Chapter 177
Chapter 177
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Crown Prince's Interrogation
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After leaving the Central Imperial Palace with Lea.
I parted ways with her at the entrance.
“I have some business to attend to, so I’ll head out first.”
“Where are you going? I can give you a ride if you’d like.”
Lea asked with a sensual glint in her eyes.
However, I firmly shook my head.
“No, thank you. Our paths diverge, so it’s easier for me to go alone.”
I patted the messenger bag slung over my shoulder as I spoke.
“Alright then, take care. Veil.”
The Empire’s 1st Imperial Princess gazed at me steadily.
Standing there with her arms crossed.
“What keeps you so busy?”
Leaving the princess behind, I exited the capital’s central district.
Then, I slipped into a quiet back alley.
Dark shadows.
In that empty place, the sound of a cloak fluttering echoed.
At that noise, I hurriedly pulled out Count Tyman’s elixir from my bosom.
And I drank the last of the magic nullification potion.
Soon after….
“You’re here.”
Like magic, a single Black Knight emerged from the darkness.
The Crown Prince’s direct attendant.
“I’m sorry, I was summoned to the Central Imperial Palace….”
I faced him with a pure smile.
However, the Black Knight—with his black hair and armor as dark as pitch—scowled coldly.
“Follow me. His Highness is waiting.”
“Yes….”
Feeling awkward, I trailed him through the dark alley.
Then, as we climbed some dim stairs….
“…!”
The back door of a modest hotel came into view.
Entering through it led to a familiar corridor.
The same hotel where I’d met the Crown Prince privately just days ago.
‘No way… are there several of these hidden throughout the Empire…?’
I swallowed hard.
Afterward, I followed the Black Knight through the door he opened into the room.
And there….
“Baron Veil.”
Unlike our first meeting, the Crown Prince—who seemed even colder now—awaited me.
“I greet Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
I set down the bag I’d been carrying.
Then, bowing politely, the Crown Prince pointed to the chair opposite him.
“Have a seat.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The two of us sat across from each other at the hotel table.
However, neither of us opened our mouths.
The room was filled only with the ticking of the clock.
“Do you know why I summoned you?”
The Crown Prince asked in a cold voice.
At that, I took a deep breath inwardly and replied.
“I’m not entirely sure….”
The Crown Prince let out a heavy sigh.
Then, gazing at the crystal orb on one corner of the table, he said.
“Did you know?”
“Know… what, exactly…?”
As I hemmed and hawed, Leon’s eyes grew slightly fiercer.
Like the leader of a pride eyeing its prey.
“That high-purity mithril is weak to blunt impacts.”
“I had no idea, Your Highness….”
I bowed my head.
And answered in a trembling voice.
“What did you do with all the melted steel?”
“To prevent a monopoly on materials, I released it onto the market…. To merchants throughout the capital….”
The Crown Prince snorted at my words.
Then, with a incredulous smile, he asked.
“Did you know that all the steel you released ended up in the princesses’ hands?”
He asked in a voice laced with amusement.
However, I knew.
His eyes weren’t smiling at all.
He was probing me while pretending to be lighthearted.
“…”
Without even using the truth-revealing crystal orb.
“Yes, I knew, Your Highness.”
In response, I answered honestly.
At that, not only the Crown Prince but even the Black Knight standing nearby glared at me coldly.
“That’s actually why I visited the palace for the first time today.”
“The palace…?”
Leon tilted his head at my frank admission.
“Yes, they learned I’d circulated large quantities of steel in the markets and summoned me briefly to trace its origin.”
“And what did you tell them?”
“That I bought armor from mercenary bands in the provinces, melted it down, and sold it.”
I confessed every detail, weaving in lies where needed moment by moment.
The Crown Prince chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.
“Why lie to the Imperial Family?”
“Well….”
I looked up steadily at Leon.
Then, considering his ambitions, I replied.
“Because I thought Your Highness wouldn’t like it.”
“…”
The Crown Prince fell silent at my answer for a moment.
Then, he burst into mocking laughter.
“Baron, I’m a very suspicious man.”
Leon didn’t even pour the whiskey on the table.
In his cold, sober state, he began grilling me.
“Though I chose the mithril myself, there were too many oddities in the procurement process.”
He pointed at my face with his finger.
“You didn’t collude with the princesses to trick me into buying overpriced mithril, did you?”
“N-no, Your Highness! How could a mere orphan-turned-baron like me know the Imperial Princesses?!”
Leon ignored my response.
His cold blue eyes only flashed sharper.
“After melting the steel, you vanished from the capital. What have you been up to all this time?”
“Th-that’s….”
As I hesitated, the Crown Prince pressed me like a lion tearing into its prey’s throat.
