Assassination!?

First Prince’s Faction.

“Hmph, what is the meaning of this?! Wasn’t that brat Ian not supposed to appear at all?!”

At the First Prince’s reprimanding voice, the nobles of his faction could only wear guilty expressions. Even their faces showed clear bewilderment. They had firmly demanded the footage taken during the Kraken hunt be edited.

They had insisted that only the act of capturing the Kraken should be shown for the sake of national prestige and that Prince Ian should barely appear at all. Of course, they had even received approval for this. Yet in the footage currently screening in theaters, Prince Ian’s image appeared openly and frequently.

What alarmed them the most was the footage showing Prince Ian confidently present at the multinational fleet gathering—as if he were the face of the Polia Kingdom. Even scenes of him appearing friendly with the Noma Empire’s prince were shown, creating quite a difficult situation for them.

“Wouldn’t it be better to stop the screening now?”

“You think that makes any sense?! You want us to blatantly censor what’s already out?!”

Bang. The First Prince slammed the table, his face red with anger. At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel disappointment toward the incompetence of the nobles following him. If they halted the screening now, what would that look like? People would say they were deliberately trying to suppress Prince Ian’s deeds.

“What do you think people will say about me then? That I’m a petty man with an inferiority complex toward my younger brother!”

“M-my apologies. I misspoke.”

“Come up with a better plan—one that actually works!”

Faced with the First Prince’s outburst, everyone fell into troubled silence. As the nobles were absorbed in their thoughts, and just as the First Prince was about to raise his voice again in frustration, someone cut him off—Duke Gwens.

“Please calm yourself.”

“But Duke, because of this incident, Ian’s reputation is growing too much.”

The First Prince’s tone immediately softened—it was, after all, his maternal grandfather, Duke Gwens. Duke Gwens responded as if it was hardly something to worry about.

“There’s no need to be concerned about Prince Ian. What power does he really have when he lacks any real faction?”

“But I’ve heard that lately, more nobles are trying to align themselves with him.”

“Just minor pests. Do any of them hold real power?”

“…I see. So it’s not something to worry about.”

Only then did the First Prince begin to feel that perhaps he was overreacting. No matter how praised Ian might be, he was still just a prince without any established faction. Of course, that didn’t mean he could be ignored entirely.

“If he remains in the capital, he’ll be a burden. We should send him away again.”

“This time, we’ll have to pick a place properly.”

“Exactly. We sent him away to suffer, but ironically he rose because of it.”

In fact, it was the First Prince who had pushed to assign Ian to the 1st Fleet and send him to the Abyssal Sea. Watching his younger brother earn merit during the war had triggered a sense of danger in him. So, he assigned him to the 1st Fleet and off to the dreaded Abyssal Sea, where no one wanted to go.

‘Who would’ve thought he’d slay the Kraken? If I had known, I’d have gone myself. Then all the glory would’ve been mine.’

Of course, even if he had gone, there was no guarantee of success. In fact, he might have sunk first. Still, the First Prince believed that if Ian could do it, there was no reason he couldn’t have.

Where could they send Ian next so he would achieve nothing and just waste time? As the First Prince was contemplating this, Duke Gwens offered his suggestion.

“Why not send him to the colonies?”

“The colonies?”

“If he’s sent there, what could he possibly do? He’ll just rot away doing nothing.”

The First Prince found logic in Duke Gwens’ proposal. In fact, sending him somewhere uneventful was probably the better option. They could always fabricate a reason for his deployment. A smile formed on the First Prince’s lips as he nodded.

“Sounds good. Let’s do that. Oh, and don’t we also need to assign him a fiancée?”

“I’ve heard many houses are already proposing marriage alliances to Prince Ian.”

“They’re probably trying to take advantage of his fame. Shouldn’t we connect one of ours with him as well? That way, we can at least benefit from his reputation.”

“An excellent idea. Let’s quickly find a suitable young lady from our side and make the match.”

Hearing Duke Gwens’ positive response left the First Prince quite satisfied, though he still didn’t like the fact that Ian’s reputation continued to rise. He could hear and see for himself how much attention Ian was getting throughout the kingdom.

‘Good. We’ll marry him off to someone on our side, exploit his fame, then ship him off to the colonies—out of sight, out of mind.’

Even if Ian returned later, by that time the First Prince would already be king. Ian would no longer be a threat but a tool to be used for the kingdom’s sake.

Ian’s Estate.

‘So that’s how they’re playing it.’

Ian’s eyes were calm as he read the small sheet of paper. It amazed him how predictably they acted. He had found out about what the First Prince was planning. How? Naturally, he had spies embedded there.

‘Knowing about it and still being unable to prevent it… that’s my current situation. But that doesn’t mean I’ll simply let it happen.’

There was no reason to follow their intentions now that he knew them. He also discovered that not only the Second Prince but the Third Prince were making similar moves. Everyone was trying to keep him in check. One way or another, they were all trying to drive him out.

‘And now they’re making a fuss about choosing my fiancée for me as they please.’

It was absurd. Everyone seemed obsessed with trying to bring him down. It must be because the fame from slaying the Kraken had grown too large. How could he stop them from deciding his fiancée and sending him away?

‘Is there really no way?’

No matter how much he thought about it, no clear solution emerged. Times like this made him wish he had a capable advisor at his side. Someone smart, perceptive, and fiercely loyal to him.

‘My current aide is a good fit, though.’

Still, he was a navy officer through and through—perhaps not suited for political affairs. Nevertheless, Lieutenant Mardin Gaso, his aide, was someone Ian found reliable.

‘Oh, right, wasn’t he about to get promoted?’

