I Didn't Want to Become the Emperor of This World

Chapter 27

While Leonardo was busy preparing to go outside the royal palace, at the same time, in the King's bedroom.

Inside the King's bedroom, Jereuth spoke calmly to the King, who was lying weakly on the bed.

“Philip. It has been a long time since we talked like this. Has it been two, no, more than three years?”

“The last time we met was at Victoria's funeral, so it has been about that long. Have you been well, Jereuth?”

“Have I been well……. Do you think I would have been well? At least you, Philip, shouldn't be giving such an absurd greeting, should you?”

“……”

The King fell silent at the cold words of his old friend. Jereuth, who was gazing at the King, continued the conversation.

“Actually, His Highness told me to meet you once before. But I did not visit you. Because I had nothing to say.”

“So you mean you have something to say now.”

“That's right.”

The King looked at Jereuth with a faint smile.

“I heard you helped Leonardo purge the nobles.”

“It wasn't that I helped His Highness, but that His Highness used me. There is a huge difference in that.”

“It wasn't that you helped, but that Leonardo used you…… You speak similarly to Leonardo. He also said that he used your power.”

“That is correct. I am His Highness's sword, and His Highness simply used me.”

Jereuth continued without a hint of hesitation.

“I saw hope in His Highness Leonardo. The hope that he can rebuild this kingdom that you have ruined.”

“I saw it too. I don't know how he grew up like that, but…… Leonardo is different from me. He's also different from his dead brothers. His brothers were similar to me, but Leonardo resembles Victoria. Both in appearance and thought.”

“……I agree.”

“Do you still hold Victoria in your heart?”

Jereuth flinched at the sudden, difficult question. However, as if there was no longer any reason to hide it, nor any need to, Jereuth nodded and replied.

“Of course I hold her in my heart. Because a man can never forget his first love. That is why I will do my utmost to assist His Highness Leonardo to the very end. Victoria's last legacy left in this world.”

“Victoria's last legacy left in this world……. That's right. Jereuth, I don't know if you remember, but I said it before. That you, not I, should have become king.”

“……”

“If that had been the case, you and Victoria—.”

“What's the point of talking about the past? More importantly, I'll get to the point now. His Highness is going on an inspection, so I must assist him.”

Jereuth cut off the King and began to get to the main point.

“Philip. Hand over the throne to His Highness Leonardo as soon as possible. Before I make you do it by force instead of asking you so politely.”

“Make me hand over the throne by force. It seems you have truly decided to serve Leonardo as your master, not me.”

“That's right. I have sworn to do anything for the sake of the achievements His Highness will accomplish in the future.”

Jereuth spoke calmly and composedly, but his words were sharp. To say that he would do anything for Leonardo's achievements meant that he would truly do ‘anything’.

In other words, he could eliminate the King if necessary.

The King understood the meaning of those words perfectly. Nevertheless, King Philip shook his head at Jereuth, who was practically threatening him.

“I also want to hand over the throne to Leonardo. But there is a problem.”

“A problem? Surely you're not getting greedy because the royal authority has been strengthened thanks to His Highness—.”

“It's not that. I was arrogant and foolish, but I am not greedy or stupid. Every choice I made as king was my own best effort for the sake of the kingdom.”

“Was giving up everything and ruining the kingdom also the best choice?”

Jereuth's voice was sharp once again.

At those words, the King averted his gaze and replied.

“Who knows.”

“What do you mean, who knows…… Let's not talk nonsense. More importantly, if you have no greed for power, why can't you hand over the throne to His Highness Leonardo?”

“Because Leonardo is not yet ready to be king.”

“His Highness is not ready himself?”

“That's right.”

The King let out a faint, dry cough and continued speaking.

“Leonardo may seem fine on the outside. But deep in his heart, Leonardo is afraid of becoming king.”

“His Highness is afraid of becoming king? That can't be—.”

“I could tell when I looked into his eyes while talking with Leonardo earlier. Leonardo has not yet mentally prepared himself to become king. I say it again, my son is definitely afraid of becoming king. Please believe me on this.”

“……”

“The fear Leonardo feels probably has several factors. The pressure of becoming king, the guilt from killing ‘people’ even if it was a Purge, the anxiety about the countless unknown enemies and unexpected problems he will have to face as king, all combined.”

The King, who had been speaking calmly for a while, continued as he looked at the spot where Leonardo had stood with a hazy gaze.

“As a father who knows his son's burden, I don't want to hand over the throne to him just yet. If I suddenly hand it over, it will place too great a burden on him. There is an enormous difference in the burden between existing as the ‘Crown Prince’ and reigning as the ‘King’.”

King Philip spoke as if he were talking about himself. Perhaps because of that, his words had a strange persuasiveness, and Jereuth could only shut his mouth.

The King gazed at the window and continued.

“But no one can ever be perfectly prepared to become king. That position is too burdensome for one person.”

