Herscherik

Soldier, king of the kingdom of Gracis, left his chamber behind with his son in his arms.

Already, the castle hastily begins its morning routine. Especially early mornings for government officials, servants and maids with a backyard. This is the place where the royals live the most noble people in the country, and those who work in this place cannot be caught off guard for a moment.

The king won't stop walking with them on his ass working seriously from such a morning. Of course there is no stopping the king. Only the princess, Hershelik's mother, who is no longer in this world, was able to stop the king from walking in this rear palace.

"Alas? Will my husband ignore his wife?

Yes, it was a famous story within the Back Palace that she smiled, retained the king who was forced to take breaks at work night after day. None of the seemingly sweet princess's actions can be blamed for activating when she decides that the king's complexion is not superior. Instead, the people working in the rear palace were hiding and applauding the pet princess.

Soldier leaks a bitter smile when he remembers it.

(Reminded me of something I miss...... I guess it's because I'm with Hershey.

The king sees my son in his arms. Hershelik now buried his face on my father's shoulder and was whimpering.

As he stroked his head to calm down, the king quickened his steps.

In his footsteps as they are, the king leaves the rear palace and heads to the stable. The caregiver had already saddled the chestnut-haired horse and waited. I guess the butler who accompanied me for years kept in touch, very attentive.

I finally put my son on first, who began to cry, and the king receives his reins across the freshness and love of the horse.

"Hershey, I'm holding onto you so you don't fall.

Confirming Hershelik nodded and placed his hand on the saddle, the king turns his hand on the belly of his son and grabs the reins with his opposite hand.

As well as the butler, his beloved horse, who had accompanied him for many years, slowly moved out of the back gate as he was ready for the rider.

"I'm going to go a little faster.

When he says that, the father turns his hand to his son and increases the speed of his beloved horse.

There are no private houses when you walk out the back gate of the royal castle.

The King's capital with its royal castle lies to the south of the land, and to the south lies the royally owned nature. It is the meadows and deep woods that extend, as well as the high mountains that have overlooked the country since the founding of the Kingdom of Gracis.

This is a special land where only those authorized by the royal family, and hence the king and the king, can step in.

The king ran his horse and climbed the hill, a meadow hill overlooking the royal castle and the capital city. The sun has already begun to rise, and all the smoke from the chimney in the private house that would prepare breakfast is rising.

"This is my favorite place. Hershey is the second person who brought me here.

And it came to pass, when the king came down from his horse, that he held Hershelik on his horse.

The first horse I rode put my body up and down more than it looked and hit my butt hard. Had he ridden long enough later, Hershelik would have cried in a different way than he had just done.

My horse takes a little distance when the rider is gone and starts eating grass.

Soldier confirms such a beloved horse sideways, while sitting on the ground holding Hershelik and letting his son sit on his own lap.

"Wait a minute.

When Soldier says that, he spins his words as if he were singing. It was a word that Hershelik could not hear, but the wind swayed the swirling grass around them as if to respond to the words of Soldier, and the wind ran out around them at the same time as the words like the song ended.

I didn't know what happened to Hershelik. But I understood that something had happened.

"... the first person I brought here was Hershey's mother. Mother, what do you think I said when I first got here?" I'm hungry! I should have brought you lunch! 'I said.

My father laughs, as I recall, at Hershelik, who can't keep up with his understanding of the first event.

My father felt that Hershelik was something different. My father always smiled gently, but it was a worrying, windy way of laughing with shadows somewhere. But now, it's a natural, shadowless smile.

To Hershelik, who is silent without knowing what to say, my father turns his gaze to the royal castle, which leaks a bitter laugh and bathes in the morning sun. And I started talking slowly. That was like phonetically reading a picture book story.

"... a king is a doll. He looks like he's being respected by a lot of people, but he's actually a puppet manipulated by an invisible thread.

Hershelik didn't dare ask who the king was. Because I could easily tell that the king was my own father in front of me.

"The king wasn't really going to be a king. I've been thinking about studying crops and other disciplines in the future if I could help the king's father and brothers. But one day, my father and my brothers were gone from illness, and there was no one else to be king but the king.

A ten-year-old king doesn't even know what politics is. The bad guys who showed up there used the king of decorations to take charge of national politics. Even as the king grew up, the bad guys tried to manipulate the king of puppets as they please.

"At first, the king also tried to fight the bad guys for the country, for the family, for the people... but the bad guys were better.

Striking and changing from the smile earlier, Soldier's expression becomes instantly faceless. It seemed like it was meant to keep me from feeling the pain I was reminded of talking about.

"Actually, Hershey's oldest brother wasn't your brother, he was your sister. But your sister was gone when her brother was still in her mother's tummy. The same illness as my father and my brothers took my sister to the heavenly garden.

"Same......?

"Yes, the same disease. A disease that only took royalty. I don't know the cause. When I was a child, there were no cases, and in the end, I couldn't find a cure. Neither my daughter nor any time to treat her......"

Strongly hold hands that the king does not support Hershelik.

"After that kid died, the bad guys said. I'm sorry, I hope it doesn't happen next time.

The expression had changed from faceless to angry to painful. I was also surprised that my father, who always knew only a gentle expression, exposed his negative emotions, but the content of the story was also sufficient to surprise Hershelik.

If you look only at the surface, you will labor the king's subordinate words. But if you read the back, the same thing might happen next time, no, if you're a reasonable person, you'll notice.

Who pulled his hand from behind and killed the king's father, his brothers, and his first son.

When Hershelik realized that, at the same time as he was surprised, he felt his body temperature had dropped and his blood was distracted.

(I can't believe there are people who can do that...)

