“This way, Wold.”
“Great-Aunt, thank you for waiting.”
I met with my great-aunt, an elf who was my great-grandfather’s younger sister, in a quiet tavern frequented by the educated and the wealthy.
The seats were set wide apart, and music flowed through the establishment, gentle enough not to disturb conversation.
Yet its volume was considerate, preventing words from carrying to neighboring tables.
“Was finance the reason you were late, or was it His Highness?”
At my great-aunt’s question, I could not help but smile wryly.
The reason was simply that I had taken time putting away the alchemy tools I had been allowed to use for the first time.
“You have changed quite a bit. A year ago, you never asked about His Highness except out of concern for me.”
“I am still concerned. You have often been made to bear the brunt of things.”
She said it with genuine worry because, with my appearance, discrimination and bullying were not uncommon.
Living in the same imperial capital, my great-aunt had even protected me from bullies when I was young.
“When I think about it, you and I have walked rather opposite paths, Great-Aunt.”
“Have we? I am the eccentric of the family. You, Wold, refused to give in and worked hard. As a result, you now hold a solid post in finance, do you not? Compared to that, I joined the military for the frivolous reason that it would let me travel freely within the country.”
My great-aunt’s words were true.
Our elven bloodline is old, descended from the first elven clan to take root in the Empire.
For that reason, we were more conservative than the elves who had newly immigrated to the Empire, and I heard that when my father married my mother, the fact that she was of another race was treated as the greatest obstacle.
In the end, I was born with only the appearance of an elf, and so there was discrimination even among my relatives.
Amid all that, this great-aunt of mine was an exceptional free spirit within the clan.
She had genuinely joined the army solely for the sake of travel, and on top of that, she hated being tied down to duty in the imperial capital, so she had apparently continued avoiding it until around the time I was born.
Because of that, her rank was low compared to her years of service, but she herself did not care. She was also an oddity who had volunteered for this deployment, one that would clearly make it difficult to return to the imperial capital.
“From the perspective of such a pleasure-seeking great-aunt, what was His Highness like? …Depending on how one looks at it, perhaps one could call him terribly indolent.”
“Oh, absolutely. One would be fooled. It was a dreadful indolence, utterly lacking any attempt to make himself look good.”
If the First Imperial Prince had even the slightest inclination to do so, I could not help but think the same.
My great-aunt said it half in jest, then poured some of the already opened bottle into my cup as well.
“May I ask in detail about His Highness’s deeds on the road?”
“At first, you reported your demotion to me with a face as though the world had ended, and yet now…”
That stung, and indeed, I was amazed at how thoroughly I had changed.
But now, I also wanted to say that it could not be helped.
After all, His Highness’s greatness could not be understood merely by looking at him.
First, he was surrounded by seasoned veterans.
A mage who was the pride of the highest seat of learning, a former soldier with a title in this day and age, and a formidable hunter who had risen to become a noble.
They had no political power, but their careers testified that they were people capable of accomplishing something.
A prince raised by such people had done something.
If that was all one heard, anyone would assume his aides had handed over their achievements to him.
But when one thought carefully, the truth was obvious: why would such aides follow an unfavored prince?
It could only be because that person, despite his youth, possessed a talent surpassing those who had made names for themselves as adults.
“For the first month after we left the imperial capital, he was quiet. He caused no problems, nor did he say anything to us. I suggested to General Wageris that he greet him every day, including to check in, but he said it would be soon enough after His Highness came to complain.”
“That is… His Highness is a prince in the truest sense. How could he be so bold?”
“When a child has been placed beside you as a commander, you cannot afford to humble yourself while leading a poorly unified army of men gathered from here and there.”
It seemed to be a point of pride particular to soldiers who prized strength.
My great-aunt began saying something ominous about how, if one were looked down upon, one would have to unleash a storm of purges.
“Perhaps it is fortunate it did not come to that. His Highness dislikes such rough measures.”
“So it seems. When the Imperial Guards rebelled, General Wageris was considering making an example of them, but His Highness sent in one of his aides and stopped him.”
“…Incidentally, which one?”
“Kaito of the palace guard.”
My great-aunt and I looked at each other and sighed.
“That man is usually very quiet and does not look it, but he is quick to act.”
“Is he? He scattered killing intent about, but he did not raise a hand.”
That was surely only because His Highness had stopped him.
But I knew he had done various things to other palace guards.
From their attitudes, one could tell that the palace guards serving the Second Imperial Prince and those below him had been put in their place.
But I had heard the details from another of the First Imperial Prince’s palace guards, Miltoadis.
Apparently, if someone voiced slander of His Highness within earshot of the palace guards, they would immediately be dragged to the training grounds and made to crawl on the ground.
