[The first prince is not an incompetent emperor. He may not be a genius, but he has the qualities of a virtuous ruler.]
[I have been serving him with that belief. But if there is someone who tries to pour cold water on his path…]
-Marius's diary-
…
…
…
"Your Highness's grades are amazing lately. It's very rewarding to teach you."
"Oh, really? It's thanks to your teachings. Well, goodbye."
He still looked unhappy, and Eurius waved his hand to dismiss the teacher.
His routine was unchanged.
He seemed to not pay attention in class, but he answered smoothly, and the teachers' praises became almost routine.
'I wonder when I'll graduate from this boring education.'
But no matter how important the evaluation was, learning what he already knew was a waste of time.
It was time to move on to the next step.
'Marius's patience must be running out.'
Bang.
"Long time no see, Your Highness."
The person who opened the door and came in was the one he had been waiting for.
As soon as he saw Marius's face, he made a blatant expression of dislike.
"Did I do something wrong lately?"
But Marius didn't frown or get angry as usual.
"I came to congratulate you on your recent academic achievements."
"Really? I've been bored lately. What's that paper you're holding?"
"The emperor was very pleased to hear about your achievements."
"The emperor? What is that paper?"
"He said he should give you a big reward if this achievement is true."
At the same time, Marius unfolded a thick stack of papers.
"But he wanted some confirmation."
Eurius looked at the table and then scowled again.
"So this is your real purpose."
Marius smiled faintly.
"This test is a comprehensive problem that I made based on what you learned."
Marius was an expert in politics and administration, but he was also one of the best scholars in the empire!
His questions would have enough credibility.
'You won't be able to get a score with a sloppy method this time.'
Marius smiled triumphantly in his mind.
This test was not a normal test question that listed the progress he had learned.
It was a high-difficulty application problem that required him to understand the knowledge he had learned from the emperor and develop logic based on it.
'You can't solve it with just basic knowledge and memorized answers.'
Marius intended to detect the emperor's cheating with this test.
Of course, he didn't just doubt him.
'I'll give you a pass if you get more than 40 points out of 100.'
That would be enough for a 15-year-old prince to be called a genius.
If he gets more than 60 points, he would really ask the emperor to give him a reward.
But what if the first prince doesn't even meet the minimum standard?
Marius's face hardened for a moment.
He would have to face his wrath for planning such a thing.
Eurius grumbled for a while, but surprisingly picked up a quill pen obediently.
Marius sighed with relief.
'At least he didn't neglect his studies completely.'
If he did, he would have thrown a tantrum as soon as he saw the test paper and argued with him.
Surprisingly, the first prince wrote without much difficulty.
"I'm done."
"What?"
This time, Marius unwittingly asked a stupid question.
His eyes went to the clock on one side of the room.
"It's only been about 30 minutes?"
It was too fast, even if it was fast.
"Hmm, hmm… Then I'll grade it for you."
To calm his anxiety, Marius coughed several times and moved his eyes to the answer sheet.
His eyes were still full of suspicion.
'Did he just write something quickly and hand it in?'
But it didn't look like that. Eurius was too calm.
'Please just more than 40 points…'
Marius prayed that this answer sheet would be more than 40 points and started grading.
"!?!?!?"
But he was so surprised that he almost fainted as he graded it.
'How can this be…'
The answer sheet was almost perfect. No, it was more than perfect.
'The theoretical part is flawless.'
'It's amazing. Even if I wrote the answer myself, I wouldn't be able to write it better than this.'
Eurius watched Marius, who couldn't say anything as he kept checking the test paper, leisurely.
'I may have been a bad student, but I learned from you for twenty years!'
Marius had countless disciples.
Most of them were bureaucrats who were stationed in various parts of the empire, but he didn't have time to train his disciples after he got old because he was teaching the emperors.
Therefore, only the emperor knew the latest political views that Marius had.
Of course, this test was a question that he asked as a teacher, so it didn't matter if it was different from his ideal answer. As long as the theoretical part was correct, the score would be perfect.
But the way he developed logic and the most ideal solution were exactly the same as his.
This was a 200-point answer sheet for Marius, beyond 100 points.
Marius almost panicked for a moment.
'Is this an answer that a 15-year-old boy can give?'
He could understand the theory. He could be a genius.
But what about the other things?
'Ah!'
A thought flashed through Marius's mind.
He was the only dedicated teacher who taught the emperor imperial studies and politics.
The only way to get this knowledge was through him.
If the first prince was really a genius of the ages?
And if he had been learning his lessons diligently?
Marius looked at Eurius with a serious face.
"Your Highness, why did you hide it?"
It's not normal for anyone to submit a perfect answer based on his lectures.
But why did he hide his talent? Why did he act like an incompetent emperor?
He must have known that his evaluation was falling to hell.
'Now is the perfect timing.'
Eurius hardened his expression.
And he bowed his head to Marius.
"I'm really sorry. Marius."
"Your Highness, why…"
It was unheard of for a royal to bow to a subject. Marius made a complicated expression for a moment.
"I had no choice. What would the grand duke do if I became an excellent prince on the surface?"
Marius also returned to a grim expression.
The power of the grand duke who led the aristocratic faction was terrifying.
The iron-blooded emperor couldn't completely break the power of the nobles and had to compromise by bringing in the second empress from the grand duke's family.
If he, the first prince, showed his talent, the Grand duke would try to erase Eurius by any means possible and raise the second prince instead.
It would be impossible to attempt anything inside the imperial palace, where the imperial guards and bureaucrats who followed the emperor's words absolutely were abundant.
But the first prince would have many opportunities to act outside the palace if he wanted to build up his achievements.
No matter how thoroughly he prepared, he couldn't guarantee what would happen outside the capital, where most of the territory belonged to the nobles.
The only forces that the emperor could trust were the border lords who guarded the outskirts of the empire and the bureaucrats who had the emperor's confidence, but they were far apart from each other.
Maybe if he had been moderately wise in his early childhood in his previous life, he might not have been able to ascend to the throne.
"It's all because of my lack of ability."
Before he knew it, Marius's eyes reddened and he started to shed tears.
He couldn't believe that the first prince had such thoughts. He thought he was still immature and childish, but he had already grown up enough to think about protecting himself.
'Your Majesty, our faith was not wrong.'
If Eurius was so cunning, he must have a plan for the future.
"Help me a lot, Marius."
"Is there anything else? If there is anything I can do, please tell me!"
He expected it, but seeing this stubborn old man cry so much made Eurius feel guilty.
'I'm really sorry for lying to you. Marius, but it's not a bad thing for you either.'
Even after he became emperor in his previous life, Mareus repeated honest advice and became hated by him. He eventually fell out of favor.
It was one of the mistakes he regretted most in his previous life.
'This time, I'll try my best to live up to your expectations.'
Eurius sorted out his mind and started to talk to him about various things.
[Marius Lexar]
Job: Administrator, Politician, Teacher
Strength D+ Agility E Intelligence S Spirit S+ Force Aptitude (None)
Disposition: Stubborn, Loyal, Curious
[Traits]
Politics (A) Administration (SS) Teacher (B+)
Today, Eurius captured his first follower after his regression. He was the best civil official in the empire.