This Bastard is Too Competent

Chapter 66: The Competition Starts

As everyone was busy enjoying the meal. 

A man approached Ian. 

“Congratulations, Your Highness. With this, you are now the full-fledged owner of Crystal Palace.” 

“Thank you, Duke Garcia.” 

It was his archenemy.  

The Duke opened his mouth with a cold smile as usual. 

“Who would have imagined this kind of appearance of yours, Your Highness? Now that you have proven yourself, you can prepare for the competition in earnest.”

As Duke Garcia said. 

Now that he was the owner of the Crystal Palace, he was in the same position as the other successors, or a little bit ahead. 

Now there was no need to hide in the Garcia duchy as he did in his previous life.

But on the contrary, it was dangerous. 

“What would you do? What about getting my help now?”

“Help?” 

“Yes. You can no longer compete on your own anymore.”

What he said was not wrong. 

Unlike the Battle of Ranking in which successors to the throne simply competed by force, the competition was the main stage for verifying various fields as successors to the throne. 

From small local skirmishes to large battles with other countries. 

‘If I complete the king’s mission, I can ascend the throne with great rewards.’ 

At the same time, Ian could have everything he got from the competition. 

If it was a competition with the theme of <Land>, the successor could occupy the land upon completion. 

But the competition was never easy. 

‘Most of the competition has to be done on our own without royal support.’ 

Therefore, there was a vast difference between having and not having someone supporting a successor. 

And taking advantage of the nobility would allow one to gain the upper hand. In a way, it was also a part of seeing the qualities of a king.

That was what Duke Garcia was saying. 

“No matter how strong Lavaltor is, his body is bound to the north. But we, Garcia, are different.” 

Lavaltor was the front line facing the barbarians of the north and several hostile countries. He couldn’t always focus on central politics.

However, Garcia, whose commercial route was open without enemies, could mobilize his troops at any time. That was why he asked Ian to take his hand. 

But Ian narrowed his brows. 

He immediately noticed that Garcia didn’t bring the carrot-and-stick approach forward. 

Sure enough. 

“I know you plan to carry Garcia on your back and have more cards on hand, but Your Highness.”

Duke Garcia curled up his lips with his signature icy eyes.  

“Did it ever cross your mind that we could support another successor?” 

“…!” 

Ian looked at the Duke with a slight frown. 

This was an ultimatum. 

Ian didn’t take the Garcia family’s card. 

Until now, he had been secretly hostile to the Garcia family because he recalled the memories of his previous life. Of course, he was making really good use of them.  

It was clear that Duke Garcia was no longer willing to tolerate this. 

‘Is he going to join hands with the other brothers?’ 

The other brothers already had their own guardians. 

But no one would reject Garcia, the second duke of the kingdom. No, with the exception of Lavaltor, everyone would rather welcome him with open arms.

In other words, Duke Garcia, who was hiding his cruelty beneath his calm countenance, was saying this:

Will you be my enemy? Or will you be on my side? 

He meant to say that he would become the guardian of another royal family, even if it cost him a great deal of damage.

So far, the Duke had been watching Ian patiently, but he faced a problem.

“Countess Reese Aria. She is a woman with a lot of veiled things.” 

It was obvious that he had also investigated the Aria family, the last survivor of the Adria family. There would have been no problem as it was a family prepared by Adria of Intellect. 

No, that was why Ian got on the Duke’s nerves in the first place.

‘I’m sure it’s the same for me. Because such wealth came out of an ordinary family with nothing.’ 

Until now, nothing would have been impossible for Duke Garcia if he had made up his mind.

But when it came to Ian, he kept failing. It wasn’t strange if he got angry. 

Ian, however, kept his guard up against Duke Garcia. 

‘If he finds out who Aria is, Duke Garcia will never let her go.’ 

He was the one who destroyed the Adria family. Garcia, in particular, did not hesitate to do dirty work. 

And although Ian might be on the throne, it was impossible to absolve Adria for now. 

Now that Ian was with her, he had to protect her. 

‘The first thing I will do when I ascend the throne is to restore the Adria family. I can’t let him interfere with that.’

Adria was worth it. 

So Ian smiled softly. 

“Garcia has been very helpful thus far.”

“Then…” 

“I will convey my thoughts through Third Young Master Karan soon.” 

Duke Garcia smiled meaningfully at his reply. 

“You’d better make up your mind quickly. If you don’t have my help, you might get married off to the empire.” 

“What?” 

Ian never knew Duke Garcia could even crack a joke.

