Abandoned Bastard of the Royal Family Volume 4 Chapter 19 (Patreon)

Chapter 19 – The Sword of Mutual Destruction

“……I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Before that, yes, we already have a vision for the future after Magna Carta is established, and it has also been approved by Cymbium. But in order for them to realize that vision, we would need to reveal a powerful trump card first.”

That trump card must not be revealed yet.

“We don’t want Dernonos to take any countermeasures for our trump card, and there will always be people who will be stirred up by the shocking truth. In other words, now is not the time, as it will do us more harm than good.”

And most importantly, we haven’t even convinced him yet.

“I’ve reminded the lords that everything will be fine. But for now, they have to trust our words and ask them to follow us. We, the Oscars, have been protecting them for hundreds of years. They can put their faith in our accumulated history…….”

“But there is a limit to that! Above all, they are confused!”

The son thrust a piece of paper in front of his father’s eyes.

It was a copy of a proclamation that he had sent to the lords under his protection.

“There is one sentence in here that no one can agree on. And that is the fact that the Magna Carta is being proposed jointly by the First Princess Cymbium and my niece, the Second Princess Serenea.”

“……”

“Don’t tell me you don’t know what it means, Father!”

Article 64 of the Magna Carta, which forcibly deposes the king, must be proposed by an heir to the throne.

It is a rule that no other person is eligible to make a motion.

That is why the princesses, Cymbium and Serenea, are the initiators.

It was also a defense mechanism on the part of the royal family to prevent the common people from abusing their right to depose the king lightly.

After all, only the royalty has the right to bring down the king, who is normally protected by his absoluteness.

“There is another significant clause in the Magna Carta, Article 64, the section on initiators.”

That the heir to the throne, who was the initiator of Article 64 of Magna Carta……

――will have their right to the throne permanently forfeited.

“……”

The retired patriarch closed his eyes with a somber expression.

This was one of the safeguards that protected the absoluteness of the king.

If not, there will be a good chance that the royals who wanted to usurp the throne would use the Magna Carta for personal gain.

In order to prevent the private misuse of the Magna Carta, the lawmakers of the past stipulated a reasonable price for the royals who use it.

This has turned the Article 64 of the Magna Carta into a sword of mutual destruction that can be wielded by any minded royal at their own expense for compelling reasons that are publicly agreed upon by the majority.

At least in writing.

“Under the terms of this clause, even if the Magna Carta is successful, both Cymbium and Serenea will lose their right to the throne in exchange! Those two who are the only heirs to the throne in this country!”

If both of them lose their right to the throne at the same time, who will become the next king?

“Can’t you see it, father? That’s what we’re all afraid of! Some are even saying, “Is this going to start a war?” There are some who are preparing for it even! Father, can’t you do something? If we can at least get our Serenea off the list……”

“Fool!”

The former patriarch shouted crisply.

It is true that if Serenea’s name is removed from the proposer’s column, the Oscar lords will feel comfortable agreeing to the Magna Carta.

This is because if the Magna Carta is to be established in that method, it would be pretty much tantamount to Serenea being the one to inherit the throne.

“The inscription of the two princesses’ names on the motion is symbolic of the cooperation between us and Cymbium, who were originally enemies. If we give up something we can never give up, they will do the same for us.”

Not to mention, the Ryngberg faction with First Princess Cymbium will lose their reason to participate if the Second Princess Serenea, who is backed by the Oscars, is to be dropped from the position of the initiator. That would be 30% of the lords in the region, which would be as good as the Magna Carta being abolished.

“To achieve a certain level of success, you have to take a certain level of risk. That’s exactly why the proposers are two instead of one. You, too, should take that to heart in trying to persuade the other lords.”

But……Father……!”

The incompetent head’s face looked like it was about to turn to tears.

Elovairo has already done his best. He had surrendered his position to him, had given him a wife, and had even been blessed with a child.

(……Just where did we raise him wrong?)

