Chapter 180

Chapter 180
Chapter 180
Once the parting celebration concluded, Crown Prince Claude was escorted to a grand suite intended for high-ranking guests.

The sheets were soft, the cuisine was lavish, and the climate of the room was tuned to comfort. Yet, despite being surrounded by every luxury imaginable, Claude found no joy in his surroundings. Regardless of how opulent the environment was, a life under guard was indistinguishable from life in a cell.

If anything, the current circumstances—being hemmed in by dozens of armed men—felt more claustrophobic than a jail defined by simple metal bars.

“I’ve already told you, I don’t care if you track my every move, just let me out of this room! I’m not planning to run away! I simply want to stretch my legs in the gallery!”

“His Grace the Duke gave specific instructions to keep you inside, so we cannot comply,” a guard answered flatly.

Claude lost his temper, screaming at the guards with all his might, but the men remained stoic. He glared at them with a gaze full of venom.

“Do you have the slightest clue who you are talking back to right now?”

“And who might that be?”

“I am the legitimate successor to this entire Empire, Crown Prince Claude!”

“So?”

“…”

Claude stared in shock at the guards’ complete lack of concern. Paying him no further mind, the soldiers struck up a casual chat among themselves.

“A Prince is just the Emperor’s kid, right?”

“Pretty much. And the Emperor is technically our Lord’s boss.”

“If he’s the boss of the Lord, shouldn’t we be doing what he says?”

“But the Emperor’s kid isn’t the boss himself, is he?”

“Guess we can just ignore his whining, then.”

Claude was so stunned by their blunt exchange that he couldn’t find his voice. These soldiers were even more irreverent than the watchmen at the city gates. What kind of education did the people of Asagrim receive regarding the status of the Emperor?

At that moment, a recognizable voice reached him from behind the wall of soldiers.

“These men have spent their whole lives in the frozen wastes. They possess no understanding of the grand majesty of His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Dennis!”

For a second, Claude’s expression lit up, but it quickly crumpled into a grimace. He felt a surge of relief that a person he could actually reason with had arrived, yet he simultaneously felt a sting of bitterness that Dennis had remained idle while he was being hauled away.

“Where the hell have you been until this moment?!”

“Your Highness.”

Dennis sank to his knees and addressed Claude with gravity.

“The path ahead will be arduous. But I beg of you, you must persevere. For the sake of the Imperial Family, which must endure for eternity, you have no choice but to submit for the time being.”

“What kind of nonsense are you—!”

“It might take decades, but as long as Your Highness survives, there is a flicker of hope. Therefore, please prioritize your wellbeing and ensure the preservation of the royal line.”

“…!?”

“Soon, I will consult with the Duke to arrange a Crown Princess for you. It must be lonesome remaining in such confined quarters on your own. It will be far more tolerable with a spouse.”

Claude’s complexion turned ghostly at Dennis’s proclamation.

The Imperial Family, the royal bloodline, and a Crown Princess.

Individually, they seemed like standard royal concerns, but they pointed toward a single, terrifying conclusion: they were all focused on genealogy. Claude instinctively grasped the decision Dennis had reached.

He… he’s giving up on me and pinning his dreams on my unborn children? And I’m meant to spend the rest of my days bowing to the Duke?

Claude realized his situation was spiraling out of control. He had been certain that Dennis, of all people, would never turn on him. If the previous Emperor had dispatched him to the North as an operative, his devotion was beyond question.

In reality, Dennis’s devotion hadn’t faltered at all. The issue was that his loyalty had shifted to a more primal level. It wasn’t devotion to the commands of the current Crown Prince, but devotion to the survival of the Imperial institution itself.

I’m in deep trouble.

The color vanished from Claude’s face at this sudden development. He had encountered many such ‘devoted servants’ before—fanatics who disregarded Claude’s personal desires and viewed him only as a component in the Empire’s machinery. Worse, because they convinced themselves their actions were born of pure loyalty, they were immune to logic.

