The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character-Chapter 1: Crown Prince Alondre. The Better You Work, the More Work You Get

The capital of the Eizern Empire. Calastia.

A historic land that bore the meaning of "The Radiant City," filled with breathtaking and grandiose landmarks that lived up to its name.

Among them was the Golden Cloud Palace, the residence of the empire’s crown prince. Despite being merely a prince’s dwelling rather than the emperor’s, its sheer scale easily overshadowed the royal palaces of other nations.

The golden roof that gave the palace its name.

Inside the towering walls, there was an expansive garden and pond, rivaling the size of a small forest. The structure itself wasn’t a single building but a vast estate composed of a central residence and multiple annexes. It housed an elite guard of a hundred knights clad in the latest magical armor, alongside a support staff of over five hundred—secretaries, gardeners, chefs, and maids.

The sheer manpower dedicated to serving a single individual seemed almost excessive at a glance.

Yet, among the servants and officials of the Golden Cloud Palace, not a single person considered this extravagant or wasteful.

No, on the contrary—many openly claimed that even this level of treatment was insufficient.

Alondre Archandel Eizern.

The crown prince, born with the greatest talent and character in the history of the Eizern imperial family, deserved far greater resources and personnel than this.

And how did the crown prince himself react when he overheard such remarks?

"This is insane. Are they telling me to do even more work?"

Sincerely.

Genuinely.

From the very depths of his soul, he was utterly fed up with it.

And he had every reason to be.

More people assigned to him? A larger budget?

That just meant more responsibilities piling up on his plate, didn’t it?

Perhaps those who pursued power and prestige might have enjoyed managing such talent and resources to expand their influence.

But Alondre wasn’t one of them.

"I should’ve known better than to play along when they kept praising me!"

Alondre was a reincarnator.

Not the kind who regained memories after a near-death experience or at the age of ten due to illness or head trauma.

No, from the very moment of his birth, he had retained the full memories of his past life.

Having complete self-awareness in an infant’s body had been incredibly frustrating, but it came with undeniable advantages.

For one, it allowed him to hold onto clear goals and focus on them from an early age without wasting time.

And once he realized he had been reborn into a fantasy world, specifically as the crown prince of one of the strongest empires of the era, he had inwardly celebrated.

In his past life, Alondre had been quite enamored with fantasy. And in a world where the nobility system was still firmly in place, being a crown prince wasn’t just a golden spoon—it was a platinum one.

With such an advantageous setting handed to him, it would be a waste not to make use of it.

Alondre had no intention of letting his privileged status go to waste.

Determined not to be labeled as a fool squandering his gifts, he diligently applied himself.

He kept up with the lessons taught by his private tutors with maximum effort and even experimented with various ideas from his past life.

Looking back, that had been his mistake.

"Your Highness, Alondre! To have already manifested Aura at such a young age—what an astonishing talent! Let us move on to the next step: channeling your will into your sword!"

"Your Highness, Alondre! Such incredible academic achievements! As your tutor, I am deeply honored. Next, I shall lecture you on ancient literature and heraldry!"

"Your Highness, Alondre! The four-field crop rotation method you proposed has yielded remarkable results! To think that food production could increase so dramatically without magic or divine blessings—this shall be recorded as a historic breakthrough!"

"Your Highness, Alondre! Do this, do that—just do everything!!"

In both his past life in the military and his current role as crown prince, one thing remained the same—the more you excel at your work, the more work you get.

Just as soldiers who showed too much competence got buried in endless tasks, the diligent and talented crown prince had inspired his subjects not to say, "That’s enough, Your Highness!", but rather, "To think you can achieve this much! Excellent! We shall prepare even more work for you!"

By the time Alondre realized things had gone horribly wrong and tried to step back, the emperor himself delivered the final blow.

"The crown prince possesses remarkable qualities and an exemplary attitude—a true blessing for the empire. However, knowledge cannot be fully mastered merely through study at a desk.

Thus, I shall assign the crown prince practical responsibilities, ensuring his brilliance flourishes to its fullest potential. My officials shall follow his lead."

And so, part of the emperor’s workload was handed down to Alondre.

The officials hailed this as a sign of imperial favor.

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And with good reason—within a massive bureaucratic system, decision-making authority equaled power.

For the emperor to delegate some of his duties to the crown prince was, in essence, an acknowledgment of shared authority.

Alondre had already been the strongest candidate for succession, being the eldest son and direct heir.

But now, with the emperor entrusting him with real governing experience, his claim to the throne had become virtually unshakable.

Everyone around him showered him with congratulations.

But Alondre couldn’t find it in himself to celebrate.

Who cared about the next emperor, power, or succession—didn’t this just mean more work?

If they were going to dump real administrative duties on him, couldn’t they at least lighten his lessons?!

