Chapter 5: Pearl Palace (2)

Around the time Seongjin was getting used to the new life little by little while doing physical training in the corner of the room, rumors began to circulate in the imperial palace that the prince had become a little strange. It was because in the past, Pearl Palace, which had never been quiet due to the sound of swearing in a loud voice and the sound of breaking objects, was as calm as a windless water surface for several days. At first, even those who thought that he had no energy to act evil after he was ill, gradually began to notice the change in the prince. “I heard he doesn’t complain about the food at all? In the past, it was rather rare that the table was not spilled.” “In the past, he made a fuss from time to time asking for snacks, but these days he doesn’t even look for snacks at all. The amount of food was also greatly reduced.” The commotion happened gradually. Until now, the servants, who had been careful with their mouths as much as possible because of the Queen, who opened her eyes and kept their mouths shut, started pounding cubes here and there to avoid being watched as their peaceful daily life continued. “Why is he so meek? I’m rather anxious that something might explode.” “They said his memories isn’t complete yet? People don’t change easily. When he recovers, he will soon act like he used to.” “well. They say that people themselves have changed. He had such a high fever, so maybe his head got a little weird after all?” “Shh! You’re out of your mind, what if someone hears it……” And all such rumors were being reported to the chief chamberlain through the eyes and ears densely spread within the imperial palace. “… What a strange thing.” After hearing the reports from the attendants, Chief Chamberlain Louis rested his chin on his head and thought. “It is said that it is not uncommon for a person to have such a complete personality change after suffering from a high fever or trauma.” Even as the attendant added, Louis shook his head in silence. Prince Morres’ change was certainly surprising and welcome. However, the chief chamberlain was rather concerned about the Holy Emperor’s attitude towards him rather than the prince’s change. He has been by his side every single day since the young Holy Emperor ascended the throne. So, he was well aware of how diligently the Holy Emperor put his heart and soul into managing the Pearl Palace without any variable. Employees were directly nominated, and visitors were strictly limited. The resident driver who manages the accounting books separately and is in charge of security was also selected by directly reviewing the application documents. That’s why, in spite of Prince Morres’ sudden change, it was rather strange that he had been quietly watching without any comment until now. The reason for the change must have been due to the unexpected fever, but would it be too much of a doubt if he considered that this was also under the control of his master? “It’s time for Prince Morres’s audience.” He guessed he should visit the prince in person before that and take a closer look. Touching his smooth-shaven chin, the chief chamberlain made that decision. * * * “Did you have a good night?” “Yeah, roughly.” If there is a person Seongjin sees most often after Edith, it would be the resident doctor at Pearl Palace. This elderly councilor by the name of Ninnias was too sloppy to be seen as a member of the imperial palace. Every time he opens his mouth, the smell of alcohol vibrates, and his nose is red, which makes him feel like an alcoholic. Such shabby inspiration was a regular checkup, and he examined the Seongjin twice a day, morning and evening, but he couldn’t trust anything he did. Presbyopia or less sobering, he looked at Seongjin’s complexion with dim eyes and nodded, but it is doubtful that he was seeing something properly. He felt his pulse with his hand, which also had severe tremor, but his trembling fingers couldn’t even properly touch it. “Great. That’s good.” What’s good? Is this person a trustworthy doctor? When Seongjin, taken aback, looked back at Edith, who was standing next to her, she sighed and replied. “Ninnias is actually the one who mainly looks after the permanent knights of the Pearl Palace. There was originally a separate doctor for Your Highness, but……” According to Edith, until recently, several well-to-do members of the Imperial Palace were on duty as Morres’ personal physician. They were said to be fairly well-known members of the ‘Lyora School’, which is the most recognized in the imperial capital. However, when the prince collapsed from a fever and was unable to receive proper treatment, all of them fell out of favor with the Holy Emperor and were demoted to lower positions. He must be touring the slums and seeing plague patients now. What, then shouldn’t we send a new primary care physician soon? Why are you treating the prince who came back to life like this? “Kukukuku.” Doctor Ninnias, who had been quietly listening to Edith’s story, suddenly let out a low laugh. “Isn’t that what really suits them? Because the Lyora Order always bullshit about them fighting the plague on the front lines.” At the sudden cynical words of the doctor, Sungjin and Edith eyes widened and they looked at him. As if he had accidentally said something, the doctor was more startled than they were, and quickly tried to fix