“You didn’t meet the princesses and conspire to undermine me, did you?”
The crystal orb glimmered.
Emboldened by its light of truth, he said.
“Tell me the truth, Baron. Or else….”
The Black Knight placed his hand on his sword hilt.
The Crown Prince’s killing intent—and his own—filled the room.
“You won’t leave this place alive.”
“…”
I stared blankly at the blue crystal orb.
Its smooth surface demanded the truth from me.
However, with Count Tyman’s elixir nearly depleted.
It could block magic only two more times before wearing off…!
“Then, I’ll ask, Baron.”
The crystal orb pulsed strongly.
With that vibration, he questioned me.
“Did you know about the flaw in high-purity mithril?”
“…”
I swallowed deeply.
And quietly answered.
“I didn’t know….”
The orb’s blue light filled the room.
Soon, with a loud ripple, it judged the falsehood.
“Truth.”
‘I’ve used one…. Only one lie left….’
Even with the satisfactory answer, the Crown Prince’s eyes remained wide and piercing.
Then, he fired the most damning question.
“Did you scheme this with the princesses? Or not?”
“Yes—absolutely not, Your Highness…!”
I cried out desperately.
At that moment, the sound of the vial of Tyman’s elixir shattering in my bosom rang out.
Crack—!!!
“Good…, then one final question.”
The Crown Prince drew a deep breath.
Then, with a tyrant’s murderous glare, he looked down at me.
“What were you doing—and where—while I was on the battlefield?”
“…”
I pressed my lips shut.
Now, without even Count Tyman’s elixir.
If I lied here….
‘The crystal orb will immediately call it out…!’
As I wavered, the Crown Prince’s brow furrowed like a lion’s.
He bellowed in a loud voice.
“Tell me now!!!”
The room’s windows rattled madly.
The finance secretary standing beside trembled violently, and the Black Knight gripped his sword hilt.
As if he’d draw and strike the moment I lied.
“Your Highness, I….”
Finally, I opened my mouth.
And answered.
More honestly than anyone.
“While Your Highness was on the battlefield, I remained in my territory.”
“Truth.”
The crystal orb declared it.
Then, the Crown Prince pressed on relentlessly.
“What were you doing there?”
“Well, obviously….”
I placed my hand on the bag I’d prepared in advance.
“I spent the entire time in my territory predicting Your Highness’s victory.”
I opened the bag’s flap.
And…
“So, to celebrate your triumph, I’ve been brewing ‘victory wine’—.”
A transparent glass bottle appeared.
I placed it boldly on the Crown Prince’s table.
“Made from the ‘watermelons’ that are the pride of my farm—.”
With eyes narrowed like a fox’s.
“…”
Victory wine.
Watermelons.
The moment he heard those trivial words.
The Crown Prince’s face went slack in disbelief.
The powerful mana he’d been emanating moments ago.
The rage at losing his father’s trust.
All vanished before the pathetic red liquor in front of him.
“Ha….”
Only a hollow laugh escaped him.
“Lately, I’ve taken up brewing fruit wine as a hobby…. Someone gifted me a bunch of expensive liquor at home, so….”
I smiled like an innocent country youth.
Then, the crystal orb, watching intently, reacted without tact.
“Truth.”
With all my answers coming up true, the Crown Prince fell silent for a moment.
He’d been so certain I was the culprit that he was at a loss for words.
“…”
Thanks to that, his room grew deathly quiet.
“Ha, haha…. Right, that’s how it is….”
Leon let out a short sigh.
Then, the finance secretary who’d been watching cautiously asked.
“Your Highness, could there be something wrong with the crystal orb…?”
He’d suspected me too, it seemed.
“Are you saying my mother’s tool is flawed?”
“N-no, of course not! I just thought, what if…!”
At the Crown Prince’s icy question, the finance secretary clamped his mouth shut.
“My mother’s magic has no margin for error. It’s the essence of Ekina’s spells.”
Leon, with his strong faith in Rozanna.
Thanks to that, he hadn’t noticed I had a magic-nullifying potion.
However, to face such pressure even so.
As expected of Rozanna and the Emperor’s son.
“I was too suspicious, Baron.”
“N-no, Your Highness. I think I did enough to warrant suspicion….”
I answered in a clumsy voice.
At that, the Crown Prince chuckled.
“I overestimated you too much. You’re just a merchant, not the princesses’ pawn.”
“I lack both the caliber and the ambition for that, Your Highness. I only want a swift retirement and some rest….”
Leon clicked his tongue.
Then, he ordered the Black Knight to remove his hand from his sword.
“Indeed, that’s the kind of man you are. Forgive my needless suspicion.”
The Crown Prince approached me slowly.
