CH 4

Chapter 4: How To Tame A Prince!

“It’s about time he came…”

Today was his first day off since he returned.

If it was him before he returned, it would have been a relaxing time, but he didn’t have that luxury now.

“Your Highness, Count Wallace is requesting a visit.”

‘As expected, he came.’

He had acted as an ‘excessively’ excellent prince for the past month to lure this person in.

“Let him in!”

Eurius called him in with a feigned smile.

“Hehe, how have you been? I’m glad you look healthy.”

A plump old nobleman entered.

“How can you say that? Do you know how bored I’ve been?”

Eurius answered with a sulky expression full of teenage moodiness.

The old nobleman nodded his head with a warm smile as if he expected it.

“You must have been very upset, Your Highness. I had too much work to do and couldn’t visit you. But I brought you a good gift, so please forgive me.”

“A gift? I’ll decide after I see what it is.”

Eurius pretended to be interested and accepted his words.

This old nobleman’s name was Count Wallace, and he was one of the rare high-ranking nobles in the emperor’s faction.

He was recognized as the focal point of the emperor’s faction along with Marius.

Most of the people in the emperor’s faction were nobles who were appointed by the emperor, so they were inevitably inferior to the nobles who had territories in terms of personal funds and military power. So he was like a raindrop in a drought for the emperor’s faction.

He was also treated as a guardian of Eurius, who was from a great noble family.

In other words, if Marius was the whip for supporting the first prince, Count Wallace was the carrot.

Eurius also trusted and followed him more than Marius, who always pushed him. He always looked like a nice person and pampered him.

But Eurius snorted inwardly as he talked to him now.

‘He still has a good impression, but he’s like a sly cat.’

But he was the one who played the biggest role in Eurius’s downfall in his previous life.

[John Wallace]

Job: Noble, Merchant

Strength D Agility D Intelligence A+ Spirit A Force Aptitude (None) Force (None).

Disposition: Schemer, Greedy, Ambitious

‘No one would have thought that the center of the emperor’s faction was a spy for the opposite faction.’

That’s right.

He was actually an infiltrator from the aristocratic faction who deliberately joined the emperor’s faction.

The political situation that seemed to maintain some balance because of his existence collapsed as soon as he showed his true colors.

‘This time, I’ll stab him in the back properly.’

He pretended to be happy and talked to Wallace, but there was a bitter blade in his chest.

“Hehe, but I heard rumors that you are very interested in studying these days. It seems like you have finally made up your mind. I’m very happy.”

After talking about this and that, Count Wallace casually brought up the main point.

“Are you saying that too? You’re no different from Marius.”

Eurius frowned and sighed repeatedly.

He got scolded by Marius and complained to Wallace.

This was what he repeated until he became an emperor.

And what made him go wrong was Wallace’s clever instigation.

“Hehe, don’t resent Marius too much. It’s all for your future…”

“Don’t even mention that. I don’t want that kind of loyalty.”

It is effective to correct a child with a whip only if there is a proper carrot to match it.

But in his case, Marius took all the risks of the whip, and Wallace took all the benefits of the carrot. The emperor’s original intention had backfired.

“Then I’ll take my leave. Your Highness.”

“Come more often next time.”

Eurius bid farewell to Wallace with a sad expression.

‘I can avoid suspicion for a while.’

It was exhausting to act like an innocent and incompetent first prince who didn’t know anything about the world.

But until he was fully prepared, he had to be a first prince who suited Wallace’s taste.

If he suddenly revealed his true intentions here, the aristocratic side would also try to get rid of him.

‘Nothing seems to have changed much, but something bothers me.’

Wallace also felt somewhat puzzled as he recalled today’s meeting.

‘Could it be that the first prince suddenly became talented enough to get excellent grades?’

The first prince he knew was not that smart.

But he wouldn’t lie to him who always trusted and followed him.

‘He must have improved his talent by two levels. Well, a tiger’s child is a tiger.’

It’s not a level that he can’t control just because his talent blossomed a little.

He will never let the first prince become a normal emperor.

Count Wallace smiled quietly and stepped outside.

…

“Bang!”

A thick hand with plump flesh slammed the table.

“They raised the nobility tax again? How can this be?”

A nobleman with a dry and pale face answered.

“And they even lowered the tax rate for the general citizens because of a little famine. How can we tell who’s the enemy and who’s the ally?”

Various complaints poured out among the people who sat around the round table.

They were the aristocrats of the aristocratic faction who had just finished the grand meeting today.

“Tsk tsk, calm down everyone!”

The noise in the room stopped abruptly at the sound of his tongue.

He was the most feared person in this meeting.

Wilhelm, The Grand Duke!

The leader of the aristocratic faction and the one who ruled the largest territory in the empire except for the emperor. He was practically a king of a country.

“I know you’re having a hard time, but…”

He comforted the nobles and thought about what to do next.

‘The emperor is too old.’

He looked healthy on the outside, but as an excellent knight, he could tell that his condition was not the same as before.

‘And the next emperor will be either the incompetent first prince or my nephew, the second prince.’

The current empress was Wilhelm’s younger sister.

So he naturally belonged to the faction that supported the second prince.

The grand duke recalled a secret conversation he had recently.

“I heard that the first prince finally came to his senses. Isn’t that different from your boast?”

It was a sharp question, but Count Wallace just laughed.

The secret meeting of the conspirators!

“I went to see him and he’s still a naive child. Maybe Marius did something to him. But he’s just a stubborn old man. He can’t win the child’s heart, so what’s the use?”

Of course, the best thing would be to have an emperor who was empty-headed and easy to manipulate, but Wallace predicted that it wouldn’t make much difference if he was a little smart.

Not all tyrants are incompetent, right?

There are countless rulers who had enough ability but went astray because they couldn’t control their temper.

He had also done a lot of work to influence the prince, so the grand duke nodded his head.

“Then we should stick to the plan.”

Instead of putting the second prince, who was favorable to him, on the throne from the beginning, they would raise the incompetent first prince and then replace him naturally.

This was the plan that the grand duke and Wallace had made.

It would cause a lot of backlash to overthrow the heir and put the second son on the throne, no matter how strong the aristocratic faction was.

“Keep up the good work, I trust you.”

“It’s my fault for making you worry. Then I’ll take my leave.”

The secret meeting of the conspirators ended here.

But it remained to be seen whether their plan would succeed, as they smiled with satisfaction.