After recruiting Talia for his mother,who would eventually replace Ronald when they leave for Valewood, Adrian returned to the Royal Palace with her and introduced her to his mother.
Elara was very happy to see her, as she would finally have a female attendant of her own.
Until now, all she had was Ronald.
Adrian told Ronald to teach Talia everything he had learned during his training.
Ronald hesitated.
Seeing this, Adrian asked, “What’s wrong, Ronald?”
“Your Highness,” Ronald replied, “in the Kingdom of Asterra, people of low status, especially girls and women, are not taught to read and write.”
Adrian began thinking.
So this really is a medieval world.
After a moment, he said,
“Then you begin teaching her. This system will change. I , will change it. I will educate everyone, whether they are a low-class girl or boy.”
Ronald still hesitated, as such a decision could lead to persecution from nobles who opposed it.
However, he thought it probably wouldn’t be a problem, as Lady Elara was largely overlooked because of her low importance in the Royal Court.
He could simply teach Talia some basic things and claim that they were part of her duties.
And so, Talia’s education began.
Meanwhile, Adrian moved on to his second step.
That is
Recruiting loyal guards.
The very next day, Adrian went to the Royal Training Grounds to recruit ten guards who would accompany him to Valewood.
He directly approached the trainer and told him that he wanted to recruit some guards.
The trainer assembled all the guards and asked,
“Who here would like to serve the 33rd Prince?”
No one raised their hands.
Adrian had already expected this.
Why would anyone want to?
Still, he stood on a wooden stool so that he could see everyone’s faces.
This immediately caused laughter among the guards.
“Look, the 33rd Prince wants security!”
“Who would even try to hurt him?”
“He isn’t even three feet tall, and he’s talking about serving him!”
After the remarks continued for a while, the Royal Trainer shouted at them, and all the guards immediately stood quietly once again.
Adrian then asked,
“Who here has a sick sister?”
No one answered.
“Who here has a sick brother?”
Again, no one answered.
“Does anyone have a sick parent?”
Silence.
“Does anyone have any sick relative?” Find the original chapter at g.com.
Still nothing.
Adrian became furious.
Goddamn those Isekai novels.
How do their protagonists always find guards with sick family members to gain loyalty from?
Disappointed, Adrian left the Royal Training Grounds.
He returned to his residence disgruntled and threw himself onto his bed.
He began cursing those novels and beating the hell out of his mattress and pillows.
Seeing this, his mother became worried and went to comfort him.
The moment Adrian saw his mother, he immediately behaved himself.
He lied in her lap, thinking about what he would do next.
Soon enough, despite not wanting to, he fell asleep.
When Adrian woke up the next day, he came up with another plan.
He would ask the guards serving the other princes how they had earned their loyalty.
He met several guards and received almost identical answers.
Some were loyal to the prince’s mother and had been sent to guard the prince.
Some believed that the prince they served would eventually become the next King.
Others had been recruited because the prince had rescued a sick member of their family.
Upon hearing this, Adrian thought,
Damnit.
I was late.
They existed, but those bastards already snatched them away.
After conducting an extensive search, Adrian finally found a guard who had a sick family member.
Upon hearing the news, he was overjoyed.
Ronald immediately lectured him.
“Your Highness, you should not enjoy someone else’s pain.”
“Then let’s help them,” Adrian quickly replied, wanting to avoid Ronald’s nagging.
And so, Adrian, Ronald, and a doctor went to the outskirts of the city to visit the guard’s family.
The guard Adrian wanted to recruit was there as well.
The doctor immediately began examining his sister while Adrian took the guard outside to speak with him privately.
Ronald remained inside with the doctor.
Adrian looked at the guard.
“Are you Darian?”
The guard immediately bowed.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I will help your sister get better. In exchange, what I want is your loyalty.”
Darian looked at him.
Adrian continued
“Have your sister stay with my mother at the Royal Palace, and I guarantee that her treatment expenses will be borne by me.”
But he understood one thing.
His sister would essentially become a hostage under the Prince’s mother.
After thinking for a while, Darian agreed.
However, Adrian noticed his reluctance.
Once the doctor finished examining Mira, Adrian told them to pack their belongings, as they would now live in the Royal Palace.
After arriving at Lady Elara’s residence inside the Royal Palace, Darian and Mira were surprised.
The mansion was much smaller compared to the other royal residences.
It had only one guard at the entrance and two servants—Ronald and Talia.
Adrian asked Talia to arrange a room for Mira and then explained the situation to his mother.
Darian looked at Lady Elara.
She seemed harmless enough.
But he still hesitated.
They were Royals, after all.
Seeing this, Adrian said,
“Stay here and judge the conditions yourself. If you don’t like it, you can go back. You don’t even need to repay me anything.”
Darian agreed.
Adrian let out a sigh.
He had finally gotten a half-loyal guard for himself.
Adrian was about to retire for the night when he was visited by two strange men.
They were two of the guards who had accompanied Adrian when he went to buy Talia.
Their names were Marcus and Rowen.
Both bowed before Adrian.
“Your Highness.”
Adrian looked at them.
“What do you want?”
“We wish to pledge our loyalty to you, Your Highness,” Rowen replied.
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
“Why?”
Rowen answered without hesitation.
“I was amazed by what Your Highness did that day.”
Adrian stared at him.
“You were only four years old, yet you were already making decisions that most adults would never think of.”
He continued,
“We believe that Your Highness is going to become someone very powerful.”
“We want to rise alongside you.”
Adrian’s eyes widened slightly.
Then a large smile appeared on his face.
I got two loyal and intelligent guards without even trying.
For once, his plans had worked without him having to manipulate anyone.
And with that, Adrian had taken another step toward building his own power.