“Adela, have you seen the Water Tiger by any chance? I’m sure we slept together, but when I woke up this morning, it was gone.”
“………….”
“Adela?”
“……I don’t know. It’s not like I’m spying on your room or eavesdropping, so how would I know?”
“That’s not what I meant…… It’s the royal palace, after all. I can’t just nod and move on if something disappears like that.”
“If you’re that worried, why don’t you ask the maid?”
“You mean Sally?”
“Maybe…… she might know something. Who knows?”
“……Th-that’s an interesting thing to say.”
“Sally, do you know something?”
“N-no! I-I don’t know anything either. Where that spirit went…….”
“Are you sure?”
“………W-why are you acting like this? Y-young Master! Th-this girl keeps suspecting me……hic!”
“Sally, I’m not interrogating you. You know how Adela talks, right? She just seems a bit cold, but she’s a good person.”
“…………Hmm.”
“Anyway, if neither Sally nor Adela knows…… did something happen?”
“…………….”
“………….”
[……Grrr.]
“Huh? Tiger! Where did you go?”
[Grr………rrr.]
“Just a walk? If you’re going out, at least say something. This is the royal palace, after all. Try not to wander around alone.”
[Grrrr!]
“Huh? You’re fine even if a dagger is stabbed into your neck? I’ve heard spirits are immortal, but…… why use such a scary example?”
[Grr………rr.]
“………….”
“…………….”
“Well, as long as you’re safe. Shall we all go play Catan then?”
“Sure.”
“Y-yes! Young Master!”
[Grrr!]
*
“How are my brothers behaving?”
“It seems they’ve somewhat let go of their suspicions about Your Highness. Kyle Byron’s board game played a big role.”
“Good…… that’s a relief. It seemed like bad luck, but it turned out well.”
In the hallway of the Third Prince’s residence in the royal palace.
The Third Prince let out a sigh of relief as the head maid reported while walking alongside him.
It had been ten days since Kyle Byron arrived at the royal palace.
Fortunately, it seemed this matter had passed without incident.
‘Thankfully, I managed to shut my father’s mouth.’
Why did he keep trying to drag me back into the succession race when I clearly said I wouldn’t participate? I’m seriously wondering if it’s for the sake of his youngest son or if he’s trying to kill me.
Even as the Emperor and as a father, his political rhetoric made the First and Second Princes extremely wary of him, but somehow, I managed to prove my innocence.
I firmly declared to my father that I wouldn’t participate in the succession race, and by spending most of my time playing the board game Kyle Byron created, I showed that my interests lay in entertainment, not the throne.
The sudden words from my father brought a crisis, but thanks to Kyle Byron, I was able to overcome it. In many ways, inviting Kyle Byron from the Arkhé Magic Tower was the best stroke of luck.
‘And I even gained an unexpected harvest.’
As they say, the ground hardens after the rain. Once their suspicions were cleared, my two older brothers even gave me apology gifts or approached me first, making us seem closer than before.
With the current atmosphere, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to deepen our friendship through Kyle Byron’s board game. The chances of surviving, no matter who becomes Emperor, have increased.
Looking at it this way, it seems like I’ve safely navigated the crisis and even seized an opportunity.
“………….”
“Your Highness?”
“……It’s nothing.”
Why is it?
The Third Prince, Lugrick Severus, felt uneasy in a corner of his heart, separate from his relief.
And he knew the reason well…… How could he not?
“Hey, Lugrick.”
“Second Brother.”
“Greetings, Your Highness, the Second Prince.”
“Yeah, yeah. By the way, Lugrick, you’re not still mad, are you? Forgive your big bro here, alright?”
“Forgiveness? There’s nothing to forgive. I always support my brothers.”
“Hmm… ‘brothers,’ huh? You always know how to say the safest, most clever things.”
A man walked in with a somewhat slouched posture, accompanied by several attendants. He was none other than the Second Prince.
In the race for the throne, he maintained a power almost equal to that of the First Prince, and he himself was an exceptional Aura user.
Moreover, he had voluntarily enlisted on the northern monster front at the age of 15 and served for five years, earning numerous achievements and gaining absolute support from the north.
Though they were brothers born under the same father, with only a five-year age gap between the Second and Third Princes, the difference in their status was like heaven and earth.
As if to prove this, the Third Prince bowed his head respectfully, while the Second Prince laughed heartily and casually patted the Third Prince’s shoulder.
“Did you get the gift I sent?”
