Chapter 2

When the head court mage, Slayne, cast a recovery spell on him, Todd had already regained consciousness.

Incidentally, recovery is a special magic that only those who have mastered water magic can obtain.

"Really, Prince Todd, you have such rare magical talent, why do you bother with swordsmanship..."

Todd casually brushed off Slayne's lecture and walked through the palace.

He quickly found the room he was looking for, knocked twice, and entered.

"Big brother!"

"Have you been a good boy, Edward?"

"Yep! So let's play together!"

"Alright, alright, but don't pull me like that!"

Edward, a lively boy who seemed to be brimming with energy, had eyes that shone like gems.

His name is Edward Al Rynsghaya.

Originally, he is a character controlled by the player in "Augustus ~The Supreme Throne~" and is the person who, in almost all routes, deposes Todd and reigns as king.

However, even as they play together and share meals, there is not a trace of the coldness that appears when entering the royal succession route.

Perhaps this innocent and pure attitude is just an act?

At first, Todd thought so, but his doubts have long since disappeared.

The Todd who is somewhat affectionate towards his younger brother decided to play a board game called Slade with Edward, as Edward suggested.

This is a game where you use pieces representing magic soldiers and cavalry to defeat the enemy king, similar to shogi in this world.

"Hmm... I'll make the infantry the front line and put the magic soldiers in front—"

"Then I'll boldly deploy the heavy cavalry and charge, ready to take some damage."

"Whoa, wait! Just wait a moment!"

Edward, nodding his head, went back to his previous move and began to think deeply.

Despite his small size, his determination made Todd smile involuntarily.

He refrained from calling Edward cute, knowing it would make him angry.

While Edward was thinking about his next move, Todd recalled the time about six years ago when Edward, who is two years younger, was born.

When Todd's mother, Ceres, went into labor, he felt a sense of urgency, thinking that the moment had finally come.

The first thing Todd had to consider was his own survival.

If the world followed the game's path, Todd would not survive to the end, no matter which route he took.

While he thought he would be fine as long as he was careful, Todd did not know what kind of person Edward would turn out to be.

Edward, as the player's avatar, can have a wide range of personalities and actions depending on the route and ending.

If the Edward who was born turned out to be someone with a strong desire for power, like in the eldest daughter's murder route, and saw his older brother as an obstacle, there was a high chance he would be killed even if Todd renounced his right to the throne.

There were also other routes where they would end up killing each other regardless of Todd's character.

In such a case, Todd even considered the idea of eliminating Edward.

Without knowing what to do, Todd faced the newborn Edward.

Carefully observing the newborn, he was relieved that he did not seem to be a reincarnated person like himself, a small human being.

While feeling self-loathing, Todd looked at Edward with a serious expression.

At that moment, Edward grabbed Todd's outstretched index finger with his palm.

—At that moment, an electric current ran through Todd's body.

He felt proud that the adorable creature in front of him was his younger brother.

Gently touching the pulsing palm, Todd couldn't help but cry.

Edward also started crying, and they were laughed at by the midwife, which is now a fond memory.

No matter what happens to him, he must not kill Edward.

If something happens that makes him hated, he will offer himself up.

This became the first vow Todd made when he fell into this world.

He attended the birth of all his younger siblings and renewed his vow to cherish each new life.

---

The cavalry trampled the infantry, and the magic soldiers, taking advantage of the gap, put the king in check.

The game ended in Todd's victory once again.

While he was distracted by his memories, the difference in their life experiences was significant.

Considering his past life, he had lived for over thirty years and should not have lost... but in reality, it was a very close match.

Todd's board was already devoid of cavalry, with only the king, queen, and a few magic soldiers remaining.

It was a hard-fought victory, a close match.

(But Edward is really amazing, learning from my moves and getting better and better. In a few years, I might not be able to beat him anymore.)

"Ah, I lost again!"

"That was close, I think you were just a little off."

"Let's play again!"

"Sure, let's reset the pieces—"

"Wait a moment, big brother!"

As if waiting for the right moment to interrupt their conversation, the door was suddenly opened.

A girl with reddish-brown hair ran in from the corridor.

She had a determined face, much like her mother, Iris, and without caring about her long, straight hair getting messy, she hugged Todd.

"No, no, big brother is going to play with me!"

"Hey, no running inside, Enesia."

"Sorry."

The girl, holding onto Todd's white suit with both hands, is Enesia Al Rynsghaya.

She is the eldest daughter of the Rynsghaya family and third in line for the throne.

Like Edward, the cold-blooded princess from the game is not visible in her current self.

The four-year-old girl is just a cute little girl who wants to play with Todd.

Edward, Enesia, and the other siblings are all important family to Todd.

To ensure their happiness, Todd is willing to do whatever he can.

"Big brother, I'm going to play with Takel."

"Eh, Prince Edward, you're going to play with him? Mother said it's boring."

"—Edward, it's okay. Let's play one more game."

"…But—"

"It's fine, let's play."

