The meal time, which had become rough due to Seria’s trolling, finally came to an end.
Actually, it almost didn’t end, but surprisingly, the Emperor stepped in to mediate.
I was a bit surprised because I didn’t expect him to intervene personally, but after hearing what he said, I could roughly understand why he did it.
“Phew… Well, it’s always been like this, and it’s quite annoying, but let’s just move on for now. I didn’t invite you here with good intentions either.”
So, he admitted that he had put me in this position to make me uncomfortable from the start.
How dare he. But in the end, I got to eat something delicious, so it turned out well.
But… why did he have to say it out loud? He could have just let it slide.
“I heard about what happened at the Royal Guard. You had a good match with Duke Lux, didn’t you?”
Ah, so that’s why.
It seems the Emperor was concerned about the duel I had with the Royal Guard member earlier in the day.
He said it was a good match, but in reality, he probably heard it described in a way that made me look even better.
Whatever it was, it seems I definitely caught the Emperor’s attention.
The name he mentioned was someone I knew too.
‘So that person was Duke Lux.’
I knew as soon as I heard the name. The knight I faced was no ordinary person.
I didn’t recognize him immediately because his face didn’t appear in the game, but I couldn’t not know the name Lux.
A man who served as the deputy commander of the Royal Guard and took the lead in the final battle.
He might not be as strong as the top-tier characters in the game yet… but the fact that he was mentioned like this means he was already being recognized at this point.
So, I showed off by fighting someone like that.
I thought I’d stand out, but this is beyond my imagination.
‘I should have realized it when he used that golden sword aura that’s hard to learn.’
It was a mistake to brush it off lightly, thinking the Royal Guard must have many talented people.
“…A duel with Duke Lux?”
“Brother. Did we mess with something we shouldn’t have?”
“W-we haven’t done anything yet. We can explain ourselves.”
The three guys who were trying to pick on me reacted like that.
Ah, come to think of it, the person training those three right now was Duke Lux? No wonder they reacted like that.
“Anyway. Our brothers have no guts, and it’s a big problem.”
Not understanding her brothers’ situation, Seria just clicked her tongue and said that.
But… it’s actually unavoidable.
Her brothers are surprisingly similar to the Emperor.
From their appearance to their talents, they’re almost like clones of the Emperor, and because their strength follows the Emperor’s, they’re never outstanding.
That’s why they didn’t even show their faces in the final chapter.
All they did was stand in the corner of Seria’s illustration with worried expressions, and that says it all.
Seria, who inherited her mother’s talent, kept on chattering without knowing their sorrow, and it seemed to hit a nerve as the first guy suddenly jumped up from his seat.
Then, boldly, he picked up a table knife and pointed it at me.
“Seria’s talking like that, I can’t just sit still.”
“Brother! What are you trying to do?”
“Brothers, as men, there are times when you have to fight even if you know you’ll lose.”
His words were cool… but the situation and the fact that he was holding a table knife made it totally uncool.
The surprising thing here was that the Emperor and Empress didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping their eldest son’s antics.
Instead, they just shook their heads as if to say, “Here he goes again.”
“Sigh… really. What are we supposed to do if the Crown Prince acts like this even in front of guests?”
Even Seria didn’t seem particularly keen on stopping him.
Is this really how it usually is? Is this the Crown Prince who’s supposed to inherit the Emperor’s throne?
Is this Empire really okay like this? Well, he’s a spitting image of the Emperor, so he’ll probably manage…
“Rudion, he’s not usually like this in front of others. I think he must really like you. Please humor him.”
In the end, Seria seemed to have given up and even said that.
Come to think of it, no matter what I did, she always just went along with it. Was she just used to weird stuff?
Whatever it was, dealing with that knife was the priority.
As I said, his skills probably aren’t outstanding, but since he graduated from the Academy long ago, his stats must be pretty high.
Of course, even that wouldn’t be ridiculously high like the Emperor’s… but compared to my stats, it would definitely be overwhelming.
So, I couldn’t just take a hit to save face.
‘Let’s see…’
First off, my posture wasn’t good enough to dodge the Crown Prince’s knife.
I could probably dodge it, but if I did, I’d end up kicking the table in front of me.
The plates and utensils were still there, and if I kicked them, it would be a mess.
So, I had no choice but to pick up the fork I had been fiddling with.
And then… I just held it up against the Crown Prince’s onslaught of table knife swordsmanship.
“Take this!”
Special feature of dagger techniques: If you swing wildly without any combo, all motions can be parried.
Special feature of forks: They have a parry function.
Thunk-
As a result, I managed to send the Crown Prince flying with a fork parry.
It was lucky that I was holding a fork; if it had been a knife, I would have definitely flipped the table.
“Ahhh!”
But the Crown Prince’s momentum as he flew away was unusual.
Maybe because I parried with a fork, he flew way too far.
I don’t know if it’s a bug, but in the game, forks are classified as blunt weapons.
Blunt weapon parries are known for their strong knockback.
