#65. 16. The Royal Family’s Infight (3)
The second prince suddenly appears and claims to be the first prince?
Any normal person would think that Prince Alford was seriously mentally ill.
But for those familiar with necromancy, it’s a different story.
Karnak was impressed.
“Have your souls been switched?”
Alford, or rather Prince Lloyd who had taken over Alford’s body, looked surprised.
“I know it doesn’t seem like I should be saying this, but is this something that can be easily accepted?”
“There are spells like that among the spells of necromancy. The conditions are very strict though.”
The prince sighed in relief.
“It turns out that choosing you was the right decision.”
This is why I deliberately contacted King’s Order.
There are wizards in the kingdom of Yustil who are more powerful than the wizards of the King’s Order, but when it comes to necromancy, no one is more experienced than them.
Why? Before the darkness of the end was spread, there was no reason to learn the techniques related to necromancy separately. There weren’t many necromancers.
He expected that only a wizard of the King’s Order would be able to recognize the necromancy cast on him.
Prince Lloyd asked again.
“Do you think that wizards other than those of the King’s Order can recognize you as easily as you do?”
Then, it might be possible to contact other wizards belonging to the First Prince’s forces.
But Karnak shook his head.
“You misunderstand. I don’t have any magical insight to determine the prince’s condition.”
Actually, as soon as I saw it, I immediately recognized it and thought, ‘Huh? There’s a strange spirit in there?’, but I pretended not to know for now.
The soul exchange magic that is now being performed on Prince Lloyd is an extremely advanced form of necromancy.
It is so secretly hidden that even a wizard or necromancer cannot recognize it unless they are the one who unleashed it.
I figured it out when I got to Karnak, but it was normal for people not to notice.
‘So I should pretend I didn’t recognize you.’
Karnak continued shamelessly.
“If what the Prince says is true, then the soul swapping technique makes the most sense. In fact, isn’t it possible that Prince Alford is deceiving us and pretending to be Prince Lloyd?”
Actually, any other King’s Order would have judged it this way.
Prince Lloyd frowned.
“So, does that mean you still don’t completely trust what I’m saying?”
“Not necessarily. Given the circumstances, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re Prince Lloyd.”
“Why did you decide that?”
Karnak clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘I know the answer, but it’s annoying because I can’t tell you the reason.’
But I can’t tell the truth out loud, so I just opened my mouth.
“Because Commander Erantel trusted your letter. If he judged you to be the First Prince, wouldn’t there be a reason for that?”
“Is it possible that I deceived even Sir Erantel? Could it be that Alford got his hands on my handwritten letter and then did something about it?”
“The more you talk, the more likely it is that it is Prince Lloyd.”
“Why?”
“If you were Prince Alford and you were lying, you wouldn’t have said it like that.”
I would have unconsciously said that I had gotten my hands on a handwritten letter from Prince Lloyd. If I was Alford.
“Oh, I see.”
Prince Lloyd’s expression softened.
Karnak continued speaking, keeping an eye on things.
“Just looking at the prince’s reaction right now, it’s like that.”
“What reaction?”
“Haven’t you been asking me all this time why I don’t doubt myself?”
If Prince Alford is pretending to be Prince Lloyd, there is no need to question him like this and make him doubt himself.
“It could be that it’s to first eliminate the suspicious parts and gain trust… … No, I see. Then there’s no need to go this far.”
“And there’s also the point that there’s nothing to gain.”
“There’s nothing to gain?”
“Isn’t that the situation?”
Prince Alford pretends to be Prince Lloyd and accuses his forces and himself of necromancy?
“I can’t imagine what Prince Alford could possibly gain by doing this. Of course, it’s possible that he’s hatching some strange scheme that I can’t even imagine… … .”
This is also extremely unlikely. No matter how strange the scheme, at least there is a basic framework.
When you consider all the circumstances, it’s very likely that Lloyd and Alford’s bodies were switched.
“This is my conclusion.”
Lloyd’s expression relaxed. He seemed to finally feel a little relieved.
“I am truly blessed to have met a wise man like you.”
Baros and Serati snorted.
[… … wise man?]
[I just stole the answer and tried to fit it in. What the.]
[Hey, both of you, control your expressions.]
Anyway, thanks to that, Prince Lloyd seemed to think of Karnak as a trustworthy wizard who was quite wise and quick to make judgments.
The prince asked cautiously.
“So, what you’re saying is that there’s no magical way to prove that our bodies have switched?”
“Not as far as I know. Of course, it may be different for the powerful magicians of the Magic Tower.”
Actually, it exists.
——————
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There is one, but it’s a problem because it takes a long time to prepare, the catalyst is extremely hard to obtain, and it’s a ritual that requires advanced magical knowledge.
‘There’s no wizard at the current level of the Yustel Kingdom’s Magic Tower who can do that.’
Lloyd also nodded.
“Well, if it seemed like it would be easy to get caught, Alford wouldn’t have done something like this.”
And he had a worried expression on his face.
“So what should I do now? In fact, I came to you hoping that you, as a wizard of the King’s Order, would be able to prove my identity… … .”
“First, I would like to hear the circumstances.”
