I Became the Teacher of the Imperial Family’s Bastard

010. Sacrificial Princess (1)

I’m going to die.

My whole body feels not just stiff, but like it’s being torn apart.

“Master…?”

“Ah, Emma. Bring some ice and put it on my back.”

I barely managed to make such a request, trembling.

The cold sensation on my back was at least alleviating the muscle pain.

The reason for this…

‘…Ah, I played too hard.’

It’s because of the sparring with the Crown Prince.

‘Should have been more careful.’

Regret it as I might, it was inevitable.

The only way to defeat the Crown Prince was through the sword, and the sword was inherently such a technique.

The sword technique ultimately imposes coercion on the sword form.

Even if the body is too feeble to perform the sword form, mana and willpower force the movements.

So what can be done?

A body overworked beyond its limits collapses like this.

‘The minimum physical standard to use the sword technique without burden is at least mid-level Expert.’

It doesn’t matter that my mana control is at the level of a Sword Master.

My body, barely at the level of a Beginner, could not perform the movements, and this was a result I had to humbly accept.

Anyway, because of that, I am dying.

For the past few days, I have been lying in bed, unable to move a single step, and because of that, my sister came to visit, casting a shadow over my face once again.

―Young Master. Are you alright?

―Yes, well… I was just exercising a bit.

―Excessive exercise is poison. You must always keep that in mind.

―…I’m sorry.

I thought for a moment that I should have taken it easier.

‘…What’s the use of complaining?’

After pondering several times, I decided to stop whining and think about the next step.

So, from now on, I must ponder the tasks ahead.

‘The future I remember is utterly useless.’

Isn’t my past history just that, a past history?

A prisoner once imprisoned in a cell, a soldier prisoner wandering from battlefield to battlefield.

It was too much of a background to understand the ways of the world.

The only things I know are a few major incidents in the political world that my sister told me about when she visited me while she was alive.

And a few strange rumors I heard from my subordinates.

But even these are not very useful.

The former lost its decisive charge of imprisonment when the incident of the Crown Prince attacking Pharos disappeared.

If the Crown Prince remains in the political world, his activities will change the future, so it is uncertain whether the aforementioned incidents will even occur.

The latter? Do I need to explain?

There were many uneducated fools, and as many naive ones, so their information is utterly unreliable.

In the end, with the goal of ‘reviving Pharos’ in front of me, the task I must do converges into one.

‘Make the Crown Prince a plausible Emperor.’

So that he can prevent the war that leads to the empire’s downfall.

The major ridge has been crossed.

For now, the Crown Prince has given up on that commoner woman.

If there’s anything to worry about…

‘The others who were infatuated with that woman.’

The next Tower Master, the Saint, the Grand Duke of the North, and the Lord of the Underworld.

The events these humans caused remain unchanged, regardless of whether the Crown Prince alters history or not.

Because, like the Crown Prince, they were so obsessed with that woman that they lost all sense of reason.

‘…Ah, thinking about it makes me feel wronged.’

Yes, let’s say the Crown Prince was imprisoned.

Even so, if only those humans had remained in their seats, the Empire wouldn’t have fallen to such a state.

Weren’t they called the most brilliant golden generation in the thousand-year history of the Empire?

But as those b*stards self-destructed without exception, the Empire became an empty shell and eventually met its demise.

How could the citizens of the Empire not feel frustrated?

‘Should I step in?’

I pondered.

But I end up shaking my head.

In my current position, there’s nothing I can do immediately.

Above all, I only know that the event will happen, not when it will happen.

‘Roughly, the next Tower Master was the first…’

I tried to recall it somehow.

I didn’t rest a single day while lying in bed for several days.

But, alas.

“Congratulations on your recovery, Young Master.”

“…Yes, thank you.”

Even until my body fully recovered, I couldn’t remember the timing of the event.

Is my memory still intact?

No, let’s just say I never heard the timing in the first place, so I couldn’t figure it out.

The future is the future.

For now, there’s a sound crown prince, and if I know the outline of the incident, I should be able to handle it smoothly if it happens.

For now, it’s a meal with my sister after a few days.

Since it’s an important task for me, I tried to have various conversations.

Even so, the topics my sister would like were always fixed.

“A letter has arrived from the royal family. The official appointment is set for the royal banquet, but the education will start next week.”

“Yes.”

“Really… it’s a great thing. How proud this sister is that you have risen to a position that elevates the family’s name…”

The fact that I became the crown prince’s teacher.

My sister would chatter excitedly about this whenever she had the chance.

She would tell the same story again and again, and again and again.

It’s starting to get a bit tiresome, but what can I do?

My sister likes it so much.

But it couldn’t last too long.

The meal time had stretched too long.

“…Ah, it’s already time.”

“Yes, we should clear the table. The servants must have other tasks.”

I laughed as I spoke.

I realized anew that my sister, who always seemed like a superhuman or a doll, was such a human person.

Her gentle tone remained the same.

Even a small voice that couldn’t be heard from a little distance away remained the same, and the eyes that were slightly lowered were as usual.

But having watched my sister for a long time, I could feel that her joy at me becoming the prince’s teacher was more than usual.

‘That’s good.’

Giving her this kind of happiness was my duty.

That fact was being engraved in me.

“Um, Young Master. Could you give me a little more time today?”

“Is there something I can help with?”

“Yes.”

My sister smiled faintly.

It was a shocking scene.

The fact that her lips rose enough to be visibly noticeable meant that her emotions were very high.

What on earth could make her so openly happy?

It was a moment of hollow laughter.

“Yes, there is something you must receive, Young Master.”

“Me, you say?”

