Teacher of the Imperial Family’s Bastard - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Sacrificial Princess (1)

I’m going to die.

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

“My lord…?”

“Ah, Emma. Can you get some ice and place it on my back?”

I barely managed to make that request, trembling all over.

The cold touch against my back somewhat alleviated the muscle pain.

The reason I’m in this state is…

‘Ah, I got too carried away.’

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

‘I should have held back a little.’

I regretted it, but there was nothing I could do about it now.

The only way to beat the Crown Prince was through swordsmanship, and this technique was inherently like that.

Swordsmanship forces movements even if the body can’t handle it.

Even if your body is too weak to perform the techniques, mana and willpower forcibly drive your body to make the moves.

So, what happens?

An overexerted body breaks down just like this.

‘The minimum physical requirement to use swordsmanship without strain is at least an Expert Intermediate level.’

My mana control might be at the Sword Master level, but that means nothing if my body is at the Beginner level.

This is the inevitable result that I must accept.

In any case, because of this, I feel like I’m dying.

For the past few days, I couldn’t move from my bed, and that brought my older sister to visit, casting a shadow over me once again.

—Are you alright, my dear?

—Yes, well… I just overdid it a bit with some training.

—Too much of anything can be poison. You must always remember that.

—…I’m sorry.

I really should have taken it easy.

But what’s the point of complaining now?

‘What’s done is done.’

After thinking it over several times, the conclusion didn’t change, so I gave up my complaints and decided to think about what comes next.

That is, to figure out what I need to do now.

‘The future I know is almost useless.’

My past experience wasn’t much to rely on.

I was a prisoner in a dungeon and a convict soldier wandering from battlefield to battlefield.

My life was far from one where I could learn much about the world.

The little I know came from the few important events my sister told me during her visits, and some strange rumors I picked up from my subordinates.

But none of this is very helpful.

The former involves major political incidents that might not even happen now, as the Crown Prince’s banishment has been erased and he remains active in the political arena.

As for the latter?

It’s not even worth mentioning—just silly gossip from uneducated and naive people.

In the end, the one thing I need to focus on is clear:

‘Making the Crown Prince into a decent Emperor.’

That way, he can prevent the empire from being destroyed in future wars.

I’ve already cleared the first major hurdle.

After all, the Crown Prince gave up on that commoner woman.

What worries me now are the others who were also infatuated with her…

The next Magic Tower Master, the Saint, the Grand Duke of the North, and the ruler of the underworld.

No matter what changes the Crown Prince makes, the events caused by those people remain constant.

They’re all too obsessed with that woman to think clearly.

‘Ah, thinking about it makes me so bitter.’

Sure, even if the Crown Prince was imprisoned, the empire wouldn’t have fallen to such ruin if those men had just stayed in their positions.

They were considered one of the most brilliant generations in the empire’s thousand-year history.

But every single one of them self-destructed, leaving the empire hollow, and it eventually led to its downfall.

From the perspective of an imperial citizen, it was infuriating.

‘Should I intervene?’

I considered it.

But in the end, I shook my head.

In my current position, I can’t do anything.

Besides, even though I know what will happen, I don’t know exactly when.

‘The next Magic Tower Master was the first, if I remember correctly…’

I tried to recall it.

I’ve been trying every day for the past few days while bedridden.

But, alas.

“Congratulations on your recovery, my lord.”

“…Yes, thank you.”

By the time my body fully healed, I still couldn’t remember when those events would occur.

Is my memory really okay?

Or maybe I never knew the exact timing to begin with, so I couldn’t recall it.

What’s done is done.

As long as the Crown Prince is fine and I know the rough outline of the events, I should be able to handle things when they happen.

For now, I was looking forward to having a meal with my sister, which I hadn’t done in days.

It was an important task for me, so I tried to make a lot of conversation.

Even though my sister’s favorite topics were always the same.

“The Imperial Court sent a letter. While the formal appointment will be during the royal banquet, they said the training will begin next week.”

“Yes.”

“It’s such a wonderful thing. I can’t express how proud I am that you’ve elevated our family’s name by taking such a prestigious position.”

My appointment as the Crown Prince’s tutor.

My sister never missed a chance to talk about it, bubbling with excitement every time.

She’d say it again, and again, and again.

It was starting to get a bit tedious, but what could I do?

My sister was so happy.

However, the meal couldn’t drag on for too long.

It was getting late.

“…Ah, it’s already time.”

“Yes, we should wrap it up. The servants have other tasks to attend to.”

I couldn’t help but smile.

Seeing my sister, who used to seem so superhuman and doll-like, act so humanly felt new to me.

Her calm tone of voice was the same.

The quiet voice that couldn’t be heard from a distance and the gently lowered eyes were also the same.

But because I’ve known her for so long, I could tell just how overjoyed she was about me becoming the Crown Prince’s tutor.

‘It’s nice.’

I was starting to realize that making her happy was my true duty.

“Hmm, my lord, would you spare a bit more time today?”

“Do you need my help with something?”

“Yes.”

My sister smiled faintly.

It was a shocking sight.

For her lips to visibly curve up meant her emotions were quite heightened.

What could make her this obviously happy?

I chuckled softly.

“Yes, my lord. There’s something you must receive.”

“Me, you say?”

Slowly rising from her seat, my sister spoke.

“Our family has an heirloom that you must receive as you begin your education at the royal court.”

Her words surprised me.

“We have an heirloom?”

This was news to me.

Confusion settled in.

The reason was simple.

‘Is there really such a thing?’

