Reincarnated as the Hated Villainous Prince, I Thought I Could Live Freely in This Life, but Unconsciously Acted Like a Saint ~Trying to Create an Evil Kingdom, but for Some Reason I'm Highly Respected by Everyone~ - Chapter 26

“Again, we’ve lost contact with the soldiers…!?”

“Yes. It’s highly likely they’ve been defeated again by the enemy, including the Blood Death Dragons.”

“That’s absurd…!!”

In the kingdom of Vefeld, inside its castle.

First Princess Yurisia was astonished upon hearing the report from her butler, Hams.

―Impossible.

This can’t be happening.

After all, I had devised multiple strategies just for this occasion…!

I had prepared countless schemes, to ensure victory…!

“How is Esmeralda doing? By now, he should be falling out with the elves…”

“No, the elves seem to be extraordinarily devoted to Prince Esmeralda. In fact, even Queen Clophe herself was said to be licking Prince Esmeralda’s boots.”

“And the Blood Death Dragons?”

“It seems Prince Esmeralda has defeated them single-handedly.”

“How is that possible…?”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand what I am saying myself.”

The completely unforeseeable situation left Yurisia deeply shaken.

This was the plan:

Firstly, to destroy Esmeralda’s credibility, I had my subordinates wear the uniforms of the Virginia Empire.

By making false reports, we aimed to seed doubts about Esmeralda among the elves.

And at the same time, summon two legendary Blood Death Dragons.

Even if Mirua Laines, the world’s strongest swordsman, was present, it was unthinkable to break through such formidable enemies.

―That’s what Yurisia thought at the time.

It was supposed to be a perfect plan.

After all, this strategy could pin the “crime of elf kidnapping” entirely on Esmeralda.

And then, let the Blood Death Dragons kill Esmeralda.

By spreading the information that “Esmeralda was in cahoots with the Virginia Empire,” it would also provide a pretext to commence an invasion of the empire.

It was a delicious plan with three birds with one stone.

Yet, Esmeralda effortlessly overcame it.

“How can this be…!?”

Therefore, Yurisia was unable to suppress the turmoil that arose within her at all.

“Why does Esmeralda have so much respect from the elves!? Isn’t that weird!?”

“According to some information, it’s because Prince Esmeralda is omniscient and omnipotent.”

“How can he defeat a Blood Death Dragon by himself! Even S-rank adventurers would be surprised!”

“According to some information, it’s because Prince Esmeralda is a reincarnation of a god.”

“…”

Omniscient and omnipotent, a reincarnation of a god… I can’t make any sense of it.

Yet, indeed, those incomprehensible events were thrust before me as reality.

Was all this, including appearing hopeless initially, part of Esmeralda’s scheme…? Sneaking a win while the royals were off guard and then winning over the elves…?

That’s the only conclusion I can draw.

I had vastly underestimated my brother.

In that case, I have no choice but to stake everything to eliminate that detestable brother…!

“Princess Yurisia. I apologize for interrupting your moment of distress, but there is one more thing to report.”

“…What?”

Butler Hams’s voice took on an even lower tone, causing a sense of unease to rise within Yurisia.

“Please listen calmly. It seems Aurelia Republic has noticed our use of Virginia Empire’s uniforms.”

“Aurelia Republic…!”

Hearing the unexpected country name, Yurisia involuntarily blurted out in a high-pitched voice.

Aurelia Republic was a superpower comparable to the Vefeld Kingdom.

No… more accurately, it was comparable.

Especially in the field of magic, Aurelia Republic has achieved remarkable development.

Not only did they develop powerful offensive magic, but they also mass-produced high-quality potions, magical weapons, and armor. Recently, there was even talk of developing a kind of magical car that could transport people.

In that respect, the Vefeld Kingdom was entirely lagging behind, and frankly, it’s now widely believed that Aurelia Republic is more advanced.

I had been kidnapping elves with superior magical abilities to compete against Aurelia Republic…

If Aurelia Republic has caught wind of our movements, things could get very complicated.

They could use this as a pretext to take some kind of action against the Vefeld Kingdom.

If the Elf Kingdom, Virginia Empire, and Aurelia Republic all invaded at the same time, even the powerful Vefeld Kingdom would not stand a chance.

This is bad. This is very bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad…!

“So, Princess Yurisia. His Majesty the King would like to speak with you directly about this matter. Would that be alright?”

“Ah, ahhhhh…!”

This is terrible.

Absolutely terrible.

The complete confidence Yurisia had harbored was unequivocally shattered at that moment.

Translator’s note: Sorry for the late update. I’ll stack the chapters when it happens again.