How the Sidekick Prince Lives Again - Chapter 60

Gulp.

Arche gulped when Renato forced her to make a choice. When she realized Renato’s true purpose, cold sweats ran down the back of her neck. She rolled her eyes and looked at her twin who had collapsed on the floor.

After confirming that Iris was completely unconscious, Arche lightly groaned. It was the first time she had seen her twin sister faint like that. Her terrified eyes turned to the man with the sword pointed at Iris’ neck.

She could feel an unusual aura from the man who was still covering his face, unlike Renato. Perhaps having noticed Arche’s gaze, the man pointed the tip of the blade toward Iris as if telling her to concentrate on the conversation with Renato.

Arke felt dizzy for a moment and tightly closed her eyes. She thought that if she refused now, she might really die. Having made a quick decision, she cautiously began to talk.

“……There are a few things I want to ask before making a choice.”

“Feel free to ask.”

“What do you plan to use us for, Your Imperial Highness?”

“What else would I want from an information guild? I’m thinking of getting high-quality information that can’t be obtained anywhere else, and creating and spreading false information to confuse the enemy.”

Renato answered with a tone saying she was asking something obvious. Does he not know our secret? Arche had a little hope when hearing his answer.

If Renato only thought of their organization as an ordinary information guild, there was still a way out. However, her expectations were shattered because of Renato’s following words.

“Ah, you’d better not think about anything useless. Because I know that the guild you run is actually a secret society that aims to increase Betas’ rights.”

Startled by Renato’s warning, Arche gasped. Her vision became blurry.

“Also, I roughly know about your circumstances. You lost your household to your Alpha cousin and got kicked out, right? After that, you two entered the underworld and became information dealers.”

Renato calmly talked about Arche and Iris’ backgrounds he knew. Count Luminus’ household was a prestigious family who had served in the Intelligence Agency, one of the key posts in the military, from generation to generation. Because of that, the two of them, who were direct descendants of the family, had a dream to enter the Imperial Military Academy and continue their family business. However, the twin sisters’ hopes for the future did not come true.

‘It’s better for an Alpha to be the head of the family than a Beta!’

When their father, Count Luminus, passed away during an intelligence operation, the elders of the family elected their cousin to replace Iris and Arche. It was because the two of them were Betas.

There was no provision in the Empire’s law stating that a Beta could not become the head of the family. However, conservative noble families prevented Betas from becoming family heads by expanding the provision saying that Beta imperial family members had no rights to the throne.

For that reason, sometimes there were cases of adopting collateral Alpha or Omega members to succeed the family even if they had Beta children. It was a consequence caused by the unjust law.

The two’s cousin, who had the family elders’ support, took control of the Count’s household. And when Arche and Iris protested against the successor selection, they were kicked out with nothing in hand. The two then used pseudonyms and their abilities to survive as information dealers. And by expanding their influence, they created a guild with a special purpose.

Shadow of the Night.

The organization secretly created by Iris and Arche took the form of an information guild, but in reality, it was a secret society for Betas who were discriminated against compared to Alphas and Omegas.

Similar to Arche and Iris, there were a lot of people who could not become family heads or were pushed out during the fight for succession because they were Betas in the Empire.

The two had been working to improve Betas’ rights throughout the Empire and supporting the Betas who were victims of Alphas and Omegas by accepting them as guild members.

“H, how.”

Arche, visibly bewildered, stammered. Cold sweats trickled down her back. What they had been doing was by no means illegal. But in the powerful Alpha and Omega nobles’ eyes, it was irritating enough.

What if Renato decided to harm her and Iris by telling the truth to the nobles? The mere thought of it was terrifying. No, they might die because of Renato before that could happen.

Arche glanced at the man who was still pointing his sword at Iris’ neck with anxious eyes.

“You keep asking useless questions. It doesn’t matter how I know about you. What you can give me is more important.”

Renato frowned one eye, displeased with the conversation that was not making progress. The reason he knew about Iris and Arche sisters was because of what happened in his previous life.

In the past, the two approached Renato, who was imprisoned in the Prince’s Palace, and announced the existence of a secret society for Betas, hoping that he would become a pivotal figure to drive out Maximo.

At that time, Renato did not accept Arche and Iris’ offer. He couldn’t even have the mind to do so, because Maximo moved first before the two of them could do anything.