From dawn until nightfall—work, study, more work.

"This... is supposed to be a fantasy?"

What about adventure and challenge?

What about meeting new comrades?

What about embarking on a journey to shatter a grand conspiracy that threatens to plunge the world into chaos?

What was the point of being able to wield Aura if he never got the chance to actually swing his sword outside of training?

If he had still been in the phase of heir education, there might have been a chance for escape.

Back then, skipping class or slacking off had only been his own personal problem.

But now that the emperor had entrusted him with actual governance, things were different.

If he neglected his work or handled things poorly, it wasn’t just about the emperor’s wrath—the greater concern was that, should the final decision-maker throw a tantrum about not wanting to work, the burden would fall entirely on his subordinates.

And while Alondre had adjusted to this new life fairly well, he wasn’t the type to adopt a mindset of "Loyalty to the monarch is the natural duty of his people".

He couldn’t bring himself to abandon his responsibilities and let others suffer the consequences.

But then... did that mean he had to live the rest of his life like this, working endlessly?

Late into the night.

Alondre, already suffering from too little sleep, made his way to the Imperial Library ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ in search of something to lighten his mood.

"Your Highness... what brings you here at this hour?"

"I couldn't sleep. I want to read quietly, so please refrain from making unnecessary noise."

Speaking in the aristocratic tone that had long since become second nature, Alondre issued his command to the patrolling knight and began browsing through the library.

Only to be met with disappointment.

"...As expected, there's nothing relaxing like an adventure novel here."

The library held countless scholarly and academic texts—the kind that would make any scholar's eyes gleam with excitement.

But books meant purely for enjoyment?

Nowhere to be found.

He had assumed that the Imperial Library, far older and more prestigious than his personal collection in the Golden Cloud Palace, might have something interesting.

But his hopes were dashed.

It made sense.

This library had been founded during the reign of the first emperor and was accessible only to the imperial family.

And just how many members of the royal bloodline actually came here to read?

Books required constant upkeep, but the library was maintained entirely through magical formations that handled every task without human intervention.

Essentially, the place had been abandoned.

The records showed that the last new book acquisition had been over a hundred years ago.

Just as Alondre was about to sigh in frustration at his failed attempt at escapism—

"Hm?"

His senses picked up on something odd.

A magical formation, originally designed for humidity and dust control.

Somewhere within its flow of energy, he detected a bizarre distortion.

Alondre followed the source.

His fingers traced along what appeared to be an ordinary bookshelf.

And after a moment of searching—

Click.

With a soft mechanical sound, the bookshelf slid aside, revealing a hidden door.

Alondre fell silent.

His reason and his curiosity clashed.

"This is far too suspicious. I should step back and report this. If something happens to me, the consequences will be severe."

"Coward."

"...Excuse me?"

And with that, curiosity knocked reason out with a single punch.

Without further hesitation, Alondre opened the hidden door.

Unlike the massive Imperial Library, which could house entire buildings inside, the hidden chamber was relatively small.

At its center, perched atop an altar-like pedestal, lay a single crimson book.

A sinister aura radiated from it.

However, the energy was being blocked by a circular magic formation surrounding the altar.

Or rather—it should have been blocked.

The magical seal was deteriorating.

The lines were faded. The structure was on the verge of collapse.

Like a glass pane moments away from shattering.

"A sealing formation... and a high-level one at that.

But it's grown extremely weak from centuries of neglect. That must be why the outer flow of magic seemed distorted."

As Alondre pieced together the clues, his mind reached a conclusion.

"A library founded by the first emperor.

A hidden chamber.

A sealed book.

...This place wasn’t built to store knowledge—it was created to seal something away.

And at some point in history, the knowledge of this place was lost.

The officials in charge either disappeared or failed to pass down their duties."

It was dangerous.

But it was fascinating.

If it had been the old Alondre, he might have left it alone.

But after spending so long drowning in work and endless lessons, this forbidden book felt far too enticing.

And besides—

"With the seal this weak, the book’s power must be significantly reduced. Even if things go wrong, I should be able to handle it."

His decision made, Alondre reached out and touched the book.

The moment his fingertips brushed its surface,

The book sprang open on its own, and a crimson mist began to spill out.

The mist twisted and coiled, before rapidly taking shape.

Into the form of a woman.

A woman with a voluptuous figure, her pale skin wrapped in a fabric with a strange, almost liquid-like sheen.

A pair of bat-like wings, crimson horns, and a long, sinuous tail.

Silky black hair and gleaming red eyes that shimmered like gemstones.

The kind of beauty that would make anyone on the street turn their head for a second glance.

She smiled at Alondre and spoke.

"─Thank you for waking me.

Now, won’t you tell me your wish?"