Ch.269269. Hanyang (4)

After a rather ‘minor incident’ had occurred.

“I’m glad it was resolved well….”

“….Phew, indeed.”

As we left the Grand Palace, both of us were relieved that this matter had been settled relatively smoothly.

This incident—where the Second Prince Jinseong, the king’s second son from the other side, had acted like a complete lunatic toward us and suffered the consequences—was incredibly complex and intricately tangled.

First of all, Prince Jinseong, who could be considered both the instigator and perpetrator, had his arm cut off after making advances toward Sophia and getting beaten by both of us.

In the real world, we might have been arrested for excessive force, but by this world’s standards, this level of response was legal.

So if we set aside the status of both parties, this incident would simply conclude as an appropriately handled situation.

But the biggest problem in this case was, predictably, the exceptional status that both sides possessed.

On one side was that country’s royalty—a high-ranking royal who could be considered second in line to succession since the crown prince had no children yet.

On our side were none other than foreign upper-class nobles/aristocrats who had been hailed as heroes for saving lives in the kingdom.

In terms of political power, Prince Jinseong’s influence would undoubtedly be far stronger, but in exchange, we were not only nobles from another country (if only in name) but also upper-class individuals possessing military might.

Upper-class individuals are beings who possess military power equivalent to what could be described as a one-person army, so if a conflict were to occur, it might not be something that could be dismissed as merely troublesome.

There was even a case in the past in the archipelago region of the southern Eastern Continent where the Lip-Tai Kingdom, which held hegemony in the area at the time, was destroyed at the hands of a single upper-class individual.

That kingdom, a typical feudal-confederate monarchy, had flourished under the leadership of a monarch who was an upper-class warrior, but unfortunately, that monarch committed the grave error of violating and taking the wife of one of his subordinates, who was also an upper-class warrior.

Of course, even so, that subordinate’s power and personal military strength were inferior compared to the monarch’s, and due to the subsequent great purge, his forces were completely shattered, leaving him barely able to escape alone.

And… this surviving upper-class warrior began guerrilla activities, waging a one-man war against the kingdom.

An upper-class individual who could split a fortress in half without much difficulty, continuing guerrilla activities with nothing left to lose.

As if to prove how utterly devastating this would be, the upper-class warrior went on a rampage and led the kingdom to ruin.

Avoiding direct confrontation with the enemy upper-class monarch, he cunningly and persistently targeted only the monarch’s forces, gnawing away at the kingdom.

Naturally, within just three weeks, the monarch’s army was completely devastated, and territories loyal to the monarch were annihilated overnight unless they had upper-class protection.

Thanks to the rapid weakening of the pro-monarch faction, some opportunists even staged rebellions, resulting in the country being split into several pieces as an added bonus.

As such, upper-class individuals are tactical weapons capable of creating variables on a national scale single-handedly, so frankly speaking, from a national perspective, it would be better to sacrifice a mere spare heir to the throne rather than face off against two upper-class individuals.

Truly, the situation could only be described as complicated in every way.

The fortunate thing, however, was that the cause-and-effect relationship was clearly evident, making the assignment of responsibility straightforward.

Especially since this Prince Jinseong had such deplorable conduct from the beginning that, were he not royalty, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had died at any time—in other words, his actions had been so disgraceful that there was hardly any public support for him.

It was telling that several of their officials wore expressions of satisfaction, as if something that had been blocked was finally cleared away.

When people who typically feel kinship with similar beings show such reactions, it clearly reveals just how disgraceful his usual behavior must have been.

And even as the situation unfolded this way, there didn’t seem to be any ministers particularly willing to take Prince Jinseong’s side.

Since idiots—strange people trapped in their own perspectives or youthful impulses—exist everywhere in the world, it wasn’t as if there were absolutely no people who would blindly defend or protect him.

It’s just that their numbers were few and their influence minimal, and with the senior members of their factions taking the lead in criticism, their presence wouldn’t have changed anything anyway.

