Surviving As the 5th Prince of the Ruined Kingdom

046

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Evan stared grimly at the long line of refugees, his lips tightly sealed.

“Your Majesty? Your Majesty!”

He snapped back to attention at the voice calling him and turned his head.

It was Alfonso.

His expressionless face and the deep scar running from his left eye to the corner of his mouth felt unusually unsettling.

“You must choose.”

Choose? What choice?

Doubts arose, accompanied by flashes of memories from the past.

‘Ah……. That’s right.’

Evan nodded.

For nearly a decade, the struggle for the throne between the First and Second Princes had raged on. The victor had always been the First Prince, who had maintained a slight edge.

Unable to accept this, the Second Prince had ultimately ‘directly’ brought in foreign forces.

‘It was a foolish act.’

Thanks to him, the great army of the Arya Kingdom landed on the eastern coast without any resistance.

And then.

Starting with beheading the Second Prince who offered up [Barisada], they revealed their true greed.

The island kingdom of Arya had long coveted the Rionel Kingdom, which served as a gateway to the continent from ancient times.

The eastern part of the Rionel Kingdom, already staggering from the civil war between the two princes, fell into the hands of the Arya forces in an instant.

‘He must have known the risks.’

How outrageous a choice can one make when driven into a corner? The Second Prince had just added another prime example to be recorded in history books.

‘If only it had stopped there.’

The invaders who seized the east would not simply watch over the fertile southern region, the breadbasket of the Rionel Kingdom.

Soon, a horrific war broke out over the south.

In the decisive battle on the Great Southern Plain, where the fate of the kingdom hung in the balance, the kingdom suffered a crushing defeat. The First Prince, or rather, the former king, barely escaped with his life after having both hands severed, while his friend and chief strategist, Count Miloah, was brutally slain by the enemy soldiers on the battlefield.

– Evan Rionel. You are all that’s left now. Please, please, prevent the kingdom’s downfall……. *cough*

Evan recalled the final words Lucas had left him just a few days ago, and the weight of the crown he had passed on.

It was light. Yet, at the same time, so heavy that he wanted to drop it from his hands immediately.

Shaking his head to dispel the memory, Evan gazed at the refugee procession once more.

The current situation was simple.

**The Arya invaders had seized control of the eastern and southern regions.** **To prevent the complete downfall of the Rionel Kingdom, a crucial decision had to be made.** **Evan, as the new king, was faced with an agonizing choice that would determine the fate of his nation and people.**

The Arya Kingdom, having gained control over the south, was briefly catching its breath. Now it was marching north to capture the royal capital of Barona.

Realizing they could not stop them, Evan had enacted a scorched earth tactic by burning Barona before relocating the capital to the northern fortress of Tenhei.

The problem was……

Their pace was too slow due to the refugees accompanying them. The enraged and starving Arya army, victims of the scorched earth tactic, was pursuing at an alarming speed.

They had to be abandoned.

If abandoned?

It would be fortunate if they only died.

The Arya bastards feel no qualms about filling their bellies with enemy corpses.

Du-du-du-du.

Reina came into view, riding on horseback. Her missing left arm seemed especially unsettling today.

The dissonance Evan felt upon seeing Alfonso’s face earlier caused him to slightly frown.

“Your Majesty! The Arya bastards are swarming. Make a decision quickly.”

After losing an arm and being abandoned by the Second Prince, Reina had spent many years with Evan at Barrington Fortress in the north, fighting off barbarians.

A Seven Star Knight.

His swordsmanship mentor.

Despite being one-armed, she became known as the Blade Mistress.

Evan spoke heavily,

“Lady Reina. Can you lead the Mythic Knight Order to buy us time?”

“…Understood.”

“No! We cannot lose Lady Reina and the knights here in vain! Their single life is more precious than a thousand refugees!”

Alfonso protested vehemently.

Evan knew as well.

That they had to abandon the refugees to preserve the elite forces and reach the north. Losing Reina and the knights here would be an irreparable loss.

But Evan had made his decision.

“Thank you.”

“Do not worry! We will soon thrash them and follow! Come on, let’s go! Mythic Knight Order, follow me!”

“Woooooooh! Let’s go! Those island bastards are done for!”

Evan bit his lip as he watched Reina and her direct knight order. He then looked again at the two hands that had received the crown.

So heavy, unbearably heavy.

“Your Majesty! You will deeply regret this!”

Evan nodded at Alfonso’s rebuke.

“I suppose so.”

“How could you make such a choice when you knew better?”

“Alfonso, who made the king?”

“……”

Alfonso hesitated.

Evan looked at the busy knights and the refugees trembling with anxiety.

“They did. They gave the king the powerful authority to control their lives, for reasons like ensuring their safety, getting better food, and so on.”

Evan paused for a moment, watching Reina move away, then continued speaking.

“Whether I wanted it or not, I became the king of the Leonel Kingdom. And I made the choice of a monarch. And Lady Reina made the choice of a knight.”

That day.

The swordsman of the Leonel Kingdom, along with the swordmaster of the Arya Kingdom, greatly contributed to Evan and the refugees safely arriving in the north.

…

…

Brington Fortress in the north.

Evan looked out from the castle walls. The smell of meat wafting from the Hamel Empire’s camp made him wrinkle his nose.

Gray-haired Alfonso limped over to his side.

“They’ll be attacking soon.”

“I suppose so.”

Evan closed his eyes slightly.

The unending war with the Arya Kingdom and the Hamel Empire since inheriting the crown.

This is the end.

If Brington Fortress falls, it’s only a matter of time before the Leonel Kingdom disappears into the back alleys of history.

“And Austin?”

