A Heirloom Grimoire!

‘Hah! Finally, the opportunity I’ve been waiting for.’ Ryan hid his smile while everyone in the scene gasped, looking at him with shock and pity.

The idea of a prince being removed from his position of power for a mere squabble was unimaginable for them, but Princess Celeste stood firm and only curtly nodded.

“That… that is indeed an acceptable punishment, Your Majesty. The Beleth Empire appreciates it.” Princess Celeste said before she disappeared down the hallway, followed by her retainers.

Once she was out of sight, the people of the palace moved again.

Joan looked ready to reach out to Ryan, but she was beaten to it by someone else.

“Ryan, my child! This is unacceptable!” a beautiful older woman suddenly engulfed the former sixth prince with a hug.

This woman was none other than the second concubine, Anne Luxem Roald.

Ryan’s mother threw a furious look at King Reginald, who only stood still, only replying with an apologetic look on his face.

“Forgive me, my son. Had I not acted as such… it could have potentially ignited a war with the Beleth Empire, something we are ill-equipped to handle,” King Reginald said. “As the royalty of our kingdom, we must do what we can to protect our people.”

“…I understand, father. You did what you deemed best for the safety of the kingdom,” Ryan said, with only a hint of distaste in his voice. “But I do hope that you do not simply abandon me with nothing to my name.”

“But you… you are exiled. By all accounts, you are to not have a single thing with you,” King Reginald said. “And if the Princess were to hear wind of this…”

“Ignore your spineless man of a father,” Anne said sternly, shocking most of the people in the castle as she cupped her beloved son’s cheek. “If he will not give you anything, then I shall be the one to provide you with what you shall need, coming from me and my maiden family. Even the Princess of the Beleth Empire can do nothing to stop me from doing such. It is my responsibility as your mother, and your right as my son.”

“Are you sure, mother? What Father has said does have some wisdom behind it,” Ryan said.

Anne grimaced. She knew what Ryan meant, but she shook her head.

“There is a village by the name of Stonefall, nestled near the borders to the Beastkin territory, my son. Although modest in size, with only a hundred people to its name, it can be bestowed upon you. You will assume the title of Master Ryan of the village and start your new life there.”

“Thank you, Mother. I humbly accept your gift,” Ryan said gratefully.

He didn’t want to start with nothing, so he was going to take advantage of what he could. Even a small village could become powerful under the hands of the right person!

“—and allow me to accompany you, Your Highness!” Joan suddenly said.

Ryan’s brow raised slightly. He expected his mother to help, but not for Joan to offer that she come with him.

“You do not need to come with me, Joan. I may have saved your life from that Princess, but coming with me will not do you any good,” Ryan said with a kind smile.

“But it is my wish to join you, Your Highness.” Joan insisted with a frown. “Please do not stop me.”

“Very well, if you insist.” Ryan nodded then turned to the others in the hallway and offered them a grin. “Do not grieve for me, my family, and people. I will take good care of myself, and I shall return here with a far more elevated position than before!”

Those words sent a shock to every person who heard them.

In their eyes, Prince Ryan Von Roald had always been eccentric, but the way he spoke with confidence brimming in his tone made it seem like there was actually a chance that he could do it.

“Big brother!” Rose ran up to her brother and hugged him tightly in the waist. “Please come back as soon as you can! I… I will visit you with others, too!”

“Yeah, we feel the same way as Rose.” The First Prince nodded as he looked at Ryan. “We will be waiting for your return, Ryan. Shall you not, then we’ll come and visit you ourselves.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll come back here before you could do such a thing,” Ryan said confidently, patting the back of his older brother, and gazed at the rest of their siblings.

Each of them approached Ryan one by one, hugged and exchanged words with him, making promises to visit and giving him encouragement. They all loved him dearly and wanted him to succeed.

“Thank you everyone, I won’t waste any more of your time and start packing. Joan, will you prepare our carriage for our destination?” Ryan asked.

“At once, Your Highness!” Joan said and did as she was asked.

———————

When Ryan returned to his room and started preparing his luggage, he heard footsteps behind him. He glanced up and greeted his mother with a smile.

“Mother, did you need anything else?”

Anne held a book tightly in her chest. It had an ornate design and looked old, but there was something about it that caught Ryan’s eye.

“I wished to give this to you in private. This is something that your grandfather had passed down to me as a gift when I met your father. Perhaps, at the time, he thought to a certain degree that I might be able to change the life of everyone here in the Finis Kingdom. When I had married your father, I tried to give it to him… Similar to what you've always done, I wanted to encourage him to take more steps to make our kingdom more prosperous. Unfortunately, we had the same outcome as it was to no avail. I believe you will be able to make more use of it.” Anne offered him the book.

“Thank you, mother. I will treasure this dearly.” Ryan accepted it with a smile.

“Good. I will harass your father to take more money from the treasury to give you, so you won’t live in squalor.” Anne kissed her son’s cheek and then temporarily bade him goodbye.

Once Anne left the room, Ryan looked down at the book and ran his thumb across the cover. He had a feeling that this book was special.

Indeed, it turned out to be the case.

A voice echoed into his ears.

"Rejoice, for I, the Great Grimoire who had built countless Kingdoms, had awakened to lend you my hand," the Grimoire said in an arrogant manner. "As long as I'm here, nothing will sto-ack!"

The Grimoire wasn't able to finish whatever he was going to say because Ryan subconsciously threw him to the wall out of surprise.

"You bastard! How dare you throw me away?!" the Grimoire shouted in anger as it flew towards Ryan with the intention of slapping his face with the book cover. "I have built countless great Kingdoms before you were even born. Do you know how many people coveted my expertise and knowledge? You mere plebeian! It seems that I need to make you understand who's boss!"

However, before he could come near the teenage boy, Ryan had already regained his composure and grabbed the book with both hands mid-air.

"A talking book..." Ryan muttered. "A real talking book!"