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

Chapter 3

Although a month had passed since I came to this world, I had yet to see the king. I was cooped up in the library every day, and the king never came out of his room.

I had thought about going to see the king at least once, but I gave up because I didn't want to run into a noble and get into trouble.

‘…It might just be an excuse. An excuse created by the desire to just live quietly.’

Come to think of it, the way I had lived for a month since coming to this world was the epitome of an ‘incompetent crown prince’.

An incompetent crown prince who lived by entrusting his body and soul to the times, without any thought of reclaiming the natural power given to him as royalty.

That must be why I met the end of being used as a sacrifice by the nobles during the people's rebellion. It wouldn't have been strange if I had died. Thinking about it objectively, even if I hadn't been used by the nobles and offered as a sacrifice, I would have had no excuse even if the people of the kingdom had thrown stones at me.

A ‘crown prince’ should be devoted to the kingdom and its people, but I had forsaken that responsibility.

‘In any case, to know the future and still do nothing would make me an idiot.’

And while I might be incompetent, I was not an idiot.

Before long, guided by Elly, I arrived in front of the king's room. Then, Elly knocked on the door cautiously.

Knock, knock―.

Originally, announcing that someone had come was a job for the knight or vassal guarding the king's room, but since there was no one, Elly had to do it instead.

It seemed not only I, the crown prince, but also the king was being treated quite shabbily.

“H-His Highness the Crown Prince has come to see you!”

When Elly spoke, the weak voice of an old man was heard from inside the door.

―…Come in.

“He has given permission to enter! Then I will open the door…?”

Elly, unable to hide her novice maid-like manner, opened the door. Then―.

“Uhm….”

A foul odor leaked out from the gap of the opening door. It was the unique bad smell that comes when a person is sick, dying, and rotting.

To have left the king in such a state, it seemed even basic cleaning wasn't being done.

‘Would I have lived in a room like this if it weren't for Elly?’

I barely managed to overcome the stench and entered the room. Elly reluctantly followed behind me, trying to hide her unwillingness to enter.

I could see the king lying weakly on the bed. The room was dark, and only the faint sunlight coming through the curtains illuminated half of the king's face.

“Leonardo… it's been a while.”

An old man, a fallen king, a dying person.

Whatever one might call him, he managed a smile and spoke to me. His eyes were unfocused, as if he couldn't see well.

Tap, tap.

The king lightly tapped his bed and continued to speak.

“Come and sit here. I want to see you up close.”

I didn't want to go. The closer I got to him, the more unbearable the stench became.

But I still approached. For I had something to ask that man.

As I approached the bedside, the king weakly wiped the sleep from his eyes and looked at me. Then he smiled like a father and said.

“You look healthy. Have you been well?”

“Yes, I am doing well. As for Your Majesty―.”

“You can just call me ‘Father’. I no longer wish to be called king.”

Those were dangerous words. If any other noble had heard them, they would have immediately pressured him to abdicate the throne.

“Please do not say such things. The king of this kingdom is you, Your Majesty.”

“Hoo… I am tired, my son. I have nothing left. My beloved queen died of illness, and your older brothers, who were excellent knights and mages, died in the war.”

This was news to me. That the queen had died of illness, or that I had two older brothers, both of whom had died in the war.

“All that's left is a dying body and a uselessly shining crown. Ah… and one more thing, you, my son, who comes to see me like this.”

The king muttered weakly and then asked me.

“So, what is the reason you came to see me? To take the throne?”

“As I just said, until Your Majesty passes away, you are the king.”

“So you did. Then why did you come?”

“I have something to ask.”

After answering briefly, I turned my head and gestured for Elly to leave the room. At that hand signal, Elly was momentarily flustered, then, glancing at me, she cautiously left the room.

“Th-then I will be waiting outside.”

Click.

After confirming that Elly had left, I asked the king again.

“Your Majesty. Are there any people in this kingdom who are loyal to you and the royal family?”

The king asked back, as if he didn't understand the intention of my question.

“People loyal to me and the royal family…?”

“Yes. I am asking for people I can use as my limbs. It doesn't matter if they are knights or mages. Butlers, maids, or even servants like cooks or gardeners are also fine. Please tell me if there is anyone like that, whoever they may be.”

“Why do you ask that?”

Why do I ask?

The reason was simple.

“Because I want to live.”

“……”

“I am sorry to say this, but if Your Majesty passes away soon, I will be forced to inherit the throne. Then the nobles will take everything from me, play with me as they please, and when there's nothing left to take, they will kill me.”

“…Leonardo.”

“So I want to build up my strength before that. Even the bare minimum of strength.”

The king closed his eyes and pondered.

“People loyal to me and the royal family, you say….”

Soon, the king began to answer in a voice lacking confidence.

“Hmm… the 3rd Knight Commander, Jereuth. He was my old friend. That fellow might still have some loyalty left for the royal family.”

3rd Knight Commander Jereuth?

“But I don't know if he, who left me in disappointment, will help you. It would be better for Jereuth to side with Duke Vaimal or Duke Panshin, or another noble family, rather than protect the collapsed royal family.”

“What about the 1st or 2nd Knight Commanders?”

Since the 3rd Knight Commander was mentioned, I asked about the other knight commanders just in case. But the answer I received was devastating.

“They follow the nobles. The 1st Knight Commander follows Duke Vaimal, and the 2nd Knight Commander follows Duke Panshin.”

“…I see.”

The king, after speaking in a weak voice, changed to a somewhat worried tone and continued.

