I Became the First Prince

It Was Empty, But It Was Full (5)

There was still some time left before the high elf would arrive at the palace.

Meanwhile, I had gone to the king again.
I was concerned that he would refuse to meet with me, but he readily allowed me to enter.

“Did you come?”

The king, sitting by the window, basking in the sun, smiled gently and greeted me.

It felt more awkward than welcoming because the king’s gentleness seemed like the last warmth given to those who he would leave behind.

“Come and sit here.”

Without knowing what I was there for, the king gestured to me with a smile.

I sat down and looked around for a while.

The cold days were all gone, and the sun was warm, but a fire was burning in the king’s hearth.
The clothing he wore was of fur and would be better suited for the middle of winter.
Even in those furs, the king’s shoulders shook, as if he was freezing.

“I heard everything from Maximilian.”

It seemed that Maximilian had been here and that the king knew everything.

“You did a great job.
No matter who else there could have been in your position, they wouldn’t have done it better than you did.”

I shook my head when I heard the king’s words.
I had no desire to speak of the public good and the victory we had all achieved together.
The purpose of my visit to the king was not to be praised either.

“Sire.”

“Tell me.”

“Show me the wound.”

The king became hardened as he heard my request.

“I told you it’s nothing major.”

However, he quickly corrected his expression and uttered his lies with a casual face.

“Then there is no reason not to show it to me if you will recover.”

“The court wizard has already looked at the wound.
What does it help if you look at it, you who have no skill in medicine?”

“I might have no medicinal skills, but when it comes to war – I’ve almost grown tired of it.
I’ve seen a lot of soldiers who could not heal their wounds in time, with the affected areas starting to rot.”

“That means that those that fought for our kingdom did not receive treatment in time.
That was also due to my immorality, my ineptness.
Immediately order the Great Marshal to do his best in making sure the survivors are healed and let him take practical measures for the victims-”

“Sire,” I interrupted the king in all seriousness, “in this room, right now, there hangs an odor which seems to have come straight from the battlefield.”

Then I said it outright.

“That odor comes from your Majesty’s body, where the affected area rots.”

“I know you have been through a lot of wars, which is not appropriate for one of your age, but I didn’t know you were able to learn the difficult trick of examining wounds only by smelling them, not seeing them.”

The king kept up his pretense until the end.
If it went on like this, we would be arguing all day, and I would not be able to check the affected area.

“Sire,” I said as I looked up.

“I am the king of this country.”

“I know, but I need to know your Majesty’s condition so that I can be prepared.”

The king shut his mouth when I said such a radical thing.
In the past, he would have driven me out with a yell, but not now.
The king looked at me for a while, then suddenly sighed.

“Is it something you heard from Sir Schmilde?”

“I confirmed it when I saw the bandages that had covered the wound.”

The king sighed again at my answer.

“If you’ve already heard it all, then why do you ask me to show my wounds to you now?”

“That’s the only way how I can be prepared.”

“There’s nothing to worry about, as sufficient steps have been taken to ensure that your path, your journey, will not be dizzying.”

I frowned.
What kind of wacky talk was this? I only then saw the king’s wrinkled face and the complex emotions that emerged on it.
There were slight regret and anger – and an even deeper remorse mixed with self-hatred.
It was only after seeing those gloomy feelings that I realized that the king had misunderstood my words.
He apparently thought I was talking about the succession to the throne.
Otherwise, there would have been no way that he would’ve looked at me with such a terrible expression.

“It’s not that kind of preparation.
It’s preparation for your treatment.”

I immediately corrected his misunderstanding.

“It is the sword that that snake of a noble pierced through me with all his hatred.
I believe all of his resentment and poison has permeated into my bone marrow.
It’s too late to turn back.”

“It’s not too late.
If breath still exists within the body, there is an elixir that can save even those whose hearts were pierced.”

“I haven’t heard of any such drugs.”

“Because it’s not a human medicine.”

I explained about the drug the High Elves called Nectar.

“Is it easy for you to get such a precious medicine?” asked the king after hearing all my explanations.

“I have to get it for you.”

