Chapter 1

# Chapter 1: Crown Prince Alondre – The More You Do, The More You Get

The capital of the Izern Empire, Karlastia.

Known as the ‘Radiant City,’ this historical land boasts several splendid and magnificent landmarks that live up to its name.

Among these is the Jinun Palace, the residence of the empire’s Crown Prince. Despite not being the Emperor’s residence, its size dwarfs the palaces of kings from other nations.

The origin of its name comes from its golden roof.

Within its towering walls lies a vast garden and pond that rivals a forest in size. The buildings are not a single structure but consist of a main hall and multiple annexes. Equipped with the latest magical armor, a hundred royal knights guard the palace along with five hundred auxiliary personnel, including secretaries, gardeners, chefs, and maids, all residing within the palace.

The amount of staff dedicated to serving one person may seem excessive at first glance.

However, not a single servant or retainer working at Jinun Palace considers it wasteful.

In fact, they boldly claim that even this amount is insufficient treatment for the Crown Prince.

Alondre Arkcand Aleizern.

For the Crown Prince, recognized as the most talented and virtuous figure in Izern’s royal history, investing more funds and human resources into his care is seen as entirely justified.

On the other hand, when the Crown Prince himself heard this, his reaction was:

“Are you crazy? You’re just giving me more work!”

Truthfully.

Sincerely.

From the depths of his heart, the Crown Prince rejected such notions with disdain and frustration.

Because, logically, the more people he had under him, the more budget allocated to him, the more it just translated to more work.

While those who seek power and influence might enjoy managing and expanding such resources, Alondre was different.

“Whenever people around me praised me for doing well, I should’ve resisted joining in with ‘Yeah, I’m doing great’…”

Alondre was a reincarnated soul—though not the type who remembered their past life only after getting sick or suffering a head injury at the age of ten. No, he was the type who retained every memory of his past life from the moment of his rebirth.

Having full consciousness in a child’s body was quite perplexing, but one thing was certain:

Regardless, being endowed with a clearer sense of purpose at a young age allowed him to focus on his goals without wasting time.

Once he realized that he had been reincarnated into a somewhat bizarrely overdeveloped medieval fantasy world and discovered that he was the Crown Prince of one of the strongest empires of this era, he secretly rejoiced.

In his past life, Alondre had quite a romantic attachment to the fantasy genre, and being a Crown Prince in a world where class distinctions were openly practiced was akin to being born with a platinum spoon instead of a golden one.

With such a perfect background, it would be a shame to waste it!

To avoid being metaphorically like a pearl thrown before swine, Alondre spared no effort.

He diligently attended the private lessons given by his tutors and utilized memories from his past life to experiment with various things.

Looking back, this was when things went awry.

“Your Highness Alondre! Generating aura at such a young age—what a truly remarkable talent! Let us now learn to channel your will into a sword!”

“Your Highness Alondre! What incredible scholarly achievements! I am honored beyond measure as your teacher. Next, I shall deliver lectures on ancient literature and rhetoric!”

“Your Highness Alondre! The four-cycle farming method you proposed has met with great success! Increasing food production without using magic or blessings is an accomplishment that will be recorded in history!”

“Your Highness Alondre! Do everything! Anything! Everything!”

Whether serving in the military or holding the title of Crown Prince, one common factor is that the more you do, the more tasks pile up.

Just as in the military, one might become overwhelmed by endless tasks after being labeled as an ace, the Crown Prince’s diligent and talented subordinates lit a fire of ambition: “If you can handle this much, then you must handle even more!”

Realizing something was amiss, Alondre tried to back away cautiously, but the Emperor delivered the final blow.

“Given that the Crown Prince possesses exemplary character and serves as an outstanding role model, this is truly a blessing for the empire. However, knowledge cannot be fully mastered solely through classroom learning. In order for the Crown Prince’s talents to fully blossom, I have decided to assign him to handle practical duties. May the ministers follow this directive.”

Some of the Emperor’s workload was transferred to Alondre, and the ministers praised this as a sign of the Emperor’s favor.

This was because, in a vast organization, the authority to make decisions equates to power.

The Emperor handing over some of his responsibilities to the Crown Prince essentially symbolized the partial transfer of imperial power to him.

Although Alondre was the eldest son and already the strongest contender for the throne, this assignment further solidified his position as heir—rendering it nearly unshakable by any ordinary means.

Though everyone around him congratulated him, Alondre could not rejoice.

