I almost spit out the tea.
I let my guard down and it came rushing in. What is this?
As I froze, unable to adjust to the suddenly heavy content of the conversation, the crown prince continued speaking.
"I have no choice but to sit in the crown prince's position due to my position, but people know me, right? The age difference between His Majesty and me is only eight years. When His Majesty gets old enough to retire, I will also be old enough to prepare for retirement."
Eight years difference.
Crown Prince Elpidius Desert was 20 years old and was eight years younger than the 28-year-old Emperor.
Occasionally, envoys from other kingdoms who came without properly researching the information would tilt their heads and ask those around them if he was his biological son, but was that possible? The crown prince was the Emperor's nephew.
'No, but why are you telling me this...?'
I don't fit into this kind of heavy personal history.
There was no way he couldn't see my expression full of trouble, but the damn prince didn't care and continued talking.
"If the day comes when I ascend to the throne, it will mean that a problem has arisen with His Majesty's life. I don't want that."
"..."
"And more than anything, I definitely realized it when I saw His Majesty working. I can't do it like him."
There was a mixture of unknown emotions in the eyes of the crown prince who said that.
What I could be sure of was that it was by no means a negative emotion.
'...'
Considering that the Emperor killed all of his brothers and even killed their children to avoid leaving behind any successors, it would be strange not only to not understand the nephew's existence, but also for the nephew to not hate his uncle, but it was possible. There was a reason.
Because there was only one brother who did not die at the hands of the Emperor.
When the Emperor, who was the ninth prince, drew his sword, his only brother, the first prince, was already dead. I don't know much about it besides what I heard from rumors.
'If the first prince had been alive, the ninth prince would not have drawn his sword.'
It could be concluded that the relationship between the two must have been quite good.
Aside from that, there were many rumors about the first prince.
A royal family who was not like a royal family but like a brat.
The only blood relative who was kind to the ninth prince, who was in trouble.
Even after getting married and his wife giving birth to a child, he visited him every day and took care of him and his children together, so it was not surprising that the current Emperor was good to the crown prince and princess, who were the children of the first prince and his niece and nephew.
He must have felt that much affection. Perhaps they felt like his own children or siblings.
So, they would actually be recognized as 'crown prince' and 'prince princess.'
"So, please take good care of His Majesty."
"Yes... Yes?"
I raised my head in surprise.
There was an inexplicable trust in the eyes of the crown prince.
'I wanted to say this earlier... What is this endless trust? Isn't suspicion a virtue when it comes to the royal family?'
I'm so dumbfounded.
"Brother, Count, why bother saying such a thing!"
"Your Highness the Princess..."
"Even if I don't have to say it, the Count will do well!"
Absolutely not. So don't look at me like, 'Did I do well?'
Why is the Crown Prince nodding his head!
"I was rude."
"Oh, no."
I decided. I guess I should run away. If things continued like this, it seemed like only burdensome topics would continue to come up.
Since you can't just jump out without saying anything, it would be better to make a good excuse, get away, and then come back. Then at least the atmosphere would change.
I happened to drink too much tea and needed to go to the bathroom, so I could use that as an excuse to leave.
I cautiously opened my mouth, observing the prince and princess's looks.
"Can I go to the bathroom for a moment?"
"Now that I think about it, you drank a lot of tea. Please come back."
I bowed once towards the prince and princess who were waving their hands and hurried out of the garden where tea time was taking place.
'I survived! I thought I was suffocating to death.'
When I thought about going back there again, the future was dark, but once I get out, there was something!
I walked down the corridors of the imperial palace at a brisk pace, thinking that I should walk a little more slowly when I returned from my errands.
And, despite my exciting walk, I thought, '...Where am I?'
I got lost.
Don't feel pitiful that I've lost your way because I'm frequently in and out of the imperial palace.
I would always meet the Emperor immediately and return home immediately without having to take another route.
So, did I have the ability to know another way?
'It would be difficult to keep the royal family waiting for a long time...'
My life was in trouble.
If by some chance they think I ditched them, wouldn't it be a big deal?
I hurriedly looked around in confusion.Fortunately, it wasn't long before I found an attendant standing in a corner of one hallway.
"There!"
"...!"
Oh, I was so happy that I almost shouted.
I was startled and looked at him with wide eyes. I smiled slightly out of apology, but for some reason he started shaking.
...Maybe it's an illusion.
Fearing that he might run away, I didn't erase my smile but widened my stride and approached him with confidence.
I was a little concerned about the anxious expression on his face, perhaps because of my reputation, but I was more in a hurry now.
It feels like it's going to explode. I think it will be cheap like this.
I won't even tell you what it is.
"Where–"
"Aaaaah!!"
...Where is the bathroom? You crazy person.
I looked at the guy who suddenly took out a knife and rushed at me with an expression full of bewilderment rather than surprise.
***
"He's gone."
"I know, right."
He probably ran away. It seemed like the conversation was quite burdensome.
'Honestly, it was sudden.'
But he couldn't help it because he knew there was no way they would have time to talk like this easily.
Crown Prince Elpidius smiled faintly as he quietly lifted his teacup.
'I'm sorry for putting a burden on you, but I have no intention of taking back what I said.'
Unlike the peaceful surface of the water, there was a shady movement going on underneath the water, and its blade was clearly pointed at his uncle, the Emperor.
A movement that had continued from the moment his uncle became Emperor until now.
