It had been a full month since the rain started. People, weary of the rain, had emptied the streets.
The vagrants on the streets also took shelter from the rain under bridges or in dilapidated, abandoned houses.
The desolate streets were filled only with the sound of the falling rain.
Neeeigh!
A horse cried out through the downpour. It breathed out white steam like smoke as it headed towards the gray castle at the end of the town.
Thud!
The horse, having arrived inside the castle, let down a soaking-wet man.
"Where is His Majesty?"
"What is it?"
"It is about the 5th Prince. It's urgent."
"He is in his study.
Without even drying his wet body, the man headed to the study to find the king.
"Your Majesty, I, your subject Rodrigo, have brought a letter from the 5th Prince."
The man standing before the study introduced himself to the king and requested an audience. But all that returned was silence.
Creeak.
After about a minute had passed, the heavy door of the study opened.
In the center of the study, under a faint light, sat a king worn down by fatigue. Rodrigo, holding the leather tube containing the letter in both hands, approached the king and knelt.
"A letter from the 5th Prince, you say?"
The king asked. Rodrigo raised his head and looked up at the king. The king looked frail. He revealed his trembling eyes, like a child afraid of being scolded for not finishing a great task.
"Yes, that is correct."
"Didn't you say he was in critical condition?"
"That is correct."
"Then how could the 5th Prince send a letter?"
"He has woken up. The details are in the letter."
Hearing Rodrigo's words, the king snatched the leather tube from his hands as if to steal it.
"No, how…"
Reading the letter, the king let out a sigh as if something that should never have happened had occurred. The letter contained the news that the 5th Prince, Maximilian Caesar, who had been on the brink of death for five months in a comatose state, had woken up three days ago.
It also included an earnest plea to send a royal physician so he could recover his health quickly.
"It would have been better for everyone if he had just quietly drawn his last breath…"
The king muttered in a small voice. Rodrigo barely heard him.
"Is there something you wish to say, Your Majesty?"
"Nothing."
"Yes. I understand. Then, I shall…"
"Do not seek me out regarding the 5th Prince until I command it."
The king gave the order before Rodrigo could even finish his words. Rodrigo stood speechless, looking at the king. He couldn't understand why the king would so coldly abandon the child he had made with the woman he was known to have loved the most.
"What are you doing? Did you not hear me?"
"N-no. I will carry out Your Majesty's words exactly as you've said."
"Yes, do so."
"Yes. But… what do you intend to do about the 5th Prince?"
Upon hearing Rodrigo's question, the king growled like a beast and glared at him. Rodrigo quickly read the king's gaze. It was a look that conveyed a message: do not bother me with a problem I do not wish to know about.
"I will do my best for Your Majesty's peace."
Rodrigo quickly bowed his head and said he would obey the king's command. The king waved his hand with a displeased expression, as if Rodrigo's very presence was uncomfortable.
And so, Rodrigo left the study as the king wished, catching a glimpse of the king letting out a sigh as if the world were collapsing.
* * *
How should I understand this situation?
At first, I thought it was a dream. Because I had clearly been struck by Mathias' sword and died. But I woke up. How can a dead person wake up?
Smack!
I slapped my own cheek. It hurt. It hurt a lot. So, it's not a dream. It's hard to believe, but this is real. Otherwise, there's no way it would hurt this much.
"Your Highness."
The woman in front of me said with anxious eyes. She was the one with the voice that told me not to give up in that moment I was dying.
"What?"
"If you could tell me where you feel uncomfortable…"
"Being alive."
"What? Y-Your Highness."
I spoke without thinking, and now she looked like she was about to cry. Her eyes were saying, you barely survived, are you thinking of dying? Please don't.
"Elite."
"It's Elliot. Elliot Ron Page. The youngest daughter of Baron Page. I am the handmaiden who serves Your Highness."
"Right, Elliot. Um… I'm not going to die, so don't cry and just wait."
At my words telling her not to cry, Elliot pressed her lips firmly together. She was a good kid.
I think I'd gotten her name wrong about six times now, but she hadn't gotten annoyed once and was telling me clearly. She was also trying her best not to do what I told her not to.
"So… you're saying I'm the 5th Prince?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"And Maximilian Caesar is my name?"
"That is correct, Your Highness."
I couldn't believe it. But after asking multiple times and only getting the same answer, I had to believe it.
The Emperor of the Rumenium Empire had become the prince of a tiny kingdom called Poinus. And the fifth prince at that. The name Maximilian was also the same. My goodness…
"And I was in a coma for 5 months after an accident, and just woke up?"
"Yes, that is correct. It is a miracle from God."
Yes, it seems like a miracle.
"And you're sure it's Imperial Year 318?"
"I'm sure. I checked because Your Highness asked several times. There's no mistake."
"Then who is the Emperor of Rumenium now?"
"Rumenium?"
"Yeah, Rumenium. The Rumenium Empire. Why?"
Elliot's reaction was strange. Don't tell me…
"Your Highness, the name of the empire is not Rumenium, but Manatium. Rumenium was destroyed when the dictator Leonhardt died…"
"Rumenium was destroyed? And a dictator? Leonhardt was?"
I couldn't bear to hear all of Elliot's explanation. This was ridiculous. Fuck. You fucking son of a bitch! I felt like spewing out curses like tens of thousands of arrows.
"What did I… no, what did he do to become a dictator?"
"He tried to inject the world with wrong ideas… so they say…"
The seeds I had sown, the ideas I had hoped would blossom into flowers, were brutally trampled.
Mathias. That bastard threw me and my world, everything I had built up through countless bloodshed, into the gutter.
"Y-Your Highness?"
Elliot looked at me with a surprised expression. Her lips trembled. She seemed frightened.
She must have felt the anger radiating from me. I felt unnecessarily sorry.
