Repeat Vice - The Villainous Noble Doesn't Want to Die, So He Swore to Not Die As One of The Four Heavenly Kings - Chapter 92: The Royal Family's Ordeal

Chapter 92: The Royal Family’s Ordeal

The royal palace, the king’s office.

Documents were piled up like mountains on the table.

The content mainly consisted of damage reports from the recent attack on the capital, lists of missing persons, calculations of reconstruction costs, and requests for manpower from the church due to a shortage of personnel.

However, these were in the final stage of confirmation, having already been reviewed by many civil officials and the chancellor, and the king only needed to read and stamp them.

Of course, given the volume, even just confirming and stamping was a considerable amount of labor, but that didn’t matter at the moment.

The current king of the kingdom, Alexei Roi Sinterio, had his greatest concern since ascending the throne.

His beloved daughter, the kingdom’s first princess, Asteria.

Apparently, she had fallen in love with a commoner, disregarding her fiancé, Raymond.

What is this nonsense? Who is this nobody? Bring him before me immediately, and I will personally execute him, thought the father in him.

And the king felt the same.

A romance that crosses social classes may shine in stories and plays, but in reality, numerous insurmountable obstacles would arise.

And these obstacles were not something that could be overcome by the individuals alone.

In this case, it would turn into a major upheaval involving the royal family, the nobility, and even the citizens.

From what he heard, she had already spoken to Raymond and proposed breaking the engagement.

Don’t proceed without permission, thought King Alexei, holding his head.

The kingdom’s throne is inherited by a single child, regardless of gender.

Specifically, if the child is male, he directly inherits the throne, and if female, her husband becomes the king.

In other words, Raymond, who was engaged to Asteria, was supposed to become the next king.

Therefore, the fiancé of the first princess is carefully selected from the many high-ranking nobles to be someone worthy of bearing the kingdom.

In King Alexei’s eyes, there was no one more suitable than Raymond.

Yet—

“…!”

King Alexei slammed his desk in frustration.

Raymond had released a summoned beast in the capital, causing unacceptable damage.

According to the holy woman, he was under the control of the legendary “Dark God,” but this incident disqualified Raymond from being the next king.

Several high-ranking nobles, including the Lightless and Galeon families, submitted petitions for leniency for Raymond.

The incident was resolved not by anyone else but by the “Dark Mage” Rofus Ray Lightless.

Given a petition from the Lightrus family, it couldn’t be ignored.

After extensive information manipulation, it was settled that the incident was due to the resurrection of the Demon King, not Raymond, and he was somehow acquitted.

However, the magical waves from the demonized Raymond had spread throughout the capital.

Even though his appearance had changed, there were quite a few among the royal guards who recognized him as Raymond.

Of course, information manipulation and gag orders were enforced.

Although the official stance of the kingdom was the Demon King’s attack, many knew the truth—that the incident was caused by Raymond.

That was Raymond’s stain and bad reputation.

Even if he had been possessed, the damage caused was too great.

The problem was that Asteria reported the engagement cancellation after the incident.

This made things very complicated.

If it weren’t for the incident, they could have simply removed Asteria from the line of succession and recommended Raymond’s engagement to Aria, the second princess and Asteria’s sister.

However, in the current situation, Raymond was already in a tough spot as a candidate for the next king.

Yet, at this delicate timing, Asteria claimed that the incident was her fault.

From King Alexei’s perspective, this was nonsense.

After finally managing to acquit Raymond through extensive information manipulation, admitting fault on the royal family’s part now would be disastrous.

The current information manipulation was already done forcefully, and dissenting voices from other nobles were being suppressed with royal authority.

The balance of power between the royal family and the nobility is delicate.

If it collapses, royal authority will fall, and the kingdom will be engulfed in civil war and power struggles.

Therefore, the royal family must not show weakness.

This was something Asteria should have been taught, but apparently, the education was insufficient.

Even if there were faults, revealing them honestly in this situation was nothing but a bad move.

Swallow it and take it to the grave.

Being upright is good, but in a society filled with interests and greed, one cannot survive on that alone.

Showing weakness as royalty means shaking the country.

Every action of the royal family literally holds the fate of the nation.

King Alexei sighed, wondering if Asteria failed to understand this.

“Did I spoil her too much? No, she shouldn’t have been that careless…”

Perhaps, to Asteria, this commoner named Abel was someone she saw as equal to the royal family.

According to the holy woman, Abel seemed to be someone who received the will of the Six Gods.

He had also acted to help suppress the recent incident, so King Alexei summoned him for a commendation ceremony to take a look.

King Alexei’s first impression of Abel was that he seemed like a righteous and gentle young man.

He might be popular with the people, but surviving in the power struggles of society seemed quite difficult, thought King Alexei.

Given that he was a commoner, it was natural that he lived in a world unrelated to such things.