Maximo, who was monitoring Renato’s every move, immediately knew about Iris and Arche’s existence and was greatly enraged. As a result, the two’s guild was labeled as a terrorist organization of Betas dissatisfied with the Empire’s society, and trampled by the Imperial Army.

“I needed people to be my subordinates that can work outside the Imperial Palace. Then I found out about you two and decided that you two would be quite useful. That is why I’m here to offer to work together.”

Arche couldn’t hide her absurd expression when Renato said it was an offer despite threatening them with their weaknesses just a little while ago.

However, that was originally a way of speaking for the privileged classes like the imperial family or nobles. She was just surprised that it was Renato and not anyone else who used that clever way of speaking.

Was the 1st Prince this kind of person?

Arche looked at Renato with confused eyes. Renato whom she investigated and analyzed was a weak and timid person. He had long been abused by the Empress and Marquis Medus, so he had low self-esteem and was apprehensive. Besides, he never showed any ability until he was 20.

An incompetent person who could never stand in the center of power, just like his nickname as a sidekick Prince. That was the image of the 1st Prince that Arche knew.

So just what is the person in front of me now?

Arche twisted her eyebrows just like someone who faced an incomprehensible phenomenon. In contrast to his beautiful and gentle appearance, Renato in front of her had a deep gaze and a firm voice. It was totally not the appearance of a Prince who was looked down on by people.

In this case, she could think of two things. Either her information was incorrect, or Renato had hidden his power. Arche guessed it was the latter.

“……What can we gain by offering our allegiance to you, Your Imperial Highness?”

“Well. That would be up to you two. I still don’t know how capable you two are. So why don’t you prove your worth first?”

Renato tilted his head and subtly pressured Arche. The method he chose to recruit Iris and Arche was similar to how he did with Baikal, but also different.

For Baikal, a fallen noble with debt, the status of a Prince could be a powerful weapon. All Renato had to do was take on the role of a noble savior and reach out his hand.

However, such a simple method would not work for Iris and Arche. Although expelled from their family, the two were well-known informants and heads of a guild. Those who dealt with information couldn’t be unaware of how Renato had lived and how he had been treated.

Because of that, he had to show them something different from the information they knew. With that, they wouldn’t be able to harbor other ideas. Fortunately, thanks to Khalid, things turned out easier than he had expected. When she saw his overwhelming power, Arche was terribly frightened.

Not giving the surprised Arche a chance to calm down, Renato threw in the information he knew, making her even more shocked. With that, he successfully fabricated that he was not a powerless Prince, but someone who could hold and shake their lifelines.

“You seem to be misunderstanding something now, but this is not a negotiation. This is an opportunity I give you. You just have to decide whether to grasp it or not.”

Renato slightly raised his chin to look arrogant and confident, lowering his voice as much as he could and issuing an ultimatum to Arche.

“Choose. Whether you want to live, or die.”

At the crossroads of choice, Arche bit her lower lip with an anxious expression. Then, as if giving up, she knelt on one knee and showed respect to Renato.

“I offer my late greetings to the successor of the precious blood. I, Arche Luminus, will offer my allegiance to His Imperial Highness, Renato El Fleurette. From now on, my sister and I will be your eyes and ears, Your Imperial Highness.”

“Thank you for your allegiance. I look forward to your cooperation in the future.”

Renato looked down at Arche, who swore allegiance to him, with an expressionless face, and then slowly reached out. Feeling his hand touching the top of her head, Arche politely bowed down.

* * *

“Thank you for your help. Thanks to you, things went well.”

Walking out of the pub, Renato thanked Khalid with a light smile. He had just made his next appointment with Arche before coming out. He originally intended to offer her the position of an aide today, but he decided to postpone it until the next time because Iris had fainted.

“I’m glad I was helpful.”

Khalid answered with a blunt face and led Renato to the carriage. Feeling a strange sense of incongruity for a moment, Renato tilted his head.

He didn’t know if it was only his feeling, but Khalid’s expression seemed somewhat bad. The corners of the man’s eyes and mouth were stiff.

“Excuse me, your highness.”

Renato hesitated for a moment, then cautiously called out to Khalid. Then, a gaze without a single hint of a smile was directed toward him. Renato’s shoulders involuntarily shuddered.

“Why are you calling me?”

“Uhm……”

Renato carefully looked into Khalid’s countenance and trailed off his words. He then finally gathered his courage to ask.

“Are you perhaps angry?”