After the dispirited Founding Emperor delegated full authority to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince once again granted some of that authority to Ishmael.
Saying that he himself, having only ever roamed battlefields, honestly lacked confidence.
The reason being that the Fifth Prince, who had experience in bureaucratic life, would be of help.
Of course, there was likely another reason beneath the surface.
For instance, preparatory work to establish him as the successor.
“This time, the internal roads absolutely must be repaired….”
“…the current mood of the northern winter barbarians….”
“…pirates are reappearing in the south….”
A meeting where they listened to reports from various officials and exchanged opinions.
But suddenly, a commotion outside drew gradually closer—
—*Bang!*
“What?”
“Wh-who goes there?!”
Flustered and furious officials sprang up from their seats.
But when the face revealed itself became visible, they coughed and promptly sat back down.
“Ishmael!”
“Brother?”
It was the Fourth Prince, Berkiel. He had barged in with savage momentum.
His bearing was so menacing that guards tried to rush over.
But Ishmael stopped them and opened his mouth.
“Let us conclude here for today. Everyone, you may go.”
“Yes, Your Highness the Fifth Prince.”
A savage atmosphere where a bloody fight seemed imminent.
The officials looked between the two brothers and finally exited the meeting room.
Shortly after they had all left, Berkiel growled again.
“You. What do you think you’re doing?”
“It is quite difficult when you barge in suddenly during an important meeting, Brother. And isn’t the question of ‘what are you doing’ one that I should be asking?”
“Stop spouting nonsense! What the National Tax Bureau did this time! That damned Enforcement Division! Why are they targeting me!”
“Targeting you? That’s absurd.”
“Then why are they raiding the house that was supporting me!”
One could only imagine how flustered and furious he had been upon hearing the news.
Yes. That scheme of avoiding paying those damned taxes.
Money was always necessary, so it might have been a misguided thought.
But this was too blatant. Why of all people him?
Everyone knew that house supported him, the Fourth Prince of the Empire.
How could they raid everything without a moment’s hesitation?!
“Brother. This matter holds no political scheme or intent. The administration simply did what it was supposed to do.”
“Are you saying I simply had poor luck?”
“They bit off more than they could chew and were caught first. As investigations proceed, others in the wrong will surely be revealed. That house alone will not be the only one punished.”
“Instead, everyone will use this as an opportunity to settle things quietly or hurriedly bring in their overdue taxes, calling them back payments! They can make it as if it never happened! Meanwhile, only the house that supported me and I myself will bear all the infamy!”
—*Bang!!*
Berkiel slammed the table roughly once more and panted in rage.
He was seething. No matter how he thought it over, this should never have happened.
There were plenty of places to raid. Houses that had ambiguously taken sides, for example.
Or fools who had sided with the Eighth Prince and barely kept their lives.
They were the perfect targets to display the administrative might of the newly established National Tax Bureau.
They too undoubtedly had tax issues here and there.
They couldn’t not have them. Truly clean houses could be counted on one hand.
Though it was wrong, that was how one survived in Condor.
That survival instinct had become habit, continuing until now.
Yes. They could easily recoup their investment even if they raided those houses.
So why. Why of all things one of the houses supporting him?
He too was one of the main figures who had played a pivotal role in the recent coup.
He should not be treated this way. He could not be entangled in such matters.
Were they crazy, touching one who had so clearly risen to become a true power?
‘National Tax Bureau. Enforcement Division. Ethan Montebello.’
Berkiel reached a conclusion. It was not the will of the Enforcement Division or the National Tax Bureau.
Further behind. Higher above. Someone was there. Interfering in this situation.
It was not the Emperor. His Imperial Father had stopped eating and drinking entirely, living like a sick man.
Could it be his older brother? No. He was a brother who loved his younger brothers.
It was absolutely not his younger brother either. He lacked both the capability and the mind for it.
‘Then only one answer remains. Ishmael. It’s this bastard. Other than him, there is no one who would dare shake the Montebello head into attacking me.’
Doubt soon became conviction, and it manifested in immediate action.
He had barged into the meeting room like this and caused the so-called rampage.
“Was it you?”
“Brother.”
“Not long ago, you said we were brothers who shared the same mother. That we had to fight together to survive. Wasn’t that you? But the moment that matter ended, you stab me in the back like this?”
“Brother.”
“Thinking back, it was strange. That day at the party, you suddenly appeared and said there were many guards. That it seemed they were going to kill us all. When you said we had to flee quickly and proceed. Was that the truth?”
Instead of answering, Ishmael quietly looked at Berkiel.
What did it matter now? It was all in the past.
And after all, it was Berkiel himself who had participated in the affair.
Despite having thrown himself into it more zealously than anyone to eliminate the Eighth Prince’s faction.
It was strange that he was now acting as if he had been pushed into it.
‘Ahh. Brother. Surely not. Are you trying to shift all the blame onto me?’
The youngest had lost his mind and even lied to instigate a bloody coup.
Berkiel had joined in but would claim he had no other intentions, that he had simply been deceived.
Ishmael was the bad guy. Someone like him should not become Crown Prince.
He had barely caught his breath when yet another fight threatened to begin.
Then, what position should he take here?
Should he bare his fangs and oppose him? Should he take down his older brother as he had his younger brother?
“Brother. Why on earth are you doing this? This younger brother is truly hurt.”
“What?”
No. Wait. Our younger brother Ethan had set the stage like this.
He had not heard anything separately from his younger brother, but seeing the current situation, he understood immediately.
What kind of image Ethan was trying to create for him.
Continue to embrace and accommodate him. He would try to let it pass and show that demeanor.
Fratricide. And killing an older brother at that—the burden was too great.
