The Fourth Prince’s Secret Strategy for Survival

“I wondered if seeing a sibling with such a large age gap made one that affectionate. Thanks to that, I took his words with a grain of salt—but it seems he wasn’t wrong.” “…Pardon?” “If I had a younger brother like you, I think I would have considered him cute, lovely, and pretty as well.”

Correction. Dammit, I stand corrected. This guy is a total trash pedo who harbors dark intentions even toward a ten-year-old kid. I should have quit being a playmate and never even glanced at the palace. I shuddered at my own complacency once again.

To manage my expression, which kept trying to crumple into a scowl, I had to think happy thoughts. I couldn’t look like I wanted to vomit here. For the sake of mind control, I squeezed out happy memories: the moment I saw the magic my third brother showed me; the chocolate layer cake the castle chef made with all his skill for my ninth birthday; the locket necklace my eldest brother gave me.

As I finally regained my calm, the Crown Prince smiled at me. The moment his deep red lips and eyes even redder than them curved was captured in slow motion, like a clip from a masterpiece movie. The original Llewellyn Edwill must have chosen the Crown Prince solely for his face.

“I’m joking. I already have many lovely younger siblings.” I think you mispronounced ‘siblings I want to kill.’

I realized anew that he was a man currently in a power struggle not only with his younger siblings but also with the adult Empress and Lady Annette. There was no way Annette, who often picked fights even with the easy-going Erkel, would have left the Crown Prince alone.

I didn’t know the intricate details of the Imperial family, but Earth’s history alone was full of instances where brothers killed or exiled each other to become Emperor. To them, siblings weren’t blood relations; they were political rivals lusting after their power.

Fortunately, the Crown Prince didn’t stay long and left. His brief appearance left a massive aftermath. Whether princes or nobles, everyone let out a sigh of relief as the tension broke. Even the maids, who had been standing stiffly in their shoes, let their postures collapse. Among those clutching their chests and calling upon the gods, the only one standing her ground was the Head Maid, Adeloa. Impressive. I was purely struck with admiration.

Chloe, who had been frozen without saying a word, and Rooster, who had been trembling, leaned on each other. “I… I heard there’s a medicine that calms you down in emergencies. I should start carrying it.”

The Prince, who should have pointed out their rudeness, was actually more out of it and sprawled on the sofa. Since the only sane one left was the Head Maid, who was of lower status than them, the room was filled only with sounds of agreement. “Indeed.”

I could only respect the nerves of my second brother, who chatted away about his sibling to a Crown Prince who lacked any trace of human warmth. If someone accused Leopold Edwill of wearing a 5cm-thick mask on his face, I wouldn’t be surprised; I’d just say, “I knew it!”

“I’m tired today…” At Erkel’s dismissal, the whining group got up. “I need to recharge some sugar on the way back.” I, too, exhausted in mind and body, tried to get up, but a weak voice caught me. “Llewellyn… wait a moment.” I checked the reactions of the three leaving. Fortunately, they were too distracted to care about me meeting Erkel alone.

Once all the maids were dismissed, Erkel lay down on the spot as soon as the sound of footsteps faded. “Ha… f*ck. That kid could kill someone with his eyes.” “You’re the one who created him, how can you complain?” “I like watching him. I just don’t want to be involved with him.”

I sat opposite the whining boy and unfastened the top button of my collar. The shirt, which I had never thought was tight, felt stifling today. “That bastard. You said the first meeting was at age twelve. So why did he suddenly show up? And you call that first love? Is that what he calls flirting?” “I know, right.”

It was strange. Erkel sat up, his eyes shining sharply like a detective. He must have been a fan of that manga about the high school detective turned into an elementary student.

“Perion’s attribute is ‘The Cold City Man of the Empire.’ His motto is being cold to everyone but warm to ‘his man,’ but that was way too threatening for flirting.” “Maybe it’s because he’s still young.” “No, no. Look at what he does. Perion was destined to be Emperor from the moment he was born. Age isn’t the point. He’s skilled at emotional control and a natural at handling people. As soon as he realizes he’s fallen for Llewellyn at first sight, he’s supposed to hide his true nature and be kind to him.”

True. Even now, he didn’t have the aura of a typical fourteen-year-old. The Crown Prince, who looked “complete” despite his young age, seemed perfectly capable of doing now what he was supposed to do at sixteen. Erkel rested his chin on his hand and continued.