If things continued this way, Dennis would turn into one of those zealots, blocking out everything and doing only what he considered “right.” Noticing a strange, intense light in Dennis’s eyes—the same look those radicals wore—Claude spoke up in a panic.

“W-Wait. This isn’t over! There’s still a way out of this!”

“Indeed. They say the management of a nation is a plan for a century. Submitting for a mere fifty years is a small price to pay.”

“That’s not what I mean! I can handle this! I have a strategy!”

“I am deeply sorry, Your Highness. Please forgive this weak man who has no alternative but to leave the future in the hands of the next generation.”

“Are you deaf?! Listen to what I’m saying!”

Claude shrieked, but Dennis stood and bowed as if the Prince hadn’t spoken at all. Then, as he retreated slowly, he offered one last piece of advice.

“Do not fall into despair; cling to hope. But discard pointless ambition and trust in the future. There is a season for everything.”

“Hey, you son of a bitch!”

“Easy now, where do you think you’re going?”

As Claude lunged forward to seize Dennis, a soldier cut off his path. Just as another insult was about to leave Claude’s lips—

Thud!

“Gah!?”

A force, like a heavy iron mallet hitting his midsection, struck Claude. He crumpled to the floor, the wind knocked out of him, unable to even cry out through the wave of nausea and agony.

Then, different voices filtered through the ranks of soldiers.

“I didn’t want to resort to this type of magic if I could help it, but since he attempted to flee, I had no other option.”

“Quite right. It’s a hex we reserve specifically for preventing runners.”

“The Duke will certainly grasp why Master acted as he did.”

Huddled in a ball, Claude groaned and forced his head up through the pain. He needed to see which madman had attacked him. As he gnashed his teeth and looked at the culprits, his eyes grew wide.

“Mages…!”

“Yes, we are mages. Do you recall who we are?”

How could he possibly forget? For three centuries, the Imperial Family had hunted down unregistered mages through systematic purges. Naturally, any rogue mage would nurse a profound hatred for anyone carrying Imperial blood. How could he forget the mages who had been assigned to him as ‘bodyguards’ during the banquet? Especially since they had used their craft to silence him just before he was taken away.

But to encounter all three of them here was a nightmare.

“The Duke dispatched us. He instructed us to restrain the Crown Prince immediately if he showed any intent to escape. By the way, because of my lack of refinement, I failed to temper the strike properly. Your stomach must be in quite a bit of pain; are you quite alright?”

“Y-You bastards, how dare you…!”

“Since you can still speak, I assume you’ll live. How truly regrettable. We bear no ill will toward the Imperial Family, yet we are forced to employ such unrefined tactics!”

Marius, Colin, and Helen all assumed pained expressions like performers in a theater. However, the corners of their mouths were curled so high they couldn’t mask their delight.

“Crown Prince, please remain still. If you persist in trying to leave, we might be forced to use those unrefined tactics once more.”

“…”

Despite the apologetic words, the deep grin on Marius’s face made it clear he was actually hoping for another excuse to attack. Claude shivered.

—

After the mages were posted as his sentries, Claude felt like he couldn’t even draw a full breath. The second he even moved toward the exit, the mages’ brutal ‘subdual’ would strike him down.

Crunch!

“Guh-ack!”

“Dear me, another breakout attempt. Please stop forcing our hand.”

“It wasn’t a breakout! I was just going to tell the guard to get me some water!”

“You could have just raised your voice. Give up on the lies; they won’t work.”

Unlike the other aristocrats who maintained a facade of manners or the soldiers who simply did their jobs, the mages were genuinely cruel. Marius, in particular, who had narrowly dodged execution several times due to the purges, was obsessive in his watch. Magic would strike the moment Claude displayed the tiniest hint of defiance.

Those bastards know perfectly well I can’t run anywhere since they confiscated all my enchanted items…!

Claude was pushed to the brink of insanity by the blatant unfairness, but there was nothing he could do when they were clearly looking for a fight. Even the soldiers standing by didn’t flinch at Claude’s suffering, let alone offer help.

