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Chapter 119
“Haven’t I already said no several times? I have no interest in the throne.”
“Why not?”
Adrian narrowed his eyes. It was already known that the House of Eduardo wanted to place him on the throne, but no one had ever asked so directly as they had today.
“I’m sick of the royal family. Just sitting as a prince is tiring enough. Who dragged someone living comfortably into the prince’s position by force? I don’t see why I have to listen to you.”
Before Duke Eduardo found Adrian, he had lived wandering the back alleys, so it was hard to say he had a comfortable life.
But ascending to the position of prince was never what Adrian wanted. Most people would consider being a prince far better than wandering alleys, but Adrian was not like most people.
His life had become far more luxurious than before, but in return, he had lost something precious: his freedom.
“If you’re refusing out of rebellion against our family, reconsider.”
“Why should I listen to someone who upended my life at will? Because of that, I had to live as quietly as a mouse just to survive. I even went out of my way to act boldly to avoid being restrained. Some of that was my true self, of course.”
“You know well who caused what happened at the academy during the Foundation Festival.”
“Of course, it would be you, sister.”
Adrian twisted his lips and replied coldly, though inside he was boiling more fiercely than anyone.
“Are you just going to watch this happen?”
“And if I don’t?”
Adrian let out a small laugh—self-deprecating.
“You’ve known me long enough to understand. I’m not the kind of person fit to sit on the throne.”
Lionel understood the meaning behind Adrian’s words.
Being a bastard, Adrian had never properly received heir training. And before Duke Eduardo found him, his childhood was spent begging in alleys and rummaging through trash.
Even after becoming a prince, he would escape the palace at every opportunity.
Adrian was saying that he was not capable of ruling the empire.
But there was no alternative to Adrian. Aside from the crown princess, he was the only direct heir.
“There’s no such thing. The position makes the person.”
“Is that really so? What if I turn out like that woman? Half of the blood running through my veins is the same as hers. Are you sure I’d be a good emperor? Are you sure I wouldn’t become someone who treats human life as lightly as my sister?”
“If you become that kind of person, I’ll take you down.”
Adrian, head bowed, only moved his eyes to look at him.
“Do you think you could easily remove me from the throne when I can’t even deal with the crown princess?”
“If you set your mind to it, you’d have justification. You could rally a majority of the moderates and resolve in one fell swoop what’s been dragging on until now.”
Despite Adrian’s refusal, Lionel didn’t give up easily.
Rubbing the area around his brows as if in pain, Adrian spoke somewhat irritably:
“You’re being troublesome today. What sudden whim brought you here causing all this? You’ve never pushed me directly before.”
“……”
At Adrian’s question, only one face appeared in Lionel’s mind:
Jaelin, exhausted, asleep.
But Lionel erased that image. He hid his feelings and forced a bitter smile.
“You know how my mother died. The same thing happened at the academy. Who knows how many more times this will happen? And yet, you’re saying we should close our eyes and ears and live as if nothing happened?”
“……Yes.”
Lionel blinked, frustrated. He had no more ways to persuade Adrian. Eventually, he decided to step back.
“This isn’t something you can decide immediately. Don’t just refuse outright—consider it seriously.”
“……”
Leaving those words, Lionel exited the clubroom.
The long-standing feud between the crown princess and the House of Eduardo began over a fairly trivial matter. It happened quite some time ago.
At that time, the crown princess, the only princess of the Flannel Empire, received her title upon reaching adulthood.
Officially recognized as first in line for the throne, she became the undisputed next ruler of the Flannel Empire.
She diligently fulfilled her duties as princess, attending court affairs and steadily cultivating the qualities of a future emperor.
Around that time, Duke Eduardo’s advice to the crown princess became the root of the trouble.
The crown princess had been strict with her subordinates, tolerating not even the slightest mistake.
If something displeased her, she would punish and interrogate them harshly in public, shaming them.
She didn’t respect them, considering anyone other than herself and the emperor as unimportant.
Her cruelty became more pronounced day by day.
Observing this, Duke Eduardo gave her advice in front of the emperor and the council of ministers:
“You are to become the head of the empire. Should you not cultivate a kinder heart? How can someone who cannot cherish even those close to them undertake great matters?”
The crown princess was greatly offended.
She was destined to reach the pinnacle of power, yet someone of lower status dared to insult her pride. How presumptuous.
One of the things the crown princess hated most was those who challenged her without understanding their place.
She could hardly contain her rising anger; her face twisted.
“What did you just say?”
The emperor, observing the scene, furiously scolded her:
“Have you never once considered that you might be lacking? Listening to your subjects’ advice is a virtue of a good ruler! You must always be prepared to accept it without arrogance. Do you understand?”
“But Your Majesty…”
“Are you speaking back to me?”
“That is not what I mean…”
“Do not disappoint me! You think being placed in the position of crown princess makes you emperor already? If I deem you unfit, I will take the position back at any time. Understand?”
The emperor roared.
The crown princess bit the inside of her cheek. She was an adult, yet she felt humiliated to be scolded like a child in front of her subordinates.
‘I will never forgive this.’
Her body burned with murderous intent toward Duke Eduardo, who had placed her in this situation.
“I shall remember, Your Majesty.”
She bowed to the emperor, concealing her true feelings. Her clenched fists trembled, but no one present noticed.
Straightening her posture, she turned to Duke Eduardo:
“Thank you for your advice, Duke. I shall take it to heart.”
“I am grateful.”
With her apparent acceptance, Duke Eduardo bowed deeply. The situation seemed to have been resolved smoothly.
However, Duke Eduardo would pay a price for this. When his wife visited her great-nephew Baron Palin’s estate, a disaster occurred.
Unexpectedly, the duke’s wife and the baron’s family all perished.
Monsters suddenly appeared, utterly destroying the Palin estate.
The Palin estate, located at the southernmost tip of the Flannel Empire, was far from areas where monsters usually appeared. No preparations had been made for monster attacks.
No one expected such an event in the Palin lands.
Upon receiving word that his wife’s estate was attacked, Duke Eduardo hurried with his knights and soldiers.
But the monsters poured forth like bamboo shoots after rain, making approach difficult.
By the time he reached the estate, his wife was already dead.
No one survived inside. The knights and soldiers searched for days but found no living soul. The estate lay in ruin.
During the search, the knights discovered something strange: the monsters had emerged from inside the estate, not attacked from outside, and the walls built to protect against intrusion had actually hindered escape.
With no survivors, information was scarce. The reason for the monsters’ sudden appearance remained unknown.
While searching the surrounding area, they finally found a young girl hiding in a large tree trunk, trembling with fear.
Duke Eduardo asked if she had seen anything, but she could not respond. Her eyes were empty.
He found her parents’ names in a book she carried and searched nearby villages, but could not locate any guardians.
Duke Eduardo concluded that this girl was the only survivor of the Palin estate.
It was clear her parents had lived there, though why the girl was alone remained unknown.
With nowhere to go and her home destroyed overnight, she had lost everything.
Unable to leave the child behind, Duke Eduardo took her back to his estate and entrusted her to an orphanage under his care.
