The Founding Monarch Became the Mastermind

Chapter 126

“……”

In the silence, Crown Prince Philon swallowed dryly.

A few minutes ago, his uncle had left the office.

To be honest, he had expected him to say a few more words before leaving. However, his uncle neither spoke nor even met the other's gaze properly, like a defeated dog.

With vacant eyes, as lifeless as a dead fish, he staggered out, his shoulders slumped. His retreating figure looked so cowardly and pitiful.

It was the first time Crown Prince Philon had ever seen his uncle—who was known for his brilliant mind and eloquent speech—look like that.

Even in front of his grandfather, the king, his uncle had always maintained a facade of humility while saying everything he wanted. And yet, before this man, he had been like a rabbit cornered by a lion, unable to move.

For the middle-aged crown prince, this was not only an unprecedented and intense shock.

‘I… feel good?’

It sent an inexplicable thrill through him. Without realizing it, Crown Prince Philon clenched his fists tightly.

Si-on, who had been observing him closely, smiled inwardly.

The puppet of a crown prince, who had been unable to act his age, was finally ready to cut the strings that had bound him.

“Crown Prince.”

“Uh? Ah, why did you— No, yes?”

“What's wrong? Could it be that you don't believe what I just said?”

“Yes? Ah, th-that is….”

Caught off guard by the sudden address, the crown prince barely managed to calm his pounding heart before replying.

“To be honest, it's hard to believe, but… I've never seen my uncle act like that before. Besides, considering everything you just told me… I have no choice but to believe.”

‘So he’s not completely hopeless, huh.’

The fact that he still used honorifics with Si-on and that his judgment wasn't entirely lacking suggested that he wasn’t as much of a disaster as the rumors claimed.

“I see. Then, may I take it that you believe I am Duke Jang Si-on?”

“Yes.”

He had no choice but to believe.

It was the only way to make sense of his grandfather, the king, and his nephew, Duke Lloyd, and their previously inexplicable attitudes toward this man.

It also explained why even the Information Guild had treated the matter of ‘The Whale’ with such extreme secrecy—so much so that they hadn’t disclosed anything about him even to the crown prince himself.

‘Duke Jang Si-on! One of the Six Heroes and a comrade of His Majesty, the Hero King… And he hasn’t aged at all?’

Crown Prince Philon’s heart pounded again.

Like anyone who had encountered the mysteries and secrets they had only considered legends, he found it difficult to contain his excitement and racing pulse.

“You seem to be in a good mood.”

“Huh? Ah… well……”

Startled, Crown Prince Philon stammered awkwardly.

“Are you happy because you've learned of my existence, or because your uncle is gone?”

“……!!!”

Si-on continued speaking calmly to the crown prince, who had suddenly frozen like a statue.

“I think it’s the latter. Am I right?”

“…I believe so.”

Crown Prince Philon had no choice but to acknowledge it.

“I see. Even though the uncle who has been by your side for decades has disappeared, you feel good. Do you know what that means, Crown Prince?”

“……”

“It means your uncle wasn’t looking after you—he was using you. And at this very moment, you’ve finally realized that. Your uncle didn’t take care of you. He monitored you, deceived you, and clouded your judgment so that you would become dependent on him.”

“Ah……”

“Besides matters of money and women, have you ever planned something and carried it out on your own?”

After pondering for a moment, Crown Prince Philon suddenly flinched and, with wide eyes, shook his head.

“I don’t think so. No, really… It seems everything was handled by my uncle. But still, I did come up with a few plans of my own….”

“Think carefully. Did you truly come up with them alone, or did your uncle guide you along the way?”

“…Now that I think about it, my uncle always chimed in with a word or two. Even those weren’t my plans.”

“What about the Baron Botan matter?”

“……!”

The image of Baron Botan’s grotesquely twisted corpse in a box flashed through Crown Prince Philon's mind, making him shudder.

“I was certain that Baron Botan had been sent by Earl Rundel. But you say you sent him? And on top of that, Earl Rundel was against it? I was quite surprised. I’ve lived a long time and have an excellent instinct for these things. I’m rarely wrong. But this time, I was off. For a moment, I thought perhaps I had grown old.”

“Th-the incident with Baron Botan… I should apologize for that….”

“No, there’s no need to apologize. Didn’t I just say? There are hardly any cases where you planned and executed something entirely on your own. From what I see, the matter concerning Baron Botan is no different.”

“Yes…?”

“To put it simply, I’m not old yet. As I suspected, it wasn’t you who sent Baron Botan—it was Earl Rundel.”

“……???”

Seeing Crown Prince Philon’s bewildered expression, Si-on calmly continued.

“I heard you and Earl Rundel had a heated argument over Baron Botan. Is that correct?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right. Originally, my uncle refused the request from the Bettisect Family. So I secretly sent Baron Botan, but then I got caught, and…”

“Do you think Earl Rundel was truly angry with you? Do you think a real fight could break out between you and Earl Rundel?”

