The Grand Prince of House Hybern

<Episode 1>

 

The person reflected in the mirror was surprisingly calm.

Powerless eyes.

And pale skin that seemed to show the bones beneath it.

It was the same face that symbolized shame, and a curse that made people shudder. Though the owner of that face was the Grand Prince of House Hybern.

His bony arm stretched out with difficulty.

Let alone the powerful mana that should have been swirling inside it, even the basic physical strength was faint.

“…….”

The sense of accomplishment that he got after finally doing was like a flower blooming in his heart.

The cruel deaths of his comrades and the screams of their agony still seemed to cling to his entire body like dark red blood.

Before he knew it, he was smiling in the mirror, twisting his mouth.

But that smile had no value beyond the expression itself.

Soon he ruffled his long bangs and wiped away his dry smile.

As if he couldn’t forgive himself for not being able to bear it without smiling.

“Huu…”

He swallowed his bitter feelings and soon began to walk shakily, staggering after every step.

If he just open that door…

There….all his precious things.

He finally opened the door, hanging precariously on the handle as if he was about to fall.

Rattle-

Ruin Sadha Walken de Bern.

To the peaceful, but stormy past..….

He is back

 

* * *

 

Unlike other countries, the Lemadel Kingdom traditionally does not have multiple flag bearers.

The responsibility of carrying the kingdom’s golden lion flag on your shoulder and going into battle.

It is an honor granted only to the best knights in the kingdom, and the tradition has remained unchanged for over a thousand years.

High.¹The title is High no mistake in that, but when corporating it with the name of the house it didn’t feel right, so I wrote it as Hybern. Just keep in mind that it is not part of the name but a title.

A title granted only to families that have achieved such great honors more than ten times over a long period of time.

The Bern family was recognized by everyone as one of the best knightly families in the Lemadel Kingdom and the deity of swordsmen.

Hybern.²Originally High Bern.

Those who live under the dazzling honor of its knighthood, receive such eternal glory.

In the center of that lofty sanctuary, where even the servants were filled with pride, a boy was walking unsteadily.

Pitter-patter-

The boy had sweat dripping down his body just by walking.

He was the eldest son of the great Hybern family, but he was a grand prince in name only, whom no one recognized.

The secret that everyone in the family wanted to hide and a symbol of weakness.

The so-called disgrace of House Hybern.

He, who had already been imprisoned a long time ago and had disappeared from everyone’s memories, appeared before the eyes of his servants.

“……Grand Prince!”

Aguille, the butler who could not stand it anymore, approached Ruin despite her disheveled appearance.

She had always assisted the Hybern family’s members with disciplined manners, but right now she was unable to maintain her composure.

“You can’t do this!”

Even if he was the grand prince of the Hybern family, disobeying orders and walking around in a place where there were a lot of eyes like this, was an act of ignoring the family law.

“Gasp…… Aguille…….”

Ruin was barely able to hold his body up and was out of breath.

Soon, a hazy film of moisture fills his powerless eyeballs.

Aguille’s wrinkled eyes and her uniquely gentle face made him confirm his return.

As a gloomy emotion began to appear in Ruin’s eyes, Aguille hurriedly covered him with her body.

“Grand Prince! There are many eyes to see!”

Although weak, but he was definitely a noble family member of the Hybern household.

He was someone who should never show tears in front of so many servants.

“Father… I must go to him now… Father.”

“Your Highness!”

Aguille’s whole body trembled as if she was scared just by imagining it.

Just by escaping from the confinement site and wandering around the family, it was impossible to imagine what kind of cruel punishment would await him.

The head of the family was truly iron-blooded.

Even if it was was a blood relative, he would never forgive someone who broke the family rules.

“Oh, no, Grand Prince! A punishment worse than death may await you!”

“Death?”

Ruin laughed dryly without any emotion.

Aguille momentarily flinched at his twisted, dry, so bleak tone.

“Your Highness?”

The indifferent voice said again.

“Death.”

By overcoming the deaths of countless comrades and dying hundreds of times himself, he was able to return to the past at this very moment.

He was closer to death than anyone else.

Just holding on to his fragile self that seemed ready to collapse was a source of pride, so for a moment he felt angry at Aguille for talking about death so carelessly.

It was a feeling close to contempt.

“Don’t compare punishment to death, Aguille.”

But Aguille had no way of knowing the hell he went through.

Ruin suddenly shifted his gaze and looked at the end of the garden.

‘Punishment…….’

At that moment, an indescribably sad expression appeared on Ruin’s face.

He couldn’t criticize his father’s choices, considering what he had to endure only for this pitiful body.

He was just afraid.

He was just afraid that this wasteland-like mind, which had seen all the miserable endings, would be discovered.

His shoulders trembled slightly.

Ruin, who was suppressing such complex emotions, shook off Aguille’s hand and started walking again.

After hearing the news, the Hybern members began to appear in the garden one after the other.

“Really? Is that brother Ruin?”

Whippon, the youngest member of the Hybern family, had a look of astonishment on his face.

Deash, a girl with beautiful blue eyes and a gorgeous gold dress, answered.

“Yes. He’s still unsightly, but you are right. That’s the grand prince, our older brother.”

Even though she said that he was her older brother, she treated him like a stranger who had nothing to do with her.

She had a look in her eyes that was almost contemptuous, as if she had just seen filthy dirt, and turned her head away.

