IBTPCS 09

Chapter 09

“Your Highness, today you have studies in imperial governance, ancient languages, and military science.”

Crown Prince Michael, who would succeed the throne, had been subjected to high-intensity education from a young age.

“Make him fit to be a proper successor as soon as possible.”

This was due to the Emperor’s command to complete the Crown Prince as a candidate for the throne as quickly as possible.

Crown Prince Michael entered formal crown prince education unusually early, studying subjects that most imperial family members would only learn from adolescence onward.

“Oh, oh! Your Majesty! Crown Prince Michael is undoubtedly a genius.”

“Is that so?”

The problem was that Crown Prince Michael, with his extraordinary talent, absorbed the level of education far beyond his age as if it were all his own. And that, from a general perspective, was the beginning of misfortune.

“Then we can move the schedule forward.”

“Pardon? But Your Majesty… His Highness the Crown Prince is already taking so many lessons…”

“Quiet. Who was it that just said the Crown Prince was exceptional? Are you saying you lied to me?”

“Th-that’s not it… How could I possibly dare to lie to Your Majesty.”

“Then there’s no problem at all. Or is there?”

“……Yes. Your Majesty.”

Emperor Dietrich was a figure who contributed greatly to creating Michael’s desolate childhood, and his first act was to command that the Crown Prince’s already early-starting education be accelerated even further.

The Crown Prince’s education supervisor was put in a difficult position. The Crown Prince was already spending most of his time receiving education comparable to that of an adult.

And sufficient sleep or time for play to foster emotional development had long since disappeared without any room to intervene.

‘Even for a fully grown adult, this schedule would be harsh, yet to make it even faster…’

The educator’s conscience brought a moment of hesitation, but the Emperor’s command was absolute.

In the end, the education supervisor changed the educational schedule according to Emperor Dietrich’s words.

“Your Highness. This morning you have geometry and geography lessons, followed by a discussion session with an invited philosopher in the late morning. From the afternoon, you have law, military science, and astronomy education scheduled. The military science session includes an outdoor excursion for cavalry tactics.”

From early morning lessons to assignments that stretched into the dead of night. It was not a schedule that an immature young body could endure.

The excessively packed timetable lashed Crown Prince Michael without a moment’s rest.

Due to extremely minimal sleep, Crown Prince Michael accepted chronic fatigue as a matter of course. It was fortunate that he was naturally of sturdy constitution—if he hadn’t been born with exceptional physical strength, he would have collapsed hundreds of times over by now.

‘Still, he follows along without issue.’

Even those who had worried at first gradually lost interest as the Crown Prince carried out the set schedule without problems.

But they didn’t know.

That while digesting the heavy academic load, the Crown Prince had missed the most crucial period for learning human emotions.

Crown Prince Michael came to view all humans without emotion, exactly as he had learned in his imperial governance studies.

For a set purpose, he would not hesitate to use any means necessary. His thoroughly efficiency-based way of thinking knew no human compassion or morality.

But because he successfully achieved all the tasks given to him, people did not recognize the Crown Prince’s deficiencies.

“Your Highness, the answer to this problem…”

And by the time his teacher, who had observed the Crown Prince for a long period, vaguely sensed that something was wrong—

“Why did you choose this method?”

“Isn’t cutting off information the answer?”

“That’s correct. But there was only one spy—why did you write that an entire village should be annihilated?”

“That’s the most efficient. There’s the clue that this is a situation where rapid intelligence warfare is important, isn’t there?”

“That’s true. However, please consider it as if it were a real situation. If it were a matter involving actual human lives, what would you have done…”

“……?”

By then, it was already too late.

“What’s the difference?”

In the end, Crown Prince Michael grew into the bud of a cold-hearted ruler who knew no mercy.

“Pardon?”

“Didn’t I tell you? Now that you’ve completed your crown prince lessons, it’s time for you to assist with my state affairs.”

Michael was not pleased by that at all.

Under normal circumstances, entrusting actual state affairs to the crown prince would be no different from proof that he had earned the Emperor’s trust. Therefore, the Emperor’s permission to participate in governance would have been a glorious honor.

But Michael well knew the true intent behind the Emperor’s words.

“There happens to be a matter brought up from a local territory on this agenda. The Crown Prince shall take charge of this and resolve it well.”

