HRMF 18

Chapter 18

How to Replace a Father

Luciano let out a short laugh, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard, then narrowed his eyes.

“It’s been three years since Ain’s madness began. His attendants and even his mother have fainted countless times from the stress.
If what you’re saying is true, then he’s managed to hide it from everyone — even his mother and servants — for three years.”

“Yes.”

“And how did you notice something that none of them did?”

I’d suspected it from the beginning.
It always bothered me that in the game’s storyline, there was never any mention of Prince Ain being mad.

But of course, I couldn’t say that.
So I just explained the process that led me to my conclusion.

“Because he only eats the food I make.”

“…What?”

“Mm, it’s kind of a long story. When I first tried to cook for Prince Ain, the royal chefs came and harassed me.”

At the time, I thought they were just trying to take away my chance to impress the prince.
But later, it struck me as odd.

“There’s no reason to curry favor with a mad prince, right?”

“So?”

“They were actually following orders from Prince Gaspar. They were putting drugs in Prince Ain’s meals.”

Just to be sure, I secretly followed the head chef — and indeed, he was sneaking in and out of Gaspar’s quarters.

‘The head chef moved around at dawn, which was exhausting.’

Thanks to that, I was still sleep-deprived.

I even managed to steal one of the drugs Gaspar gave him and analyzed it.
It wasn’t deadly — but it was designed to gradually weaken the body until the victim collapsed.
Once Ain fell, they could easily search his tent or his body.

So that was why Ain refused food — he used “madness” as an excuse.

“The other chefs would slip in drugged dishes now and then, but he always noticed right away and only ate my cooking.”

“So he knew exactly which dishes were tampered with beforehand.”

“Yes. Someone that sharp couldn’t possibly be insane.”

Luciano’s expression softened into one of understanding.

“Remarkable.”

“Right? It’s amazing that he managed to act for years like that.”

“No, I meant you.”

Inside the quiet storeroom, he looked at me with a curious expression.
For a long moment, he simply stared.
The prolonged gaze made me fidget, and I awkwardly looked away.

Luciano chuckled softly and spoke again.

“I wonder if my brother knows.”

“…Knows what?”

“That he let go of something valuable.”

“…?”

Before I could ask, he tossed something at me.

I barely caught it — a small pouch.
When I peeked inside, my eyes went wide.

Jewels.
Crystals, pearls, even diamonds.

“Th-this is…?”

“It’s to replace the imperial citrine Ain promised to give you.”

Yesterday, I had given up the citrine to get Ain to eat his meal.
I had thought it a bit of a loss — but how did Luciano even know?

I immediately bowed deeply.

“I’ll work even harder!”

Even as a servant, it’s best to serve a rich master — and Prince Luciano was very generous.
With one night’s work, I’d earned enough to cover my mother’s medical expenses for an entire year.
I grinned from ear to ear.

‘I’d better earn my keep.’

Since I’d received a year’s worth of my mother’s care fees, I worked diligently to prove my worth.

I carefully observed Prince Ain to learn about his daily habits — and kept a close eye on his surroundings too.
I also reported regularly to Luciano.

To help me gather information, Luciano even delayed his planned departure north.
That was generous of him.

On the third night since my arrival at the military camp, I began targeting Ain’s attendants.

“You made this for us?”

“Yes! They’re called hotteok and misutgaru. Please eat before they get cold.”

“Oooh…!”

The attendants were delighted and began eating the hotteok enthusiastically.
When they burned their mouths from eating too quickly, I quickly handed them cold misutgaru with ice floating on top.

The mountain of pancakes I’d brought quickly disappeared.

‘Now, this should do the trick…’

“Aah… I’m feeling drowsy.”

“Same here…”

The sugar spike was hitting them, and sleepiness began to creep in — especially at night.
When you’re exhausted and sleepy, there’s only one thing you want: to stop working.

“Ugh, I still have to clean that damn snake cage.”

“I studied so hard to pass that tough exam and become an imperial servant, and now I’m tending to snakes…”

“And not just any snake! If I mess up cleaning that cage, I could die!”

They grumbled with half-closed eyes.
While pretending to clear dishes, I listened intently — and my eyes widened.

‘Perfect. Opportunity.’

“Would you like me to clean it for you?”

“…Really?”