However, King Alexei’s true feelings were that Abel couldn’t compare to Raymond.

In any case, given the current situation, Asteria’s right to the throne might have to be revoked—albeit quietly.

At present, Asteria has no public faults—she must not have any. Although there are reports from the academy of her being seen courting a commoner by many students, it is ultimately a minor issue. While it might lead to some suspicion towards the royal family, it is not fatal. 

More important now is the matter of the next king. There are other candidates besides Raymond. However, they are merely formal candidates and are significantly inferior to Raymond in both quality and capability—they are incomparable to him.

As King Alexei pondered, a man who could rival Raymond suddenly came to his mind as if by divine revelation.

“No… there is one.”

Someone who could rival Raymond. A hero of the capital who contributed to quelling the recent disturbance, and from a prestigious bloodline dating back to the founding of the kingdom. 

Reportedly, he has already been involved in the management of his territory and has even dealt with officials involved in slave trading. Despite his youth, his management skills are noteworthy, and regions impoverished by misgovernment have shown economic recovery and strong support from the residents. He is adept at dealing with merchants and has extensive connections. 

He is also close to the Saint of the Six Gods Church, which facilitates smooth relations with the church—a very beneficial connection in a kingdom closely tied to the Six Gods Church. 

Generally, the next king is chosen from among the dukes, but this precedent can be ignored under the circumstances.

“The Dark Mage… the hero. If it’s the Lightless family, there should be no opposition from other houses.”

There was no more suitable candidate than him besides Raymond. Although there are rumors of his womanizing, such matters are trivial at this point.

“Heroes tend to be fond of women, after all.”

First, he would begin by introducing Rolfus to the second princess, Aria. 

King Alexei set out to make Rolfus the next candidate for the throne.

*

A few days later, a letter bearing the royal seal was sent from the royal family to the Lightress family. The content was, of course, a proposal to marry Rolfus to the second princess, Aria.

The Lightless family promptly responded. The response was from the current head, Rudens. The content stated that Rolfus had already undergone the ceremony of succession and would officially become the head of the Lightless family upon graduating from the academy. This was a tradition dating back to the founding of the Lightless family, where the strong inherit the name, as decreed by the first head.

Violating this tradition could bring unforeseen calamities upon the Lightless territory and the kingdom, making it a great honor but necessitating a decline of the proposal—more or less.

In essence, it was a polite refusal. Only a house of the Lightless family’s standing could so bluntly refuse the royal family, aside from the ducal houses.

King Alexei was troubled.

*

Magic Academy.

The academy was currently closed for restoration, leaving the school building empty and devoid of its usual hustle and bustle. In the headmaster’s office, the headmaster Einbell sat across from the first princess Asteria.

Einbell sipped freshly brewed coffee elegantly while Asteria, with a stern expression, ignored the coffee placed before her and stared at Einbell.

“I heard that Raymond has gone missing.”

Einbell sipped his coffee.

“So it seems.”

Asteria, deciding to speak her mind, continued.

“The recent attack on the capital… was caused by Raymond’s summoned beast. Does it have anything to do with that?”

“…”

“It’s announced that the Demon King has revived. The church holds the same view… Uncle, do you know anything about it?”

“Well…”

“Uncle!”

Asteria raised her voice as Einbell tried to dodge the question, making him shrug.

“Asteria, did your father—the king—say anything?”

“No… he didn’t answer me at all…”

“Then there’s nothing I can say. If I talk too much, your father might get angry with me.”

“That’s… but…”

Asteria was still unsatisfied. The nation-scale information manipulation and the uncertainty about Raymond’s whereabouts left her restless.

Seeing her, Einbell sighed lightly.

“Don’t worry, Raymond is safe.”

“…!”

“The recent attack wasn’t of Raymond’s will. Asteria, you are not at fault either. Don’t fret too much about it.”

“What do you mean by that…”

Asteria was confused. Einbell scratched his cheek and shrugged.

“Raymond’s case was inevitable. There were sacrifices, but… this time… we’re moving towards a better future—or so I hope.”

“This time…?”

Asteria leaned forward, puzzled by Einbell’s murmur.

“I sometimes dream of memories that shouldn’t exist with Abel. In those dreams, we fight giant monsters, and Raymond tries to destroy the country…”

Asteria spoke slowly, recalling the details. Einbell opened his eyes slightly and nodded.

“I see… memory overlap—nothing unusual. People haven’t completely forgotten the last time. Some memories or emotions might resurface unexpectedly. For example—meeting a friend or a loved one.”

“Last time…? Uncle, what do you know?”

Trembling with incomprehension, Asteria watched as Einbell smiled mischievously.

“What if I told you this world is in its second round—would you believe me, Asteria?”

A white jewel appeared above Einbell’s head, illuminating the headmaster’s office. 

Asteria could only stare at it in astonishment.