NOVEL NEXT Ch. 2
Chapter 2
Six princes, two princesses.
The eight children of the Great Emperor Continua.
All legitimate, all rightful heirs.
But there is only one throne.
Thus, inevitably, the Succession War!
The pinnacle cannot have two.
Siblings with different mothers must compete.
They must prove themselves worthy of the throne!
* * *
I couldn’t forget the Succession War, even if I tried.
How could I?
It was why I fled the palace!
The fight for the imperial throne, for dominion over the continent, could never be anything but fierce.
Slander and schemes were commonplace.
Poison and daggers were frequent.
It was so brutal that, before my regression, as the Fifth Prince Zionis, I wasn’t even allowed to hide quietly.
Hounded by pressure and blades, I had no choice but to abandon my name and status and flee.
“Why, of all days, did I have to return today?”
Returning across nineteen years as the Fifth Prince Zionis was fine.
But why, of all things, the Succession War—and its very first day? I frowned.
“It hasn’t even been thirty minutes since I regressed, and I have to face those people… It’s overwhelming.”
It’s too rushed!
Too many characters right from the start—it’s hard to focus!
I muttered words no one would understand.
The day of the succession proclamation.
My siblings, the princes and princesses, awaited.
Each one a monster bearing the blood of the Great Emperor.
“If only I had a bit more time. What a pity…”
The battles before my regression, that chaotic storm—it’s hard to sum up in a sentence or two!
The thought of diving into it as a child wasn’t exactly comforting.
The eight children of the Great Emperor.
Each with a different mother.
The Great Emperor Continua didn’t interfere in the Succession War, nor did he block aid from maternal clans.
After all, securing support was one of the qualities an emperor should have.
One’s mother was the daughter of the highest chancellor.
Another one was one of the empire’s ten great generals.
Another one was the sole sister of a duke.
But me, Shion.
I didn’t even know my mother’s name.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find out.
Before the Succession War, princes and princesses used their maternal surnames.
Only the emperor could bear the name of Cordis.
The Fifth Prince, ignorant of his mother’s name, was called merely Zionis, without a surname.
My siblings, backed by powerful maternal clans.
Me, just a child.
It wasn’t a hopeful situation.
Yet the eyes of the returned hero grew calm.
“It’s not that difficult.”
Indeed, I was a hero.
“I’m use to being at a disadvantage.”
Even if I failed at the very end, my countless victories didn’t vanish.
How many had feared me, how many had hoped for me?
Bearing many secrets, I returned to the past.
A child’s body or an unfavorable situation couldn’t be a major obstacle.
“The most important things are probably the mana armor, Septem Arcana, and the grand convergence.”
I rubbed my chin.
“They all require preparation. For now, I’ll have to act like an eleven-year-old.”
I felt an old ember reignite.
My blue eyes blazed.
“Like Zionis, age eleven.”
* * *
“…Your Highness, Zionis, Your Highness!”
Pies shouted urgently.
“What are you thinking about? We’re out of time!”
“Sorry, sorry. But look, I’m already dressed.”
“Huh…?”
The chest nut-haired man examined me with a puzzled look.
“You’re right. The sash is tight, sleeves neat, ornaments perfect!”
At eleven, Zionis was dressed impeccably in imperial regalia, fit to be a model.
My pajamas were folded neatly on the bed.
When did I manage that?
“…Since when could you dress yourself?”
“It’s the Succession War starting today. I should be a bit more grown-up.”
“That’s true, but…”
Pies felt a tinge of confusion.
Imperial regalia wasn’t easy to put on.
Zionis always struggled with it.
Yet I’d changed so quickly he hadn’t noticed.
Pies felt a flicker of doubt, but my urging brushed it aside.
“Let’s hurry, Pies. To the main palace.”
“Right!”
“They’re all waiting.”
A faint smirk lingered on my lips.
“My esteemed kin.”
* * *
“Still, a year later would’ve been nice. Twenty years sounds cleaner.”
As Zionis, the Fifth Prince, I walked the corridor, grumbling inwardly.