My job was to bake and boil a High Elf who possessed a peculiar arrogance, but the guy hadn’t lived nearly the amount of years that I have lived.

The king smiled.

“Hey, you are the one who made a princeps of an arrogant Empire comply with a humiliating peace treaty, so it would be possible,” the king said, but I didn’t see hope in his eyes.

I thought that maybe he didn’t believe in the efficacy of Nectar, so I was about to explain it to him again.
The king looked at me and said, “It’s not that I don’t believe you.
If you say it, it must be true.
I believe the effects will be no different from what you said.”

“Then why-”

“It is a treasure that will be wasted on me,” the king said, staring at me.
“From the war in the north to the one in the Empire – I know how you fought and won.”

I frowned.
Seeing me do so, the king continued to talk.

“It’s a common occurrence for you to get injured, and there were quite a few times when you’ve been brought in unconscious because of serious injuries.
I also heard that all your scars disappeared due to some mysterious harmony when you reached the level of Master.
But now that I look at you, your whole body is again full of scars.”

Instinctively, I looked at my body – and I was amazed.

“When did this-”

There was no unscarred place on the back of my hands, my forearms, on every patch of exposed skin – and all after my scars had disappeared neatly when my body was reconstructed with my ascent to Master.

“Now that I look at it, I wandered the battlefields without knowing the damage my body was taking.”

The king clucked his tongue.
Then, “Because you are as you are, you will need more of that Nectar,” he told me to save the elixir of knightly rebirth for myself.

He spoke words I would never have even thought of.

“I’ve already made up my mind, so don’t press this anymore.”

The king gestured as he looked at me blankly.

It meant that I had to leave him.

* * *

I visited the king several times and tried to persuade him, but he persisted in his stubbornness to the end.
All the king did was look at me and smile, as if he was proud of himself for conceding a treasure to me that anyone would covet.
He was dying, day by day.

“Now is not the time to worry about others!”

I went crazy after a while and shouted, but his resistance showed no signs of abating.

“Let’s get the Nectar first.”

I eventually gave up trying to persuade him and decided to finish with the acquisition of the Nectar.

And after that, if the king still refused to be treated, I would force-feed him the medicine.
It was then that Gunn returned, and the High Elf was with her.

“I, Arnand, High Elf of the Mistletoe Clan, greets his Highness Adrian Leonberger, Prince of the Leonberg Kingdom.”

His words were polite, but his face displayed one that was full of dissatisfaction.

I didn’t know if it was because he had not liked the lodgings of the fortress he had been sent to, or if he didn’t like how I treated him by sending a half-elf as the messenger.

It seemed to be the latter reason, for as Arnand’s gaze passed me by, hatred instantly flared up in his eyes – as if he was looking at something filthier than dirt.

I turned and saw that Gunn’s expression was somewhat stiff.
When I met her eyes, she bowed her head and looked down.
I felt like I knew what had happened.

The arrogant High Elf must have been offended by her lineage and treated her harshly.
Even knowing that she was my messenger, he must have insulted her.

(Sorry) Gunn gestured in sign language, her head still bowed.

I sighed.
She had done nothing wrong.

If someone was in the wrong, it was me who had sent her as a messenger while knowing that she held an instinctive fear of High Elves in her heart.
After all, Gunn had been bred and kept by the Elder High Elf Sigrun, so the fault was mine for not really figuring out how great the fear was in her heart.

(I’m Really Sorry) she gestured again.

“No.
Nothing to be sorry about.
Good work.”

Instead of getting angry, I quietly patted her on the shoulder.
I could never be angry with her, realizing what great courage it took for her and the other half-elves to stand against Sigrun for my sake.

“It’s okay to go now.”

Gunn, head still bowed, left the room.

“Tcha.”

While I looked at her retreating back, I heard the sound of someone clucking their tongue in displeasure.
I turned my head.
The High Elf, a kid who didn’t yet know the world, was looking in the direction in which Gunn had departed – with a gaze filled with hatred and contempt.

The moment I saw those eyes, I made up my mind: For him, a fair trade will not be enough.

“Woo,” I let out a long breath.
Even if only a little, the heat boiling within me cooled.

