Twilight Province, located at the extreme end of Arcania, was a large province that contained the remnants of the Auroran empire, which was once a very large nation. Only after the imperial capital was buried in the sand and Auroran was destroyed, this great province became Arcania's only border with the Misty Forest. Although there were tributaries of rivers connecting to Karasu, a large sea, maritime trade was the last thing that was of importance here.
Now, this province with a great history was just an old, dishonored province where the ugliest criminals of Arcania were imprisoned, the rulers were corrupted, and the people struggled to survive.
When the sun came up in Twilight, the people woke up reading curses. But this time there was a difference. With the excitement of a prince from the royal family, everyone took to the streets. The former governor of the city, now acting as deputy governor to serve as the prince's advisor, decorated the city and held a welcoming ceremony in accordance with the royal family.
"The convoy of the 13th Prince Zephyr Juna de Arcania was honored!"
The watchmen in the watchtower rang the bell. Deputy Governor Kylo and the officers came forward to welcome the prince with their stylish suits. The crowd was split in half, looking at the royal convoy that entered with curious eyes.
"What's going on?"
Instead of slowing down, the prince's personal vehicle sped even faster. Kylo squinted slightly and signaled to the men next to him, telling them to clear the way.
The vehicle made its way directly to the governor's mansion without attending the ceremony. The maid vehicle behind him was stopped by the soldiers. Kylo approached the female maid from the vehicle with calm eyes. These servants also served the prince in the palace.
"Madam, nothing happened to the prince, did he?"
When the female maid heard a cold voice behind her, she jumped in fear. The last few hours have been worse than death for him. The prince had been on the thorn since he lost consciousness. His fear of death was so frightening that it prevented him from thinking and made him want to escape.
"P-Prince... he doesn't wake up..."
"What?!"
Kylo and the officers next to him couldn't say anything out of surprise.
"Tell me the details of the incident."
"We were ambushed in the İkiztepe Valley and the prince faced an attack by an assassin. He hasn't woken up since... I'm so scared... If this goes to the king's ear..."
"Okay, that's enough. Go and rest. We'll take care of it."
Inspector Jasper, one of the officers next to Kylo, smiled politely at the female maid and sent her away. He then assigned several guards and asked him to disperse the crowd.
"He's not dead."
After everyone had left, they got in the car and drove to the mansion. In the process, they were assessing the situation. They were all members of the board of directors called the provincial council. These people were the rulers responsible for governing the provinces that were not appointed to the nobility.
"The mercenaries His Majesty hired came out of the bubble. The job may be up to us," Jasper said. He was a royally appointed inspector.
He was only one of the inspectors assigned to one of the thirteen provinces, but had already agreed with Kylo. As long as he ignored certain things, he was getting really generous 'gifts'.
Kylo ignored his words and said, "It's too early to decide. The person who led the assassins was not a simple person. Its magic also had quite specific properties. Although the prince is not dead, he will not wake up for a long time. We have to focus on what we're going to do during this time."
"Are we going to kill Alan? It's going to get in the way of us a lot," asked another question. He was one of the councillors.
"We have to do it by someone else's hand. All eyes will be on us right now. For now, spread the rumor that the prince is in a coma. Also hire fake assassins to bait Count Santis and get his attention. It would make more sense to put the blame on the assassins. You can get help from His Majesty if necessary," Kylo said with years of experience. Taming a sixteen-year-old child was like taming cats.
Half an hour later at the governor's mansion...
After everyone left, Alan and the sleeping Zephyr were left alone. After closing the curtains, Alan turned to Zephyr, who was lying on the bed.
"You can wake up."
Zephyr opened his eyes and looked around. Then he straightened up.
"If my siblings find out right away that I've woken up, I won't live to see the next day. That's why we need to take over. I'll leave it to you to gather evidence. For now, try to pretend and bring me the knowledge you get at mealtimes."
"Understood, Your Majesty."
Alan happily left the room and set about researching. After he left, Zephyr got up from his seat and took the pen and paper that was under the kerosene lamp and went to the table.
He started writing.
---
The news that the prince had fallen into a coma blew the kingdom like a storm. Although everyone had predicted that the first eliminated candidate would be the prince, it surprised everyone that it happened so quickly.
Candidates for the throne and the king's untitled children, and even concubines, conveyed their condolences. Fame was something they could never compromise. That is why they were showing every behavior that could be considered 'good' in the eyes of the public.
Everyone looked at the prince as dead.
