The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character-Chapter 2: Crown Prince Alondre (). A Deal with the Demon

Lucidra was a great demon who had once spread terror across the entire continent.

She tempted, corrupted, and led countless people to ruin.

Unable to tolerate her actions any longer, the heroes of that era had banded together to seal her away, imprisoning her within a forbidding tome where she had remained for centuries.

“...So, you’re saying you’ll grant my wish? That’s what you’re offering?”

Lucidra smirked inwardly.

‘That’s right. Today is the day I finally escape this prison.’

Of course, on the surface, she maintained a gentle, inviting smile.

"That’s right. As long as you make a contract with me, I will grant you any wish you desire."

"Hmm."

The young man who had discovered her sealed grimoire seemed hesitant.

Lucidra felt a pang of frustration.

She knew that rushing a contract was a mistake.

And yet, despite that knowledge—the youth before her was simply too tempting to resist.

Golden hair, blue eyes.

A face so flawless that even the word "noble" felt insufficient to describe him.

A well-built frame, his physique clearly visible even beneath his tailored garments.

An aura of power, vast and refined, effortlessly radiating from him.

Most importantly, he was young—still naïve to the world, and easy to deceive.

To a demon whose very nature was to tempt and corrupt, he was an exquisite feast.

For Lucidra, who had been starved for centuries inside that cramped book, his presence was practically violent.

It was like a table overflowing with the most decadent delicacies, the rich aroma intoxicating her senses.

How could she possibly resist?

"Go on, tell me.

Wealth? Honor? Power?"

She leaned in, her voice turning silkier, more seductive.

"Or perhaps... women?"

She arched her back slightly, moving with deliberate sensuality as she gazed at him.

After all, lust was always the most effective tool for corruption.

Finally, the young man opened his mouth.

"Can you give me a vacation?"

...

.........

...............?

"...Excuse me?"

Lucidra froze.

Had she misheard?

Was her hearing failing after centuries of isolation?

But the young man seemed to interpret her confusion differently.

"Ah, my apologies. I must not have explained it clearly."

He nodded solemnly, as though about to discuss a grave matter of state.

"When I say ‘vacation,’ I mean a real vacation.

Not ‘a break that only means I have to do double the work tomorrow.’

Not ‘I’m sorry for disturbing your rest, but this is urgent, so please handle it right away.’

I mean an actual, genuine break—one where I am truly free to relax."

"Uh... no, that’s not... I mean, I understand what you’re saying, but—"

"Please, I’m begging you!"

The young man stepped forward, his eyes burning with desperation.

"If you can guarantee me actual leisure time, I’ll grant you anything within my power!

Money? Fame? Authority? What do you want?"

Wait.

Wasn’t that her line?

Why was a human making that offer to a demon?

It was only then that Lucidra noticed something she had overlooked.

His appearance was flawless.

His skin was unblemished.

But when she looked through the eyes of a demon, seeing not his body, but his soul—

She saw it.

The exhaustion, heavy as a stormcloud, pooling beneath his eyes.

And beneath that—

A glimmer of madness.

Ordinarily, the gaze of a human filled with desire was like a precious jewel to her.

But this...

‘This is... a little scary.’

Lucidra felt cold sweat forming.

For the first time in centuries, a thought flashed through her mind:

‘Did I just mess with the wrong guy?’

But she couldn’t afford to back down.

Yes, her seal had been broken.

But she was still trapped.

Even now, barriers lined the walls, cutting her off from the outside world.

And the powerful energies roaming the halls—those belonged to dangerous individuals.

If she recklessly tried to escape, she would immediately be detected, and before long, powerful hunters would arrive to strike her down.

Perhaps, at her full strength, she could have faced them.

But after centuries of confinement, she was far too weak.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

She had only one option.

She had to form a contract—had to secure the young man’s cooperation.

"A vacation... is that what you want?"

Lucidra smiled.

"Very well. I can bewitch those who force you to work.

I’ll make them believe you’ve already completed your duties, even if you haven’t lifted a finger."

"That wouldn’t work."

"Hm?"

"It’s just an illusion, isn’t it?"

He shook his head.

"It might fool them for a little while, but the work would still be left undone. Eventually, the cracks would start to show."

"Then why not make them do the work for you?"

"That’s no good either."

His tone was firm.

"That would mean they’d be making decisions in my name, without my approval.

If something goes wrong, the aftermath would be a nightmare to clean up."

"...I’ll also provide a service where you can shift all the blame onto someone else if things go wrong."

"That’s a shortcut that’ll only come back to haunt me later. I refuse."

Lucidra stared.

Did this guy actually want a vacation?

Or was he just... creating more work for himself?

Now that she thought about it—

Wasn’t he the one responsible for his own suffering?

But she wasn’t about to admit defeat.

A demon’s pride wouldn’t allow it.

"Fine. Then how about this?"

Lucidra’s lips curled into a grin.

"I will teach you the magic of creating clones."

"Clones?"

He frowned.

"Wouldn’t they just be illusionary projections?"

"No, no. These would be real.

Tangible bodies, capable of wielding a portion of your abilities.

You could leave one behind to take your place—while you go off and do whatever you please."

For the first time, she saw it.

A spark in his eyes.

She had him.

"Do the clone and the original share memories? How does the control mechanism work?"

"Your consciousness remains singular.

It’s like... controlling your right and left hand separately.

Both bodies move under your will."

"What about duration and mana consumption?"

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"They’re essentially the same thing.

The more mana you have, the longer the clone lasts.

And if either body burns through mana too quickly, the duration shortens accordingly."

She wasn’t lying.