“…If you mean the exercise equipment, I use it every day.”
“Good, kid. Work out with that! You’re always so skinny with all that magic nonsense. It’s not like you’re going to become an Archmage, right?”
“I… know.”
“Anyway, sorry for doubting you. Dealing with that damn First Prince is already killing me, and if you got involved too? Well, I don’t want to kill my beloved little brother myself, you know?”
“I understand.”
“Even if you competed, there’s no way you’d ever take the throne… Father’s really too much.”
…You don’t know.
Maybe, you don’t know.
‘If only I had more talent.’
Not just talent that couldn’t even reach the mid-tier, but talent like Master Olfin’s disciple.
‘If only I could have built more influence.’
Like the eldest brother, who’s engaged to the daughter of Duke Grandel and has the support of the central and eastern regions.
Or like the second brother, who served in the military and gained absolute support from the north.
And.
‘If only… I wasn’t the youngest.’
Because I was the youngest prince, I couldn’t build influence even if I wanted to.
Because I was the youngest prince, I had to learn survival skills from a young age to avoid being eliminated by my older brothers.
Because I was the youngest prince, I had no choice but to give up on competing for the throne to survive.
Simply because I was born the youngest.
For that reason.
That’s why the Third Prince suppressed his rising anger, as always, and smiled.
“You’re right.”
“Haha! Lugrick, don’t you think your self-esteem is way too low?”
“It’s at an appropriate level.”
Don’t look down on me.
Don’t belittle me.
Don’t treat me like some bug you can crush anytime.
I want to be Emperor too. I was born a prince of the Empire, and I want to chase the dream everyone desires to the very end.
But the moment I step onto the starting line, you two will crush me to death first.
So I endure. It’s all I can do.
Unlike my two older brothers.
Because I’m someone who can’t shine.
“I’ll take my leave now. Make sure to come if I invite you next time!”
“Take care on your way back, brother.”
Though it’s called an invitation, I know it’s just a ploy to sit me among the Second Prince’s supporters and let them mock me indirectly. I’ve been through it a few times already.
The supporters get their satisfaction from feeling their choice to back the Second Prince is better than backing me, and the Second Prince uses it to strengthen his internal unity. It’s a tiresome routine.
Having rolled through the military for five years, the Second Prince’s methods are more blatant than the First Prince’s.
The only thing they have in common is that both are insanely cunning.
The Third Prince only raised his head after the Second Prince had completely disappeared.
Only when all of his followers were out of sight could he finally lift his head.
“…………”
“Your Highness…”
“Enough. Don’t say anything. Just… let it be.”
He clenched his fists. He gritted his teeth.
It’s fine. No, actually…
It’s not okay. It’s just that I’ve gotten used to the emotions I’ve been killing for over 10 years.
The feeling of inferiority was never this easy to deal with.
If it were simply a lack of talent, if my older brothers were smarter or more outstanding, I might have been frustrated but would have given up cleanly.
But the Third Prince believed that his only fault was being born late.
Being born 8 years later than the First Prince and 5 years later than the Second Prince was his mistake.
“Really? Is it because… my talent is lacking?”
It was a fleeting thought, but he quickly brushed it off, as he always did. He knew well that if he let such thoughts spread, all that would remain was helplessness and a sense of defeat.
So he just kept enduring without giving up.
Hoping for that one day, maybe, if it ever comes, the opportunity──
“…Let’s go back.”
“Ah, are you heading to the board game room?”
“Yeah. To change the mood.”
The board game room.
Originally, it was where Kyle Byron created and played board games, but after making over six board games in ten days, he was ordered to use another room exclusively for production.
Though he said it was to change the mood, the Third Prince had been visiting the board game room almost every day, except for the first couple of days.
It wasn’t just to check how many board games he had made.
It was to play them himself.
“I’m here. Kyle, you haven’t started yet, have you?”
“Of course not! We just finished a game. Let’s start right away!”
“…Alright.”
Ten days ago, Kyle Byron created the board game ‘Catan’ as soon as he arrived at the royal palace.
Since then, he had made other board games, but the Prince mainly played Catan.
The reason was simple.
Unlike other board games, in Catan, the Prince could feel a sense of vicarious satisfaction.
“I’ll build a village here. And lay one more road.”
“But you’re short one wood for that.”
“Don’t you have one? I’ll trade you one iron for it.”
“Ah, if I do that, it’s obvious you’ll take the lead. Why would I agree?”
