■ The Happy Prince □
When the news spread that King Oscar von Omaha had been assassinated, the first to rush to Oz was Prince Tipetarius, the king’s eldest son and the rightful heir recognized by the citizens of Oz.
“The royal seal is missing?”
“Yes. It seems that the imposter pretending to be the mage Caldlasth, who went missing with the hero, assassinated His Majesty the King and stole the royal seal.”
“…I understand for now. Since it’s impossible to retrieve what has already been taken, focus on restoring the royal castle.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
After the Royal Guard saluted and exited the audience chamber, Prince Tipetarius was left alone, gazing with a melancholic eye at the empty throne.
“So you clung stubbornly to the throne until the very end, only to depart in such a meaningless way… Father.”
He slowly moved his footsteps.
In the center of the room, only black ashes remained.
Because he had ordered the scene preserved exactly as it was, no one dared touch this ‘remnant of the king.’
Tipetarius cupped the ashes in both hands and suddenly clenched them tightly.
“Why didn’t you wait just a little longer?”
I wanted to kill you with my own hands.
His voice trembled as if suppressing tears, and Tipetarius hugged the ashes close to his chest.
He was genuinely grieving.
For the death of his father, for the tenacious life of that old fox, and for not being able to end it himself.
This tragedy occurred while he was away receiving an oracle from the Order of Courage and bringing back the newly appointed hero.
One of the biggest goals in Tipetarius’s life vanished suddenly, leaving behind an indescribable sense of loss.
Perhaps I will carry this emptiness with me for the rest of my life.
But even this, Tipetarius humbly accepted as part of life.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door of the audience chamber where he had ordered no one to enter.
Knock! Knock!
“Enter.”
He wiped his tears with a handkerchief and stood up.
Creak!
The new hero he had discovered during his expedition entered cautiously.
“Um, Your Highness? Are you alright? I thought I heard crying…”
“No, Lady Sophia. It’s just that some dust got into my eyes.”
He skillfully lied while approaching the young hero.
She couldn’t be older than seventeen or eighteen.
Having just arrived from the countryside, she was completely naive about the world—a pure girl.
Unlike himself, whose soul seemed as dark as his jet-black hair and eyes, which his father disliked, she was a stark contrast.
Thus, she was all the more precious to the prince—a treasure beyond measure.
Because he had secured her early, someone destined to possess immense power, someone who could become a shield to protect his authority depending on how she grew.
Approaching the hero, he touched her soft cheek gently and said,
“You must be tired from the long journey. Rest in your quarters for today. I shall visit you tomorrow.”
The young heroine nodded energetically in response.
“Yes! I don’t know what’s going on, but you too, fight on, Your Highness!”
She was barely half his height.
Though it was ironic to receive encouragement from such a child, strangely, it didn’t feel unpleasant.
All his siblings were dead, killed by his own hands, so this warmth was something he hadn’t felt in a long time.
“Thank you. I feel renewed strength because of you.”
Prince Tipetarius knelt on one knee and lightly kissed the back of the hero’s hand.
And then, murmuring to himself as if making a vow,
“I will build a new kingdom from here on.”
First, though, he would need to eliminate the horde of demons gathered outside the city walls.
[[#]] After wreaking havoc in the capital Oz and reuniting outside the Constantinople Wall, we are now moving eastward to join the Demon King’s Army advancing on the capital.
It’s hard to believe we were fiercely battling the kingdom’s forces just hours ago; the situation feels unbearably dull now.
Thanks to the horses prepared by the spies of the Demon King’s Army waiting outside the wall, we’ve already traveled dozens of kilometers, so we decided to take a short break at an appropriate time.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.”
Since it was our first meeting, the rather prickly horse was tied to a nearby tree, and I took out the water flask hanging from my waist.
Glad I brought it along this morning—it turned out to be a wise decision.
As I gulped down the water from the flask, Dorothea stretched out her hand from under the shade.
“Give me some too.”
“Here.”
I closed the lid of the flask and tossed it lightly to her.
Apparently quite thirsty, Dorothea drank deeply from the flask.
“Barnett, aren’t you drinking?”
Barnett shook her head.
“As I’ve said before, food and water are luxuries for me. I can live without them without any issues.”
Seeing that she truly meant it, Dorothea shrugged and handed the flask back to me.
While filling the magical basin with river water for the horses, I asked,
“By the way, you were pretty flashy earlier, weren’t you, Barnett?”
“Did it show that much?”
“You slashed a huge gash into the Constantinople Wall, famous for its triple-layered protective magic spells. It was the strongest aura blade I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“Honestly, it was impressive.”
Even Dorothea, who rarely gives compliments, agreed with me, making Barnett scratch the back of her head sheepishly.
“Hehe, I guess I am pretty strong.”
As we chatted happily, I remembered the heavy bundle in my possession.
“Hey, I brought something incredible. Want to see?”
“What is it?”
I showed them the large seal I pulled out from my coat.
“It’s the royal seal of the Oz Kingdom. And it’s definitely the real deal.”
“Wow….”
Dorothea’s eyes sparkled, drawn to the object like usual when it came to jewels.
After all, the seal I carried was made entirely of 100% pure orichalcum, making it an artifact among artifacts.
Originally a symbol of imperial authority during the empire era, it flowed into the newly established city-state of Oz after the empire fell to the elves, continuing its role as the royal seal.
That was why, despite Dorothea’s immense magical explosion, it rolled around on the ground unscathed.
Curiously examining the seal engraved with the double-headed lion, the symbol of the empire, Dorothea hesitantly reached out.
“Can I touch it?”
“Sure.”
I handed it over willingly, intending to make up for the fact that she couldn’t touch the Unlimited Power last time.
“How much do you think this would sell for?”
Hearing Dorothea’s question, I carefully estimated the price.
“Well, it’s pure orichalcum, passed down since the imperial era, and the sculpted double-headed lion is magnificent, qualifying it as a fine piece of art. Considering its historical value and utility, I think we could get this much for it.”
I cautiously held up three fingers, prompting Dorothea to exclaim in surprise.
“300 million gold?”
“No, 3 billion gold.”
“Wh-what?!”
Dorothea stared in shock at the seal in her hand, then quickly returned it to me, as if holding it was too honorable.
I wrapped it in cloth and put it back in my coat.
This will remain sealed until I present it to the Demon King.
Watching what Dorothea and I were doing, Barnett finally spoke, shaking her head.
“What are you two doing? You’re not fools, are you?”
Admittedly, we were overreacting, so I shyly looked away.
Then, my eyes caught the golden lion crest engraved on Barnett’s armor.
“Speaking of which, Barnett, you mentioned you were a noble lady during the empire’s heyday. Exactly which family were you from?”
“Why does that matter now?”
“Normally, symbols or animals representing royalty aren’t allowed to be used by common nobles or civilians. But your armor has the embossed lion, the symbol of the imperial house.”
Caught off guard, Barnett hesitated for a moment before smiling bitterly and nodding.
“My family was a branch of the imperial line during my lifetime. We weren’t particularly famous, but we had some renown because our ancestor was a Sword Master, just like me. If I lacked talent for the sword, I probably would have lived a normal life like other ladies, having children and dying peacefully. But I became a Sword Master eventually and perished fighting the elves. That’s all there is to tell.”
Barnett usually avoided talking about her past, so after sharing this much, she closed her mouth again.
The atmosphere turned awkward instantly.
‘Why don’t you fix this?’
‘What am I supposed to do?’
Since I hadn’t intended to create this situation, I ended up engaging in endless eye contact with Dorothea standing beside me.