Whenever he looks at his eldest son, he can’t help but feel disappointed. After all, the dimwit is still afraid of his own father even though he is already in the highest seat of the house.

But will he be capable of turning that fear into delusion and follow his words at all costs, at the very least?

(No, he can’t.)

It was precisely because the Oscar’s retired patriarch did not believe in such fantasies that everyone is easily convinced that what he says is right, that they are determined to walk with him no matter what path he will take, far unlike his son.

The old man fully knows this, so this is why he decided to use his own prestige to bring the Oscars to its limits so that he can subjugate all who would dare oppose him to the very end.

To separate the rotten fruits from the good ones, even if it means changing the big basket that holds them all.

After that is the only time they would be able to use their biggest trump card – Schild.

But the reality was harsh.

When he was young, many feared him as the Demon’s Apparition as he and the successive kings would traverse the battlefield and slay many powerful Demons left and right.

But after the war with the Demons ended, so was the prestige of the former head of the Oscars.

(Have my prowess also disappeared with old age……?)

Whatever the case, it has already happened. So there is only one thing he could do.

In order to enforce this measure, he had to set the deal with Cymbium.

And above all, he had to convince Schild himself, who would be their central figure in the future.

“I’m going out.”

The retired patriarch stood up.

“To where? At this time of the night?”

“Once you’ve made a decision, you shouldn’t hesitate to carry it out until the end. I’ve told you this many times, but when will you learn, you idiot?”

Even the hermit was tired of scolding this foolish son.

He couldn’t help but recall the past.

The time when the final battle between humans and Demons was just beginning, the same battle that would become the deciding factor for the end of the Demon Lord’s army.

If only he had taken his stupid son with him to the battlefield…….

If only he had refused his wife’s desperate plea to stop him because it was too dangerous……

If he only had a little more courage, he would have become a somewhat better head of the family.

But it was all just a vain fantasy.

“You should go back to your own house. And by the time you see me again……”

The old man said with a warning.

“You must sever all ties with that Demon.”

“What? But if we let that Demon swim around……”

What the two of them are talking about is the mysterious existence that was working behind the scenes of the monster swarm eradication battle that happened months ago.

The Oscars tried to take advantage of this to gain the upper hand in the battle for the throne, but a poorly miscalculated plan ended up costing them themselves.

“The situation will change. If the relationship between that Demon and us comes to light after that person reaches the top, it could be fatal.”

“Huh?”

“The best thing to do would be for us to surround and kill that Demon alone, but I can’t expect that much from you, so we’ll have to expel it from our vicinity and erase as many traces as possible……Do you understand?”

But fa-……Y-yes! Understood!”

Leaving behind a very unreliable reply, the current head of the family, the son, hurriedly left.

(I can’t trust the future of the Oscar family to him. If there’s anyone else who’s promising, it’s……)

Serenea, his granddaughter.

As the second princess, her lineage is first-rate, and she has already won the favor of Schild, who will be the next king.

However, she is still a child. Her talent hasn’t yet blossomed, so she’s still incapable of discernment.

“But still, I have no choice but to trust Oscar’s future to her. Though I am already too old to see it in the end.”

(And to be honest, I’m scared.)

As soon as he realized his fear of the future, a smile of self-mockery surfaced at the face of the hermit at the same time.

“Hah. To think that even I, who is regarded as the most fearsome noble, is also afraid of the unseen future. This makes me have no right to laugh at those lords who are sitting pretty at their fences.”

He has already thought about it. And he has already decided.

To believe in the potential of his granddaughter, who had suddenly become more perceptive in the arms of the majestic lion named Schild.

“Any mediocre runt can believe in what they can see. However, believing in the unseen and uncertain is what a genius can do, as it requires insight, intelligence, and above all, the strength of mind. But, then again, it is also the same for a fool.”

It was a quote that someone had spoken a long time ago, but the old patriarch could no longer remember who had told it to him.

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