The Assassins Against The King

‘Wow, it’s really intense.’

The intensity came from the concubines in the higher ranks, including the Queen. In a way, because their children were higher in the line of succession, they were wary of and disliked each other. As the ninth prince, he shouldn’t be a target of their vigilance.

‘Are they thinking, what can a mere child do right now?’

His mother’s Tarsos family wasn’t that powerful, so they wouldn’t be a target for economic gain either. Originally, the greatest power held by the royal family members would be the influence of their maternal side.

The families of the Queen and the concubines in the front ranks were all prestigious, with Duke and Marquis families backing them. That’s why they all showed such sharp edges.

‘It’s been years since I’ve been seeing this, but how can they all eat so comfortably?’

He felt like he would get indigestion if he ate at such gatherings. He had actually gotten it a few times, so now he was carefully chewing each bite thoroughly. As he looked around the dining hall, he saw a beautiful blonde woman sitting in the seat right next to him.

She was also heavily adorned, like his mother. She was the ninth concubine, having become a concubine after his mother, the eighth concubine. In a way, she was the new woman when his mother was pregnant with him, so naturally, she too was now in a similar situation, having been abandoned by the King.

She was holding a child who looked about two years old. He had the same blonde hair as his mother, and he was his younger brother, the tenth prince. In fact, among the children born into the royal family, about half of the princes had the same red hair as the King.

He himself was born with that red hair, while the rest basically had the hair color of their mothers. Having this hair color was said to have a special meaning. All the kings so far had red hair.

‘That’s why they say the heir to the throne, without fail, must have red hair to be fit to be king. It’s a relief that at least half are red. If not, I would have stood out and been seen as a thorn in their side.’

Having personally experienced that even a small opening was dangerous when living in the royal palace, it was beneficial for his well-being to live as inconspicuously as possible. He was still powerless, so he had to hide his strength at all costs.

‘Once I become an adult, I’ll just take Mother and leave the royal family.’

He had no intention of making his mother live a solitary life in this royal palace forever. Once his superpower had grown to a certain extent, he would then be able to take his mother out of the palace. Of course, he thought persuading her then would be the problem.

“Why are you staring so intently?”

‘Ah, I was looking too much.’

He must have been lost in thought and kept his gaze fixed. He knew she had a generally easygoing personality, but still, to avoid giving any unnecessary cause for trouble, he immediately looked at the child who would be his younger brother and said,

“Dian is so cute.”

“You think our Dian is cute?”

“Yes, he’s very cute. Hehe.”

‘Ugh, this is really disgusting.’

He was speaking like a child, but inwardly, he felt it was quite a torment. Still, he thought it was a good excuse. Since he showed the appearance of an innocent child, she wouldn’t think it was strange. In the midst of this, his mother, having heard the conversation, turned her gaze and said,

“Prince Dian has grown a lot.”

“Hasn’t he? But he still has a long way to go to be as grown-up as Prince Ian. When will our Dian be able to talk as well as Prince Ian?”

“He’ll be able to do it soon. Hohoho.”

“I suppose so? Hohoho.”

From their smiling conversation, it could be said that they didn’t particularly feel hostile towards each other. They knew they were in similar situations themselves. Of course, he didn’t know if it was because Selena’s family was a lower Baron family compared to his mother’s, that she didn’t act carelessly due to her lower noble title.

“Be quiet, please.”

At this moment, a very prickly female voice was heard. It was a woman with sapphire blue hair, and she was beautiful, as expected of a concubine. And she was the woman who had captured the King’s heart before Ian’s mother, becoming the seventh concubine.

‘She’s as irritable as ever.’

It was inevitable, as she had only given birth to princesses. She had a daughter who was a year older than Ian, and perhaps because she hadn’t given birth to a prince, she was always quite prickly towards his mother and Selena, the ninth concubine.

“Ah, I’m sorry. We were too loud.”

“I’m sorry.”

As his mother and Concubine Selena apologized, she huffed and turned her head, looking only at her daughter sitting next to her. Even though she hadn’t given birth to a prince, it seemed she wasn’t without affection for her princess. At that sight, Ian gave up on his plan to tease her.

‘I was going to push the water glass in front of her to wet her dress, but I should stop.’

Thinking about this, he felt like he had become quite childlike himself, with a better(?) personality. Just as he thought this, other women and children entered the dining hall. Seeing them, he thought that all the royal family members who were supposed to come had arrived. At that moment, the Chief Eunuch’s voice was heard.

“His Majesty the King, the ruler of the vast ocean, has arrived!”

Creak, squeak… As the King appeared, everyone had to pull their chairs back and stand up from their seats. If it was a child who couldn’t stand on their own, the concubines held them up, and if not, they made the children get off their chairs and stand. Of course, Ian had already gotten off his chair and stood up.

Looking at his mother with a ‘Did I do well?’ gaze, he could see her looking down at him with a smile on her lips. Amidst this, he could see the appearance of the man called his father. He looked a bit older than before, and in that appearance, he thought he could feel the dignity of a king.

‘Is that what a real king is like?’

It seemed that having many people under one’s command naturally created a certain charisma. Still, he didn’t like the King. First of all, it was because he was a philanderer who was very fond of women, and he knew that his mother suffered a lot because of it.

‘They say that a king is originally a being who keeps many women, but that father of mine is excessive by my standards.’

His obsession with women seemed to grow stronger with each passing year. Sometimes, he would take in as many as three new women in a single year, and because of this, the number of concubines had increased quite a bit. Naturally, the number of pregnant women also increased, so the royal family was constantly growing.

‘Is this what a king is originally like?’

Even in children’s fairy tales, a king was described as a being who kept many women. Thinking about that, he felt that a king basically had to have very strong stamina. Just as he was lost in thought, the King’s voice echoed through the dining hall.

