The Prince Who Played the Fool

The South Empire takes part in a tournament in which the states send their fighters against one another, and at the same time the Kurgan Empire, a horse-riding people, is threatening the country. Inside the palace the Imperial Noble Consort has a plan of her own in motion. Vincent is the ninth prince, engaged to Yara. Around the court he passes for a playboy who drinks and idles, and he keeps it that way on purpose. His mother was wronged, and he has been training in secret for years to avenge her. The tournament is where he stops hiding. He wins there, then leads an army against the Kurgan Empire and breaks it, which earns him a good deal of military credit. Back at court he works step by step through what the Imperial Noble Consort has been doing. She has been poisoning princes, and beyond that she means to kill the emperor and take the throne.