“Have you been comfortable during your stay?” I asked the High Elf in a formal tone after having calmed down.

“All the time, I felt your Highness’s consideration and goodwill in almost every way – except for the savage dwarves living so close by.”

When I heard how he thanked me for my consideration and goodwill, it seemed that the elves had suffered many difficulties, and it was natural.

If the Noble High Elf had found it comfortable to live in a tent in a courtyard, that would’ve been strange.
Moreover, the dwarves also stayed there, but they lived in the fortress and daily mocked the elves, having no qualms about treating them severely.

Even though I had heard Arnand’s complaint, I pretended not to.

“I am glad that you have found your lodgings to be adequately comfortable.
It must have been inconvenient when the war suddenly ended.”

Arnand’s original purpose had been to change my mind, as I held a grudge against the elves due to Sigrun.
Arnand was to pay off these debts by aiding us in war.

He had lost that opportunity when the war suddenly ended, however.
There was no way that the guy’s mind could be at ease, having failed the mission given to him on his first outing.

“There is no way for such an event to inconvenience me.
I was delighted with the kingdom’s victory as if it was the victory of my own family.”

I obviously knew his situation, but he pretended that everything was fine.
I didn’t want to wait a long time for the crafty faerie to take off his pretense, however, so I got to the point immediately.

“Is it true that the High Elves want to enter diplomacy with our kingdom?”

“To be precise, rather than a relationship with the kingdom, what we want is communion with your Highness.”

“That’s not difficult.”

At my words, the expression of the High Elf changed slightly.
Seeing him like that, I threw out the bait.

“But if we want to talk about such important things, shouldn’t my relationship with you become stronger than it is now?”

“Those words are correct.”

And the foolish elf snapped the bait right up.

“Good.
Then I know that you have accepted it.”

“What do you mean by that? What did I accept?”

I smiled as I looked at Arnand’s stupefied face.

“There’s nothing like an exchange of swords to create a closer bond between each other.”

The High Elf’s face took on an absurd cast as he heard my suggestion.

“I am a High Elf, so I will not reject a challenge from a single human, even a young human being.”

“If you are worried about losing, don’t be concerned and just hold onto your sword.
I will be gentle.”

“A captain of the swordsingers can never be a coward.”

My provocative seeds would never have been eaten were Arnand another High Elf.

This High Elf has just encountered the world for the first time, however.
He was like a child who did not know how terrifying reality was.
He was like a fresh thunderbolt without the experience required to hide his arrogance and intolerance.

“The sword dance of an elf is far bitterer than it looks.”

The High Elf was eventually provoked enough to accept the battle.

So, he and I stood face to face in the training hall, surrounded by palace knights.

I turned my head, seeing that the palace knights spectating the bout were quite a lot.

The High Elf’s sword hung limply in his grasp as he looked at me.
His eyes were calm at first glance, but I recognized the sneaky malice peculiar to the faeries wandering about in them.

“Oh,” I said as I met his gaze, as if just remembering something, “it’s no fun just to compete, so we bet.”

‘It’s starting again.’

‘He doesn’t fight without betting anymore.’

I ignored the comments of the palace knights.

“If you’re afraid of losing, quit now.”

“What kind of bet is it?” Arnand asked, frowning at my crude provocation.

“If one side admits defeat or drops their sword, they lose.
The losing side must accept one request from the victor.”

“We elves do not take covenants lightly.”

“Okay? That’s a coincidence – I also take promises made to me seriously.”

As Arnand heard my words, he raised the corners of his mouth into an arrogant sneer, outright ridiculing me.
His face showed that he didn’t even consider that he’ll lose.

I again heard the whispers of the palace knights.

‘Count Bale Balahard was just as arrogant.’

‘Teuton’s duke was also blindsided in the same way.’

‘This is totally fun.’

I shook my head slightly as I heard them speak.
My former opponents were different than the High Elf in front of me – Arnand was going to lose far more than the others.

‘Tak~ Tak~’

The High Elf started to dance on the balls of his feet and beat out a rhythm.

And I…

‘Qaup~’

Stepped through the beats.