“Excuse me.”
Three days had passed since the incident at the Grand Cathedral.
Lucas, having left the audience chamber, exhaled deeply, feeling liberated after finally finishing a task. For the past three days, he had been working tirelessly to clean up the mess, and he could finally take a breather after reporting to the King just now.
(I hope this has somehow settled the situation…)
There were several pending issues to resolve.
First, there was the Lecty kidnapping plot orchestrated by First Prince Slay and Marquis Hortness. Although it ended in failure, their involvement was clear.
The testimony of Idiot Hortness, the eldest son of House Hortness, along with the captured Traitor Inform and Baron Inform. And the numerous pieces of evidence left behind in the ridiculously sloppy kidnapping plan.
Slay and Marquis Hortness quickly confessed their crimes and are currently imprisoned in the dungeons of the Royal Castle. Their judgment will likely be handed down soon.
(Marquis Hortness will be placed under house arrest, and House Hortness will be demoted from Marquis to Baron. Seventy percent of their territory will be confiscated, and the head of the house will be succeeded by his son, Idiot Hortness. I’m glad I managed to persuade Father.)
Even though it was an attempt, the crime of defying the Royal Decree was severe. If Idiot hadn’t achieved the feat of rescuing Lecty, House Hortness would have been destroyed. Lucas and Lecty herself pleaded, and they somehow managed to persuade the King.
By the way, the Inform family has been stripped of their peerage and exiled. House Hortness’s punishment was reduced, so the Inform family’s punishment became more severe. If it weren’t for Idiot’s achievements, the entire Hortness clan would have been executed along with House Hortness.
(The punishment for Prince Slay will probably come later.)
Slay’s deprivation of the Right of Succession is confirmed. The crime of defying the Royal Decree cannot be forgiven just because he is royalty, and normally he would be executed… but there were circumstances that made that impossible.
Slay’s maternal family is the Lyga Empire. It is a major power in the western continent that rivals the Kingdom of Reese in national power and military strength. Since its founding, the Kingdom of Reese has repeatedly fought the Lyga Empire.
(If Prince Slay is executed, relations with the Empire will inevitably deteriorate. But keeping him alive is also troublesome, but Father will not punish Prince Slay until after the victory celebration.)
In any case, he will use him as a diplomatic card with the Empire. Lucas knew all too well that King Lyos Reese was that kind of person.
On his way back to his room from the audience chamber, Lucas noticed someone walking towards him and stopped. Blue hair, a crescent moon earring dangling from one ear. The ruggedly handsome man raised his hand casually at Lucas and said, “Yo.”
“Prince Brute, what are you doing here?”
“I heard rumors that my talented younger brother was working around the clock, so I came to check on you. You seem more energetic than I thought.”
“Thanks to you.”
He really wanted to collapse into bed right now, but he made sure not to show his true feelings. With the First Prince Slay out of the picture, the Succession War has narrowed down to the two of them. He couldn’t show weakness to the person he was competing with for the throne.
“You seem to have played your cards quite well this time. My brother has been stripped of his Right of Succession. Most of the nobles who supported my brother have switched to your camp. And you’ve made a big favor with the Divine Blessing Church, right? It’s as good as decided that you’ll be the next King.”
“I wish that were true.”
Lucas observed his brother’s expression through his blindfold. He couldn’t see any signs of resignation on Brute’s face. He even seemed to have a sense of composure. It didn’t seem like he had given up on the Right of Succession.
“Still, they’re such opportunistic bastards. They made such a fuss about the curse of the Drefon family seven years ago.”
“…Prince Brute.”
“Whoa, don’t look so scary. I don’t believe in curses. Unfortunate coincidences just happened to pile up. That’s all there is to it. Right?”
Brute smiled without any sign of remorse. Lucas knew that even his frivolous attitude was calculated.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to stand here and chat. There are still a few unresolved issues. I’ll have to excuse myself here.”
As Lucas tried to cut the conversation short and leave, Brute called out to his back,
“Was it you who poisoned Father, Lucas?”