His promotion speed was rapid—perhaps even unreasonably so. But then again, his achievements weren’t trivial. Who else experiences such extraordinary events back-to-back and produces results?

‘If the people following me gain rank, it can only be a good thing.’

It wasn’t necessarily a bad development. Although, it did make it harder to bring officers to his house. Outsiders might see it as him gathering military personnel to form a private faction.

As he pondered this, knock knock—he heard a knock on the door. When he asked who it was, the voice answered: the butler. He told him to enter, and in came the ever-neat butler as usual.

“Pardon me for disturbing you this evening.”

“Not at all. So, what is it?”

“I came to report something.”

“A report? Coming at this hour must mean it’s something serious.”

“Yes, it appears there may be someone among the staff with ill intent.”

“Someone suspicious?”

“Yes, I witnessed it myself—one of the maids came out of your room during a time that wasn’t assigned for cleaning.”

“Is that so? Then she must’ve entered my room secretly.”

Ian had always suspected that among the staff, there would be those with impure intentions. Now that it had proven true, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of betrayal. He had even been paying slightly higher wages than others, and yet, someone had been tempted by bigger money and tried to sneak into his room to steal something valuable.

“What do you think we should do?”

Ian asked the butler. In response, the butler spoke in a solemn tone.

“If something was stolen, it should be handed over to the police to be dealt with by the law, and the stolen item recovered.”

“Then proceed as such.”

“…Is that truly all right?”

“If someone snuck into my room to steal something, it’s only natural to catch them and retrieve it. Let the police handle the rest.”

“Understood. I’ll take action first thing in the morning. And…”

“There’s more?”

“Someone approached me. He offered me a large sum in exchange for information about you, Your Highness.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course, I refused. Selling out one’s employer isn’t something a butler should do.”

It was rigid, yes—but it was also trustworthy. Ian had thought the butler a good pick before, but hearing this confirmed that he had chosen well.

“Thank you. I’ll see to it that you receive a bonus.”

“There’s no need. I didn’t say this for a bonus. I only said it to assure you there’s nothing to worry about. Besides, if I were to take a bonus every time something like this happens, it wouldn’t be right.”

“I see your point. But since it’s the first time, just accept this one. Think of it as a gift from me.”

“…If Your Highness insists, then I will accept it this once.”

Ian smiled in satisfaction at the butler’s bowing response. Still, he realized he needed to tighten internal security. If he wasn’t careful, the things said inside this house could easily leak outside. It didn’t seem appropriate to manipulate everyone’s minds, but if he could identify those with impure intentions and manipulate them, that might be enough.

Moreover, by using them, he could set up a surveillance system that would help keep the estate under tighter control.

‘Still, I need to find a solution to the bigger problem soon.’

March 1st.

It had already become March. Amidst the current situation, Ian had gone out for a public appearance. He was giving a briefing to the people about the Kraken hunt. The citizens had long wanted to hear the story, so this event had been arranged.

The plaza was packed with people who had come to attend the briefing, and a stage had been set up. At least 50,000 people had gathered. All of them were eager to hear vivid descriptions of Ian’s experience during the Kraken hunt.

After all, the theater film had only been a silent, black-and-white projection. People wanted to hear it directly from his mouth. If it had been the old Ian, he probably would never have agreed to such a public appearance.

‘But now, if I can capture their hearts through events like this, it’ll bring me praise—and that praise will become a measure of my reputation and status.’

It was the same reason he had begun attending noble gatherings more frequently. Appearing before the public like this was also part of his strategy to raise his prestige. Alongside Ian were his deputy captain, aide, and other officers who had taken part in the hunt.

They had already exchanged greetings, and the officers were now on break. They were likely to rest until their next assignment. Still, Ian wondered—would there even be a next time for them to reunite?

“If the plan I devised goes into action and reaches completion, I won’t have many reasons to board a ship myself anymore.”

As Ian pondered this, he received word that everything was ready. He told the others he’d be back and began walking toward the stage. How many people had gathered? The crowd included men and women, young and old, all there to hear his briefing.

Looking at them, Ian stepped up to the somewhat crude-looking microphone and spoke into it.

[Ah-ah, can everyone hear me?]

Waaaah—!

“We can hear you clearly, Prince Ian!”

“Please tell us all about the Kraken hunt!”

“I was about to break my legs waiting! Hahaha!”

Some shouted about how long they’d waited, others pleaded to hear the story, and some made jokes in typical Polia Kingdom fashion. Seeing their reactions, Ian smiled faintly. Then he cleared his throat and said,

“Before anyone actually breaks a leg, I’d better get started.”

Hahahaha! Hohoho!

Laughter rang out from men and women alike. The atmosphere had lightened after Ian accepted their jokes. Amid the laughter, Ian took a short deep breath and leaned into the microphone to begin speaking. But just then—bang!—a gunshot rang out.

“Urgh!”

Ian collapsed backward, as if struck. Everyone’s eyes widened in shock. What had just happened? Was that a gunshot? Had Prince Ian been shot? Realization dawned only after a few seconds.

“Kyaaah!”

“It’s an assassination!”

“Someone shot Prince Ian!”

Screams erupted. Chaos broke out in the plaza as people realized an assassination attempt had just occurred. The first to run toward Ian was his aide, Lieutenant Mardin Gaso. Right behind him, Deputy Captain Derian Zeco rushed onto the stage.

Soon, the surrounding officers and police swarmed to the area. At that moment—peep! peep!—whistles blared nonstop.

“Protect Prince Ian!”

“Find the assassin!”

“Call for a doctor, now!”

As everyone rushed to surround Prince Ian, the journalists covering the event began snapping photos furiously.