it. “Oh, of course I respect the teachings of the Lyora School, the only tradition recognized by the Crusade of Delcross! How are I!” [He speaks well of things he doesn’t like.] The demon king quickly added in Seongjin’s head. [The old man is now thinking ‘It’s been bad, you Lyora quacks…’.] Well, even if he didn’t tell me, he couldn’t help but notice that talking about respect was bullshit when he saw the expression on the doctor’s shit-eating face. It seems to be antipathy towards the school itself rather than something personal. Naturally, Seongjin had no choice but to ask the following question. “Well then, Doctor Ninnias. Where is your school?” The doctor stared at Seongjin for a moment with blank eyes. It seemed out of focus like never before, but Seongjin got the feeling that the old man was seeing him properly for the first time. After a moment of silence, Doctor Ninnias shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry to inform you, my lord. I am a foolish pharmacist who learned by picking things up here and there.” “…….” “I was lucky enough to catch His Majesty’s eyes and get a solid job in my old age, but I never really belonged to a school.” [It is a lie.] This time, too, Seongjin was able to grasp the true intention of the doctor before the demon king tipped him off. He was an old man with an honest expression. “Anyway, I don’t think you need to do regular check-ups every day from now on, Your Highness. You have fully recovered from your fever.” The doctor hurriedly collected the examination tools and stood up from his seat. “From now on, focus only on recovering your physical strength by eating a lot and exercising freely. And……” “And?” “Compared to normal people, it seems that the activation of the Aura in the body is a little weak, so I think that recovery will be faster if you put in effort at least in practicing Aura.” He had only recently started examining Morres, and it was clear that the old man did not know much about the idiot Third Prince. If it had been Morres’s original doctors, they would never have said the last word. As soon as the words to come came out of the old man’s mouth, Edith looked back at Seongjin with twinkling eyes. “……?” Girl, were you expecting me to throw something? Seongjin looked at her blindly, and she immediately grumbled with a sullen face. “My only pleasure……” Edith, you’re not a disk-chasing dog, so why are you looking for the pleasure of life in such a place? Anyway, even if it wasn’t recommended by the doctor, Seongjin was also thinking about starting outdoor exercise in earnest while managing his diet. “Edith. Could you tell the kitchen to ask for less spice on the food from now on? Ask for plenty of salad without sauce. I don’t mind eating food I don’t touch.” I’m not in the mood to give you a low-salt, low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet, so I thought I’d have to pick and eat. How much knowledge do people here have about nutritional components? As far as I can see, it seems to be somewhere between the Middle Ages and modern times. Edith was unable to hide her puzzled expression at the unexpectedly unfamiliar order, but Seongjin slowly turned her shoulders and added a comment. “Oh, and I want to go to the gymnasium, can you guide me?” * * * The gymnasium in the Pearl Palace was originally a place made for Morres’ private swordsmanship lessons. Of course, it wasn’t used for a while after he struck his swordsmanship early, but it was kept clean even after that by the administrative officials who kept an eye on the queen. As a result, at some point, the escort knights residing in the Pearl Palace had been transformed into a comfortable place for individual training instead of a distant Knights training ground. But now all the knights stopped training and gathered in the corner of the gymnasium and stood with their eyes open. It was because the Pig Third Prince, who suddenly appeared, was taking over the not-so-wide gymnasium. The prince was neither walking nor running, but circling the entire gymnasium at a moderate speed. ‘What the fuck is that crazy guy suddenly getting wind of?’ The eyes of the knights who were watching the prince who was leading the gigantic body were not very kind. Unlike the ladies-in-waiting, who had a strong military discipline, they were knights with relatively weak influence from the queen. It’s not uncommon for them to treat the prince rudely. Even now, some knights openly cast contempt. However, to Seongjin, who had already set the goal of training his stamina and acquiring Aura, and started rushing forward, the unpleasant reactions of the knights were not a consideration at all. He whimpered and turned around a few times, and without even looking at the knights, he entered the Pearl Palace empty-handed, wiping his sweat with his sleeve. What the hell just happened? The knights belatedly looked at each other bewildered. It was a situation where he would have gone crazy at them for not bowing properly, but that fool just quietly exercised and disappeared completely? The knights blinked their eyes for a moment, but soon resumed their personal training and thought. ‘There are all sorts of strange things in life……’ Everyone thought it was just a whim. But the next day, and the day after that. The knights appeared at the same time and saw Morres walking around the gymnasium. “Ugh! Heuk! Keugh! Huh!” [Hey hey, you’re out of breath. How many laps has it been that you’re already dying?] ‘Wow, such poor stamina……’ Seongjin frowned while panting unsightly. Originally, he planned to lightly train for a few days to build enough muscle to support his skeleton, and then start aerobic exercise in earnest when he lost some weight…… ‘No, I’m already doing aerobic exercise with all my might?’ He’d only walked a few laps around the gym, but his lungs felt like they were about to explode and his heart was beating like crazy. His whole body was drenched in sweat as if it had been rained on. At this rate, when do you build stamina and when do you learn aura? Slowly, annoyance rose. The knights whispering in the corner with a disapproving expression were annoying for nothing, and the sweat dripping down his hair wet his eyes and stung them. He was rubbing his eyes nervously when a dry towel suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. He accepted it without hesitation and looked up to see an old gentleman looking at Seongjin with a smile on his face. ‘Who……?’ The old man was standing with several attendants. Looking at his white hair, he doesn’t seem to be young, but his waist is straight and he’s wearing a neat outfit with not a single button disturbed. When Seongjin’s eyes met, the old man took a step back, raised his right hand to his chest, and bowed his head respectfully. “I greet the prince.” It is an old-fashioned gesture as if it were painted. The attendants following him also bowed their backs. Seongjin didn’t know how to react and was staring blankly at him, but the old man put on a slightly puzzled expression. “This… I heard that your memories went missing after the fever, but I didn’t pay a visit. I apologize. Your Highness.” He never loses his extremely polite attitude toward the young prince. He was a person with a respectful attitude. Seongjin admired inwardly and picked up a towel to wipe away the sweat. Seeing that, the old man smiled again, then lightly lowered his head and said, “My name is Louis Feltre, Chief Chamberlain of the Imperial Palace. I am assisting His Majesty’s side.” “……!” Suddenly, someone like the right hand of the final boss appeared. Seongjin’s mouth hardened for an instant, but the old man, unaware of it, continued with a bright voice as he handed over a sweaty towel. “It’s been a while since you woke up from the hospital, and you’re already doing this intense physical training.” “Well, just for exercise……” “Since the young prince is so valiant, wouldn’t the knights of the Pearl Palace follow suit and become more diligent? Indeed, it is the joy of the Holy Imperial Family, and it cannot be anything but the blessing of Delcross.” Seongjin looked around with an absurd face. No, old man. Look at the atmosphere when giving flattery. Look at those knights over there. Don’t you think they’re going to fire lasers right now? The Demon King clicked his tongue. [Wow, this guy, is he serious? Is this a bean pod from the other world?] It’s not like it’s not true, but the chief chamberlain has a happy face as if he were looking at his wonderful grandson. Seongjin averted his gaze and cleared his throat. “… uh, hm. Louis. So what’s going on here……?” Seongjin, who was not used to treating an elderly man as a servant, blurted out his words clumsily, but the chief chamberlain didn’t seem to care. “After the prince passed out from the fever, His Majesty the Holy Emperor was greatly worried. Didn’t he put off state affairs and inspected the Pearl Palace himself, and afterwards, refusing the healing priests and displaying his enormous holy power, he finally cured the terrible fever?” “That… I heard of it.” He didn’t know, but let’s say that for now. “Fortunately, the prince got out of bed in good health, but His Majesty was not easily relieved and ordered to take a closer look at your condition before the audience.” “Uh… That’s really something to be thankful for.” “The prince is still recovering his health, so if you wish, He will personally go to the Pearl Palace during this refreshment time.” Huh? Yes? Are you going? Recognizing Seongjin’s bewildered expression, Louis quickly added an explanation. “Oh, you seem to have forgotten about the regular audience. Since ancient times, His Majesty the Holy Emperor has had a regular refreshment time with the princes and princesses at least once a week.” “……!” Does the king of a country have all the time for that? This is unpleasant news for Seongjin, who wants to avoid encountering the Holy Emperor as much as possible. “As you know, His Majesty’s attention to his children is very special, and the audience has not been delayed until now unless there is a major event in the empire or an unavoidable schedule change. In the case of Prince Morres, however……” However? “There were many cases where appointments were canceled on the day of the audience. For some reason, it was not uncommon for you to send a message saying that you suddenly felt unwell right before the audience……” “……” “As a result, recently, it has often been the case that His Majesty the Holy Emperor asked the prince’s intention in advance and personally delivered him to the Pearl Palace. He told me to ask the child if he would do the same this time.” Morres you crazy bastard! You say you broke your appointment with the Holy Emperor frequently? Is this bastard insane? Seongjin felt a cold sweat flow.