Todd, who was about to stand up, averted his gaze to avoid being swayed and forcibly pulled Enesia away.

He reset the pieces as if nothing had happened and focused only on Edward, as if Enesia were not in the room.

Her mother, Iris, is a person with a strong sense of elitism.

Iris looks down on people who are not from the kingdom, especially those who are not nobles, and considers them uneducated.

Because of this upbringing, Enesia tends to look down on Takel, who has blood from a different ethnicity.

This was something not revealed in the game, but it seems that Enesia's discriminatory thoughts were instilled by her mother, Iris.

After hearing countless insults from her mother, Enesia's attitude towards Takel did not improve no matter how many times Todd tried to correct it.

To discipline her, Todd decided to ignore Enesia today.

Takel—whose real name is Takel Fun Rynsghaya—is the child of a princess from Akitsushima, an oceanic nation across the western strait, and Todd's father.

The people of Akitsushima have yellowish skin and are shorter than those on the continent.

Due to Iris's education, which disparages foreigners as barbarians, Enesia is growing up with discriminatory thoughts.

If this continues, she might end up implementing policies that treat foreigners as less than human, similar to the game.

Worried about this, Todd has been giving Enesia punishments when she tries to belittle foreigners.

He scolds her and, in severe cases, lightly slaps her cheek.

He is being strict with Enesia to educate her.

Takel is a prodigy who will grow up to be one of the top mobile knights in the world.

His mother, Miyahi, is from Akitsushima, the birthplace of Hirt, who created the precursor to mobile armor.

The people of Akitsushima are not unintelligent barbarians and have much to offer in terms of knowledge.

Moreover, before any talk of discrimination, Todd wanted his siblings to get along.

Both Takel and Enesia are good children.

It would be sad if they didn't get along.

"Ah, that's a good move. This time, I'll slowly advance the infantry to support the back."

"I'll put the cavalry in front and use mobility to knock down big brother."

"……"

Edward, moving the king's piece, glanced at Todd.

When Todd nodded silently, Edward nodded in understanding.

At six years old, Edward is incredibly intelligent.

This is evident from the fact that he immediately headed to Takel's room when Enesia came in, despite the discomfort Takel often faces in the palace.

He also seems to understand that Todd is ignoring Enesia for educational purposes.

Todd is proud of his younger brother's abilities, thinking that the kingdom's future is secure.

"—This is checkmate. I win again."

"…I resign."

Glancing at Enesia, she was clenching her teeth, tears welling in her eyes.

She seems to be caught between the sadness of being ignored by her brothers and her pride in not crying in front of others.

Todd, who did not expect such a strong reaction, is pleasantly surprised.

It seems that she is more affected by emotional pain than physical pain.

If he continues to ignore her, she will likely cry in a few minutes.

Thinking about this, Todd calls out to Edward, who is about to play another game.

"Winner's privilege, Edward. Can you quickly go and bring Takel here?"

"…Yes, big brother."

Without asking for a reason, Edward hurried out of the room, maintaining a brisk pace instead of running, having seen Todd scolding Enesia for running.

---

Edward, following Todd's instructions, hurried to Takel's room at a pace that was not running.

He was puzzled by Todd's reason for calling Takel.

(Why is big brother calling Takel now?)

He understands that Todd is ignoring Enesia to correct her discriminatory behavior towards foreigners like the Akitsushima people and the Rynfelts.

However, calling Takel to a place where he has been insulted seems like a bad move to Edward.

The reason Enesia is being scolded is because she belittled Takel.

Bringing Takel to such a place would not likely result in a good outcome.

No matter how many times Edward thought about it, he could not come up with an answer.

(But big brother must have a reason...)

Edward, who is already abnormally intelligent for a six-year-old, is desperately trying to figure it out.

The reason for his advanced development is simple.

—He has a brother named Todd, who is so much better than him and always out of reach.

As the second son, Edward has been compared to his brother.

While he is not directly told, Rienbach and Slayne often look unsatisfied with Edward's efforts, even when he achieves good results.

They probably think Todd was better at their age.

The intelligent Edward naturally realized this.

At first, he treated Todd coldly.

But strangely, Todd's attitude never changed.

He treated Edward kindly, even when he was being mean, and helped him when he was struggling, showing him the way without words.

Feeling embarrassed by his own behavior, Edward decided to follow in his brother's footsteps and work hard.

Todd is called a prodigy and a genius by the adults.

While he may not reach Todd's level, he believes he can gain the same knowledge by following his brother's example.

He wants to see the same world Todd sees and stand by his side.

And someday—just in one field, he wants to surpass his brother.

Thinking this, Edward has recently become engrossed in intellectual games.

While thinking about his brother, he realized he had reached Takel's room.

Thinking about the unpredictable actions of his brother, a smile crept onto his face.

To Edward, Todd is a proud older brother and a goal he wants to surpass.

—Their relationship is already diverging from "Augustus ~The Supreme Throne~."

But no one in this world, including Todd, can point this out...

【Shinko's Request】

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