"I'm not mad at you, so don't be scared."
"Huh? Well, that's a relief, but… for what reason are you making such a scary face…"
"Um, in this world, there are many complicated things we can't know. So don't worry about it.
How would a young girl like you know?"
Hearing my words, Elliot furrowed her brow and tilted her head as if she couldn't believe her ears.
"Why?"
"Well, you said I was young…"
She is young. A rough guess would put her over 20. When I, at over 50 years of age, went on the frigid Belzab expedition… Ah, right. I'm in my early teens now.
"Never mind. I'm hungry. Is there anything to eat?"
"Ah! Yes. Please tell me what you would like to eat. I will prepare it right away."
"Just bring whatever you have. I eat anything."
At my words, Elliot blinked her eyes. What did I get stuck on this time?
"Why? Is there nothing?"
"That is not the case. I was just thinking for a moment because you said you would eat anything. You don't eat things like cucumbers or fish, but those are the only things I can bring out right away."
It seemed the original owner of this body was quite a picky eater. At an age where he should be eating everything, what was he being picky about? Cucumbers and fish were more than enough. There was a reason why the guy was so skinny and sickly.
"It's fine. I plan to try everything, so show me what you've got. By the way, is there no meat?"
"Meat?"
Elliot was greatly surprised. No, why again? What's so strange about a kid asking for meat?
"Are you really going to eat meat?"
"Why? Did I not eat meat?"
"…Yes, you preferred vegetables over meat."
What did this bastard really eat to survive?
"My stamina is very low, isn't it? So, don't you think I need to eat a lot of meat to get better?"
"That's right. Your Highness needs to eat meat."
"Right, so go get a lot of meat. It's okay if it takes some time. A lot."
"Yes! A lot of meat!"
Elliot showed a bright expression for the first time. But it didn't last long. After taking a couple of steps, she looked at me and tilted her head as if something was strange.
Yeah, it must be strange. I feel strange too, so how much stranger must it be for you. But what can we do? We have to adapt and live with each other. So, I'll be in your care from now on.
* * *
A week had passed since I was reborn. No, was it 8 days? Anyway, in that time, I learned a lot through Elliot. That the royal family was in disarray, that my birth mother was dead, that the princes did not get along at all, and that I was treated like an illegitimate child.
'If I'm practically an abandoned child, why was I sent to the military academy?'
Was it because they didn't want to bother and just wanted me to grow up on my own? Since I was about 15, it wouldn't be unreasonable, but their intentions weren't there, which was despicable.
I was in an accident at the academy and hovered between life and death for five months, yet not a single person came to see me. The despicable acts didn't end there.
'So they're paying tribute to Manatium? By squeezing the people until they vomit blood?'
The nobles don't pay taxes. The priests who honor the gods also don't pay taxes. Taxes are solely the burden of the have-nots.
Knowing this, my hatred for Mathias grew even stronger. He was the one who had been with me since our days at the bottom. We had talked so much about creating a world where everyone was given a chance. We had talked about creating a world where everyone paid taxes together. But once he became part of the establishment, he refused to do so.
'So he must have crushed the popular uprisings with force. Killing even more people than were killed in the war.'
After I disappeared, Mathias seized control of the world with terror. While making everything about me a taboo. The rebels had risen up while mentioning my name… My shoulders inadvertently straightened.
-Do you have power? The voice of the powerless is empty. Courage is just recklessness. If you want to change the world, power comes first. Not some neighborhood squabble.
I remembered what Alfred had said. Yes, to change something, you need power. Whatever form it takes.
Let's build power. Let's build it stronger than before. For the best revenge I can exact on Mathias. Let's overturn this current world, which has become even more consolidated than the world back when I lived as Leonhardt.
Let's flip this world that Mathias has created. This time, for sure, let's achieve the dream I couldn't fulfill.
To do that, I need to check my body first.
"Now you look a bit more like a person."
After drinking the medicine Elliot brought me, I stood in front of the mirror. The body that had been so gaunt it looked like a mummy now had some flesh and muscle, making it look quite decent.
"Good."
It wasn't just the flesh and muscle that improved. My respiratory system seemed to have gained strength, as my breathing didn't get ragged even with somewhat intense movements.
At this rate, I wouldn't have to wander near death's door or collapse from exhaustion from doing what needed to be done.
Anyway…
"What really happened to this kid?"
Elliot only said it was an accident. But it didn't seem like a simple accident. Because the Mana Heart was shattered. And it wasn't just shattered. The broken pieces of the Mana Heart were scattered around the heart. The fact that he was alive was a miracle in itself.
"I'll look into it later. I need to sort out the pieces… how should I do this."
If I gathered just a little bit of mana, the broken pieces would move and hover precariously around my heart. If I were to operate mana in earnest, the pieces might tear up my heart and have me shaking hands with the grim reaper. No, that would definitely happen.
But I couldn't just leave the broken Mana Heart as it was. I would slowly die because of the absorbed mana.
The mana obtained from nature is mixed with impure energy. The place that refines this and makes it usable is the Mana Heart. Since that Mana Heart is broken, the absorbed mana can't be refined.
And since it can't gather in the Mana Heart, the impure mana accumulates like dust throughout the body. The accumulated mana then rots and adversely affects the body.
"It would be one thing if I never had a Mana Heart to begin with, but in this situation, there's no solution."
So I have to burn every single piece of the shattered Mana Heart, but those pieces are too close to my heart.
"If I'm not careful, I might burn my heart…"
If it were my original self, I could have done it more easily than picking my nose, as effortlessly as breathing, but this current body wasn't originally mine, so there was no guarantee it would go as intended. However, I had no choice.
What else could I do? If it doesn't work, I have to make it work. Who do you think I am?