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Suddenly, screams broke out.

“Hey!”

At the same time, I felt something cold pouring down my face. The strong smell of liquor struck my nose.

“Your Highness, are you okay?”

An old man stood in front of me.

“I was in a hurry to say hello to my brother. I’m so sorry, Your Highness.”

The old man wiped my face with his sleeves. Contrary to the panic that filled the banquet hall, his eyes were calm.

Our eyes met.

His wrinkled eyes seemed to have a lot to say.

I looked behind him, towards the Burgundy clan. The Ambassador was frowning because the fuss has interrupted our meeting.

“I have to change my clothes,” I told the old man that accidentally poured wine over me.

“I am so old; my body is not listening to me anymore. I’m so sorry, Your Highness. I committed a great disrespect.”

The old man apologized again.

I shook my hand at him and turned around.

I was quickly surrounded by Carls and the other court knights.

“Your Highness, let me help you,” Carls said.

“Who is it?” I asked him.

“The Marquis of Bielefeld.”

Bielefeld. I turned my head once more.

The Marquis of Bielefeld bowed his head.

“Not everything is rotten, it seems,” I murmured.

“Your Highness?” Carls looked puzzled.

“Nevermind.”

I felt liquor creeping down my nape.

Ah, the old man spilled too much.

Liquor ran down my hear when I shook my head.

* * *

“Your Highness?”

Adelia ran after seeing me soaked and immediately started wiping my hair with her sleeves.

“No, I’m going to wash off, anyway.” I shook my hand and started taking off my clothes.

As the water ran through my hair and on my face, the sticky feeling from the wine gradually disappeared, but the feeling of dirt and filth remained.

I saw a lot of things that I didn’t expect at today’s banquet.

In just a few hundred years, the country was totally ruined. It wasn’t just a mess. The roots were totally rotted out that it cannot be used anymore.

The descendants of those who have risen up for the powerless turned to snakes, and the wicked Burgundy clan were treated with respect and admiration right in the heart of the kingdom.

As I thought about it, fire rose again from within.

The ambassadors of the Empire were acting with arrogance; the nobles were allowing it. It seemed as if it was the natural thing to do; as if it was the way it always had been.

Has the Empire and the kingdom made peace over the past 400 years? Did they decide to become allies and bury the old grudges?

I don’t think so.

The atmosphere was too tense for it to be called peace, and the power was too one-sided for it to be considered an alliance.

The Burgundy clan acted as masters, and the nobles of the kingdoms acted like subservient dogs in front of them.

The King’s face came to mind.

He always looked so proud of himself.

He always laughed or got angry at the incompetence of the First Prince, but he allows the nobles of his country to worship the nobles of the other countries.

It was absurd.

“I heard that something happened.”

When I turned, Uncle was looking at me.

“I heard about the rough accident with Marquis Bielefeld,” he added as he made his way to a chair.

“What the hell were you trying to do?” His eyes dug deep into mine.

What did anyone try to do when they saw a member of a Burgundy clan?

It was an unfamiliar question for me. It was a question no one asked in the past.

It would have been obvious to anyone.

To kill them or get killed trying.

Uncle continued nagging. “The Marquis said you looked like you were going to hit them.”

“I’m not that impulsive.”

Of course, I was burning with impassioned hatred, but even without the Marquis’ intervention, I would not have done anything.

I know there must be some circumstances that I didn’t know.

First, I have to find out.

“What the hell happened to this country?” I asked. “Please remind me.”

Uncle’s face turned serious.

“The kingdom stood firmly against the numerous invasions of the Empire in the past. It suffered great damage, but every time, outstanding knights came out and repelled the invasions. The kingdom didn’t give up even a single piece of land to the Empire, and the Empire failed over and over. But things have changed over time…

As time went on, the Empire grew bigger, and the gap between them and us began to widen. The scales of the battles grew to the extent that our outstanding knights could not defend the country anymore. Soon, our small country was forced to kneel in front of the Empire.”

It was history. Nothing too special. But as I listened to it, my heart grew heavy.

“Did the gap started to widen about 200 years ago?”

Uncle nodded.

I closed my eyes tight.

It was the same in the past and now. Our country has always been smaller than the Empire. However, the kingdom of the past had the spirit and strength not to surrender to the Empire.