In Vega Prefecture, which had the richest underground resources in Arcania, one hundred and fifty black slaves transported large quantities of smuggled silver to a secret warehouse outside the city. Meanwhile, a platoon of soldiers was babysitting them, acting as guards so that the slaves would not show excessive movements.
The young man, who was the leader of the platoon soldiers, was a rich businessman who, although he was only twenty-five years old, had accomplished great things. He was also one of the biggest candidates for the throne.
"Your Majesty, we have heard from our spies. 13. The prince is in a coma!"
A handsome royal knight on his white horse came and handed the young man a sheet of note. The young man opened the note paper and, after reading it, tore it up and burned it to ashes with flames coming out of his hand.
"What is the situation in other cities?" asked the young man. There was a nobility and excitement in his voice that he could not hide.
"We have failed in other cities, Your Majesty. And not only that, but our spies had to retreat."
"My brothers and sisters are absolutely very careful. I can't deal with them the way I dealt with that idiot. My king father has dozens of children, but there is no one more incompetent than him."
"What is your command, Your Majesty?"
"Give our guys in that city a good reward for handling the situation well. Also pressure them to give us mines they don't report to, I want blackmail if necessary. Understood?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The young man tied his hands behind his back and looked at the slave, who had been whipped by a soldier. This cruel sight he saw every day and the indifference of the whipping slave told a lot, but few wanted to understand.
He would definitely change that.
---
As had been customary for several days, Count Santis entered the prince's room with clean sheets and porridge. Each meal would go in and out of the room at least a few times, checking the prince's condition. Since he had been with the prince for so long, everyone took it for granted.
This is how he could escape the eyes of spies and scouts.
He entered the room and put his possessions on the coffee table. The prince's room was arranged to suit the royal family. It was quite large, everything was decorated with gold carvings, which were indicators of wealth. Even the prince's bed was three meters wide and four meters long. This room cost at least a hundred gold.
The area closed the curtains as the first thing after entering the room.
"We've got through the hardest part, Prince, please hold out for a while."
He took his warm porridge and put it on the prince's dining table, getting out of bed. He had to eat things he would never put in his mouth just to pretend to be good. One of them was the porridge of oats. Since it was very easy to digest and eat, the patients were fed these. Of course, the unconscious was no exception.
Without saying anything, Zephyr took the spoon and began to eat porridge. He had only said a few sentences since he woke up, and he had barely spoken since. Alan thought the prince couldn't speak because of what he had been through, but soon realized he wasn't.
The prince had changed after facing death. Although he was poisoned many times in the palace, this time he was alone. In the palace there were guards, inspectors and teachers who were tasked with protecting him. With their help, he was able to resist the onslaught of his brothers and enemies.
But now it was different. He was driven alone to the extreme of the kingdom. It would take months to get from here to the capital by normal vehicles. If they used the kingdom's secret route, it could be as low as a week, but that was close to impossible.
Being away from the capital meant getting the latest news of changes and being away from all opportunities. This was not much different from exile. But it was also an advantage, because it was enough to lead a comfortable life away from the eyes of others.
That's what Alan thought.
Zephyr's statement was incomprehensible.
When Alan saw this, he took out the reports that he had hidden between the sheets in a slightly upset way and gave them to the prince. Then he stood tall like a spear and explained everything that had changed recently.
"I have carried out all your orders. At the moment, every horse carriage entering and leaving the city is secretly monitored. Deputy Governor Kylo, as well as other councillors and businessmen, are also being closely watched. We also detected spies and indirectly spread fake information. It's only a matter of time before we find the brain behind the ambush."
"..."
Before Zephyr could say anything, he stood up and went to the bookshelf to take out the note he had written earlier. He picked up a book of nonsense about history and took out the note paper he had hidden in it.
Soon after the area left, doctors and maids would come here to check on him and rummage through the room. As soon as he left something in the middle, he would lose his advantage. So everything was hidden.
"After fulfilling what is written on the paper, spread the news that I have returned from the dead, and call upon priests from the church."
"Yes, my prince."
Alan took the paper and glanced around a bit, then hid it in his pocket. Zephyr continued to eat while he examined his reports.
"How is researching dirty baskets going?"
"We're after it."
"I want to know all the dirty laundry until tomorrow's breakfast."
"I'm ashamed to ask this, but prince, what do you intend to do? As a teacher, it's my job to do what you want to do, but I also need to know in advance what we're going to do to correct your mistakes."
"I won't make mistakes."
After Zephyr finished eating, he wiped his mouth with a napkin and lay down on the bed.
"For a week, everyone's eyes will be on me."
Alan didn't say anything more. After changing the sheets, he left the room and returned to the way everything was before it arrived.