“Everyone, be seated.”

With the King’s voice, the music of the orchestra, which had briefly stopped, began to play again. Along with the soft melody, dishes were being placed in front of everyone. It was becoming a scene that truly brought to mind the words ‘delicacies from land and sea’, with many dishes from both placed before them.

Three whole roasted pigs were placed along the long dining table. The chef who had come to this place was slicing off the crispy parts with a small knife and placing them on luxurious tableware made of silver and porcelain. A servant was placing this dish in front of the King with formal gestures.

After that, tableware filled with food for everyone was placed down. A very appetizing smell was pleasantly stimulating their noses. Ian, too, couldn’t help but feel his mouth water.

‘Leaving everything else aside, the good thing about being a prince is that you can eat as much of this delicious food as you want. This time it’ll be delicious too, right?’

Having already tasted these dishes, he knew what they tasted like, making him even more excited. Of course, the thought that there was such a waste with so much food laid out still lingered. He had heard that there was a considerable number of starving people in several places due to a drought on the mainland island before, and he couldn’t help but wonder if this was okay.

‘I hope a rebellion doesn’t break out?’

It might seem strange to think of a rebellion in front of food, but frankly, if the country were to fall due to a rebellion, he, who had no power yet, could be swept up in the danger. That was something that should not happen.

‘It’s a relief that I know the military power isn’t bad…’

Dominating the surrounding seas and possessing many warships, the Polia Kingdom army also had hundreds of thousands of riflemen. Even if a rebellion were to occur in front of such an army, they should have enough power to suppress it.

‘I feel sorry and bad for those in hardship, but in my situation, I desperately hope a rebellion doesn’t happen.’

Just as he thought this, the King said, “Now, let’s eat,” and began his meal. Only then did everyone pick up their spoons and forks and start eating. Children who had difficulty eating on their own were being helped by the waiting maids. Amidst this, Ian speared a piece of the roasted pig’s skin with his fork and chewed it.

‘Wow, it’s crispy and really delicious.’

He could understand why royal food was said to be delicious. His mother was helping him eat well from the side, but he was skillfully using his fork as if to say he could do it himself. As he was eating well, munching and smacking his lips, he briefly glanced towards where his brothers were.

They were all teenagers. None of them had become adults yet. Of course, he thought they were all handsome. But despite their looks, their true natures were quite bad. Later, after the meal, during tea time, there would be time for the princes to be together, and there would definitely be some who would try to bully him.

‘Can’t we have this kind of meal only once a year instead of once a month?’

He frankly found it bothersome and disliked having this time every month. Even though he played pranks on them, he had to do it secretly, so only he could feel satisfied. He wondered who would try to bully him today and at the same time pondered how he could play a good prank without anyone noticing.

‘But, why is that chef so nervous?’

The chef who was cutting the roasted pig had looked unnecessarily nervous since a while ago. He wondered if it was because the King and the royal family were present, but considering that he had been the royal chef since before he was born, it was a bit strange.

‘It feels like an accident always happens at times like this.’

As seen in dramas and movies, there were cases where someone secretly received a mission with ulterior motives and plotted something. He didn’t usually pay much attention, but today his gaze kept going there. He didn’t know if it was because he was thinking he might be able to eat more barbecue that his gaze kept returning.

‘Huh? Why is he slowly moving towards the King?’

He wasn’t putting meat on a plate but seemed to be slowly moving towards his father, the King. He paused for a moment, but the fact that he soon continued moving made him unable to help but feel something was wrong. Especially since he was approaching his father the King without letting go of the dagger he had used to cut the barbecue.

‘Oh, uh oh? That doesn’t look good?’

Approaching the King with a dagger in hand was something absolutely forbidden. And from that sight, he could sense that something ominous was about to happen. Just as he thought this, the chef’s expression suddenly changed, and he ran towards the King with the dagger he was holding.

“Die! You tyrant-!”

From the way he screamed and charged, it looked like he would stab the King with the dagger at any moment. The royal family members seated around, as well as the deployed royal guards, couldn’t react properly. They probably never imagined that he, who had worked in the royal palace for so long, would do such a thing.

In a way, they were caught off guard, and if things continued this way, the King’s neck or chest would be in danger of being pierced by the dagger’s tip.

‘Oh no, this won’t do.’

Even if he didn’t like his father, he couldn’t die now. If the King died, with no proper successor yet determined, the entire kingdom could fall into chaos, with a civil war breaking out as everyone fought for the throne. That was not a good future for him.

Tingle-

His fingertip was pointed towards the chef. It wasn’t a strong force, but if it touched a very small part, it could have a big impact. The chef’s foot slipped, and he fell forward with a thud, dropping the dagger he was holding and rolling across the floor.

“Ah…”

Having dropped the dagger, despair couldn’t help but settle on the chef’s face. At that sight, the royal guards, regaining their senses, began to move hastily, shouting things like, “Protect His Majesty!” and “Assassin!” They rushed towards the fallen chef and several of them piled on top of him, subduing him.

Amidst this, the King had no choice but to quickly leave the dining hall amidst the urgent actions of the royal guards. Meanwhile, the remaining royal family members were also being evacuated by the approaching royal guards, who told them they needed to take shelter.

The King was prioritized, and then the rest of the royal family was evacuated. In this situation, Ian could let out a sigh of relief. If he hadn’t acted, the King might have died. Amidst this situation, he could see his mother grabbing his hand and moving urgently.

She looked quite shocked by the sudden assassination attempt. Still, she was trying to take responsibility for and protect her son to the end. Amidst this, he was able to safely return to his usual palace.

He had a feeling that the royal palace would be noisy for a while. After all, an assassin who targeted the King had appeared.