Chapter 7

Slein placed his cup on the table and exhaled.

When he heard that his father was the king, he had been intimidated by the presence. The father he had imagined since childhood suddenly seemed to be an inexplicable and strange existence. He felt as if his very existence, being the son of such a person, had been elevated to the status of "crown prince and future king" and was left hanging in mid-air.

However, thanks to Sieghart's storytelling, he began to feel a sense of reality. Behind Sieghart's warm and gentle tone, he could see the shadow of a man with genuine emotions—the shadow of his father, a man with a beating heart.

It was nothing out of the ordinary. His father was a king, but at the same time, he was a human being with normal emotions. His mother had fallen in love with such a man, shared intimate moments with him, and given birth to him.

He had been raised by ordinary human parents, a man and a woman, who watched over him. Perhaps his father's way of watching over him was not typical.

Of course, he wasn't entirely convinced. Emotionally, he still had his doubts about his father.

Despite never showing his face or speaking directly, his father had left him a burdensome inheritance at the last moment.

He also had things to say to his mother.

That the quiet and serious mother had once had a passionate youth, falling in love with a prince of a different social status. That his father was actually alive. Why didn't she tell him such an incredible story?

Moreover, that she had passed away on the same day as his father, as if she were traveling to the afterlife with him. Had she been satisfied with seeing her son reach adulthood and then returned to her beloved father?

However, it was too late to say such things now.

He would no longer speak of the bloodline's responsibility or the fact that his father had cut off all contact with him and his mother. The fact that he was born from a politically complicated love affair between his parents was undeniable. He had to understand that it was all for his protection. He would have done the same if he were in his father's position.

It was also pointless to complain about the fact that his father was the king and had left him the troublesome inheritance of the throne. No one can choose their parents, and he couldn't say that he would have preferred not to be born rather than be the son of a king.

It was all inevitable.

And yet, he was glad that he had a father. He was glad to know who his father was. He was glad that his father loved him and watched over him. It made him inexplicably happy.

He was the son of Friedrich Hassenfeller and Alma. He couldn't escape that fact.

"Your Highness, would you please consider succeeding Lord Friedrich and becoming the king?"

Sieghart spoke as if he had been waiting for Slein's thoughts to conclude.

"There must be many concerns. But, Your Highness, you are not alone. We, the loyal retainers, promise to support and protect you with all our might, even at the cost of our lives. There is no need to worry."

Sieghart looked Slein straight in the eye as he spoke.

"…I am different from my father. I am not a genuine crown prince. I am just a person who carries the royal blood, nothing more. Is that enough?"

"Because of that, we want you to become the king, Your Highness. You are the only true crown prince now. You are our future king, the master we serve… Please, allow us the happiness of serving you, the beloved child of the king we revered."

"…"

Slein looked up at the ceiling and sighed deeply.

"Use your wisdom for the sake of this country."

He understood today why his mother had always told him that. She had loved this homeland, which her beloved man had ruled as king.

His mother had died on the same day as his father, as if she were traveling with him.

So, surely, his beloved mother, who longed for his father, was watching over him even now.

If so, what would his mother wish? What would she wish for him, watching from heaven with his father?

The answer was obvious.

Slein lowered his face from the ceiling and looked at Sieghart. He smiled wryly and spoke.

...

In the audience chamber, the nobles in robes were still gathered.

"It's taking quite a while."

"Is it? Given the state of the crown prince, this is to be expected. Besides, there's no guarantee that the persuasion will succeed."

"Hehe, whether Vogel's personality will work in his favor or against him is a delicate matter."

Victor muttered, and Branca and Elena responded.

"Actually, Lord Estelgrain, wouldn't you have been more suitable? Persuasion is your specialty, after all."

"I would have gone if ordered, but I think Vogel was the right choice this time. If he couldn't do it, none of us could."

Elena, who as the foreign minister had to negotiate with foreign dignitaries, replied to Sergei with a composed smile.

