Video Call
After finishing dinner, I returned to my quarters and opened the small box on the bedside table.
It was a new magic communication crystal provided by the Imperial Palace.
Inside the transparent orb, about the size of an adult's fist, a faint blue light swirled gently.
...The latest model, huh. Should I be as excited as someone getting a new smartphone?
I remembered the first time I'd used one of these crystals.
The merchant who'd sold it to me back then explained that it worked almost exactly like a phone call from my previous life—transmitting and receiving mana signals between two crystals assigned specific serial numbers.
You could activate it by infusing it with mana directly if you had the ability, or plug in something like a magic battery made and sold by the mages of the Magic Tower.
In simple terms, it was like an early smartphone. Anyone who remembers the days when batteries were removable would get it right away.
...I can use mana, but for now, let's just use the battery.
With trembling hands, I inserted the mana battery into the base of the crystal and turned it on.
Whirr—
The blue light inside the orb spun wildly, and soon a hazy hologram flickered to life, projecting the image and voice from the other end.
"……Ian! Ian, my son! Oh, you're safe!"
The first voice to come through the crystal was the Queen of Sterling, choked with sobs.
She wasn't my real mother, but she'd known my mother since my days as the second son of a baron's family and had watched over me since I was very young. Not quite a mother, but aunt-like enough to pull off that kind of performance.
"Yes, Your Majesty. This humble one has arrived safely in the Imperial Capital and is settling in."
"Oh my, your face looks so gaunt. How terrifying and frightening it must have been in that foreign enemy land... Sniff, you haven't been through anything awful there, have you?"
"N-No, I'm fine. The food is better than expected, and the treatment isn't bad at all. I've been working out hard lately, so I've actually gained a bit of weight. Look at this arm—muscle's building up, right?"
In truth, the meals were far more luxurious and delicious than anything back in the barony or the royal palace, but I couldn't exactly say that outright.
Behind the Queen, the faces of Joseph, the true First Prince of Sterling, and Princess Ellie suddenly popped into view.
"Ian! Those Empire bastards haven't tortured or beaten you, have they?! No broken bones anywhere?!"
"Ian oppa...... Hic, I miss you......"
"Joseph hyung, Ellie. Don't cry. I'm really okay."
(As you all know, I'm actually two years older than him.)
Even though they knew my fake identity, the two were genuinely worried and bawling their eyes out.
Joseph, the prince who was usually so soft-hearted and emotional, was sniffling with snot running, looking ready to hug the crystal itself.
That was when it happened.
Crackle—
I felt the mana flow around the crystal disrupt ever so slightly.
It was a truly minute difference, but I sensed it. Hard to explain in words—like I could just see it.
Anyway, it was a sign that a third party had tapped into the communication network and was eavesdropping.
Well, yeah. Of course the Emperor's listening in through the palace intelligence department.
I swallowed dryly and paid even more attention to managing my expression.
"……Good. I'm glad you've arrived safely, Ian."
"Step aside. I have words to say."
Pushing aside the Queen and the prince and princess, the weary, aged face of the King of Sterling finally appeared in the crystal.
But his expression didn't show the affection or sorrow of the others. Seeing that strangely businesslike, dry gaze, something boiled up inside me, but I worked hard not to let it show on my face.
"Yes, Father. Thanks to your concern, I'm doing well under the Empire's care."
"Good. No health issues?"
"None at all. I'm putting effort into exercise as well."
"I'm relieved. From now on, be grateful for His Imperial Majesty's mercy, fulfill your duty as a hostage without fail, and conduct yourself properly. Never forget that the safety of Sterling Kingdom rests on your shoulders."
"……I will keep that in mind, Father."
Without any emotional shift, he asked a few perfunctory questions about my well-being, reminded me to behave as a hostage, and hurried to end the conversation.
The Queen and Joseph looked like they wanted to talk more, but the King's interruption cut the call short.
Fizzle—
The blue light of the crystal faded, and the room fell silent once more.
I sank deep into the chair and wiped the cold sweat from my forehead.
...Phew. Good thing they didn't catch on that I'm a fake prince.
The King's dry attitude was a bit suspicious, but I could brush it off later as a falling out with my father. After all, the rest of the family crying and worrying over me was genuine.
...Sorry, Mom, but it can't be helped.
I let out a sigh of relief and flopped onto the soft bed.
At the same time, in the secret intelligence room deep within the Imperial Palace.
Before a massive magic screen stood the Emperor of the Empire, several intelligence ministers, and Crown Prince Arthur and Second Princess Chloe, summoned by the Emperor.
It was right after they'd openly eavesdropped on the call between Ian Sterling and the Sterling royals.
"……."
Even after the screen's light went out, the Emperor stroked his chin in silence for a long while.
His sharply gleaming purple eyes held not just scorn for the weak king of the enemy nation, but a strange pity mingled with deep contempt.
"Pathetic wretch. Not even fit to be a rat's father, let alone a king. A mere bug without the qualifications of even a single father."
The ministers held their breath at the Emperor's scornful spit of disgust.
Having served this Emperor for many years, they knew better than anyone the types of people he despised most: the lowly, the incompetent, the spineless, and those without the responsibility befitting their station.
The King of Sterling was all four.
"A father should be a towering mountain of example and a shield for his child. How can such a dog of a father exist?!"
"......"
"And yet, how could such a clever, bold tiger of a son emerge from beneath that father."
The Emperor clicked his tongue, recalling the King's dry, cold demeanor during the call.
He hadn't missed the suppressed anger that flashed across Ian's face the moment he saw the King, no matter how hard he'd tried to hide it.
"It's obvious to me. Look at the Queen, the princess, and that teary-eyed idiot of a presumed crown prince, the sniveling firstborn. Don't they look like weak, stupid vermin, even worse than their father?"
"……."
"But the second son, Ian, is different. Proud, intelligent, with brains sharp enough to pierce through a decade of the Empire's policies. That petty Sterling King must have envied and feared his brilliant second son's talents. To protect the throne for that worthless firstborn vermin, he threw this tiger cub straight into the Empire's maw as a hostage."
"Indeed, had Prince Ian remained in the kingdom, he would have posed a grave threat to that incompetent firstborn's claim to the throne."
"Pushing a capable son into the jaws of death just to save themselves, then brazenly lecturing him on proper conduct. Utterly revolting."
As the Emperor's fury weighed down the intelligence room, the attending Crown Prince gave a wry smile.
"This is quite the treatment—makes any guilt about taking him in vanish completely. From Prince Ian's perspective, serving the Empire as a subject must seem far better than living as a prince in that trash-heap kingdom."
"Yes, perfect for using him without a shred of remorse. Is the plan progressing well?"
"Yes, soon. We'll have everything ready for Prince Ian to start duties right after the social season ends."
At the end of the table, Chloe, who had been quietly listening to the eavesdropped conversation while clutching a thick magic tome, nodded subtly.
…So that's how it is, Prince Ian.
A flicker of sorrow and faint pity rose in her purple eyes.
The Ian she'd seen over the past few weeks was truly intelligent, thoughtful, kind, and gentlemanly—a wonderful person.
She'd been so happy to make such a great friend, only to learn of his heartbreaking background.
Abandoned by his own father and cast into peril all because of his exceptional talents.
My poor library friend, who willingly became a sacrificial lamb for a fallen kingdom.
Chloe hugged the book in her arms tighter.
She resolved to treat him even kinder and warmer from now on, as he endured alone in this cold, vast Empire, forsaken even by his family.
And she, at least, would be a small haven of rest for him in this unfamiliar palace.
Chloe steeled her secret determination.