Chapter 19: Wipe Your Neck Well and Sit Tight

[What's this sound? Hey, did something happen? Have you taken care of that younger brother who came out of nowhere?]

The communication tool rolled exactly to Ian's feet.

However, for Ian, the voice coming from there was more important than the communication tool.

‘Ah. I thought you were Duke Lavaltor’s assassin. Is he the culprit?’

Ian smirked as if it was ridiculous. Because he knew well whose voice this was as soon as he heard it. 

How could he not know?

‘This madman has been trying to kill me ever since.’

Alberto Kaistein.

The second prince, and also Ian's older brother. 

At the same time, he was the prince fully supported by Duke Lavaltor and was now the man closest to the throne.

‘No, he is only close.'

One of the two dukes of the kingdom, Lavaltor, was his guardian.

Thanks to his authority and halo, there was nobody, be it nobles or commoners, who did not know his name.

After the death of the First Prince, who was the closest to the throne, there was no doubt that Alberto would succeed the crown prince position.

But Ian knew better.

‘He is a mad tyrant.’

With the face of a saint, he was a man more ferocious than anyone else. 

In fact, there were others who were closer to the throne and more difficult to take on.

Of course, that didn't mean that the Second Prince was an easy man.

‘It's not like he was chosen by Lavaltor for nothing. He's the most dangerous guy at the moment.'

Most who inherited the bloodline of Kaistein, the kingdom of swordsmanship, were excellent in combat skills.

Among the royal family members, the Second Prince was such a valiant fighter to the extent that he was favored by Lavaltor of Might.

That said, he had been sending assassins to this brother of his since then.

‘Perhaps the sneak attack in the future was not done per Duke Lavaltor's will, but by the prince's personal assassin.'

There was a vast difference.

Lavaltor was a military family that moved through the code of chivalry based on the iron rules.

T/N : For more information, you can visit this Link about the iron rules.

He extremely abhorred being out of those rules.

Ian actually did not know it at that time, but later he found it strange.

That such a great family raised filthy and deadly assassins.

‘Is that why Garcia and Lavaltor fought often?’

The Duke was enraged by the fact that Lavaltor had sent an assassin at the time of the legitimation ceremony, but Lavaltor was offended by this claim. He told Duke Garcia not to make up a story that didn't exist, no matter how much he wanted to win the succession war.

The king’s mood also took a turn for the worse, and the relationship between Duke Garcia and the king had deteriorated for a while.

The problem was that Ian, who was brought in by Duke Garcia, took a hit as well.

‘It was a bit of a pain for me to be despised by the king.’

And at that time, Ian thought Lavaltor was just making some excuse.

‘It could be that the Second Prince secretly raised assassins under the Lavaltor family.’

Lavaltor was the mightiest family in the kingdom in terms of military power.

They produced numerous official knights as well as apprentice knights.

There were a lot of excellent resources, so it shouldn’t be a hassle to raise assassins of higher quality.

Yet even in this precarious situation, Ian raised the corners of his mouth.

‘If the Second Prince raised an assassin group and moved behind Lavaltor’s back.’

Even if he did something to tarnish Lavaltor's honor.

‘If I do well, the Second Prince can take me closer to the goal.’

He might be able to bring down the most likely successor candidate to the throne from the beginning. At that time, he heard a voice from the communication tool.

[No. 23. Can you hear my voice?]

A cold yet emotionless voice that called his own subordinate by numbers.

Ian quickly picked up the communication tool.

Nathan flinched at the sight. 

"Huh? Hold on…"

Ian's mouth opened before Nathan’s surprise even ceased.

"Hey, are you the one who sent this trash?"

[!?]

There was a moment of silence.

The same was true for the man beyond the communication tool, but Galon and Nathan were also stunned for a moment.

Ian didn't seem to speak in his usual manner.

However, Nathan couldn't stop Ian.

‘If I intervene now, I will give out the information to the enemy instead.’

It seemed the man beyond the communication tool also had the same idea.

[How interesting. Did you kill No. 23?]

Ian furrowed his eyebrows at the voice that sounded more alive because this turn or event was interesting.

The opponent was one of the king's six legitimate children, nicknamed the ‘Mad Dog.'

