Chapter 3: Born at the Wrong Time

I wondered if I had misheard.

“At this moment, I wish to officially announce the engagement between my daughter, Elhermina, and Kariel.”

Engagement? With Elhermina?

Me?

“Mind your expression and posture.”

The voice from beside me snapped me back to my senses.

That magnificent Imperial Princess was calmly observing the shocked crowd, her expression not changing in the slightest.

‘Did she know?’

If not, such a composed reaction made absolutely no sense.

Why? How?

“…….”

Was this another one of those damned political calculations?

The Hero Emperor.

And my father, the Head of the Nine Heroes.

There are not many in the Empire who receive absolute support from two such figures.

Because of that.

The establishment did not particularly welcome such absolute power holders.

Even during the era when the Demon King stirred and the age was engulfed in great chaos and war, the high nobility of the Empire had firmly maintained their positions.

Not all of them survived, but their bonds had grown stronger, far beyond the mere reduction in their numbers.

However, that was no reason to obstruct the mainstream.

“I wasn’t given a single word of notice, what on earth is—”

“You wouldn’t have been willing to listen. Would you?”

“…….”

When I instinctively looked toward my father and mother, I caught sight of my father’s loathsome face, smiling as if embarrassed the moment our eyes met.

My mother was relatively composed.

“Finding me on the terrace wasn’t a coincidence, was it?”

“…There is no such thing as a coincidence in our movements.”

The Princess confessed calmly.

A small murmur.

It was close to a whisper, but none among us failed to hear it.

“Even without inserting me, wasn’t the bond between my father and Your Majesty already firm?”

“The world does not believe that.”

What?

“Showing it is not enough. The most certain way is to create a link that cannot be severed even if one tried.”

And that was.

“Blood relation. It is also the greatest weapon the Royal Bloodline possesses.”

“…….”

This woman.

Does she view even herself as a mere tool?

“…….”

As soon as the Emperor finished his announcement and speech, she closed her mouth as if she had been waiting.

The commotion continued.

However, no one openly voiced their dissatisfaction or showed a negative reaction.

Though the sudden announcement left them bewildered.

“Is this not truly a joyous occasion?”

“Another thing to celebrate has increased!”

“Hahaha! Is this not the very prosperity of the Empire?”

Quite nonchalantly, as if it had always been intended.

They clapped and laughed, nodding deeply as if things had proceeded according to natural law.

At the sheer audacity of those who casually threw out words of blessing as if all of this were natural.

I felt like… I was going to vomit.

Above all.

The descendants of those esteemed heroes also seemed to have had no prior knowledge of this; beyond shock and bewilderment, some were even expressing anger.

However, they didn’t show it clumsily.

They simply.

With fire in their eyes.

They just glared intensely at me.

If a certain someone who wasn’t here had heard this news, they probably would have quietly dragged me off somewhere.

For instance, the Prince, two years younger than the Princess, was currently glaring at me as if he wanted to tear me apart.

All sorts of flowery words were exchanged.

Even some of the nobles who had been slandering me until a moment ago.

Watching them approach nonchalantly and spout bullshit about blessing us for a thousand years.

It felt instinctively disgusting, as if my internal organs were rotting.

====

Red hair, black eyes.

Even a handsome appearance that inherited the traits of both the Emperor and Empress.

Whether it was a simple observation or malicious disparagement, even the sight of a demon dwelling upon that face seemed to suit him.

“Wow! I really didn’t expect this.”

“…….”

“Filthy wretch. Did you think that acting high and mighty would wash away your dirtiness? And to think you’d… with my sister….”

“Your Highness Prince. Please calm down.”

“Calm? Did you say calm?!”

…They’re quite the entertainers.

There was a time in the past when I was swayed by such momentum and atmosphere, unable to do anything.

But now, even if it were a raging storm, I had become unable to be shaken.

And perhaps because this look of mine was irritating.

“I can only say it’s truly amazing how you can keep thrusting your face forward so loftily and brazenly. Just how did you butter them up to make such an inappropriate decision….”

“Your Highness. You are going too far.”

A boy with a cold expression actively restrained the Prince.

However, this felt less like a definitive block and more like a regulation to ensure he didn’t cross the line.

And.

The several boys and girls standing behind him continued to burn with hostility toward me.

Rather than my peers, they were all two or three years younger than me.

The only ones who could be called peers were that fellow restraining the Prince and.

“…….”

A girl among them who sighed with a face that looked more awkward than hostile.

“Have you said everything you wanted to say?”

“What? You, what did you just say?”

“…….”

As expected, dealing with them only increases the hassle.

That’s why I’ve kept ignoring them, and ignoring them again.

No, it’s not like ignoring them solves anything.

“Say it again. What? What about what?”

“Your Highness.”

“Don’t stop me, Ryunan. Do you think I’d actually kill him? The only child of the Grand Hero… ah, I suppose he’s not that anymore?”

A blatant sneer bloomed on his face.

I simply.

Accepted it calmly, without agitation.

“They must have felt a sense of crisis. So they plotted a dirty trick like this; if that’s the story, the pieces fit perfectly.”

“Staying here will only spread word of your poor behavior, so why don’t you head back now?”