That was understandable, as her brother whom she hadn’t seen for a long time, was so miserable that he couldn’t be called human.

The grand prince had become so weak that he could not even eat alone without the help of his servants.

She felt like she would rather refuse to be of the same blood as him.

Deash was trembling in fear, terrified that she would catch that cursed disease just by looking at it.

“How is he still alive..…?”

Rather than being happy to see his big brother for the first time, Whippon was more curious about how a human could still be alife in a body like that.

“I know. Stop it now… I really think you should cut the subject.”

Whippon furrowed his eyebrows, probably annoyed by Deash strange tone, as if she would rather him to die.

“Still, he’s the grand prince of our family.”

Deash sighed.

“Sigh……That’s the problem. Why would our father imprison our eldest brother?”

“Because he is hurting a lot?”

“Fool. What would happen if the Lencia guys saw our grand prince looking like that?”

“What?”

Hylencia family.³Originally High Lencia.

The name parallel to the Hybern family.

Despite his young age, a strong fighting spirit bloomed in Whippon’s eyes.

“No! That is absolutely not acceptable!”

“Do you understand now?”

“……..”

The moment Ruin’s true miserable appearance was revealed, the impact it would have on the aristocratic society was unimaginable.

A proud member of the Hybern family would never want to face such a terrible thing.

“If it were me…, I would have already preserved the family’s honor.”

Only then did Whippon understand his sister’s hatred towards his eldest brother.

A Hybern who feared death could not be called a knight.

A coward who couldn’t protect his family’s honor.

Before they knew it, Whippon was also staring at Ruin with the same hatred as Deash.

It was so miserable.

The precarious steps of those who failed to protect their family honor.

Nevertheless, Ruin was still moving forward with difficulty, bearing all the shame.

Before he knew it, he had arrived at his destination.

The guard knight, Neharil, raised his sword sternly.

“Glory to the House of Hybern. Greetings to your Highness, the grand prince.”

“I want to meet the matriarch.”

“Sorry.”

Whoosh.

Neharil lowered his long sword diagonally and blocked Ruin’s path.

Although he was the grand prince of the family, he should currently be under confinement, so it was something he could not tolerate as a guard knight representing the dignified family.

Ruin was looking at the sharp tip of his sword indifferently, when..

<Let him in.>

⁴Here, I felt that speaking from his point of view with “I” was right, so I let it be.

The voice of my father, whom I missed so much.

However, the emotions that preceded my joy was sadness and extreme resentment.

The door to the head of the family room, embossed with a roaring lion, slowly opened.

Squeak-

In the distance, I saw him.

Kazen Sahol Mondelia Jean Bern.

As can be seen from his enormous middle name, the achievements he left behind in the kingdom were countless.

He was a giant with a mountain-like body and along with the large seat decorated with lion’s mane, they created the illusion that I was quite small.

He looked at Ruin indifferently with the nib of his pen hanging down, and then opened his mouth in a more bored voice than usual.

“Do you think the family rules are jokes?”

Ruin stood in front of his father, smiling, while struggling to support his body.

He was using his cold face to try to deceive me.

In fact, he loved me with all of his heart.

Childishly.

So stupidly.

Ruin smiled even wider, holding back his bitter sadness.

“I really missed you, father.”

The great lion of the kingdom.

My one and only father in this world.

He was holding on like that, giving everything he had to me.

I wonder if his skills, which were emptied a long time ago, would be revealed?

That foolish father who was stubbornly hiding it with an artifact.

I hated it, as much as it worried me.

“Why did you do that? Father.”

Stab-

Ruin, who called his father as affectionately as before, cut open his left chest with the dagger he had prepared.

“What are you doing!”

You won’t be able to hide it till the end.

“This guy! This guy—!”

My father, who had escaped the influence of the artifact hidden under the his seat, was breathing heavily and had a pale face.

Ruin pulled out all the bloodstream mana stones, that had taken away everything from his foolish father, from his chest.

“Ugh….”

An unfathomable pain came over him, but Ruin could not frown because his father was watching.

Kazen froze like a weathered stone statue. In the face of a reality he had never imagined, a tragedy that suddenly occurred, he was unable to say anything.

Kazen soon came to his senses and quickly tried to push back the mana stone that was trying to escape his son’s chest.

“Don’t do that, Father.”

“Hey, you guy! How on earth did you find out! Let go! Let go of this!”

As long as he lived with that terrible curse of his, Ruin could not live even for a moment without these bloodstream mana stones.

But even then his blood flow was blocked by the mana stones, and his life force was being absorbed and drying up like that.

Now since the medium was cut off, the bloodstream mana stones could no longer affect Ruin’s body.

“There isn’t much left, but let’s have a drink sometime again. That way…”

I couldn’t lose my father again.

That’s the first thing I wanted to do if I succeeded in going back to the past.

“What are you talking about! What about your curse! I ! I ……!”

Sigh.

‘It’s not a curse. Father.’

Rather, it is a legendary monster of the continent that made me a great mage.

“Stop! Stop! Don’t try to talk! Butler! Chamberlain! Is there anyone here!”

My consciousness was fading, and my fussing father gradually became blurred.

‘Stop shaking me, Father. I can’t die anyway.’

 

***

 

TL:

Please do say it if you have any editing suggestions.

So how do you like the starting point of the novel?ಡ⁠ ͜⁠ ⁠ʖ⁠ ⁠ಡ