How the Sidekick Prince Lives Again Chapter 127

Published at 12th of July 2023 11:48:54 AM

VIII. The Prince’s Agony

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“……Highness, Your Imperial Highness?”

“Hmm? Ah, sorry. I was thinking about something else.”

In a dazed state, Renato shook his shoulders and blinked his eyes when Arche called him. Seeing Arche looking at him with documents in her hands, he realized they were in the middle of a conversation and apologized.

“Should I come back later if you are tired?”

Arche worriedly asked when she noticed Renato’s mind wandering somewhere else since a while ago. She had come to report the Empire’s trends sent by Iris, but Renato couldn’t concentrate on their conversation. She didn’t know the exact reason, but it was clear that his mind was preoccupied with something else.

“You don’t have to. What were you talking about?”

Renato pressed his forehead with an exhausted face and looked at Arche. He couldn’t throw things away just because he was in anguish.

“I was talking about the rise in Your Imperial Highness’ reputation within the Empire. Especially, the fact that Your Imperial Highness saved the Khan Kingdom’s Queen Consort has become a great topic of conversation.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, the personal letter and gifts from Her Majesty the Queen seem to have played a big role.”

Arche answered with a bright face. Yesterday, Maryam bestowed on Renato the highest medal of the kingdom and the honorary title of a Duke, then held a grand banquet. Moreover, she hurriedly sent people to the Empire before the conferment ceremony, delivering a letter of gratitude and gifts to Tristan. It was because it was appropriate to ask Tristan, the Emperor, for his consent as an honorary title was given to a Prince of the Empire.

But her true purpose was different. Maryam sought to promote Renato’s position in the Fleurette Empire while making her name known at the same time.

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“The scale of yesterday’s conferment ceremony and the stories spread to the Empire…… Her Majesty seems very determined.”

“It’s a great opportunity to make her name known externally and take the initiative internally, so she has to be proactive.”

Renato said in understanding. Since she had only ascended to the throne a few years ago and had yet to achieve much, Maryam was not well known in other countries.

Perhaps that was one of the reasons she felt a sense of crisis toward Khalid. Unlike Maryam, Khalid was a renowned knight on the continent and was famous no matter which country he went to.

To Maryam, this was an opportunity to grow her presence inside and outside the kingdom. She, who was quick in calculations, couldn’t have missed it. Normally, Renato would have frowned at Maryam’s actions, but he also agreed with her this time.

Maryam’s formal endorsement of Renato also meant accepting his demand on the day they met separately in the greenhouse. Renato had no reason not to welcome it.

“It’s not a bad thing for me, so let’s keep an eye on it for now. Isn’t this the same as announcing to the world that the Queen of the Khan Kingdom will support me?”

“That’s right. Who would dare to look down on someone recognized by a country’s monarch? If used well, it will help increase Your Imperial Highness’ influence when you return to the Empire.”

Arche agreed with Renato. The news that Renato saved Queen Consort Laila had already been rumored in the Empire before Maryam sent a personal letter. And when Maryam’s letter arrived, the Empire was shaken.

Although Renato had already been paid attention to because of his marriage to Khalid – the Khan Kingdom’s grand prince, when Queen Maryam called him a ‘benefactor’ and gave him a medal and honorary title, the Empire’s social and political circles were turned upside down.

The nobles couldn’t help but be amazed at the unexpected achievement of someone they disdained as a sidekick Prince. And they were busy calculating how this would affect the future power structure.

“Then how is the task of choosing the nobles that we could turn to our side going? Are you still observing?”

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“Yes, our guild members are observing them 24 hours a day. No one is having any suspicious movements, and there are a few who have had strong goodwill toward Your Imperial Highness recently, so Iris has secretly approached them and given them hints.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it’s a pity that most of them are Beta families, but…… Should I organize their personal information and give it to you? I can contact them at any time.”

“You may do so. We’ll have to start building our force, so let’s meet them when we return to the Empire.”

“Understood. Then I will contact Iris to arrange a place for a meeting.”

“Ah, how about Marquis Medus? He doesn’t seem to be suspicious of me, right?”

Renato asked what he had been worried about for a while. As the Marquis would obviously suspect Renato if he was found to have received the Fairy’s Tears from Tristan, he contacted the Medus family immediately after saving Laila and made up a story in advance. He lied that he had faked the Snake’s Breath received from Marquis Medus as Fairy’s Tears to heal the Queen Consort.

