After finishing dinner and returning to my quarters, I opened the small box sitting on the side table beside the bed.
It was a new magic communication crystal orb, provided by the imperial family.
Inside the transparent orb, about the size of an adult's fist, a faint blue light swirled.
'...So it's the latest model. Should I accept this with the same excitement as upgrading to a new smartphone?'
I remembered the first time I had used a crystal orb.
According to the merchant who sold it back then, this crystal orb operated by transmitting and receiving mana signals between two orbs with matching serial numbers, in a way almost identical to phone calls from my previous life.
It activates when supplied with an appropriate amount of mana. Those capable of using mana could power it directly, or you could insert something like a magic battery made and sold by the mages of the Magic Tower.
Put simply, it was like an early-generation smartphone.
Anyone who remembered the days of detachable back-cover batteries would understand.
'...I can use mana, but for now, let's stick with a battery.'
With trembling hands, I inserted the mana battery into the bottom of the crystal orb and activated it.
Whir—
The blue light inside the orb spun violently, and soon a hazy image and voice from the other side emerged like a hologram.
[...Ian! Ian, my son! Oh, you're safe!]
The first thing to come through the crystal orb was the tear-laced voice of Queen Sterling.
She wasn't my real mother, but she had watched over me since I was very young, having been close to my mother ever since I was the second son of the baron's family.
She might not have been a mother to me, but she was at least like an aunt; perhaps that was why such acting was possible.
"Yes, Mother. I have arrived safely at the imperial capital and am living here."
[Goodness, you've become half your face! How frightened you must have been in a strange enemy nation... *sob*, they didn't subject you to any terrible ordeal?]
"I-I'm fine. The food is better than expected, and the treatment isn't bad. I've been exercising hard lately, so I've actually gained a bit of weight. Look at my forearm here—I've put on muscle, haven't I?"
In truth, the meals were far more luxurious and delicious than in the barony or the royal palace, but I couldn't bring myself to say that outright.
Behind the queen, the faces of Joseph—the first prince of the true Sterling Kingdom—and Princess Amy suddenly popped into view.
[Ian! Those imperial bastards haven't tortured or beaten you, have they?! You haven't got any broken bones?!]
[Ian, Brother... *sob*, I miss you...]
"Joseph, Amy. Please don't cry. I'm truly fine."
(As we all know, I am two years his elder.)
Those two knew my fake identity, yet they were genuinely worried about me, weeping and carrying on.
Especially Prince Joseph, who was usually weak-willed and affectionate; he was sniffling with a runny nose, looking ready to hug the crystal orb.
It was then.
Zzt—
I felt the mana flow around the crystal orb distort ever so slightly.
It was an extremely minute difference, but I felt it.
It's hard to explain in words—should I say I just *saw* it?
In any case, it was a sign that a third party had connected to the communication line and was eavesdropping.
'Well, of course. The Emperor is surely listening in on my call through the imperial intelligence bureau.'
I swallowed dryly and paid even more attention to managing my expression.
[...Thank goodness. I'm glad you arrived safely, Ian.]
[Step aside. I have something to say.]
Pushing aside the queen and the royal siblings, the aged, weary face of the Sterling King finally appeared in the crystal orb.
But unlike the other family members, his expression showed neither affection nor sorrow.
Seeing those strangely businesslike, dry eyes, I felt something boiling up inside me, but I did my utmost to keep it from showing on my face.
"Yes, Father. Thanks to your concern, I am doing well under the Empire's care."
[Good. No issues with your health?]
"Yes, I am in good health. I am also devoting effort to exercise."]
[That's fortunate. Continue to be grateful for the mercy of the Imperial Emperor, and fulfill your duties as a hostage without any misconduct. Do not forget that the safety of the Sterling Kingdom rests on your shoulders.]
"...I shall take it to heart, Father."
Without any notable change in emotion, asking only a few brief words of greeting and leaving only admonitions to conduct himself properly as a hostage, the King tried to hastily end the conversation.
The Queen and Joseph seemed to want to talk more, but due to the King's intervention, the communication was soon cut off.