How Ian spoke now would completely change his future.

However, the thought of getting information from this side somehow turned on his playful side.

Ian calmly answered.

"He’s alive. Why? Should I dispose of him for you?"

Nathan was scared witless.

Why did this kid provoke someone who tried to kill him?

Unexpectedly, however, he heard a loud laugh from beyond the communication tool.

[You are an amusing guy. Alright. Please dispose of it in my stead. Trash that does not complete its mission doesn't deserve to live.]

"Great. It's annoying to get my hands dirty, but I can do it anyway. But shouldn't you at least reveal your name in return for all the hard work I've done?"

The other side’s voice was quiet for a moment.

And Ian could see it. 

The figure of the half-brother who snorted as if it's not funny.

Sure enough. 

"Or should I introduce it for you? The second prince of the Kaistein Kingdom, Alberto Kaistein?”

[!?]

In an instant, a gasp was heard.

At the same time, the man's voice changed.

[Who are you?]

The laid-back, languid voice sharpened up a notch. His name could never have come out of the assassin’s mouth. 

Because he had put those restrictions on the assassin himself. 

But this guy knew about him?

The alertness of the Second Prince rose sharply.

Ian smiled leisurely as if he felt good imagining his opponent’s face.

"Why should I tell my name to this scaredy-cat who doesn’t even show his face? The prince who pretends to be a saint but sends an assassin to someone else's house?"

Vicious laughter was heard from beyond the communication tool.

[You must be the direct descendant of the duke. Maybe that bastard… Heinley Garcia?]

Ian raised the corners of his mouth.

He copied Heinley's way of speaking, which annoyed him a lot as a child, just in case. He didn't expect the Second Prince to actually mistake him for Heinley.

Ian decided to use this thoroughly.

"The person who desires to become the next king has questionable basic manners. How dare you call out the name of the son of the most prominent family in the kingdom?"

[Who do you think you're talking to?]

"Who else? Isn't it to Your Highness the Second Prince?"

Ian laughed in derision.

The Second Prince could not reveal who he was anyway. It was like telling the world that he had sent an assassin.

So Ian continued to speak leisurely.

"Am I right? Well, there's no way that the Second Prince would send an assassin and make such vulgar remarks and actions like this. For a person who is nominated as a crown prince, there is no sense of dignity in his voice. So…"

At the same time, Ian brought the crystal ball closer to his lips.

As if telling him to listen carefully.

As if he didn't want to hear the other side say that he couldn't catch his words because his voice was too low.

And as expected.

"Wipe your neck well and sit tight." 

For the first time, Ian spoke in his true voice, not Heinley’s way of speaking.

"This time you sent an assassin, but next time I'll cut off your head myself."

It was a declaration of war. 

Ian's eyes flashed in the dark. 

However, Ian smiled as if he had never done so. 

"By the way, our prince is much better suited to the throne than an idiot like you, so don't even dream of inheriting the throne. Bye, you son of a b*tch who doesn't even know his own name."

[This—]

Ian didn't wait for the Second Prince's words any longer.

Instead.

Crack!

He dropped the crystal ball and immediately stomped on it.

The crystal ball shattered at his foot soon lost its light. The voice was no longer heard.

Galon, stunned by the sight, ran to Ian in surprise.

"Prince, are your feet okay?"

He was worried if Ian was injured from stepping on the fragments of the broken crystal ball.

Ian replied with a calm face.

"It's okay. I am wearing shoes."

Ian was wearing shoes on the bed in preparation for the assassin’s attack. 

Nathan came to Ian, mumbling that nothing was scarier and more nerve-racking than this in his younger days.

"Why did you do that? Seriously, if he is the Second Prince, he will definitely take revenge on the prince…”

"Will he?"

"What?"

Ian smiled triumphantly.

The Second Prince was a typical human with a different front and back.

‘Anyway, the Second Prince can never reveal his affairs today.’

If there was a possibility of it, it would be to secretly kill Heinley.

‘There's no way the Duke will leave it alone, though.’

No matter how stupid he was, Heinley was a direct descendant of the Duke. He would never let his son die so easily.

Moreover, the prince's side would avoid joining hands to kill the son of the Duke.

