I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

 Chapter 2 – Thinning (1)

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“Look at this magic lamp.”

“It seems to have been damaged only slightly at the core.
Why isn’t it being used?”

“You don’t know either? It was lit up last night.
It seems as though they are concealing something…”

The palace personnel were immersed in erasing traces of the previous night’s attack.

“…”

In contrast to the bustling attendants, the prince’s knight, Fredo, stood still and monitored the door.

Prince Zion, the lord he served, lay beyond.

His lord has isolated himself in the bedroom since last night’s attack.
The following evening had already descended upon them.

“Prince Zion…” Fredo muttered, the previous night’s events flashing through his mind once more.

The sword’s blade frozen in the void.

The assassins’ severed heads.

The sight of Prince Zion, who regarded the scene with languid eyes.

Such an appearance was so contradictory that it seemed eerie even to Fredo, who had attended to the prince since his birth.

It was as if he was observing a complete stranger.

What the hell is going on?

Had his royal blood awakened belatedly?

If that wasn’t the case…

A look of concern crept into the old knight’s eyes as he continued to stare at the door.

* * *

He had become a character in a novel.

It was difficult to accept, but that was the conclusion he had arrived at after processing all the information he had gathered since last night.

I don’t know who did this or for what reason, but…

Thinking so, the emperor gazed into the mirror.

What greeted him was not his original appearance, but that of a man with ashen hair and translucent white skin.

The emperor knew this man.

Zion Agnes, one of the princes of the Agnes Empire in the novel.
He was honored with a few measly lines at the beginning of the Chronicles of the Frosimar’s Hero.

He possessed a meek personality that prevented him from killing even a passing ant, and a frail body that became short of breath simply by walking.

Furthermore, he had no patron to support him.
He was eliminated from the war for succession early on and was imprisoned in a separate palace outside the Imperial City.

The reason why Zion Agnes appeared in only a few lines was simple; his life ended as soon as he appeared, not to mention he was a disgrace even in the short time he had.

Originally, he should have lost his life in the assassination attempt yesterday.

The emperor who now possessed Zion’s body thought so, while recalling yesterday’s events.

After completing “The Chronicle of the Frosimar’s Hero”, he closed his eyes for a moment.
What greeted him as soon as he woke up was an assassin fully shrouded in black, swinging his sword at him.
Had it not been for his ability, the ‘Astral Darkness’1, which was anchored in his soul rather than his body, he would have perished in the same manner as Zion in the novel.

I need to temper myself.
My body is too frail.

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Zion examined his body, which seemed as though it would shatter with the slightest touch, for a while before tapping the table with his finger.

If this world is really the one in the “Chronicles of Frosimar,” it will be destroyed in three years.

The events of “Chronicles of Frosimar” spanned a three-year period, beginning just prior to the hero’s first appearance and ending with the destruction of the world by the demon race.
The death of Zion Agnes in the novel occurred near the beginning of the chronology, which meant that there remained a reasonable amount of time before the end of the world.

I need to prevent it.

Zion instinctively felt that uncovering the identity of the one who forced him into this body and determining the method to return to his world would require a considerable amount of time.
It would be aggravating if this world was destroyed before he determined the truth.

To do that…

The division within the empire was the deciding factor behind the destruction of the world.

He had to resolve it somehow.

Two years hereafter, an unrestrained war will break out between humans and demons.

After thinking this far, it felt impossible.

Mending the division within Agnes, the great empire that ruled all but the demon realm, seemed like an insurmountable task.

Not to mention, he was now a disposable character, one worth only three lines with a presence less significant than air.

However, Zion’s eyes were filled with exhilaration rather than anxiety.

“”

His original world was dull, with nothing more to accomplish and nowhere to explore.

Therefore, Zion was excited by the world in this novel.
He enjoyed his current predicament which required him to overturn the inevitable.

The greater and sturdier the wall barring his path, the greater the excitement he felt.

Moreover, he wasn’t worried that he wouldn’t achieve it.

He was ‘The Ruler of the World’, someone who had already achieved unimaginable feats, ones that none other than him had ever accomplished.
If he resolved himself, he could easily grasp this world in the palm of his hand.

I’ll have to organize the surroundings first.

After concluding his contemplations by looking at one of the files on the table, Zion stood from his seat and left the bedroom.

The magic lamp had been repaired, illuminating the dark castle with a dazzling radiance, as though it was the sun itself. 

“Your Highness!”

Had he been waiting outside until now?

As soon as Zion stepped out of the door, Fredo welcomed him with a smile.

The old knight was thoroughly scanning Zion’s body, perhaps not fully relieved despite determining that Zion was unharmed last night.
Deep concern permeated the old knight’s eyes.

“Are you all right?” 

Zion slowly began to walk down the hallway after nodding in response.

“Your Highness Zion, where are you going?” Fredo asked, trailing directly behind him.

“Has this occurred before?” Zion asked the old knight without answering the question.

“Yes?”

“The attack.”

Fredo furrowed his eyebrows, his expression betraying his confusion at Zion’s words.
Had the prince developed amnesia due to trauma from last night’s attack? Fredo swiftly erased that thought and answered Zion’s question.

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“……This is the first time the assassins have infiltrated the palace so conspicuously.”

Meaning there had been several similar attempts before, although not blatantly.

They’re crazier than I expected. Zion chuckled at the thought.

The ‘Chronicles of Frosimar’ didn’t mention the people who ordered yesterday’s attack, but he could guess well enough.

