Reincarnated as an Emperor ~ Will the Emperor at Birth Survive?

Hello! New project coming up soon, enjoy~ ^^

The first thing I sensed was the brightness. It was a strong light that caused me to feel instinctive fear.

The next thing I noticed was the smell of blood, then I heard a baby’s cry.

“○△△！ ○△△○！！” Someone shouted. Lots of people started talking all at once.

… Ah, I see. Am I crying?

I can see a lot of people in my blurred vision… I’ve never witnessed someone giving birth before, but there really are too many people in this room.

… I’ve never witnessed someone giving birth? That’s right, I died alone in my previous life, so I never married.

… Previous life? I see, is this reincarnation?

Memories of my previous life flashed through my mind the moment I came to that realisation. My consciousness faded away because the memories were too much.

I felt strange after that. I was a new-born baby  growing up at an unbelievable speed. Yet I felt as if this was happening to someone else, I recalled my previous life and let it sink in.

No, it wasn’t like I was growing too fast, but my thoughts had slowed down incredibly. There was a limit to how much my brain could process, so each thought took a long time to think about.

In a world where I felt as if everything had been fast-forwarded, outlines and colours gradually became clearer, and I eventually began to understand the language. Then, I began to grasp who ‘I’ am in this world.

――― A mother who changes every day… no… Are they called nannies? But still, having a nanny who changed every day is extravagant. So, is there a good chance this isn’t the present day? 

――― The name that I’m always called whenever I’m picked up is my name? Or is it a nickname? Or perhaps it’s my title?

――― Everyone in my vision resembled a westerner from my previous life. So, I must as well.

――― The nannies’ clothes felt hundreds of years old and yet this room looked like a modern room. Or was it the other way around? Is this an expensive room built with the latest technology? 

――― I felt something in the air that wasn’t present in my previous life. I felt a faint connection to it and myself. Is this control? Or is it possibly magic?

So that means that this is a western fantasy world with magic, and a medieval – early modern civilisation.

And I am…

I was sitting on a throne looking down at men who had their heads bowed when the speed of my thoughts and the flow of time became consistent.

“Your Majesty. Your vassals have come to wish you a Happy New Year.”   

In other words, I was an emperor at birth.

I cried as hard as I could at once.

◊♦◊♦◊♦◊

Babies aren’t supposed to be emperors or kings because it would be very inconvenient for a nation to have a baby at the top. If a baby becomes a ruler because of the law of succession, then they are usually assassinated.

It happened in the Capetian dynasty in France.

When Louis X died, he had only one daughter, Joan, however Queen Clementina was pregnant (and apparently there was a problem with Joan taking over the throne). So, Louis’s younger brother, Philip, was appointed regent until Queen Clementina gave birth. She eventually gave birth to a boy, Jean ^[1]English: John, and he ascended the throne at the same time as his birth. However, he died less than a week after his birth. Louis’s younger brother, Philip, succeeded the throne as King Philip V.

A similar event happened in China. After the death of Emperor He, the fourth Emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Long was retrieved and brought back to the palace and ascended the throne. He was only a little over 100 days old when he ascended the throne, the actual power was in the hands of the Empress Dowager and her family. He died in the following year.

Infants have high mortality in a world where medical care isn’t well developed. Therefore, it’s difficult to distinguish between assassination and death by illness, which means the possibility of an assassination being exposed was low.

So, I must continue to be afraid of being assassinated in this defenceless state.

But I’m actually alive; this meant that the advantages of keeping me alive outweighed killing me.

I am currently being allowed to live as a puppet.

I became desperate after that. I had to figure out who I was being a puppet for and why I’m the emperor.

But I mustn’t be too clever. A puppet has to be incompetent and stupid, otherwise it would be inconvenient for those in power. Of course, a puppet can’t ask questions even if they have some. I had to analyse and assemble what limited information I had.

That’s how I got to know myself first.

My name is Carmine de la Gade-Bungdalto. It’s a long name. My title is emperor.

This is the Bungdalto Empire. A baby who had just been born has ascended to the throne, so this nation is certainly collapsing.

There are two people who hold power right now in this empire. The Chancellor and the Chief of the Ministry of Ceremonies. Apparently, they are both dukes with royal blood flowing through their veins.

The current empire is in a power struggle between these two leading aristocrats. If I die, this nation will surely be split into two and civil war will break out.

But that’s not a good enough reason for keeping me alive. There must be another reason as to why it was convenient for the two of them to keep me that way.

If I don’t figure that out and become ‘inconvenient’… then I’ll be killed immediately.

Frankly, this was a punishment. What’s with this life? What did I do in my previous life to deserve to be put into this situation?

Just you wait and see…!