Making Allies

The insulting words of Billy von Aberia, the third son of the Marquis Aberia family, quickly spread not only throughout the school but even beyond its walls. Publicly humiliating a prince naturally caused quite a stir.

Though he was merely the Ninth Prince, Ian was still royalty. To insult a prince so openly—its seriousness was undeniable. This incident touched directly on the honor of the royal family.

If the royal family remained silent, it would be interpreted as permission to openly insult any member of the royal line. So for the first time in ages, the King—Ian’s father—stood firmly on his son’s side and rebuked the incident heavily.

Naturally, the Marquis Aberia household was thrown into chaos. As the maternal family of the Fourth Prince, they realized the scandal might even endanger the Fourth Prince’s position. They immediately sought an audience with the King, bringing the son responsible for the incident and formally apologized.

At the audience, Billy was forced to kneel before the King and apologize. The King seemed displeased at first, but when he saw the amount of compensation presented as an apology, his face turned satisfied. After reminding them never to let such a thing happen again, he closed the matter.

The funny thing? Ian, the one who had been insulted, never received an apology. Clearly, the real issue was the disrespect shown toward the royal status—not Ian personally. In the end, the King got the apology and the compensation. Ian received only a small portion of that sum.

“50,000 Grang, huh…”

A full 50,000 Grang had come to him. That amount could easily buy 50,000 loaves of freshly baked bread. If that was just the leftover compensation, how much had the King pocketed for himself?

‘No less than a million Grang, I bet.’

That’s a huge payout just for getting angry. One way or another, it felt like his father the King was getting compensated on Ian’s behalf—intentionally or not. Still, Ian couldn’t complain. Combined with the money he’d already saved, he had a nice sum now.

‘With this, I can live quite comfortably when I leave the palace.’

More than anything, Ian was satisfied with his newly awakened mental manipulation power. One thing was clear: it wasn’t a power to be used recklessly. He couldn’t just boost loyalty or trust in anyone. He would need to carefully choose specific individuals and focus on only a few.

“Are you alright?”

Hearing his mother’s voice beside him, Ian felt guilty for making her worry over something so unpleasant. He thought to himself—he’d have to secretly punish that Billy boy. At the very least, break a bone and make it look like an accident.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

“Still… after hearing something like that, how can your heart be at peace?”

“I really am fine. And hey, I got 50,000 Grang out of it. What should I do with it? Should I buy you a gift? Is there anything you’d like?”

“No need. Just use it on something you want.”

“But still. Since it’s unexpected money, might as well spend it freely, right?”

“Unexpected money? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, just… like free money.”

“There’s no such thing as free money. You got that because you endured an insult.”

“I told you I’m okay. Besides, what he said wasn’t entirely wrong. Anyway, with this and the savings I’ve built up, when I turn 18 and come of age, I’ll leave the palace and buy a nice place to live.”

“You’ve thought that far ahead?”

Emily found it admirable that her son was already planning for life after leaving the palace. Given how well he managed things now, she believed he’d do just fine. Of course, once he left, only she and her daughter would remain at the palace, while Ian would have to live outside.

Meanwhile, Ian didn’t mention his true plan—to take his mother with him. She would surely reject the idea right now. She’d probably be worried about the consequences from the royal family if they disappeared together. Out of concern for Ian’s future, she would choose to stay behind.

‘I can’t let that happen. I won’t leave her behind in a place like this. And there’s no reason to let Charlotte be used as a pawn for a political marriage, either.’

Having watched his younger sister grow since birth, the idea of her being sold off to some old noble or foreign land was unbearable. If he had no power, he might accept it—but now he had the means to resist. He had to try.

‘First things first, I need loyal people—ones who will only listen to me—to prepare an escape route.’

And it would be even better if they were stationed within the military that defended the capital. Since his mind control only worked on a few individuals, he had to pick wisely. Ideally, someone of high rank should be brought under his control.

To do that, he would need to conduct some personal investigation and meet the right person himself.

A month had passed since the incident at school. Just like in lower school, one major incident was enough to keep people from messing with Ian. As long as he didn’t cause any problems, no one dared to provoke him now.

Naturally, no one dared bother Armin either. Ian meant Armin, and their close bond became well-known. In high school, too, Armin came to be seen as Ian’s right-hand man—untouchable.

It was the same daily routine. Ian continued his school life and made time to train by the sea. Armin, used to the rhythm by now, continued to follow him everywhere. But one day, Ian changed his routine.

“You’re not going to the beach today?”

“I just got tired of seeing the same thing over and over.”

“True. It would get boring, staring out at the sea every day. So… where are you headed?”

“To the Capital Defense Command.”

“Eh? That place?”

“I’m not going inside or anything. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. I just want to see the building—it’s supposed to be unique.”

“Uh… okay?”

After watching Ian stare at the sea for so long, now he suddenly wanted to look at a military headquarters? Armin couldn’t help but feel a little concerned. But since it was Prince Ian’s decision, he had no choice but to follow.

Eventually, they arrived near the Capital Defense Command building. Around a large open plaza, a few residential structures could be seen. Inside the open space stood a rectangular headquarters that looked recently constructed beside an old castle ruin.

