The Strongest Dull Prince’s Secret Battle for the Throne

“To be honest, I’m surprised”

“About what?”

“The fact that you decided to leave Al’s problem alone.”

Inside the running carriage, Leo smiles at Elna. Seeing such Leo, Elna who is accompanying him as an escort gives him a suspicious look.

“What?”

“Elna is the same right? Is it alright for you to leave it all to Nii-san?”

“Leave me alone. Even if I stayed with him, I would be useless anyway. The opponents this time are imperial nobles. They are not someone I can just point my sword at.”

“Then I am the same right. Even if I moved, the problem wouldn’t be solved anyway so I think that I should just leave it all to him you see.”

“You put a lot of trust in Al huh? Don’t you think that they would do something terrible to him?”

“There are many nobles involved in the succession war but the ones that are picking a fight with Nii-san right now are mostly those that were stopped by their surroundings from participating in it. They won’t even serve as his enemy you know.”

“Well, I do agree with that. I know how much a gathering of second rates and third rates can do anyway. I guess I can say this but the ones that will get something done to them are probably those nobles. Al doesn’t show his mercy when someone close to him is involved after all. Do you still remember the time when Gai got lynched by that Baron’s son and his entourages?”

Elna murmured and looked out the carriage window.

Leo nodded and smiled with nostalgia.

“We picked up our swords and were about to go at them right.”

“Yeah, I was about to mess them up good but……when we arrived there were so many knights and soldiers at their mansion. Tax embezzlement, slave trading, theft of imperial treasures, so many of the Baron’s crimes were revealed all at once and he got punished by the Emperor along with his son. That was probably Al’s work right?”

“I think so. With Sebas around, he can do almost everything after all.”

“Well, maybe it was Sebas that moved but…….unless Al gave his order, he would never do it. I think that it was definitely him who orchestrated the whole thing.”

It was a time when they still were very young.

However, unlike Elna and Leo who can only hold a simple power, Al was already holding on to a different kind of power.

That being the case, she doesn’t think that Al would lose to some nobles.

They are sure that Al will make them suffer something that even they couldn’t imagine. That was their shared opinion.

“But I’m still surprised…….you suddenly wanted to recruit Vin as your strategist. It’s been three years since he went missing you know? Do you have any idea where he is?”

“None at all.”

“Haa……you took me out without even a clue huh…….”

“Don’t put it like that. I have no concrete clue but we are talking about Vin right, I think that he is probably in his hometown.”

“Impossible. He hated his hometown because it is a backwater village wasn’t he?”

“That’s why I think he is there. We can’t say that his personality is that good after all.”

Saying so, Leo looks like he is enjoying himself.

Seeing him like that, Elna sighed once more. However, judging from the personality of the person they are looking for, it is not entirely impossible.

“Well, I will leave the matter about Vin to you, Leo. You two are childhood friends after all.”

“Rather than a childhood friend, I think he is more like another kind of elder brother I never have though.”

Saying so, Leo reminisced about Vin.

——————-

The village was outside the central part of the Empire.

Located far away from the main road, Leo and Elna stand out very much inside the village that lacks the usual liveliness.

“Is he really here?”

“I wonder.”

Leo heads to Vin’s parents’ house with no hesitation.

Then once he confirmed that the old house was Vin’s home, Leo immediately opened the door.

“Excuse me, is there anyone here?”

“Wait Leo……”

“Who is it?”

Elna tried to stop Leo who immediately opened on the door but before she could do that, there was a reply from inside the house.

It was the voice of an old man.

Looking at the source of the voice, there is an old man sitting in an armchair. His long white hair and beard made it impossible to see his facial features but since he is living here, he is probably Vin’s relative.

“Sorry for bothering you, my name is Leonard Lakes Adler. I am looking for Vinfried.”

“Ah, Your Highness…….my apologies but my grandson hasn’t returned home for a long time…….”

“Vin’s grandfather……..”

Elna feels sympathetic toward the lonely old man.

Vinfried is three years older than Leo and Al.

His talent was recognized by the Crown Prince so even though he is a commoner, he was studying at the castle in the past. If Elna who often played with Al outside the castle is Al’s childhood friend then Vin who was studying hard at the castle is Leo’s.

Six years ago, Vin at the age of fifteen had set out on a journey around the world to deepen his wisdom. He had a dream that one day he could serve as the prime minister under the rule of the Crown Prince.

However, that dream is already gone. The death of the Crown Prince three years ago made his reason to live disappeared and so he cut all ties with everyone and disappeared.

Leo has searched for him many times but he always comes back empty-handed. Not even a single clue of his whereabouts was found. Naturally, many knights have come to look for him here but they couldn’t find him.

