Since I had returned from the north as an inspector, naturally, I was to have an audience with the Crown Prince.
My time as an inspector had not been long, but major incidents had occurred.
The barbarians’ unrest. The skirmish with the advance party. And the arrival of the main force.
But to think the topic would be what happened with the Urut tribe.
“Why did you not explain this to me?”
“That is…”
“I doubt my younger brother was trying to hide something from me.”
“Absolutely not, Your Highness.”
I had meant to tell him then. There was no particular reason to hide it.
In fact, I had told my godfather as well. That Beoilleo had mentioned a marriage alliance.
I had intended to tell the Crown Prince too. But the reason I could not was—
“Well, Your Highness. The truth is, right around that time, that incident happened…”
“Ah. Mm. I see. So that was it.”
The celebration held after I successfully concluded my work as an envoy.
There, the Crown Prince of the time had begun his bloody coup.
From my position, it had hardly been a situation where I could bring up a personal matter.
With the political situation in utter chaos, how was I supposed to say anything?
Later, later. Once things calmed down a bit, it would be better to speak of it then.
And while I put it off like that, time slipped by, and I even ended up going off as an inspector.
“Well, I suppose so. You have been exceedingly busy, younger brother. If one were to be precise, I had a share in it as well.”
“No, Your Highness. It was my oversight.”
“Good. Let us not mention that part any further. So, what do you intend to do?”
“Do you mean the marriage alliance with the Urut tribe?”
“Of course. You told the tribal chief, did you not? About the unspoken rules of the nobles here.”
No matter how great a noble one might be. The first wife must be an imperial citizen.
After that, whether she came from a kingdom, a grassland tribe, or even the barbarians.
All rights of the house must ultimately be arranged to return to the Empire.
That could be called the unspoken rule circulating in the noble world of the Empire.
“Yes, Your Highness. I explained it to Beoilleo.”
“And yet he pushed ahead with the marriage alliance?”
“Even though I did not show much in the way of a positive response, Beoilleo seemed strongly determined to go through with it, so I postponed giving an answer for the time being.”
“And that has led all the way here. But from the looks of it, it is not only the tribal chief, is it? Did I not say so? That the woman who wishes to form a marriage alliance with you came in person. Her name was—”
“She is called Arte.”
“Yes. Arte. That was the name.”
She was quite a fine woman. One could see both courtesy and spirit in her.
The way he nodded made it feel as though he were appraising a daughter-in-law.
“What do you intend to do, younger brother?”
“As long as it benefits the Empire, I am fine with it in any form.”
“Do not say that. If you speak that way, does it not make me seem like a man without blood or tears?”
Not completely, but sometimes you are indeed someone without blood or tears.
Especially since any vassal who crosses the line even slightly is immediately out.
I heard about it on my return to the capital, but the political world was already being reorganized.
Among the existing supporting factions that had rendered great service in elevating the Crown Prince.
Those who had misspoken or acted improperly had all fallen away.
The Crown Prince did not leave even the smallest sprout that might become a powerful minister.
Vassals he could control entirely through imperial authority. That was all he wanted.
“The other party is the daughter of the Urut tribal chief. If she enters within the Empire’s fence, the eastern border will become a little safer. In other words, by imperial standards, it is a decent marriage alliance.”
“If that is the case…”
“What matters is your heart, younger brother. Ordering a vassal without even considering his feelings is a way to wear down loyalty. It would be another matter if this were unavoidable, but there is no need to go that far.”
What is your answer, younger brother? I called you here because I wanted to hear that.
At the Crown Prince’s words, I hesitated for a moment before speaking of what had happened in the north.
While serving as an inspector, I had happened to meet the granddaughter of a local notable.
She possessed exceptional talent, so I wanted her to gain experience in the capital.
If possible, I also wanted to help her grow into an outstanding person for the Empire.
So I had intended to have her stay with our house and support her from behind the scenes.
“Wait, younger brother. Are you saying that you, an unmarried man, told a woman of marriageable age that you wanted to invite her to your house?”
“Your Highness knew?”
“I grew up hearing stories of the north from when His Majesty the Emperor Emeritus was there. I take some pride in knowing even the small details about that region.”
“Ah…”
So I really had said it. Words that were, in effect, no different from a proposal.
The Crown Prince burst into laughter, as though he found it absurd.
Of course it would be absurd. This fellow had hooked one woman each in the east and the north.
It was not as though I had failed in my duties, so it was awkward to get angry.
Still, it was not a normal situation by any means, so I could not help feeling self-conscious.
“My, my. Younger brother, you surprise this elder brother in all sorts of ways.”
“My apolo—”
“In the end, is it not all for the Empire?”
“Your Highness?”
All of a sudden, for the Empire? In what part?
In Arte’s case, there was indeed progress in relations with the Urut tribe.
But in Polia’s case… Ah, could it be because of imperial technology?
“Everyone in the world now knows that you are my loyal vassal.”
