"—Those lowly things are trying to crawl up higher and higher."
Snap.
The fountain pen in the hand of the noble crown princess, her dazzling silver hair flowing, snapped in two.
Considering it was made exclusively for the crown princess using only the finest materials, it should have been quite durable.
In other words, the materials were expensive, and so was its sturdiness considerable. The fact that she snapped it so effortlessly was proof enough that the crown princess was no frail woman.
"What a waste. It was quite a good fountain pen... You should try to control your strength a bit. It's not like you're showing off growing up on pills for three meals a day."
"How impudent of you to wag your tongue so. If you're a butler, act like one—you should be worrying about your master's hand, not making snide remarks."
"I would have done so if she were an ordinary young lady, but I doubt there's anything more foolish than worrying over a princess. Haha."
"...Insolent."
Tch!
It was Isis Pendragon, clicking her tongue in displeasure. Isis shook off the broken fountain pen and took a refreshing sip of tea.
"Haa, even this doesn't calm the anger in my heart."
"Haha, does it displease you that much?"
"Of course. Do these lowly things not keep riling my temper?"
"...You should watch your words. If you were to make such insolent remarks toward the 'Guild' in a public setting, you would bring trouble upon yourself."
"Nonsense."
Isis let out a scoff filled with contempt.
Lowly things.
She made no effort to hide her bitter contempt for the [Guild Union].
'Dirty little rats.'
The Guild Union.
They were counted as the fourth emerging power alongside the [Council of Nobles], the [Merchant Alliance], and the [Mercenary Coalition] that currently upheld the kingdom.
They neither possessed the honor, power, and prestige of the Council of Nobles, nor did they grasp the flow of funds like the Merchant Alliance, nor were they an independent military faction like the Mercenary Coalition...
"Please remember, the Guild is the faction with the largest number of personnel in this kingdom—nay, the entire continent. If you cross them wrongly, you're likely to lose 'public sentiment.'"
"Do you think I don't know that? How dare you try to teach me?"
"Consider it the loyal advice of a worried old butler. Hehe."
"...Hmph."
All talk and no bite.
Isis looked at her butler with a displeased expression. She would have loved to give him a hard time, but trying to give this butler a hard time might result in her being the one given a hard time, so she had to exercise patience.
Honestly, all capable ones are insolent.
'...Well, how could I not know?'
However, acknowledging what must be acknowledged is the attitude of a monarch.
Isis cooled her head, mulling over what might be Albert's loyal advice or mere nagging.
'To catch an irritating rat, I need to understand that rat's habits.'
Knowing the 'enemy' clearly is the top priority in a strategy to bring them down.
Thus, Isis only spoke curtly and did not get any angrier, but...
'...At times like this, I resent the late king.'
She couldn't help feeling stifled.
...What was the reason the Guild's power grew in the royal capital in the first place?
The late king lending them his strength was undoubtedly the starting point for the Guild's full-fledged expansion.
The late king in his lifetime said—
—[If the power of nobles or merchants grows too great, the power of vested interests becomes excessive, and the lamentations of the people will only grow louder. Those without power cannot even make a proper sound, while only those with wealth raise their voices—how can that be called a just nation? Therefore, we must amplify the voices of the people and have a force that can adequately stand against existing vested interests... Yes, shouldn't there be a force solely for the people! Thus, let us nurture the power of the Guild. The more nobles and merchants run amok, the more we need a force that will band together tightly to bring them down.]
...Even thinking about it now, it was a terrifying foresight.
Existing vested interests.
The late king had already seen through the fact that the more foolish and filthy the nobles and merchants became, the more the people's lives would be devastated.
And if the people's discontent was ignored and left alone, it would invite an uncontrollable disaster—had they not seen this in the war years ago?
'That's how Britain fell.'
The reason the Kingdom of Britain, Pendragon's long-standing enemy nation, fell was partly due to their defeat in the war against Pendragon, but that was merely the signal flare heading toward national ruin. Even before the war with them, Britain was already in a state of decline.
Reaping what they sowed.
That's how she wanted to evaluate it.
'...It was absurd.'
Even though they were defeated, with the largest granary and resources of the southern continent, they definitely had the capacity to make a comeback.
Yet not a single citizen yearned for Britain's reconstruction, nor hesitated to abandon it...
Was it not the result of losing the people's trust by committing the blunder of raising taxes and prices to increase their own wealth without any thought of sharing with the people?
Well, thanks to that, after Pendragon won the war, population influx and integration were relatively easy, so from Pendragon's perspective, they were grateful for their enemies' foolishness.
...Well, it wasn't like there were no rebel factions.
In any case, this series of events served as an excellent cautionary tale for Isis.
'The kingdom is not simply the monarch's, but also the people's. The moment the people's trust is lost must be the moment this country truly falls.'
The beginning of a ruined nation.
...And to avoid stepping onto the path of national ruin, smooth communication and engagement with the Guild was a necessary process.
Even if they were a force formed by dirty sewer rats gathering together, the fact that they represented the voices of the powerless people had to be acknowledged.
