Chapter 370: Taboo (4)
The Crown Prince, along with his close aides, stealthily took refuge in a small city. It was more of an escape than a flight, akin to escaping from reality.
“Let’s send an envoy to recommend surrender for starters.”
I surrounded the small city with the ducal knights, the imperial knights, and my own vassals. Then, as a formality, we sent an envoy to politely request their surrender.
Of course, the Crown Prince, who had escaped into his own fantasy, was far from observing such formalities.
According to the envoy, His Ramen Highness yelled something along the lines of, “You are invaders from another world! I am the foundation of the Empire! I will never bow my head to the likes of interworld scoundrels!”
Hearing this, I clicked my tongue.
“Foolish.”
Indeed. Had I rashly intimidated the Crown Prince, I would have been treated as an invader from another world.
Among the empire’s nobility and citizens, there were quite a few who viewed the otherworld unfavorably. The Crown Prince’s claim that they must fight against the threat from another world could have gained momentum.
But I had the justification from the Emperor.
Even the clothes I wore were of the empire’s style. I was the Consort of the Ivansia ducal family, acting under the solemn command of His Majesty, the Emperor, not as a monarch from another world.
Checkmate.
“What are you planning to do now?”
Silvia approached me and asked. She was well-versed in the empire’s affairs and was assisting me.
“Based on my past experience of dating him, I’d say drop any expectations of the Prince surrendering. That man never backs down once he’s made up his mind.”
“So what if the damn prince refuses to surrender?”
“Heh?”
I gripped the hilt of the Holy Sword.
“I’ll capture him.”
That night, I scaled the city walls alone.
The Crown Prince’s forces, perhaps preparing for a siege, had a fairly tight security. In other words, it was only “fairly” tight. If they wanted to stop me, they needed an incredibly meticulous security setup. Not something like this, buddy.
Before an hour had passed, I had infiltrated the Crown Prince’s bedroom.
“Huff… Uhm…”
The golden-haired ramen lay unaware of the world, asleep. Even with the knights who were guarding outside his bedroom all knocked out.
I snickered and gently poked his cheek.
“Hey, you gonna wake up?”
The Crown Prince groggily opened his eyes, still not fully grasping reality.
“Ugh, hmm… What’s… going on…?”
“What do you mean what’s going on? Get up already. I’m the one who married your first fiancée and took your second fiancée as my vassal.”
“What…? Huh!?”
Only then did the Crown Prince’s eyes snap open. I was waiting for this moment. I immediately flicked his eyelid with my finger.
“Aaah! My eyes, my eeeeyes!”
The Crown Prince fell off the bed, covering his face.
“Kid, that’s quite the overreaction for a little flick.”
“Guards! Guuaaards! There’s an intruder! The intruder has appeared! What are the guards doing?”
“Your guards are all out cold. You’re like an order of spaghetti alle vongole with clam shells but no clams, waiting over 30 minutes for your seolleongtang and it still hasn’t arrived. Can’t you sense anything even when I’m gently stroking your eyebrows?”
“Guuaaards! Guards! Guaaaaaards!”
I squatted down to look at the Crown Prince.
The so-called first-rate posture.
The Crown Prince, having never seen such a posture in his royal life, shuddered as soon as our eyes met.
“Why is no one responding to my call…?”
“Because I’ve covered a 6-meter radius with my aura like a dome. No matter how much you whimper, the curtain blocks the sound.”
“That’s impossible—”
“It’s possible. And it will continue to happen. Your Highness, I don’t want to face you any longer than necessary, so let’s wrap this up quickly.”
I pulled out a scroll from my robe. It was an imperial edict with the Emperor’s seal.
“What, what… That’s…!”
Recognizing the seal, the Crown Prince’s mouth dropped open. I flicked my finger again, this time hitting his lips. A comically pitiful cry echoed.
“Listen, kid. For the sake of your pea-sized brain, I’ll personally interpret His Majesty’s sublime words.”
Facing the Crown Prince, whose lips were now swollen red, I smiled.
“From today, you’re going on a study abroad program to our world.”
