Frowned Upon as the Child of a Prostitute, the Seventh Prince Becomes the Strongest Wizard after Working Hard since Infancy - Chapter 6

‘It’s fine, Lux.’

‘My mother is very beautiful too.’

‘Ummm… now even you can flatter me like that…’

‘I’m not flattering you.’

In fact, it was not flattery.
My mother of this world was in front of me. Sonya, in her dress, was so young and beautiful that it was hard to believe that she was over 30 years old.
When I praised Sonya’s beauty, she smiled with happy eyes.

‘Thank you… and you too Lux, you look so calm and collected today.’

Sonya says that while fixing my collar.
There was a reason why Sonya and I were dressed like this today.
Today, the two of us are going to the Imperial Palace, where we will take part in a reception ceremony for Princess Elizabeth, who is coming from a neighbouring kingdom.
Princess Elizabeth is the daughter of the king of Brittainy, the Empire’s neighbouring kingdom, and she is the second in line to the throne.
The empire and the kingdom were joining forces together at this time to unite against the demonic tribes that were growing in power.
And to bring the two countries closer together, there were whispers of an engagement between Princess Elizabeth and one of the princes in line for the imperial throne.

In other words, today’s reception ceremony for Princess Elizabeth is directly a battleground in the power struggle for the position of the next emperor.

This is because if one can arrange an engagement with a neighbouring princess and strengthen the relationship, one will at once gain an advantageous position in the power struggle within the empire.

Hence, the other princes will no doubt be eager to get their hands on Princess Elizabeth today.
I, on the other hand, had been treated coldly, and as rumours of my incompetence had already spread to neighbouring countries, there was no way Princess Elizabeth would take notice of me, so I had given up from the start and was only thinking about getting through the hospitality ceremony without incident.

‘Shall we go then, Lux?’

‘Yes, Mother.’

Let’s just get through it all in a way that we don’t get into any drama today.
I told myself this over and over again as I boarded the carriage to the Imperial Palace with Sonya.

The square in the Imperial Palace where Princess Elizabeth’s reception was being held was the most spectacular place I have ever seen.
Various meals are laid out and musicians are playing instruments.
The privileged people invited to the event were dressed in glamorous clothing and enjoyed conversation and dancing.
I was in the corner of the hall with my mother Sonya, drinking and eating, looking around the whole place.

‘You all are very popular… my brothers…’

As expected, it was the princes other than myself who were popular with the many nobles who came here.
Beautiful noble daughters, dressed to the nines, flock to the princes in an attempt to connect with what may be the future emperor of the country.
The princes reacted in their own way, either by turning up their noses in an obvious way or by maintaining a blank expression and playing up their composure.
… And of course, there are no nobles who come to me.
It is only natural that no nobleman would want to take me on, as I am not considered to have even a one-in-a-million chance of becoming the next emperor.

‘Look… that’s… the incompetent Prince…’
‘I hear he can’t use magic at all…’
‘They say he’s a wh*re’s child…’
‘I hear he’s being bullied in the rear palace…’

I could hear people whispering about it all around me.
I don’t mind people talking bad about me, but it’s usually upsetting when people talk bad about my mother.
As I angrily shrugged my shoulders to retort, my mother stopped me and smirked.

‘Don’t worry about it, Lux.’

‘Mother…?’

‘Leave them alone. You don’t have to deal with them. Let them say it.”

‘…okay.’
I mustn’t get into trouble with other nobles and cause trouble for my mother.
I thought so, and I held back the urge to say something back, and held it in right there.

‘Her Majesty Princess Elizabeth-Sama, enter!

Soon, as the party was reaching its climax, Elizabeth, a princess from a neighbouring country, finally appeared in the hall through the front door with a knight escorting her.