The Strongest Dull Prince’s Secret Battle for the Throne

Chapter 348: Great-Grandfather and Great-Grandson

Chapter 348: Great-Grandfather and Great-Grandson

At the hidden room inside the Imperial Sword Castle

I transferred inside it

How are you doing? Gramp

Do I look like I can get sick? Rather, I should be the one who asks that question. How are you doing?

So-so I guess.

The room belongs to this old man, my great-grandfather and my master.

It is full of precious spellbooks and grimoires. An ordinary mage would be overwhelmed with just a glance of this room.

However, I have no business with those books today.

I have a question to ask you.

A question? Thats rare. You didnt even rely on me during the rebellion after all.

There were too many eyes. Your existence might be revealed and the movement of the rebels was pretty much predictable in the first place. There was no need to borrow your wisdom for that.

Hou? So you have come to borrow my wisdom this time?

Right. First, I have to confirm one thing.does the condition for innate magic to activate differ from normal magic activation?

There were many cases where we still couldnt find out the condition for activating innate magic in a person.

Why was it not available for that person since birth?

Why did it suddenly activate?

We dont know the answer to those questions.

However, Gramp answered my question immediately.

Innate magic is still magic. The activation itself is not different. The user just uses it unconsciously. Thats also a form of magic after all.

I see..then Im relieved.

I wont pry why you asked me such a question then. Anything else?

As you are my predecessor who actually won the succession war, I want to ask you one thing. Have you heard about the situation in the north from Sebas?

I heard. The third son established a base in the north and the northern nobles chose to remain neutral right?

We have succeeded in uniting the northern nobles. All that left is to crush the enemy base in the north.

I see. So what do you want to ask?

The war in the north was in a stalemate. If its you, what would you do?

Easy. I would assassinate the Emperor.

As I thought.

It is the quickest way to cause a disturbance to our side and reverse the situation in one move.

The only problem is that the difficulty of that is too high.

An elaborate assassination plan huh. Gordons mother is a skilled swordfighter comparable to the Knight Commander. Father should already have some countermeasures in place though.

If its a former consort then she should be able to understand the Emperors character well. If its you, how would you do it?

..launch an attack aiming at the citizens of the capital as a diversion. Father will never overlook an attack right under his nose.

The Emperors protection will be weaker so they might aim for that chance to do it. But there should be many advisers around the Emperor. It will not be easy to pull it off.

Im not worried about that. The assassination wont be successful. The problem is the turmoil in the Imperial Capital.

The rebellion just plunged the capital into chaos.

The situation calmed down while I was sleeping but it still isnt back to normal yet.

If the enemy causes even greater chaos here, it will affect the other regions as well.

The Imperial Capital is at the center of the Empire. It is the main relay point for our logistics.

After the battle in the north is over, the reconstruction will require a large amount of manpower and supplies. If the Imperial Capital is in turmoil at that time then we can send neither of that to the north.

People will abandon their home if the battle is near. There will surely be a lot of people who lost their homes, their jobs, and their families. Certainly, you would be troubled if the capital is in chaos.

Gramp said it like it was someone elses affair.

He is no longer an emperor.

He was already retired when his body was stolen by the demon.

Thats why he has already given up his responsibilities as an emperor.

However.

If the Capital is in chaos, you cant get your precious spellbooks even if you ask Sebas right?

Wha-t? Thats certainly true

There are two types of spellbooks here. One was those that Gramp collected before he was sealed and the other were ones that Sebas procured.

Gramps read them all days so he had already finished them all. He uses knowledge from those books to study new magic but it doesnt mean that he doesnt want new ones.

He always wants something new so he often asks Sebas to procure new spellbooks for him. One could say that it is something that he lives for.

Thats troubling..what do you want me to do?

As Silver, I want you to minimize the turmoil in the Imperial Capital. I cant leave the north after all.

Good grief..I have died a long time ago. It is only a coincidence that I am still here. To rely on chance like this, it seems that you still have a long way to go huh.

Only for this one time. I will handle the rest myself.

