In just a single week, the kingdom of Jinas had to decide its next heir to the throne.
It was clearly an incredibly urgent matter, because the fact that the king of an entire kingdom had to be chosen within just one week of the official announcement of the succession process seemed far too rushed, no matter how one looked at it.
But there was no other choice.
Jinas desperately needed a new king to stabilize the kingdom. If the throne remained vacant for too long, not only would internal unrest and the struggle between factions continue, but ambitious neighboring nations would also seize the opportunity to invade.
If that happened, Jinas itself could very well be destroyed.
Hence, choosing a king as quickly as possible had become an absolute necessity.
As a result, during that single week, every royal succession candidate with a legitimate claim to the throne began making their moves.
In order to gather as many supporters and secure as many votes as possible, each candidate resorted to every method they could think of.
Some threatened nobles who possessed voting rights to force them into lending their support, while others attempted to buy the support of voting nobles with generous rewards.
Others combined both threats and bribery, while some even began holding daily public marches through the streets in an effort to sway public opinion, improve their image among the nobility, and gain the support of the common people.
Under such circumstances, the royal capital became livelier than ever before. Male members of the royal family who had rarely appeared in public in the past now showed themselves without reservation, doing everything they could to present a friendly and approachable image.
Even Riezel was left dumbfounded by the spectacle.
’...Seriously, this isn’t some lawmaker election from my previous life. What the heck are these royal family members even doing?’
Knowing full well that the throne was beyond their reach, they still struggled so desperately that Riezel found himself at a loss for words.
When one got down to it, almost every noble with voting rights now belonged either to the Royal Faction or the Duke Faction.
Under Redson Elieman’s leadership, the Royal Faction was already leaning toward choosing either the crown prince or the seventh prince, so if they really wanted the throne, shouldn’t they have been trying their hardest to convince that Old Sword Saint and make the Royal Faction see them in a new light?
Wasn’t that the move most likely to change their fate?
Unfortunately, not a single member of the royal family seemed capable of seeing something so obvious, which left Riezel speechless while also helping him understand why Yuri had once said that almost none of this generation’s royal family members truly stood out.
Compared to those fools who couldn’t even grasp the current situation, Sergius was vastly superior. It was no wonder the Cordelion family had gained so much support and managed to build the Duke Faction into such a powerful political force.
Of course, among those fools who failed to understand the situation, some chose the most foolish method imaginable to secure the throne, such as sending assassins to eliminate the candidates most likely to win.
For example, Sergius, Reinhard, and Benedict all suffered assassination attempts throughout the week, some more frequently than others, causing the already unstable atmosphere in the royal capital to become even more tense.
However, whether in terms of personal strength or political influence, those three were far beyond the reach of the other succession candidates.
There was no need to mention Sergius, as with the Sword Saint Hardt personally protecting him, ordinary assassins stood no chance whatsoever. Even if Jinas’s most prestigious assassination unit, Shadow, had been deployed, they still would have returned in defeat.
Besides, Shadow had already been nearly wiped out due to Rohm’s death and Sorren’s manipulation. Unless the other candidates somehow managed to dispatch someone at the level of a Sword Saint, there was simply no way they could threaten Sergius.
As the candidates fully supported by the Royal Faction, Reinhard and Benedict were likewise surrounded by powerful guards.
Florent, as the captain-commander of the Royal Knightly Order, naturally took responsibility for their protection. He assigned the Second Knight Division to one prince and the Third Knight Division to the other, ensuring that each prince was accompanied around the clock by several expert Sword Masters. Even if they encountered a Sword Saint, they could at least buy enough time for the princes to escape.
Combined with the security arrangements made by both the Duke Faction and the Royal Faction, the personal safety of the three candidates could truly be described as impregnable. Unless someone like Riezel personally attacked them, there was virtually no possibility of anything happening to them.
As a result, that week became one of unprecedented upheaval.