At that moment,

"Ladies and gentlemen, Crown Prince Slein Hassenfeller is returning."

Monica, who had entered through the door Slein had fled through, called out to the retainers. Sieghart, who followed her, looked somewhat smug.

"…"

"It seems Vogel was the right choice."

Sergei remained silent with an unreadable expression, while Elena murmured with a smile.

The nobles in robes formed a line again, preparing to welcome Slein as their lord.

Slein, who entered a little later, stood before them again. His expression still showed fear, but he was calmer than when he had fled.

"Please, look up."

The retainers, who had bowed, looked up at Slein's words.

"…Everyone, I'm sorry for showing such a pitiful face earlier."

Not only his expression, but also his voice was better than when he had fled.

"I have never met or spoken to my father, the king. I was a commoner until yesterday. I don't know how to act like a king or what a king does. But… I have decided not to run away without any effort, for the sake of my mother's beloved father and this country she loved."

Slein, gathering his courage, looked at each retainer as he spoke.

"So, I… I will inherit the throne. I will work hard to meet your expectations. Please, from now on, I ask for your cooperation."

When Slein finished speaking, a silence fell over the room.

It was not an awkward silence. A sense of relief from the retainers quietly reached Slein through the air.

"…Crown Prince, we are delighted by your resolve as the one who will lead us."

Sergei's solemn voice broke the silence.

"There are many things you will need to learn and master as the king, but first, one thing. Please stop using that tone of voice."

"Tone of voice…?"

"That's it."

Sergei pointed at Slein's mouth.

Pointing at someone, even if it was just the mouth, was considered rude, but Slein couldn't say anything in the face of Sergei's expression, which seemed to say he couldn't bear it any longer.

"You are now, and already are, the most noble person in this country. It is inappropriate for you to use polite language to us, your subjects. As the one who stands above us, you must use a tone befitting your position. From now on, please address us by our names and treat us as your inferiors."

"I understand… I understand."

With an awkward expression and tone, Slein managed to respond.

"That will do. Crown Prince, this way."

As Sergei spoke, Monica stepped forward from Slein's side. Kneeling before Slein, she held out a necklace.

A simple silver necklace with a central stone, the country's gemstone, rutile quartz, which symbolized good fortune. Even to a layman, it was clear that this was a top-quality piece, with its golden threads of light trapped within the clear stone.

"This is the necklace that the highest-ranking members of the Hassenfeller royal family wear. During the fire, the king, as a believer, was only wearing his ceremonial robe, so this necklace remained unharmed… Your Highness, as the only royal in this country now, you should wear this necklace."

Encouraged by Sergei, Slein still couldn't move immediately. He was frozen, staring at the necklace.

He thought it was a collar.

A collar that bound his body, his very life, to the throne of the Kingdom of Hassenfeller. Once he put it on, there would be no turning back.

But it was too late. Slein, having made up his mind, took the necklace from Monica.

And he put it around his own neck.

...

"…It seems to have worked out."

In the audience chamber after the crown prince had left, it was Victor who muttered.

"He looks completely different from before. As a subject, it might be impolite to say, but… isn't he exceeding our expectations so far?"

"Indeed. Honestly, I thought it might not work at first… How did Lord Vogel manage to move the prince's heart so much in such a short time?"

"Nothing special. I just told him a little about his father, King Friedrich, in his lifetime."

In response to Elena and Branca's words, Sieghart replied without much pride.

"Still… he does resemble him."

Sergei said with a sigh and a complex expression.

Slein's features were very much like his mother's, and his slender, small build made him look almost feminine, but his expressions at certain moments were like his father, Friedrich Hassenfeller, the former king.

Most of all, his eye color.

Friedrich Hassenfeller had eyes like the country's gemstone, rutile quartz, a golden color. Slein had inherited this eye color.

The illegitimate son, Slein, had inherited what the legitimate son, the former crown prince Michael, had not, and now he was the crown prince. What a strange fate.

The face of the new lord, which reminded them of their late lord, would take some time for them to face without hesitation.