My sister slowly stood up and said.

“In Pharos, there is a family heirloom that must be received as part of the imperial education.”

I was surprised by those words.

“Do we have a family heirloom?”

This was something I did not know.

Confusion settled within me.

There was only one reason.

‘Did such a thing exist?’

To my knowledge, our family had no heirlooms.

* * *

Let’s think carefully.

‘I might not have known. About the family heirloom.’

In the past, I had no interest in the family, so it was entirely possible.

Even so, the reason this fact bothered me was not for any other reason.

‘Even if that item existed…’

Why, in the future, did I not find it in the mansion that burned down?

No, why had I never heard that the heirloom was lost or found?

During the time I wandered the battlefield, what was within me was a desire mixed with guilt to revive the family.

Because of that, I searched for all the relics left in the place where the fire had passed.

It was a near-obsessive belief that it would help me not forget my sins.

Even so, I could not find the heirloom.

I had never even heard of such a thing.

Even though it was a time when the empire was heading towards ruin.

I was one of the last two Sword Masters left in the Empire.

At least when it came time to collect the relics, the Empire had the capacity to investigate it.

For that reason, the royal personnel directly investigated the matter.

‘And yet, they couldn’t find it.’

Doesn’t that lead to some unsettling speculation?

My steps grew heavy.

My gaze turned cold.

‘The ones who attacked the family…’

Could it be that their goal was the heirloom? The more I thought about it, the more it felt like flames were rising inside me.

Regardless, my sister led me to the mansion’s basement.

It was a place I only knew of its existence.

‘A place that can only be entered with the head’s seal.’

Was the heirloom here?

If so, it’s not strange that I didn’t know about it.

The information inside this place was kept secret even from the heir.

After the mansion burned down, I came here… but there was nothing to be found.

That means the speculation gains a bit more credibility.

There was one fortunate thing.

‘If the heirloom was really their goal?’

There remains the possibility that a group with a grudge against the family took the heirloom.

But let’s assume that their only goal was the heirloom, and they attacked this place.

Then, at least in this life, their target will be me, not the family.

At least my sister will have a higher chance of being safe.

Lost in such thoughts, my sister inserted the family head’s signet, worn on her right index finger, into the hole in the basement’s iron door.

A thunderous noise erupted.

Kugugung!

The iron door opened.

I cast my gaze far away.

The scenery was exactly as I remembered.

A space where only the blue-glowing ore embedded in the walls illuminated the passage.

“Please, follow me.”

“…Yes.”

I followed my sister.

Curiosity began to surge wildly.

‘What on earth is it?’

Why did they take the heirloom so easily?

The path was long, and with it, the confusion grew stronger.

But no moment can last forever.

I was able to reach the end of the passage.

It was at that moment.

“···?”

Finally, as the heirloom came into view, I felt all the confusion from moments ago fade away.

There was only one thing rising within me.

“This is it. The heirloom of our Pharos. A sacred artifact that can only be taken out when serving as the royal tutor. It was used by the founder when teaching the first emperor···.”

“···A switch?”

“···A teaching rod.”

Disappointment.

···At the end of the basement, a switch was on display.

* * *

The black switch swished through the air.

It was really solid and shiny, looking quite dignified.

But that was it.

‘I don’t feel anything special.’

Even when I channeled mana through it, there was no reaction.

I secretly heated it with fire and submerged it in water, but it was just a solid switch.

Over the past week, I tried various methods, but all were unresponsive.

Despite being left untouched for a thousand years and still being intact, it was indeed unusual··· but that was all.

‘Is there any reason for this to be special?’

It didn’t make sense to me.

I mean, can you understand how foolish it felt to think that someone might have targeted the family for this heirloom?

Upon concluding that nothing more than symbolism could be gained from this switch, it seemed like… it might just be lost.

A deep sigh escaped.

The place I was walking to was the imperial palace.

Today was the day of the first lesson.

The imperial palace was a place I had visited several times since my return, but it was still astonishing.

‘Was it always this well-decorated?’

In my memory, the imperial palace was a place where every garden was withered, the floors were cracked, and the walls were lined with fissures.

It was a symbol of a fallen nation.

But now, flowers were in full bloom.

‘The atmosphere is nice, but it feels so awkward.’

I was thinking such thoughts as I walked.

Tap, tap, tap!

The sound of light footsteps reached my ears.

It was getting closer.

Footsteps heading towards me.

The moment I realized it, I felt the owner of those footsteps leap.

My body reacted first, turning around and extending my hand.

Then,

“Yaaah…!”

**Thud!**

“…Ah?!”

A little kid got caught in my hand.

A tiny girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, her long hair swaying, looking no more than five or six years old.

I tilted my head.

‘A royal?’

In the royal family, only royals have such an appearance.

Then, who among the royals is she?

“Let go of my hand! You villain!!!”

I scrutinized the face of the little girl who was flailing her hands, her cheeks flushed red.

But nothing came to mind.

At that moment.

“The Third Princess!”

I was startled by the horrified cry of a maid.

My gaze turned back to the little girl.

She screamed, her face pale as if she had seen a ghost.

“Ah! Really, let go! Let me go! I beg you!!! The real villain is coming!!! Eek!!!”

Suddenly, my mind went blank.

It wasn’t for any other reason.

‘This one?’

This audacious brat was someone I knew.

Someone I was quite close with.

The face of a woman, who was as desolate as someone about to die and who muttered gloomy words, flashed through my mind.

This brat, the 3rd princess.

―…Would you run away with me?

During the time when the empire was collapsing, she became a sacrifice and ascended to the throne as the last emperor of Orteaire.

End

ⓒ papapa.

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