Candidate after candidate who had dared to dispatch assassins was uncovered by the Royal Faction or the Duke Faction and publicly executed as a warning to others, shocking countless people.
It was the final frenzy before the next heir to the throne would be chosen.
Under those circumstances, Riezel inevitably found himself caught up in trouble as well.
It wasn’t because someone had done something irrational in an attempt to obtain the votes in his possession.
As the one person universally acknowledged throughout Jinas’s noble circles as someone who absolutely could not be offended, even the most foolish candidates understood that they couldn’t resort to such methods against Riezel. Otherwise, even if they eventually became king, he still possessed more than enough influence to make them pay dearly.
Of course, since they couldn’t use force, they naturally turned to softer methods, and thus, the doorstep of the Frenzel residence was once again worn down by an endless stream of visitors.
All those were merely some of the countless promises and benefits they offered after coming to visit him.
Riezel had originally refused to see them, but with only one week remaining before the new king would be chosen, they had clearly become desperate.
One after another, they acted as though they would simply sit outside the gates of the Frenzel residence forever unless Riezel came out to meet them, leaving him utterly exhausted by their persistence.
In the end, even Crown Prince Reinhard and Seventh Prince Benedict came to request an audience with Riezel, each holding one or two private conversations with him.
Reinhard carried himself with remarkable composure. He neither threatened nor attempted to bribe Riezel. He simply explained his thoughts and told Riezel that regardless of who ultimately became king, he hoped Riezel would continue serving as one of Jinas’s pillars so that the kingdom could be spared the suffering brought about by war.
He was clearly a prince with little desire for power, yet he sincerely wished for the kingdom to remain peaceful forever, allowing its people to live stable and prosperous lives.
Of all the candidates Riezel had met so far, Reinhard had left the best impression on him, even making him somewhat inclined to support the crown prince.
At first, Benedict barely spoke at all and looked visibly nervous. Only after some time did he begin to stammer out his true thoughts, finally explaining the reasons behind his desire.
In truth, the seventh prince wasn’t a bad person.
However, his motivation left Riezel with mixed feelings.
After all, the only reason he wanted to become king was to prove himself to others—to show everyone that he wasn’t a coward.
Beyond that, he had nothing.
He possessed no great ambitions, no lofty ideals, and seemed to have no idea what responsibilities awaited him once he ascended the throne or what kind of future he wished to create for the kingdom.
In Riezel’s opinion, someone like that was honestly far less suited to become king than Reinhard.
Riezel didn’t share Hendrick’s way of thinking, nor did he believe Benedict’s cowardice was some unforgivable flaw. Even so, Benedict’s outlook was undeniably naive, leaving nowhere near the same impression on him as Reinhard’s.
If things continued like this, Riezel felt that he would most likely cast his vote for Reinhard.
Even though he personally didn’t care who became king of this kingdom, he was still living in Jinas, and Yuri was also one of the kingdom’s nobles. If possible, he naturally preferred someone he found agreeable to ascend the throne.
At the very least, he hoped the next king wouldn’t be someone like Hendrick, who constantly created unnecessary trouble for him and the Frenzel family.
Originally, that was what Riezel believed until the day Sergius officially came to visit.
===
It was two days before the final royal succession vote.
Four days had already passed since the banquet hosted by the Letryss family, and today, Riezel and Yuri had finally seen off the last envoy sent by the Royal Faction.
On that very day, Sergius suddenly arrived without any prior notice.
"I should have come to visit you much sooner, Sir Brynhart."
Inside the reception room of the Frenzel residence, Sergius sat opposite Riezel and Yuri, dressed in magnificent formal attire, as he spoke those words to Riezel.
Standing silently behind him was Hardt, perfectly straight like a loyal bodyguard.
On Riezel’s side, aside from Marilyn preparing tea nearby, Lizbeth and the others were nowhere to be seen.
It couldn’t be helped.
Riezel had become utterly exhausted from dealing with the endless stream of visitors over the past few days, and he no longer wanted Lizbeth and the others accompanying him every time he met someone insignificant.
