Side Story 82: The Second Prince's Rebellion (6)

Looking at his reflection in the mirror, Filemas noticed the dark circles clearly standing out beneath his eyes. He traced one lightly with a finger, then shook his head to himself.

The sleepless nights had become more frequent. But it could not be helped. He would bring down the Emperor—his father—and become the new ruler of the country. The pressure of that responsibility was incomparable to that of invading Rudek.

Having thought that far, he gave a wry smile. Originally, he had decided to raise an army to escape the pressure imposed by the Emperor, yet now he had to overcome even greater pressure. The irony was impossible to ignore.

However, he would not stop here. Filemas's resolve had been firmly set for some time.

The repeated failures of his invasions of Rudek. No matter how many times he attacked, he had been unable to claim even a scrap of Rudek's territory, no larger than his little finger.

By contrast, his elder brother Biddedegald had achieved respectable results and had begun turning his attention to Tsanadefol, the Wolf of the North. Conquering Tsanadefol would certainly not be easy, but Biddedegald had displayed more than enough ability on the battlefield.

Biddedegald and Filemas had different mothers. Yet they were only six months apart in age.

If they had been a little farther apart in age, perhaps their outlooks might have been different.

Yet, through some twist of fate, the two consorts had been blessed with children at nearly the same time.

Their father, Drak, was a man who valued ability. He had said that as long as they produced results, he did not care whether the imperial throne went to Biddedegald or Filemas...