Chapter 3: Back to the Time I Could Never Forget! (2)

Butler Patrick was originally the chief butler of the Arenvatz Ducal Family, his mistress’s family.

However, when Lady Sierra married into the Canel household, he followed her, and now that she had passed away, he served exclusively as Raion’s butler.

In truth, one could say that he was practically the one who had raised Raion since infancy.

Naturally, from Raion’s perspective, Patrick was one of the most difficult people to deal with.

“I’m so relieved that you’ve awakened. You have no idea how worried I, Patrick, have been.”

Despite saying he had been deeply worried, Patrick’s expression remained calm and stoic.

He was always like that.

His emotions never surfaced, not even slightly—so much so that within the royal palace, people called him ‘Giant Stone Patrick.’

The ‘Giant’ part came from his towering height—he stood over 190 centimeters tall, even past the age of fifty.

“Oh, it’s… been a while, hasn’t it? H-How have you been?”

It had been decades since Raion last saw that face, and he couldn’t help but stutter.

“It’s been fifteen days, so indeed, quite a long while. Is your body truly all right?”

“I-I’m fine. But, I asked Monica to bring this… why did you come yourself?”

At that question, Patrick narrowed his eyes and quietly scanned Raion from head to toe.

Feeling as if he were being examined, Raion broke into a cold sweat.

‘W-What? Is he looking at me weirdly?’

Patrick had been like a parent to him ever since Raion was a baby.

Naturally, if anything was off about Raion, Patrick would be the first to notice.

“Of course, this is something I should handle personally. More importantly… do you recall how you collapsed?”

At that, Raion tried recalling the events from decades ago.

He had been walking through the garden when he ate the packed lunch from the royal kitchen—and then he suddenly collapsed.

It was an undeniably suspicious situation.

However, when he woke up later, the investigation concluded only that he had fainted due to weak stamina.

“I ate a packed lunch and passed out after that.”

When he gave the honest answer, Patrick’s brow creased slightly.

“I see. A packed lunch, you say… Do you recall where it was left after you finished?”

“No. I didn’t have time to clean up. I collapsed before I could even blink.”

In truth, the real cause of Raion’s collapse had been poison.

And Raion was well aware of that fact.

However, since he also knew exactly who had been behind it, he hadn’t dared to reveal the truth back then.

“I understand. Still… it seems your demeanor has changed somewhat.”

The timid Raion who used to act passively in everything was nowhere to be found.

“Oh? Ah… well, that’s…”

Raion realized only then that he had completely forgotten to act like his former self.

‘I totally forgot how I used to be… How am I supposed to explain this?’

Feeling cornered, he carefully glanced at Patrick.

But Patrick didn’t seem particularly bothered.

“There’s nothing wrong with that, so you need not worry. In fact, I find it a good change. I hope you continue to carry yourself with confidence.”

“Huh? Ah… y-yeah, I’ll try. But, uh, could I maybe eat something first? I’m really starving.”

“Of course.”

Patrick pushed the cart forward and set the meal on the table.

It was a soup made of mushrooms and vegetables.

“…I told Monica I was really hungry, but… this is all?”

“For someone who has been bedridden for fifteen days, a proper meal would be too much. I thought it best for you to start with something light, so I prepared this myself.”

An air of pressure surrounded Patrick.

It felt like he was silently telling Raion not to complain and eat until his body had recovered.

“Ah, fine.”

In the end, Raion reluctantly lifted a spoonful of soup and put it into his mouth.

‘Ugh…! Why is this so greasy?’

Originally, the old Raion wouldn’t have found the taste unpleasant.

But now, having lived for decades as a native Korean on Earth, his palate had completely changed.

Moreover, the culinary culture of the Phalon Continent lagged far behind Earth’s—by several centuries, even.

Still, with Patrick standing right before him, there was no way he could waste the food. He had no choice but to eat it all.

‘I think I’m going to puke… At a time like this, a bit of kimchi would’ve been perfect…’

At that thought, Raion suddenly found himself missing Korea—the homeland he had left behind to live as a mercenary for years.

—

Raion’s condition was soon reported to the upper echelons of the royal palace through Monica and Patrick.

Among them, one person received the news first—

Elina, the current concubine of the Canel Kingdom.

Despite being over forty, her fair skin and sharp beauty gave her a striking presence.

The moment she heard of Raion’s recovery through her spies scattered across the palace, her expression turned cold.

“So he ended up waking after all… What a shame. Don’t you think so, Father?”

Elina wasn’t alone.

Sitting behind her on the sofa was the dignified figure of Duke Alito Kright, the Chancellor of the Canel Kingdom—and her biological father.

“You should have used a stronger poison. Or at least made sure he lingered long enough to die properly.”

If Raion were to die while unconscious, the next heir to the throne would undoubtedly be one of Elina’s children.

Thus, both of them wore expressions of deep regret.

