Chapter 1

Reading dictionaries is my hobby.

When I say that, I usually get laughed at.

Still, finding new words or realizing my misconceptions is as enjoyable as reading a book to me.

Part of the reason is that there aren't many other ways to satisfy my intellectual curiosity so easily.

Such memories came back to me when I heard the heavy, loud ringing of the bell.

"Why can't Lady Asha even approach the chapel when the bells of blessing are ringing?"

Sighing for me is Harty, my nursemaid and the younger sister of my deceased mother. She is still twenty and has long, dark blue hair.

And Asha is me.

I am three years old this year.

But at the same time, I remembered the memories of when I was someone else entirely.

I was born and raised in 21st century Japan, and it seems I have died.

I have memories of my thirtieth birthday, but I don't remember celebrating my thirty-first.

I don't remember how I died, but I think it was probably a natural death due to a disaster.

"Leaving the young Lady Asha alone, how could His Majesty be so heartless?"

"Lord Harty, you mustn't say more. He is Lady Asha's father, after all."

Comforting Harty, who has tears in her eyes, is a tall young man with green hair who looks only a little older. What stands out most are the triangular ears on his head and the fluffy tail growing from his waist, both covered in green fur.

Yes, it seems I have somehow been reincarnated into another world.

At least, my memories as a Japanese person don't include such fur colors or beastmen.

Most importantly, I have vague memories of growing up as Asha for three years.

"What is this bell ringing for?"

When I open the window to hear the sound better and ask, Harty and the green-eared scholar, Wearrel, look away.

It seems this was something I shouldn't have asked.

I hate how I end up reading the room, just like in my previous life.

I was born into a family that didn't lack for money, blessed with good looks, and could do most things if they were explained to me.

But in reality, my days were spent reading the room to meet my parents' expectations, and as an only child, I was pampered.

Yet, I found my previous life suffocating.

"Blessing, celebration... That's right."

I remember why I remember my thirtieth birthday.

It was the first birthday I celebrated alone after my parents died.

Both my parents died in an accident, and while I felt a sense of loss, I also felt a sense of relief, which I hated. I threw a birthday party for myself, feeling both empty and liberated, and ended up drinking too much out of self-loathing.

Because I was blessed, I thought there were people who had it worse, so I suppressed my own pain and chose the easier path of following my parents' wishes.

"What are you doing, making the prince worry? You shouldn't have such a gloomy face."

The speaker is also tall, with a face that is a red-haired bear beastman.

Wearrel is half-human, but Helkoff is a pure beastman.

He walks on two legs like a human, but his face is that of a bear.

I remember Helkoff was a former soldier.

He is the oldest among the adults around me, but I can't tell his age from his bear face.

"Prince Asha, this bell is ringing to bless your younger brother, who is being baptized."

This was explained by Ict, a merman with bluish skin. He has a face with few features, like an East Asian, but his hair is a coral-like orange, a color that didn't exist in my previous life.

Wait, didn't I miss something important while I was preoccupied with comparing my past life?

"......A brother? I have a brother?"

My face relaxes with a strange sense of excitement.

In my previous life, I was an only child and had no childhood friends. My relationships with friends grew distant as I grew older. Perhaps because my relationship with my parents was not good on the surface, I always envied people who had siblings.

Fights and complaints can only happen on equal footing, and I wanted such a relationship.

"Are you happy that your brother was born?"

Harty asks with concern.

"Of course!"

Because I won't be alone, and there will be an unbreakable bond.

How wonderful that is.

In other words, I will be an older brother.

In my previous family, I was treated as the youngest, but now I can be in a position to protect someone.

"When can I meet my brother?"

"That's......"

When I ask with expectation, Harty is at a loss for words.

Is it because my mother's condition is bad?

Baptism is usually done a few days after birth.

The child receives a baptismal name and is reported to the gods.

So I think my brother is fine.

Wearrel pats Harty's shoulder.

"Even though this child is not the empress's, he is still the emperor's son."

"It's better to teach the proper order before someone interferes."

Helkoff also gives Harty some advice.

"Right now, no one is around. All the guards have gone to the chapel."

Ict, who is also a member of the palace guard, is in uniform and carrying a sword.

My understanding, gained from three years of limited thinking, is not high.

This is an empire, and the emperor is at the top. There are countless countries on the continent, but the emperor of this empire rules them all.

Among the countless countries are beastmen like Helkoff and mermen like Ict, who look human but are not. Wearrel is half-elf.

Harty and I are human.

In the human empire's castle, there are many humans, or so I understand.

"I don't know how much you understand, but Lady Asha, you were born because you were wished for. Please never forget that."

Harty, my nursemaid, tells me with a prayer-like, pleading seriousness.

The root of my current situation starts with my father.

And my grandfather, who was the previous emperor.

To put it bluntly, my father was like a hidden child of the previous emperor.

I say "like" because he was recognized as legitimate, but because his mother, my grandmother, married into a marquis family as a second wife, he was treated as a child of the marquis family.

"That's complicated. Recognized as the emperor's child, but treated as a marquis family member?"

"Yes, that's right. Bloodline and status are separate here."

According to Harty, this is common knowledge here.

So, my father grew up as the third son of the marquis family, married a viscount's daughter, and I was born.

In other words, I was also a member of the marquis family from birth.

But the situation changed when many of the princes died one after another.

Various causes, such as injuries from falling off a horse, long illnesses, and accidents during travel.

In the end, my father was the only legitimate son of the previous emperor left.

As a result, my father was suddenly made the crown prince.

By the time I was one, my mother had died, and the previous emperor was on his deathbed.

When I was two, my father's education as the crown prince was rushed, and he remarried a duchess.

And now, at three, my father has become the new emperor and has a new empress.

"What about me?"

"You are the crown prince, the eldest son of the emperor. However, because you are not the empress's child, your right of succession has been transferred to your brother."

Harty tells me this reluctantly, but I laugh.

From the bottom of my heart.

Honestly, being a prince is a heavy burden for me, a commoner in my previous life.

But I have a brother with a good bloodline.

If so, I can wholeheartedly support him and be a good older brother, can't I?

"Thank you for telling me."

While I was laughing, the people around me looked at me with pity.

Today and tomorrow, two stories will be posted (next post at 18:00).

Next: The Emperor's Eldest Son 2