They stared at me in disbelief.

“Yes. I worked in a menagerie before — I’m used to cleaning animal pens.”

“That’d be great, but…”

One of them eyed me suspiciously.

“Why are you being so nice to us?”

I’d expected that question.
When someone’s too kind, people get wary.

I quickly gave my prepared excuse.

“I’m only here temporarily, thanks to Colonel Ragoni’s favor. I thought it would be nice to get acquainted with you, the imperial servants…”

I trailed off deliberately, and the attendants grinned knowingly.

“Ah, I see. You’re hoping for a permanent position.”

“In that case, we can help you.”

“Yeah, you’ve helped us plenty already.”

I smiled brightly and bowed.

“Thank you. Please leave the cage to me.”

“Sure. If you come to the capital, look me up — I’ll find you a good place to work.”

They laughed and yawned as they left.

Once alone, I slipped into Prince Ain’s tent.
It was empty — but that was fine.

‘I have to check on Yeppi first.’

After scanning the area, I approached Yeppi — Ain’s “Death Servant” — who was coiled inside a metal cage.
The serpent hissed softly.

“Hey, Yeppi. Hungry?”

I pushed a piece of raw chicken into the cage.
Yeppi only hissed again, refusing to eat.

“I knew it… you’re a tracker.”

That’s right.
‘The tracker isn’t an object — it’s an animal.’

To be exact, they make an animal into a tracker.
The process goes like this:

1. Feed the animal a special item that transforms it into a tracker.

2. Once the item fuses with its body, the transformation is complete.

3. Feed it something related to the target for over fifteen days — and it will begin tracking that target.

After that, the tracker won’t eat anything else to avoid confusing its target —
just like how Yeppi refused the chicken.

Grinning, I realized I’d found the answer.
Yeppi was the decoy — I’d thought Ain might have another hidden animal, but apparently not.
Still, something didn’t add up.

‘Why make Yeppi the tracker of all things?’

It didn’t make sense.

“A Death Servant is far too large…”

And then —

“I didn’t know it would grow this big. I thought it was just a normal snake at first.”

“…!”

A voice behind me.
Prince Ain.

Even though the owner of the tent had returned, I couldn’t turn around.
His words were too telling.

He had seen right through my earlier muttering — and hit upon my exact suspicion: Why a Death Servant?

I heard him walk closer.

“A baby Death Servant looks like any ordinary snake, you know?”

He came to stand before me, crouched by the cage, meeting my eyes.

“That’s why I chose it as the tracker.”

“….”

“What’s wrong? Shouldn’t you be denying it right about now?”

“How did you notice?”

I looked him in the eye.

“Hm. I didn’t expect you to be so honest so soon. Why did you pick that side?”

“You were hoping I’d play dumb, weren’t you? So you could cut my throat?”

“That’d be too cruel. I was only going to rip your mouth a little — as payback for your delicious stew.”

Ain stood and sat on the cot, crossing his legs.
I straightened and faced him from a cautious distance.

He regarded me with keen interest.

“You’re not running. Because you think your backer will protect you? Luciano, right?”

“….”

“Did you really think I wouldn’t know? You’ve underestimated me.”

“….”

“Gaspar’s a fool, but Luciano isn’t. So I figured I should play along — pretend to be the victim.”

So that’s why he’d let me in and eaten my food —
to lull Luciano into lowering his guard by keeping a known spy nearby.

I stared at him.

“Then why stop pretending now and show your hand?”

“Because someone who knows how to identify a tracker can’t be left alive.”

He gestured toward the uneaten chicken inside the cage.

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. You’ll just sail far away and keep working like you do now. Different name, though. Something like… Slave No. 34?”

As I stiffened, he waved cheerfully.

“Farewell, then.”

The curtain at the tent’s entrance stirred as several men entered — Ain’s secret enforcers.

“Trying to escape?” he murmured. “Pointless. They’re professional assassins.”

“You hired assassins? Wouldn’t mercenaries have sufficed?”

“You’re naïve, lady of a noble house. With assassins, I might even take out Luciano or Gaspar someday.”

“That’s the line I was waiting for.”

“What?”

Ain blinked — and then the tent curtain was sliced clean in half, fluttering to the ground.

And behind it—

“Too bad, Ain.”

It was Luciano.