Because, inevitably, this meant more work.

If they were going to entrust him with practical duties, why not cut back on the classes, he wondered? But no, they insisted on making him study everything!

From waking up at dawn to going to bed late at night, it was a cycle of work, study, and more work.

‘Is THIS what fantasy is all about?’

Where were the adventures?

The meetings with new and exciting characters?

The epic quest to thwart a massive conspiracy threatening the world?

What good was it to be able to wield aura if he was never given the chance to practice or use it outside of training?

At least back when he was only receiving education as a future ruler, there might’ve been a chance to escape the relentless cycle.

Back then, if he wanted, he could’ve skipped classes or acted disinterested without any immediate consequence, as it was solely his personal issue.

But now, with actual imperial duties entrusted to him by the Emperor, things were different.

Negligence or disorderly handling of these tasks would not only provoke the Emperor’s wrath but also harm those under him, since he himself was now the ultimate decision-maker.

Though Alondre had somewhat adapted to his new life, his mind wasn’t yet conditioned with the “it’s only natural for subjects to serve their ruler” mentality.

Yet, he couldn’t bear to subject his subordinates to any hardships due to his own dissatisfaction.

But then, was he condemned to a life of endless work?

On a dark night,

with already limited sleep, Alondre sought out the Imperial Palace’s library in an effort to find some form of entertainment to lighten his mood.

“Your Highness, what are you doing at such an hour?”

“Sleep won’t come, and I wish to read quietly. Please avoid any unnecessary noise.”

Speaking in his now fully accustomed elegant tone, Alondre gave a command to the palace guard on patrol before perusing the library.

He was disappointed.

“…Of course, there’s no decent adventure story to be found.”

While there were numerous scholarly and informative books that might’ve interested experts, there were none that aimed solely to entertain the reader.

Though he had hoped the Imperial Palace’s library—said to predate even the First Emperor—would contain some interesting reads, his search yielded nothing.

Considering how only royalty had access to this library, how many people would bother to read here at all?

Books require consistent maintenance, but since ancient magical arrays handled everything from humidity to dust control automatically, this library had essentially been neglected for centuries. Records showed that the last new book was added over a hundred years ago.

Just as Alondre prepared to sigh in resignation at his failed attempt to find some temporary distraction,

“Hmm?”

He sensed something unusual.

The magical arrays, designed to control humidity and prevent dust, felt slightly warped in a specific area.

Approaching the source, Alondre investigated a seemingly ordinary bookshelf.

Manipulating it for a moment,

with a click, the bookshelf moved aside, revealing a hidden door behind.

Alondre paused in contemplation.

A rational part of him suggested: “This is suspicious. The safest course would be to notify others and have it investigated. If something were to happen to me as Crown Prince, the consequences could be grave.”

However, another part, a more adventurous one, overtook him.

“Chicken?”

“Why should I be?”

With a smirk, the Crown Prince proceeded to open the hidden door.

Unlike the expansive palace library, the concealed chamber was relatively modest in size.

At its center stood a pedestal on which rested a single red book, radiating a peculiar and ominous aura.

This aura was trapped within a circular magical array surrounding the pedestal, which, though still functional, showed signs of wear and tear, almost like a glass pane near the point of breaking.

‘A sealing magic array. Very refined craftsmanship. However, due to centuries of neglect, it has grown exceedingly weak. The strange flow of magic I sensed outside must be because of this.’

Several thoughts raced through Alondre’s mind, coalescing into a theory.

‘The First Emperor constructed this library. A hidden room. A sealed book. Could it be that, originally, this place was prepared to seal something, but over time, the knowledge of how to maintain it was lost? And thus, it was eventually abandoned?’

Dangerous.

But intriguing.

To the recent Alondre who had been buried under an endless stream of labor and education, the sight of this sealed tome was too alluring to resist.

‘The seal is weakened, implying the book’s power has also diminished significantly. This should be manageable, should it go awry.’

Determined, Alondre placed his hand on the book.

At the mere touch, the book unfolded on its own, releasing a red mist.

The mist coalesced to form the silhouette of an exceptionally beautiful woman.

Her voluptuous figure, wrapped in a peculiarly lustrous garment, her bat-like membrane wings, red horns, and lengthy tail. Her flowing black hair and ruby-like eyes exuded an alluring yet intimidating presence.

The vision, which would make heads turn on the street, spoke:

”—Thank you for awakening me. Would you, by any chance, have a wish you’d like to ask me to fulfill?”