Having lost its ringleader, the Almeria rebellion was suppressed in no time by Brother Henry.
In the royal palace's audience chamber where the report arrived, cheers from the ministers echoed off the walls.
Kneeling before His Majesty, the messenger who brought the news continued.
"Almost all the conspirators who plotted the rebellion have been captured. They await Your Majesty's final judgment."
"Mm."
His Majesty nodded quietly.
His expression was far from calm.
Rather, he looked so enraged that flames seemed ready to burst from his eyes at any second.
"Tell Henry to bring every last one of them to the capital."
"Understood!"
"What do you intend to do with them, Your Majesty?"
After the messenger departed, the First Prime Minister stepped out from the row of ministers and inquired about His Majesty's intentions.
"It is obvious. Raising a rebellion in Noah's territory is unforgivable. Prepare cattle and horses; I will have their entire clans torn limb from limb."
Sensing from His Majesty's tone that his fury was genuine, the ministers chimed in one after another in eager agreement.
"Your Majesty."
I stepped forward from the line and dropped to one knee beside the First Prime Minister.
"Wait, Noah. I shall deal with them at once—"
"Forgive me for speaking out, Your Majesty, but that cannot be permitted."
"—Torn limb from limb... What?"
His Majesty stared in astonishment, and the other ministers immediately began to buzz with agitation.
It was an act of defying the furious Emperor head-on.
Several ministers known for their faint hearts were already turning pale.
"What is the meaning of this, Noah?"
His Majesty's voice dropped low.
Though the words were directed at me, several nearby ministers visibly flinched.
That reaction alone was indirect proof of the Emperor's terrifying authority.
I calmly raised my head and looked straight at His Majesty.
"Punishment must strictly conform to the law."
After establishing that fundamental premise, I continued.
"According to imperial law, the ringleader of a rebellion is sentenced to bisection at the waist, relatives within three degrees of kinship and co-conspirators face hanging, and all others are subject to beheading depending on their level of involvement. While 'tearing limb from limb' is a common turn of phrase, no such punishment exists in imperial law."
"However, those scoundrels dragged your name through the mud, Noah."
His Majesty furrowed his brows and pressed the point, but I let it slide right past me.
"If the Emperor takes the lead in breaking the law, it will sow seeds of chaos throughout the realm. Please reconsider."
"..."
His Majesty fell silent.
The ministers held their breath, watching the confrontation unfold.
A heavy, suffocating silence descended upon the audience chamber.
"...Phew. Reason is on your side, Noah."
After a tense pause, His Majesty muttered those words.
I could clearly hear someone—no, several people—letting out an unmistakable sigh of relief.
"Well done, Noah. Thank you for remonstrating my error."
"Not at all."
"Yet my wrath remains unappeased. Let their sentences be the harshest permitted within the bounds of the law, with absolutely no clemency or reduction. That should be acceptable, yes?"
"That poses no issue at all."
I bowed my head once, then continued further.
"In past rebellions, there were many instances where children and infants within three degrees of the ringleader's kinship were spared out of pity. If that reflects Your Majesty's thinking, it is a point that requires particular caution."
A noble's child was never merely a child.
There were countless cases throughout history where a ruined or extinguished house was restored, or bloody vengeance exacted, by a surviving child.
That was especially true in the wake of a rebellion.
While mere co-conspirators might be overlooked, the children of the ringleader had to be eradicated—such was the ruthless reality of the noble world.
That was why I offered the advice, and His Majesty nodded, saying, "You did well to remind me."
"Third Prime Minister."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Called upon by His Majesty, the Third Prime Minister, Jean-Brad Reidouk, stepped out from the row and offered a quiet bow.
"You heard the discussion. I leave this matter in your hands."
"By your will."
With that, the fate of the conspirators was largely sealed.
At the same time, as if to sweep away the heavy gloom from moments before, voices of a very different nature arose among the assembly.
"As expected of His Highness the Thirteenth Imperial Prince. To offer such a direct remonstrance..."
"And without his expression wavering in the slightest, he voiced his stance so clearly to His Majesty."
"Truly a heavenly gifted genius, a prodigy akin to a Qilin."
The ministers praised me in hushed admiration.
Hearing their chatter, His Majesty's mood visibly improved, as though his earlier fury had vanished into thin air.
"Noah."
"Yes."
"Correct me whenever I err in the future as well."
"By your will."
"As for today... Hmm, it is thanks to you that I avoided leaving a black mark on my name in history. I must grant you a fitting reward."
His Majesty rested his chin in his hand and pondered.
Unlike the tense silence from earlier, everyone now waited in a relaxed mood to see what prize would be bestowed upon me.
"Mm, it is decided. I shall grant you a title."
In an instant, a stir rippled through the hall.
In the past, only a select few imperial sons could become imperial princes.
Presently, under imperial law, imperial sons held the rank of imperial prince from birth.
In terms of status, only the Emperor stood above an imperial prince—meaning an imperial prince had no further ladder to climb.
