A Playful Winter's Day
"Ah, Your Grace, you've arrived," Alexander said, offering a sly smile. "I trust you have been well?"
This was the first time I was seeing Alexander since I woke up. Given how long he had kept his distance, he must have prepared some sort of trump card. I needed to stay on my guard.
"Haha... You cannot begin to imagine how furious His Majesty King Yoanes was when he learned there was someone within our kingdom plotting to assassinate both Your Grace and Her Imperial Majesty."
Furious, indeed. He had botched a clumsy conspiracy and got caught. It would be stranger if he weren't angry.
"For now, our kingdom is actively hunting down the traitor. I believe we will be able to bring you good news very soon."
I looked at Alexander's faint smile and replied,
"I am glad to hear it, and I shall look forward to it. However, seeing as you have yet to apprehend them, perhaps I should offer my assistance."
At my words, the smile on Alexander's face faltered ever so slightly.
"Assistance... What exactly do you mean by that?"
I maintained the most relaxed smile I could muster.
"Our Grand Duchy has maintained a network of spies in Nicaea since the reign of Valorang. I believe you understand the reasons why."
It was true that Valorang had planted spies in Nicaea long ago, viewing them as a threat. In contrast, once the training of my Information Department agents was complete, I planned to establish a massive espionage network spanning not just Nicaea, Epirus, and Egypt, but all the great nobles and rival nations... though there was no need to mention that now.
"Since Valorang's death, they have focused primarily on intelligence gathering. Because some of them have climbed to rather high positions, it was difficult for us to simply recall them, so we left them in place."
Alexander flinched slightly at my words, but he quickly frowned and spoke up.
"If that is the case, I believe you should have asked for our understanding first."
I let out a soft chuckle.
"In this recent assassination attempt, every single one of the assassins entered the Imperial Palace after King Yoanes arrived in Roman. Quite a coincidence, wouldn't you say?"
"That is wild speculation."
I nodded in agreement.
"Yes, it might be speculation. But here is my theory: I believe the assassins acted on the orders of a traitor who is also a close confidant of King Yoanes."
Alexander's eyes trembled minutely as he calculated whether to agree or disagree. Seeing his hesitation, I pressed him further.
"Unless, of course, it was King Yoanes himself who ordered it? Surely that isn't the case, is it? Or do you have some firm reason to believe otherwise?"
Now... He would either have to confess that his king tried to assassinate the Empress, or claim ignorance. Alexander had to choose between the two. And naturally... he would choose the latter.
"There is no such reason, but what is your true intention behind such an assumption?"
But Alexander did not answer as I had anticipated. He's a slippery one, this old man.
"My point is that the circumstantial evidence pointing to someone of significant influence within the Nicaea Kingdom attempting to assassinate Her Imperial Majesty and myself is far too strong to ignore."
Alexander snorted at my words.
"Do you have any proof?"
I smiled and replied,
"I do have proof, but it is difficult to disclose it to an outsider."
Alexander stared at me as if I were talking utter nonsense.
"Then we find it difficult to believe you."
"While I cannot reveal the proof itself, I can certainly share the source," I said, holding Alexander's gaze.
"Are you saying that source is your spy?"
"Yes, indeed."
He scoffed, raising his voice in sheer disbelief.
"Could that spy not be mistaken? If you place too much trust in spies who operate in the shadows, you are bound to run into trouble."
My expression turned cold.
"These are people who have risked their lives for our Grand Duchy for ten years. I trust them, and I trust the evidence they have provided."
"This is absurd. What on earth is this evidence that makes you speak with such certainty?"
There is no evidence. In the first place, the spies we dispatched weren't even high-ranking. Infiltrating the upper echelons was apparently much harder than expected, so most of them were just low-level government clerks or informants gathering rumors from back alleys. Or... perhaps they were just taking our money under the guise of "operational funds."
"I cannot share the details of the evidence. Doing so might expose our source."
When I spoke with a bright, innocent smile, Alexander massaged his temples, looking thoroughly exhausted.
"Is it not possible that their words or their evidence are flawed?"
I replied with easy confidence.
"The evidence is far too definitive for me to doubt their testimony."
"Then who is this traitor? Judging by your words, it seems you want us to punish them ourselves. Why don't you give me a name?"
I had been waiting for him to say that. But blurting it out immediately would make me look like an amateur. I let a faint smile linger on my lips, deliberately drawing out the silence. Three, two, one. After counting down three seconds in my head, I opened my mouth.
"It is none other than Count Savinelli."
Alexander's eyebrows twitched.
"That is..."
His eyes filled with sheer bewilderment. Enjoying his reaction—he clearly hadn't expected me to utter that name—I spoke slowly.