“What do you think?”

“It’s definitely… unique.”

The blend of an ancient castle and a modern facility gave the place a special air. Around the building, a three-meter-tall wall formed a perimeter, and guards with rifles stood watch above it.

As expected from the headquarters that commanded the defense of the capital, the security was tight. Ian and Armin were currently seated at a nearby café. Even soldiers needed moments of leisure, and officers often visited this café during their free time.

There were indeed quite a few officers in uniform seated nearby. Those officers occasionally glanced in Ian’s direction. Understandably so—both Ian and Armin stood out. They were wearing the luxurious uniforms of Rodliss High School.

Two clearly noble-born youths sitting idly in a café, chatting casually—it was bound to draw some strange looks. But Ian didn’t care. He simply sat and stared out the window beside him. Outside, the Capital Defense Command headquarters stood prominently.

‘Roughly 100 meters away?’

In the capital, buildings spaced more than 100 meters apart were rare. That showed just how uniquely positioned the Capital Defense Command was. In a way, it meant the most loyal personnel to the king were stationed there.

‘And I’m planning to make the commander of that Capital Defense Command mine.’

It was essentially an act of treason. But Ian’s intentions weren’t rebellion—he simply wanted to ensure a safe escape route for his mother and sister when the time came. He had come here to see the commander in person.

‘He’s supposed to arrive at this headquarters around the same time every day, right?’

A car driven by a chauffeur, followed by two armored escort vehicles. Approaching directly was impossible. He would have to use his ability from a distance. Fortunately, the café was situated right in front of the headquarters’ main gate.

‘Even at 100 meters, it’s well within range for activation.’

Ian had tested this during school. He knew his ability worked even at that distance. Otherwise, meeting in person would’ve been more difficult—and riskier. This arrangement was ideal.

‘But the farther the distance, the greater the mental strain.’

And turning someone into a loyal subordinate wasn’t a one-time thing. It required repeated mental manipulation to firmly implant the conditioning.

‘And in the end, I still have to meet them in person to trigger the imprinting properly.’

He would have to meet the commander in person eventually—probably during a royal palace party. Even the briefest encounter would allow the mental imprinting to take hold. So he waited. One hour passed. Then two. Still, the Capital Defense Commander didn’t appear.

‘No luck today.’

It seemed the commander wasn’t coming. Variables were to be expected. Ian slowly got up from his seat, and Armin, who had been fiddling with his empty cup, immediately stood up too.

“Leaving already?”

“Yeah. Let’s call it a day.”

“Alright.”

Armin looked visibly relieved—clearly bored out of his mind. If they were by the sea, he could at least entertain himself. But at this café, there was nothing to do. As they stepped outside, the owner, staff, and even the officers who frequented the café figured they probably wouldn’t be back again.

But the visits continued several more times. Still, the commander did not appear. Perhaps something had come up. Then, about a week later, it finally happened. Security around the gate tightened, and three vehicles arrived. A man stepped out.

‘Finally.’

From a distance, Ian could make out the uniform and ornate medals. A general in his mid-40s—Count Rodry von Dimentis, commander of the Capital Defense Command. That he held such a position at his age spoke volumes of both his abilities and his noble lineage.

The Dimentis family was one of the royal guardians—sworn to protect the crown. That was why they had been entrusted with command of the capital’s defenses. As he stepped through the gate, Ian subtly raised a hand and pointed at him with his finger.

Zrrrk—

The ability activated. Ian engraved his will onto the general’s mind. His first move was to raise the man’s affinity toward him. From there, he planned to slowly raise trust and eventually loyalty. It would take time.

From afar, he could see the general stagger slightly, clutching his head. His aides rushed over in a panic to support him. Ian too clutched his own head from the mental strain. Armin looked on in shock and quickly asked,

“Does your head hurt?”

“…I’m fine now.”

“You don’t look fine. Shouldn’t we go to a hospital?”

“What hospital? They’d probably drill a hole in my head.”

“Wait, what? A hole?”

“Yeah. That kind of thing.”

He figured that even in this era, cranial treatments probably involved drilling holes in heads. Perhaps there were magical options, but he had never heard of brain treatment through magic. So a headache wasn’t hospital-worthy in his view.

‘It’s just the first time. Next time I won’t even stagger.’

This was his first attempt. Next time, there would be no dizziness—just a brief, odd sensation. Watching the general get helped inside, Ian decided it was time to leave.

The next day, he returned to the café. And sure enough, the commander showed up on time. He might have skipped it due to yesterday’s episode, but under the influence of mental manipulation, he returned as if nothing had happened. This time, Ian could use his ability cleanly.

From that point on, Ian returned to the café every day—excluding weekends—to continue manipulating the commander’s mind. It was grueling work. The ability was still new, and not very powerful yet. Progress was slow.

It took nearly six months to complete the imprinting. By the time World Era 1905 began, Ian finally succeeded. At a royal palace party, Ian encountered Count Rodry von Dimentis face-to-face.

It was a mere passing encounter, but the moment their eyes met, the imprinting finalized. From that moment forward, the commander was Ian’s man—whether he knew it or not.