Ain’s face went rigid.
Staring at Luciano in disbelief, he then turned to me.

“How…?”

When I stayed silent, he shouted.

“Answer me!”

“I figured if Yeppi was a tracker, it’d be impossible to steal. It’s too big.”

“So?”

The next voice wasn’t mine — it was Luciano’s, striding into the tent.

“So we decided to take it another way.”

He’d guessed that once I identified the tracker, Ain would try to dispose of me —
and that would expose his crimes.
Perfect timing to catch him red-handed.
Hiring assassins had made the trap even better.

“His Majesty strictly forbade any contact with criminal syndicates,” Luciano said coolly. “Once word gets out, you’ll be in deep trouble.”

Ain sneered.

“And you think His Majesty will believe your word?”

“What if mine is added to it?”

Another voice — Colonel Ragoni, entering with soldiers.

I had, of course, summoned them earlier with Luciano.
The more witnesses, the better.

Ain’s face hardened further.
He shot to his feet.

“I won’t let this go!”

Luciano twisted his wrist effortlessly and subdued him.

“Don’t lay a hand on my potato,” Luciano said coldly.

…What?

Colonel Ragoni stepped forward.

“Don’t make this any more complicated, Your Highness.”

The implication was clear — cause any more trouble, and they’d report everything to the emperor.

Ain ground his teeth but soon sank back onto the cot.

“So this is the tracker,” Luciano murmured, looking at Yeppi in the cage.

I nodded.

“If you release it, it’ll automatically begin tracking.”

“A monster wandering through villages will cause panic.”

“Then tell the local lord first. Death Servants have the ability to locate underground water veins.”

“So I should claim I released it to find a water source — to calm the people?”

“Exactly.”

“Not a bad idea.”

As we talked quietly in front of the cage, an irritated shout came from behind.

“How long are you two planning to loiter here?!”

Ain’s voice again.
We were still inside his tent, after all, discussing things right in front of him.
Everyone else had been dismissed — only Luciano, Ain, and I remained.

I glanced back at him from my crouched position.

“Until Your Highness makes a choice.”

“A choice?”

“Whether to cover up the illegal dealings and keep your assassins… or lose the tracker entirely.”

Ain glared.

“That’s hardly a choice.”

“No,” I said firmly.
“It’s whether you’ll hand over the tracker to Prince Luciano and become allies, or lose it and become enemies.”

“…Allies?”

His tone shifted.

Sensing the opening, I pointed at Luciano with both hands like a salesman pitching a product.

“This man, ladies and gentlemen, is the legitimate son of the First Imperial Consort — the Empress’s rival in grace and power!
His maternal grandfather is one of the Seven Great House Lords and a former Chancellor!
And His Majesty’s most trusted prince!”

“….”

“….”

Both princes stared at me in disbelief as I continued enthusiastically.

“However! Despite his brilliance, His Highness faces a slight disadvantage in the power struggle against the First Prince, purely because he’s not the eldest…”

“That ‘slight disadvantage’ happened because you handed my achievements to the First Prince,” Luciano muttered.

“…Anyway.” I avoided his gaze and looked back at Ain.

“Invest now, and I guarantee high returns! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

“…‘High returns’?”

“A rising star destined for greatness — that’s who you’ll be siding with!”

Ain gave a short, dry laugh.

“So you’re saying I should abandon my weak maternal family’s prospects of producing an emperor and just follow Luciano?”

He spoke mockingly, but I replied calmly.

“I’m saying you should wait for your chance.”

“What?”

“Just like you’ve been pretending to be mad all these years — bide your time beside Prince Luciano and seize your next opportunity.”

“….”

“Wait until he wipes out all the princes with powerful maternal families.”

Luciano snorted.

“You’re saying that right in front of me?”

“Are you going to let it happen?”

“Of course not.”

I turned to Ain.

“So? Do you think you won’t get another chance at his side?”

“…Of course I will.”

Their gazes clashed — sparks practically flew.

“A temporary alliance,” Ain finally said. “Not a bad idea.”

“Let’s exchange the information we each have.”

“Agreed. …And one more thing.”

Ain stepped closer to Luciano.

“That potato. I’m taking her.”

“No. She’s mine.”

…Why are they both like this?
For the record, this potato belongs to the Irregulars.