Chapter 69: The Turning Wheel (1)
Chapter 69: The Turning Wheel (1)
The Emperor, war, continental conquest, the Demon Realm, surveillance, shiiiit...!
Back at the count's residence, I buried my face in the office desk and muttered curses nonstop.
I had to go back to that place crawling with crazy bastards!
I couldn't disobey the Emperor's orders, and my resolve wasn't firm enough to spend the rest of my life running from the hands of the Emperor and the Demon King, so eventually I lifted my head, eyes hollow.
'I should start packing.'
The thought of having to live surrounded by ticking time bombs again already made my stomach churn, but what could I do? My opponents were the Emperor and the Demon King. Hahaha. Hahahahaha.
......Shit.
"Ughhh......."
"Um, Master...?"
"......?"
"I heard you'd returned and came to see you, but... are you hurt anywhere?"
A man with features rarely seen in this region poked only his head through the doorway, gauging the mood.
Black hair and black eyes. Features closer to a southerner than a northerner from these parts.
So... his name was Dan, right? The one who followed me from the shaman's village and was learning the sword... but why? Did something happen?
"No, I'm fine. What's the matter?"
I straightened my back immediately as if nothing had happened. After a brief silence, seemingly baffled by my attitude, he slowly opened his mouth.
His lips parted with a hint of hesitation. The words came out faltering.
"I, well......."
"My lord!"
Oh dear. It looked like he had been about to say something he'd worked up the courage for.
I clicked my tongue inwardly at him, his words instantly cut off, and looked at the servant who had suddenly barged in.
I didn't reprimand him. That face, already white as a sheet, was pitiful enough. If I scolded him on top of this, he'd probably drop dead from a heart attack.
And besides, the servants at our count's residence always tried their hardest to show me proper courtesy.
So if they forgot even that, it meant something major had blown up.
......Damn it.
"H-hi, hihihi......."
"Hi, what?"
"His Highness the Crown Prince has come to visit!"
Oh, His Highness the Crown Prince? See, it was a major incident after all.
No, wait.
......The Crown Prince?!
"Why again!!"
"Eek!"
Why did he show up again without any notice!
I slammed the desk and shot upright. As I threw on my outer robe to meet the minimum standard of formality, I cast a glance at the servant, who was by now at my side in full panic, reciting "I'm sorry" like a mantra.
"Where is His Highness the Crown Prince?"
"I'm so sorry! P-pardon? Ah, uh, he's in the drawing room. The butler is attending to h-hi..."
So that's why someone other than Rememver came to make the report for a change — it was because the guest was the Crown Prince.
I didn't bother hearing more; I hurried my steps.
I'd completely forgotten Dan's existence, standing behind me rolling his eyes and gauging the atmosphere.
***
"Deon Hart, your subject, greets the future of the Empire."
"Yes. I apologize for coming so suddenly like this."
"Not at all."
Watching Honorary Count Deon Hart calmly offer his greeting despite the abrupt visit, Crown Prince Elpidius faintly smiled.
He too was in a calmer state than usual today.
It couldn't be helped, considering what he was about to discuss was somewhat sensitive.
"You're going to the Demon Realm, I hear."
"......."
For a moment, Deon's eyes quickly scanned the room.
After confirming no one else was present, his gaze fixed directly on the Crown Prince. His blood-red eyes met golden ones.
After briefly watching the wariness filling those red eyes, the golden eyes soon curved softly.
"There's no need to look at me like that. Did you think I wouldn't know your secret?"
"......."
"I am the next emperor, after all. Given my age, if I were to become emperor, it would not be through a proper procedural succession, but rather because some calamity befell His Majesty and I suddenly inherited the throne. So it's only natural for me to be thoroughly prepared to lead the Empire without any problems, no matter when or how I become emperor."
In other words, the Emperor was sharing all critical information with him.
"......I was rude."
"No. Not being on guard would be what's strange."
Anyway—
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.
"The reason I came here was to convey the words His Majesty couldn't, and to see your face."
"......."
"A face I won't be seeing for a while. Ought to get a good look at it while I can, shouldn't I?"
It sounded like he'd said it backward, but it was true.
Because a man like Honorary Count Hart would have done well on his own even without this message being delivered.
