"I protested that it was absurd to ask my intentions without so much as a greeting."
"So, Ikuto, can you stay as my guard?"
When I asked, Ikuto made a bitter face.
"It will be difficult. It is true that I am here at His Majesty's request. However, the authority over personnel matters for the Imperial Palace Guards rests with the Commander."
"Who is that Commander?"
It was Wearel who answered me.
"It was Marquis Strateg, was it not?"
"As for his faction, he is neutral, or perhaps leaning toward Duke Eurasion?"
Harty supplemented, but the name was only vaguely familiar to me.
"Duke Eurasion—that's the ducal house founded by the previous emperor's younger brother, right?"
"Indeed. Had the previous emperor not insisted on his deathbed that his own child absolutely must succeed to the throne, the current Duke Eurasion, being the previous emperor's nephew, would be sitting on the imperial throne now."
Helkov revealed the circumstances without reservation.
I hadn't known such behind-the-scenes details, and it was only because they told me that I could see the connections.
"Is there any benefit for Duke Eurasion in interfering with the personnel decisions my father made?"
My retainers exchanged glances, and Harty answered.
"There is no immediate benefit. However, as a single impetus of having overturned the current emperor's decision, it could expand his faction and serve as an opportunity to grow into an opposing force."
"Does Strateg benefit from that?"
"Perhaps he simply didn't find it amusing that Your Highness, raised in a count's household, spoke out against him?"
At Helkov's speculation, Ikuto, who knew the man in question, shook his head.
"That man is from a military marquis's house. At times cold and calculating, at times capable of making decisions divorced from his own emotions. Rather than serving under Duke Eurasion, he is the type to build his own small but solid faction."
"From your perspective, Ikuto, he's a steady one."
As I was forming a mental image of the Marquis, Wearel raised a finger.
"Then, could this not be a probing move to gauge how Your Highness Asha will respond? Whether you are a prince who will meekly accept the change of guard, or a prince with the mettle to take action yourself to prevent it."
"Now that you mention it, it would probably be better to comply, but..."
I laughed at how quickly I was contradicting my previous statement.
"This cannot be left alone. If I let someone use official authority to make a move against me like this, others will emerge in the future. In that case, I want to retaliate excessively from the very beginning so that there will be no next time."
"Is that acceptable, Prince Asha? If you stand out, you may again have your ears sullied by unsavory rumors."
Ikuto seemed concerned that I would be hurt.
Indeed, being regarded with abnormal caution is not pleasant, nor is it enjoyable, and I even feel anger at whether meeting my younger brother was truly that terrible.
"However, I believe I must act this time in order to keep such harmful voices at bay in the future. For the sake of what comes next, rather than clinging to the present."
"If you say so, do you have a plan?"
Helkov asked, looking somewhat amused.
"I will go to meet His Majesty. Harty, help me change."
"Eh!? Right now?"
At Harty's surprised figure, I thought of another problem.
"Ah, I need to find out where he is."
"If that is the case, since there are guards in the section where His Majesty is, you should be able to tell by looking."
Ikuto, being of the Imperial Palace Guards, knew where his colleagues were working.
"In that case, Ikuto, follow me alone. If it comes to it, there will likely be obstruction."
"Then I shall—"
Wearel stepped forward, restraining Helkov who had begun to speak.
"Rather than Lord Helkov, who obviously looks strong, would not I, who am underestimated by appearance, be more suitable for catching them off guard?"
Wow, my retainers are so motivated.
But I only need to bring one person.
If this becomes something I can be blamed for, I cannot protect them.
Therefore, I will make it so that Ikuto simply followed me on his own as per his guard duties while I walked alone.
And the other three will simply wait without knowing anything.
"It will not do."
The retainer standing before my father's room refused to announce me, rejecting the audience without even taking my message.
Until coming here, I had been recklessly stopped, obstructed, and nearly turned away.
To think that I would not even have my visit announced before the door.