Well, thats fine. It doesnt involve the succession war that much anyway.

With that said, Gramp accepted my request.

Gramp taught me ancient magic because he was thankful for his release and that my ultimate goal is to cure my mother.

It was not for me to win the succession war.

The people of this age should do something about this age themselves. Thats Gramps view.

Although he lends me his knowledge, he doesnt lend me much power.

Since I know that, I didnt rely on him before.

However.

Gramp..this succession war, its too strange. Dont you think so?

Does it matter whether I think it is or not? What matters should be what you think of it.

..I think that it is strange. When people got involved with the succession war, they changed. I can understand that but.this time the changes are too strange.

Then what will you do? Are you going to put it on hold?

Right now that is impossible. Ican only end it as soon as possible.

If it isnt going to change what you must do then dont mull over it. But you should still prepare yourself.

I know. Thats why I have to ask. When you got your body stolen by a demon, you studied the demons along with ancient magic right.

Right. Thats the reason why I bought the spellbook that the demon was sealed in.

Gramp said with an expression of regret.

The reason he studied ancient magic in the first place was that he was studying the demons.

He judged that ancient magic would be an effective countermeasure against them so he began to study it.

He ended up unable to fight the demon but his research itself was not in vain.

Was the Demon King really defeated by the Hero 500 years ago?

No doubt about it. No matter which book I got my hand on, it clearly said that the Demon King was defeated. It was the ancestor of that Brave house right? Theres no way that they would let the Demon King escape.

Well, certainlythen, what about the Demon Kings subordinates?

The Demon King has invaded this world together with many demons.

The demon who hijacked Gramps body was one of them.

In various shapes and forms, they have survived.

There might be others.

All the important aides were defeated by the Hero. Such tenaciousness may have been in their family huh.

Then none of the powerful demons survived at all?

Yes. But..there is one Demon that may have survived.

May have survived?

There is a great demon whose name always comes up when you study the demons, especially those associated with the Demon King army. Why? Because that demon was purged by the Demon King early in the war. That Demon was preaching the danger of the Hero and urged the Demon King to withdraw.

There was such a demon?

There certainly was. He was an executive of the Demon King army and a powerful figure that pulled the strings from the shadows. The Demon Duke Dantalion. He was the only aide of the Demon King who did not fall at the hand of the Hero.

If we proceed on the premise that the Hero did not overlook any demons, the demon who was not defeated by the Hero may be alive.

However, it would be strange for a demon who got purged by the Demon King himself to survive.

I have heard how powerful the Demon King was. Even the Hero could not win against him without the Holy Sword. He was that level of opponent.

Is there any proof of his survival?

None. But if one of the Demon Kings aides were to survive, it would be Dantalion. Well, if he really survived the purge then its natural to assume that he did not survive in one piece.

So he might have been gathering up power and started to move now?

Assuming that he only started to move now is wrong. He may have been making his moves since a long time ago. If Dantalion is alive and still possesses the same ambitionit may not be a coincidence that a demon hijacked my body.

Saying so, Gramps face looked unprecedentedly serious.

It might not be wrong of me to say that the old man is thinking too much but given how strange this succession war has become, I can not rule out the possibility that a demon might be involved.

In fact, Gramp himself has survived using a special way. Dantalion may have survived his predicaments with a similar method.

And if so, there must be some kind of cover.

Gramp, let me ask this for the record. Where did you get the spellbook that the demon was sealed in from?

I got it from Grimoire. I heard that it was a spellbook that was recently discovered you see.

You were careless huh.

Absolutely.

I astoundedly sigh and Gramp also does the same.

Grimoire huh.

So that name came out here as well.

It looks like we have to do a thorough investigation huh.

Do you have any clues?

More or less.

The locations of their bases were written in the diary Zandra-aneue left me.

When the civil war is over, it might be better to give my priority to that.

Alright, take care of the capital for me.

Going already? And I just came up with a magical composition too..

I will join you when I return. Sorry but my brother is waiting.

Saying so, I left the place while waving to the old man.