Outwardly, I kept a smile.
The palace had many eyes.
I couldn’t seem suspicious—like to the group of officials approaching.
“…”
“…”
A few young officials flinched, spotting my ornate prince’s attire from afar.
Seeing my face, they relaxed, gave a half-hearted nod and hurried off.
Not the attitude one shows a prince.
“Ah, this familiar neglect.”
A nuisance neither to ignore nor acknowledge fully.
In this palace, the Fifth Prince Zionis was such an existence.
Too noble to be dismissed, but too risky to treat properly with other princes and princesses watching.
So they offered minimal courtesy, avoiding me like something unpleasant. I was used to it.
“…Are you alright, Your Highness?”
“Any problem?”
“Well, those people dared to…”
Only Pies checked on me, worried my young heart might be hurt.
He was soft-hearted for a knight.
I chuckled and spoke.
“I’m the one being ignored, so why do you look more upset?”
“It’s disrespectful!”
“Don’t mind it, Pies. It’s always like this.”
I laughed.
As a child, with no backing, I was always alone.
A mother whose name I didn’t know, a father too great to see.
Only a few maids in my annex and Pies were my companions.
“Where are we going again…?”
“Along the banquet hall’s side path to the Chamber of the Azure Sky.”
“Right.”
Nineteen years ago, it’s hazy, but there was such a place.
The chamber of the Azure Sky Emperor, the empire’s founder.
I smelled food.
The kitchen was near.
The banquet hall wasn’t far.
“Are you coming, Pies?”
“Huh?”
“Only imperials can enter the Chamber of the Azure Sky, right?”
“That’s true.”
Pies Roesti scratched his cheek.
A thousand-year-old empire had countless inexplicable customs.
The succession proclamation happening in the Chamber of the Azure Sky, accessible only to the emperor’s blood, was one of them.
“But I should escort you to the entrance. I’m your imperial guard.”
“No, I’ll go alone. You can’t enter the chamber anyway.”
“…Your Highness, are you serious?”
“Absolutely.”
“…”
My tone was firm.
Pies Roesti closed his mouth.
An order must be obeyed.
The chestnut-haired man sighed deeply and lowered his stance.
“…Understood, Your Highness. Be careful.”
Pies Roesti bit his lip.
He wasn’t a fool.
He knew well how the other princes and princesses viewed me.
“Whatever you hear, endure it. It’ll pass.”
Some would provoke, hurling scorn and mockery to belittle me and protect themselves.
Naturally, he worried about eleven-year-old Zionis.
“Don’t seem like an enemy. Stay unnoticed…”
“I know, I know.”
I waved him off.
Pies’s brow furrowed.
Did I not understand?
No, I seemed too calm.
“It’ll work out, Pies. I’ll be back.”
“Still, I worry. Sending Your Highness alone…”
The chestnut-haired knight couldn’t shake his concern.
To him, I was just an eleven-year-old, small and pitiful compared to my monstrous siblings.
Noticing his worry, I grinned.
“Right, Pies. You’re that kind of guy.”
“Your Highness…”
“It’s not quite a substitute, but can you do me a favor?”
“…A favor? Yes, anything.”
A favor, not an order.
The unfamiliar term made Pies tilt his head.
I beckoned him closer.
“Come, lend me your ear.”
Pies Roesti, puzzled, leaned down.
Eleven-year-old me, Zionis the Fifth Prince, whispered something to my imperial guard, a secret no one else could hear.
“…prepare it… perfectly. Got it?”
Pies tilted his head.
“Prepare… perfectly?”
“Yes. Hurry and get it ready. By the end of the ceremony, it should be perfect.”
Despite the secretive whisper, Pies couldn’t dispel his doubts. But he nodded.
“Yes. Understood.”
Sunlight poured in.
My golden hair and blue eyes gleamed beautifully beneath it.
I looked frail, almost girlish, but an unyielding flame flickered deep within. Pies struggled to speak.
“But… Why, Your Highness?”
“A secret.”
I placed a finger on my lips, smiling brightly.
“I have many secrets, Pies.”