“There are rumors in the castle. That you poisoned Father, and that Lucas was pulling the strings from behind in this whole mess.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Lucas turned around, shrugged, and replied. Lucas was also aware that such rumors had been circulating unnaturally since yesterday. And he also knew who the source of those rumors was.
“I started the rumors. The maids and servants I’m fond of are happily spreading them.”
“Just like with Prince Slay?”
When Lucas asked, Brute grinned. He didn’t say it explicitly, but there was no doubt. It was Brute who spread the rumor that Slay didn’t have the King’s blood.
“Did you just spread rumors?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
The rumors were expected to spread as soon as it was announced that the King’s poor health was not due to illness but to poisoning.
(Objectively speaking, I’m the most suspicious one.)
If you were to ask who benefited the most from this series of events, it would be none other than Lucas.
The First Prince Slay, who was a rival in the Succession War, was eliminated, and most of the nobles who belonged to the Slay faction switched to the Lucas faction.
Not only did he suddenly become in an advantageous position in the Succession War, but he was also entrusted by the King with negotiations with the Divine Blessing Church, and he was able to create a large pipeline with the Papal States.
Objectively speaking, Lucas was the sole winner. If he weren’t involved, Lucas would have suspected his machinations as the rumors said. It was just too convenient.
“That idiot brother panicked and self-destructed just by spreading rumors, but you’re not that kind of guy.”
(The original Prince Slay wasn’t that kind of guy either.)
The Slay that Lucas knew was a thoughtful and, above all, cunning man. He should have had the ability to protect his mother, who had come as a bride from an enemy country, and to fulfill his role as the First Prince.
(I didn’t tell Hugh, but it wasn’t just Malicious who was acting strangely. Prince Slay and Marquis Hortness, or even Greed Lecherie…)
If that were the case, then Brute would be the most suspicious, but judging from his reaction, that possibility seemed unlikely. In the first place, if he could manipulate people’s minds, he should have manipulated them to his advantage. There was no point in manipulating them to Lucas’s advantage.
(It just ended up benefiting me…? No, that’s not it. I just want to believe that Prince Brute is suspicious.)
It would have been easier if it had been Brute’s doing. It would have been troublesome in its own way, but it would have been easier to take countermeasures since the identity of the enemy was known.
“Lucas. I don’t know what you’re plotting, but I’m going to be King.”
(I’m not plotting anything.)
Lucas smiled wryly in his heart and faced Brute.
“I’m sorry, but I’m going to be King. I can’t leave this country to you, Brother.”
“You’ve started to talk like that, huh?”
Brute grinned like a ferocious beast, turned on his heel, and left.
Lucas watched him go for a while before heading back to his room.
(There should still be some time before Prince Brute starts to move in earnest. Until then–)
As he walked, making plans for the future, he arrived in front of his room.
He opened the door and went inside,
“These cookies are too delicious! I was just going to sneak a bite, but I can’t stop eating them!?”
Merry, dressed in a maid outfit, was sitting on the Sofa, stuffing her mouth with the cookies that had been prepared for Lucas.
She probably entered the room to clean and found the cookies. Tea was even prepared on the low table. There was no sign that any cleaning had been done.
(…Seriously.)
Lucas, who had taken off his blindfold just before entering the room, sighed as he watched Merry stuffing her mouth with cookies.
〈Author’s Comments〉
Part 2 Complete! Thank you for your support!
Your encouraging comments, ☆, and ♡ are always a great encouragement.
Thank you (‘ω’)ノ
Part 3 will focus on Rouge!
However, I may have to reduce the frequency of updates…
I’m a little busy with work and can’t secure enough time to write, I’m sorry.
The next update is scheduled for 2/8, three days from now.
After that, I hope to maintain a pace of about once every three days.
Thank you for your understanding.
I hope you will continue to support me in the future m(__)m
Also, if you don’t mind, please tell me your favorite characters (regularly).
Thank you (*’▽’)