What was more, regardless of the other party’s title, bloodline, or career, he would subdue them solely with his own skill and strength, then break their spirit so they would never say it again.
It seemed even Marquis Strategue, who oversaw the palace guards, had privately issued instructions not to provoke him.
“As for raising a hand—rather, the one who immediately picked a fight with his mouth was the beastman tutor. I heard he was a former soldier, but it was my first time meeting him. He seemed to have been a peer of General Wageris, though.”
“For that, I do not recall them speaking in particular during the preparations.”
“Well, yes… General Wageris’s war record is not exactly one he can be proud of. Perhaps he was being considerate, so as not to make us view him with prejudice…”
My great-aunt made a sour face and tossed back her drink.
I opened a bottle of liquor that had not yet been unsealed and poured for her.
“What happened?”
“Before we reached the mountain range, around the time we began making camp, the First Imperial Prince’s side raised an objection about the pitching of the tents. We checked with the person in charge on our side, but were told there was no problem.”
From my great-aunt’s dark expression as she spoke, I could tell that judgment had been mistaken.
“His Highness uses deception as well, but he is not someone who lies without reason.”
“I know. To give you the conclusion, the captain entrusted with one unit had deliberately made the First Imperial Prince’s tent defective in accordance with his family’s policy. The aim was to injure the prince and estrange him from General Wageris. Depending on how things went, they had apparently hoped the First Imperial Prince would selfishly insist on returning to the imperial capital right then.”
“It seems His Highness had also sensed there was an intent to make the two commanders clash.”
“From our side, it had sounded as though that was the result of the prince’s selfishness.”
“Impossible.”
“I know. Now, I know.”
My great-aunt murmured this and poured liquor down her throat again in one gulp.
I was truly starting to worry, so when I pushed a plate of snacks toward her, she sighed and brought some to her mouth.
“On the surface, we dealt with the one responsible for the blunder with immediate decisiveness. Since we were still wary of the First Imperial Prince, the intent was to prevent him from interfering. But General Wageris had also sensed there was something behind it. So he wrung the truth out of the man. According to the culprit, the First Imperial Prince’s removal was desired. Once we drew out that testimony, we understood as well that a troublesome succession struggle was involved.”
According to my great-aunt, at that point she still suspected His Highness of harboring ambitions.
“Even though our time was limited, all that came up when we investigated were bad rumors. There was nothing to deny them, yet only circumstantial evidence to support them kept appearing. Above all, despite being the First Imperial Prince, he was languishing in neglect. We thought he could not possibly fail to desire the imperial throne in order to break free of such circumstances.”
“…That person does not desire such a thing.”
There was a time when I, too, wondered why he did not desire it, and wished that he would.
It was purely my selfish desire to improve the situation of having been demoted, but I thought he might have the talent to aim for it.
“He had such cold eyes.”
My great-aunt turned the cheese in her hand and let the words slip out as though in remorse.
“One morning at camp, I was walking through the forest. There, I encountered the First Imperial Prince, who seemed to have tripped and tumbled down a slope. Some Imperial Guards were nearby, but they left without helping him.”
“That’s… What about his aides?”
“When I brought him back, he was scolded, so I suspect he had slipped out alone. Nothing like that happened afterward.”
My great-aunt smiled wryly and turned her eyes to me.
“That person was looking in the direction the Imperial Guards had gone with cold eyes. From that direction, I heard the sound of a hand going to a sword.”
“That’s…!”
“He seemed to have realized it too, and threatened them that it would not end with mere demotion. …But those cold eyes of his then were so terribly painful to see. My heart ached, wondering if he had already come to expect nothing but disappointment from adults who would not extend a hand to him.”
This great-aunt of mine loved children, and I, too, had been protected by her since I was young.
Because of that, I could imagine why she had been unable to leave that prince, who expected nothing from adults, alone.
To be honest, I had not been expected by that prince either, but by pleading for it, I was still allowed to remain at his side now.
“Well, because of that, I thought I should somehow inform General Wageris as well that this was not a situation where selfishness could be indulged, and I considered bringing the two of them closer, but…”
My great-aunt tossed back her drink again, so I understood it had not gone well.
“General Wageris is not the kind of person who steals his subordinates’ achievements, but he also has a tendency not to be satisfied unless he sees and hears things for himself. And yet the First Imperial Prince, too, pointed out in front of his subordinates that he had been sold fake Dink liquor, driving a wedge between them…”
“Guh!?”
It happened just as I had brought my own cup to my lips, and disgracefully, I ended up spraying it out.
His Highness was usually thoughtful, but I could understand the state of mind that must have made him speak up without thinking.
As the one who had devised it, he could hardly leave the matter alone if someone had been sold a fake.
While coughing, I could not help but think how ill-fated the meeting between His Highness and the general had been.
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