Battle Over Giving Up the Throne Chapter 2 - A Bloody Battle in Order to Lose

I was completely unprepared.
The was no way in heaven or hell that the illegitimate youngest child would be the Emperor’s heir.
But, I misjudged how far my siblings would go. Who would’ve thought that they’d do this much to avoid the imperial succession.

In his cage, Iifu was laughing triumphantly, a wide grin on his face.

“So sorry, Sugen… I’ll have to leave the fight over the next Emperor.”
“You coward! What happened to the honor of the first-born!”
“You know me. I couldn’t care any less for status or honor. Hehe.”
“At least care about shame and reputation.”

While saying so, I was pondering whether to do the same thing tonight.
My diligent third brother, Sauran, was too “sick” to do any crimes, and my sister, Ryausha, is a girl, so she’d be too ashamed to do the same―probably.

It’d be annoying to do the same thing as Iifu, but with that, there’d be a second decision on the heir.

“By the way, the next person to do the same will have their authority as a Prince revoked and deportation will be considered. There shall be no second time.:

And just after I made my plan, the Emperor stopped me in my tracks.
I was lost for words. I didn’t want to sit on the throne, but being deported to do so would be putting the cart before the horse.

“Iifu, do not think that you are disqualified as a candidate with this. Rather, I believe that this is a good example of your boldness, excluding what the example was.”
“Hey hey, is your head okay, dad? So it doesn’t matter what I did… The important thing is what it showed of me?”

The gloating Iifu immediately meekened.
Certainly, his actions were bold because of his desperation. None of the others went so far.

The Emperor gazed down at the two of us as if he was looking at trash.

“Changing the topic, I understand well that all of you siblings are equally lazy. As such, I have no choice but to choose the heir judging by pure ability.”

Since none of us have determination, the choosing will at least be done on skill. That sounds reasonable, but―

“Your Majesty, in other words, it will be me that is chosen in the end?” I asked a question.
“Sugen, I had been thinking of this before. Do you perhaps look down on your brothers?”
“I will be honest. The calm man over there is the first on the list.”

Saying that, I pointed to the loincloth man in the cage.

“Hey, don’t say stupid things, Sugen. Who’s calm? I’m clearly suffering.”
“Be silent, brother.”

The Emperor sighed, looking at the unseemly brotherly quarrel.

He spoke, “From what I see, Sugen, your foolishness is not all that different from the others―well, no matter. I will now ascertain your skills. Let us leave to the dojo.:
“I understand.”
“Iifu. If you cannot leave that level of cage, I will truly make you a criminal.”
“Sure.”

Putting some strength into his arm, Iifu easily broke the handcuffs. With his two arms freed, he bent an iron bar of the cage. Although it was a rather simple iron cage, it was impossible for a normal person to break out of it.

“Ryausha and Sauran will be there. There will be a mock battle between the four of you. It shall be interesting to see your progresses.”

In that moment, Iifu’s and my gaze crossed.
We were both thinking the same thing.

―How to lose on purpose.

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――……

On the way to the dojo, neither Iifu nor I made a sound. It was not the tenseness before a fight. No, it was because the both of us were thinking about the most efficient way to lose.

I put my hand on my chin and started thinking.
一I cannot give my opponent even a second. It must be my loss the moment the battle starts.
I would (act) that something had hit my eyes and collapse at the moment the battle starts. I could just say that it was a deadly attack launched a bit too early―this is it.

A slim man rounded the corner in front of me. He had long bangs and had the ominous presence akin to a ghost.

He narrowed his eyes. “Oh…are the two of you also going to the dojo? Seriously, our father is a pain. To suddenly summon me to the dojo like that…”

The man coughing while speaking there was my third brother, Sauran. Although dressed in clothes suited for the comforts of the home, he was still one of the heroic children of the Emperor.

Speaking about clothes, Iifu was still wearing his loincloth. It was pure white cloth painted with the word, “Iifu,” in black ink. The shame of the country.
The shame of the country proudly spoke to Sauran.

:”Hey Sauran, stop acting like you have some lung disease. I’ll tell dad.”
“Acting? What are you saying, Fu. I would never do such a thing… Ah, how I hate my weak body. My time isn’t long; I am reluctant to become the Emperor.”
“Weak body? What gibberish. Just spit it out that you’ll become the Emperor, and I’ll help you from the shadows.”

“Fu, Ran, can you both shut up? Everything will be decided in the dojo.”
The unproductive conversation was interrupting my ability to concentrate. I had to perfect my plan of losing now. The death shrills of unrestrained agony. Acting as if all my strength was drained from my body. Showing only the whites of my eyes and foaming at the mouth would be the best.

Yet, my plan was still naive.
The battle to become the loser had already started.

“Secretly helping me…is it? Ah, I see. How happy would I be if I was applauded when assuming the throne…”

When I realized that Sauran’s voice was getting fainter by the minute, it was too late.
His body fell as if it was blown away by the wind, falling on the tatami flooring. Near his fallen body, red blood splattered out from near his mouth―

A large amount of blood began pooling.

“Stop acting!”

Iifu and I spoke at the same time. However, we had no concern for him. Because Sauran’s eyes were gleaming with vitality next to the dripping blood.

“Hahaha…I spit it out like you said. I drank lots of special blood mixture. Even court physicians will think that it’s real. Once I’m seen by others, my default loss will be certain…! Now, let the witnesses assemble!”

Saying that, Sauran ringed the bell that was attached to his shirt’s sleeve.