Chapter 27

Crown Prince Alex once again checked his appearance in front of the mansion gate.

He confirmed his reflection with a hand mirror, and it was flawless.

Just in case he might be recognized, he had dyed his black hair, a symbol of the imperial family, to brown using a potion.

This was all part of Crown Prince Alex’s plan to teach Rupert, the manga artist, a lesson.

By pretending to be from the Somerset family, he would intentionally act rudely. If Rupert reacted with rudeness or anger…

Only then would he reveal his true identity and accuse him of insulting the royal family and himself as the crown prince.

If he visited openly, it would also be a straightforward opportunity to gauge Rupert’s true nature.

Of course, if they were judging rudeness, the crown prince’s sudden visit and subsequent anger would be far worse. But since rumors of him being a troublemaker were already widespread, such behavior wouldn’t seem too out of place.

“Hey! Is there nobody here?”

To prevent being treated with undue respect, he had only brought one knight disguised as an attendant.

The concept was prepared: he would pose as a local nobleman visiting the Somerset territory who needed lodging for the night.

Since it would be rude to turn away a visiting noble, they would likely invite him to stay overnight. Then, when he acted arrogantly, Rupert would surely lose his temper.

‘Thinking about teaching this arrogant guy a lesson already makes me feel better.’

Originally, the Somerset household had no connection to him, but now they were about to receive a reprimand for disgracing the royal family and ignoring the crown prince.

All because of Rupert Somerset, who had mocked him from behind the princess’s back in such an arrogant manner.

He wondered if the man would show the same attitude directly to him.

“Excuse me, what is your business here?”

Two soldiers guarding the mansion entrance questioned his identity.

With a nod to his disguised knight, Alex replied:

“This gentleman is Lord Lax, the eldest son of Baron Klagen from the west. He’s visiting Lord Somerset and has come to pay his respects.”

“Greetings, Lord Lax. Might I see your identification token?”

Click

For this purpose, Alex produced a forged ID token he’d commissioned from the mage tower – indistinguishable from the real thing.

After the soldier’s inspection confirmed its authenticity, the mansion gates opened and one of them led him inside.

‘This country noble’s residence isn’t bad,’

While comparing it directly to capital estates was unfair given different land circumstances, it was still quite impressive in size.

“What is that over there?”

But Alex’s attention was drawn elsewhere.

Two large single-story buildings on the estate grounds stood out strangely.

Even though it was nighttime, lights were on and loud noises could be heard from within.

“Oh, those are factories for producing books and goods.”

“Why are there factories at a mansion?”

“Well, it was Master’s decision…”

Strange indeed. Typically, a noble’s estate would feature gardens or perhaps a zoo with rare animals.

Why build something so noisy and disruptive on mansion grounds?

Surely not because of land value concerns.

‘Probably for security reasons. Quite cautious, I see.’

He had heard some rumors about Rupert.

Completely unlike his fairy tale creations, he was said to be extremely cold-blooded, having turned his own father, Count Somerset, into a puppet.

That was quite remarkable.

In the world of nobility, such rumors could become fatal flaws for one’s honor later on. Yet Rupert had boldly seized control of the family without fear.

“Welcome, Lord Lax Clasen. We sincerely welcome you to the Somerset household.”

As they arrived at the mansion, a butler appeared to greet them.

“I apologize for disturbing you at this late hour. I’d like to pay my respects to the head of the household – would that be possible?”

“I’m sorry, both our master and young master are currently out. Unfortunately, I must entertain you in their stead.”

Tch.

There was no point trying to provoke rudeness from a butler.

Even if the butler got angry at his rudeness, they could easily cut ties by claiming poor education or hiring decisions.

“Ah, seems I’ve come at a bad time. Will they return today?”

“No, they should be back soon. Please wait inside.”

Following the butler’s guidance into the mansion, Alex noticed a portrait hanging in the central entrance hall.

“What is this?”

Alex was surprised. Though he’d seen court painters’ work at the palace before, this portrait was clearly of a higher caliber.

“It’s a portrait of madam, painted by our second son, Master Rupert.”

“…Remarkably well done.”

Even Alex had to acknowledge the skill. As he admired the portrait for a moment, he began to wonder why the lady of the house hadn’t appeared.

“Now that I think of it, shouldn’t I pay my respects to the mistress of the house?”

“Madam passed away five years ago.”

“My apologies for the indiscretion.”

“Not at all. There was no way you could have known.”

Realizing his mistake, Alex offered his apology to the butler.

“In that case, please show me to the parlor.”

“Thank you.”

As he was led to the parlor, Alex’s thoughts became complicated.

One theory came to mind…

‘Did that guy lose his mother too?’

Strangely, he felt a connection. His own mother had passed away when he was young, and seeing that portrait stirred complex emotions.

Taking control of the family after pushing his father aside – it probably stemmed from that loss.

He harbored resentment toward his own father too, who had remarried shortly after his mother’s passing, insisting the empress position couldn’t remain vacant.

Back then, he had been only five years old, unable to understand why he had to call this new woman “mother.”

