3. How does it feel to be bad? (3)

—

After that day of meeting, Esteffan went on to look for his empress mother and gave a few looks at the baby bump on her majesty. He just gave them blessings and presents and never said anything else.

So after a while of acting, Esteffan went to the library to grab a couple of books.

"Good morning first prince!"

"Lovely morning your highness!"

"Your highness, take care!"

'Wow, Esteffan is really popular.'

Esteffan thought, 'How much effort did he put into his facade that even lowliest servants were comfortable greeting him?'

Although, this was his territory inside the palace, so everyone and everything inside here must be within his grasp. Esteffan didn't want a defector to cause problems for him.

When Esteffan arrived at the library, he walked inside and found that there was someone there too.

"Ah."

"Hello, elder brother." The youth bowed.

"Second prince, good morning,"

The boy in front of Esteffan, the second prince one year younger than him, stood there with his indifferent and cool aura.

Lumier Volski, the second prince born from one of the emperor's lovers, who took his mother's surname instead of the emperor's yet still managed to be registered into the royal family.

This man was dangerous as well.

"Are you here to read something too, brother?"

"Yes, you can continue whatever it is your doing, I'll just get my books and leave quietly." Esteffan was trying not to go inside the tiger's den deeper and tried to escape.

However,

"Ah, that's too bad. I was about to actually come to you later to request for a meeting, elder brother. But I think this is the perfect time, right?"

Those sharp sea-green eyes pierced through Esteffan's dull blue hues. It was so sharp that it looked like Lumier was going to undress all secrets hidden within Esteffan.

Because that's what he did, in the future.

Jungwon– who was now Esteffan, remembered a passage which talked about Lumier's abilities.

[A brother to Helion, Lumier Volski was very intelligent than most people think. Even when his mana was low and he had no talent for aura, he was able to deduce and counter enemies.]

Unlike Esteffan who had nothing, Lumier had mana inside him although small, but he used this to gather a lot of information.

That was why he was able to expose Esteffan to Helion. He was one of the contributors to finding out the murderer of the sixth prince. This made his worth to the emperor grow.

Esteffan, Lumier, these two are of the same coin it terms of intelligence, but it's just that the latter uses his intellect for good.

". . . Maybe some other day, Lumier." Esteffan waved a hand and got ready to go. "You may not be busy but I am,"

"Of course you are. Take care, elder brother."

'Take care, my ass.'

Esteffan exited the library without seeing the cold gaze Lumier was giving him. He instantly went towards the garden where it was peaceful and put the books down and ordered someone some snacks to bring him.

"Now,"

Esteffan opened the book and read the first part.

[Records of Orphanages in Rukkon]

Rukkon was the official name of the Empire that Esteffan was living in.

Esteffan was flipping through pages to look for potential places he could hide in. The reason why he picked orphanages was because in his last life as Jungwon, aside from being an office worker he worked part-time to look out for children.

After all, Jungwon was an orphan too.

Just as he was about to continue, somebody came.

"Elder brother!"

A familiar cheerful voice called out to him. Esteffan looked up and saw a child with white and short wavy hair with golden eyes like the sun coming towards him.

"Helion," Esteffan closed the book and hid it behind him.

"Hi brother!" Helion smiled cheerfully. "I was actually looking for you since I need your help on something, you see. . ."

Esteffan rose a brow, "Did you get emperor father's permission?"

"Yes!" Helion nodded rapidly. "Y-you see, I actually want to go outside the palace to pick a gift for our baby brother," he said.

Ah. Esteffan gasped softly.

Right, Helion was supposed to go outside to buy a gift for the yet-to-be born sixth prince with Esteffan's permission. Esteffan easily agreed, knowing that with one more eye out of the palace it was better.

So when he permitted Helion out, he naturally followed behind secretly.

"Okay, go ahead and get ready, I'll send you out the gates,"

"Thank you elder brother!" Helion cheered and ran to his room.

Looking at Helion's back and remembering that pure smile made Esteffan, no, Jungwon why Esteffan of the original story had to do all of this.

'He could have just come clean about his want for the throne, no one really did want to have it anyways.'

It's true. Even at the end, Helion was forced to take the throne and become Emperor, something that he had never wanted even while on the run. The rest of their siblings were knowledgeable enough to know that those with real power could take the throne and not them.

So why did Esteffan have to do it?

Well, Jungwon, who was now Esteffan, could try and change all of that and make sure to cultivate a proper future Emperor with the knowledge retained by Esteffan's memories.

Because he was planning to escape after all of it

***

"This is the first time I've seen the plaza in real life."

Esteffan wandered around the streets filled with both commoners and nobles. The streets were painted with loud voices and smiles which made Esteffan feel warm all over.

After sending Helion out, Esteffan sneaked out quietly as well on the back of Helion's carriage.

If people were to know about it, Esteffan's dignity as a royal prince would shatter.

"Fresh apples! Red apples here for only 5 silvers! Get 10 for five silver coins!"

"Would anyone like to try the new wine inside our restaurant? Fresh from the kingdom of Haben!"

"Momma! Look at that teddy!"

Esteffan walked past all these sellers and people and went to a certain alley that made him remember about a certain passage in the book.

[Inside one of those alleys stood a big shabby house with nothing but a cat standing in front of the door, silently guarding the house.]

And when Esteffan got there, a small black Persian cat was licking it's paw majestically at the front door of the shabby house.

As if sensing Esteffan's arrival, the cat's sharp green eyes gazed at him up and down.

"Meow,"

Esteffan smiled and calmly walked towards the cat who suddenly started hissing at him with its fur going up.

"I don't think this behavior is a good look for you, a prince."

The cat stopped hissing. It looked at Esteffan with its big green eyes shaking at what he said next.

"Prince Fyusa, why are you out in the slums inside the Rukkon Empire, when you should be at the Muwon Kingdom preparing for your rule?"

Esteffan crouched down and looked straight at the black cat.

This small fluffy cat was cute, but behind that body was a young prince of the Cat Beastdom, a minor character, and someone who Esteffan right now saw possessed potential.

[However, though the house was empty aside from the cat, it wasn't what made it mysterious, but the cat itself.

For this cat, majestic and small, was Fyusa, prince of the Cat Beastdom and heir to the throne.

Helios did not know why a person like him was here in this place.]

Helion might have not known, but Jungwon who was now Esteffan, a reader of the novel, knew why.

And Fyusa was the perfect subject as Esteffan's road to retirement.