"He shares a deep bond with King Yoanes. I find it hard to believe he would commit such a heinous act."
I stared at Alexander, making my gaze look as absolutely certain as possible.
"I possess undeniable proof. It is only frustrating that I cannot make it public."
"Ha... Grand Duke. Your jokes go too far."
I smirked.
"Am I the one taking things too far? Or is it you, Member of Parliament Alexander, who refuses to believe me to the very end? If you intend to shield Count Savinelli... I will have no choice but to question the Nicaea Kingdom's true intentions."
Whether Savinelli had actually tried to harm Theodora and me was irrelevant. He was currently at the very top of Yoanes's faction and possessed a legendary reputation for brilliance; removing him would deal a devastating blow to Nicaea. While I didn't mind having plenty of talented people on my side, having a future enemy possess such talent was... irritating, to say the least.
"Grand Duke!" Alexander barked, feigning anger. He was a highly rational man; I could tell his outrage was merely a calculated performance.
"Let me make our position perfectly clear once more. We are certain that Count Savinelli is the mastermind behind the attempt on the Empress's life and my own. If you choose to shield him, we can no longer trust the Nicaea Kingdom."
Will you hand over Savinelli, or will you break our alliance? I forced him into a binary choice.
The negotiations had dragged on. Alexander eventually took his leave, promising to convey my thoughts to Yoanes first. After all, the final decision rested with Yoanes.
Afterwards, I returned to my duties at the Grand Duke's Office. The tax revenues collected over the past year and the regional breakdown data swam before my eyes. Normally, I would have reviewed and processed them in a flash, but... perhaps because I was so exhausted today, my vision was blurry. Should I sleep for just a bit? Just ten minutes. I'm so tired. Leaning against the desk, I closed my eyes. Darkness claimed me. How long had I been asleep?
Poke... poke. Something long and slender stroked my hair.
"Darling, if you're going to sleep, come to the bedroom."
"Mmm..." Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I sat up. Theodora, dressed in comfortable indoor wear, was caressing my cheek with a worried expression.
"Sleeping like that will ruin your health."
Could that worried expression really be an act? Those crimson eyes, that slight frown—everything about her made a man's heart skip a beat. Get a grip... Her very existence weakened a man's resolve, like a nine-tailed fox. I found myself idly wondering if she actually had nine tails hidden away when she slept. Shaking off the silly thought, I spoke.
"*Yawn...* I still have so much to look over."
While Roman was relatively spared, reports of heavy snowstorms in the north were piling up, begging for relief. Although I was currently using the Pieta Guild's funds to send aid northward, I wasn't sure if it would arrive in time given the primitive transportation methods of this world. Another concern was that Roman had also received a significant amount of snow last night, meaning I needed to check on the welfare of the low-income citizens.
"I can't. There's still too much to do. It's winter, and the struggling citizens of the Empire will find it hard enough just to buy firewood. I need to draft an emergency winter budget."
Such was the duty of those in power. Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I tried my best to fight off the drowsiness.
"You're going to make yourself seriously ill at this rate."
Gently taking Theodora's hand as it caressed my cheek, I said, "I'm going to take a short walk to wake myself up. Would you like to join me?"
Theodora gave a slight nod. "I... I'll go grab my coat then. Wait for me here."
She slipped out of the room and returned shortly after.
"Did you wait long?"
Looking at Theodora wrapped in a long, white mink coat, I replied, "No, not at all."
And so, we left the palace and went for a walk. Together, we strolled through a world blanketed entirely in white.
"It's not as cold as I thought it would be."
"You're right."
Though it was the dead of winter, the biting wind was surprisingly gentle at this very moment. Just then—
Thud! Something struck my back. I spun around to find Theodora wearing a mischievous grin, a snowball clutched in her hand...
"Take this!"
Splat! The snowball hit me dead-center in the face.
"W-What are you doing?!"
Splat! I hurriedly wiped the snow from my eyes, scooped up a handful from the ground, and packed it into a ball. "Oh, it's on!"
I hurled the snowball at Theodora, but she dodged it with ease. A playful, childlike grin spread across her face.
"Pfft... You missed! You missed!"
Amused by her teasing, I quickly packed three snowballs, preparing to pelt her with a barrage.
"Kyaaa!" she squealed, turning to run.
I caught up, grabbed her wrist, and tossed a snowball right at the back of her head...
"Kya! What was that?! You're supposed to throw it from a distance. That's cheating!"
"Cheating? Who started this in the first place?"
Her mock-indignant pout quickly dissolved into a bright, radiant laugh.
"I did! And today, I'm going to beat you."
With those words, she began packing another snowball. I did the same, and we laughed as we pelted each other in the snow.