“Study abroad? What nonsense is that?”
“Well, it sounds nice, but it’s actually exile. Did you really think you’d get away unscathed after attempting to poison Raviel and even threatening the Emperor?”
The Crown Prince’s face turned ashen. He must have realized that I held all the evidence.
“There are countless nobles who follow me. They won’t tolerate such tyranny!”
“It’s funny you should say that because they’re about to lose their heads and their families are on the verge of extinction due to treason, but I’m going to give them a chance.”
“A chance…?”
“Yes, the chance to cut ties with you and save their lives.”
I tapped the Crown Prince’s forehead with the scroll. Each time the edict touched his forehead, he flinched.
“The nobles didn’t join your rebellion. [The Emperor ordered you to study abroad in another world.] But [you were unfamiliar and afraid of going to another world, so like a teenager, you stubbornly refused.]”
“Ah…?”
“And you didn’t throw a tantrum alone. [You begged the nobles to please hide you.] And the nobles, unable to harshly refuse the Crown Prince’s request, [secretly hid you here,] but the secret didn’t last long, and [they were caught by His Majesty.]”
The Crown Prince looked up at me blankly.
I curled my lips up.
“Don’t you get it? This is my scenario. According to this, the nobles don’t have to bear the crime of treason. They’ll only be guilty of indulging in the whims of a pathetic Crown Prince.”
“……!”
“See? If you go on a study abroad program alone, everyone gets their happy ending. What do you think the nobles will do? Eh? Will they say, ‘Even if our heads fly off and our families are destroyed, we will follow His Highness the Crown Prince to the end’? What do you think?”
“Aaaah! Aaaaaah!!”
Finally grasping my intentions, the Crown Prince began to struggle desperately.
“You plague from another world! It’s all because of you! Everything fell apart after you came! You took Ivansia’s lady, and even my cute and lovely Lady Goldencup! It’s all your fault! If it weren’t for you—”
“Sweet dreams, Your Highness.”
I pressed a point on the Crown Prince’s body.
“When you wake up, the world will have changed.”
And with that, the Crown Prince’s world went dark.
“—Huh?!”
The Crown Prince sprang up.
Drenched in cold sweat, he swallowed his saliva.
“Was it, was it a dream? Phew…”
“Did you have a pleasant dream last night?”
“Aaaah!!”
Startled by my face, he jumped as if he had seen a horrifying monster. My delicate heart might just take offense at such a reaction.
“Wh-Where is this place!?”
“We’re on the 29th floor, sir.”
I beamed a smile.
“It was once a school genre stage, ruled by the [Holed-Up Head Librarian]. One of my vassals, Kim Yul, used to live here.”
“Ha, ha?”
“Of course, such information is useless to you. The one and only Crown Prince of the Empire, who was destined to don the Emperor’s crown. There’s only one thing you need to remember: in this world, no one will treat you as a Crown Prince.”
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door from behind.
“Come in.”
“Yes, I’m coming.”
With a lively voice, Silvia entered. What greeted her was a tiny studio room. No, calling it a studio was too generous; it was more like a cramped goshiwon (a type of very small Korean apartment).
Silvia glanced around the room and frowned.
“Wow, it’s cramped… My Lord, can that man really live in such a small space? I don’t think it’s possible.”
“That’s the reality he has to face now. Did you speak well with the goshiwon owner?”
“Ah, yes. When they saw the gold bars, their eyes lit up and they said they looked forward to our patronage. They seemed to mistake us for a mafia from overseas.”
Good.
The 29th floor was currently operating as a school city. There were schools in Babylon, but a systematic public education system hadn’t yet been established. Hence, this place, the 29th floor, which was frozen in time during Kim Yul’s era, was used as an educational venue.
“Si-Silvia…?”
The Crown Prince, unaware of such circumstances, was simply dumbfounded by Silvia’s appearance.
Silvia, not in her voluminous dress but in modern clothing, smiled sweetly.
“Yes, Your Highness. I’m Silvia Evanair.”