Because Duke Garcia, the most resourceful person in the kingdom, would surely be able to find the culprit.

If he got caught, he would suffer the most.

‘Even if he chooses to strike openly, the Duke cannot be taken lightly.’

Whatever the case, the Second Prince was backed by Garcia’s foe, Lavaltor of Might, and the Duke had no intention of letting him have his way to be the crown prince.

‘Because the Duke hates the Second Prince.’

Anyway, no matter what method he tried to use, the Duke had no choice but to be hostile to the Second Prince.

That was Ian's plan.

And perhaps seeing the determination hidden deep in the golden eyes, Nathan was rendered speechless. 

There seemed to be nothing to ask why Ian, who had been using a proper tone, suddenly spoke in a frivolous tone like Heinley.

‘The communication tool can't convey the voice perfectly. The opponent would very likely mistake him for Heinley.’

Meanwhile, Ian was looking at Nathan as if it was unexpected.

‘I didn't know you'd come here disregarding the knight training.’

Aside from the squad leader Galon, Nathan must have belonged to another commander.

‘Is it worth using him along with Galon?’

Because the two knights were perfect for his early power.

Of course, there was work to be done before that.

"Ah, by the way! The attempted assassination here today is a secret between us. Got it?”

At that, Nathan sighed and pointed to the fainted assassin.

"What about this?"

"What?"

“When did you install such a dangerous thing? Even these pieces of equipment… they look like items from our knights' weapons warehouses… I guess they were all secretly stolen…"

Ian smiled brightly.

“Isn’t that also a secret between us?”

***

Craack!

Inside a dark secret room.

The crystal ball, the only thing shining there, broke into pieces.

One of the two crystal balls was smashed.

The man who saw it burst into a hollow laugh.

"Did you hear what he just said?"

The Second Prince doubted his own ears as if he just heard a joke.

The absurd remarks Ian poured on him were outrageous, but above all.

“My younger brother, who came rolling in from somewhere. He said that stinky bastard is closer to the throne than I am?”

The Second Prince had Duke Lavaltor as his guardian.

True to the name ‘mighty force,’ it was a place where knights with strong positions within the kingdom gathered.

Even the military power was on his side.

“Even the commander of the Royal Knights is following me… And what, a little boy who was just a serf moments ago will defeat me and ascend to the throne?”

It was the first time in the Second Prince’s life that he had been provoked like this.

Even more so being compared to a little boy who had nothing but the support of Duke Garcia.

The Second Prince growled in a low voice.

“I have to deal with it right now.”

"But, Your Highness, I'm sure that the Seventh Prince…"

In the prince's line of sight, a masked man in the dark corrected his words.

"That bastard serf, I will definitely get rid of him at the legitimation ceremony."

‘It may have already reached the king's ear, but soon Duke Garcia will send an official introductory letter.’

He had noticed it early on as he had been keeping an eye on Duke Garcia, who was the most dangerous of all, but word about the Seventh Prince coming to the capital in a month had already spread.

‘Originally, he should have come before the king right away, but it must have been the Duke’s idea to get rid of the stains of serfs on him before that.’

Regardless of the royal blood flowing in his veins, Ian had been growing up as a serf.

Of course, there was no way the Duke would bring in a fake to a place heavily distinguished by one’s pedigree. Even if he was a real prince, he would be at a level of a slave that could not be compared with the king’s other heirs.

For that reason, it must have been why the Duke held off the legitimation ceremony for a month.

Obviously, it's a strategy to drill him the basics as much as possible during that period so that they didn't become a laughingstock at the legitimation ceremony.

‘Yeah, he is without a doubt just a lowly serf. Does he think he can pretend to be educated in just one month?’

He was going to get an education that took other legitimate children decades to master in just a month?

He would freeze up, unable to do anything once he made a mistake. 

But that bastard dared put himself on an equal footing to a legit successor candidate like him?

“It’s preposterous.”

"Your Highness…"

The Second Prince stood up.

“Tell Duke Lavaltor to give me some useful knights.”

"Then…”

"The direct descendant of the Duke will also participate in the legitimation ceremony."

Then he just had to deal with it all.

But, before that.

“Prepare to go out.”

"Yes?"

“I want to see the face of the younger brother whom he praised so much.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read