“It’s not like he’s been gutted; he’s making a hell of a noise over a simple gut-check.”

“Are all the Imperial royals this weak? How embarrassing.”

The warriors from the northern wastes had zero reverence for the Imperial line. Instead, they muttered among themselves, baffled that such fragile beings were ranked higher than their own sovereign.

Coming to the realization that he was surrounded by enemies, Claude summoned Dennis once more. He imagined Dennis would be outraged if he witnessed how poorly Claude was being handled. However, Dennis didn’t even blink after learning of the treatment.

“Just as I was informed.”

“What? You mean you were already aware?”

“Yes. Do not fret overmuch. That magic doesn’t actually cause lasting injury to Your Highness; it only inflicts pain. Your physical health remains intact.”

“How can you say something so heartless—!”

“More importantly, I have vetted several prospects for the role of Crown Princess. I have compiled a dossier, so please review it.”

Claude felt a shiver of dread at Dennis’s cold indifference toward the mages’ brutality. Dennis no longer viewed Claude as a human being with feelings. He was only preoccupied with securing Claude’s genes to cement the next line of royalty. In the worst-case scenario, Claude feared Dennis might dispose of him the moment an heir was born, focusing all care on the baby.

Claude attempted to mask his terror as he spoke.

“B-Before we discuss that, I want to meet with the Blue Rose Knight Order. If I am to select a Crown Princess, wouldn’t it be better to choose from a family I already know?”

“Hmm, that is a logical suggestion. Their social standing is somewhat modest, but it’s not necessarily beneficial for the Crown Princess’s kin to hold too much power anyway.”

At Claude’s hint that he would marry into a house affiliated with the Blue Rose Knight Order, Dennis immediately brought the knights to his room. Only then did Claude’s spirits lift, seeing a glimmer of hope.

The Blue Rose Knight Order, a unit directly beholden to the Imperial Crown, had only been assigned to Lucian by the late Emperor; their fundamental allegiance hadn’t shifted. If he, the Crown Prince, gave them a direct order in person, they would have no choice but to obey.

Having recovered his bravado, Claude adopted a regal posture and issued his command to the Blue Rose Knights.

“Knights, cut down those arrogant traitors at once and escort me out of this place.”

“No.”

“What?”

“Your Highness, please, wake up. We are human beings as well. We aren’t wooden puppets that move blindly based on a master’s sense of duty.”

The knights exhaled tiredly and shook their heads. Their demeanor was that of weary adults dealing with a sheltered child.

“If you break out of here, it’s certain you’ll start giving us all kinds of ridiculous orders. Why on earth would we help you escape?”

“Y-You swore an oath! You swore an oath to the Imperial Family!”

“Which is exactly why this situation is a blessing for us. Because Your Highness is safely tucked away here, we only have to follow sensible orders from the Duke.”

“…!”

“We’re asking you nicely, just stay quiet. Nobody wants to be under your direct command. It’s not just us; the other regional lords feel exactly the same.”

Claude stared blankly at the knights’ harsh honesty. Did that mean all those legions of “loyalists” were a fabrication? Had they only sworn fealty because they were convinced Claude would never be able to leave Tivron?

The knights delivered a final, chilling warning to the stunned Claude.

“A bit of advice: even if you somehow manage to slip away, do not go running to other lords. You might just end up dead.”

“W-What?”

“What do you think will happen if you show up on the doorstep of people who hate your orders but don’t want to ruin their public image as loyal subjects? If I were them, I’d finish you off in secret and then swear you never showed up.”

The Blue Rose Knights walked away, leaving those dark words hanging in the air. Claude remained rooted to the spot for a long time, unable to move a muscle.

Two days later, the moment Lucian arrived to inspect Claude’s well-being—

“Duke! No, King Lucian! I beg of you, save me!”

Before Lucian could even say a word, Claude dropped to his knees and pleaded for mercy.