“Oh! My Silvia! The nightingale bearing the name of Goldencup! You must have rushed here to rescue me from this demon’s clutches…! I believed, no, I only believed in you. My delicate Goldencup!”
“Ugh, what’s this? It’s like reading through a diary filled with embarrassing memories.”
Silvia made a disgusted face.
“Anyway, I’ve taken care of various documents while greeting the goshiwon owner. Starting next week, the Crown Prince can enter school. He’ll become a blond prince of a transfer student.”
“Good work.”
“Yes, it’s really just hard work… Though I’m not one to talk, but don’t you think the bureaucrats of this stage are too corrupt? The administration is like a sponge, full of holes.”
“Well, the almighty power of gold bars has just been proven.”
“I wonder how much you bribed them with…”
As we casually chatted, the Crown Prince merely stared at us, lost for words.
“Si-Silvia? Why did you call me ‘Crown’ earlier? And… why didn’t you recognize me?”
“Ah, I almost forgot.”
Silvia rummaged through her bag and pulled out something. It was a card.
“This will be the only means to prove your identity from now on.”
Silvia politely handed over a student ID card. On the newly made ID, a photo of the Crown Prince, barely keeping his eyes open, was printed in a square.
Below it, the following text was written:
+
[Student ID]
Name: Kim Hwang-Tae
Affiliation: Shinseo High School
+
“……Kim, Kim Hwang-Tae?”
“Yeah, that’s your name from now on.”
I flashed a bright smile.
“Hwang-Tae, you’re a second-generation overseas Korean who has somehow returned to the country, but you were kicked out of your house and now live alone in this goshiwon. Naturally, you have no allowance and must find a job or do odd jobs to earn money. Got it?”
“Odd jobs? Odd… Odd jobs? What nonsense are you spouting!”
“Yes, our Hwang-Tae seems to have no clue about the situation, which is quite satisfying.”
I gently patted Kim Hwang-Tae’s head.
“If you’re three months behind on your rent here, you’re out. If you skip school and refuse to attend for more than a week, you’re also out. For our Hwang-Tae, who has been pampered as a prince his whole life, this world might seem harsh. But, Hwang-Tae… that is the real world!”
“…….”
“Hang in there! Be strong! You can do it!”
I clenched my fist.
“Although no one in this city will treat you like a Crown Prince! And no one cares where you rolled in from like a stray bone! Originally! The world! Has no interest in you!”
“…….”
“Work! It might be hard to find a job with a student status, but that’s just how it is…! Money is hard to earn…! Work and work, and with your effort and sweat, secure food for the day! If you can’t, you’ll starve… and, well, die… but that too is a natural law!”
“…………..”
“Hwang-Tae!”
I grabbed Kim Hwang-Tae’s shoulders.
And asked him, looking into his soulless face.
“How many days have you gone without food?”
“What… what…?”
“Don’t worry. After two days of fasting, you’ll see the world differently! I’ll be cheering for you from afar as you start your new life, Kim Hwang-Tae! Fighting!”
I left 30,000 won and turned to leave.
Silvia also bowed slightly to Kim Hwang-Tae.
“Goodbye, Your Highness. Honestly, if you had sought me out even once after I became indebted to our Lord, I might have been able to help you now. But, it can’t be helped! I’ll be cheering for you from afar too!”
We both swiftly exited the room.
As we walked down the gloomy staircase, Silvia spoke up.
“So how many years do you plan to let him stay before sending him back to the empire?”
“Send him back? He’s going to live here forever. They’ve already designated the second prince as the successor, so what good would his return do other than get him purged? Leaving him here is an act of mercy. Mercy.”
“You really are a devil, my Lord…”
A desperate scream echoed from beyond the goshiwon stairs.
That day, a blond prince of a transfer student arrived at Shinseo High School on the 29th floor.
According to later accounts, Kim Hwang-Tae, who had starved for four days straight, eventually began to assist with odd jobs for the goshiwon owner and embarked on his second school life.
Hang in there, Kim Hwang-Tae! You are the protagonist of this spin-off!
