TOPWL 54

“That’s not it…”

“Enough. I understand that you thought of me as some clueless old man stuck in the back room. I won’t show my face for a while, so the Prince should accept the outcome and reflect on it.”

“…I understand.”

Reginald lowered his head. The Emperor clicked his tongue and turned away. This was the first humiliation Reginald had ever experienced. The Emperor did not hide his displeasure and walked angrily out of the hall. All the nobles and reporters were watching. If it had been a private place without them, it might not have mattered, but the Emperor’s behavior in front of these people sent a strong message.

‘The position of Prince Reginald is not secure!’

Reginald had grown up like the Crown Prince as the first child of the Empress, even though he was never officially crowned. The nobles, of course, believed Reginald would become Emperor and had been supporting him all along. Yet the Emperor’s conduct suggests otherwise. The nobles were already exchanging glances, and reporters were too afraid to approach Yudit.

“Please share your thoughts on winning first place in the first competition!”

“Congratulations, Prince Yudit! Just one word, please!”

“How does it feel… to be first?”

The murmurs of the crowd began to blend together. Yudit looked at them in confusion, then met Reginald’s gaze. Reginald was barely holding himself back from lunging at Yudit. The whites of his eyes were reddening, and his jaw muscles bulged as he gritted his teeth. Seeing Reginald’s hateful stare, Yudit finally understood the Emperor’s intentions.

Up until now, Reginald had seen Yudit as less than human—a rat or insect, something he could ignore because it would soon die on its own. But now, with Yudit winning first place, they were suddenly equals.

Reginald’s wrath would be directed not at Azil, who took third place, or Hiore, who came second, but at the weakest and most vulnerable Yudit. Yudit glanced down at the scroll he was holding. It wasn’t a genuine ranking sheet; it was more like the Emperor’s carefully constructed list of Reginald’s rivals. By placing Yudit in first and Azil in third, Azik was protected. That’s why, despite his victory, Yudit couldn’t feel joy.

From now on, Reginald would do everything to eliminate Yudit. Once he was removed, the next target would be Hiore, and before Azil was killed, the Emperor would execute Reginald for killing his brothers. Then the last prince, Azil, would inherit the crown.

‘Ah, Your Majesty. I never sought your love, yet why do you use me so thoroughly?’

A bitter laugh escaped him. The competition’s real goal had never been to crown Azil as Emperor. The Emperor’s true purpose had been to make Reginald a fool and turn the brothers against each other.

“Congratulations, Yudit.”

Reginald looked down at Yudit, speaking gently. He then embraced the stiff Yudit and whispered in his ear.

“The remaining days will be quite interesting, so you can look forward to them.”

It seemed that, at least for Yudit, Reginald was determined to play the role of a madman.

Yudit had no idea how he made it back to his room. After hurriedly walking to avoid the reporters, he found himself in his bedroom. The nanny was speaking with the servants there.

“Crown Prince, you’re back? What happened?”

The servants looked at Yudit curiously. Noticing his exhausted face, the nanny sighed deeply.

“You came fourth, didn’t you? Well, I expected that. Don’t be too discouraged.”

The nanny patted Yudit with a pitiful smile. Seeing that he still looked downcast, the servants began to rise one by one. They seemed to want to leave him alone. Yudit said nothing, and the nanny eventually left the room as well, leaving Yudit alone in the bedroom.

He had worked hard, but he hadn’t wanted to win first place like this; his goal was to prove himself to Khalid by coming second. Yudit curled up in bed, feeling an overwhelming sense of fatigue. He was on the verge of falling asleep when the door suddenly burst open.

“Prince!”

It was the nanny again. Yudit rubbed his face and opened his eyes. The nanny hurriedly approached, clearly flustered.

“What’s all this about? First place?”

Apparently, she had heard the news somewhere. The entire palace was buzzing, so the rumors must have spread to his residence as well. Yudit considered explaining but decided against it.

“Well… it turned out that way.”

“My goodness! Why were you so down then? Oh, my!”

The nanny jumped up and down excitedly.

“Isn’t there some kind of prize? A reward, perhaps?”

“I haven’t heard anything like that.”

Disappointment flashed across the nanny’s face.

“So, that’s it? Just first place?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, that’s useless then.”

“I guess so. Nanny, I want to be alone for a while.”

“Oh, alright. You really are sensitive.”

The nanny muttered as she left the room. After her footsteps faded, Yudit closed his eyes again.

***

“……Hmm.”

How much time had passed? It felt like he had just taken a brief nap, but soon it was midnight. Yudit pushed his disheveled hair back and sat up. His body felt heavy, as if he had caught a cold. He stood up.

“……”

Yudit raised his head and looked at the door. The room was quiet. Had he imagined it? He listened carefully, and then—knock, knock. A faint knocking sound came from the door. Yudit’s face hardened, and he pulled out a dagger he had hidden in the bed. The rankings had been released today. If he were to die tonight, Reginald would naturally be the prime suspect. He thought he would be safe for this one night, but…

Yudit crept toward the door, his bare feet making no sound. He listened carefully as the knocking continued.

“Are you asleep?”

It was Khalid. Yudit peeked at him through the crack in the door. Khalid stood there alone. Yudit didn’t let his guard down and unlocked the door. When it opened, Khalid, the uninvited guest of the night, smiled crookedly and made eye contact with Yudit.

“I must have woken you up. Sorry about that.”

He didn’t sound sorry at all. Khalid extended something to Yudit.

“Flowers…?”

What Khalid handed over was a bouquet. The rich fragrance of freshly picked flowers hit Yudit hard. In a daze, he took the bouquet, and Khalid looked up at him.

“Let’s go inside.”

Khalid, with his boots on, entered Yudit’s room as if it was nothing, and even took a cup of tea.

“…Here you go.”

“Oh, it’s that tea from the banquet. It was good.”

Khalid took a sip of the hot tea.

“Still good.”

“Why are you here?”

“To give you flowers …”

“…?”

Yudit made a strange face, and Khalid burst out laughing.

“It’s true. I came to congratulate you.”

Yudit smiled bitterly at Khalid’s words.

“Then I suppose you’re not very happy about it?”

“The ranking had nothing to do with my effort.”

“Hmm, why do you think that?”

Yudit gave Khalid a sharp look as if asking, “Don’t you know?” Khalid appeared genuinely puzzled.

“If you look at the ranking sheet, you’ll see. I’m first, Reginald is fourth.”

“So, Reginald is angry and wants to kill you for being first, then he’ll kill Hiore, and the Emperor will execute him for killing his brothers before making Azil Emperor?”

“…You really know a lot.”

“If that’s all I knew, I wouldn’t have brought you flowers.”

“…What do you mean?”

“The Emperor’s original plan wasn’t this.”

Yudit blinked in confusion at Khalid’s words.

“Originally, the Emperor wanted to frame this as a brotherly conflict. He didn’t have any real expectations of you. But you surprised him with your results. The ongoing exchanges with Herut, your overwhelming performance.”

“……”

“This result might not be your real performance, but it’s definitely enough to change the Emperor’s mind.”

“But…”

“The Emperor said he would pass the throne through the competition. Do you know what that means?”

Yudit shook his head. Khalid poked his finger into Yudit’s chest and said,

“If the Emperor suddenly dies tonight, you’ll be the next Emperor.”