'If this continues, he may not be able to sit on the Emperor's throne for the rest of his life. The nobles' opposition is growing stronger.'
The eight-year war was over. Even in the heat of the moment, they continued to visit him. That doesn't mean he was shaken by those absurd words, but he couldn't even guarantee how long he'd be able to maintain this feeling.
They may come and shake you with weaknesses you didn't know about.
Was a weakness a weakness for nothing? If that moment comes, he will probably...
'...'
It had been 10 years since the position of the monarch changed. Even if they couldn't do the trick during the war because they didn't have enough time, they still had enough time to find a weakness or two if they wanted to.
Until now, the crown prince had served as a strong defense for the Emperor.
To bring down an Emperor, one needed not only a plausible cause but also an 'imperial family member' to sit on the empty throne, so if the crown prince did not agree, their actions will end in mere rebellion.
You could replace him with the princess, but the crown prince would have more power to convince others, and she wouldn't agree to that either.
The 'actions' of subversive elements had no choice but to continue to be pushed back.
But this too was now limited. No, the limit was already reached.
It had been two years since their actions began to change from 'appeasement' to 'threats disguised as appeasement'. As a crown prince who did not know when he might be caught in a weakness and take an unwanted action, he had to hurry up and come up with a prepared plan.
Therefore, it was natural for the Emperor to pay attention to Deon Hardt, a hero he particularly trusted.
'I'm glad I didn't say that though.'
He couldn't overcome the burden of those words and ran away. If he had heard these words, he would have probably run out of the imperial palace. He probably didn't want to see him for the rest of his life.
If there is anything that gets in the way of assisting the emperor even if it is a member of the royal family...
'...Kill them.'
He gave the princess some cookies and smiled sweetly.
The princess made eye contact and then nodded, folding her eyes like a crescent moon as if she knew. The sight of him nodding his head in response seemed to anyone to be a kind brother.
As always, the crown prince's day went by peacefully.
***
Until just a few minutes ago, the kingdom of Ireon's spy was firing off congratulations alone.
This was because while the Emperor was away dealing with visitors, he snuck into his office and succeeded in copying and stealing important documents. In that Empire! Just a spy for a small country! That incredible feat was accomplished!
Of course, it wasn't easy.
Even though he did not even dream of entering the Emperor's office and instead aimed for the chancellor's office, security was tight.
It was more difficult because the limit of the preliminary investigation time was set at one week, considering the possibility that the tyrant Emperor would start a war in response to the shameless demands of the Kingdom of Ireon without even weighing the profits and losses.
'I'm going back to my home country now, you damn bastards!'
Now that he had achieved his purpose here, all he had to do was go back, but it seems that things in this world don't go that easily.
"There!"
"...!"
A loud voice clearly calling this way.
Could it be that he was noticed?
The spy, who unconsciously shivered greatly, belatedly made an expression of regret.
It was just a call, but the attendant was so surprised. Wasn't this suspicious to anyone?
'What do I do?'
There were still important documents in his arms. If he got caught like this, he won't be able to get rid of it.
Should he run away? But that's like shouting out loud, 'I'm a suspicious person.'
'No, calm down. He may be a surprisingly dull person.'
First of all, he checked the other person and realized that this wasn't going to work. He needed to run away.
He tried to straighten his rapidly tired face.
Red eyes and white hair. It's unlucky. Even if he got caught, it's by Deon Hardt.
He was famous for being crazy about blood. Since ancient times, there has been historical evidence that crazy people have good senses, and wouldn't the same be true for the person in front of him? He even spent eight years on the battlefield, so his animal senses must be unrivaled.
Still, he tried to place my hope on the possibility of the unknown, but...
'Is that... he's smiling right now?'
A smile as if he had clearly figured out this person's identity.
The spy closed his mouth and chewed the inside of his cheek as he smiled leisurely, as if no matter what he did, he were in the palm of his hand.
You should never deal with him. The moment you deal with him, you will definitely become that bastard's toy.
'I can't just run away.'
One of the few people qualified to bear arms before the Emperor was Deon Hart. He must still be carrying a weapon.
He was known to be good at not only swinging a dagger but also throwing it to hit a target, so there was no way he would just turn his back and leave this guy running away.
Probably, as soon as he showed his back, a dagger would fly.
Deon Hardt, as if sensing his complicated feelings, strode towards him with a smile on his face.
Does that mean he wouldn't give him any more time to think?
The spy's mind raced to somehow come to the best conclusion.
Pretending to be a servant and dealing with him would be playing into that bastard's will, and just running away would be the same.
In that case, the only way left was to attack him.
'Of course he won't be our opponent, so let's aim to embarrass him.'
The easy-going thought that a clumsy spy who was even showing signs of surprise would not dare attack him. He had to use that thought.
If it were a sudden attack, no matter how much he did, he would be shocked. If so, there would be a momentary pause.
Take advantage of that pause and escape.
Once the plan was made, there was no need to worry after that.
'First, check to see what he's going to say, and if the first word seems strange, attack right away.'
When he's talking, his guard tends to soften without him even realizing it.
After thinking that far, the spy raised his head and faced Deon Hardt.
A subtle tension flowed, and Deonhardt slowly opened his mouth.
"Where—"
"Aaaaah!!"
There was no need to listen to the end.
The spy, who immediately took out a knife, rushed forward without delay.
'How dare you tell me where this is.'
If you're going to listen to something like that until the end, it would be much more profitable to take advantage of the moment when he let his guard down by talking.