The Wastrel Prince Becomes Ruthless Chapter 82

The uninvited visit of the Second Prince Arencar. Bernid also quickly recognized the owner of that voice.

“Why the hell did that lunatic come here first thing in the morning?”

“We’ll find out now. Wait—stay out of sight with Terrien for a bit. Actually, no, there’s no need to stay here at all. Just go about your usual work.”

“Yeah, I’d rather not get involved with that bastard Arencar anyway. Good luck.”

Leaving Bernid in the room, Yuwon followed the direction where Arencar’s voice could be heard.

‘I hope nothing’s happened….’

If the Second Prince was causing a commotion, the attendants of the Fifth Prince’s Palace, who were only trying to receive him with proper etiquette, could get hurt. Worried, Yuwon hurried to the source of the Second Prince’s voice.

“You do have sharp ears. Knew you’d show up if I called.”

Arencar greeted Yuwon with a sly smile.

“Y-Your Highness…! His Highness the Second Prince suddenly arrived, so….”

The attendants were flustered before the Second Prince, but fortunately, nothing Yuwon had feared had happened.

For Arencar’s standards, his entrance was quite restrained.

“Shouting in broad daylight… Have you been drinking? Drinking is your freedom, but if you come all the way to my residence and behave like this, it becomes troublesome for me.”

“Brat, it’s been a while since you’ve seen your older brother. At least pretend you’re happy, even if it’s a lie.”

“I am happy to see you. Now go inside.”

Yuwon gave a half-hearted greeting and turned around to walk back the way he came. Or at least, that was what he tried to do. Just as he turned his head, Arencar grabbed him.

“So? Did what I told you last time help at all?”

The Second Prince brought up the matter from quite some time ago.

Back in the South, he had personally come to inform Yuwon that the Fourth Prince was targeting him. And that information indeed had helped Yuwon.

Yuwon glanced back at him and let out a sigh.

“Sigh… Come inside. But next time, please arrive more decently.”

Hearing Yuwon invite him in, the Second Prince curled his lips up into a grin.

“This is already me being extremely decent, you fool. You still don’t know me?”

“I don’t. And I don’t want to.”

“Damn brat… You’re cold. You weren’t this bad back before the Fifth Prince’s faction grew so big. You at least talked back properly.”

“Do you want to go back as you are right now?”

“Go back? Don’t say things like that. Brat. When you say it, it sounds like a death threat. Makes me scared.”

It was a joke aimed at Yuwon’s martial prowess. Yuwon let out a helpless laugh at Arencar’s ever-consistent behavior.

“Heh-heh….”

The two moved to the guest room of the Fifth Prince’s Palace.

Once they moved, the two sat facing each other with a small table between them.

“What kind of tea would you like?”

“No tea. Just water.”

“Then I’ll bring you some cold water. Ah, and how’s your arm? I glanced earlier, and it really does seem more lively than before.”

Arencar lifted his scrawny right arm, waving it limply. Still, perhaps treatment was progressing—his arm now twitched a little even without the help of his left.

“It’s better than when I was in the South, but who knows. According to the priests treating me, even if I recover, I should forget about ever holding a sword again. Well, we’ll see about that. But that’s not what matters right now.”

“…?”

Yuwon offered tea and asked about his condition, but Arencar refused both and jumped straight into why he had come.

“That bastard First and that sly Fourth—something’s off. I think the two of them joined forces.”

“Oh, I see. And?”

This was not the reaction Arencar expected. His body heated with frustration at Yuwon’s bland response.

“…They joined forces, I said. Don’t you have any thoughts about that?”

“If I crush one, the other will immediately cut ties and run. Since when have alliances ever worked between our brothers? Isn’t that right?”

“Well, sure, you’re not wrong. But before that, the two of them will combine their strength and try to trample you first. Can you handle that?”

“They can try. And there’s no need to worry. Those two aren’t the type to simply cut and run when one of them weakens. They’ll be too busy waiting for a chance to smash the other in the back.”

“Well, that’s true, but….”

Yuwon’s attitude—completely unbothered by the Crown Prince and Fourth Prince working together—caught Arencar off guard.

‘This brat… I knew he had guts, but did his guts grow even more? This isn’t good….’

Among the five princes, none showed emotion as transparently as the Second Prince.

And unlike he had claimed earlier, Yuwon actually understood Arencar very well. Yuwon now stood far above him in clarity.

‘Your problem isn’t that they’re targeting me. It’s that before they do, you might get eaten first. That’s why you came to me.’

Truthfully, Yuwon wasn’t bluffing.

He genuinely felt no threat from a Crown Prince–Fourth Prince alliance.

‘If they came one at a time, I’d at least stay alert… but those two, as cunning as they are, joining hands? Ridiculous. They’ll pretend to target me while waiting for a chance to devour each other. And if that proves hard, they’ll go after the easiest prey first.’

And the one they would target first in that situation—

“Still, shouldn’t you be at least a little cautious? It doesn’t hurt to be careful, right?”

—was the man sitting right in front of him: the Second Prince Arencar.

‘Looks like he wants to use the Crown Prince and Fourth Prince’s alliance as an excuse to join hands with me and catch his breath… Should I pretend not to notice?’

