[There is nothing money cannot solve.]
A saying that I, as a Korean steeped in capitalism, had believed in almost blindly.
And then, after I was reincarnated into a fantasy world where aura and mana truly existed.
It was also the phrase that had appeared in my field of vision ever since I first opened my eyes in a cradle adorned with jewels and gold.
At first, I thought it was a fortuitous encounter.
After all, for someone like me who had loved webtoons and web novels, a 'status window' was a cliché inseparable from fantasy.
But now.
Having become the Empire's deposed crown prince, I realized it with certainty.
"Fortuitous encounter, my ass."
I reached out my hand.
The moment my finger touched the golden text.
It scattered and vanished, as hollow as a mirage.
The emptiness that followed.
Is this exactly how people craving an oasis in the desert felt?
"There's nothing money can't solve, huh."
That philosophy apparently didn't hold true in this world.
No, to be precise, it was a rule that just didn't apply to me.
'I can't even get my hands on money in the first place, so what's the use.'
I looked around.
A room where not a single thing was anything less than a luxury item.
But all of it belonged to the Imperial family.
There was nothing a deposed crown prince could hold in his hands.
I tried shaking the bell that sat on the table.
Jingle, jingle.
It rang out raucously.
But no servant came.
Instead, only the sound of sniggering mockery carried clearly from beyond the door.
"Tsk."
In the end, today as well, I washed by myself and changed my clothes.
Imperial attire was cumbersome beyond compare, so a helper was a must when putting it on.
But I, with roughly 20 years of accumulated know-how, had no need for one.
"Is it about time for breakfast?"
I wasn't particularly hungry.
But if I skipped it, there was no telling what kind of fucking nonsense would be waiting to greet me.
So I made my way to the dining hall.
And so it seemed that today, too, would be a repeat of the same old day of a deposed crown prince being ignored.
But an unexpected event was waiting for me.
"Deposed Crown Prince, you must depart for the North as of tomorrow."
Of course, that event.
It was nothing more than thoroughly unwelcome news.
***
"......I believe I misheard you."
I asked as I set down my knife.
"Deposed Crown Prince, you must depart for the North as of tomorrow."
Empress Cassandra dabbed the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief and calmly repeated herself.
I stared at her quietly.
That arrogant figure, seated nearest the empty seat of honor, making no secret that she was the one who truly held power in this Empire.
"I do not understand. Surely Your Majesty knows better than anyone that relations between the Imperial family and the North are hostile."
"I know it well. Is that not precisely why I intend to take measures?"
"And by measures, you mean?"
The corners of Cassandra's lips curved into an arc.
"A marriage between the Deposed Crown Prince and the Northern Grand Duke has been concluded."
For a moment, my brow furrowed.
I had expected Cassandra to pull yet another scheme.
But I never imagined she would play such an out-of-nowhere card.
"How did this come about?"
I swallowed my surprise and asked calmly.
"As you know, Deposed Crown Prince, the North is the Empire's front line. It is the place that stands against those wicked demon bastards who covet our borders at every hour."
Of course I knew.
That was exactly why the Empress's true intention was plain to see.
Her intention to exile me to a place where people died day in and day out.
"They sacrifice themselves and volunteer to serve as the Empire's breakwater. That is why the Imperial family placed immense power in their hands. However—"
Cassandra's mouth twisted.
"They have gone too far. No matter how great their power, they are still subjects of the Empire. Yet the North is no longer loyal to the Empire."
"This is the first I have heard of such a baseless rumor, though."
"It is only natural that the Deposed Crown Prince, so far removed from politics, would not know."
Well, well.
She was insulting me openly.
But I had ears to hear with, at least.
"Come to think of it, I heard that the Grand Duke passed away the year before last. His daughter must have inherited the title of Grand Duke by now."
"......As expected of the Deposed Crown Prince."
Cassandra's temple twitched.
"Ahem, in any case...... the Imperial Household wishes to improve its relationship with the North as it is."
"Judging by what you were saying a moment ago, I thought you meant to wipe out the North this very instant, though."
"It is true that they have presently lost their loyalty. But their merit in protecting the Empire all this time is equally clear, so should we not give them a chance at least once?"
