Second Prince

The Mysterious Tower—the one that reflects any attack—had sent me hurtling into the horizon.

I flapped my arms in a desperate, pathetic attempt to arrest my fall, but it did nothing.

I’m falling. I’m actually falling...

I might have been one of the masterminds pulling the strings from the shadows, but I was never a combatant. My status showed a decent aptitude for magic, but physically? I was no different from any other commoner.

I didn't know the exact details of my own abilities, but common sense dictated that being launched into the stratosphere like a shooting star only to plummet back to earth wasn't something a person survived. Even a child could understand that.

Of course, I wasn't about to make the blunder of simply dying in silence.

I cast Wind Magic over and over, struggling frantically against the air, yet the speed of my descent didn't change at all. I was forced to taste the bitter dregs of my own helplessness.

If only I had trained more in magic, I wouldn't be in this mess...

Then, I stopped myself. I reconsidered.

The only reason I was being sent flying in the first place was because of that abominable younger brother of mine, Yuri.

“Yuri, just you wait. I will make you pay for putting me through this. You’ll regret the day you were born!”

Still, if I wanted to settle my grudge against him, I had to survive this situation first. The ground was rushing up to meet me; my velocity was slowing, but I was still heading straight for the dirt.

Think! Is there any way for me to survive this?

I racked my brain for an answer, but nothing came to mind. I simply continued to fall.

The result—

The moment before I collided with the ground, a mysterious force surged. My body was suddenly enveloped in something elastic, like a giant marshmallow, which completely absorbed the impact.

“Eh?”

I stood there with a look of utter perplexity, unable to comprehend what had just happened. But I didn't have the luxury of worrying about the details.

“F-for now, there’s no point obsessing over things I don’t understand. I have to tell Father immediately... No, it’s no exaggeration to say that tower is a powerful weapon that threatens the entire Kingdom of Inraku. I must speak to Lord Noris, the Second Prince, and have him dispatch a Subjugation Force at once.”

I looked around for a carriage, but I didn't even know where I was. Naturally, the carriage that had brought me to Alf Town was nowhere to be found out here. I had no choice but to start walking toward the nearest town.

“Yuri, I will never forgive you!”

It was no one's fault but my own; my shallow, impulsive actions had invited this disaster. Yet, I allowed my rage toward Yuri to burn with an even fiercer heat.

◇　◆　◇

I stared at the letter from Miranda, a massive headache beginning to throb behind my eyes.

Correspondence from her was a chore even at the best of times. Ours was a political engagement; I felt absolutely no attachment to her. However, for the sake of public appearances, I had to maintain the image of a doting fiancé. I made sure to reply to every letter and carefully selected gifts I thought she might like—difficult, considering I didn't actually know a single thing about her personality.

The woman was a walking nightmare in ink. And now, she was writing to me about her own brother.

“If Yuri Lousouth, who manipulates Devil’s Tools, is left unchecked, this country will be ruined. By preventing that man’s rebellion before it happens, wouldn’t your chances of succeeding the throne increase, Lord Noris?”

I was currently Second Rank in the Right of Succession.

The current King, my father, was still very much alive and had declared that he would hand the crown to whichever heir achieved the most merit. If what Miranda claimed was true, and I suppressed this threat, I would leapfrog over my siblings and move one step closer to the throne.

On paper, I should have been thrilled that my fiancée was lending me her support.

But...

I don’t want the throne if it means dealing with this much stress.

My true hobby was taking advantage of my position as the "lesser" prince—someone slightly overshadowed by the eldest son—to travel the world. Whenever I slipped away to visit foreign nations, I made sure to leave a Body Double behind so no one would notice, and I always took along a group of elite knights disguised as commoners for protection. It was an arduous task to arrange, but worth it.

My father only permitted this lifestyle because he judged that the social networks I built abroad were diverse and ultimately served the national interest.

And that was the problem. According to those very networks, the leaders of various foreign countries held Yuri Lousouth in incredibly high regard. I’d even heard rumors that some were preparing to send daughters of high-ranking officials to be his wife, waiting only for the right conditions to strike a deal.

And she wanted me to pick a fight with a man like that?

It was obvious. The moment I moved against him, those countries would lose their minds and use it as a pretext to wage war against the Kingdom of Inraku. They were already watching us like tigers, just waiting for an opening to invade.

No matter how I moved, I was blocked on all sides.

If I touched Yuri, it meant immediate war. If I didn’t touch him, it would eventually lead to war anyway.

“Why is this happening to me?! What on earth did I do to deserve this!?”

All I wanted was to live a life of luxury, traveling on the royal family's dime. I figured my older brother, the First Prince, would handle all the troublesome politics.

But this letter was a bomb. If I didn't act, I’d turn the Lousouth House into an enemy. The walls were closing in, and all I wanted to do was run.

Wait. That’s it! I’ll just run away!

Alf Town. The center of the storm.

As of right now, that land was under Yuri’s protection; no foreign nation would dare attack it. And while it seemed he was plotting independence, it was still technically part of the Kingdom of Inraku.

In other words, it wouldn't be strange at all for a prince to pay a visit.

I would go there under the guise of an "official inspection" and stay until the commotion died down. It seemed like the only way to escape this mess.