Kingdom Era

"Did I reincarnate and become a prince?"   Alan looked into the bronze mirror in his hand. With curly blond hair, a slightly pale face, deep blue eyes, and a straight nose, he looked like a handsome young man.   Alan Roman!   That was his name, or to be more specific, the name of the original owner of this body. His own name was Alan Stone, who was killed by a speeding lorry and then reincarnated into this strange world.   Alan tried to process the overwhelming information in his head. The owner of this body was the third son of the emperor of the Athenian Empire, Roman III, and his concubine Kiana.   Perhaps because Alan's mother was not from a prominent family and only became the emperor's concubine after she met Roman III at a ball and became pregnant with his child, or perhaps because Roman III regarded Alan's birth as bad luck since his mother died in childbirth, or perhaps because of some other reason, Roman III never liked his third son.   Alan, who lost his mother since childhood and was ignored by his father, naturally became an alcoholic loafer. Fighting, gambling, and causing trouble were daily affairs for him.   People around him seemed to just let him be. Even Roman III seemed to acquiesce in whatever he did. His two elder brothers were extremely tolerant of him as well - Not only did they not stop him from doing these absurd things, but they even helped him clear up his mess afterwards.   After all, a useless prince posed no threat to them.   As such, Alan’s coming-of-age ceremony was a quiet affair. There was no grand ceremony like those of his brothers, and his father did not even show up, as if he had clean forgotten that Alan was his son.   But a few days ago, Alan, who had been largely ignored by most, was brought back to the center of attention once again.   It all started from a decision that Roman III had made—to assess his sons' ruling ability!   That’s right, he wanted to assess how well they could rule.   Perhaps because Roman III felt that his time was running out, given his poor physical condition, he finally made up his mind to designate a crown price, the next emperor after his death, under the influence of many nobles and the undercurrents of a power struggle in court.   Usually, according to the rules of the royal family, the oldest son of the emperor, whose mother was also the empress, would be the first in line to inherit the throne.   But to everyone's surprise, the sick emperor suddenly announced that he would pass the throne to his second son.   It was known throughout the noble class of the empire that Roman III liked his second son the most. But they had never expected that he would go to the extent of breaking the centuries-old tradition of having the oldest, legitimate son inherit the throne. As a result, the empress and some nobles objected to this decision right away.   Roman had no choice but to decide on an arrangement that no one could refute. He decided to send his three sons to govern three different cities for five years. The one who ruled the city best shall inherit the throne.   "Only the best ruler will be qualified to rule the empire!"   That was what Roman III declared.   Without a doubt, the key candidates were the eldest prince whose mother was the empress and had the support of many old nobles, as well as the second prince who was Roman III's favorite son. As for Alan, he was simply making up the numbers; that was all!   If it weren't for the blood of the Roman family in his veins, he would have been forgotten completely!   Bastard!   Illegitimate son!   Those were what people called him whenever they talked about the third prince.   Sure enough, one of his two dear brothers was sent to Golden City, the most prosperous city in the south, and the other to Greenery City, the richest city in the east.   As for Alan, he was sent to Blackstone City, an insignificant city in Notredam Province in the north near the borders.   "Your Highness, it's time for your afternoon tea!" A voice interrupted Alan’s thoughts.   He was in a large and luxurious carriage, spacious enough to accommodate eight persons. Apart from Alan, there were two other people in the carriage - A thin, middle-aged man and a young girl who looked like a maid.   The middle-aged man had shifty eyes, with a thin mustache slightly upturned at both ends that made him look slightly sleazy and cunning.   This man who looked wicked and sly was Derya, Alan's personal butler for the next five years.   Before each prince set off, they were equipped with 50 royal guards, a butler, two maids, and 10,000 gold coins.   It was said that Derya originally worked as an ordinary steward in charge of food procurement in the palace. Although he was not of a high position, he was found to have embezzled nearly 10,000 gold coins during his two years of working as a steward!   Only God knows why this man, who was supposed to be hanged, ended up being appointed as Alan's personal butler...   "The Blackstone City?" Alan put down the mirror in his hand and took the milk tea that the maid carefully offered him. The tea had a beautiful color to it and tasted creamy. Although he was not favored by his father, it had no impact on the privileges that he enjoyed as a top aristocrat in the empire.   He lifted the windows of the carriage and saw a vast and desolate wasteland covered by tall, wild grass outside. If one looked at them from afar, they would look just like a group of ants slowly crossing a cyan sea.   There weren't many people in their group. They had four carriages - One for Alan, two for his luggage and their food, and the last one for wine...   The 50 knights were wearing silver armor, and the insignia bearing the logo of the golden castle on their chests reflected their noble status as the royal guards.   However, at that moment, a mixture of exhaustion, anxiety, and uncertainty over their fates filled their eyes.   Clearly, escorting the third prince to Blackstone City wasn't a glorious job. Most of the guards who were chosen either did not have lofty family backgrounds, or had offended their supervisors and were therefore ostracized.   Their fates had been determined when they were appointed to be the third prince's guards. Perhaps they might never be able to return to the imperial capital in their entire lives, back to the golden castle that countless people yearned for.   The team moved forward unhurriedly. No one made a sound, and the atmosphere was rather gloomy and sullen.   There was also a middle-aged man in smart black uniform marching beside the carriage.  He carried a huge, broad sword on his back, but his relaxed and casual countenance made people suspect that the sword was a fake one.   Seeing Alan lift up the window and look toward the troop, the middle-aged man pulled gently on the reins and approached the carriage.    He asked with a frown, "Your Highness, how may I help you?"   To be honest, Gossen didn't have a good impression of Alan. What he did along the journey simply made Gossen dislike him even more. For example, when they set off, Alan brought along two prostitutes from the Warm House with him. Even before they left the city, the two women wheedled hundreds of gold coins out of him before fleeing in secret.   At another time, he tried to buy all the wines in the winery. Fortunately, he failed because he only had enough money to buy a carriageful of wine, which he eventually did.   There were more. He provoked a troop of mercenaries halfway through the journey and even pretended to be a robber and robbed a small caravan. He even tried to escape because he regretted going to Blackstone City. All his deeds only served to anger everyone so much that they wished they could beat him to a pulp.