Fake Rumor
"Is that so."
Alex, the lord of the magic tool merchant guild, filled the screen of the remote communication artifact. He nodded as he listened to my words.
"Your master is in danger, then."
"I'm not your master."
"Haha, but how I address my master is up to me, isn't it?"
He had no intention of backing down. With that thought, I stared at the merchant lord beaming back from the artifact.
It was good that Alex had joined my side, but...
"Master."
"..."
"Master, if you won't tell me, there's nothing I can do."
"...Yes."
"I'll look into it further for now. According to ancient texts, there are magic tools that can erode a person's mind."
Alex fiddled with a book beyond the mirror-like artifact as he spoke.
"We'll keep investigating under the assumption that might be the case, but..."
"It might not be?"
"Exactly. Brainwashing can be done through all sorts of methods, not just magic tools."
Alex nodded slowly.
"So, if possible, someone well-versed in magic... Well, of course Master is an expert in magic too, but..."
"You don't have to say it."
Everyone in the empire, even children, knew that Lily sis handled magic better than I did.
"Thank you for your understanding."
Alex bowed his head slightly before continuing.
"Anyway, I'll handle the magic tool angle, so Master should focus elsewhere."
"Yes, thank you, Alex."
"It's an honor, Master."
Alex smiled at my words, and soon the artifact went dark.
"...You told him to call me master?"
"I didn't."
Clue averted her eyes under my gaze and muttered. I stared at her for a moment, sighed, and picked up the artifact again.
"We'll talk later. We have a lot to do first."
Now it was time to speak with Lily sis.
Before long, the mirror-type artifact shimmered again, and Lily sis appeared on the other side, smiling at me.
"Theo."
"Sis, how's it going there?"
"Here?"
For a moment, her gaze seemed to drift outside. I thought I sensed a hint of disdain, but then...
"Nothing much."
She smiled and looked back at me.
"You said there's a problem, Theo?"
"Yeah. You probably heard the rough details already, but..."
I explained everything again to Lily sis. Once I'd finished, she crossed her arms on the other side of the artifact, her expression grave.
"That's a big problem."
"The biggest?"
What could it be? As I wondered and stared at her,
"First, think about why they'd use brainwashing on the King of Cassius."
Lily sis closed her eyes.
"Honestly, the reason's obvious, though."
"Obvious?"
"Princess Tina's pretty, right?"
"Uh, well, yeah."
"..."
Lily sis stared at me intently for a moment but said nothing before continuing.
"So why not marry her off to their own child?"
"Child? I haven't figured that out yet."
Whether Duke Mayer had children. That would be good to know.
"Oh, Duke Mayer has a son. Around ten years old."
"...How do you know that, sis?"
"I gathered info right after you contacted me."
Lily sis smiled.
"But instead of marrying his son to Princess Tina, they're trying to marry her to you?"
"..."
Never mind how she knew—it wasn't wrong.
"So, they must want something from that."
"Want something?"
"Something worth the insane risk of seducing an imperial prince."
Lily sis hummed, resting her chin on her hand.
"I can't say exactly what, but... I'll look into brainwashing magic myself."
"Ah, thanks, sis."
"No big deal. I had some things to check anyway."
"Things to check?"
What could that be? As I wondered and looked at her, Lily sis met my eyes through the artifact and spoke.
"Just in case, I thought you might have been brainwashed too, Theo."
"...Could've been."
Come to think of it, I hadn't considered that. I wasn't safe either.
"No need to worry. You couldn't be brainwashed even if you wanted to."
"Couldn't?"
What did that mean? I stared at her, but she just smiled without a word.
"Besides, if anyone tried brainwashing you, I'd drop a meteor on Cassius Kingdom in retaliation."
"..."
I nodded at my sis, who cracked a joke that was hard to laugh at.
"Thanks for worrying about me, sis."
"It's fine."
She smiled, paused for a moment, then asked,
"Did you tell Rabir?"
"Huh? About what?"
"This situation."
"No."
Rabir sis focused on swordsmanship, so it was natural she wouldn't know much about magic tools or spells.
"...I see. Good."
Lily sis smiled in satisfaction at my answer.
"Then I'll hang up, Theo. I believe in you, so you'll handle it fine."
"Suddenly?"
"I've never not believed in you."
She laughed at my words, and soon the artifact screen began to flicker. She was ending the call.
"Anyway, don't worry too much. No matter what, Mom and I have your ultimate safeguard in place."
"You and Mom?"
What had they done? I looked at her, unable to hide my concern, but Lily sis just gave a kind smile before cutting the connection.
"I'm getting worried now."
"Me too."
Clue nodded at my mutter, and Lucy murmured with an ambiguous expression.
"...Still, as an ally, Her Highness Lily is one of the most reliable people out there."
"As an enemy?"
"One who'd make your life exhausting."
True enough. As I thought that and waited a bit, there was a soft thud, and a shadow dropped from the ceiling.
At this point, they were less bandits and more like ninjas.
"We've secured the path to the ministers' location as you instructed."
"There were an unusually high number of guards deployed that way."
"Took some effort to shake them all."
"You didn't kill or knock any out?"
"No, sir. You said not to."
The shadows nodded at my words.
"Got it. Let's go."
Then our top priority was reaching the ministers. With that thought, I hurried to the room where they waited, Clue and Lucy in tow.
*
"Hoo."
Gordolf closed his eyes after hearing my explanation.
"What a troublesome issue."
"Can't we lodge a diplomatic protest?"
"Not without solid evidence."
Gordolf scratched his cheek.
"We came for an inspection, but saying we should overthrow the throne or kill Duke Mayer would go beyond diplomacy..."
"Into problematic territory?"
"Yes."
True, that would be highly problematic. In that case...
"I'll go along with it, then."
"Pardon?"
"I just have to, what, fall completely for Princess Tina's seduction and get her to spill Duke Mayer's plan, right?"
"...Your Highness, that's far too dangerous."
Gordolf looked at me with a voice full of worry.
"If anything happens to your body..."
"Mom wouldn't stay quiet, huh?"
"I'd be the first to die, at least."
"..."
He had a point—I needed to be careful. With that thought, I spoke up.
"Then I'll play along properly."
"Did you hear me, Your Highness?"
"I'll tell them if they touch you, I'll run away from home."
What choice did I have? I had to do what needed doing. Gordolf sighed deeply at my response, but still, it had to be done.
"Then I'll go meet Princess Tina."
"...But in four days, Your Highness departs."
"I know."
But love could bloom in four days. There were tales of people who loved for a week and spent a lifetime unable to forget that one woman.
"Everyone stay here. Clue, Lucy too."
"Master!"
"Your Highness...?"
"Don't worry too much."
I waved reassuringly to the two and set off. With that thought, I headed to Tina's room.
The moment I opened her door and entered, Tina's eyes widened at the sight of me.
"P-Prince?"
"I came early."
I approached her with those words, and precisely one day later, rumors began to spread that Princess Tina and Prince Theodor had fallen deeply for each other.