“Then are you saying you have no intention of personally handing over the throne to His Highness Leonardo until you die?”

“No, I'm trying to say there is a right time for everything. And when that time comes, I will place the crown on Leonardo's head even if you try to stop me. I swear on the honor of Victoria, the giant ‘Barut,’ and the dwarf ‘Grombrindal,’ who adventured with us.”

With the King even mentioning the names of his companions, Jereuth had no choice but to nod.

“Since you put it that way, I will trust you for now. But do not drag it out for too long. A king with no power holding onto the crown looks like the greed of an old man.”

“Thank you for the advice. More importantly…… Leonardo is about to go outside soon, I'm worried. The world outside the royal palace will be shocking for a boy who has lived his whole life inside the palace.”

At the King's words of genuine concern, Jereuth also fell into deep thought. As the King said, for Leonardo, who had grown up like a flower in a greenhouse his entire life within the palace, the miserable reality outside the palace would likely come as a considerable shock.

***

After finishing my audience with the King, I returned to my room with Elly and changed my clothes. Into ‘outing’ clothes for going outside the royal palace.

Looking at myself standing in front of the full-length mirror in my outing clothes, Elly asked worriedly.

“……E-excuse me, Your Highness. Are you really planning to go outside the royal palace dressed like that?”

“Yes. Because I don't want to show that I am the Crown Prince.”

“You did say that, but…… I think those clothes are too dirty.”

“You said most of the kingdom's people wear clothes like this. That's why you brought them for me, Miss Elly.”

“Yes. That's why I prepared them, but……. Still, clothes like that are a bit…….”

Haa—.

Elly sighed, hesitating. It seemed that even though she had me wear these clothes for the purpose of ‘disguising myself to look like an ordinary commoner,’ she still felt sorry for having dressed me in such clothes.

‘I think it's not bad. It smells a little, though.’

The clothes I was wearing now were the clothes gardeners wear when they work. Since gardening is a job that involves touching a lot of soil and grass, the clothes had something dirty smeared here and there. It was probably mud or manure.

As an aside, Elly had borrowed these clothes from the gardeners I had saved from the ‘gardener's shed’ before.

Swish—.

Once I put on the gardener's hat, I really looked like a ‘boy gardener.’

It’s a bit much to say this about my own reflection in the mirror, but I’m quite cute. As expected, ‘Leonardo's’ appearance holds an indescribably perfect charm.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I moved my body this way and that. As I thought, this kind of workwear was much more comfortable for me than the luxurious suits of a Crown Prince.

‘By the way, when is Jereuth coming? He's talking with the King for quite a long time.’

Just as I was thinking that, Jereuth's voice was heard from outside at the perfect timing.

―Knock, knock.

―Your Highness, it is Jereuth. May I come in?

“Ah, yes! Please come in.”

When I replied, Jereuth opened the door and came in. He had his characteristic stern expression, but when he saw my attire, it changed to a somewhat dumbfounded one.

“……Your Highness, why are you wearing such clothes?”

“Because I can't go out wearing the Crown Prince's clothes. A kind of disguise, shall we say?”

“No, even if it's a disguise, there's a limit…… Huh.”

Jereuth glared fiercely at Elly. It was a look that said, ‘Are you crazy, dressing the Crown Prince in such clothes?’

At that look, Elly became fidgety and lowered her head. I felt I had to defend her.

“It's not Miss Elly's fault. I was the one who said I wanted to dress like this.”

“Still, Your Highness, attire represents a person's character. If you don't want to show that you are the Crown Prince, you could at least wear a knight's uniform—.”

“It's not just about not showing that I'm the Crown Prince; I need to dress like an ordinary citizen of the kingdom, so I wore this. That's the only way I can blend into the lives of the kingdom's people.”

“……”

“So, Head Knight, please take off that armor and change into those clothes too. I've also borrowed a set for you.”

I said, pointing to the clothes on the table. It was a gardener's outfit much larger than the one I was wearing.

Underneath that gardener's outfit, several clean, thick towels were laid out, which Elly had placed there, saying, 「”I cannot defile His Highness's table with such dirty clothes.”」

Jereuth looked at the gardener's outfit on the table and then nodded as if he had no choice.

“……Understood. Still, I will bring my sword. I don't know what might happen outside.”

“Thank you. Then Elly, please go change your clothes and come back as well.”

“Understood, Your Highness. Then please excuse me for a moment……!”

Elly bowed to me, gave Jereuth a quick bow as well, and left the room as if fleeing.

‘It seems Elly is quite afraid of Jereuth.’

While I was watching her retreating figure, Jereuth was already taking off his armor and changing into the gardener's clothes. His movements as he put on the clothes were familiar.

‘He is said to be a Head Knight of commoner origin, so is he used to it because he used to wear such clothes in the past?’