“That is so.”
“Since you are such a man, I shall tell you in advance. Before long, I will ascend the throne.”
“Your Highness?”
“His Majesty said this seat was far too uncomfortable and strongly expressed his intent to abdicate. He ordered me not to think of refusing and to accept quietly, so in the end, I answered that I would do so.”
So it ends up this way after all. A Grand Emperor Emeritus, an Emperor Emeritus. And now even an Emperor.
It was a familiar development, but since it was unfolding as I knew it would, this was better.
“Before long, younger brother, you will become one of those with real power.”
Real power. To my ears, those words sounded like, “You might die?”
The Crown Prince was already keeping various meritorious subjects in check.
He had even arranged matters so his in-laws would be subtly attacked.
And now those words from his mouth? Ugh. That kind of thing is burdensome to me.
I just want to live quietly. As a house of founding contributors, all the way to the end.
“I merely wish to remain a loyal subject.”
“Indeed. You are a loyal subject of this Empire. And the place that will be connected to that loyal subject is the north. That is why I said I was impressed with you.”
The Crown Prince continued. In truth, he said, he had been worried about public sentiment in the north.
The east had entered a period of some stability by appeasing the grassland tribes.
There was still much talk about the western frontier, but it was acceptable.
After all, the recent rebellion had not been crushed by force.
They had firmly established the justification that the Empire was showing mercy.
What remained were the south and the north. And the situations there were somewhat different.
Both regions had suffered invasions by foreign enemies, barbarians and pirates respectively.
Not once or twice, but dozens, hundreds of times. They kept coming whenever people had almost forgotten.
The difference lay in the standard of living in the north and the south.
“The south has a fair amount of arable land to begin with. On top of that, it borders the sea, so it has ample room to develop in many areas, such as fishing and trade.”
“By contrast, the north has harsh weather and poor land, so it cannot even farm properly, let alone trade. Though there are at least mines and a few specialty products…”
“In the end, soothing public sentiment in the north is more difficult than in the south. That is why, back when His Majesty the Emperor Emeritus was a war hero, he dealt with the north first.”
It was right here that I realized why the Crown Prince was misunderstanding.
They said public sentiment in the north had to be soothed, but it was not as easy as words made it sound.
It was the early days of the founding, so there were countless places where money had to be spent.
Cleaning up the mess Condor had left behind was difficult enough.
They wanted to support the north as well, but the area around the capital had already been devastated first.
Only after ten years since the founding had this place barely been made fit for people to live in.
The next target for support would probably be the east, or perhaps the west.
The east had the friendly Urut tribe, so there was no possibility of a large-scale attack.
Even if one occurred, it would be safe because a united front with the Urut tribe was possible.
The west needed to be stabilized as much as possible, if only for the saltpeter produced in the frontier.
If they dragged their feet, the kingdoms might start drooling over it again, so it was absolutely necessary.
In the end, it was only natural that the south and the north would be pushed back.
“At times like this, one must soothe public sentiment with something other than money. For instance.”
The Crown Prince pointed at me and continued.
“A man whose name has recently risen high. One who is unmistakably close to the Crown Prince. Even though marriage proposals will now come to him from everywhere, he takes as the mistress of his household a woman from the north, which they regard as a backwater.”
“Ah.”
“In my view, there is no matter that could settle public sentiment in the north better than this.”
Unfortunately, the rest of us, including myself, already have wives and even children, you see.
The Crown Prince burst into laughter and patted my shoulder.
“Whether you intended it or not. In the end, you have done something for me once again, younger brother.”
“I merely…”
“At times like this, you may simply listen quietly. Younger brother. If I say I will take care of you on my own, there is no need to open your mouth and show me some reason to diminish what you have gained.”
Whether it was something I had planned and created, or a result that had simply come about by chance.
In the end, it remained something for the Empire, and that was enough.
The Crown Prince even thoroughly erased the slight worries I had been carrying.
“And younger brother. I am not what matters right now, am I? It seems you should hurry and tell those two about the present matter. The order may be set anyway by the Empire’s unspoken rules, but even so, the difference between explaining it and not explaining it will be very great.”
“I will follow Your Highness the Crown Prince’s advice.”
“You should. I will give you a somewhat longer rest this time, so resolve that matter as well. I will grant permission, so I shall also allow you to frequent the Armaments Office. If your wisdom enters that place, I believe somewhat better results will emerge.”
*
And so. I ended up in a three-way meeting I had never expected at all.
“Eh.”
“Mm.”
Arte and Polia looked at me in a way that demanded an explanation.
Though we had not exactly begun in a very good atmosphere.
Still, it had not been bad enough for us to end up in a situation like this.
The eyes of the two women seemed to be saying that to me.
“First, both of you… Yes. Let us go to my house.”
Whether this side or that side, it was awkward to take it back now anyway.
Then what else was there? I would just have to push ahead in the direction that worked.