The Emperor, who didn’t want to leave the imperial capital where his lover resided, was dumping all matters requiring travel onto his young child.

“Looking at the results of your resolution of the last agenda item, it seems the Crown Prince is now fully capable of handling this level. Don’t you agree?”

And the Emperor began increasingly passing off all the tedious tasks he didn’t want to do himself to the Crown Prince.

The Emperor didn’t want to devote much time to state affairs. Claiming that experiencing it in advance would be good for the crown prince, he used the Crown Prince as a proxy to carry out his own work.

That day, too, he had called the Crown Prince to dump another such trivial plan on him.

Summoned to the tea time that the Emperor and his consort held, Michael stared silently at his teacup without any particular expression.

“I hear you’ve been assisting Dietrich and already handling a lot of work? That’s impressive for someone still so young.”

The only one who spoke to him during this tedious time was the Emperor’s lover, Anat. The Emperor himself had no particular interest in the Crown Prince.

Unable to ignore the words of his father’s beloved in his presence, Michael gave a brief reply.

“It’s nothing special.”

“How modest. Ah, that aspect of you isn’t like Dietrich at all.”

Anat seemed to be trying, in her own way, to show care for her lover’s child, acting excessively kind whenever such occasions arose. But Michael didn’t particularly appreciate her attitude either.

“Your face really does resemble Dietrich when he was young, though.”

Because when she looked at Michael, her gaze seemed to overlay someone else rather than him.

Whenever her eyes traced his face as if superimposing a familiar visage, the Crown Prince would feel a rare, distinct sense of displeasure.

“That one?”

“Dietrich.”

“Anat, you shouldn’t be eyeing other men besides me. You promised to look only at me, didn’t you?”

“Oh dear. Other men, you say…… He’s your son, you know.”

Especially when his father seemed to view him as a man eyeing his lover, it made Michael feel like spitting out his tea.

Even normally, the way his biological father looked at his son was hardly that of a father, but at times like this, his father’s appearance was especially repulsive.

“Ah, Anat. I’ve decided to release the beastkin slaves as you wished.”

“Oh, really? What a relief. I felt so sorry for them after watching that play last time.”

“Of course. How could I not grant whatever my angel desires?”

And this was precisely the reason the Emperor had called him.

“So, Crown Prince, go investigate the situation of the beastkin slaves and come back with a plan.”

—

* * *

—

‘Let’s release the animals in our hearts because they’re pitiful.’

‘Let’s release the beastkin slaves we saw in that play because they’re pitiful.’

Unlike those simple words, how much time did it take to implement that task?

Moreover, there wasn’t even a compelling reason that made this mission absolutely necessary to accomplish. With no regard whatsoever for the consequences that would arise from it.

It wasn’t the first time he’d been mobilized like this for the whims of the Emperor’s consort, but when he saw firsthand the process of taking on this task and how meaningless it was, Crown Prince Michael felt a faint irritation rising.

‘What a waste of effort…….’

For someone who rarely experienced emotional agitation, this was considerable displeasure.

Due to the suddenly thrown topic of abolishing beastkin slavery, he had come out to investigate the current situation so that the sudden systemic change could be implemented gradually without causing major shocks to the empire’s economy and environment.

What he hadn’t expected was to encounter the peculiar white-haired girl at the shop he visited for a pre-inspection to check the realities that could be missed in reports alone.

The girl exuded a somehow unique atmosphere.

Unlike the other slaves who tensed up at the appearance of a seemingly high-status figure entering with the merchant, she was different. It wasn’t just because of her unusual hair color.

When everyone else was shrinking back with frightened eyes, she was looking straight at him.

‘……?’

Michael felt a strange sensation. It seemed as if a hint of welcome, as if she had been waiting for him, flickered across the girl’s round eyes. Even though there was no reason for that, as they were meeting for the first time.

‘……Was she waiting for someone?’

Perhaps she had been waiting for some figure who resembled him. A childhood friend left behind in her hometown, or something of the sort. Having another person superimposed onto him was something he’d become quite familiar with, thanks to that damned Emperor’s tea time.

“…….”

For some reason, the mere assumption that the girl was looking for someone else in him made him feel bad. Perhaps the previous tea time at the imperial palace had soured his mood more than he’d realized.

Crown Prince Michael spoke in an unusually sullen voice.