He threw tantrums, refusing to forget his departed mother, but his father remained resolute in his decision.

Though powerless against his emperor father, Alex had done nothing until now.

Unlike him, Rupert had clearly expressed his rage.

‘Both Cinderella and Snow White featured protagonists who lost their mothers.’

Now he understood the background behind those works.

Seemingly peaceful and warm stories were actually hopeful retellings of the author’s autobiographical experiences.

Da-da-da!

His musings were interrupted by loud footsteps.

A young girl came running down the corridor like it was a stable yard.

Who was this child running around the halls?

Too young to be a maid, yet her dirty sky-blue dress and plump figure didn’t fit the image of a baron’s daughter or noble young lady either.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Elza Aida! Who are you mister?”

“Miss! This gentleman is a guest.”

The butler urgently spoke to the child while checking Alex’s reaction, but Alex was already shocked.

‘A… uncle? Seriously?’

What an absurd title for someone who had just turned 25.

“Who is this child?”

“Ah, my apologies. This is Miss Eida Somerset, third daughter of Count Somerset.”

So she was that guy’s younger sister.

Alex looked at the impudent child who had called him “uncle.”

Her round face stared back at him.

‘Why is her dress so dirty?’

Despite being a noble young lady, her plump figure aside, her sky-blue dress was incredibly filthy.

Seeing this, Alex’s anger rose.

‘Is Count Somerset not paying any attention to his daughter?’

Even his own persecuting emperor father had shown concern outwardly, despite neglecting him and showing no interest in his second son.

Could Count Somerset possibly be indulging in pleasures elsewhere?

As Alex considered whether the stories he’d read might be based on real events, he suddenly felt pity for this little Eida.

‘Poor thing. She needs her mother’s love at this age.’

Unaware of Alex’s thoughts, Eida smiled brightly and pointed at him with something in her hand.

“Freeze!”

“What?”

Confused by the sudden command, Alex watched as Eida’s expression quickly turned sullen.

“Master, I apologize. The young miss should not play such pranks on our guest.”

Watching the butler hastily intervene and repeatedly apologize, Alex remained bewildered until Alain explained.

It was a mimicry of the protagonist from the currently popular manga “The Kingdom of Ice.” Understanding dawned on Alex.

‘So that’s how it works.’

Stopping his movements and standing still like frozen, Eida’s satisfied smile returned.

But apparently that wasn’t enough, as she started poking him all over with her cane.

“How dare you touch!!!”

The guard pretending to be a servant panicked and tried to stop her, but Alex quietly signaled for him to stay put.

‘Poor child, I can extend a little kindness.’

Having experienced a similar childhood, Alex knew how difficult and unhappy this time must be for her.

“Unfreeze! Yaaah!!!”

When even her own prodding produced no reaction, Eida finally declared the magic undone with relief.

Watching this, Alex felt a strange sense of peace.

Looking again, despite the dirt, she was actually quite cute with her chubby cheeks.

So he gently patted her head, only for her to shake it vigorously.

“Huh?”

“No way! Eida’s going to debate with a prince, so no random touching!”

Hearing this, Alex couldn’t help but laugh.

If only she knew his true identity – as the empire’s crown prince, princes were hardly comparable.

“Little one, wouldn’t debating with a crown prince be better than just a prince?”

“Never! Eida likes princes, not crown princes!”

Speechless.

How could anyone prefer a prince to a crown prince? It’s like preferring 1 to 2 – there’s no comparison.

“Why do you like princes better?”

“Well, Cinderella, Snow White, and The Little Mermaid all debated with princes!”

Damn fairy tales.

Looks like I need to have a word with that author.

*

“You’ve returned, Master.”

“Yes, it was just a simple meeting. Anything unusual happen?”

“Ah, we had a visitor who just left.”

Visitor?

Given the recent influx of guests due to the fairy tales and manga, it probably related to that.

“What did they want?”

“They were visiting the territory and came to pay their respects.”

“Interesting person. What’s to see in this backwater?”

“They said they’d visit another time since it’s late, but left a letter.”

I opened the letter handed to me by Alain.

“To Master Rupert Somerset,

I originally came to speak with you, but hearing you’re unavailable, I’ll leave this note instead.

I intended to criticize your actions, but learning about your situation has changed my perspective. Let this pass for now.

Ignore public opinion and continue on your chosen path. Even if others don’t, I understand where you’re coming from.

Also, consider using crown princes instead of princes in your future works.

An anonymous sympathizer.”

“What the hell is this?”

Leaving such an incomprehensible letter feels ominous and unsettling.

‘Now that I think about it, something similar happened before.’

Deciding to keep rather than discard the letter, I carefully placed it in my pocket.

Very unsettling. Crown prince instead of prince?

Could a crown prince really have visited our territory?

No, that would be impossible to hide.

The more I thought about it, the bigger the headache grew.

‘Really need to start being more careful.’

Could it be a side effect of drinking vitality potions like water lately, making me unconsciously braver?

Time to remind myself to be more cautious once again.