The Same Dream (2)
Ignoring the third prince was a fatal mistake.
Howard ground his teeth in silence.
Who could have guessed that the third prince, who possessed nothing but a worthless body, would make contact with Duke Crowner, win his heart, and join the knight order’s training?
Still, no anomaly occurs more than twice.
In the end, it would be his own grandson, the second prince Lloyd, who became emperor.
Howard dared to be certain of it.
“In any case, please keep in mind that even the slightest lapse in vigilance is now forbidden.”
The marquis’s sharp eyes curved with deceptive gentleness.
“That goes for both of you.”
He did not seem to expect an answer.
The moment he finished speaking, Howard rose from his seat.
“You’re leaving already?”
To Lloyd’s polite question, the marquis replied kindly.
“I came to attend the nobles’ council and stopped by briefly to see my family’s faces. Now that I have seen my adorable grandson, Your Highness, I must be on my way.”
“Allow me to escort you…”
“No, I cannot waste Your Highness’s precious time. It is more comfortable for an old man to go alone. Farewell.”
Howard lightly patted the young prince’s shoulder.
Then he shot one piercing glare at Helena, who still could not lift her head, before calmly exiting the room.
Creak. Thud.
The massive wooden door closed with a heavy sound.
Silence descended upon the reception room.
“Did you hear him clearly?”
Only then did Helena, who had remained standing in mute silence, speak for the first time.
“I asked if you heard your grandfather’s words clearly.”
She slowly turned and approached Lloyd.
When no answer came, she suddenly slapped her son across the face.
“What…”
Lloyd clutched his stinging cheek and stared at his mother in shock.
“Are your mother’s words amusing to you? Answer me!”
Helena’s voice cracked like a whip.
The cheek hidden beneath her handkerchief was flushed as red as Lloyd’s.
“If you had simply performed your role as a prince properly, I would never have suffered such humiliation!”
His cheek burned.
Lloyd drew a ragged breath.
Flames seemed to roar inside his chest.
Yet when he saw the second prince consort’s cheek glowing the same angry red as his own, he swallowed his fury.
“To be compared to that pathetic boy! There is no greater disgrace in this world!”
The “pathetic boy” referred to the third prince, Edwin.
Blue veins stood out sharply against Helena’s thin, translucent skin.
“It might be one thing if it were the first prince, but you must never let the third prince catch up to you! Being bested by a wretch like that is beneath my child! Do you understand?”
“…It won’t happen, Mother.”
“You certainly answer well! Lloyd, what do you have besides the sword? You must stand out with what you do best! And yet you can’t even manage that one thing!”
Finally unable to contain her rage, Helena snatched the cup from the table and hurled it.
Crash.
The priceless porcelain imported from the Eastern Continent shattered with a deafening clatter.
“I can’t bear the sight of you! Get out!”
At his mother’s furious command, Lloyd left the room with his head bowed.
The prince’s eyes gleamed with a cold, murderous light far too mature for his years.
Yes. That will never happen.
Not to Adrian, and certainly not to that worthless third prince. He would never allow his position to be stolen.
Walking down the long corridor, Lloyd clenched his fists until the knuckles turned white.
Because I will become emperor no matter what.
The emperor of the Ventrum Empire.
He had lived for that single purpose until this very day.
And when that day comes…
Fierce anger surged from the second prince’s entire body.
I will place them all beneath my feet.
Lloyd tightened his fist with unyielding resolve.
Inside his callused palm, droplets of blood had already begun to well.
* * *
Behind the Gloria Knights’ quarters.
I was watching Philip and Edwin spar.
He’s improving by leaps and bounds.
Edwin’s movements were incomparably sharper and cleaner than before the Founding Festival.
Swish.
Philip immediately followed up with the next strike the moment Edwin dodged.
Edwin twisted his body with lightning speed and evaded it.
Not bad at all.
I watched the boy, who even looked exhilarated, and the corner of my mouth lifted.
“It seems you’re no longer afraid.”
“I’ve grown a little used to it.”
Edwin and Philip stood close enough to touch and exchanged a few playful words.
Then they clashed swords once more.
Still, that Philip fellow is quite skilled himself.
I recalled the additional rule Philip had proposed for this spar.
The condition that you must never step away from your original standing position when dodging an attack.
The words were simple, yet the execution was extremely demanding.