“My son. Are you perhaps trying to re-establish the royal family? If so, it would be better to give up. You are weak. I am weak too.”

“……”

“Since you said you want to live, let me give you some advice. Abandon all your pride, choose either the Vaimal or Panshin family, and go under them. That is the only way you can live.”

“By ‘going under them’, do you mean marrying one of the duke's daughters?”

“If one of the dukes gives you his daughter, there would be nothing better for you. But in my opinion, rather than hoping for a marriage, it seems more realistic for you to hand over the throne to one of the two dukes yourself.”

“……”

“If you offer to hand over the throne now, while the legitimacy of the royal family still remains even a little, the dukes will accept it. I don't know which duke you will choose, but the duke who becomes king will protect you for his own legitimacy. Because if you die, the legitimacy you gave him will also disappear.”

Since the legitimacy of the royal family still remains, voluntarily hand over the throne to the dukes… is it.

The king seemed to be genuinely worried about me and giving me advice in his own way.

Just like it was written in the .

‘I should keep this in mind for now. I don't know how a small piece of advice like this might be used.’

Nevertheless, my thoughts were different from the king's.

‘As the king says, if I hand over the throne to either Duke Vaimal or Duke Panshin, the new duke-king might protect me. But seeing what the nobles are doing now, a rebellion will eventually happen, sooner or later.’

And if a rebellion occurred, the new duke-king was highly likely to pin the blame on me and use me as a sacrifice to quell the rebellion.

While giving the reason, ‘Our kingdom is in hardship because the Plank royal family ruined the country. Therefore, I will kill the last blood of the Plank royal family and pledge a new start for the kingdom.’

‘Above all, the future me gave the correct answer. That the only way to live is for me to build up my power.’

If the shortcut of going under a duke had worked, the future me would have suggested such a method.

But there was no such mention at all.

Only to build power. That was the only answer.

So for now, I had to take the direct approach, not a shortcut.

Organizing my thoughts, I asked the king.

“Thank you for your advice. Still, Father, is there anyone else besides Knight Commander Jereuth? Someone with remaining loyalty to the royal family.”

“Besides Jereuth…”

The king pondered again, then continued with difficulty.

“There is no one in this kingdom.”

“Then are you saying there are some outside?”

“Yes. The Dwarves in the ‘Mine Cave’ beyond the Monster Mountains to the east of our Plank Kingdom. The Giants in the ‘Wasteland of Ruin’ to the northeast. The Elves in the ‘Foothill's Rest’ to the northwest. Some of them were my friends in the past. Since Dwarves, Giants, and Elves are races that value trust, they might help if you ask for it.”

“Dwarves, Giants, and Elves.”

“Yes. But they too will refuse if you have to fight to seize power. They are a strong race, but they try not to get involved in human affairs as much as possible.”

Cough, cough…!

Coughing, the king took my hand.

“My son. I told you these things because you asked, but don't do anything foolish. The royal family has already collapsed. The only way you can live is by catering to the nobles' whims.”

“……”

“It would have been so nice if my father had told me this when I was young. You may leave now.”

The king told me to leave. But I had one last important thing to ask.

“Your Majesty. Could you perhaps tell me about Knight Commander Jereuth? His personality, or anything is fine. You mentioned earlier that Jereuth was disappointed in Your Majesty, and I would be grateful if you could tell me about that as well.”

“…Leonardo, I told you. Don’t have any foolish thoughts and go under the duke’s—.”

“Father.”

“……”

“I beg you. I must hear it.”

Squeeze.

I earnestly pleaded and held the king's hand. I could feel the hand of an old man with nothing but skin and bones left.

“…Does history repeat itself?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s nothing. Hoo….”

The king sighed, then spoke to me as if he had no choice.

“I will tell you about Jereuth. He is a very upright person. When he was young, he was a great knight, so much so that he was called ‘A single ray of light that cleaves the battlefield’. And he is of commoner origin. There are a few knights of commoner origin, but he is the only one who has risen to the rank of knight commander. Most of the knights of the 3rd Knight Order that he leads are also of commoner origin.”

“An upright knight commander of commoner origin—I see.”

“Yes. I met him when I was young while adventuring. And… I suddenly remember what that fellow said back then. The fellow said that the reason he took up the sword was ‘to protect the common people who are the foundation of this kingdom.’”

“A person who cares deeply for the common people.”

“That's right. When I heard those words, I thought that Jereuth was more suited to be king than me. Because he was a fellow who was stronger, more upright, and cared for the kingdom than I did. …Not a weak person like me.”

Just by hearing this much, I could roughly tell what kind of person Jereuth was. He was a typical ‘loyal knight commander’.

One that was rare not only in actual history but even in novels.

“But what do you mean that such a person was disappointed in Your Majesty?”

“That is….”

The king hesitated to speak. Then soon, he rummaged under his pillow and took out a rather thick notebook and said.

“What is this?”

“Your mother, my wife. And… the diary of the woman Jereuth loved.”

“…?”

“Everything is written in this diary. Why Jereuth was disappointed in me, and many things you might be curious about regarding Jereuth.”

The king handed me the diary and finished his words.

“This is all I can say and give to you. Take it.”

Having finished speaking, the king gave me the queen's diary and waved his hand. A hand gesture telling me to leave as there was nothing more to say.

At the polite dismissal, I bowed my head in greeting and left the king's room.

“……”

My head was a mess.

But.

‘For now, I've gotten what I need. I must meet this person named Jereuth.’