The Third Prince Of Darkness

When my eyelids slightly fluttered open, I saw the small cracks in the white ceiling. My whole body ached, and I slowly got up. I must have fallen asleep on the cold floor yesterday. I angrily took off my sweat-soaked clothes and quickly headed to the bathroom. My eyes caught the mirror immediately to the right of the bathroom.

I stood in front of the mirror and looked at my naked body... I had scars all over. I looked like a battle-scarred veteran who had survived dozens of wars by sheer luck. The ironic part was that all this had happened in just 12 years of my life in this world.

"Huh...!"

Despite those deep wounds, I still had a clearly well-built body. I was taller than almost all 12-year-olds and had a physique that was already taking shape. Perhaps it was time to see the positive side of life. For example, I had no scars on my face. And the scars on my body could make me look cool... Maybe it would be possible if there were fewer scars, but there was a scar everywhere.

"Hahhhh..."

After taking a deep breath for the second time, I entered my icy bathroom. Since there was another door in the bathroom connecting to the corridor, the servants wouldn't have seen me lying unconscious on the floor.

As soon as I entered the bathroom, the intense emotions I experienced yesterday came to mind, and... damn it. Yes, I wasn't saying goodbye to Emilia because I was in love with her, but was that so wrong? Also, if I bring her back to life... If I manage to do that, I'm sure she wouldn't be angry with me. Of course, I don't know exactly what her spirit is doing right now, but I'm sure she wouldn't be upset about me hiding her body.

"Right? You're not mad that I didn't bury you, Emilia?"

I quickly scanned my surroundings, but no matter how long I waited, nothing happened. Well, we've learned that Emilia hasn't turned into a ghost and haunted me.

After twenty minutes, I came out of the bathroom and started dressing. Interestingly, I felt good today. It seems like my brain remembered to release endorphins after the intense pain I experienced yesterday. Finally!

Now... since I feel better, I need to think again. I sat on the couch and reviewed my plans for a long time. This was a trait I had even in my previous life. Just thinking. I visualize my future plans in my head and review all possible scenarios. Although it's impossible to think of every possible scenario in real life, I can still say that what I'm doing now is useful.

But finally, we are come to a consensus on one thing... It feels like I have multiple personalities. Anyway, I've realized that there will be many times when I'll need to be ruthless to achieve my goals. Or whatever happens, no matter how difficult the situation becomes, I need to maintain my composure. I'm not the fool in a shounen anime who can't stay silent in the face of injustice and insists on delivering justice. If I behave that way, it will be extremely difficult for me to survive in this ruthless world.

The laws of the forest apply in this world, and if I don't become a predator in this forest, my death is inevitable. Even if I do nothing, I'll have enemies. I've never had a merciful nature, but I wasn't always someone who only thought about personal interests. However, I can’t continue like this. If I act contrary to my interests, I'll fall off the mountain I've climbed in a terrible way. A prince's life never accepts a merciful nature.

Now, let’s assume I give up everything and say I’m stepping down from the throne. Even if I do this, Fiona’s sons will still see me as a threat and want to kill me. Yes, this may not make sense now, but it's definitely true. Moreover, there is a law in the Asina Kingdom's main constitution that states a prince must kill his siblings when he ascends the throne and becomes king. So, fratricide is encouraged.

Yes, from a humanitarian perspective, this is inhumane, but I don't see it that way. There’s a very reasonable explanation for this law, or rather multiple reasons, but the biggest one is to prevent a civil war. If a civil war occurs, thousands will die, and in the worst-case scenario, the kingdom will be destroyed. But if the king kills his siblings, there will be no civil war, and thousands of people will not die needlessly. The lives of one or a few princes are less valuable than the survival of the country.

In short, as the big purple giant said, "A small price to pay for salvation."

"Heh..."

Now it's time to get up and assign a task to one of the pawns needed for me to ascend to the throne.

°°°

As I sipped my tea in front of Roxanne, I saw her pondering what I had said. We were sitting opposite each other in a white gazebo among the beautiful flowers in the palace gardens.

"So you want me to get closer to Queen Fiona and give her information about you... Did I get that right?" Roxanne said, stroking the head of the cute cat in her hands.

"You will pass on the information I give you to her."

"But the information you'll give me about yourself won’t be true, right?" Roxanne asked.

"Yes."

"If I handle this smoothly, will you trust me, then?"

"Yes... little."

"And...," Roxanne wanted to say something for a moment, but her eyes dropped again, and she stopped.

"What?"

"Nothing. I’ll just do my best, but... I don’t want to marry Fiona's son" she said with a determined look in her eyes.

"I’m not asking you to do that. Just for now, pretend you want to marry her son to get closer to Fiona" I said, sipping my coffee.

Roxanne glanced at me for a moment, then continued stroking her cat. After taking a deep breath, she slowly nodded.

"Alright," she said, her voice determined but slightly trembling. "I’ll do this for you."

I saw a moment of hesitation in Roxanne’s eyes, but it twisted into a determined expression. Her courage and resolve were a significant advantage for successfully executing my plans.

"But I'll still continue to meet with you, right?" she asked, holding her wrist.

"Yes. After all, since you’ll be giving Fiona information about me, you'll have to meet with me."

"That’s not what I meant..."

"Well... if you carry out the tasks I ask of you smoothly, I’ll have some rewards for you" I said.

Roxanne's eyes widened with expectation, and her lips curled into a sweet, attractive smile. She excitedly waved her hands. "What kind of rewards?!"

"It's a surprise. As I said, you'll see what your reward is when you do what I ask."

"Ethan, you're boring! Then give me a trial reward now" she said, excitedly waving her arms up and down.

"Don’t be spoiled. I’m not your boyfriend. "I said.

"Oh... I'm sorry," Roxanne said, her lips curling in pain. She pushed her fingers together, looking at them with watery eyes. If I say something foolish now, I might lose her... I got up from my chair and sat on the chair right next to her and... I hugged her tightly 

The carrot-and-stick approach is always a good manipulation technique.

"... Huh?"

I noticed Roxanne was quite surprised when she saw that I hugged her. I held her tightly around the waist and pulled her close, hugging her firmly from behind her head. Even though I couldn’t see her face, I could feel that she was blushing. After just a few seconds, she regained her composure and began to take in my scent... yes, my scent. I could hear her taking deep breaths, and frankly, I’m worried about her whether or not being perverted.

Since her chest was pressed against mine, I could hear the rapid beating of her heart. I guess her feelings for me are real or she’s just reacting this way because she’s an inexperienced virgin... No, if that were the case and she wasn’t in love with me, she would be disgusted by this situation.

After staying in that position for a few more seconds, I pulled back. Roxanne's eyes were still shining with surprise. When she turned her head, I noticed that a reddish blush had spread across her face. No matter not careful I was, it was impossible not to notice the confusion in her eyes and the rapid fluttering of her heart.

"Here’s a preview of the trial reward. Now I’m leaving" I said to Roxanne, who seemed to be in a trance due to what had just happened. I guess she really is in love with me...

"Hmm..."

She’s quite beautiful, and maybe accepting her affection wouldn’t be so bad. How my relationship with her develops will be decided with time.

Anyway...

Now I should focus on the task I need to start in the next few years. I need to complete the task of creating a source of income. For this, I need to go to Isabella’s room and handle the tedious paperwork. I now need a large plot of land to cultivate tobacco, and I hope Isabella can help me with this...

____