“If we had used anything stronger, it would’ve been too obvious. I went through all that trouble bribing a priest and spending a fortune, only for it to amount to nothing. But… it’s not like we came away empty-handed.”

Elina’s expression shifted into one of quiet confidence.

“What do you mean by that? We’ve already dealt with the poisoned lunch and everyone connected to it, so no issues should arise. But from now on, he’ll be much more cautious in everything.”

When the incident first occurred, the two of them had immediately disposed of everyone directly involved.

Naturally, even if someone were to step forward to investigate, nothing would ever come out of it.

Of course, there might be suspicions, but there was neither evidence nor witnesses.

“No matter how much of a coward that fool is, do you really think he doesn’t have at least a hint of why it happened? Of course, even if he were to confess, no one would believe him.”

Through the priest who had overseen Raion’s treatment, they had officially declared it to be a health-related issue.

Even King Laskan Canel himself—Elina’s husband—trusted the priest’s diagnosis, given his impeccable reputation.

Completely unaware that everything had been fabricated.

“So, what you’re saying, Your Majesty, is that Raion will grow more timid and lock himself away even further?”

“Of course! That useless brat has nothing going for him, yet just because he was born from the legitimate queen, he’s first in line for the throne. Isn’t that laughable?”

Elina had two sons who were six and four years older than Raion.

Both were already fine young men—strong and gifted in their own ways.

Naturally, the throne was something they desired.

However, Elina herself had only entered the royal palace as a concubine to secure a political alliance between King Laskan and Duke Alito Kright.

That was why the late queen’s belatedly born son—Raion—had inherited the legitimate right of succession.

From Elina’s greedy perspective, it was an infuriating situation.

“You’re absolutely right. Which is why I’ve been actively supporting the Queen’s actions as well—to ensure that my grandsons ascend the throne.”

Greed blazed in Duke Alito Kright’s eyes.

Elina had clearly inherited that very nature from him.

“In any case, if that boy realizes his own position, he’ll probably stay quiet from now on. The succession is a problem, yes—but there’s a way to handle it.”

“Without killing him, you mean?”

For the two of them, the cleanest solution would have been for Raion to simply disappear.

So when Elina claimed she had another way, Alito couldn’t help but grow suspicious.

“First, we’ll need to draw in more nobles from the King’s faction. Do you think that’s possible?”

At present, the nobles were divided into three factions—those of King Laskan Canel, Queen Elina, and Chancellor Alito.

Of course, since Elina and Alito were father and daughter, they were essentially on the same side.

Thus, in practice, there were only two factions.

However, their power was almost perfectly balanced, so nothing in the kingdom could be decided easily.

Surprisingly, the King’s faction held more weight than expected.

That was because Laskan Canel was not only the King but also a Sword Master.

Though lacking in political prowess, his authority, honor, and personal strength had earned him the loyalty of many nobles.

It was only thanks to that prestige that Elina and Alito had managed to maintain their faction’s standing thus far.

But now, Elina sought to shatter that balance of power.

“Hmm… That won’t be easy in the short term. The King’s supporters are mostly those of unwavering loyalty.”

Most members of the royal faction were military men.

Moreover, standing firmly by the King’s side was Duke Saliann Arenvatz—the late Queen Sierra’s father.

Despite his old age, Duke Saliann served as the commander overseeing the northern border defenses.

His steadfast loyalty in defending the kingdom from foreign invasions made it nearly impossible to shake the royal authority.

“There’s no need to rush. Could we manage it in five years?”

“Five years? By then… the Third Prince’s coming-of-age ceremony will take place, won’t it?”

On the Phalon Continent, the average age of adulthood was seventeen.

Raion, who was twelve now, would be recognized as an adult in five years.

And for royalty, coming of age meant gaining real power.

Of course, based on what they knew of Raion, they didn’t expect anything to change even then.

“By that time, His Majesty will likely name the Third Prince as the official successor.”

“As if that’s a surprise.”

They both knew very well that King Laskan had loved his late wife, Sierra, more than anyone.

Naturally, no matter the boy’s flaws, the King would want to see her only child take the throne.

That was both the tradition of the Canel Kingdom and the unyielding law of royal legitimacy.

“Which is why we have to shift the balance of power to our side within those five years. Only then can we raise objections in the name of a fair succession.”

At last, Duke Alito began to understand the meaning behind her words.

“Oh-ho… So you mean to confront it head-on. After all, no matter how hard the Third Prince tries, he won’t even come close to matching Ashuran or Valet.”

He referred to the First Prince, Ashuran, and the Second Prince, Valet.

Both were already well-known for their exceptional talents—one in swordsmanship, the other in strategy and numbers.

Several nobles had already pledged their allegiance, believing in the two princes’ promising futures.

“In any case, I’ll do what I can to move things forward.”

“I’m counting on you, Father. We can’t afford to fail.”

As the two continued to whisper in hushed tones, dark, sinister smiles spread across their faces.

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