Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 245

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 245

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“Misha, don’t be afraid of losing your way. What you as royalty must possess is not the cleverness to find the path or the prudence to avoid mistakes, but the perseverance to never stop walking.”

Those words were the oldest memory Mikhail could recall, and his very first memory.

Young Mikhail looked down at his mother’s round crown as she personally put leather shoes on his feet and asked.

“Mother, where can I obtain perseverance?”

“You must plant the seed called conviction, then nurture it with plenty of time. All great kings possess their own convictions. So Your Highness the Crown Prince should also study and learn diligently from now on to find your own conviction.”

It was difficult for a child to understand. Nevertheless, Mikhail chewed over those words several times in his mouth to swallow them completely, then asked again.

“Then does Father also have a conviction?”

For the first time, his mother’s mouth, which always answered her son’s questions without hesitation, closed tightly.

She blushed with a girlish face, then quickly cleared her throat and changed the subject.

“Misha, let’s get up now. We must go see His Majesty.”

“But…”

“Come, come. Let’s move quickly.”

Mikhail learned the answer to the question the Queen had avoided that day at his mother’s funeral.

That the King’s conviction was none other than protecting the Queen, his wife.

The King who lost his conviction stopped there and refused to move even a single step.

Obstinacy filled the place where his broken conviction had been, and obstinacy turned the King into a tyrant.

So Mikhail took steps in the King’s place.

As the Queen had said, he needed neither cleverness nor prudence. By his side were many clever and prudent people who would serve as his compass so he wouldn’t lose his way.

So Mikhail wore his chosen conviction like leather shoes and walked silently, step by step. He swore he had never once stopped walking or hesitated.

“Let’s discuss that matter later.”

Except for right now.

Mikhail looked up at the throne where the King sat with an expression of disbelief.

In his hands was an urgent message from the North.

A request to urgently dispatch troops, as the Barrier Forest had collapsed and demonic beasts were beginning to cross over.

Even if they organized the army right now and rushed to the North, there was no guarantee they could make it in time.

Yet the King acted as if he had received some trivial petition.

“Your Majesty, the situation is serious. We must dispatch troops to the North immediately, regardless of priority.”

“Crown Prince, didn’t I tell you to withdraw?”

“But Your Majesty…!”

It was when Mikhail raised his voice.

Bang!

The King struck the armrest of his throne and finally shouted.

“Enough! Enough!”

The King, who had shouted in his anger, burst into a fit of coughing and bent his upper body. Traces of blood appeared on the handkerchief covering his mouth.

The King, who had barely stopped coughing, weakly pressed his forehead and spoke as if scolding a child, his face looking ten years older than moments before.

“How can you be so foolish and naive? If we dispatch troops to the North, the Royal Palace will be empty. What if those Northern people plot treason and attack the Royal Capital taking advantage of that gap!”

“…The Duke of Baluashten I met was not someone who would plot rebellion.”

“Even those who seem to have no ambition on the surface harbor poison within. You still lack learning.”

At those words, Mikhail finally closed his mouth.

Mikhail clearly remembered the person the King was pointing to.

That man who belonged to the Nobility Faction. He had once wanted to seat his daughter beside the King, but because he was so gentle and honest, the Queen had unusually formed a friendship with him.

To the extent that she unknowingly accepted a cup with poison from him.

When Mikhail’s momentum weakened as he recalled the Queen’s death, the King’s sharpness also softened.

He gestured for his son to come closer.

“It’s not only the North we must be wary of. Don’t forget that those who poisoned the Queen are still watching with burning eyes, targeting your life and mine.”

“…Didn’t Your Majesty already execute those who poisoned Mother with your own hands?”

Right after the Queen’s funeral. The smell of blood that spread through the Palace was still vivid.

Even the nobles who had been playing above the King’s head had no choice but to prostrate themselves and hold their breath at that time.

Despite personally conducting that bloody purge, the King still thought.

“That’s not so. Those germ-like creatures are still hiding in the Palace, waiting for an opportunity.”

That there were those targeting their lives.

The King took his son’s hand and patted the back of it. At the sensation like dry branches colliding, Mikhail’s insides froze eerily.

Would the hand of someone facing death be like this? That hand, so emaciated and without any warmth, didn’t seem to belong to the living.

Mikhail’s gaze fell to the King’s fingers. The wedding ring that had once sparkled on the King’s finger looked too loose and heavy for the aged King.

Still, he understood better than anyone the King’s heart that couldn’t bear to remove the ring.

“In three years, when I confirm with my own eyes that the First King’s prophecy was wrong, I will immediately pass the throne to you.”

At those words, Mikhail finally looked up at the King. The green eyes of the father and son who closely resembled each other met for the first time in a very long while.

The King denied everything about the First King. The crystals containing his memories, the prophecy books, even the Achievements.

Mikhail thought it was because of fear.

But…

“I won’t make you a king of a ruined nation. So my son, don’t worry about anything.”

He now realized that was the King’s own form of paternal love.

The end of a king of a nation facing destruction is only death and dishonor. Rather than inherit such a life, how could he not understand a father’s heart to shoulder everything himself?

However, Mikhail was the Crown Prince before being the King’s son.

“Father.”

The title he hadn’t used in so very long felt awkward on his tongue.

He kissed his father’s aged hand with respect and affection.

“I want to die as a king, not survive as a Crown Prince.”

“…What do you mean by that? Mikhail, Mikhail!”

Mikhail’s expression was resolute as he turned away, leaving behind the King who called his name.

Thud.

The doors of the Audience Hall closed, and the Captain of the Dawn Knights and high-ranking officials who had been waiting outside greeted Mikhail.

Toward those who sent him questioning and worried glances, Mikhail smiled as usual.

“Unfortunately, I failed to persuade His Majesty.”

“Then…”

Mikhail nodded.

“Seal both the Audience Hall and the Palace as planned. Also, make sure His Majesty cannot take even one step outside the Palace.”

Restraining the King’s person was itself tantamount to treason.

Everyone present hardened their faces, but not from fear.

Soon, those who followed Mikhail scattered to perform their respective roles.

The Captain of the Dawn Knights, who alone remained by his side, quietly followed behind him and asked.

“Your Highness, are you really alright with this?”

“I’m not alright. But I can’t stop. If necessary, blood must be shed.”

He had pretended not to know and turned away for so long, but there was nowhere left to run.

He had finally resolved to depose his father and commit treason to seize the throne.

“In the future, there will be those who block Your Highness’s path over this matter. Someone might remember Your Highness’s name with dishonor.”

“If I can protect the people’s lives by abandoning my honor, there’s no reason to hesitate. Rather, it’s a cheap price. So Sir.”

Mikhail’s expression as he turned around looked tired, but showed no regret.

“You’d better worry about the battle taking place in the North. Once we conquer the Palace, we’ll head straight to the North.”

It wouldn’t take even a full day to get the Royal Palace in his grasp. He had prepared many things for this moment.

The problem was whether he could arrive in the North on time, but even that wasn’t a major obstacle for Mikhail.

“Send word to the Blanche Estate. Address it to the Marquess’s resourceful butler.”

As Mikhail gave orders to his retainers, he recalled the advice of the High Priest who had once come to him in secret.

When Belinda had gone missing in the dungeon.

While everyone was searching for traces of her, only Giuseppe had advised investigating something else.

“Rather than following the Marquess’s trail, investigate the dungeons within the Kingdom. Also, since dungeon entrances and exits are different, focusing your investigation on that point will be helpful in the future.”

Mikhail didn’t know whether Giuseppe had foreseen this future.

However, his steps moving forward carried no hesitation, as always.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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