Dodging irregularly flying strikes while keeping your feet planted was no easy feat.
At first he seemed unable to grasp it.
Yet now Edwin was deftly avoiding the attacks that flew at him from every angle.
He even hopped lightly in place to dodge strikes aimed at his legs.
However.
Perhaps it was because he was still young.
Edwin’s concentration could not last long.
Philip seized the brief opening when the boy’s focus wavered and struck him between the ribs with the flat of his blade.
“Ugh! Kgh…”
Edwin immediately dropped into a crouch, groaning.
“Let’s end here for today. The next lesson is in two days. I’ll take my leave.”
Philip looked down at Edwin, who could not easily stand, and declared the session over.
He offered a light bow before jogging toward the knights’ quarters.
They say the order is busy with monster subjugation these days. No wonder he seems distracted.
I approached the still-seated Edwin and handed him a towel.
“Your Highness, are you all right?”
“Not at all.”
“To be honest, even I can see you’re not all right. You seemed unable to focus on training today.”
At my words, Edwin clamped his mouth shut like a clam.
After fidgeting for a long moment, he spoke in a cautious voice.
“…Rachel. Actually, there’s something I want to tell you.”
His expression suggested it was quite a serious matter in his eyes.
I studied him quietly, then pointed to the long bench beside us.
“Shall we sit and talk?”
“Yes.”
I sat on the bench beside Edwin.
“What did you want to say?”
“Well… it’s just that…”
Edwin interlaced his fingers and fidgeted with them.
“If I keep training like this… can I truly become strong?”
“Of course.”
“Then why do I need to become strong?”
What was this little brat saying now?
I raised one eyebrow.
“You said you wanted to become strong, Your Highness.”
“I did, but…”
Edwin put on a deliberately grave face.
“It feels like simply growing stronger this way won’t let me achieve my dream.”
“…Your dream?”
A dream was something you had while sleeping, wasn’t it?
The word felt utterly foreign to me.
“Yes, a dream. It’s similar to a goal, but they call it that because the chances of it coming true are so slim.”
“…I see.”
I looked at him.
“Then what is Your Highness’s dream?”
“To protect all my people. And to live happily with them.”
That’s his dream?
I gave him a puzzled look.
“I already know that. Isn’t that why you wanted to become stronger?”
“Yes. And you promised you would let me make choices.”
I nodded silently in reply.
Those with power have more options in life.
At least, that had always been true in the world I came from.
“But will being good with a sword or knowing many things truly let me achieve my dream?”
Edwin lifted his head and looked straight into my eyes.
“I want to keep living happily with you, Rachel, with Catherine and Emilia, inside this imperial palace.”
His voice grew heavy with emphasis when he said the word imperial palace.
Only then did I fully understand the young prince’s meaning.
“Rachel, I…”
His blue eyes, which seemed to hold the sky itself, shone with greater intensity than ever before.
“I want to become emperor.”
* * *
“…Emperor.”
In the deep hours of the night when everyone else was asleep.
I lay on the roof of the 3rd Prince’s Palace, gazing upward.
One of my former subordinates had once said that staring at the night sky with nothing above your head made sleep impossible. That it felt scary.
It’s only quiet and pleasant.
It was even cozy.
I liked this tranquil feeling where nothing but myself could be sensed.
Edwin.
While idly counting the stars, I recalled the look in his eyes.
I had never seen eyes like those in the world I once belonged to.
Within those purely shining pupils, something clear and distinct had taken shape.
That must be the gaze of someone who holds a dream.
A dream, huh.
Did I ever have one? No. I didn’t.
To a child born in the slums who never knew her parents, a dream was an extravagant luxury.
If Emma had not taken me in, I would have starved to death long ago.
Simply surviving felt like a dream in itself.
Fortunately, my original body had a naturally large and sturdy frame, so I remained healthy even on little food. I could even endure the seasonal plagues without falling ill.
After I parted with Emma…
Alone once more, I became a thief on the streets.
I was quick and my senses were sharp, so I could steal without ever being caught.
I mostly took bread or fruit and shared it with the weakest children in the slums, those too frail to beg.
Whenever I did, the stronger boys of the slum would pick fights, but they never dared challenge me openly.
That was when I first discovered it…
After leaving Emma, paradoxically, I uncovered my hidden talent.
Before long, I had become famous as the best fighter among all the girls in the slums.