“Two iron.”
“Here you go!”
“Good.”
It wasn’t the kind of vicarious satisfaction where he became the ruler of a civilization in a virtual board game.
What the Third Prince felt was──
A somewhat strange vicarious satisfaction in the fairness of it all.
‘It’s actually quite funny.’
If it were about vicarious satisfaction, the Abracadabra in the Arkhé Magic Tower seemed better. It provided an experience where anyone could feel like a magician through illusions that were infinitely close to reality.
But ironically, the Prince felt more vicarious satisfaction in the equality of board games, without any illusions.
In the early stages, everyone is equal. No matter how good the land is, everything depends on the dice, so there’s no one-sided advantage.
Competing and expanding your influence under equal conditions.
If it were just that, he could have felt vicarious satisfaction in other board games too.
“The dice… seven. I’ll place the robber on your land.”
“W-wait, Adela. There’s still room for negotiation.”
“No, there isn’t. Out of the 17 games of Catan we’ve played, you’ve placed the robber on my land 42 times, with over 40% of the time targeting my land. Should I trust you?”
“You remember all that? In other words, you’re saying over 60% of the time, you placed it elsewhere!”
“Still, no. Hand over one resource quietly.”
“Ugh… Your Highness, didn’t I lend you a resource earlier? I need it back now.”
“Isn’t that too obvious?”
“In return, I won’t charge interest next time I lend you something.”
“That’s… quite tempting.”
Catan is different from other board games. In this game, the other players aren’t just competitors but also collaborators at the same time.
Negotiating and talking with your opponents, cooperating…
All that interaction is also a kind of experience. It feels like living vicariously through a board game version of a throne competition.
Of course, the Third Prince knows it too. Compared to the throne competition, filled with mind games and the stench of blood, this is just a board game, a mere pastime.
But.
“…It’s fun.”
The process of trading and conversing with others naturally immerses you in the game. If you lack enthusiasm, you wouldn’t even bother trading in the first place.
That sense of equality and starting line, which he never had in the throne competition, is what he feels in this immersive game.
The Third Prince was alleviating his inferiority complex from the throne competition through Catan.
Of course, it wasn’t enough to completely resolve all the emotions he had built up over time.
But at least enough to look forward to this time every day.
“I’ll use all the resources I’ve gathered! I’ll build three roads and one settlement all at once!”
“Then…?”
“Victory requires 15 points. Building one more settlement gives me an extra point, and with this road construction, my road is now the longest, so I’ve achieved the ‘Longest Road’ milestone, adding 2 more points…!! That makes 15 points!”
“A last-minute comeback… I didn’t see that coming. Congratulations, Your Highness.”
“Co-congratulations…”
“As expected of Your Highness! That was an excellent play!”
“…Thank you.”
Moreover, the Third Prince had talent. A talent for strategic board games.
It stemmed from the survival skills and insight he had cultivated since childhood to stay alive. Aside from his weak magical talent, it was the only thing he had left, something he often mocked himself for.
It was insight he could only have because the throne competition was impossible for him. Ironically, if the throne competition had been possible, he wouldn’t have had it.
Even as he relied on his insight and survival skills, he held a contradictory feeling of disliking it, but not now.
For the first time in his life, the Third Prince saw his insight in a new light.
It was the ‘talent’ he had longed for, but he couldn’t help but laugh bitterly that it was a talent for something like board games.
The Third Prince.
Amidst the congratulations of many, he thought of a ‘what if.’
‘What if… there were set rules in reality, like in Catan.’
It was a futile, hopeless thought.
But the more he thought about it, the sweeter it became.
The Prince kept falling deeper into the ‘what if.’
And as he did.
“…Hmm.”
A certain board game creator watched him with a subtle expression.
*
That night.
The once noisy board game room was now enveloped in darkness, filled only with silence and stillness.
Slowly, the door opened.
“…I heard you called for me, Kyle.”
“You’ve arrived, Your Highness.”
The Third Prince entered the room, and Kyle Byron, who had arrived earlier, greeted him with a smile.
As he slowly cleared the table.
“That is…”
“I didn’t call you here for a serious reason. Just.”
Click.
The fully set-up board game, Catan, sparkled under the moonlight.
Finally realizing why Kyle had called him, the Third Prince made a momentarily stunned expression.
With an even deeper smile, Kyle Byron continued.
“How about a game of Catan?”
…With a truly joyful smile.
