#3
“The delegation from that country will be staying for four days.”
“…”
“Each prince will be given one day to hold a banquet. Try to make your banquet a success.”
“May I ask what you consider to be a success?”
“Hmm. There are four princes remaining now, aren’t there?”
There had originally been six children in the Imperial Family.
However, with the deaths of the First Prince and the Fourth Princess, only four princes remained: the Second Prince Reginald, the Third Prince Hiore, who was Reginald’s full brother, the Fifth Prince Judith, and the Sixth Prince Asil.
“It would be too harsh to ask you to come in first place from the beginning. Try to finish in the top two.”
Kalid had said it as though he were doing Judith a favor, but in reality, it was an extremely difficult task.
Judith was a prince with very little influence in many respects.
If he were to hold a banquet, he had far fewer noblewomen who would help him and far fewer attendants at his disposal.
No one would be surprised if Judith came in fourth.
In fact, people would probably be surprised if anyone other than Judith came in fourth.
But if Judith could overcome all those disadvantages and finish in the top two, then he would be worth taking as a chess piece.
That was what Kalid thought.
“I will live up to your expectations.”
Even though he knew he was at a disadvantage, Judith obediently agreed.
Kalid looked pleased as he watched him.
When Judith came out after his bath, formal clothes were hanging outside the bathroom.
Judith put them on with practiced movements.
While the servants of the other princes would probably be wondering what to wear today, Judith’s servants did not have that problem.
He simply did not have many formal outfits.
Especially on a day when he would be meeting the Emperor, there was only one choice: his best outfit.
Just as he was buttoning his shirt, his nanny entered carrying a jewelry box.
“Have you finished getting dressed, Your Highness?”
“Yes.”
When he was younger, his servants would wash and dress him.
But once he had grown a little older, he began washing and dressing himself.
There were only a few servants, and they were already busy enough cleaning the prince’s palace.
“Let’s see. How about this necklace… and what do you think of this ring?”
“Isn’t it too flashy?”
“The other princes will probably come in wearing even more jewelry.”
Judith was about to agree without much thought when he realized something belatedly.
“I’ll skip the necklace… I think one ring is enough.”
“Why…? Ah.”
The nanny looked at Judith with a puzzled expression before her eyes narrowed.
She seemed to have noticed the fingerprints around Judith’s neck.
The nanny opened her mouth with a sorrowful expression.
“Let’s skip the necklace… It would be better to wear a scarf.”
“Okay. I’ll leave it to you.”
The nanny closed the jewelry box and hurried out.
Judith quietly rubbed his neck.
Even the slightest contact caused a dull, aching pain.
It suddenly sank in that he could have died yesterday.
Judith thought back to his meeting with Kalid.
Was meeting him a gain or a loss?
He had risked his life to persuade him, but the result was still uncertain.
As Judith wrapped the scarf his nanny had brought around his neck, he thought,
How much longer can I live?
Judith arrived at the Emperor’s Palace almost exactly on time.
He had learned long ago that there was nothing to gain from arriving early.
He hated getting unnecessarily involved with his brothers and causing trouble.
The corridor outside the waiting room was packed with guards.
They had been stationed there several months ago at the strong request of Aisa, one of the Emperor’s concubines, after the Emperor collapsed.
Simply walking between the helmeted guards was intimidating.
When Judith reached the waiting room, one of the guards removed his helmet, checked his identity, and opened the door.
Creak.
Sunlight entered the dark corridor covered in red carpet.
The other princes were already waiting in front of the waiting room.
“You certainly took your time.”
Reginald, who was sitting back on a sofa, spoke sarcastically.
Hiore, sitting beside him, also looked at Judith unpleasantly.
“Good afternoon.”
“…”
Judith greeted them, but no one returned his greeting.
Asil, Judith’s half-brother, was talking to Aisa some distance away from them.
Even though he knew Judith had entered, he did not even look at him.
What a touching family they were.