There is no evidence. But it didn't seem to Hershelik that my father was lying. Plus, it's a big deal that I was listening to Count Luceria first.

The look on the face and eyes of the minister when he first met him, who looked down on him like he made fun of him. I wasn't wrong in my intuition when I judged him to be a reflexively disgusting guy.

(Terrible, too bad......)

How could I do that? Hershelik didn't understand.

In my previous life, I had a niece. When I first met my niece, I decided to unconditionally adore her, to protect her. Even if that was the other kid, the width wouldn't change that much.

I can't think about why I wanted to kill you, and I don't want to think about it.

"…… and the king, has stopped fighting. I took a family, more than a nation.

That's it. My father laughed weakly. Hershelik looked like he was laughing but crying.

(So that's when I chose to be a puppet.

That was the only choice Soldier had left. The only way to protect it was to be a minister's word.

The bad guys were cunning.

He made the king greet the side chamber so that he could not escape, adding more hostages. All the princesses and ladies who entered the side room knew nothing about it. They were women who entered the rear palace to support the king without rubbing their character behind them. That's why the king couldn't go underneath, and the bad guys must have been a candidate for it.

They are not stupid either. When I entered the rear palace and found out what was going on, I couldn't move. They were like kings. The king wants to protect his family, and they want to protect his family. We wanted to protect each other, but we couldn't move because of it.

Excluding just one person.

"Hershelik, I really didn't want to be with your mother either.

Only she was different. She was the only one who laughed at the status quo and told Soldier that she was on her way.

"You need a reason to be with someone you like? I'm gonna bust some of those third-rate villains below that third-rate play!

She quickly blended into the rear palace and helped the depressed concubines and loved their children like my son.

Instead of making the loathing of ministers and nobles a thing, I let them interact with it in words. She's noble and gentle, not afraid of anything.

But she couldn't resist heavenly destiny either. She left my son and traveled to the garden of heaven first. The only salvation was that she didn't die in their hands.

"So Hershey, you are my protector. I've been thinking that ever since I was born.

(... it was.

Previous life I have enjoyed reading numerous fantasy novels and comics and games. The discomfort in this world felt by Hershelik with such a memory.

Only Meliá, the nanny, takes care of herself even though she is a prince.

No matter what the story is, there are entourages, servants, servants and maids around the prince. At first, it was a delicate position at the bottom of a lot of princes called the seventh prince, so I thought it was to reduce labor costs. But put only Merliah, the only nanny whom the king trusts on his side, and guard him only, if anyone approaches him but her. It was a very efficient way to do it.

Besides, my father came to see me without fixing time to make sure he was safe. Even if the servants of the rear palace were acquired, it would be difficult for the king to approach them if he came to meet them without setting a time. If it had been so thorough, it would have prevented the nobles from coming to see us.

Besides, unlike other brothers, the last prince has no backing for his kin. If the next time you try to use it to threaten a king, you're most likely to use your less risky self.

"When he showed up at yesterday's feast, I thought maybe he could take down the bad guys.

But it was also only a pale hope. He was already a puppet dancing on the palm of the bad guy.

"... you hate Hershelik, such a selfish, shitty king.

Hershelik shakes his head to the side after thinking for a moment about the words.

(If I were in the same position, I think I would have done the same.

I want to protect my precious family over people who don't even know their faces.

As a king, it would suck. Even Hershelik can tell.

The existence of a king should be selfless, and the existence is lonely.

The more selfless the better kings are, the more precedence they have over the national interests and the people, whether they are their beloved wives or children who have divided their blood. They may also be used for the sake of the country. That is the duty and responsibility of the king.

If you think about it that way, surely Soldier would be disqualified as a king.

But as a person, can it be considered the worst?

Kill yourself for your loved ones and endure humiliation. If that's a normal family, no one will blame you.

But he is king.

The throne given without hope continues to hold the king accountable for what he still does not want. An overly kind father must be distressed by that responsibility every day and every night.

My father from Hershelik is such a sweet wonderful man. But the king from the people will look very foolish.

Now I realize that my father's clothes remained yesterday's feast. I guess I spent the night in front of the fireplace, thinking and distressing without sleeping. I must have wondered if I could help you somehow.

"… Then should the king take out the bad one?

Send the perpetrator to the death row with or without permission. It is the king and power that can do that. Even though I knew this was the wrong answer, Hershelik couldn't help it.

My father smiles sadly and bequeathes his last son.

"If you do that, you'll be a dictator, not a king. I want to be king even if they say I'm dumber than a dictator... I don't want to be like them. I'm a really bad king.

But that was the only pride Soldier had as a man and king.

Even though they say it, it's not all their say. He is a king, even though he may be taken lightly.

He continued his roundabout with the ministers to protect the people at all, even as he shrunk his nerves. That's all Soldier could do.

Speaking quietly to my father, Hershelik had stopped moving as if time had stopped.

Kings and dictators.

It seems similar. In the meantime, there are walls that can never be crossed. Even if he became a dictator and exercised his power without proof to eliminate the culprit, he would only create the next new culprit. The same thing happens next time you exercise an impossible power. And exercise power again. The power, which no longer worked as a toothpick, had consequently caused the country to decline and to end. There are a number of countries that have disappeared that way in the world of previous life.

Hershelik understood. But I wasn't convinced.

"But... but..."

(The Count will die.)

Hershelik's eyes filled with tears that were supposed to have stopped. The reality that he is in the greatest shackles of his father and that he cannot do anything about himself, no matter how much he thinks, is poked at, and powerlessness dominates Hershelik.

Hershelik jumps into his father's chest. I was so miserable and so helpless that I could only cry.

My beloved horse watched such a parent and child from afar.