However, since that left no standard promotions for an imperial prince who achieved great deeds, the practice of granting descriptive titles had been devised.
"Noah's remonstrance was magnificent. Any child might attempt to advise a parent, but ensuring that advice is strictly righteous is an irreplaceable and splendid virtue. To make that wisdom known across the realm—I grant you the character 'Wise'."
When His Majesty made the declaration, another wave of murmuring broke out, quickly followed by a roar of acclaim.
"Long live Lord Noah! Long live the Wise Imperial Prince!"
Cheers thundered through the chamber.
―――――――――――― Name: Noah Ararat Wise Imperial Prince Gender: Male Level: 1 / ∞
HP: F / Fire: F MP: F / Water: E+S Strength: F+F / Wind: F Stamina: F+F / Earth: F Intelligence: F+F / Light: F Spirit: F+F / Darkness: F Speed: F Dexterity: F+F Luck: F+F ――――――――――――
With that, my status updated, reflecting the new title.
"I am profoundly honored."
I kept my head bowed.
His Majesty stood up from the throne, descended the red-carpeted stairs, and walked over to me.
He stopped directly before where I knelt on one knee.
"If only you had been born just a little earlier."
For the third time that day, the stir among the ministers shifted into something of an entirely different nature.
☆
Several weeks after I became the Wise Imperial Prince.
On this day, I was at Horse Street Plaza in the imperial capital—the largest open square in the city.
A stage had been erected in the center of the plaza, furnished with a table and a single chair.
I sat in the chair, sipping from a tea set resting on the table.
The Knight Selection.
We were currently holding its preliminary trials.
The method I had previously proposed to His Majesty had been approved, so I spent the day lounging about while letting the candidates attack me however they wished.
I didn't lift a finger myself; instead, Leviathan, linked through my ring, intercepted and neutralized every single strike.
One after another, challengers stepped up onto the stage, unleashed their attacks against me—only to be utterly thwarted—and stepped down in bitter disappointment.
"Whoa, that's insane. Did it block that spell just now, too?"
"He's just a squirt, but that defense is unreal."
"Watch your tongue, that's lèse-majesté! That is His Highness the Thirteenth Imperial Prince—no, the Wise Imperial Prince!"
Given that the trials were taking place in the capital's grandest plaza, spectators had gathered in droves.
I hadn't publicly stated the criteria for passing, but it was painfully obvious to everyone watching that every challenger so far had failed miserably.
Every single candidate had attacked, only to be completely shut out by Leviathan.
Failing to breach the defenses of a child casually relaxing in front of a massive crowd left the contenders with no choice but to concede gracefully.
This went on for half a day.
Just as I glanced up at the western sky, thinking the sun would be setting soon—
"Yaaah!"
An attack came flying in with a piercing war cry.
It was a young girl clad in white armor.
Leveling her sword horizontally, she charged forward, throwing her entire body weight behind the thrust.
Leviathan reacted immediately, morphing the linked ring into a shield to block the strike.
Up to this point, it was the exact same routine.
It was identical to what I had seen from hundreds of candidates throughout the day.
"Like I'd... give up over something like this!"
Grr. The sound of the girl grinding her teeth was plainly audible.
An instant later, the girl leaned in with even greater force, and the shield visibly cracked.
Shattering the barrier that no one had managed to scratch all day, she surged forward.
The tip of her blade drove clean through my right shoulder.
"—Ghk!"
The one who struck the blow looked more shocked than anyone.
She reflexively let go of the hilt and stumbled backward.
"You insolent cur!"
"What do you think you're doing?!"
The soldiers guarding the stage rushed forward and pinned the girl to the floor on the spot.
Below the stage, the crowd erupted into an uproar.
I looked down at my impaled shoulder.
"Right."
I nodded to myself.
"Let her go."
"Huh? B-But Your Highness! She's a criminal who harmed your royal person—"
"I said, let her go."
"—!"
The soldier holding the girl down flinched and immediately scrambled back.
Dazed, the girl pushed herself up onto her hands and knees from where she had been pinned, staring at me with eyes full of utter bewilderment.
I yanked the sword from my shoulder, and a spurt of blood gushed out.
"Master!"
The maid who had been attending to me all day—Zoe—panicked, rushed over, tore a strip from her uniform, and quickly bound my wound.
"I-I am so terribly sorry!"
Snapping back to reality, the girl dropped into a frantic prostration before me.
"Hm? What are you groveling for?"
"B-Because... I wounded Your Highness..."
"I didn't spell out the passing score, but given what I asked you to do, it should be pretty obvious that you just passed, shouldn't it?"
"..."
The girl stared at me, completely dumbfounded.
"Wait, that counted as passing?"
"And straight into the main selection, no less!"
"To the person who ran a sword clean through his shoulder... What unbelievable magnanimity..."
Amidst the excited murmurs of the spectators, the girl remained frozen in place, utterly unable to process what had just happened.