Chapter 31: The Anticipated Four Years Later (3)

The great hall of the palace once again grew noisy as music resumed after King Laskan’s proposal.

In the meantime, Ashuran and Valet, who had risen from the floor, cast sidelong glances at Raion with barely concealed hostility.

Of course, Raion immediately sensed their gaze, but he deliberately avoided making eye contact.

‘They must be utterly riled up. And they must be feeling a sense of crisis too.’

Raion’s eyes, as he rose from his seat, landed on Queen Elina.

She, too, was staring at him intently, just as the princes had done earlier.

‘This should make their plan even clearer now.’

After turning his gaze away, Raion began to enjoy the rest of the banquet.

A few days later, the great hall was filled with countless nobles and ministers.

However, neither Queen Elina nor the princes were present.

It was a gathering of every high-ranking figure residing within the royal castle.

King Laskan, seated upon the throne on the dais, rose to speak.

“Due to the coming-of-age ceremony of the Third Prince, Raion, all conditions concerning the succession to the throne have now been fulfilled! By my authority, I intend to appoint one of the princes as heir to the throne!”

At his words, the atmosphere among the nobles and ministers grew tense and restless.

The day they had all been anxiously awaiting had finally arrived.

King Laskan waited for the commotion to subside before taking a brief breath and continuing.

“I hereby declare that I shall appoint the Third Prince, Raion Canel, as successor to the throne! If there are any who oppose this, step forward now!”

The right to determine succession to the throne was granted entirely to the king.

However, it could not be decided unilaterally; if half of the upper nobility accepted the decision, it would proceed without issue.

Conversely, if more than half opposed it, the successor had to be decided through a more definitive process.

King Laskan was certain that the nobles and ministers under his command would approve by more than half.

Step. Step. Step.

Yet, the number of people stepping forward was considerable.

When they were counted, nearly two-thirds had cast their opposition to King Laskan’s decision.

Naturally, Duke Alito was among those who opposed.

“What is this…!”

Over the past five years, Duke Alito had painstakingly broken the balance of factions completely.

“Is this truly what you all think?”

At that question, Duke Alito stepped forward.

“Your Majesty… Forgive my impertinence, but I must express a differing opinion regarding the succession.”

“What is it! Speak your reasoning at once!”

“Prince Raion has only just completed his coming-of-age ceremony. While he may seem more dependable than before, merely five years ago, he could not even voice his own opinions properly. For that reason, I believe the nobles and ministers find it difficult to place their trust in him.”

Hearing his words, the other nobles and ministers nodded their heads. That was indeed the primary reason behind their opposition to the king’s decision.

Of course, they too were concerned about the future of the Canel Kingdom. They wished for a prince who could lead the kingdom without issue to become the heir to the throne.

“Then do you believe that the First Prince, Ashuran, should be designated as heir?”

“At the very least, I do. Otherwise, the Second Prince, Valet, also seems to possess sufficient qualifications.”

“That’s right. Both have long accumulated achievements in service to the kingdom.”

Some nobles came forward, listing the deeds the two princes had accomplished.

Naturally, their words were not wrong.

King Laskan was well aware of that too.

“I am not ignorant of the two princes’ efforts. However, according to the royal code, it is the legitimate son of the queen who should inherit the throne! Are you saying we should break that rule?”

The nobles and ministers knew that rule well.

But with the succession at stake, they could not simply allow the king to push forward with his decision unchallenged.

Thus, Duke Alito stepped forward once again.

“We are not unaware of that, Your Majesty. However, surely even you find it difficult to fully overlook the current circumstances.”

“I am aware.”

“In that case, rather than making an immediate decision, would it not be better to hold a trial first?”

“A trial?”

At the king’s question, Duke Alito calmly presented his proposal.

“Your Majesty is still in good health. Therefore, I suggest that for the next two years, the three princes each be sent to a territory designated by Your Majesty, so that their worthiness to rule may be tested.”

The nobles and ministers began to murmur—it seemed this had not been previously discussed.

“How would we even set the criteria?”

The Canel Kingdom was divided into fourteen territories, excluding the royal capital.

Each territory differed vastly in condition and nature.

Naturally, it was difficult to set a clear standard—how would one even measure their performance?

“From the beginning of their administration, we could judge based on the tax growth rate and the level of public order within their territories.”

The two criteria proposed by Duke Alito were indeed significant from the perspective of each territory.

They were measurable results that could be clearly assessed.

“Hm…”

King Laskan’s contemplation deepened.

He wanted to take time to sway the minds of other nobles and ministers, but having come this far, he had no choice but to decide here and now.

“What do the rest of you think? Do you agree with Duke Alito’s proposal?”

The nobles and ministers glanced at Duke Alito standing before them and began to answer one by one.

“I am in favor!”

“I agree!”

“I, too, am in favor!”

One after another, their responses piled up—all in support of Duke Alito’s opinion.