"And that chance is a marriage between me and the Grand Duke?"
"After all, there is no surer symbol of harmony than a man and a woman being joined."
How smoothly she talked.
Certainly, a political marriage is a convenient way to forge an alliance between those in power.
But there was no way Cassandra had set up this game because she truly wanted to get along with the North.
Just look at that mug of hers.
Weren't her makeup-plastered cheeks quivering viciously every time she mentioned the Northern Grand Duke?
'I guess she doesn't like the new Grand Duke?'
For whatever reason, the current Northern Grand Duke seemed to have gotten on Cassandra's nerves.
And far from apologizing for it, the Grand Duke seemed to be ignoring her outright.
'If it's the previous Grand Duke's daughter...... she's the one famous as the youngest Sword Master in history.'
The rumors even went so far as to say she was eyeing the wall of Grand Master.
For reference, only one person on the entire continent had ever reached Grand Master, the Emperor of the Empire.
But he was currently absent.
And yet, the Northern Grand Duke truly breaking through the wall of Grand Master?
'From Cassandra's standpoint, that'd be a headache.'
After all, it would mean that a hunting dog which already refused to listen to her would end up with even more vicious fangs.
And throwing me into the place where that hunting dog lived.
'Two objectives, maybe?'
The first, naturally, would be to get rid of me, the thorn in her eye.
And the second would be to keep the North in check....... Aha.
'So that's how it is.'
I saw through Cassandra's insidious intentions.
'The North is a perilous place.'
A harsh environment, demon invasions, and so on.
Things that threatened one's life were scattered everywhere.
The perfect place for someone like me, whose limit was fiddling around with a sword at best, to die.
What if I died there?
'Cassandra would gain a pretext.'
A very plausible excuse that the Northern bastards had murdered an imperial prince.
The Northerners might be notorious as savages, but they would never carelessly kill me, a member of the Imperial family.
But Cassandra would hardly care about something like that.
As long as the result was my death, she could fabricate the reason however she pleased.
And with the righteous cause gained that way, she would keep the North in check.
'Even if I don't die and manage to hold out, it wouldn't matter to her.'
Merely having a member of the Imperial family settled in the North would be no small nuisance to the Northerners.
Well, it was true that Cassandra and I were on bad terms.
But the North had no way of knowing that, did it?
'Either way, I'm guaranteed to be a thorn in someone's eye?'
The moment I finished that thought.
A snicker came from across the table.
When I raised my head, I saw two obnoxious faces.
My half-siblings, that is, the current Crown Prince and the Third Imperial Princess.
"What's the big deal, Brother? Isn't this a good thing from where you stand?"
"Right. An incompetent deposed crown prince and those savage Northern bastards. Where could you find a better match than that?"
"Still, that bitch they call the Grand Duke has a face worth looking at, at least. Good for you. Heh heh."
The brats drank their coffee with twisted smiles.
Coffee, huh.......
Truly nasty pieces of work.
There was no way they didn't know that poisoned coffee was what had cost me my mother and my Aura Heart.
'Well.......'
All of this must have come out of Cassandra's head.
I turned my gaze.
She was giving me a detestable smile with her eyes.
"What will you do, Deposed Crown Prince?"
What else could I do?
I had never had the right to refuse in the first place.
I glanced down.
There was a cup of coffee, steam curling up from it.
"I will take my leave."
I rose from my seat without so much as touching the cup.
All the way until I left the dining hall.
Their contemptible laughter clung to my back like a snake.
***
The next day.
Before dawn had broken.
Holding a bouquet, I visited a grave enshrined within the Imperial Palace.
The tombstone was engraved with the name [Arianne Whitelion].
"It has been a while, Mother."
As an aside.
In my previous life, I had been an orphan.
So the woman I met in this world was my first and last, my one and only mother.
On the day I celebrated my fifth birthday.
She left my side forever, poisoned.
But the love she gave me remained the most precious memory of my life.
And I still missed her.
"Even so, I thought that when I died, I would at least be buried at your side."
With a bitter smile, I laid the bouquet in front of the grave.
