159 Free-Float Planet Arc 1: Royal Succession Revisions

side: Crownie System (Akira)

Still stuck in the Crownie System, I was busy with isolating the deactivated Neihyume.

We’d moved into the hangar of the factory flagship and were chilling in the internal living quarters.

Lorenzo’s been a lifesaver, sending supplies from Crownie IV, a habitable planet.

By "we," I mean the eight of us: my wife crew plus the wife-crew plus Kaede.

Naho was sent to Elysion, stored in my Personal Ship’s Dimensional Storage Vault.

She’s the lover of Baron Kanzawa, so I couldn’t just keep her tied down here.

I’d planned to send everyone off, but she refused to leave—worried about me, she said.

In the Elysion System, I caught wind of it—got dragged in, and now they’re all here too.

This is the first time I’ve lived under the same roof as Stephanie, Kyle’s younger sister.

Lorenzo, the seventh prince, has returned to the home system, Rashti, to lead the reconstruction.

The Crowney System still holds a wrecked fortress ship and a monitoring fleet from Naihyume.

The fortress ship is stored inside a factory mother ship, currently under repair.

Apparently, the factory mother ship says it’s more trouble than building a new one from scratch.

I’d considered just transferring the brain core and combat data to a new vessel, but apparently the fortress ship that was handed over has been customized based on local culture and user habits.

Especially the command center interior—apparently, someone put real effort into that.

Well, it’s not surprising. The lord of that system’s sitting right there, after all.

So, the tedious repairs are underway.

Still, it’s just a matter of placing the necessary components and fusing them together.

Yeah, I get that tracking down those parts is a pain.

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ｓｉｄｅ：Factory Mothership Residential District, Shira Residence (Akira, Steff)

"Congratulations, my lord."

Steff beams with a radiant smile, offering her well-wishes.

I tilt my head, completely clueless.

"Steff, what are you talking about?"

She realizes I haven’t been informed yet and explains.

"Recently, the imperial succession order was revised.

And so, my lord, you’ve been officially recognized as the Second Heir—Prince Second."

"Wait—why second? There are three people above me: Kyle, Henry, and Lucas, right?"

"Your lordship's imperial affinity strength, martial prowess, economic power, and moral standing have surpassed Henry and Lucas."

I guess I didn’t fully grasp how the succession recalibration system worked.

First, when a new imperial affinity holder reaches adulthood—fifteen in the Empire—they’re officially recognized as a potential heir.

Then, martial strength, economic power, and moral standing are evaluated, and the succession order is adjusted accordingly.

That’s exactly what happened when my existence was confirmed.

My imperial affinity was strong, and my moral standing was neutral, so I earned sixth place in line.

Then, once a year, another recalibration takes place, factoring in that year’s achievements.

Imperial affinity strength, martial prowess, economic power, and moral standing are reassessed, and the rankings shift again.

An heir born naturally who ranks last for five consecutive years gets disinherited.

And when something like this happens—five princes disappearing at once—it’s considered a crisis threatening the empire’s survival, so the succession rules get revised.

Third Prince Ethan, Fifth Prince Leonardo, Eighth Prince Riot, Ninth Prince Benjamin, Thirteenth Prince Prince.

Yeah, all of them died or were disinherited—directly tied to me.

So… am I the one causing the empire’s downfall?

No! The Nea-Hyume mess isn’t my fault!

Now that five princes have been removed, a new line of succession has been activated—descendants from a different bloodline.

Previously, only the emperor’s adult male children qualified.

Now, the emperor’s adult male grandchildren have been added to the list.

Descendants of disinherited princes are excluded. So are those with weak imperial lineage.

But even if a prince wasn’t officially recognized, if his grandson carries strong imperial blood, he qualifies.

Of course, a child of the Emperor’s daughter counts too—if the imperial factor is strong enough.

From among those grandchildren, the top five with the strongest imperial blood were exceptionally added.

Seems like there was real panic over how few bloodline princes remained.

But apparently skipping straight to grandchildren as heirs has its problems—apparently, grandchildren get a handicap in the succession order.