That was the moment he thought so.

“Here you are, Your Highness the Seventh Prince.”

“!!” 

Someone called Ian from behind.  

He was none other than Count Marty, the envoy of the Cantum Empire. 

Ian greeted Count Marty with a smile. 

He was not of the direct line of the Cantum royal family, but he was a relative of the imperial family.  

“Did you enjoy the meal? Would you like some more?” 

“Hahaha. That’s enough. If I eat more, I can’t go back to my home country.” 

But then Count Marty whispered in secret. 

“Have you thought about our youngest princess?” 

“Pardon?” 

“I mean the engagement. I wasn’t kidding…” 

The eyes of Duke Lavaltor, who was far away, became sharp at the envoy’s words. 

No, not only him, but the nobles around him were as surprised. 

How could they not? 

‘It wasn’t a joke?’

‘He is serious about bringing the Seventh Prince and the Imperial Princess together in marriage?’

“Wasn’t the youngest princess the emperor cherished the most…? Did I get it wrong?” 

Even Ian was briefly taken aback by the envoy’s words. 

But Count Marty was confident. 

Because he had a secret mission from the emperor to begin with. 

‘The emperor ordered me to find a suitable match for the princess.’ 

In fact, the original target was the Third Prince. 

Although he hid his fangs well without revealing them, he was one of the candidates selected by the emperor. Originally, he was going to secretly contact the Third Prince and ask about his willingness.

‘If it is the Seventh Prince, he is definitely worthy of it.’

His thoughts were understandable. 

It was because of the characteristics of the Cantum Empire, which considered themselves descendants of dragons. 

That place believed those who drank dragon blood and ate their flesh deserved to be called warriors. Yet Ian went beyond that and even made a pledge with a dragon. 

‘The Seventh Prince is undoubtedly a warrior from the stories passed down for generations. Therefore, I must make him the husband of the princess.’

The Seventh Prince, who mounted the dragon himself, felt different from the beginning.

He was even comparable to their crown prince. 

On top of that, the prince served him a dragon dish. 

It felt like his body was brimming with energy. 

He wanted to taste it again. 

‘If it’s not possible, I have to tell the Crown Prince to kidnap the Seventh Prince. He will certainly become a significant figure in the Cantum Empire.’ 

Still, the emperor had even instructed him to have a talk with Kaistein’s royal family about the marriage. And although normally a mere count was said to have no such authority, the envoy was the youngest princess’s uncle and the empress’s brother.

He was qualified to choose the bridegroom of the princess.

And as surprised as the nobles were, Ian couldn’t contain his disconcertment. It was because he finally understood the Duke’s words. 

‘The youngest princess of the empire. Isn’t she the emperor’s favorite princess?’ 

It never happened in his previous life. He remembered that there was not a single offer for any royal family, including Ian.

That was why even Ian took it as a joke. 

But even if a marriage was feasible, it would never happen. 

‘The Cantum Empire is no pushover.’ 

Of course, unlike Kaistein, which had been an empire for a long time, Cantum had been revived by absorbing the surrounding areas within 100 years. Whatever their intentions were, if he entered into an engagement with the empire in the first place, he would automatically be stripped from the heir to the throne.

The issue of cooperation between countries did not matter, but from the moment a successor joined hands with a foreign country, they would be heavily restrained by the king.

That was the reason why the Fifth and Sixth Princes were not present in the kingdom.

So Ian glanced at Duke Garcia. 

‘That’s what you meant, Duke.’ 

If the Duke couldn’t have him, he would send him to the empire.

Ian had seen it in Duke Garcia’s eyes.

In fact, it was not bad for the Kaistein Kingdom to have a blood relationship with the Cantum Empire. If Ian went in as son-in-law, a lot of tribute would likely pour in. Furthermore, it’s even better if it’s with the youngest princess.

But for Ian, it was absolutely the opposite. 

‘Does he think I’ll give up on the throne?’ 

Thus, Ian smiled furtively. 

“I’m sorry, but it’s beyond my authority. I’m going to follow the will of my father.” 

At the same time, Ian glanced at Duke Garcia with the corners of his mouth raised.

If he acted this way, the Duke would not stand still.

Ian’s eyes gleamed. 

*** 

Once the reception was over, the king summoned everyone.

“With this, it goes without saying that the Seventh Prince Ian is qualified to be the owner of the Crystal Palace.”

All of the successors bowing before the king were nervous.  

There was no way they didn’t know what would come next. 

Sure enough. 