Fzzt—
The blue light of the crystal orb went out, and the room fell silent once more.
I sank deep into the chair and wiped the cold sweat from my forehead.
'...Thank goodness. It doesn't seem like he caught on that I'm a fake prince.'
The Sterling King's dry, indifferent attitude was a bit concerning, but that was something I could roughly excuse later by saying I didn't get along with my father.
In any case, the fact that the other family members had cried and worried about me was real.
'...I'm sorry to Mother, but it can't be helped...'
I let out a sigh of relief and threw myself onto the soft bed.
#
At the same time, in a secret intelligence room located deep within the imperial palace.
Before a giant magic screen stood the Emperor of the Empire, several ministers of the intelligence bureau, and the Crown Prince and Second Princess Chloe, who had taken their places at the Emperor's summons.
It was immediately after they had openly eavesdropped on the call between Ian Sterling and the Sterling royal family.
"..."
Even after the screen's light went out, the Emperor silently stroked his chin for a long while.
In the Emperor's brilliantly gleaming purple eyes, beyond scorn for the weak king of the enemy nation, a strange pity and deep contempt intersected.
"Pathetic wretch. A father worse than a rat. Not even fit to be a king—you are trash without the qualifications of a mere father."
The ministers held their breath at the scorn the Emperor spat out as if disgusted.
Having been with this Emperor for many years, they were the ones who knew better than anyone the types of humans he loathed and despised.
A wretch, an incompetent wretch, a wretch without pride, and a wretch without a sense of responsibility befitting his position.
The Sterling King was all four.
"A father ought to be a model like a great mountain to his children, and a shield against the wind. How can there exist a father worse than a dog!"
"..."
"...And how, under such a father, did a son as brilliant and bold as a tiger come to be?"
The Emperor clicked his tongue, recalling the dry and cold attitude the Sterling King had displayed during the call.
Though Ian had tried to hide it, the Emperor had not missed the suppressed rage that surfaced on his face the moment he saw the King.
"It is obvious to Me. Look at the queen, the princess, and that tearful, foolish first prince presumed to be the crown prince. Anyone can see they are weak, stupid trash not even equal to their father."
"..."
"But that second son, Ian, is different. Confident and intelligent, he possesses an extraordinary mind capable of seeing through a decade of the Empire's policies. That petty Sterling King was surely jealous and fearful of his capable second son's talent. To protect the position of that trash-like eldest son who will inherit the throne, he threw that tiger cub into the jaws of the Empire as a hostage. That is certain."
"Surely, had Prince Ian remained in the kingdom, he would have posed a significant threat to the throne of that incompetent eldest son."
"To save their own skins, they pushed their capable child into a den of death, then had the gall to lecture him to behave properly. Utterly disgusting."
As the Emperor's anger weighed heavily on the intelligence room, the Crown Prince, who was present, gave a bitter smile.
"This certainly is a treatment that dispels any guilt one might feel about taking him. From Prince Ian's perspective, serving as a retainer of the Empire must seem far better than living as a prince of that worthless kingdom."
"Indeed. It is good that we need not feel guilty while putting him to work. Is the plan proceeding well?"
"Yes, it will be soon. As soon as the social season ends, I shall have everything prepared so that Prince Ian can begin his duties."
At the end of the table, Chloe—who had been quietly listening to the intercepted conversation while holding a thick grimoire to her chest—gently nodded.
'...So that was it, Prince Ian.'
In her violet eyes, sorrow and faint pity bloomed.
The Ian she had seen over the past few weeks was truly a brilliant, thoughtful, kind, and gentlemanly person.
She had been so happy to have made such a wonderful friend, but now she had learned of her friend's terribly sad background.
To think that he had been abandoned by his own father and driven to the brink of death, all because of his outstanding abilities.
'My poor library friend, who volunteered to be a scapegoat for a kingdom plunged into the abyss.'
Chloe hugged the book in her arms tightly.
To him, abandoned even by his family and holding out alone in this cold, massive empire, she resolved to treat him with more kindness and warmth from now on.
And she herself would become at least a very small refuge where he could rest in this unfamiliar palace.
Chloe made a firm resolution in secret.