Because this country has something special that no other country has.

It is a country founded by those who have been outcast.

It was a country that was able to build its foundation while fighting day and night against monsters and those mighty lords from the Empire.

It was a country that defeated a dragon.

It was no wonder that numerous poems and songs were born on that difficult journey.

There were surprisingly many [Myth] and [Hero] level poems and songs in this small chunk of land.

Those poems and songs were the power that protected this country against all enemies.

But where are all those songs now?

Forgotten and erased.

The people ceased to believe. The songs of the unbelievers were nothing but vain stories.

That is why it has come to this point. Knights who reached transcendence disappeared and the only ones left learned the art of mana rings.

After a long time reflecting on it, I opened my eyes.

Uncle was in front of me. A knight who would have been called a Sword Master in the past had a defeated expression on his face.

“Uncle.”

Maybe I would regret it, but…

“I changed my mind.”

No, I will surely regret it…

“I will try it.”

Nevertheless, I have to do it.

“I’m going to be the King.”

Maybe, people would tell me that I didn’t deserve to be one, that I only stole this body.

To them, I would answer: This country is mine. This country was founded by my friends and me.

* * *

Uncle was very happy with my decision, but at the same time, he expressed concern.

It seems to him that my change of heart was so sudden.

Still, he accepted it as it is, and left to do some tasks.

The unpleasantness on my body disappeared after the bath, but I did not return to the banquet.

Uncle and Marquis Bielefeld made excuses to the other nobles, so there was nothing to worry about.

There were two more days left before the banquet was over. I would have to attend those.

The next day, I went to the banquet hall, putting more effort into dressing up. Uncle accompanied me.

“The rightful successor of His Majesty the King Lionel Leonberger, the eldest son of the Leonberger royal family, His Highness Idrian Leonberger is entering!”

“The Commander of the Third Legion and the proud guardian of the kingdom, Count Bale Balahard of the North, is entering!”

As the day before, gazes from numerous nobles started pouring on to me. Some have already seen me the day before; others were seeing me for the first time.

They showed more respect and politeness to the Burgundy clan than me.

In the past, when my friend stood in front of the people, no one thought that he would be King. No one recognized him as a monarch.

To them, he was just a little country boy who had been outcast. He was among those who were exploited.

But my friend raised his head and ignored what the people said. He stepped forward proudly.

It was the same position that I am in now.

“I stood tall in front of the sheep…” I began murmuring.

『[The King’s Poem].』

『You’re unable to use the poetry with your current ability. 』

『Part of the poem is omitted. 』

『Part of the poem is omitted. 』

『Part of the poem is omitted. 』

『You can only sing one line of the poem.』

I felt a piercing pain in my mana heart as if it was being torn apart. But I could bear it.

This is a [Hero] level poem, not a [Myth] one.

Even if I could only handle the first line, there was no other song that suited this situation.

“I stood tall in front of the sheep.”

A low tune resounded in my head. The next moment, the mood in the banquet hall changed.

The nobles who were shamelessly staring at me began to fall to the floor and kneel. The high lords began to bow their heads.

I walked on, looking at everyone who has not yet yielded to me.

They looked confused and surprised. Those who were laughing or talking froze, and found themselves bowing their heads.

One by one. Step by step.

I was standing in the middle of the banquet hall, with nobles worshipping me.

“Raise your heads!” I loudly announced after I reached the peak of momentum.

Suddenly, as I watched the nobles and the lords began getting up to their feet, I felt a strange gaze.

It felt alien yet familiar at the same time.

I turned to where the gaze was coming from.

A being dressed in an outfit distinctly different from the other nobles was walking towards me.

It was walking towards me, its head covered in a large hood. Its steps were light, almost as if it was floating.

As the creature approached, a fresh scent filled my nose, the thick smell of flowers and grass. I immediately knew what it was.

“An Elf?” I asked the hooded being.

Suddenly, it took off the hood covering its face.

For a moment, the surroundings turned bright. The entire banquet hall seemed to hold in its breath.

A fatal beauty.

However, I could not enjoy the extreme beauty that was right in front of me.

Because she wasn’t supposed to be here.

Why is she here?!