Thus, this incident was smoothly resolved.

“…Sophia, are you really okay?”

“Yes. I just cut off his arm, that’s all.”

On our side, we put forward the justification that this Prince Jinseong had subjected Sophia to “unspeakable insult” and received appropriate retribution.

Meanwhile, on their side, public opinion formed around the idea of covering up the incident, given Prince Jinseong’s notorious reputation for lewdness and various misdeeds, and furthermore, mainstream opinion settled on demoting his royal title from “Daegun” to “Gun.”

“Daegun” is a title given to male children born between the king and his official consort, while “Gun” is a title given to children born between the king and someone who is not his official consort.

Naturally, it was virtually decided that the authority of a “Daegun” was greater than that of a “Gun.”

Of course, it wouldn’t be too strange if someone who had ended up in such a state sought revenge….

“He doesn’t seem to have connections, and his skills… I wonder if he’s even trained at all.”

“True. There shouldn’t be any problems.”

To put it bluntly, you need something to take revenge with, but what kind of revenge could someone with neither personal strength nor decent connections possibly take?

※※※

At the same time, at Prince Jinseong’s residence.

-Crash! Bang!

“Damn it, damn it! You cursed, goddamn bastard—!!!”

Having experienced what could truly be called the worst day of his entire life, he was venting his anger by smashing everything around him.

Just for behaving as he usually did by picking on someone inferior (in his opinion), the level of punishment discussed by his father and ministers was unbelievably severe.

‘Royal title, demoting my royal title?!’

At the arrogant thought of daring to lower him to the same level as those lowly bloodlines born from concubines, he was genuinely enraged and began destroying his reception room.

In a traditional Kore Kingdom-style house, the reception room typically used for receiving guests, as the owner’s office, or even as a library, was naturally filled with various luxury items.

Based on the land he had received from his father, he had been living a luxurious lifestyle—80% by choice and 20% by circumstance—ensuring he would never starve for lack of money.

And these luxury items that he was now smashing in his rage might never be obtainable again.

The royal titles “Daegun” and “Gun” are not simply distinguished by honorific or status.

These titles, which also serve as official positions and ranks given to royalty, not only symbolize class but also signify a difference in treatment.

For example, a Daegun enjoys immunity from most crimes except murder or equivalently serious offenses, but a “Gun” receives no such treatment whatsoever.

Additionally, those holding such titles receive enormous sums from the royal family as a sort of dignity maintenance allowance, which is essentially the direct transfer of taxes collected from a certain range of land.

Calculating backward from the land area given to a Gun, Prince Jinseong, soon to be demoted to Gun Jinseong, would have to abandon his luxurious lifestyle and live more frugally, saving money.

Therefore, Prince Jinseong—who was soon to be demoted to Gun Jinseong—could not help but be furious.

Especially for someone who operated on a selfish and self-centered mindset, such a life was received as humiliation.

And it was around that time.

“…Wait a minute. That’s right! Those guys!”

As he spent time venting his unquenched anger by smashing the reception room, he suddenly remembered a certain group that had previously sent him a “gift.”

For a prince with poor conduct and low reputation in various ways, it was common to receive “gifts” along with requests from various organizations.

Of course, Prince Jinseong in his earlier days, when he still maintained some judgment and composure, firmly rejected these, but now that he faced the risk of having his royal title demoted and his status plummeting, he was in no position to be choosy.

To put it bluntly, he decided to go all out in this desperate situation.

“Jangbok, Jangbok! Are you there?”

“Yes! Coming, Your Highness!”

And so, from the middle of that room that had become a mess full of shattered objects, Prince Jinseong, with a chilling smile, held an object from inside his garment.

A Japanese throwing dagger, also called a ‘kunai,’ as he formulated a sinister plan step by step.

…Not knowing that such a plan would never actually come to fruition.