“Since all successors have chosen their own palaces, we shall begin the competition. And I will give special rewards to the one who has Crystal Palace as promised.” 

“…!” 

The successors gritted their teeth. 

‘The youngest is also included after all.’

They tried to rule him out, but it all failed.  

The king continued. 

“The competition must meet two main objectives. One is the competition theme, and the other is the mission given to each.” 

In a word, it was a task to solve the main or individual mission.  

And even if one successfully completed the main theme, it would be unheard of to fail to solve the individual mission.

In other words, they should think about the main theme and not miss out on other fundamental things.

“The first competition mission is this.”

The successors unfolded the edict brought by the chamberlain. 

The same was true for Ian. 

———————- 

The first competition mission <Land>.  

[The Seventh Prince Ian Kaistein is to investigate the border with Cantum and solve the problem in the village.] 

———————– 

The theme was “Land.” This must have been referring to the events of Bahara.

And the mission Ian had to solve was none other than the investigation team mission he had promised to take charge of.  

It was a pretty lucrative mission for Ian. 

That was why Ian looked at the king in surprise. 

“The competition will start in three days. I hope each of you will bring excellent results with a good interpretation.” 

After saying those words, the king left his seat. 

And the successors looked at each other’s edict as if probing what each other’s missions were. The ‘Land’ theme was obvious, and it would be solved quickly. 

“Youngest, what mission did you get to solve?” 

Everyone looked at Ian with fierce eyes, led by the Second Princess.  

And as he could see her intentions clearly, Ian immediately folded the edict and turned around. 

“Ha. I guess we adults can’t do our mission without cheating.” 

“What?” 

Ian walked out with a smile.  

Ian knew about the mission they would have received anyway.  

Therefore, Ian moved as soon as he came out of the palace.   

“Ah, Young Master Karan. You’re just in time.” 

Ian ordered Karan, who came to pick him up. 

“Young Master Karan, the dragon’s claws and teeth are left in the Crystal Palace, right? Did you take care of it?” 

“Of course, I did. The dragon is no longer here.” 

As soon as Rio Banzaim kept his promise, he immediately left.  

Of course, he didn’t forget to leave a word. 

“I had a good time after a long time. If anything like this happens again, you can call me. I’ll come specially for you.”

It was clear that the shower he had for the first time in a hundred years felt good.

Right, it was a massage from royal servants and chefs. The dragon truly felt like he just received all the blessings in the world.

It wasn’t that Ian didn’t understand the feeling. 

Other than that, there was something else. 

It was the things that Rio Banzaim left behind. 

“Tell them to make weapons and armor from dragon teeth and claws. Oh, give Sir Walter enough pay and budget for the past work.”

The scholars sent by the grand scholar were waiting at the Crystal Palace. 

They would surely be able to make the necessary weapons with this. 

“Then what about the dragon dishes? Should I throw it away?” 

“No? I think it is working. I’m going to feed them to the knights and soldiers.” 

The three knights froze at the words that sounded like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky. And Fiosen, who hated it, probed carefully as if he was going to change the subject. 

“Your Highness, are you really fine with this? If you do the investigation team mission, you might be away from the main mission, the Northern Expedition.”

“No, that part doesn’t matter.” 

Ian smirked. 

In the first place, the commander of the Northern Expedition would be changed due to the matters with the investigation team. 

But Ian kept mum about it. 

“I don’t know if the Battle of Ranking will come first.” 

“What?” 

“I’m sure my brothers and sisters would do that.” 

“!” 

It was clear that some of them would ask for the Battle of Ranking before taking on the mission. He would have done that himself as well. If there was something wrong with the body, the successor would fail the competition. Thus, they would try to get him out of the nomination before he even started the competition.

“Will they really go that far? But still…” 

“No. Even so, the probability remains. I could be involved in the Northern Expedition.” 

Therefore, the best thing to do was to build up his own power, but it took time. 

He needed something else to increase his power in a short time. 

“I’m going to see His Majesty, so bring them along.”

Ian decided to use the wizards brought from Helgaia for his purposes.

‘There must be something useful in the royal warehouse.’

Ian was going to hand the wizards to the king and get what he needed. Since they were spies of the Kingdom of Magicians, the king would most likely open up the treasury.

And so, as Ian was about to head to the main palace.

“Youngest, let’s talk for a minute.” 

Someone talked to him. 

It was a handsome boy with glasses and a scholarly mien.

“Why don’t you join hands with me?” 

It was the Fourth Prince.