What she didn’t mention was that sustaining multiple bodies took an immense mental toll on humans.

Or that if a clone was destroyed, the original would suffer a backlash.

But he hadn’t asked—so she didn’t tell him.

"Now then," Lucidra purred, "What will be the price of our contract?"

"Let me stay by your side."

Lucidra’s voice was sweet, coaxing.

"If I were to wander around alone in this state, I’d undoubtedly be caught in a barrier. But if I hide within your shadow, I should be able to avoid detection."

"That’s all you want?"

The young man looked genuinely surprised by the simplicity of her request.

Lucidra inwardly scoffed.

‘He thinks this is an easy price to pay.’

But once he actually used the clone magic, his mind would be overwhelmed by the sheer influx of information processing.

The confusion, the exhaustion—he wouldn’t be able to control himself, collapsing to the ground like an insect.

And then—she would offer him another deal.

"Do you have any other wishes?"

A man pushed to his limits, his mind clouded by fatigue, would no longer be able to refuse an unfair contract.

Lucidra’s smile was radiant, almost hypnotic with anticipation.

"Of course," she cooed.

"You were the one who freed me, after all. I should at least offer you a little extra service."

"Good. Then let’s make the contract."

As the young man grasped her outstretched hand, knowledge poured into him.

Demonic magic—incomprehensible and indecipherable to ordinary humans.

But just as one did not need to understand how a sword was forged in order to wield it, so too was this knowledge instinctively usable for him.

With his eyes closed, he focused his mana—

And in the next instant, a perfect copy of him appeared at his side.

Lucidra braced herself for what was about to come.

Any moment now, he would collapse, trembling, unable to withstand the sheer overload of control.

"Hmm. So this is how it feels."

Lucidra blinked.

"It’s a little awkward at first, but I think I’ll get used to it soon."

What?

"The mana consumption is manageable. If I only use it for daily activities, it could probably last indefinitely."

No. No, no, no.

"Since the clone is temporarily severing a portion of my soul, I assume there will be backlash if it gets destroyed. But for a magic this groundbreaking, that much is an acceptable risk."

What.

"Ultimately, I have to control both bodies in real-time, so it’s not exactly ‘rest’ ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) in the traditional sense. But hey, having a separate body to enjoy leisure? I’ll take it!"

Lucidra stared.

Her smile froze on her face.

"Right, right. Sleeping in a magic formation gets rid of physical fatigue anyway. The real issue was mental exhaustion, but this solves that perfectly."

The two identical young men turned to her, their expressions filled with genuine gratitude.

""Thank you, demon-whose-name-I-still-don’t-know."”

Lucidra’s face hardened like stone.

"...Huh?"

A dumb, vacant sound escaped her lips.

One of the two young men extended a hand toward her.

"Alondre Archandel Eizern. I may be lacking, but I am the Crown Prince of this Empire. I look forward to working with you."

His voice was calm, composed, princely.

Lucidra could only stare at him in mute disbelief.

"And your name?"

"...Lucidra."

"Good. Lucidra. You said you wanted to leave here?"

Alondre’s smile remained polite, nonchalant.

"Then let’s move quickly. I may have said I wanted to enjoy some quiet time, but if I stay here too long, someone will start getting suspicious."

Lucidra had so many things she wanted to say.

"How are you completely fine?"

She wanted to ask him outright.

But doing so would be tantamount to admitting she had been trying to screw him over.

In the end, she had no choice but to swallow her words.

Her body dissolved into a crimson mist, sinking into Alondre’s shadow.

The young prince glanced down at his feet, amused, before closing the now-empty book, placing it back in its original position, and calmly walking out of the library.

***

A few days later.

Lucidra still remained hidden within Alondre’s shadow, following him wherever he went.

She had failed to force an unfair contract on him, meaning her power had not fully recovered.

But more than that—

She felt defeated.

And she had come to an unmistakable conclusion.

This man was strange.

"Hmm. Perfect. What do you think, Lucidra? Don’t I look just like a proper adventurer?"

Inside Alondre’s personal chambers, Lucidra was speechless.

Before her stood Alondre’s clone.

But it looked nothing like the original.

Unlike Alondre’s golden hair and blue eyes, this version had red hair and brown eyes.

His features were slightly younger, a bit plainer.

If Alondre resembled a masterpiece carved from marble, then this version was just an average young man—attractive, but nothing extraordinary.

His ornate imperial uniform was gone, replaced with simple cloth garments and a leather chestplate.

No one would ever suspect that the two were the same person.

But that wasn’t what shocked Lucidra the most.

It wasn’t just the appearance that had changed.

The inside had changed too.

"...What the hell did you do to your clone?"

"Hmm?" Alondre tilted his head.

"Oh, I realized that, since it's a clone, its stats were lower than mine.

So instead of keeping it as a weaker version of me, I decided to fully specialize it in a single role.

This one is entirely optimized for swordsmanship—enhanced physical abilities, combat efficiency, and Aura manipulation.

Of course, it can’t use magic at all, but that’s a fair tradeoff."

Lucidra stared.

Had this man just modified demonic magic like it was a toy?

Did he even realize what he had done?

Or had the world changed while she was sealed—to the point where this was considered normal?

‘...Either way, I should probably lay low for now.

Rather than recklessly making a move, I’ll stick close to him and gather information first.

His main body may remain in the palace, but his clone will be moving around outside. I’ll watch from there.’

With her mind made up, Lucidra asked:

"So, what’s the name of this clone?

You’re not seriously planning on using your real name, are you?"

The Crown Prince grinned.

"Bern. Adventurer Bern."