How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 83: Entry (2)

With the eyes of the royal family, the nobles, the countless knights and soldiers, and the people of the kingdom all focused upon him—

Step.

Jurein, walking forward without hesitation, stood at the center of the grand plaza.

From the platform above, the gazes of the Third Queen and his siblings were varied. But he no longer felt nervous.

When the Third Queen raised her hand, the crowd’s cheers gradually died down.

“......”

Eventually, silence descended fully over the plaza.

Just as he had done during the ceremony in the mountains, Jurein knelt down on one knee.

“I, Jurein Marhargel, Fifth Prince, have safely returned after completing the sacred royal ceremony.”

The Third Queen, accompanied by knights, slowly descended the platform and stood before Jurein.

Jurein drew the sword he had received from the royal guardian knight from his waist, scabbard and all, and held it up toward her.

The Queen received the sword, confirmed the royal insignia engraved upon it, and gave a nod.

“Well done, Fifth Prince.”

Receiving the sword back, Jurein looked up at her for a moment.

Her face, still emotionless and indifferent as ever.

Soon, he took the hand she extended and rose to his feet.

WAAAAAAAAH...!!

An even greater roar of cheers than before exploded, echoing thunderously across the grand plaza.

Jurein looked around with a faintly emotional expression.

Karl, who stood a bit behind at a distance, turned his eyes from that sight.

From among the nobles’ side, he could feel a gaze—sharp and intense—focused on them.

[Lv.60]

[Head of House Seinpier]

A middle-aged man with striking ash-gray hair.

One of the two strongest martial powers in the Marhargel Kingdom.

[Lv.62]

[Commander of Marhargel’s Royal Guardians]

The other, the Commander of the Royal Guardians, Devan, stood among the knights on the opposite side from the nobles.

Both men stared at Jurein with solemn expressions typical of their stature.

‘High-tier, royal-grade...’

Before his awakening in the Stemik Archipelago, Karl would have stood no chance against them.

As he was having that passing thought, his eyes met Devan’s.

Karl quickly looked away.

It was a mere coincidence, so Devan also soon averted his gaze from Karl.

‘So that’s who he’s trying to win over.’

Karl recalled Jurein’s earlier words.

That he would learn the original version of Flame Spear Ring in order to gain the support of the Royal Guardian Knights.

If that were truly possible, then the idea of Jurein ascending to the throne might not be so far-fetched after all.

To have a high-tier martial powerhouse—one of the kingdom’s greatest strengths—actively supporting him.

The weight of that, regardless of the title of “commander,” was comparable to that of several high noble houses combined.

‘And Duke Seinpier supports the Second Prince, if I remember right.’

Karl turned his gaze toward the platform.

Among the princes and princesses, one man still sat with an indifferent face. That was the Second Prince, Camon Marhargel.

Though lower in level than Devan, Duke Seinpier was also a royal-grade martial power.

That was why the one closest to the throne right now was Second Prince Camon.

In other words, the one that required the most caution was the Second Prince.

If the First Prince had indeed been assassinated, and if Duke Seinpier was backing Camon, then he was the most likely culprit behind the plot.

‘And I get the feeling the clue I need might be related to the First Prince too.’

It was just intuition.

A method to drag the real mastermind into the open—the opportunity would come if Jurein continued aiming for the throne, just as he’d said.

From the beginning, Jurein’s bid for the throne was only a means to an end.

His true goal was to uncover the truth behind the First Prince’s death.

If Jurein achieved that goal during his rise, and Karl also acquired the clues he needed, then half a year wouldn’t be wasted after all.

As for detailed plans moving forward—they could figure those out after gauging the atmosphere of the capital. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

Karl looked back toward Jurein.

Before he knew it, royal knights had approached and were draping a crest-marked banner over Jurein.

The royal ceremony had now concluded in full.

* * *

That night, after the completion of the royal ceremony—

In a spacious and luxurious room, one man sat with his legs crossed.

It was the Third Prince, Kaivern Marhargel.

He sat absentmindedly, stroking his chin, lost in thought.

Eventually, he muttered aloud to himself.

“...I don’t understand.”

Kaivern recalled the sight of his half-brother from earlier that day in the plaza.

That Jurein had returned safely and completed the ceremony was entirely unexpected.

He was certain the Fourth Prince, Thayns, had sent hounds from the underworld guild after him.

With only a single knight and mage accompanying him, how had he survived an ambush?

That alone was odd enough, but there was something else he found even harder to accept.

“Wasn’t it said the First Princess had sent someone as well?”

At those words, the woman standing silently behind him spoke up.

“Yes, Your Highness. It was confirmed there were three individuals.”

“Yes. And one of them was a high-tier martial combatant.”

Not only Thayns—Princess Chloa had also sent people after Jurein.

Though few in number, their quality was incomparably superior to those lowly hounds.