I don't have a hobby of peeping at other people's bodies—especially not men's—but I happened to see Jereuth's upper body while he was changing. And at a glimpse of his body, I couldn't help but admire him as a man.

As befitting a knight who had traversed various battlefields, Jereuth's entire body was covered in all sorts of scars. Usually, scars are unsightly, but Jereuth's scars were like medals engraved on his thick muscles.

Despite being old enough to be called an old man, Jereuth's body was firm—no, beyond that, it was ‘hard’. They might not have been the large muscles of bodybuilders, but it felt as if only the muscles necessary for real combat had taken their place.

“I'm ready, Your Highness.”

“Ah, yes. Shall we go then?”

Jereuth finished changing, and I left the room with him.

Outside the room, Elly, who had already finished changing, was there. She was also not wearing her usual maid uniform but a typical ‘medieval village girl dress,’ and it suited her very well.

‘She looks like the protagonist of a Western cartoon I watched when I was young in Korea. The protagonist who suffers under her stepmother and stepsisters before receiving the prince's glass slipper and marrying him.’

I was looking at Elly without much thought when she blushed slightly and asked me.

“……It feels a bit awkward since these are the clothes I wore when I first met Your Highness.”

If these were the clothes she wore when she first met me, it must have been when she met ‘Leonardo.’ But Elly is a noble, so why was she wearing such shabby clothes?

‘It's not particularly important.’

I spoke lightly to Elly and headed for the stairs.

“It suits you well. Shall we go outside the royal palace then?”

“Ah…… Thank you! Yes!”

Like this, as if I wasn't nervous at all, I spoke and acted calmly as usual. However, to be honest, I was a little nervous.

About seeing the lives of the kingdom's people, who had started a rebellion because they couldn't endure poverty, with my own eyes.

***

A little late in the afternoon.

Kkiiieek―!

The massive gate of the royal castle opens. At that, the passing citizens of the kingdom hurriedly make way. Since most people coming out of the royal palace were nobles, they didn't know what might happen to them if they happened to displease the nobles.

But what was this, the people who came out of the royal castle gate were not nobles. There were three of them in total: an old man, a boy, and a girl, all wearing dirty work clothes.

The boy was wearing clothes similar to the old man's and had his hat pulled down low. He seemed to be the old man's grandson. The girl next to the boy had a face that suggested she would become a considerable beauty when she matured a little, a girl who combined both cuteness and beauty.

It was rare for non-nobles to come out of the royal palace. So, people watched the three who came out of the royal palace with some curiosity.

A few even harbored lust for the fair-faced girl.

But that too was brief.

The people who had been watching the three who came out of the royal castle went their separate ways. Because they had no time to waste if they wanted to make a living. Their eyes were sunken from hunger, and they had no dreams or hope.

There was only the worry of ‘How am I going to live through today?’

As the people went their separate ways, only the beggars who were prostrated on the ground begging were left in front of the royal castle gate.

Beggars whose skin was stuck to their bones.

―Bread…… a piece…….

―Just one piece, please…….

―Water, even just water…….

They seemed to have no strength to move other than to wave their hands to get a piece of bread.

That's right. They were people who could not live without the pieces of bread that the nobles might playfully throw, even if it meant being beaten by them.

There were quite a few—no, a great many—who would sell their bodies or take another's life for that one piece of bread.

―Cough! Cough!

―Keck……! Kack!

Some, who seemed to have caught a disease, collapsed while coughing continuously. Then, other beggars who were begging nearby stealthily approached and stole the fallen beggars' belongings.

Since they were also beggars, they naturally had no valuable items, but there were still things to steal. The bowls used for begging, the clothes they were wearing, or the pieces of bread the beggars had saved without eating to bring to their families.

Emaciated beggars. Sick people. People who were barely covering their bodies with what was more like scraps of cloth than clothes. Those living a life worse than beasts. Those who couldn't even sell their bodies, whether men or women.

Outside the royal castle, only such people could be seen.

Watching them, the boy who came out of the royal palace—Leonardo—asked Jereuth as if muttering.

“……Grandfather, aren't the people living in the royal capital supposed to be quite well-off?”

At Leonardo's question, Jereuth replied calmly.

“That is correct, Your High—.”

“I am ‘Leo’. ‘Grandfather’.”

“……My apologies. That is correct, Leo. The royal capital is a relatively wealthy place in the kingdom.”

“And please don't use honorifics.”

At Leonardo's repeated corrections, Jereuth cleared his throat and began to speak properly.

“Right, Leo. As you said, the royal capital is the wealthiest place in the kingdom.”

“But there are so many people begging?”

“It is because the royal capital is the wealthiest place that they can survive even by begging. In the truly poor places, there aren't even people begging.”

At those words, Leonardo's expression became complicated.

‘This is the wealthiest place in the kingdom?’

Leonardo asked himself and shook his head.

‘……From what I see, this place is hell?’