So, maybe that’s why. The Crown Prince, bounced off by my fork…
There was no sign of stopping.
“This is a bit much.”
I didn’t plan to go this far.
If this continues, it’s clear that I’ll end up showing off my strength to the royal family, telling them not to mess with me.
But… what just happened?
Just before the Crown Prince hit the wall, he suddenly stopped.
What? Was the Crown Prince hiding his strength?
As I was having such a foolish thought, Seria’s voice softly reached my ears.
“…You’re really an idiot.”
That probably wasn’t directed at me. It seems Seria had stopped him with magic.
“Seria, you can do that now?”
“I learned it by watching mom during the day.”
“You learned just by watching? That’s my daughter.”
“It’s nothing special.”
After stopping the accident, Seria exchanged a few words with the Empress and then slowly lowered the Crown Prince, who had been floating in the air, to the ground.
He returned to his seat in a very awkward and clumsy manner.
“…Brother, I’m very sorry.”
“I know, so just be quiet.”
“But your spirit was impressive.”
“I said be quiet.”
“Yes, understood.”
The second prince failed to comfort him, and an awkward silence followed.
The silence continued until the palace servants finished clearing the dining table.
Afterward, the Emperor cautiously spoke.
“It’s even more surprising to see it in person. I couldn’t tell what you did at all.”
“I didn’t intend to show off.”
“Would you consider working at the Royal Palace after graduating from the Academy?”
Suddenly, he jumps in. Blinking… Well, he’s the Emperor, so he doesn’t need to turn on the lights.
‘The Royal Palace…’
I haven’t really thought about what to do after graduating from the Academy.
But… working at the Royal Palace doesn’t really appeal to me.
Of course, being part of the Royal Palace would mean a successful life.
You could gain both money and fame.
But with my current abilities, even if I joined through force, I’d probably just be part of the knight order, and that would surely bring various problems.
Evasion and parrying are skills suitable for my survival, but they have too many flaws to step forward and save someone.
“It’s an honor to be offered, but I…”
“What are you worried about? Father. Even if I don’t work here, I can always come to help if you ask, right?”
So I was about to politely decline, but Seria suddenly chimed in with that.
Why is she deciding for me? I was about to argue, but upon further thought, it seemed plausible, so I couldn’t deny it.
But… it seemed like she was trying to score points, and then he said something strange.
“No matter how good you make yourself look, I can’t hand Seria over to you.”
“Ah, Dad! What are you saying all of a sudden! It’s not like that, so don’t misunderstand!!”
Seria was flabbergasted by the Emperor’s absurd remark, seemingly forgetting to even call him “Father.”
“Seria! Don’t be fooled! All men are wolves!”
“But Dad, you’re a man too!”
Looking at it this way, the Emperor and the Crown Prince are exactly the same. The way they suddenly go off the rails when it comes to Seria, anyone can tell they’re father and son.
“Ugh. This is exhausting. I don’t think there’s anything more to say, so let’s wrap this up.”
Finally, after the Empress dropped that bombshell, the situation calmed down, and they were able to leave.
—
The Rubetia Royal Palace. This was one of those places you rarely get to visit in the game.
In fact, if you follow the standard route, you only enter the Royal Palace three times.
And that’s only near the end of the game, once every time you accomplish something major.
So, there was no way to know about the palace’s internal structure, the hidden problems lurking within, or the secrets tucked away.
Of course, that’s only if you stick to the standard route.
If you take a different path… that is, if you walk the path of the Great Thief, you can enter as many times as you want.
Sure, the moment you get caught walking that path, you’re thrown into a hardcore difficulty mode where everything goes haywire, but even that was just part of the fun. I tried it over and over, ransacking the palace’s secrets.
So, honestly, I could confidently say I knew the palace better than anyone.
Better than the Emperor who ruled it, even.
And… the biggest secret hidden in the palace starts in the guest room.
Yeah, the room I’m in right now.
“Alright, make sure to tell me when you’re done reading.”
“Sure.”
*Creak—*
*Thud.*
I set down the “Journey of the Stars” series Seria brought me on the desk next to me.
There’s something I want to check first, so I’ll save the reading for later.
I casually push aside one of the bookshelves in the guest room and find a hidden button behind it.
I don’t know how it works, but since it has no physical form, it’s impossible to find unless you know it’s there.
An invisible, intangible button. You just have to believe it’s there and press it.
And it doesn’t activate immediately—you have to hold it down for about two minutes… which explains why no one’s found it and it’s just been sitting there.
*Click—*
*Hummm—*
“Whoa, it actually worked.”
Soon, the hidden button activates, and a large hole appears where the button was.
It wasn’t just a hidden space. If it were, someone would’ve found and looted it ages ago.
This was more like a portal, something magical. If I had to compare it, it felt similar to a Rift.
“I only opened it to check, but…”
Now that it’s really open, I can’t help but want to go in.
It’s a situation no man can resist. A secret space opens up, and you’re just gonna walk away?
*Grrr—* I can’t hold back! Let’s just go in and see!