“He disappeared after the failed truce negotiations with those bastards. Where could he be and what could he be doing in this situation?”

“Didn’t he say he found traces of an ancient ruin? That a relic of the gods might be sleeping there?”

“Hmph, a relic of the gods? Most of those would be mere toys before those things.”

Evan looked in the direction Alfonso was gazing.

The steel giants were there.

When the Leonel Kingdom was busy with internal strife, there were rumors that the great powers were developing massive battle golems.

‘It turned out to be true.’

Titans.

A new weapon that changed the concept of war.

An overwhelming size that made even the massive monsters over 5m tall look like children. An outer shell that was difficult to damage unless one was a knight or mage above 6 stars.

‘That’s why those bastards invaded the north.’

One of the core components of the engine, the heart of the Titan that amplified the rider’s mana, was heavily buried in the north.

“Don’t you regret it?”

“What do you mean?”

Alfonso’s question made Evan tilt his head. There was too much to regret.

“I’m talking about learning any mana cultivation method and creating a core after coming of age. If you had focused on just magic and swordsmanship, you might have become a 9-star, or perhaps even the first human to wield 10 stars?”

“Any mana cultivation method? The Wugong Mana Cultivation Method has a fine name. And becoming an 8-star sword mage is quite decent, isn’t it?”

“That’s because you later dismantled and modified the original, Your Majesty.”

“At the time, I had no choice. And didn’t you bring me the original? Saying some old man was selling the real thing for 400 krons, so you got it for me to learn.”

“…My apologies. It was precisely 413 krons. You had to learn anything to avoid a barbarian’s axe cleaving your head right then.”

Alfonso’s voice grew smaller.

He raised his head again, poking at Evan’s sore spot.

“Was that why you let Lady Reina go? If she were still alive, she would certainly have become an 8-star knight capable of taking on those wretched new weapons with her bare hands, like you. Would you make the same choice if you could go back?”

Evan fell silent for a moment before speaking.

“Alfonso, since I inherited the crown from Brother Lucas until now, the choices presented to me were bound to leave regrets no matter what. Even if I had chosen to abandon the refugees back then, I would surely regret it. But one thing is certain: King Evan Leonel of the Leonel Kingdom would make the same choice if he could go back.”

Having finished speaking, Evan turned his head. Following his gaze, Alfonso saw women and children in tattered clothes moving rocks. They were the people who would share the kingdom’s fate until the end.

Alfonso shook his head slowly.

What a stubborn man.

Evan, who had donned an unwanted crown, never once chose to abandon his people. Who would have thought the ghost prince cooped up in the Emerald Palace would become such a ruler?

If only, if only he had known sooner.

Alfonso bitterly regretted his past self, who had neglected Evan and wasted so much meaningless time.

“May I say one more thing, even if you won’t listen?”

“Don’t.”

“Leave this to us and go to the Velkas Mountains. As long as you live, the Leonel Kingdom can surely start anew.”

“It’s too late now.”

Dust rose up from the military camps of the Hamil Empire, causing Evan to let out a wry laugh.

“The bastards are coming! Everyone get ready!”

– Uwaaah!

– Let’s kill those bastards!

– Long live the Rionel Kingdom!

. . .

“Kkulleok, kkulleok……”

With a hole in his abdomen, Evan looked around. The Empire’s Titans lay sprawled out. The cockpits where knights would ride were all destroyed.

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There were no survivors standing.

An old woman and child who had been throwing rocks from the fortress lay dead with bulging eyes. They seemed to be related. Dragging his leg, Evan approached and closed their eyes.

‘Mutual destruction…….’

No, this war was a victory for the Empire, who could replenish their depleted forces again and again. Soon their reinforcements would come to occupy the emptied northern lands of the Rionel Kingdom.

“Kkulleok.”

Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Evan lay on his back and gazed up at the sky.

‘It’s finally over.’

He had to admit it.

Soon, the Rionel Kingdom would disappear into the back alleys of history.

A sense of relief, yet regret.

The constant situations forcing him to choose from a set of equally undesirable options – it was so regrettable. It was as if the Rionel Kingdom’s demise had already been decided, and he was just being asked to pick the process.

Even if he went back, Evan’s choices wouldn’t have changed.

‘If only there had been another choice.’

Evan lowered his gaze from the sky, unable to shake that regret.

‘What were those things, in the end?’

The ghostly waving hands and translucent windows with indecipherable text. Evan never took his eyes off those things that had followed him his whole life.

‘…….’

Jjirrit, jjirrit.

As always, thinking about them made his head feel like it would split open with pain.

He was already dying.

This much is trivial.

The ghostly hand began to perform a solemn dance, as if mourning Evan’s death.

Twitching, twitching – Thud!

“Gurgle!”

A pain as if someone had stabbed a knife into my brain.

Thud! Thud!

Normally I would have lost consciousness by this point, with the servants causing an uproar, but strangely today my mind became sharper instead.

Even amidst the terrible agony, I resolved that today would be the end, watching the ghostly hand perform its majestic dance.

And then.

Bang—!

‘Ah!’

The ghostly hand suddenly stopped dancing and gave me a thumbs up.

Time rapidly rewound.

Back to that agonizing moment when I had to choose between the refugees and Reina.

Crackle—!

The world shattered.

***

Clap clap clap.

I opened my eyes to the sound of someone’s applause.

A woman wearing a skin-tight black dress was clapping while looking at me.

I immediately recognized who she was.

“Barisar.”

“Ding~dong~dang. Did you have a nice dream?”

I closely observed her as she gave me a wry smile.

Jet black hair, though that description doesn’t seem right, with piercing red eyes. An ‘atrociously’ beautiful woman.

“A dream, was it?”