And patted my shoulder familiarly.
“Forget today’s matter and return to your territory. I don’t have the leisure to drink your wine right now.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
I rose carefully.
Then, quietly followed the Black Knight out of the room.
“Keep making your living as a merchant from now on.”
The Crown Prince no longer spared me a glance.
He seemed to have dismissed me as merely a shrewd trader, lost in his own thoughts.
Apparently, it irked him that while he toiled on the battlefield, I’d only been brewing watermelon wine to win his favor.
“…”
The room door closed.
Thanks to that, I escaped his intense killing intent unscathed.
“Whew….”
I curled my lips into a smirk.
Then, holding the watermelon wine in both hands, I strolled leisurely down the corridor.
“His Highness commands you to leave. Follow me.”
The Black Knight who’d brought me here led me outside.
Gazing at him steadily, I asked.
“Sir Knight?”
“What?”
Once I was out of the Crown Prince’s sight, he looked down at me with an even colder gaze.
However, I didn’t yield.
“I should have given this to His Highness….”
Instead, I acted even more innocently.
Like the most naive person in the world.
“…”
A flicker of pity crossed the expressionless Black Knight’s eyes.
Then, with a deep sigh, he replied.
“He says it’s not needed.”
“Oh no, I worked so hard on it….”
The Black Knight indifferently led the way and opened the back door.
Then, he shoved me out into the bustling streets.
“Be off.”
I bowed quietly.
Afterward, I blended into the crowd as if nothing had happened.
My lips curved upward involuntarily.
I tried my best to hide my expression.
I’d known full well of his defeat.
And the weakness of high-purity mithril.
With the Crown Prince returning after botching the job, what else would he do?
Suspect me, of course.
He’d investigate everything I did during his time of hardship, forcing me to stay in the watermelon fields.
“Thanks to this, I survived.”
I uncorked the watermelon wine that saved me.
A refreshing pop sounded, followed by a rich fruit aroma.
Pop—!!!
I took a sip of the sweet liquor.
Gulped it down, then let out a satisfied hum.
“Kuuh—.”
Lately, I’ve been feeling my tolerance go up.
「――――――」
Just as the watermelon wine popped open refreshingly.
At the table where the princesses gathered, a clear champagne cork flew too.
―――.
The fizzy golden liquid filled their wine glasses.
The princesses raised their glasses to celebrate the operation’s success.
“How did we each get our military forces recognized?”
“Now we’re finally on equal footing with Leon.”
When Lea spoke, Irina responded with a pleased smile.
Lydia chimed in with a seductive voice.
“With the principle of primogeniture broken, Leon must be fuming.”
For the first time in their lives, they looked at each other and giggled.
Thanks to the help of the one man who planned this operation.
His influence had even begun to improve their relationships.
“If we just solidify our forces now, we can keep the power balance with Leon even.”
Irina, with her beautiful silver hair, replied.
Her eyes, brimming with newfound confidence, now overflowed with courage rather than misfortune.
“Any ideas on how?”
“No, we’ll have to think it over slowly.”
Irina lifted her wine glass in response to Lea’s question.
“Looks like you don’t have one yet. I do, though?”
The Empire’s eldest princess narrowed her eyes at her younger sisters.
Her two sisters tilted their heads toward Lea.
“What is it…?”
The 1st Imperial Princess parted her moist lips at their question.
And said with a beaming smile.
“Marriage.”
Marriage.
The word from the 24-year-old who’d rejected every suitor made the princesses’ eyes widen.
“Pfft…!”
Irina spat out the wine she’d been sipping.
Lydia swallowed deeply.
“M-marriage proposals…? For you?”
“Exactly…. I thought you were some emotionless machine.”
At their fiery reactions, Lea smiled brightly.
And then….
“It’s just that no man has caught my eye until now.”
She answered with eyes more feminine than ever before.
“You two are still young, but I need to start thinking seriously about it.”
Lea regarded her two sisters as fresh young girls.
At that, the two princesses instinctively sensed it.
Who the man was that had captured this cold eldest sister’s heart.
“What are you talking about? I’m 21 too, you know? Prime marriage age!”
Irina placed a hand on her chest.
She sprang up from her chair, bristling.
“There’s no order to getting married!”
Lea gazed steadily at Irina, who’d drenched her dress in wine.
Then, leisurely asked.
“True, there’s no formal order. But the one who claims him first becomes the true partner, no?”
True partner.
At those words, Irina’s emerald eyes quivered.
“You think I’ll let you take Veil first?”
After all, she’d known that man longer than anyone.
“Oh my, I haven’t even said who it is yet, and Veil comes right out?”
Lea giggled.
With eyes sharp and sly as a lioness.