Karnak offered to take a seat, as the story seemed like it would be long.
He asked again as they sat down at a shabby table in the room.
“What on earth is going on?”
“I don’t know. I just woke up and found myself in Alford.”
“Please explain the process in detail. I think you might find some clues that Your Majesty doesn’t know about.”
“I see.”
Lloyd slowly opened his mouth, convinced.
“It was five days ago… … .”
***
According to the prince, it was a day no different from any other.
“That day too, I finished my work as usual, received the divine healing from the priest that I receive every day, and then went to bed.”
Baros suddenly asked.
“… … You receive divine healing every day?”
Lloyd burst out laughing.
“I’m sure you’ve heard rumors about my weak body.”
“Well, still, that’s true… … .”
Isn’t that not just weak, but almost like a breathing zombie?
Of course, I can’t dare say that out loud in front of the prince.
Lloyd shrugged, perhaps it was a familiar reaction.
“So it’s not surprising that Father had high expectations for Alford. Anyway, there was nothing particularly unusual until he fell asleep.”
Karnak looked into it more closely.
“Have you ever seen unfamiliar objects in your room or strangers loitering around?”
“I can answer that confidently.”
Even if he didn’t have the power of divination, Prince Lloyd was always careful about the defense of his residence. He had a deep conflict with Alford, so he didn’t know when he would try to poison him.
“Not only my quarters, but the entire palace is covered with powerful magic and sacred arts. So I just don’t understand. Is necromancy such a powerful technique?”
“… … That part is a bit difficult for me to understand.”
Serati asked secretly while looking at Karnak who was playing the janggu.
[What is it in reality?]
[I don’t know. I really don’t understand.]
[Oh my, weren’t you pretending not to know on purpose?]
[Necromancy is not omnipotent. In order to perform this level of magic, you need to be properly prepared.]
You can cast a spell from a distance without even entering the palace of a well-guarded country?
[If that were possible, I wouldn’t have suffered like that in my past life, right?]
[How do I know what kind of hardships Karnak went through in his past life?]
[That’s what I’m saying, isn’t it?]
Leaving Serati’s nagging behind, Karnak was lost in thought.
It was because the Trist City incident a few months ago came to mind.
‘Wait a minute, what is this? Is this another method I don’t know about?’
Lloyd began to explain again.
“… … So I fell asleep, and when I opened my eyes again, my surroundings had completely changed.”
***
The first feeling of discomfort I felt when I opened my eyes was my condition.
‘What is it? Why do I feel so good?’
There was no headache that should have been felt upon waking up. There was no fever that always bothered me. My creaking joints were strangely comfortable.
Puzzled, Lloyd tried to sit up. And for a moment, he flinched.
‘uh?’
My whole body was tied up with ropes. Because of this, I couldn’t get up naturally like I usually do.
Lloyd, feeling alarmed, quickly scanned his entire body. And then he was puzzled once again.
‘Whose arm is this?’
His forearms were thick, muscular and well-defined, and he looked manly just by looking at them.
It was not his own arm that was difficult to find any difference in compared to that of a young girl.
No, that’s not the problem right now.
‘Where on earth am I?’
I clearly closed my eyes in my own room, in my own bed, but now I opened them in some unidentifiable space.
Lloyd looked around frantically.
It was a small stone chamber.
A plain, dark stone room with no furniture.
Under the magic light, a strange red magic circle was drawn on the floor, and he was sitting in the middle of it.
And beyond that, three men in black robes with their faces hidden are visible.
One of the men let out a sinister voice.
“Have you coughed, Prince Lloyd?”
The words are polite, but the tone is full of mockery.
Lloyd looked at the men calmly.
“In an unknown place, with unknown people.”
It was a very embarrassing situation, but I couldn’t show it.
“You have great talent. Are you saying you kidnapped a prince from deep within the palace?”
Lloyd continued, looking himself over with exaggerated curiosity.
“Even after kidnapping me, they must have done something strange to my body. My arms aren’t this thick, and my body isn’t this thick either.”
The other man clicked his tongue at that reaction.
“You’re really calm. I thought you’d show at least a little embarrassment.”
Lloyd asked with a cold look in his eyes.
“Yeah, what did you do to me?”
The man waved his hand in the air.
“Let me show you.”
A magical mirror of light appeared in the air, illuminating Lloyd.
Lloyd’s face turned pale as he looked into the mirror.
“… …Alford?”
For a moment I thought it was my brother sitting there.
However, he was tied up and I could quickly figure out the situation through his facial expressions.
That ‘Alford’ is Lloyd himself!
Even he, who has a calm personality, couldn’t help but feel dazed for a moment.
The man in the black robe continued speaking.
“The bodies of the prince and his highness Alford have been swapped. It was by the power of the great Tesranak, hahahaha.”
Lloyd had also heard the name Tesranak.
A look of shock came into his eyes.
“… …Social!”
***
‘Hmm? It’s a bit strange?’
Serati looked puzzled as she listened to the explanation.
‘You went out of your way to create a magic mirror to show the prince his current appearance, and even told him about the situation without him asking? Do the sorcerers really talk that much?’
