The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 112



The First Prince and the Madman

Narea looked at me with questioning eyes before safely returning to the Holy Kingdom of Rium.

The bait has been thrown.

They will surely come asking on their own.

Baekmokgong dragged the battered Centriol by the scruff of his neck and handed him over to the army.

They will also safely return to the Holy Order.

Moreover, matters related to mysticism will rise globally in the future.

“Boy, you’ve worked hard.”

“A little bit.”

Baekmokgong raised his hand and ruffled my hair roughly.

“I do have a good eye for people.”

She looked at me with eyes sparkling as if seeing a promising hero.

It’s burdensome.

Don’t do that.

“Now it’s time to receive the rightful punishment for what you’ve done.”

Clank-

And once again, handcuffs were placed on my wrists.

Come to think of it, the punishment isn’t over yet.

The capital of the High Sirion Empire.

I’m being taken to Sirion.

＊＊＊

The capital city of Sirion.

As the capital of the empire, it is the most developed and populated city in the world.

The cities are built layer upon layer around the massive imperial palace at the center.

The closer to the imperial palace, the more extensive the infrastructure becomes.

Although the capital residences of the pro-emperor nobles are lined up.

Above all, it is because there are so many people active within the imperial palace.

From gardeners, maids, and attendants, to knights, squires, and administrators.

The resources they consume in a day actively drive the economy of the capital, Sirion.

Thus, Sirion was producing more and more diverse products as it consumed.

It was truly a city of the new era leading the world.

Inside the imperial palace of such Sirion.

Carriages were entering.

Only two carriages were entering.

However, no one ignored those carriages.

Every time the carriages advanced towards the imperial palace, the maids stopped their work and bowed their heads.

Because two emblems were engraved on the carriages.

One was the white tree symbolizing the Duke of Baekmok, one of the four dukes of the empire.

The other was the blue hawk symbolizing the Blue Tower, the greatest magic tower of the empire.

The appearance of the empire’s current hero and the greatest magician of the empire.

Their arrival was nothing short of an emergency even within the imperial palace.

And inside such a carriage.

I was there, handcuffed, in front of the Duke of Baekmok.

Do people outside know?

That the person inside the carriage is a criminal who, according to imperial law, could be executed immediately without question.

If it were known that such a criminal was facing the Duke of Baekmok, it would be a real uproar.

“Boy.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Are you nervous?”

Not nervous at all.

The Duke of Baekmok and the Lord of the Blue Tower personally brought me to the imperial palace.

At this point, it was safe to say that I would not be executed.

But it would take time to amend the established laws.

During that time, I was just pondering what to do.

“No. I’m shameless, so I’m not really nervous.”

“Kuhuhu, right. If you dared to try to use me, you should at least be that bold.”

I said exactly what Baekmokgong wanted to hear.

It seemed that Baekmokgong had taken quite a liking to me.

There hadn’t been many people in the empire recently who could be called heroes.

She was keeping an eye on me, who was boldly walking the path she desired.

‘Originally, it was Lucas’s role.’

I was taking on that role instead.

Clunk-

In the meantime, the carriage came to a stop.

“Your Excellency, we have arrived in front of the imperial palace. May I open the door?”

Baekmokgong’s aide, who was leading the carriage, knocked on the door and asked Baekmokgong.

“Hmm, go ahead.”

When Baekmokgong answered coolly, the aide opened the door.

Then, he gave me a brief, displeased look before correcting his expression.

He, who valued etiquette, didn’t seem to like that I hadn’t shown proper manners to Baekmokgong on the first day.

But even so, he didn’t openly show it in front of Baekmokgong.

“Let’s get off.”

Baekmokgong gracefully descended, holding the aide’s hand.

Regardless of her inner contents.

On the outside, Baekmokgong had a mysterious atmosphere that was among the best in the empire.

The maids, who were bowing their heads at her appearance, unconsciously held their breath.

But when I followed behind her with handcuffs on, they looked puzzled.

It seemed that my news hadn’t reached the maids yet.

When I looked back, I saw the Blue Tower Lord and Sharin getting off the carriage.

Sharin, who was following her foster father, had a sullen expression the whole time.

It was natural since Sharin didn’t like her foster father.

When she met my eyes, her expression softened a bit.

Then she slightly stuck out her tongue.

Even in this situation, it was so like Sharin.

“…Sharin?”

Then, as soon as she was caught by the Blue Tower Lord, she immediately fixed her expression.

As if nothing had happened, she wore a languid look.

She seemed even more shameless than me.

“Your Excellency Baekmokgong, Blue Tower Lord Emperadion Shazaris, thank you for visiting the Imperial Palace.”

Meanwhile, the chief steward of the Imperial Palace walked out and greeted the two.

The elderly man was from a family that had managed the Imperial Palace for generations.

As he directly assisted the Emperor, the old man also held a significant position within the palace.

“Oh, you’ve worked hard. I’ve requested an audience with His Majesty, so could you guide us?”

“Yes, after hearing the news, His Majesty has prepared a place in advance.”

“Let’s go quickly. We shouldn’t keep His Majesty waiting. At this rate, His Majesty will grow old like me.”

Baekmokgong said this and promptly followed the steward.

In this world, only Baekmokgong would dare to speak of the Emperor in such a manner.

“Your Excellency Baekmokgong, is there anything I need to do?”

“Not really. I brought you to the Imperial Palace just for show, so you wait until the results come out.”

I had no reason to meet the Emperor.

So, I was guided to a private room by a maid.

“Lord Hanon Airei, please wait in this room.”

The room the maid opened was clearly a guest room.

It was the most luxurious room I had ever seen in my life.

‘It seems I’m being treated as a guest who came with Baekmokgong.’

