The body the Second Imperial Prince had worked to the bone felt so heavy it seemed it might crumble at any moment.
On any normal day, I would have fallen asleep the instant I lay down.
But the conversation I had just had with the Grand Duchess of the North—who had controlled Arthur’s mind to come make me an offer—kept circling in my head, and sleep would not come.
‘Assassinate the emperor and the crown prince to bring the empire to a halt?’
It was madness.
So insane that I couldn’t even laugh in disbelief.
‘Why should I do that?’
To put it bluntly, it was impossible.
No, even if it were possible, I had no reason to take part.
I was nothing more than a hostage from a defeated nation. What wealth and glory could I possibly hope to enjoy that would make me join in on such a suicidal act?
‘To begin with, that Grand Duchess of the North is completely untrustworthy… You think she was called a witch for nothing?’
How was I supposed to trust a witch who tried to crawl into other people’s heads as she pleased, and even went so far as to dominate the mind of an imperial family member?
For now, she was pretending to kindly propose an alliance, but if things went wrong, she might just pin everything on me and wipe her hands clean.
‘If you think about it rationally, the fact that she has to resort to such secretive tricks in the first place is proof that the North is far behind the empire in military power and desperate.’
The empire’s population was close to seventy million, and in an emergency, it could mobilize an army of over a million.
On the other hand, I’d heard that even if the North squeezed out every last bit of its manpower, two hundred thousand troops was its limit.
It possessed a vast territory that took up almost the entire northern part of the continent, but most of it was an icy wasteland where farming was impossible, and all sorts of monsters lived there as well. Considering that seventy percent of its population was gathered near the border with the empire, the actual disparity in strength was even greater than that.
There was no reason to join a fight that could not be won from the start.
‘Honestly, it’s someone else’s family feud. Why the hell should I serve as a disposable chess piece for the Grand Ducal House of the North?’
And what would I gain from getting involved in this rebellion? Nothing.
At best, the North would gain the ability to curb the empire’s expansion, which had absolutely nothing to do with me.
On the other hand, the price I would have to pay if this insane gamble failed was far too horrific.
‘If it were just me dying, that would be one thing, but my entire homeland would bear the empire’s wrath. The whole country would be trampled in the cruelest way imaginable and erased from the map forever.’
I came all the way here in place of the prince to prevent that, so what would all my efforts amount to then?
‘And sure, if you judge the emperor and the crown prince as human beings, they’re not exactly good people… but from a ruler’s perspective, they’re by no means lacking.’
Who was going to blame them for relieving a little stress on some easy hostages?
Even by the standards of modern society, there were plenty of people more incompetent and more brutal than them. So in a romance-fantasy world set somewhere between the medieval and early modern eras, how could that even be considered a flaw?
As rulers or administrators, those two were competent individuals with no particular shortcomings.
‘I’m sure there are plenty of people who hold grudges against them… but honestly, that’s none of my business.’
What mattered most was the fact that, at the very least, those two treated me extremely well.
I was living happily while having my abilities acknowledged by the imperial family, and those two were also the strongest backers who could guarantee my life here in the middle of this terrifying empire.
I wasn’t stupid enough to cut my own lifeline with my own hands.
‘And, though this is purely personal sentiment… Arthur, too.’
The Second Imperial Prince, my excellent workout partner and friend.
Why on earth should someone who would be happy just exercising every day with someone he got along with be forced onto the imperial throne?
Besides, if Arthur—of all the imperial family members—became emperor, when Ella’s mental magic had already punched a hole through his mind?
It was obvious he would end up as a puppet in that white witch’s grasp, manipulated without knowing a thing.
And depending on that witch’s whims, he might be broken at any moment.
“No. Absolutely not.”
No matter how I turned it over in my head, the conclusion was clear.
Until a blade was at my throat, I had to avoid getting involved with the Grand Ducal House of the North.
My only way to survive was to keep proving my worth and solidifying my position here, just as I was doing now.
‘Ah, forget it. Let’s stop thinking. My head hurts… I’ll sleep first and think about it tomorrow.’
