Reincarnated as Twins: And Then, I Was the Only One Abandoned - ☆66 And Then, ⑤

☆66 And Then, ⑤ 

The grand conference, which would determine the fate of the kingdom, had finally begun. 

A completely unprecedented situation—there was no king, no royal family in power. 

To be precise, some royal children had survived. They had escaped Alexis’ grasp. However, traumatized by the massacre they had witnessed that day, none of them wished to reclaim the throne. 

—Could the kingdom even continue to exist like this? 

If it were to persist, who would take on the role of king? 

Or should the various territories declare independence and form a decentralized alliance? 

And if they did, how much meaning would such a system truly hold? 

If the kingdom were to fragment, it would only be a matter of time before an ambitious individual arose. It would inevitably spark a war of unification. 

With these thoughts swirling in my head, I sat outside the conference room. I pulled my hat down low over my face. I was absentmindedly staring into space. 

From inside, I could hear the intense voices of heated debate. 

…As boredom began to lull me into a drowsy state, the doors suddenly swung open. And I was called in. 

The one who summoned me—was my father, Vince. 

“Therefore, I nominate this man to be our next king!” 

—Yeah, I saw this coming. 

Elicia’s script was playing out exactly as planned. 

“Souta, remove your hat.” 

I stepped into the chamber and did as I was told. 

A murmur rippled through the room. 

…Wow. 

Middle-aged men as far as the eye could see. 

The sheer pressure in here was overwhelming… 

Now that I was actually in the spotlight, I started feeling incredibly nervous. 

“Y-you… No, could it be… Your Majesty Alexis…?” 

“W-what is the meaning of this? Are you saying… you’ve been alive all this time?” 

“T-then… the rumors were true? That a man with the same face as Alexis had…?” 

“Wait, what? There was such a rumor??” 

“Everyone, please calm down. I apologize for the surprise, but allow me to explain.” 

Vince cleared his throat once and continued speaking. 

“I had two sons. One of them, as you all know, was Alexis. 

And the other is this man—Souta.” 

The room fell into a heavy silence as Vince began to speak at a measured pace. 

“I am ashamed to admit this, but I abandoned Souta immediately after his birth. Because he was born without mana, I believed he would not be able to survive in noble society.” 

…Ah. So that really was the reason. 

“As a result, I doted excessively on Alexis… and we all know how that turned out. I could do nothing but watch as the kingdom spiraled out of control. For that, I owe everyone here a great apology. Please, allow me to express my deepest regrets.” 

Vince bowed his head deeply. 

“However—it was this very Souta who put an end to Alexis’ rampage.” 

The murmuring gradually died down, and a quiet stillness settled over the room. 

Then, from one corner of the chamber, a silver-haired man spoke up. 

“I see… To be honest, I thought anyone who claimed Alexis had lost must have been under some kind of mass hypnosis… but looks like it’s true. The amount of mana this guy has must be insane.” 

…Uh, dude. You seem pretty insane yourself. 

Vince continued speaking. 

“The former king, Alexis, left behind no children. Therefore, I believe that his bl00d relative, Souta, holds the rightful claim to the throne.” 

The murmuring started up again. It was even louder this time. 

“B-but… what if we end up reliving the nightmare of Alexis’ reign…?” 

“Even if he shares the same bl00d, he has no experience governing a country!” 

As doubts and opposition filled the room, the silver-haired man yawned and spoke in a lazy tone. 

“Nah, I think it’s fine. If this guy wanted to, he could wipe all of us off the face of the earth in an instant.” 

…Okay, now you’re overestimating me. 

The reason Alexis got obliterated was because my mana went berserk on its own. I didn’t do it on purpose. 

“I support his claim as well.” 

Duke Leonard’s voice rang through the chamber. 

“If you’ve seen the autonomous region he built with Lady Elicia, then you already know what kind of country he envisions. He is the complete opposite of Alexis. A utopian city where all races work together, respect one another’s opinions, and live happily side by side.” 

—That line was straight from the script. But the content was something Leonard had come up with himself. 

“The Elysia Autonomous Territory…..” 

“I’ve heard they coexist with elves and dwarves…” 

“I’ve visited as a tourist before. It truly is an incredible place.” 

The atmosphere of opposition was starting to wane. 

“Souta, would you mind addressing everyone?” 

Vince turned toward me expectantly. 

—So it’s finally come to this. 

I had already drilled my speech into my head. 

Now I just had to make sure I didn’t sound like I was reading off a script…