Fortunately, Judith was used to this kind of situation.
Instead of sitting on the sofa, he stood by the window, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the sunlight pouring onto his cheeks.
The sunlight was warm, but there was a strange smell of winter in the room.
About ten minutes passed.
After a knock, the chief chamberlain entered the waiting room.
“His Majesty has finished preparing. I will escort you to the audience chamber.”
As though he had been waiting for those words, Reginald immediately stood up.
Hiore also stood and moved to Reginald’s side.
When Asil looked nervous, Aisa whispered something into his ear.
Asil nodded and began walking behind them.
Judith watched the entire scene before quietly following after them.
The audience chamber was a long, narrow room.
A dark red carpet covered the marble floor, while tapestries symbolizing the emperor’s authority hung densely along the walls.
About one-third of the way into the room, there was a staircase.
At the top stood an elaborately decorated throne-like chair.
The Emperor sat there with his chin resting on his hand, watching the princes enter with eyes as sharp as a hawk’s.
Judith could not think of the Emperor sitting before him as his father at all.
They had never once had a proper private meeting in all these years.
The Emperor slowly looked over the princes kneeling before him and opened his mouth.
“Come closer, my beloved sons.”
Despite saying those words, the Emperor’s gaze remained fixed only on the youngest prince.
More precisely, only on Aisa and Asil.
His favoritism was obvious, but no one dared to openly show their displeasure.
“I lived through an age of barbarism.”
As the princes approached, the Emperor continued.
“I watched the horrifying sight of brothers killing one another in order to claim the throne, and I made a decision. If I survived and became Emperor, I would make sure such a thing never happened again.”
They were admirable words.
But no one truly believed them.
The Emperor had slaughtered countless siblings and built his throne upon their blood, and he still did not believe that what he had done was wrong.
Even when the First Prince and Fourth Princess died, had he not simply let the matter pass quietly?
However, after falling in love with Aisa, a concubine he had taken later in life, and having Asil with her, the emperor had begun to feel a sense of crisis.
“Therefore, I intend to hold a competition to select the next emperor.”
“In your generation, there will be no bloodshed. The person who demonstrates the greatest ability and proves themselves solely through their own capabilities will become emperor.”
They were sweet words.
To become emperor without killing or being killed.
It was a groundbreaking declaration, yet no one was surprised.
It seemed as though everyone already knew.
It made sense that Asil knew, but Reginald, Hiore, and even the Duke had known about it.
Judith had not known until Kalid told him.
At times like this, he was painfully reminded of how powerless he was.
“The first competition will be a banquet.”
The Emperor was silent for a moment before continuing.
“The delegation from Herut will remain in the Imperial Palace for four days. You princes are to hold banquets to entertain them.”
The moment the Emperor finished speaking, he began coughing violently.
The coughing continued for quite some time.
Aisa approached the emperor and held a handkerchief to him.
The Emperor patted Aisa’s arm as if to reassure her that he was fine.
Then, as though he had said everything he wanted to say, he gestured toward his servant.
“According to His Majesty’s wishes, we will draw lots to determine the dates of the banquets. Princes who are ready, please step forward.”
The servant standing below the Emperor spoke while holding the slips of paper for the lottery.
Reginald was the first to step forward.
He walked toward the servant with a confident stride.
The servant held out four slips of paper before him.
They would determine the day on which each prince would hold his banquet.
Reginald drew the first slip without hesitation.
The servant checked the slip and solemnly announced,
“His Highness Reginald Friedrich Adennawar will hold the banquet on the first day.”
Reginald looked pleased.
Next was Asil.
Asil had turned eleven just last month, and simply having grown enough to meet the Emperor already seemed like a burden for him.
Perhaps because he was struggling with the weight of the heavy ornament on his head, he kept tilting his head unsteadily.
With his pale complexion, Asil drew the slip for the third banquet day.
Judith drew the fourth day.
Hiore drew the second.