However.
"Still, I can't say I don't understand why Her Highness is so furious. They're crossing the line. Who would have thought they'd started backroom dealings with the grand nobles? Good grief."
"It's too late to take my side now."
—Like this, as 'favors' came to be regarded as 'rights,' a [rift] was gradually forming.
Isis hardened her expression, swept through the documents once more, and clicked her tongue.
No matter how many times she looked, it was unpleasant.
"'Secret meetings confirmed with grand nobles and other merchant guilds'... You shallow things. Now that your bellies are full, you want power as well, is that it?"
"Rather than power, I suspect they want to exert strong influence over the kingdom. As their size grows, they seem to forget they are individuals and mistakenly think they've become wolves. Haha."
"...You seem to be enjoying the situation."
Isis sensed a hint of amusement in Albert's seemingly caustic tone.
No matter how she looked at it, he seemed to be enjoying the sight of the nobles and the Guild colluding.
Sure enough.
"Watching a fight is always entertaining, after all."
"......"
As expected, to the eyes of that [Transcendent] wearing the mask of a butler, power struggles and the birth of new military factions didn't seem to be matters of much interest.
Then again, in that man's eyes, all their actions must...
'Look like nothing more than sandcastles that can be toppled at any time.'
...Honestly, an excellent but overwhelmingly difficult butler.
"Haa."
Isis sighed, tousling her finely combed hair.
In many ways, adversities, circumstances, and lack of just cause were piling up, giving her a headache.
Her desire to punish the Guild was burning, but she couldn't know exactly what they were plotting with the nobles and merchant guilds. Similarly, the schemes of the nobles and merchant guilds were not yet clearly visible.
Thus, her head only hurt, and Isis concluded that working overtime into the night was a certainty.
"The hardships of youth are the privilege of the young, aren't they? Please hang in there."
"...You're forty this year, aren't you?"
"If I were to use a metaphor from what the First Elder occasionally says, you're still in the prime of your youth at twenty-eight."
"......"
"And why is a royal talking about age? Boast about being old only after you pass 150."
"Hmm..."
For some reason, it sounded like she would be told to just keep working even after passing a hundred, leaving her with complicated feelings.
At that moment.
Knock knock.
"Princess! I'm here!"
"...If you knocked, you should have waited."
"Ah, right! I'll go out and come back in."
"......Never mind."
It only hurt her own mouth to say anything.
Looking at the irrepressibly bright-eyed maid, Isis's head hurt in a different way, and she pressed a hand to her brow for a moment.
Leira Winter.
She was Isis's personal maid, assigned with the mission of attending to her adoptive brother.
...According to the news she'd heard, rather than attending to him, she was in the process of destroying his household.
However, such trivial matters were not for Isis to worry about. What concerned her now was why that bright maid was...
"I assigned you to my adoptive brother trusting in your diligence, so why are you in the royal castle? Don't tell me you find my orders laughable."
How could she forget her inherent duty and be in the royal castle?
Well, she hadn't scolded the maid with the intention of truly reprimanding her.
She was just scolding her out of habit, and even if she did scold her, that child wouldn't understand anyway.
In truth, it was closer to genuine curiosity, and Leira opened her mouth with her signature sparkling gaze.
"It's nothing big, the knight told me to pass on a message!"
"...That kid?"
"Yees!"
"Hmm."
Isis knew that he rarely conveyed messages to her.
Even if he occasionally dropped a subtle hint, it was extremely rare for him to directly pass on a message like this.
...Something felt off.
And—
"The knight said, 'It looks like I'll be clashing with the Guild, so please take care of the aftermath!' He also said any justification would do as long as you make something up!"
"......"
Her anxiety hit the mark, and Isis pressed her brow again, but—
"Haha, truly the best talent. He's solving the princess's worries in one stroke, isn't he? Haha!"
"Don't laugh. I'm this serious right now."
"Isn't it delightful? He always exceeds my expectations, how entertaining."
"Nonsense."
"...Hmm. Despite what you say."
"......"
"You seem to be enjoying this."
"......"
—She couldn't stop the satisfied smile that bloomed on her face.
*
*
And the knight who had boldly asked the crown princess of a nation to clean up his mess was—
"—You'd better speak well. If a single lie comes out of your mouth, I'll take your head first."
"......"
...In the middle of threatening the life of the Guild Union leader.
"......Ha."
The Guild Union leader let out a hollow laugh, utterly dumbfounded.
The knight radiating a vicious aura right before his eyes and his subordinates strewn about.
Doors and desks destroyed here and there, the building's floor.
The gleaming hand axe stuck firmly into the table.
A double bind.
If there was an inescapable crisis situation, it would be something like this, and he couldn't bring himself to look directly at the knight's face.
'Damn it, I got caught by a proper crazy bastard...!'
...Afraid to even meet his eyes.
The Union Leader Simon realized anew that what's scarier than ghosts is a human holding a hand axe with murderous intent gleaming in his eyes.