So that’s why they never had any intention of making a natural-born prince with no blood tie the Emperor in the first place.

Ah. That’s why they married the daughter to the Emperor. Grandchildren are guaranteed bloodline.

And here’s the revised imperial succession order:

First Prince: Kyle — Former First Prince. Bloodline Prince. Holds his position by default.

Second Prince: Akira — Former Sixth Prince. Natural-born Prince. Son-in-law of the current Emperor. Gained points in military strength, economic power, and nobility, earning promotion.

Third Prince: Lucas — Former Fourth Prince. Natural-born Prince. Promoted due to major losses suffered by Second Prince Henry at the hands of Neahyume.

Fourth Prince: Henry — Former Second Prince. Natural-born Prince. Demoted due to major losses in military strength and economic power inflicted by Neahyume.

Fifth Prince: Lorenzo — Former Seventh Prince. Natural-born Prince. Won against Fifth Prince Leonardo, annexed his territory. Economic power increased, but suffered major military damage. Promoted due to vacancies above.

Sixth Prince: Cain — Former Tenth Prince. Natural-born Prince. Economic power reduced due to compensation to Akira, but promoted due to vacancies above.

Seventh Prince: Name Unknown — Former Eleventh Prince. Natural-born Prince. Promoted due to vacancies above.

Eighth Prince: Name Unknown — Former Twelfth Prince. Natural-born Prince. Youngest of the emperor’s adult children. Promoted due to vacancies above.

Ninth Prince: Name Unknown — First Grandchild. Natural-born Prince. Child of a daughter and a naturally born prince. Rank lowered due to handicap.

Tenth Prince: Name Unknown — Second Grandchild. Natural-born Prince. Child of a daughter and a naturally born prince. Rank lowered due to handicap.

Eleventh Prince: Name Unknown — Third Grandchild. Natural-born Prince. Kein’s child. Rank lowered due to handicap.

Twelfth Prince: Name Unknown — Fourth Grandchild. Natural-born Prince. Grandson of a son who never became a prince. Rank lowered due to handicap.

Thirteenth Prince: Name Unknown — Fifth Grandchild. Natural-born Prince. Kyle’s child. Rank lowered due to handicap.

Fourteenth Prince: Name Unknown — Naturally born prince. Son-in-law of the current emperor.

Fifteenth Prince: Name Unknown. Naturally born Prince. Son-in-law of the current Emperor.

Sixteenth Prince: Name Unknown. Naturally born Prince. Son-in-law of the current Emperor.

Name Unknown shows up a lot—probably because weaklings get mobbed by ambitious Princes trying to secure their own inheritance.

Yeah, that’s exactly the kind of thing Leonardo or Lucas would pull.

Still, it’ll all come out eventually. You don’t want your name on the list and then get obliterated the second it’s read aloud.

Forget my promotion—what’s wild is that Kyle’s kid is the Thirteenth Prince.

Kyle looks young, but he’s a full-grown father.

Huh. I heard Imperial nobles can stay young-looking past a hundred thanks to life-extending treatments.

So if Riot and Benjamin were old men who turned out to be Princes’ younger brothers… how old is Kyle, exactly?

Wait… is Steff actually…? A lolita grandma?

Never thought asking a woman her age would be this terrifying.

"Ah, so the 13th Prince is Steff’s nephew, huh?"

"I’m seventeen, actually."

Sensing something in my stare, Steff volunteered her age.

Sorry for doubting you.

Young looks and a youthful body mean a longer childbearing window.

Having an older nephew isn’t exactly shocking.

Seems the Emperor’s still very much active—still producing heirs.

Anyway, I’ll set aside how terrified I am of finding out Kyle’s age.

Speaking of which, Leonardo was apparently a natural-born prince too.

Maybe he married one of the Emperor’s daughters, like the others.

Did he have kids?

Could it be the Emperor spared Leonardo not out of loyalty—but to protect his child?

Subtitles that spoil things? Yeah, just skip those.

Thank you for reaching 8200 pts.