However, since I was still branded as a criminal, knights were waiting outside my private room.

I was still handcuffed.

I sat quietly in a chair and waited.

I could only hope that Baekmokgong and the Blue Tower Lord would explain things well.

‘At least I have a moment to catch my breath.’

Just as I thought that,

For some reason, the outside felt noisy.

A sense of unease began to creep over me.

“Y-Your Highness!”

And the uneasy premonition does not miss its mark.

My head snapped up.

The sound of confident footsteps as if it were his own front yard, and someone who could be called ‘Your Highness’ in the imperial palace.

There is only one such person.

Clang!

The door swung open without a knock in an instant.

And a man entered with the same stride as outside.

Red-gold hair fluttered.

Eyes that were a strange mix of red and blue gleamed chillingly.

Those eyes were filled with an unbreakable confidence.

A person born as a prince and lived his entire life as a prince.

The heir to the imperial throne, sharing the empire’s power with the 3rd princess, Iris Hyserion.

The 1st Prince

Luke Raizen Hyserion

This madman appeared before a criminal in the status of the 1st Prince.

The knights and retainers who followed him looked dazed.

Among them, there was no one who could dare to stop the 1st Prince’s steps.

Therefore, they could only swallow their tears, thinking of the problems that would arise from this incident.

“Greetings to His Highness, the 1st Prince of Hyserion.”

I stood up abruptly and greeted him.

Even I was flustered by the current situation.

‘I knew the 1st Prince had an interest in me.’

From the moment Hanon’s report came in, the 1st Prince must have been keeping an eye on me.

In such a situation, I even handled the magic of the ancient dragon.

I expected him to make contact somehow since he came to the imperial palace.

But I never imagined he would come so recklessly in person.

The prince looked me up and down and waved his hand.

“Enough. I didn’t expect excessive courtesy from someone in handcuffs.”

He said that and casually pulled out a chair and sat down in front of me.

“Sit down. Hanon Airei.”

And then he called me by the alias I was using.

He stared at me with piercing eyes.

It was so like the First Prince to say that, knowing full well that I was not Hanon Airei.

I sat back down quietly, just as I had been standing.

The prince leaned back against the backrest and let out a short breath.

“Finally, I’ve escaped from work. Thanks for giving me an excuse.”

Unlike Iris, the First Prince works directly in the royal palace.

He spares no effort to succeed the emperor, living every day buried under a mountain of work.

So, in a way, coming to see me was a kind of escape for him.

“I’m glad I could be of help to Your Highness, the First Prince.”

“Haha.”

The First Prince let out a hearty laugh at my brazen reply.

Those piercing eyes were unbearably burdensome.

But he had no intention of hiding his gaze.

It felt as if he genuinely wanted to see right through me.

“Hanon Airei, every time I hear about you, my curiosity grows. I wondered what kind of audacious person would act like this.”

State affairs shake the entire Hyserion Empire.

I stood at the center of it all, in place of Lucas.

Such actions were gradually touching the very foundation of the empire.

There was no way the First Prince, who stood at the center of the empire, wouldn’t know this.

“But seeing you in person.”

A smile spread across his lips.

“You’re a much more interesting person.”

“Joking is not my specialty.”

“That’s the brazen side of you. Not being afraid in front of me means you either have a strong backing or you’re a madman.”

The First Prince is a person who values the present.

The future only has value when the foundation of the present is solid.

This was the First Prince’s philosophy.

Therefore, he is solidifying the present by joining hands with the current power holders.

But even he did not stop investing in the future.

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A prime example is the magical support that makes Nia Cynthia younger.

A person who builds the present while sparing no investment for the future.

Therefore, the world evaluates him as:

The Prince of Stability.

“And I quite like madmen. My specialty is solidly building the present. Future reform is not my specialty.”

The First Prince knew well what his talents were.

Therefore, he nurtured his talents.

He boldly gave up on the parts he was not good at.

Instead, he entrusted the parts he gave up to capable individuals.

“But madmen reform the future. In my view, you are no different from those people.”

“I’m glad you like me.”

“Of course.”

The First Prince declared.

“I only like madmen who will come under me.”

His love is limited.

The reason the First Prince has been able to maintain his position as the heir to the throne until now is not only because of his talent.

It is also because he is as greedy as the Duke of Roblia.

The position of Emperor is a position of desire.

A position that strives to protect the country and further make it the best country.

Therefore, the position of Emperor must be filled by a person with strong desires.

Thus, the First Prince was also a person who would do anything for his desires.

In that, there is also a knife-like aspect that cuts without hesitation if it is not his person.

The Emperor is not human.

He is a being that wields the world beyond human norms.

Only then can the nation become prosperous and have many means to bestow upon the people.

That was the role of the position of Emperor.

Therefore, the First Prince asked me.

Are you my person?

Or are you someone else’s person?

A choice.

Once you choose one, you can never go back to the other.

The 1st Prince’s innate charisma weighed down on my entire being.

A single word could cost me my head.

But the 1st Prince did not know.

Since the loss of the feeling of love through the bandages of the veil.

I had long since lost my sense of fear.

Fear is a defensive mechanism to preserve one’s body.

“Your Highness, the 1st Prince.”

As someone who does not cherish myself, his charisma had no effect on me.

If he wanted to scare me, he would have to embed murderous intent into his very flesh like Centriol.

“I think the question is a bit wrong.”

The 1st Prince’s eyebrows twitched.

He never expected someone to dare say that the question was wrong.

But I was smiling brightly, almost shamelessly, in front of him.

“Shouldn’t you tell me what merit there is for me if I take the side of Your Highness, the 1st Prince?”

If you want to hold the reins of the dragon, you must pay the price.