The mention of a full-blooded brother brought to mind the boy who lounged around the palace. He spent more than half the day eating and the rest sleeping. What reason would there be to recommend such a child as Crown Prince? I wondered if he had some hidden ability of which I was unaware, but nothing came to mind.

“As you know, that child is not fit to become emperor. There’s no reason to recommend someone so lazy.”

“…You have no qualms about your brother, do you? Do you lack any sense of familial loyalty?”

“Is family really that significant among royals?”

When I answered, he fell silent. In reality, before I was officially crowned Crown Prince, there had been a fierce struggle for succession behind the scenes. Four of my brothers had already died. If I hadn’t been in power, I would probably have perished with them. As the eldest son of the Empress, I was the most targeted.

“How many of the four brothers who were ruled as accidental deaths were killed by you?”

I had no intention of pressing him for an answer; I was simply curious as I recalled past events.

“Stop with the harsh assumptions.”

“This isn’t an assumption; I’m asking with certainty. One of the assassins who came after me admitted that you sent him. He ended up dead afterward, leaving no evidence, of course.”

Bapharos didn’t respond. However, he didn’t show any signs of being flustered either. His expression remained unchanged as if to say there was nothing to be done without evidence now.

He seemed to change the subject by looking at Zetak. Following his gaze, I noticed that Zetak was wearing a tense expression. I wondered why he was looking like that, but soon realized it was because of what I had said.

Five years ago, he had likely never encountered the dark side of the palace, such as assassins and plots.

Once someone is crowned Crown Prince, it becomes risky to touch them. That’s why the assassins stopped coming after I was crowned, and Zetak, who met me afterward, probably didn’t know that I had grown up under the constant threat of assassination. Deep down, he may even feel a sense of relief now.

“But why did you save that child?”

“…”

“I don’t think it was simple sympathy, as Father suggested. The events that followed are far too strange for simple sympathy. You insisted on keeping him by your side, even after you said you would make arrangements to avoid the ceremony. Was there any reason to save this child, especially at the cost of your deposition?”

‘Saved at the cost of my deposition… I was just trying to create a future where I wouldn’t die, but it seemed that could be interpreted that way. Perhaps Zetak was even a little touched by it.’

For a moment I entertained the thought, but it felt like a fantasy. There was no way that the things I had done for him could be offset by something as trivial as a deposition.

“Are you trying to train him while he still has some human consciousness, hoping to make a monster your subordinate?”

“To train a monster…? Do you think that’s possible?”

At my words, Bafaros fell silent. It seemed he realized how absurd his statement was.

Monsters will never obey those weaker than themselves. To make a monster obey, you need to overwhelm it with sheer power – a power so overwhelming that it won’t dare rebel again. Otherwise, a monster will choose to fight to the death.

How could a human ever hope to enforce obedience in such a creature?

Suddenly I remembered the Zetak I had seen in the future. A strong man, commanding dozens, even hundreds of monsters as if they were his limbs. There was a stark contrast between the way he had confidently commanded the monsters and his current, smaller self. How had he become so formidable?

[Your Highness, even if you become emperor, you’ll keep me by your side, right? I’m confident I can serve you well.]

In the past, Zetak had said these words as he placed a bowl of water at my feet. I remembered it was late at night, just like now. He had washed my feet with his delicate hands and looked at me anxiously. I had been tired and sluggish, so I had just answered, “Well…”, and he had asked persistently, without tiring.

[I can’t give you a definitive answer. The Empress will probably bring many of her own family with her. There will be a massive reshuffle.]

[…The Empress?]

I remembered the sound of the water abruptly stopping. For some reason, Zetak had gone pale, as if he had witnessed the world’s end. That thought crossed my mind as I recalled his expression.

[Your Highness… will you be getting married?]

[Eventually, I suppose. The emperor must have heirs, after all.]

After that, Zetak fell silent. He continued to wash my feet, empty the water, and tidy up the bedroom as he always did. Yet, I remember that throughout those tasks, his face had an almost mournful expression. I also recalled how tears had welled up in his red eyes, which had once always been filled with laughter.

[Why are you crying?]

[I… I’m not crying.]

[Do I need to give you a command for you to explain why?]

[…]

Zetak bit his lip and muttered something in frustration. The words were too muffled to make out, but the only word I could hear was…

[Still, I… still.]

Yes, I didn’t know what he meant by “still”, but he kept repeating the word. What could have upset him so much? As I thought about it, Bapharos’ voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

“True, there are no records of a monster being successfully subdued. So why keep him on your side?”

“…Instead of worrying about such things, you should be worrying about your future. The position of Crown Prince is now vacant. My mother, having given up on me, will probably push to put my brother on the throne, so it would be wise to prepare for that.”

His expression hardened at my words. “This child is not fit to be Emperor.” He muttered the same words I had once spoken. Seeing his reaction, it seemed that my younger brother would soon be killed under the guise of an accident. Because I had changed the future, my brother’s death had been hastened.

“I suppose it was a mistake to come here. I’ve just wasted my time.”

Bapharos must have sensed that I had no intention of answering his questions because he stopped pressing me. He turned to leave, but before he did he looked back at me with a serious expression on his face.

“I will give you some advice in return for your recommendation. If you want to keep this child by your side, you should leave the Academy. The nobles won’t take kindly to you being in the same building as a monster who could go wild at any moment.”

“…”

“If you ignore my advice, you’ll regret it”.

He said this and left the room, no longer hiding his dislike for me. It was clear that he saw no reason to show me any more respect. I could predict that the attitudes of all the nobles would change similarly. I had seen how those who had fallen out of favor with my father had been treated in the past.

“How do you feel?”

“…”

“There is no one who likes me now that I’m no longer the Crown Prince. When I return to the Academy, I will be met with nothing but contempt and ridicule. I was asking how it feels to watch that.”

He remained silent. I didn’t expect an answer from a child who had lost his tongue, so I continued.

“I hope you find some pleasure in this. It may be insignificant compared to your grievances, but I hope you find some comfort in witnessing my downfall.”

In any case, even if others mocked and rejected me, I would feel nothing. If my humiliation could soften Zetak’s anger even a little, it would be worth it.

I had said it with that in mind, but for some reason, Zetak’s eyes seemed to darken. He looked at me quietly for a moment before going to the toilet, as if to resume his duties. When he returned with water, I sat down and he knelt to roll up my trouser leg.

I could see his little hands wetting my feet in the water. This sight reminded me of the moments I had recalled earlier. His little frame seemed unchanged, and perhaps that was why I felt as if I had been taken back in time.

But it was different now. The small hands that washed my feet were covered in burns and scales, and while my physique had once been similar, I had grown into an adult all by myself. Yet there was one thing that felt the same. I turned my eyes to the window and saw the sky darkening. It was a scene I had never seen in the foggy demon realm. A sky without a single cloud, filled with countless stars. Yes, even then the night had been so silent.

***

Even when I was Crown Prince, the nobles didn’t like me very much. They flattered me to my face, but gossiped behind my back, calling me cold and inhuman. Nevertheless, because of my position, they constantly sought my favor.

But the attention of the nobles was soon to end. The formal announcement of my deposition was still two months away, but gossip had already spread among the nobles like canaries singing their news. By the time I arrived at the Academy, there wasn’t a single person who hadn’t heard of my downfall.