her again.
After such a long time, there was no reason to bring up the past to someone who had become happy.
Reflecting on it, Rene also realized that his own refusal to correct the misunderstanding due to his own anger was a clear mistake. So, he thought, if they were to go their separate ways, that would be fine.
A long time passed, and when he heard about a potential engagement, he realized that his mother was planning to place Arthur on the throne.
Arthur, his younger brother, was brilliant and talented. The only flaw was a lack of backing, but that had stopped being an issue once he entered the Academy. Arthur was destined to be a great king.
Since Rene had no attachment to the throne, he nodded quietly.
At that point, Rene even entertained the idea of reconciling with that kid.
That’s why, when he saw the kid retreating with such panic and then hiding behind Arthur, he couldn’t help but pour out his emotions.
No matter how much of a stranger he had become, Rene couldn’t tolerate such a reaction. He could see that the kid truly hated him, and that only made him angrier.
Even when they walked together under the pretense of creating a reason, Rene thought the kid was deliberately trying to provoke him to make him angry.
Even though he thought it was pathetic, he kept accompanying him, because it was all part of the plan—to reach out after they had spent time together and suggest they return to how things were.
But now.
“You’ve forgotten everything about me?”
The kid, who had cried so miserably, had forgotten all about him?
After the anger subsided, Rene looked back at all the previous responses and realized they made sense.
To the kid, it must have looked strange for a powerful person to stick to him out of nowhere!
The anger, the embarrassment, the frustration, and then a sigh. He clenched his fist thinking that the kid was probably living peacefully, but his emotions were still a tangled mess.
Rene exhaled another sigh and placed his pen down, leaning back in his chair and speaking to the empty air.
“I’m not in the best state, but I’m not so out of touch that I can’t sense this presence.”
Then, a man appeared from the previously empty wall.
“Is this the man that Karia has been teaching?”
“I’m honored that you know about me, First Prince.”
“As an undercover agent, it’s not something to be happy about. The only person who can casually walk around with their face exposed is someone like Karia.”
“It’s fine. I can do something similar myself.”
He only briefly covered his face, but the appearance of Alsatin’s face changed into someone else’s. It was a man who appeared to be well over fifty.
“Well, after all, I’m a disciple of my master.”
Rene was mildly impressed as he noted the change in Alsatin's voice.
“So, what brings you here? If you’ve made it this far, bypassing the palace guards, it must be for something important.”
“There are many things, but the main reason is to ensure the safety of the First Prince.”
“The easiest way to secure the throne is to eliminate all other claimants, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Rene let out a laugh, clearly showing his disdain.
“Then this is going in a direction that goes against the First Queen’s wishes. Many nobles will criticize Arthur as a traitor, and Arthur, in turn, will act out of hostility toward the First Queen.”
Although Rene didn’t know much about his mother, one thing was clear.
She was sincerely devoted to the kingdom’s prosperity. No matter how easy or convenient something seemed, if it would harm the kingdom, the First Queen wouldn’t choose it.
“If it’s the First Queen, she’d rather give Arthur accomplishments. Arthur is already being checked by several nobles. After the restoration of the Fairy Forest, a few more accomplishments will naturally put him in the competition.”
Encouraging Arthur to achieve accomplishments wasn’t difficult.
Arthur was meddling in other people’s affairs. If Rene pushed the right people into dangerous situations, Arthur would naturally achieve what he needed.
“It’s related to an accomplishment, but when was the last time you saw the King?”
“I haven’t seen him much since his condition worsened, but I visit him a few times a month. Just last weekend, I checked on him and confirmed he was sound asleep.”
“Was that really the King?”
Alsatin asked with a questioning tone, and Rene spat out words as if he was daring him to doubt.
“Do you think I can’t even tell that apart?”
“But, First Prince, according to what my master knows, it’s strange that the King has yet to pass away.”
“...Tell me more.”
“When my master was still in the kingdom, the King had been given a terminal diagnosis.”
That wasn’t exactly a lie. Rene could tell that Alsatin was speaking with genuine intent.
There was a possibility that Karia had intentionally provided him with incorrect information, but Karia had no reason to create confusion.
Now that Rene thought about it, he remembered that the King had been critically ill two years ago. He had suddenly recovered, and the courtiers had showered him with all kinds of flattering words.
Even though Rene had been irritated by the delayed succession, he pretended to smile on the outside.
“Let’s assume that’s true. What does that have to do with an accomplishment?”
“If there’s an accomplishment related to someone who has slain the demon who took the King’s life, even the nobles won’t dare speak out.”
“What you just said. That’s an immediate execution.”
“I know. But even if you behead him, please make sure to confirm first.”
Rene, who had been tapping the desk with his fingers, leaned forward slowly.
“Do you think it’s possible to meet the King without the First Queen finding out?”
“I’ve received help from Erginus. Using the power of darkness, I’ll be able to conceal our presence.”
When Alsatin used the magic contained in his necklace, his form suddenly vanished.
Rene was stunned as Alsatin reappeared, perfectly hidden without a trace.
“Would you like to come with me?”
“Do you really need me?”
“Part of it is to convince you.”
No one would find them now. Even if they left, no one would notice.
“Fine. But if you’re wrong, I’ll hold your master responsible.”
“Do you mean my master?”
“No. I’m talking about Lucy Allen.”
Rene couldn’t hold back his frustration. After all, Lucy had completely forgotten him and was now happily going on with her life. The kid who had caused him so much emotional turmoil needed to face some more difficulty.
“I’ll also need to tell you how to make things difficult for your master.”
“If things go wrong, I’ll do my best.”
Hiding in the darkness with Alsatin, Rene marveled at how no one in the palace could detect them.
How strange, Rene thought. The palace workers were supposed to be quite skilled, but they couldn’t sense anything wrong. Truly, the power of the gods was amazing.
“As for this matter...”
Passing by the place where the First Queen was, Rene shrank his shoulders, but she was too focused on discussing business with her envoy to pay them any attention.
Having successfully passed the most dangerous area without issue, the two of them arrived at the King’s bedroom without much trouble.
“Now.”
“Wait. This door has multiple magical traps. If you touch it carelessly, the entire palace will rush here.”
“It’s fine. As you know, Erginus was the original architect of this palace.”
Alsatin took out a piece of paper from his pocket and attached it to the door. The complex magical traps were naturally deactivated.
Having felt the immense power of a genius who even defied the gods, Rene stepped into the bedroom with a smirk.
This was a place he had visited countless times before. The scenery was just as he remembered it.
Yeah. This was all nonsense.
Why would the First Queen need to disguise the King’s death? Creating chaos in the palace was not something she would do.
“...It shouldn’t be.”
Faced with the King’s haggard face, Rene checked again and again, wondering if he was hallucinating.
And in the end, he had to face the truth. The possibility that the king, Soladin, had already passed away was very real.
“So who was it that I saw all this time?”
“Isn’t that shock the clue that will elevate your accomplishments?”
Rene’s head ached. What was the First Queen thinking?
This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.