I forcibly pushed away the thoughts that kept circling in my mind and tried to make myself fall asleep.
Fortunately, my exhausted body quickly carried me off to dreamland.
#
The next day, the third day of the social gathering.
I decided not to think, for the time being, about all the things that had tormented me until late last night.
After all, all I could do right now was smile as harmlessly as possible while building connections with various nobles and pretending to be close with the imperial family.
It didn’t seem like it would be too difficult.
“Prince Ian, it is a pleasure!”
“This is our first meeting, Prince Ian! I am—”
Perhaps thanks to the course of action I had shown yesterday and the emperor’s blatant favor toward me, today’s banquet was far easier and more peaceful than yesterday’s.
There was no longer any pity, arrogance, or curiosity in the eyes of the imperial nobles who looked at me.
They approached me with gentle, courteous attitudes, doing whatever they could to make my acquaintance, and I exchanged light jokes with them while wearing a suitably relaxed smile, building friendly relations with the nobles.
Today, I was staying in the garden rather than the main hall, so unlike yesterday, when only the great nobles had gathered, I was able to speak frequently with nobles whose influence was not particularly large.
“Phew, the air is really nice.”
While enjoying the fireworks embroidering the night sky and the gentle sound of the orchestra tickling my ears, I strolled through the garden.
The cool night breeze brushed pleasantly against my cheeks.
“I’ll take a glass of champagne.”
I lightly picked up a chilled glass of champagne, beaded with condensation, from the silver tray of a passing servant.
A sharp, sweet fruit fragrance lingered at the tip of my nose.
‘I’ll have just this one drink today, then head in a little early.’
It was right then.
“Oh, to think I would meet you here!”
A familiar voice suddenly came from behind me.
“……!”
“Haha, I thought there was no way I would see someone like you here, so I doubted my own eyes—but my, what fate this is! It has been so long, Your Highness!”
In that instant, goosebumps ran from the top of my head to the tips of my toes, and I felt as though the blood flowing through my veins had frozen cold.
The moment I slowly turned my head, praying desperately that it wasn’t him, felt endlessly long—and at the end of that long moment, the man who entered my sight neatly betrayed my expectations.
“…Count Hodeki.”
He was tall, with eyes that were somehow both sly and nervously slanted.
And above his lips sat an obnoxious mustache, carefully groomed like a rat’s whiskers.
A corrupt noble who had lived high on the hog, possessing a massive territory six times the size of ours, right beside several baronial houses including House Harper.
He was Count Hodeki, a great noble of my true homeland, the Kingdom of Sterling.
“……”
As I failed to continue speaking, he approached me without hesitation and offered his greeting.
“Count Hodeki of the Kingdom of Sterling—now an imperial count—offers his humble greetings to Prince Ian Sterling. When I think of Prince Ian, suffering hardships in this distant land of the empire on behalf of our Kingdom of Sterling, tears well in the eyes of this lowly subject…”
His words sounded plausible enough, but it was blatant mockery.
Of course they were. This man knew my identity.
He had seen me, the second son of a baronial house in the territory right next to his, often since I was very young.
‘Why the hell is this bastard here…?’
And in all those many encounters, not once had I ever formed a favorable impression of him.
He exploited his people with high taxes, tormented them with harsh rule, and reigned like a king atop the wealth he wrung out of them.
Though his power was insignificant compared to the empire, it was by no means small within the kingdom, and even the king had to watch his mood to some extent.
I truly hated him, and since childhood, I had wanted to avoid him as much as possible.
It seemed this man likewise held no particularly favorable feelings toward me.
“Hmm…”
After briefly looking around and confirming that there were no other nobles or watchers nearby, Count Hodeki approached me.
Pretending to greet me with a respectful bow of his head, he parted his lips and whispered.
“Are you doing well in the empire, Ian Harper? You’ve grown a lot.”
“……”
“Is playing the fake prince going well?”
As he spoke the words I feared most, that wicked noble grinned so widely his face seemed about to split.