The Chimseong Palace, where Zion currently resided, although located in the outskirts, was still included within the bounds of the Imperial Castle.

Very few in the empire possessed the capability to dispatch assassins to such a place and conceal the matter.

“I’ll request that the Imperial Palace reinforce the escorts here…”

“No.”

“Pardon?”

“You don’t need to do that.”

Nothing would change unless the fundamental problem was resolved.
The situation would remain the same even if the number of guards in the palace increased.
That was why Zion intended to seize the initiative and eliminate the source of the problem.

“First, the ‘eyes’.”

Zion glanced towards the palace’s main gate from the end of the hallway.

The palace’s main gate was as grand as the rest of the palace, yet it somehow seemed different.
Something felt incongruous.

Principally, the main gate was guarded by the knights to protect the castle from enemies.
However, strangely enough, the main gate of Chimseong Palace was manned by escort knights, as though they were preventing him from escaping.

“…”

What amused Zion further was that, despite the fact that they noticed him approaching them, the knights guarding the main gate did not even raise their heads, let alone salute.
They simply stood there, staring at Zion.

Their attitude towards their lord was unbelievable.
Their actions also appeared natural, as if this was not their first time behaving in such a disrespectful manner.

It was when Zion, who maintained a stoic and uncaring expression, passed those knights and tried to open the main gate, that they spoke.

“Where are you headed, Your Highness?”

One of the knights guarding the gate extended his arm to intercept Zion.

“I’m frustrated, so I intend to refresh myself outside.” Zion calmly opened his mouth as he regarded the knight’s arm that barred his path.

“The sun is already setting.
It’s dangerous, so stay inside the palace.”

“I believe there is greater danger inside the palace.”

Along with the words, Zion took a step forward, but the knight didn’t withdraw his arm.

“Your Highness has been ordered not to leave the palace.
Your Highness cannot go out.”

“Whose command did you receive?”

The corners of Zion’s lips rose slightly.

“You guys are under my command.
Yet I don’t remember issuing such an order.”

“…Your Highness can’t leave.”

The knight, who repeated the same words like a parrot, blocked Prince Zion with his body and narrowed the distance between them, as if intimidating him.

The Chimseong Palace was a prison without bars, and Prince Zion was the prisoner.

There was only one crime, the crime of him being born.

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The sin of being born as a prince and possessing neither charisma nor power.

And it was a great felony at that.

I believed I was fully aware of my situation, but… it seems I was mistaken.

The knight’s eyes began to fill with irritation, impatience, and contempt as he watched Zion.

“Fredo.”

A low voice exited Zion’s mouth as he stared into the knight’s eyes.

“Yes?”

“Revolt against the royal family, if I recall correctly, is punishable by decapitation, correct?”

“…That’s right.”

Fredo, who stood tensed behind him, answered in a puzzled voice.

Zion’s questions continued regardless.

“What about negligence in guarding the royal family?”

“Decapitation.”

“Feigning ignorance when an attempt is made to assassinate a member of the royal family?”

“Decapitation.”

The expression of the knight who blocked Zion’s way slowly began to change.

“Plotting a conspiracy to murder a member of the royal family?”

“…Decapitation.”

Zion’s eyes filled with anger.

“What are you…!”

The panicked voice of the knight burst out.

Slice!2

A line was drawn in the air.

And after that…

Thud, rolling-

The knight’s head, which had separated from his body, rolled on the ground.

It happened in an instant.

“…”

The voices of all those who witnessed the spectacle came to a halt.

They were unable to comprehend what had happened.

The weak Prince Zion, someone who had never learned self-defense, let alone swordsmanship.

That Prince Zion beheaded a knight with his bare hands?

Was it that effortless?

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They couldn’t come to terms with the situation.

As if nothing of significance had occurred, Zion, who had severed the knight’s head, opened the main gate and exited the palace.3

As soon as he stepped out the gate, the fresh night air brushed against his skin.

“As expected, this place is…”

Zion, who looked up at the sky while inhaling deeply, muttered.

A crimson moon.

The moon, dyed in a color completely distinct from the azure moon of his world, affirmed that this was a different world.

Tadadat!

“Your Highness! What on earth have you done?”

A group of knights came running towards Zion from inside the palace shortly afterwards, shouting in a flustered manner.
A slight smile slowly spread across Zion’s lips.

“I appreciate that you came to me of your own accord.”

The attack that took place last night.
It was an attack that should never have occurred.
That was, if the personnel inside the palace didn’t provide any assistance.

As a result, Zion began to deliberate.

Who could help with the attack on Chimseong Palace?

There was only one plausible conclusion.

All of the people in the palace last night except for the dead and Fredo.

In particular, the knights did not even have an excuse.

Even though the prince himself was attacked, the palace maintained a pin-drop silence.
Last night’s attack must have been the work of several factions, not just one.

In preparation, he had gotten ahold of a list of knights who were responsible for the previous day’s night watch. 

The list appeared in his mind.

It also included the name of the knight who had just been decapitated.

Normally, someone should be responsible for relaying information from inside the palace to the outside.

This was an opportunity.

“”

An opportunity to eliminate all the eyes and ears of the other factions that had infiltrated Chimseong Palace.

But there wasn’t sufficient justification.

No, he couldn’t forgo this opportunity even if he lacked proper justification.

Also, I have to verify my current physical capability.

Darkness began to envelop Zion as he watched the knights approaching him.

T/N: MC is so badass 

Footnotes

Literal meaning is Black Milky Way. Light sound of cutting things. Narakura: My boy is so cool UwU.