“So far, he has been welcome toward Your Imperial Highness’ achievement. After all, His Majesty the Emperor has been actively engaged in political affairs recently, so the Marquis’ position has shrunk compared to before. He has been praising Your Imperial Highness, saying that thanks to you, the relationship with the Khan Kingdom will improve.”

As the Empress’ son, Renato was known to the Empire’s nobles as belonging to Marquis Medus’ side. The Emperor’s closest aides such as Prime Minister Elaine, Marquis Kyle, and Viscount Roman knew the situation, but other nobles in the imperial faction did not.

For that reason, Renato’s achievement in the kingdom was a boon for the noble faction and not the imperial faction. The reason Marquis Medus actively praised Renato must be to attribute his achievement to the Medus family.

“I have to cut ties with him as soon as I return to the Empire.”

Renato frowned at the unpleasant outcome. But he had no other way right now. Marquis Medus and Blanche consented to this marriage because they thought Renato was on their side. If they knew of Renato’s betrayal, they would definitely interfere with the marriage immediately.

The right to approve a Prince’s marriage belongs to both the Emperor and the Empress. It would be difficult to break the marriage now that their engagement ceremony was held, but if Empress Blanche objected, the wedding ceremony could be indefinitely postponed. So until he married Khalid, Marquis Medus should not find out about his betrayal.

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“Is the wedding preparation going well?”

“Yes. The Senate suggested the wedding ceremony be held in the autumn when the weather gets cooler, but I heard His Majesty the Emperor strongly insists that the wedding be held in the summer. As the monster hunting festival is held this winter, His Majesty’s opinion will highly likely be accepted, so I think you can rest assured.”

“Hunting festival? Come to think of it……”

Arche’s words reminded Renato of something he had forgotten. The Empire had much fewer monsters than other countries thanks to the Fairy Forest, but it was not totally none.

If their population is not controlled, the number of monsters may increase exponentially at some point, causing a monster wave, so hunting festivals were held in various regions of the Empire once every few years. At that time, the imperial family was obliged to clear up the monsters inhabiting the Fairy Forest located in the Empire’s central part, which was under the Emperor’s direct control.

In his previous life, however, Renato did not participate in the hunting festival. Maximo was in charge of the hunting festival on his behalf. And Marquis Medus tried to kill Trudy at the hunting festival. A knight that the Marquis incited sprayed a drug that lured monsters onto Trudy and his party’s horses.

However, Marquis Medus’ atrocious plan failed. It was because Khalid, who participated in the hunting festival as part of military cooperation at the time, rescued Trudy as he was surrounded by a group of monsters.

‘Fuck! We would have been successful had it not been for that jerk! He just came out of nowhere!’

Recalling Maximo’s irritation when they failed because of Khalid, Renato softly bit his lower lip. Now that he recalled, Khalid really helped him a lot.

Khalid.

The thought of him made his tranquil heart flutter. Renato groaned, feeling pressure on the pit of his stomach. It was a symptom that often appeared after he was aware of his feelings toward Khalid.

“Your Imperial Highness? What’s wrong?”

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Arche called Renato in surprise as he dropped his head and pressed his hand against his chest.

“Are you hurt anywhere? Should I call Sir Baikal?”

“No, I’m okay. It’s because I didn’t get enough sleep……”

“Pardon?”

“I’m a bit tired. You can leave now as it seems the urgent matters have been discussed. I will be resting until I go visit Her Majesty the Queen Consort.”

Renato leaned back on his chair and told Arche to leave. After dismissing Arche and being left alone, he sighed with a fatigued face.

“Haa……”

A heavy sigh escaped from his small lips. His lack of sleep was the truth. After becoming aware of his feelings for Khalid, Renato had been sleeping fitfully every single day.

Before realizing his feelings, Khalid’s embrace was the most comfortable in the world, but now it was the most uncomfortable in the world. It wasn’t because he hated Khalid, but because he liked him so much that whenever he was next to the man, his heart trembled and his whole body tensed up, making him unable to sleep.

But he couldn’t even toss and turn or get up and go somewhere else. Khalid, a slight sleeper, would wake up when Renato slightly moved. Actually, the man hugged Renato in his arms and patted him yesterday, feeling worried that Renato didn’t sleep well these days.

Khalid was worried about Renato and did so to help him sleep, but unfortunately, it completely backfired. All night long, Renato pretended to sleep with his eyes closed, hoping that Khalid wouldn’t hear his pounding heart, before finally falling asleep at dawn.

I wish I hadn’t realized it.

Renato sighed again, pressing his fingers against his temples. Maybe because he hadn’t slept well for three days, his eyeballs hurt as if they were going to fall out and his head was dizzy.

Chapter end