“Coming here today and talking about Leo is strange too.” “My brother?” “Yeah. There is a setting where the family adores Llewellyn, but from what I heard today, it’s not just that. It’s more extreme than I thought.”

Wait, my second brother wasn’t originally that much of a nutjob?

After hearing my stories about the overprotectiveness of the Edwill men, Erkel nodded. “Mhm, I knew it!” He didn’t even seem surprised when I told him my brother carries me around the house; it was almost disappointing.

“My theory is this: I did set Llewellyn as the 4th Prince’s playmate. But the age or method of entering the palace wasn’t in the original work. I figured he’d enter at a reasonable age in a reasonable way. But because you were loved more by your family than in the original, Annette called you to the palace faster.” “So the first meeting changed?” “Exactly. And that means…”

I met Erkel’s eyes. A confident smile spread across his gentle face. It was the smile of the author, Kim Min-ji. Lowering his voice, he whispered as if telling a secret. “It means there is a possibility that the original plot can be twisted.”

I was completely drained. Erkel was excited, saying that if we could twist the plot, we could twist the genre too, but both he and I knew how hard that would be.

Erkel hadn’t just been playing around for the past few weeks; he pulled a piece of paper from a gap under his drawer. It was the story of By Your Side, written in Korean just in case someone found it. Adding that he wrote it half-insane during his exam years seven years ago—so names and minor events might differ—Erkel spoke with a seriousness I hadn’t seen before.

“Actually, if it weren’t for today, I was planning to go to the seminary as soon as I turned eleven.” “What?” Where are you going, leaving me behind? As I gaped in shock, he shrugged. “In the original, Erkel Akareon doesn’t appear much. His name only pops up occasionally in the very beginning or in flashback scenes.”

I thought that made sense for an extra, but that wasn’t what he was getting at. “Originally, Erkel dies at seventeen.” “What?”

It felt like ‘What?’ was the only word I had said all day. But there was nothing else to say. Erkel flipped through the paper and held up a page. “In the original, he gets caught attempting to assassinate the Crown Prince and is executed. As Perion turns twenty-one and grows his power, the Emperor grows old and weak, so Annette gets desperate and convinces Rowena. She judged it the right time to move since her own son, Lucas, turned fourteen.”

“Holy… why are you telling me this now?” “Because if there was no chance of twisting the original, changing things wouldn’t have mattered anyway.”

Despite saying he might die, Erkel was calm. He simply explained that becoming a priest meant abandoning his royal name, so no matter how much Annette pressured Rowena, she wouldn’t be able to move Erkel.

“And through that, the conflict of the main couple grows.” “Because the Edwills and Annette are close.” “Yeah. The Count is a capable, long-trusted vassal, but he’s soft on his own people. Even if he knows Annette’s true nature, it’s hard for him to turn her away when she appeals to him in tears like a younger sister.” “This is insane. So how does the Crown Prince even become the Main Lead?”

A Crown Prince who loves Llewellyn despite Llewellyn being on the side of the guy who tried to kill him, and a Llewellyn who chooses the Crown Prince despite him being his father’s enemy. Neither of them sounded sane. Love doesn’t put food on the table, nor does it solve problems.

Seeing my look of absurdity, Erkel laughed. “You don’t get it. The ones with such massive conflict structures are the ones who become the Main Couple.” “God dammit…”

What did I care about the rules of this genre? Sure, I get it—it’s a novel, so it’s fun to watch them grow their love through conflict and suffering. If Romeo and Juliet were born into friendly families, got engaged smoothly, and married with blessings, their story wouldn’t have been popular.

“As the conflict escalates, Perion stands at a crossroads. Will it be the power he never doubted was his since birth, or the love he’ll never find again in his life?”

I recalled the Crown Prince’s red eyes. Eyes so beautiful and cold they seemed inhuman, like jewels. It was hard to imagine a guy like that head-over-heels in love.

“I think he’d choose the throne.” “Wow… you’ve figured it out already? Is this the power of the Main Couple? Ack! F*ck! I’m sorry!”

I crumpled the paper and swung it at him, telling him to stop talking nonsense, causing Erkel to wail. Even though it couldn’t have hurt, his acting was even more annoying.