In my memory, our family had no such heirloom.

* * *

Alright, let me think carefully.

‘I might just not have known about it.’

In my past life, I had no interest in our family, so it’s entirely possible.

Even so, what’s really bothering me isn’t just that.

‘Even if there is such an item…’

Why couldn’t I find it in the future, when I searched the mansion after the fire?

Or rather, why hadn’t I ever heard that the family heirloom had been lost or found?

During the time when I wandered from one battlefield to another, what filled my heart was a fervent desire, tainted with guilt, to restore the family’s honor.

Because of that, I searched for every memento left behind in the ashes of the fire.

I had an obsessive belief that those items would serve to remind me of my sins.

Yet, the heirloom could not be found.

I had never even heard of its existence.

Even though it was a time when the Empire was on the brink of ruin.

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

At least during the time when I was collecting mementos, the Empire had the means to investigate such matters.

That is why members of the Imperial family personally investigated the matter.

‘And yet, they still couldn’t find it.’

Then, doesn’t that lead to an unsettling suspicion?

My steps grew heavier.

My gaze turned cold.

‘The ones who attacked the family…’

Could it be that the heirloom was their objective?

The more I thought about it, the more a fire seemed to ignite within me.

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

It was a place whose existence I only knew of.

‘A place that can only be accessed with the head of the family’s seal.’

Was the heirloom here?

If so, then it wouldn’t be strange for me to be unaware of it.

The information about this place was kept secret, even from the successor.

I had come to check this place after the mansion had burned down, but I found nothing here.

That means my suspicion seems even more credible.

There was one fortunate thing.

‘If the heirloom was indeed the goal…’

It was still possible that a group with a grudge against the family had targeted it and taken the heirloom.

But if they attacked just for the heirloom, then at least in this life, their target would be me, not the family.

At the very least, my sister would be safer.

Lost in these thoughts, I watched as my sister inserted the family head’s seal, which was on her right index finger, into the hole in the basement’s iron door.

Then, there was a loud rumbling.

Thud!

The iron door opened.

I looked into the distance.

The scenery was exactly as I remembered.

A space where only the blue glow of the stones embedded in the walls lit the passage.

“Please follow me.”

“…Yes.”

I followed my sister.

My curiosity began to rise wildly.

‘What on earth is it?’

Why would they go to such lengths to take the heirloom?

The passage was long, and with each step, the confusion grew stronger.

But such a moment could not last forever.

I finally reached the end of the passage.

It was at that moment.

“…?”

Seeing the heirloom before my eyes, all the confusion from moments ago seemed to dissipate.

What surged up within me was only one feeling.

“This is it. The heirloom of the Pharos family. A sacred relic that could only be taken out when serving as the tutor of the Imperial family. It was used by our founder when teaching the first Emperor…”

“A…whip?”

“A disciplinary rod.”

Utter disbelief.

At the end of the basement, there was a whip, displayed like a relic.

* * *

The black whip swung through the air.

It was really sturdy, and its polished appearance made it look quite dignified.

But that was it.

‘It doesn’t feel special at all.’

I tried infusing it with mana, but there was no reaction.

I secretly heated it in fire and submerged it in water, but it was still just a sturdy whip.

Over the past week, I tried several other methods, but none elicited any response.

The fact that it was still intact after a thousand years did suggest that it wasn’t an ordinary item, but… that was all there was to it.

‘Is there really a reason this should be considered special?’

With my current understanding, I just couldn’t grasp it.

It felt almost foolish to think that someone might have targeted my family just for this heirloom.

Upon concluding that there was nothing more to the whip than its symbolic value, I began to suspect that it might have just been lost.

I let out a deep sigh.

I was walking in the Imperial Palace.

Today was the first day of a new tutoring session.

Although I had returned to the palace several times since my reincarnation, I was still amazed.

‘Was it always this well-maintained?’

In my memory, the palace garden was a barren place, with dried-up soil and cracked ground, and the walls were covered in fissures.

It was like a symbol of a fallen kingdom.

Yet now, flowers were blooming everywhere.

‘The atmosphere is nice, but it feels strangely out of place.’

I was contemplating these thoughts when—

Tap tap tap!

The sound of light running footsteps reached my ears.

It was getting closer and closer.

When I realized that it was heading straight for me, I sensed the owner of the sound leaping forward.

My body reacted instinctively, turning to reach behind me.

And then,

“Waaa…!”

Smack!

“…Ah?!”

A little girl ended up in my grasp.

She had golden hair, blue eyes, and long, flowing locks.

She looked to be around five or six years old at most.

I tilted my head.

‘Royalty?’

Only members of the Imperial family had such features.

If so, who among the royals could she be?

“Let me go! You villain!!!”

With her cheeks flushed red, the little girl flailed her arms wildly.

I looked closely at her face, but nothing seemed familiar.

It was then.

“Third Princess, Your Highness!”

At the sound of a maid’s shocked cry, I flinched.

I turned my gaze back to the little girl.

She was as pale as a ghost, trembling as if having seen one, and cried out desperately.

“Ah! Let me go! Let me go, please! There’s a real villain coming! Eeek!!!”

Suddenly, my mind went blank.

Not for any particular reason.

‘This girl?’

It was because this spirited little girl was someone I knew.

We were even fairly close.

The image of a woman, emaciated and always muttering in a gloomy tone, flashed through my mind.

This little girl, this Third Princess…

― Could you not run away with me?

She was the last Empress Ortaire, who ascended to the throne as a sacrificial figure when the Empire was collapsing.

———-