Since he was not the retainer who usually accompanied me to audiences, this was our first meeting, but he seemed to have no intention of accepting anything from the start.
"I am simply asking you to announce me to His Majesty. Why is that not allowed?"
"I cannot allow you to disturb His Majesty's official duties. Moreover, someone who caused problems the other day is out of the question."
"...It is urgent."
"I cannot allow someone whose intentions are unknown to pass through, and His Majesty has not given such permission."
He also spoke with annoyance, making excuses at random and speaking down to me without courtesy.
He completely does not see me as a prince, so he must be from the duke's faction.
Thinking so, I realize I haven't glared at the retainer accompanying me to audiences lately.
Perhaps it is because he heard directly from my father when I explained about meeting Terry, so he knows that the rumor about me making him cry is just a rumor.
"...I see. Since you say you have not heard, and thus cannot let me through even if it is urgent, what is your name?"
"I have no reason to tell you."
Wow, he knows he's doing something he'll get in trouble for later.
This made my blood boil.
In that case, I will also do something unreasonable.
"There we go."
"Huh?"
I took off my jacket by myself.
Harty had chosen something with ornate decorations since I was meeting the emperor, so it was a bit cumbersome.
Even so, I managed to get down to my shirt and trousers by myself, and signaled Ikuto with my eyes toward the door.
Ikuto, understanding my intention, opened the door on his own at the same time I finished undressing.
The retainer, whose eyes had been stolen by my bizarre behavior, panicked, but I paid him no heed and followed Ikuto into the room.
It appeared to be an antechamber with only Imperial Palace Guards present, and my father was further inside.
"W-wait, stop!"
"Do you understand what will happen if you lay hands on His Highness in such a state and injure him?"
The Imperial Palace Guards, spoken to by the retainer before the door, hesitated to move, flinching at Ikuto's warning.
This is like underwear, a state you don't show to others.
In other words, it is clearly an abnormal situation, and before the Imperial Palace Guards could stop me, I opened the door further inside, and finally found my father.
"I have come knowing this is a discourtesy."
"Asha? What on earth happened!?"
Surprised by my appearance, my father rose from his desk and came toward me.
It seemed he was meeting with someone, but I was happy he prioritized me.
"The person before the door seemed to regard me as dangerous, so I became like this to show that I am carrying nothing dangerous."
"What did you say?"
My father's quietly murmured voice contained anger, and the retainer before the door who had chased after me with my jacket jumped in surprise.
Well, I don't care about him, I want you to listen.
"Actually, I heard that Ikuto is being reassigned. So I have come to ask if this was decided by Your Majesty."
"I have not heard of such a thing. What is the meaning of this, Marquis Strateg?"
Oh, the person with purple hair he was meeting was the aforementioned Marquis Strateg.
I see, he has a sharp physique suitable for security matters, and rather than fixing his long hair with oil, he keeps it neatly short.
And even when asked by my father, he showed not the slightest agitation.
"It is rare for the Imperial Palace Guards to remain in the same place for more than five years. Reassignments occur every three years, or as short as two. There is nothing particularly special about the timing, but was there a problem?"
He plays dumb, but if that were the case, Ikuto wouldn't have said it was sudden.
"Ikuto is trusted by Asha, and I also place my trust in him. I wish for Ikuto to remain as he is. Is there a problem with that? If necessary, I shall place Ikuto directly under me."
"No, if there is no change from the current situation, then there is no problem whatsoever."
Though my father was considering Marquis Strateg's position with his words, as far as I was concerned, this was the Emperor's endorsement, so it was a satisfactory result.
"Understood. However, it has been a problem for some time that the number of personnel is insufficient for the size of the room. We had planned to increase staff along with the transfer, but what shall we do regarding that?"
"Hmm."
My father considered it, thinking of me.
This is bad.
It's a flag for sending in extra people.
Apparently, Marquis Strateg is not someone who stays down when he falls.
To be continued
Next: The Marquis's Hand 4