“What, we’re just supposed to be bridesmaids in the adults’ playground?”

He’s a brat with an unnervingly good intuition.

Something like, ‘I wasn’t born a Prince just to be bored.’

“Since you are dull, I shall personally provide you with the best option. Report to His Majesty that you will voluntarily annul this engagement. Then everything can be resolved peacefully. How dare someone like you… my sister….”

“Your Highness.”

Whether it was the one stopping him or the one babbling, they were both beyond obnoxious—they were hateful.

Still, I do not engage.

Dogs bark, cats meow, and even chickens crow.

What could be more cruel to a creature with a mouth than telling it not to speak?

“…….”

Even if it was a secluded spot, perhaps because the crowd in the ballroom had begun to thin.

I felt the attention of some nobles, their attendants, and those in charge of chores focusing on the corner of the Imperial Palace garden.

Isn’t it a very interesting topic of conversation?

“…I warned you. Carry it out as early as tomorrow.”

“Do it yourself.”

“What?”

“Has my opinion ever been accepted before?”

At the mere age of seven.

I don’t know what I was thinking at the time, but I had voluntarily left the Imperial Capital and entrusted my person to not only allied nations but even hostile ones for three years.

They called it a form of diplomacy, half-sacrifice and half-devotion, but I could hardly remember it now.

And so, after returning at the age of twelve.

I struggled to adapt to life in the Imperial Capital.

“I am a scarecrow. You know it well, and I know it better than anyone.”

Therefore.

“Don’t argue with me; I suggest you go argue with the decision-makers. Even if a child begs to buy candy, it is at the discretion of the guardian with the financial means to buy it. You know this well.”

“Again! You’re talking like you’re something special again! You hollow shell. Just what makes you think you’re so great that every time….”

“Was I… ever great? To me?”

It’s strange.

They’re the ones who are actually superior, so why are they always so desperate to pick a fight with me?

Normally, I should be the one feeling the inferiority complex, so why is it always like this?

But thinking about this is endless.

There was a time when I truly blamed myself, wondering if there was something wrong with me.

But that was the wrong answer.

Those people were just.

…Using me as a target for their resentment and hatred, nothing more than a vent for their emotions.

I realized this too late, and I suffered far too much mentally.

“I shall take my leave.”

“I never gave you permission! How dare you leave as you please…!”

“Your Highness.”

“……Kugh!”

Because he’s like that, he was born a man and got utterly crushed by a woman in the competition for imperial power.

“…….”

If I become the husband of the Princess, I wonder what kind of face that bastard will make?

A twisted curiosity stirred, but I brushed it away with a snort.

It’s impossible.

Even if it were to happen.

The path ahead would be nothing but hell.

It was just as I was about to leave the Imperial Palace.

“Huh? What?”

A presence I couldn’t see but could clearly feel.

That voice.

It guided me somewhere.

Earnestly.

Urging my curiosity.

As if possessed, I crossed the vast Imperial Palace.

Before I knew it, I had arrived here.

“The, the Treasure Vault?”

Why here…?

If I were discovered, things would escalate absurdly.

Just being found in this area would be a huge problem….

“???”

Why is it like this? There’s no one here.

This area is famous for its strict security.

The entrance is formed by three layers of doors, and it is a place that is never opened unless an imperial order is given.

For some reason.

It was wide open.

Entering as if possessed, my gaze settled on one particular item among the countless treasures.

“No, this is wrong.”

I rejected the suggestion to approach immediately and tried to turn back, but.

-Are you just leaving?

At that voice, my ankle was instinctively caught.

“What?”

-Yes. You can hear my voice.

A feeling as if my entire body was being consumed by an unknown anxiety.

While struggling to move my stiffened lips and tongue.

I turned around.

And so.

-A quite familiar face. Hmm, let me try to guess. Black hair is her trait, and the eyes are golden. And though you’re plain, you have a handsome appearance that could make many women cry… you’re their child, aren’t you?

Their child?

-Lueld. Ermina. Yes, it must have been those two. That’s right. Long-forgotten names.

The one speaking, as if chewing over memories, as if reminiscing.

A woman fashioned from gold.

An elegant white dress covering the private parts.

Skin like white jade, and luxurious blonde hair spreading out as if to cover everything.

Above all.

Even the two eyes that sparkled as if to pull one in.

They emitted a deep and familiar radiance, like vivid gold.

The Golden Woman.

No other expression came to mind.

As if the concepts of beauty and splendor had been condensed to the fullest.

Just witnessing it seemed to seize one’s gaze, no, even one’s soul.

Such charm.

Such Magical Power… I felt it.

“Who… on earth… are you?”

In this place reached by the earnest cry and resonance of a Spirit.

-Before you wonder about that, isn’t there something you should be doing?

“Pardon?”

She spoke.

-If you keep staying here, you might end up facing an absurd misunderstanding.

“That….”

She wasn’t wrong.

And.

“Who is it?!”

“No! H-how can this be?!”

“The Treasure Vault has been leaked! No! It’s been breached!”

By the time I noticed.

It was far too late.

Suddenly, I had become a trespasser who had broken into the Imperial Treasure Vault.