It was the worst move, one that could split their current factions.
So he must become a benevolent and understanding younger brother.
The more he did so, the more this hot-tempered older brother would make an even bigger mistake.
Striking an older brother was problematic, but taking down an older brother who had struck his younger brother was a different matter.
“Think about it. If I denounce you, would I be free? As you said, I am a culprit who proceeded with the coup together with you. This is a self-defeating move, a self-defeating move.”
“But….”
“The National Tax Bureau simply did what they had to do. That house overstepped the line because they trusted your prestige too much and got caught. Was it not their fault for conducting their affairs so openly that the entire world could see?”
If they had not been caught, it would have been fine. But they were caught, and so it came to this.
The National Tax Bureau, too. The Enforcement Division, too. They had no choice but to bite down on them.
He had done nothing. And Ethan had not meant anything by it either.
At Ishmael’s words, Berkiel bit his lip briefly.
It was vexing, but it was difficult to see it as completely wrong.
Yes. After the coup succeeded, their side’s momentum had soared.
So that house might have been intoxicated by it and let their guard down momentarily.
They should have been more careful at a time like this. They had failed to endure that brief moment.
“…I’m going.”
Unlike when he had barged in with the momentum to smash everything to pieces.
When he left, he quietly vanished from the meeting room without a word.
It was proof that, impulsive as he was, his thoughts did not run very deep.
Ishmael watched Berkiel’s retreating figure for a moment.
“Is anyone outside?”
“Yes, Your Highness the Fifth Prince.”
“A place I need to visit for a moment has come up. Prepare to depart.”
*
“Chief! Chieeeef!!”
Goodness. That voice sure was loud. It echoed thunderously.
As expected of one from the Emperor’s irregulars. Wesley came running wildly.
Sinclair tried to stop him upon seeing that, but I held him back.
Wesley always had his reasons for acting like that.
“Th-the Fifth Prince is coming! He is on his way right now!!”
“He is finally coming.”
“…Did you arrange a meeting with His Highness the Fifth Prince in advance?”
At Sinclair’s question, I shook my head as if to ask how that could be.
I had simply anticipated it. In truth, I had been in a state of near certainty.
“Everyone, clear out for a moment. I have to receive the Fifth Prince. Or you can stay if you’d like.”
“I-I’ll decline!”
“I also have a lot of work for Team 2. I’ll be going.”
Cowards. After Wesley and Sinclair vanished, I tidied the office.
And shortly after, the door opened with a knock, and a familiar face entered.
“Long time no see, little brother. Have you been well?”
“I have been busy for the sake of the Empire, as always, Your Highness the Fifth Prince.”
“Is that why your face looks haggard? Take it easy. You wouldn’t know what a great loss it was when the previous head of House Montebello collapsed from overwork.”
He was the Fifth Prince, evaluated as the de facto power in the current political world.
A titan among titans, yet he did not bother with empty formalities.
Just as when we had first met. He was treating me comfortably.
“How is your house?”
“It is peaceful. All thanks to His Majesty the Emperor, His Highness the Crown Prince, and Your Highness the Fifth Prince.”
“My little brother keeps gilding my face. Is there something you need? Haha.”
After loosening up with brief light conversation, the Fifth Prince and I entered into the real discussion in earnest.
“It is a bit embarrassing to say this, but I suppose I must. Actually, brother, the Enforcement Division’s recent actions have greatly displeased our fourth brother. He barged in just now and poured his anger out on me. Asking if it was my doing. If I had orchestrated it with the Enforcement Chief, he said.”
“His Highness the Fourth Prince seems too agitated.”
“Indeed. So I spoke to him nicely and sent him back for now. He might barge in again in anger, but he should be quiet for the moment.”
The Fifth Prince, who had been nodding, slowly parted his lips.
“You could have informed me beforehand and proceeded. Is there a reason you did not, brother?”
“I was concerned that if word reached His Highness the Fourth Prince, today’s suspicion might become conviction. I judged that it would surely cause greater inconvenience to Your Highness the Fifth Prince.”
“But in the end, I came here like this. Isn’t the situation the same whether I was told or not?”
“Because from the Fourth Prince’s perspective, today’s meeting could be seen as Your Highness the Fifth Prince hearing your brother’s words and coming to warn and scold me.”
“That you dared cause trouble for my older brother, you mean?”
Compared to the Fifth Prince, the Fourth Prince’s faction was very small.
But regardless, he was a victor, so he had eyes and ears here and there.
If I had given the Fifth Prince a heads-up beforehand, it would have been seized upon immediately.
So I proceeded with the work. As if truly and impartially carrying out my duties.
Here, the Fifth Prince became someone who truly knew nothing.
He took on the appearance of coming personally for his brother and even scolding me.
To others, it looked like the image of a younger brother who truly cared for his older brother.
Even though he had barged into the meeting room, he chose such actions instead of complaining.
It could somewhat blunt the perception of the Fifth Prince as a ruthless man.
“Look here, brother.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Do you not hate me?”
He had designated the party celebrating the diplomatic mission’s success as the coup’s location.
It was a question asking whether I harbored dissatisfaction about that.
Even though he had already given me the justification to act, he insisted on asking.
‘So it is a question asking if I caused this incident because I hold a grudge.’
Revealing too much was a problem, but hiding too much likewise invited wariness.
Fortunately, I now had a reason that was nearly perfect.
“Would there be a younger brother in this world who hates his older brother? He is someone I can always trust and follow.”
A statement meaning that since I had already chosen to stand on his side, he should trust me.
And an answer that he, too, must make use of that image.
Apparently quite satisfied, the Fifth Prince smiled.
“I wish to see you for a long time, brother.”
Of course, Your Highness. I too wish to live long.