Before long, King Laskan’s expression darkened.

In the end, he had no choice but to decide according to Duke Alito’s proposal.

“Hmm… I understand. Then, how shall the territories be selected? Whatever the method, it must be fair to all three princes.”

Once again, Duke Alito stepped forward.

“We shall send letters to the fourteen lords, asking which territories are willing to agree. Then, we will engrave those names onto beads, place them in a pouch, and have them drawn by lot. What do you think?”

For a plan presented on such short notice, it was impressively detailed.

Naturally, it was clear that this process had been prepared long ago.

“Hoo~! Not a bad method. And when do you think the preparations will be complete?”

“If we send messenger hawks to each territory, it should be finished before next month.”

Since there was no long-distance communication system, it was inevitable that it would take quite some time.

“Very well. Make the preparations, then.”

With King Laskan’s low command, the discussion in the great hall came to an end.

Although Raion had completed his coming-of-age ceremony, he was still living not in the royal palace, but in Taron’s Palace.

He continued to train his abilities in his workshop as usual.

Just then, Dike burst through the door.

“Prince! Prince!”

Dike had turned fifteen this year.

Yet, perhaps because of his half-dwarf bloodline, he still looked as though he had barely aged.

“What’s all this fuss about?”

“I made a device that washes your face and hair! Please come and see it!”

“Really?”

Led by Dike’s hand, Raion entered another workshop.

That room was Dike’s personal workspace.

In the center stood the device Dike had created.

“So this is the device?”

“I’ll show you how it works using Anita!”

For reference, Anita was Dike’s assistant—and the test subject for all of his experiments—a large doll.

She might have been the most pitiful existence within Taron’s Palace.

Even now, Anita was strapped tightly to the “washing device” Dike had made, with her arms, legs, and torso all bound in place.

Because of the hair-washing feature, her once plain head had hair made from what looked like rag strips attached to it.

“Alright, show me.”

“Yes, sir!”

Dike began to turn the handle that stuck out from one side of the machine.

At once, the gears started spinning, and Anita’s head was plunged upside down into a basin.

And it didn’t stop there.

Water began to fill the basin, swirling violently.

“Huh? It wasn’t this fast before.”

As the gears interlocked more tightly, the machine began to spin faster—even without Dike turning the handle.

Whirr! Whirr! Whirr!

The swirling water grew so fierce it looked like it might snap Anita’s head clean off.

‘This isn’t washing her hair—it’s practically torture…’

After spinning rapidly for quite a while, the machine finally stopped.

Dike lifted Anita’s head again—only to find that the device had scrubbed the rag-made hair clean off.

‘I thought it was attached pretty firmly. Just how strong was that thing…’

While Raion was lost in thought, Dike drooped with a dejected expression.

“Uuuh… I guess it failed again.”

Since this happened quite often, Raion found it hard to come up with comforting words.

“Monica! Monica!”

At times like this, there was only one person he could rely on.

Monica, who had been cleaning the annex, hurried over.

“Prince, did you call for me?”

“Do something about Dike.”

“Ah… understood. Are you alright, Dike?”

Monica immediately went over to Dike’s side and began comforting him.

Meanwhile, Raion stored the device that had just been used into his ability, Warehouse (倉庫).

Shooo—!

Just in case, he had been keeping Dike’s failed inventions stored there.

Over the past five years, the number of such items had grown to dozens.

While Monica hugged Dike gently, patting his back, Raion looked at them thoughtfully.

‘He really does have a talent for creating things, though.’

None of Dike’s inventions had ever used blueprints.

He simply built whatever came to mind—and somehow, it always took shape in the end.

In the world of my previous life, it would be called possessing an innate multidimensional spatial awareness.

Of course, his inventions tended to be strange, but considering the future, his current state wasn’t bad at all.

At that moment, Patrick was standing in front of the workshop door.

“Prince, a letter has arrived from the royal palace.”

“What’s it about?”

“I haven’t read it, so I do not know.”

Raion took the letter from Patrick and opened it.

“Is it about His Majesty having decided on the successor to the throne?”

He remembered what Trine had said during the banquet after his coming-of-age ceremony.

But the contents of the letter were a bit different from what he expected.

“It’s similar, but not quite that. It says there will be a trial to decide the successor, not that one has already been chosen. I’ll have to return to the palace by tomorrow morning.”

“A trial? What do you mean by that?”

Patrick had never heard of testing for royal succession before. Naturally, he tilted his head in confusion as he looked at Raion.

“It must be because His Majesty’s influence has weakened. Well… it’s just as I hoped.”

“What do you mean, sir?”

“You’ll understand once we see it for ourselves.”

“Understood. Then, I shall prepare the clothes you’ll wear tomorrow.”

With that, Patrick left the room.

Meanwhile, Raion looked down at the letter in his hand and smiled meaningfully.