It was baby's breath, a flower Mother had loved in life.
As I was absently watching the petals tremble faintly in the dawn wind.
"So you came too, Young Master?"
A familiar voice reached my ears.
An old man, who had come to my side before I knew it, laid another bouquet before Mother's tombstone.
"Allen."
A butler whose hair had turned snow-white.
He smiled wryly.
"I am sorry, Young Master."
"What's with the sudden apology?"
"......At the very least, this old man ought to follow you."
"I don't want to see one of my people freeze to death."
Even more so when it came to that person.
The one and only person on my side.
Besides, Allen was nothing more than an ordinary old man who had never trained in martial arts.
So I couldn't take him to the freezing North.
"Never have I lamented this old body more than I do now. ......Will you truly go?"
"There's no other way. From the way Cassandra was talking, my marriage to the Grand Duke is already settled. If I don't go now, all I'll be doing is screwing over both the Imperial family and the North."
If I had great strength or power, it might have been a different story.
But I didn't have the guts to break off a political marriage of national importance.
"That must, be so."
Allen's shoulders slumped.
I chuckled and patted his back.
"It's fine. No matter how rough the North is, it's got to be better than being in Cassandra's clutches."
"You must come back alive, no matter what."
"Don't worry."
I had no intention of dying quietly, either.
And if my death was what Cassandra wanted.
Then I would survive, whatever it took.
'Before that...... I'll have to make it to the North in one piece first, though.'
The sudden heavy feeling lasted only a moment.
"When will you be departing?"
Allen asked.
"Right away."
There was no one to see me off anyway.
So the best plan was to slip away as quietly as a dead mouse.
"Is that so......?"
Allen chewed on his lower lip and rummaged in the folds of his clothes.
Then he handed me a thick pouch.
"Allen, what's this?"
"Your travel funds, Young Master. The Empress did not wish to part with even a single coin, but this old man pulled a few strings."
Allen smiled at me.
I had a hunch.
This money hadn't come from the Imperial treasury.
It was probably...... practically Allen's entire fortune.
Allen had never had any talent for lying to begin with.
He couldn't have thought he would fool me, either.
I tried to give the pouch back.
But Allen's hand stopped me.
"I will have the carriage readied."
As if he were running away.
Allen hurriedly turned his back.
His retreating figure grew distant in an instant.
Clutching the pouch tightly, I spoke in a low voice.
"I'll come back to repay you, I promise."
Allen's steps halted for a moment.
But soon his feet moved again.
And they were clearly faster than before.
The spot Allen had left behind.
The chilly dawn air slapped my cheeks.
For no reason at all, the tip of my nose stung.
To shake off the feeling, I stared blankly at the money pouch Allen had left me.
"Money, huh......."
In this second life of mine.
This might have been the first time I had ever touched money.
It was only natural.
Whether as crown prince or as deposed crown prince.
Someone of Imperial blood never had cause to carry money personally, after all.
"It's pretty heavy."
I opened the pouch.
Inside, it was full of yellow gold coins.
Gold coins, which had been a rare sight even in my previous life.
It was the very moment I absentmindedly picked up a single gold coin.
[There is nothing money cannot solve.]
The phrase I saw every day whenever I woke up appeared.
"What's this, all of a sudden......?"
But this time, something was different.
Ding!
The cheerful chime rang for only a moment.
[300G deposited!]
Clink-clink-clink!!!
The gold coins in the pouch began to evaporate.
What the fuck!?
"Hey, you......! Do you have any idea what this money is?!"
I frantically tied the pouch shut.
Clink-clink-clink-clink!!!
It was useless.
The noise kept coming.
And it took no more than an instant for every last gold coin to vanish.
"Huh......?"
An empty leather pouch.
I simply froze, dumbfounded, unable to think anything at all.
......It felt as if my blood was rushing to my head so hard it would burst right out through my skull.
But whether my insides were churning or not.
[Welcome, valued customer!]
[Synchronizing valued customer information!]
The golden text just kept appearing.
['Abel Draco Whitelion']
Soon my name in this world appeared.
And a huge interface filled my field of vision.
[Welcome to the Shop!]