As a result, midway through the week, he had told them to stop attending those meetings.
Lilith strongly objected to the decision, while Lizbeth timidly insisted that she was Riezel’s attendant and therefore should remain by his side to protect him.
Nevertheless, Riezel still felt it was completely unnecessary to bring them along every time he met people who didn’t really matter.
He couldn’t even remember the names of most of those royal family members, yet every meeting involved him appearing alongside three Sword Saint-level combatants.
As a result, the overwhelming display intimidated his visitors so badly that many of them could barely get a word out.
Needless to say, that alone demonstrated just how intimidating a Sword Saint was to the lower-ranking members of the royal family, let alone several Sword Saints appearing side by side.
Only after Riezel said that did Lizbeth and the others reluctantly accept his reasoning.
Lilith, however, still refused to let the matter go and firmly insisted that she didn’t need to appear openly. Instead, she could remain hidden beside Riezel using invisibility magic while secretly protecting him.
Unable to win against her overwhelming loyalty, Riezel could only accept her proposal and allow the demon lady to conceal herself nearby with invisibility magic, standing guard over him at all times.
Riezel had to admit that Lilith’s mastery of invisibility magic was exceptional without question, as to this day, no one had ever discovered her presence.
Even now, she was actually quietly standing nearby.
Unfortunately, Sergius remained completely unaware of it.
Right after speaking to Riezel, the eldest son of the Cordelion family looked directly at him before suddenly lowering his head.
"Ever since the chaos caused by the third prince, I’ve wanted to find an opportunity to thank you in person. I’m sorry it took me this long. Please forgive me."
"And Marquis Frenzel, thank you as well for looking after everything during that incident."
"Allow me to express my gratitude once more. Thank you both for saving my family and me."
Sergius lowered himself with genuine humility, yet without appearing servile. He gave the unmistakable impression that he truly felt apologetic and was sincerely offering both his gratitude and his apology.
Riezel and Yuri immediately exchanged glances.
"Please raise your head," Yuri said first, her voice calm yet firm. "No matter what, the third prince committed an unforgivable crime. Under those circumstances, anyone truly loyal to the kingdom would have done everything in their power to stop him. You have no reason to blame yourself for that."
"But the two of you did lend me your assistance—that much is beyond dispute." Sergius slowly raised his head and smiled, his expression carrying both sincerity and gratitude. "I’ll consider this a favor that I, Sergius Cordelion, owe to both of you. No matter what happens in the future, I’ll find an opportunity to repay it. Please don’t refuse."
"Very well..." Yuri could only nod in acknowledgment. "You came here today because of the royal succession, correct?"
"Yes... and no." Sergius smiled faintly before continuing. "Actually, the main reason was finally having the opportunity to visit both of you—that was my true purpose in coming here today. As for the succession..."
He paused for a brief moment, his expression remaining unchanged, before he spoke words that left even Yuri stunned.
"If nothing unexpected happens, I’ll win—with or without your support."
Sergius spoke those words with neither arrogance nor excessive confidence. Instead, they came so naturally that Yuri almost failed to process them.
"Y-You said... you’ll win?"
Yuri stared at Sergius in astonishment, unable to hide the surprise in her eyes.
"Yes..."
Sergius nodded with a faint, composed smile, his expression filled with quiet confidence.
"Because I’ve already secured enough support."
"Captain-Commander Florent has agreed to support my claim on behalf of the Borley family."
"Count Patrasch has also agreed to support me, and Marquis Muraguet has already been persuaded as well."
"Director Feras, Grandmaster Nibald, Marquis Mavros, and several others will all publicly declare their support for me."
"Combined with the nobles of the Duke Faction led by my family, along with a portion of the Royal Faction nobles whom I’ve secretly convinced to change sides, if my calculations are correct, I’ll still become king even if I lose the combined twenty votes held by the two of you."
"So... I have already won, and the next King of Jinas... will be me, Sergius Jinas."