Chapter 34
Year 761 of the Continental Calendar, March 10 (Wednesday).
The commotion of that day, resolved by the royal family, sent shockwaves through the royal palace when its full details were reported to the king.
Just a week before the grand ceremony commemorating the founding of the kingdom by King Solinor, the Second Queen had brainwashed her own daughter to attempt the assassination of the Crown Prince.
The act alone was shocking, but Eldric’s reaction surpassed all expectations.
It was the epitome of what one might call utterly depraved behavior.
“Ugh, such a bother. That old woman’s greed knows no bounds! Strip Queen Irina, Princess Katrina, and Prince Brandon of their titles and privileges, reduce them to commoners, and imprison the queen in a pitch-black dungeon!”
While Eldric called her an “old woman,” Irina was barely in her mid-thirties.
The lowest level of the dungeon, completely devoid of light, was damp and teeming with insects—a place so unlivable that even a robust male prisoner could not survive long.
n essence, it was a death sentence by proxy.
Of course, the evidence found in her quarters was irrefutable, and the malevolent intent and methods uncovered were heinous enough to warrant such punishment.
Still, what fault lay with the manipulated Princess Katrina or the simple-minded Prince Brandon?
In comparison to his father, Crown Prince Alfred’s so-called delinquency seemed no worse than a rebellious teenager’s antics.
Meanwhile, the sight of Princess Katrina and Prince Brandon being dragged from the royal garden shocked the other princes and princesses.
Not only were all royal privileges stripped from them, but they were also to be sent to the slums with nothing but a single shabby outfit each.
How long could Katrina, half out of her mind, and Brandon, with the mental maturity of a child, survive—perhaps a month?
Their chances of bidding farewell to this world before their mother in the dungeon seemed high.
No one wanted this outcome.
Once again, Eldric proved capable of delivering worse than anyone could anticipate.
When faced with a common great evil, even those who were once at odds tend to unite.
Thus, Kasper, Adeline, Kaelen, and Muriela—already close—joined forces with Alfred, despite his strained relations with them, to brainstorm ways to save Katrina and Brandon.
“Brother, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Kasper, who had once been scared of Alfred, was now shortening his name without hesitation. (didn’t call him formally as “Brother Alfred” but just “Brother”)
“Hey, I’ve already explained it twice. Ugh, someone get this clueless kid out of here…”
“Hey, Brother! You can’t talk like that to your little brother…”
“Ah! Muriela’s on her soapbox again! Someone shut her up!”
“Brother! Can’t you speak more kindly? How did you even graduate etiquette lessons so fast when you act like this?”
“Well, that was before I went off the rails, okay? Straight-A students go the furthest off-track when they rebel.”
For the record, Kaelen was still attending etiquette lessons.
The kid had a good heart, but…
Everyone canceled or postponed their other plans and gathered with solemn expressions for the meeting.
Even Queen Elodia, who had returned after appealing to the king, joined partway through.
While she had no fondness for Queen Irina or close ties to her children, she sympathized with the idea that the children bore no fault.
Of course, the First Queen, Francesca, was too busy celebrating the downfall of her longtime rival Irina to care for such notions.
Her joy was so exuberant that she forgot all decorum.
Naturally, all the servants had been sent away for this meeting.
“My dears, I spoke to His Majesty, but he turned his head away before I could finish. If I said anything further, I feared he might turn his wrath on me, so I had to retreat.”
Though Queen Elodia was still considered young and beautiful by the world’s standards, to Eldric, she was no longer worth a glance—a wrinkled old woman, in his eyes.
Psychological walls are said to form from childhood trauma or insecurities.
What could have happened to the king in his youth to develop such extreme preferences?
“Oh, thank you for your efforts, Queen Elodia. Honestly, my father’s a bit… unhinged. But you probably know that better than I do.”
“Brother, about Father, I mean…”
“Muriela’s broken! She couldn’t even bring herself to defend Father this time!”
Watching Muriela freeze like a malfunctioning robot, Adeline burst into laughter.
And she was right.
Solinor wanted to scold Alfred for criticizing their father but stopped mid-sentence, realizing…
“That guy is really insane, isn’t he? Saying he’s ‘out of his mind’ is really an understatement. It’s not even a proper insult; if anything, it’s kind of lenient.”
“Well, anyway, where are Princess Katrina and Prince Brandon now?”
“I’m not sure exactly, but I heard they were thrown out into one of the slums on the outskirts of Solineum. Given their current state, they’re not likely to survive for long, so we need to come up with a plan as soon as possible.”
Alfred, speaking without resorting to swearing, seemed too composed. Solinor began to suspect that his “bad boy” persona might not be a genuine act.
This kid seems to have a good heart. The harsh words and actions? Just a teenage phase. I can rest easy about it.
Of course, I have no idea how many teenage boys drag multiple women into their beds and act like this, but well, he’s a prince. We can let that slide.
Such is the fate of a grandfather who is naturally lenient with his grandchildren.
“Brother Alfred, Kaelen, isn’t there something you can do? You two are the strongest among us.”
Kasper, though young, had a good sense of who the strongest in the group were.
“Well, as I said earlier, once Father has made a decision, the chances of me changing his mind are slim.”
“So… we’ll have to do it ourselves?”
Kaelen looked at Alfred.
“Yeah. That’s the only way. We’ll have to use an outing as an excuse and do something ourselves. But the problem is figuring out what exactly we should do.”
Ah, my eldest grandchild has come up with a pretty good idea. He’s right. He’ll be a great candidate for the throne. Far better than his father.
It was an obvious conclusion, but Solinor, already smitten, couldn’t help but feel admiration.
“Also, Kaelen, I heard that Father has planted spies in the city of Solineum. So, there’s a chance our actions might reach his ears.”
“Huh? How did you know about that? I thought I was the only one who knew.”
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