Even if he’d somehow barely fended off the ambush from Thayns’s men, there was no way a powerless Fifth Prince could overcome assassins sent by the First Princess as well.

‘Unless...’

A single possibility crossed his mind.

What if the people Chloa /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ had sent actually saved Jurein during the ambush?

That would explain the contradiction in events, but Kaivern couldn’t make sense of Chloa’s intentions.

There was absolutely no reason for her to keep the Fifth Prince alive.

“I don’t get it. I really don’t...”

He regretted not sending someone of his own after all.

In truth, Kaivern had never paid any attention to the Fifth Prince, Jurein.

Not just Kaivern—none of the siblings, aside from Thayns, had shown any interest.

A prince in name only, lacking in power, with all his former allies long gone, and nothing left around him.

There was no reason to keep him alive, but no point in bothering to kill him either.

Not even a threat, barely a pebble in the road—that was the Fifth Prince, Jurein.

And yet, he had defied all expectations, returned to the capital unharmed, and completed the ceremony for all to see.

It changed nothing, of course—but Kaivern felt a vague, unshakable irritation.

‘...This isn’t the time to be bothered by something so pointless.’

Still, that was all it was.

Since the Fifth Prince had survived, it was only a matter of time before Thayns, that impatient little brother, made another move.

He had waited patiently, even letting the ceremony day pass, and still failed.

It remained to be seen how Jurein would move next, and how Chloa would react.

But those minor things paled in comparison to the far more important matter occupying Kaivern’s full attention now.

“Have they still not replied?”

“...No, not yet.”

The woman answered with a face that looked like she had more to say.

Kaivern clicked his tongue and crossed his legs the other way. A trace of impatience showed through.

‘Aranhel.’

The continent’s most infamous terrorist organization—feared across the entire Rune Continent, synonymous with evil.

Kaivern had, by sheer coincidence, gained an opportunity to make contact with them once.

And now, he was continuously corresponding with them, trying to win them over.

A royal doing something this insane—it was madness beyond madness. But Kaivern didn’t care.

At this point, nothing short of this would allow him to surpass the Second Prince.

Second Prince Camon, who had quickly expanded his power base from the very beginning with Duke Seinpier’s support.

That gap was only continuing to grow.

Currently, Camon was undeniably the closest to the throne.

If Kaivern hesitated any longer, he would never be able to close that gap again.

‘I must bring them in.’

Having already crossed the line once, there was no way Kaivern could stop himself now.

A faint glimmer of madness flickered in his eyes.

* * *

“He still hasn’t returned...”

First Princess, Chloa Marhargel.

She murmured, trailing off after receiving a report from her subordinate.

The three individuals she had sent to tail the Fifth Prince still had not returned to the capital.

Even though the Fifth Prince had already come back safely and completed the ceremony earlier that day.

At this point, it was only logical to assume something had gone wrong.

‘They’re all dead.’

Having made her judgment, Chloa took her seat.

To be honest, the situation was completely beyond her expectations.

She had not sent people after the Fifth Prince in order to kill him.

Though he was a half-brother from a different mother, Chloa had felt a small sense of pity for Jurein.

So when she found out that Thayns had sent underworld hounds after him, she had sent her own men as well.

Not to save his life—there was no reason for her to do that.

But if he were to die by those hounds, she had intended at least to slaughter them in retaliation.

Because Chloa Marhargel believed that such was the dignity of the royal family.

But Jurein had returned alive, and her subordinates had still not come back even late into the night.

There was only one explanation: the Fifth Prince had killed them all.

She recalled the expression Jurein wore during the ceremony.

The look he gave to his siblings seated above, bold and full of pride.

An attitude that bordered on outright provocation.

‘...So he did have something hidden up his sleeve after all?’

It seemed she had underestimated the Fifth Prince.

She turned to the man kneeling before her and asked,

“What did you think of the two who accompanied the Fifth Prince?”

The man, immediately understanding her intent, bowed and answered.

“They were ordinary. It didn’t appear they were hiding their skills.”

Because it was this particular man saying so, Chloa believed him.

Sephiel, the Fifth Prince’s knight, and the mage Seion.

They had lived in the capital for a long time—if they were hiding their strength, someone would have noticed long ago.

“I suspect he has a hidden faction somewhere outside the capital...”

The man cautiously voiced his speculation.

Chloa agreed, but there were still too many strange things.

Jurein had hardly ever left the capital.

There simply hadn’t been enough time or opportunity to build power outside.

But no matter what it was, in the end, it was nothing more than futile struggle.

Whatever he was hiding, the gap between him and the other siblings—herself included—was far too great to ever be overturned.

‘...It would’ve been better for him if he’d just never come back to the capital.’

A faint trace of pity flickered in her eyes.

Nothing would change.

It remained to be seen just how long the Fifth Prince could endure in this den of vipers.