“Is that so……Do you have any idea where he might have gone?”

“My apologies…..I have already tried searching for him many times but……..”

“Leo, any more than this would…….”

Elna warned Leo but he shook his head and laughed.

His laughter looked very inappropriate in this situation but Leo would never laugh at someone without a reason.

While Elna was left dumbfounded, Leo slowly approaches the old man.

Then.

“You are as tiny as ever, Vin.”

“!?”

“Leo!?”

Leo pulls out the sword on his waist and swings it at the old man.

The old man jumped out of the armchair and dodged Leo’s sword. However, as a result, Leo managed to pull his long white hair off.

No, to be exact, what Leo pulled off his head was a [long white wig].

“Yo……..it’s been a long time hasn’t it, Vin.”

“……How did you know?”

Vin who got his wig taken away from him no longer tries to disguise himself and takes off his fake beard and magic tool that changes his voice.

He has dark golden eyes, his height is small and looks like a child at first glance but the look in his eyes looks too terrible to be that of a child.

His sharp sanpaku eyes are more than enough to restrain others with just a look and his well-organized appearance gives others a sharp dagger-like impression.

(TLN: Sanpaku eyes: the eyes which neither the white space above or below the iris is revealed.)

The man’s name is Vinfried Torres. He is Leo’s childhood friend, whose talent got recognized by the Crown Prince which he aspired to serve one day, a childhood friend of Leo that treated him like his little brother.

“First, if we couldn’t find you after that much effort, I think that you are hiding somewhere in plain sight. Somewhere we can see but simply didn’t notice. Second, this house was too clean. It is like you to keep things clean but such cleanliness would be impossible to achieve by such an old man. He doesn’t look that wealthy so it is hard to imagine that he would hire someone as well.”

“You swing your sword at an old man just because of that? I haven’t seen you in a while but isn’t your personality worsen quite a bit?”

“I would stop if you couldn’t react, you know. And I was confident. If it’s you, you would definitely impersonate your grandfather.”

“Tsk……”

Vin clicked his tongue and threw away the fake beard on the table then casually sat back in his armchair.

His attitude and tone of voice are rude considering that he is talking to a prince but this is how he has always been. In the first place, it was Leo who told Vin who kept using polite speech with him that it was not necessary.

Since then, Vin has never used polite speech with Leo again. After all, it was the Crown Prince himself that asked him to treat Leo like his real younger brother.

“So what have you gone out of your way to visit me for?”

“You don’t know?”

“Hmph, are you trying to recruit me? Just give up. I am not as good a strategist as you think.”

“If you are incompetent then most of the world would be too you know.”

“Sure, I may not be incompetent but I am not that good either. Compared to other strategists, I am no different than them. If you wish for it, someone better than me should readily offer their service to you. That being the case, just go back.”

Vin said so while directing a sharp glance at Leo.

However, Leo doesn’t seem to mind that and reaches his hand out toward Vin.

“It is because you say something like that that I need you. Your ability is only a secondary concern, I need someone like you as my strategist, Vin.”

“That is quite convenient for you, isn’t it. I don’t think that I have any obligation to help you though?”

Saying so, Vin lightly swats Leo’s hand away. Seeing that, Elna frowned and stepped forward.

“You never change huh? Vin.”

“You don’t look like you have changed yourself too, Elna.”

“People don’t change that easily you know. The same as your height, that is.”

Saying so, Elna looks down on him. The fact that he never gets any taller is a complex for Vin and he often gets angry when others touch that subject.

However.

“Yeah. Like how there’s no growth in your chest department either right. We both sure are pitiful.”

“Wha!?”

“If you attacked someone with their physical appearance you should be prepared for the same thing right? Washboard.”

“YOU!”

“Elna. you can’t win against Vin with words you know.”

Saying so, Leo holds back Elna.

He then withdrew with a smile.

“It was a sudden visit today so I will leave for now. I will come back tomorrow so let’s have a talk then alright.”

“No matter how many times you come, my answer will still be the same. I will not become your strategist.”

“Then I will come again until you change your mind.”

Saying so, Leo takes Elna and leaves the house.

Seeing him left, Vin who got left behind clicked his tongue.

“Tsk….so you are just going to try convincing me huh. You are still as naive as ever.”

Whether it be taking someone by force or forcing someone to obey, Leo’s weakness is that he will never resort to those measures.

It may also serve as his virtue at the same time but the weakness he presents is still bigger. after all, the conflict he is currently fighting in is the succession war.

With his evaluation unknown to Leo, Vin started to clean the room with an annoyed expression on his face.

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