Among the five princes born of Aphahiel, excluding Yuwon himself and the now fondly annoying Third Prince, the remaining were the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the Fourth Prince. Yuwon weighed the three remaining princes in his mind.

‘If I consider my current strength, I don’t really need any alliance….’

If there was anything that weighed a little on his mind, it was what would happen after the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince devoured the Second Prince’s faction.

The best outcome would have been those two tearing into each other while stripping apart the Second Prince’s power base, but that was nothing more than Yuwon’s wishful thinking.

‘For the Fourth Prince to match strength with the Crown Prince, he would at least need Arencar’s arm shattered and then swallow all the staggering remnants of the Second Prince’s faction alone, but with the Crown Prince watching like a hawk, that would never happen….’

Yuwon’s gaze examined the Second Prince sitting right before him.

‘Once I tear this bastard apart, the next target is me. Hm….’

Even while Yuwon fell briefly into thought, Arencar strung together this and that, subtly—no, blatantly—proposing an alliance to Yuwon.

He might have believed he was being subtle, but Yuwon, who had long since perceived his intentions, saw right through him.

Yuwon listened to Arencar’s words with one ear and let them flow out the other. He had fallen into his own deep contemplation.

‘Compared to the First or the Fourth, the Second is the more trustworthy one… but should I take him in or not?’

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t that the Second Prince was trustworthy.

Yuwon had no confidence—no confidence in himself not to be deceived when the Second Prince later changed his mind and tried to drown him.

After a short but intense deliberation, Yuwon made his decision.

‘Sunmangchihan (脣亡齒寒). When the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold. I’ll accept this proposal. At the very least, until I rip that bastard Mariel apart and kill him, the Second Prince’s faction remaining intact benefits me. And even if he becomes an obstacle later, Arencar is the easiest one to deal with….’

If Arencar had read Yuwon’s thoughts, he would likely have exploded in fury. But of course, that never happened.

“I understand your words well, Brother.”

“Hm?”

“You mean we should form an alliance to counter the alliance between those two. Isn’t that it?”

“Well… if you put it that way, yes.”

“Fine, let’s do it. That alliance of ours.”

Yuwon readily extended his hand first to request a handshake.

Seeing the hand Yuwon offered, Arencar curved a faint smile at the corner of his lips.

“Good. First, let’s grind those two thorns in our eyes into pulp, and then settle the score.”

Yuwon and Arencar clasped their left hands together for the handshake.

Under the principle that the enemy of one’s enemy was an ally, the four princes began a promise-less cohabitation with their sworn foes.

The air was solemn, and here and there stood ornaments crafted in the likeness of the divine.

Gathered in that place were those who served Lehl most closely.

All of them wore identical clerical robes and had their hats pulled low, making it nearly impossible to distinguish who was who from appearance alone.

“I’m sure you have all already heard why we gathered today.”

“…I heard that all contact with the First Sword Saint was severed and that his whereabouts cannot be determined at all. Is this truly factual?”

“…Hard to believe, but it is true.”

At that heavy answer, sighs rose from various parts of the round table.

“Ah, what a terrifying matter… is the Evil God truly returning…!”

“To think the Sword Saint could be struck down… and that an Aphahiel Prince is truly…!”

Among the men seated at the round table, a particularly calm man raised his hand to quiet the commotion.

“It is still too early for conclusions.”

The man’s measured composure only grated the others’ nerves.

“The Fifth Sword Saint verified it, and the First Sword Saint went to confirm it himself and vanished. What more proof do we need?”

The man shook his head.

“He is missing. It could be that some unavoidable circumstance arose, causing temporary loss of contact.”

“You’re seriously saying that in times like these? The circumstantial evidence that the Fifth Prince of Aphahiel is the Evil God’s return is overflowing. The Sword Saint vanished! And not just anyone—the First Sword Saint! And you want us to stand by and watch because there is no physical proof?”

“When did I say we should stand by? I did not say such a thing. Rather, I believe that if we are to handle this, we must do so with certainty. I too am but one of the faithful who serve Lehl, just like you.”

“…You said you would make it more certain?”

“Yes. As you all know, the First Sword Saint and I have been inseparable friends since childhood. Of course, personal sentiment is not the main force behind this undertaking. Yet to claim that none of my personal feelings are involved would also be a lie.”

Those who knew of the long history between the First Sword Saint and the man shut their mouths. Given the gravity of the matter, the atmosphere circling the round table grew heavy.

“I intend to formally request His Holiness the Pope to dispatch an Inquisition.”

“Hmm… If that happens, our relationship with the Aphahiel Empire may be severed permanently.”

Even those who spoke nothing looked visibly reluctant, as though that was the one thing they wanted to avoid.

“The same people who moments ago asked me if we should simply watch, are now silent before me—is that right?”

“Ahem….”

“Do not worry. This is for the judgment of the Evil God. Whatever choice we make, the Divine will watch over our path.”

The Divine’s protection! No one present could oppose the weight held by those words.

“Then, does everyone agree?”

Out of twelve, excluding the First Sword Saint and two others absent due to unavoidable circumstances, ten remained. All ten seated at the table raised their hands.

Some raised their hands immediately, others hesitated and raised them late, but in the end, all present voted.

“All in favor except those absent. Then we proceed.”