“……Ah!”

No. If Earl Rundel was truly angry, Crown Prince Philon would have reverted to being a helpless child, unable to resist.

As Si-on said, a real fight could never have occurred between them.

Who would consider something a fight when the winner and loser had already been decided from the beginning?

“And another thing. When the Bettisect Family requested help regarding the August Estate, your uncle refused, right? Was he alone at that time?”

“I was with him. No, actually, my uncle only told me about the request after the fact and said he had rejected it because it wasn’t worth considering… Ah! Hahaha.”

Crown Prince Philon let out a hollow laugh as he realized the truth mid-sentence.

“Do you understand now? Earl Rundel deliberately told you that story. He said he rejected it himself? That it wasn’t even worth considering? If that was the end of it, then why did he report it to you?”

“Because… he knew I’d secretly act behind his back after hearing it. The person who knows me best in the world… is my uncle….”

Crown Prince Philon spoke in a trembling voice before finally lowering his head.

He must feel ashamed. He must feel miserable.

To realize that even sending Baron Botan to August Estate in secret had been orchestrated by Earl Rundel.

To fully grasp that the uncle he had trusted and depended on so much had deceived and manipulated him—how humiliating and wretched must that be?

“Haha… ha… hngh, hic. Hngh….”

His laughter slowly faded into quiet sobs.

Si-on silently watched as the middle-aged crown prince’s shoulders shook.

“Khh… hhic! Hngh… hngh, hhic.”

The person who had been in high spirits just moments ago was now crying sorrowfully.

Tears, a mixture of anger, regret, lamentation, and resentment, fell one by one onto the table.

But the emotions Crown Prince Philon was feeling right now were probably not directed at Earl Rundel.

He was furious and remorseful at himself, lamenting and resenting his own choices.

Having realized that he had spent more than half of his life being controlled by someone else, he now wept—not loudly, but deeply, consumed by a storm of regret.

Then, after several minutes, when the incessant shaking of his shoulders finally subsided, Si-on spoke.

“Crown Prince.”

“…Yes.”

Crown Prince Philon lifted his head.

His eyes were bloodshot, and the skin around them was red and swollen. But for some reason, his face looked refreshed.

It was the face of someone who had let go of at least some of the darkness within them.

Sensing that the time was finally right, Si-on boldly decided to make his next move.

“Must you really become king?”

“……!”

“No, let me rephrase. Why do you want to be king?”

The words flung by the ancient monster struck Crown Prince Philon’s mind like an arrow.

Even the same question can carry different weight depending on who asks it and when it is heard.

Had it been any other time, he would have scoffed at the absurdity of the question and launched into a speech full of elaborate justifications.

But at this moment, the question completely unraveled his thoughts.

Nothing else surfaced in his mind. Only one thing remained.

—Why do I want to be king?

“……”

He had no idea how much time had passed.

Crown Prince Philon sat motionless, staring blankly into space as if his soul had left his body.

Then, finally, a glimmer of light returned to his eyes. Slowly, he turned to look at Si-on.

Si-on recognized what that light in the crown prince’s eyes meant.

“…That’s a good question. Why did I want to become king?”

It was emptiness.

Seeing the confusion in the crown prince’s expression and the emptiness in his gaze, Si-on was now completely certain that his assumptions had been correct.

And this was something that only he knew—something that needed to be shared.

“Your uncle—the Earl Rundel—said you had to be king, so you tried to become one.”

(Regardless of his own will,) Si-on had thought when he first heard rumors and gossip about Crown Prince Philon.

He had been born into royalty, and through a series of circumstances, ended up as the crown prince.

But did he ever truly desire the throne?

“Ah, so that was it.”

Nodding bitterly, Crown Prince Philon then looked at Si-on with a somewhat conflicted expression and cautiously spoke.

“I suppose… I shouldn’t be king, should I? Duke Jang Si-on, what do you think?”

Crown Prince Philon had spent nearly his entire life being controlled by someone.

Even though he now realized he had been a mere puppet, the brand (印) of all those years of silent, insidious control wouldn’t fade so easily.

That’s why, just as he always had, he instinctively sought someone to depend on.

And an immortal transcendent—a legendary hero—more than fit the bill.

The person Crown Prince Philon now sought to rely on, Si-on, slowly opened his mouth.

Like a dependable adult guiding a lost child, as if he intended to meet the crown prince’s expectations for a new pillar of support….

“Why are you asking me that? Your path is for you to decide.”

“……!!!”

“You’re almost forty, aren’t you? Then find something you truly want to do. Find something you’re good at. Still not sure? Then start looking now. Here, in Burgos.”

Si-on spoke calmly to Crown Prince Philon, who unconsciously parted his lips in shock.

“Start here. Figure out what you want to do and what you can do well. I think I can at least help you with that much.”

To Philon—not as a crown prince, but as a man—who trembled as if struck by lightning, Si-on spoke in a voice more resolute than ever before.

“I promise you, in the name of Si-on.”