Elpidius, knowing that Hart's mind was above average, grew confident in his own thoughts and spoke leisurely.
"You already know, I'm sure, but His Majesty said that should the Demon King decide on war, you are to return immediately."
"Understood."
"Whatever happens."
"......."
"He told you to return without fail."
Deon stared silently at the Crown Prince.
His red eyes, the thoughts behind them utterly unreadable, fixed on Elpidius without a flicker. This time, Elpidius did not look away either. His golden eyes, devoid of any hint of laughter and resembling those of a predator, met that gaze head-on.
After a long silence, Deon was the first to stand down.
"......I will keep it in mind."
Contrary to his compliant answer, both eyes glowed strangely.
The Crown Prince quietly watched that gleam lower and vanish silently behind his eyelids. Then he rose from his seat.
"I always extend my gratitude for your hard work."
***
Elpidius was deeply curious about Honorary Count Deon Hart.
That curiosity carried a positive meaning, and a negative one as well.
Who was Deon Hart?
Was he not a man who simultaneously held some very unpleasant titles and the title of "hero"? Who blocked the Demon King and retrieved the Hero's body?
'And also,'
A corps commander of the Demon King's army.
Yes, he was simultaneously a hero of the Empire and a corps commander of the Demon King's army.
Therefore, as the next emperor, Elpidius needed to know about him in greater detail.
If he swung a blade without fully understanding the sword he was meant to wield, he could end up hurting himself instead.
'I'd rather build a friendly relationship than a coercive one.'
A bond of fellowship served as a sturdier shackle than anything else.
He didn't know what the Emperor's thoughts were, but Elpidius always kept the possibility of Deon Hart's betrayal in mind.
The chances were low, since nearly all of Hart's foundation was here, but if the other side offered an environment and benefits that exceeded the advantages of the "human realm".......
"Brother! Did your meeting with Count Hart go well?"
"......Alethea."
"You left me out, you know."
I wanted to see the Count too~.
His train of thought stopped there. Elpidius immediately smiled warmly and strode over to his sister.
"I had an important matter to discuss, so it couldn't be helped. That's why you should've become the crown prince."
"I'll pass on such troublesome positions. You do it, brother."
After ordering the attending servant to prepare a tea table in the garden, he matched Alethea's pace and turned his steps toward the garden.
Naturally guiding her steps and confirming no one else was around, he lowered his voice by a notch and spoke quietly.
"Alethea, after Uncle and me, you are next."
"I know. That's why I'm learning everything I need to, isn't it? What makes you so impatient, brother?"
"......."
Was I being impatient?
Feeling oddly as if she'd hit the mark, Elpidius closed his mouth.
Come to think of it, he had been growing impatient lately.
The Revolutionary Army he'd been tipped off about by Honorary Count Hart had ended up dying without ever revealing their main base, so they hadn't produced any notable results. And with the Revolutionary Army intact like that, Uncle had even declared war.
And besides.......
Perhaps his silence had stretched longer than he thought, because they already arrived at the garden.
Sitting at the prepared tea table after dismissing all the attendants, Elpidius finally parted his firmly shut lips.
The biggest problem. The thing that had made him so impatient.
"Uncle is seeing hallucinations."
The Emperor's condition was worse than expected.
He'd long known that the Emperor was having nightmares. He'd tried to summon the royal physician, but his uncle's firm refusal had left him no choice but to leave it be.
And now, who would have guessed it would lead to hallucinations?
Well, he had been having nightmares for quite a long time, so maybe it was only natural.
The Emperor's nightmares had started from the moment he ascended to the throne. They'd intensified severely during the Eight-Year War.
'And now, in the end.......'
Just when had it started?
No, 'when' wasn't what mattered. What mattered was his own 'action'—the fact that he hadn't summoned the royal physician despite knowing.
Guilt washed over him. But he still couldn't summon the physician.
"What? No, just when did it start... no, before that, did you summon the royal physician?! Did you?"
"Uncle refused."
"But even so, you can't just leave it like that!!"
"How am I supposed to break Uncle's stubbornness?"
What could the dead even say?
His living uncle was many times more precious, so he'd gone to see him again during the day and tried persuading him once more. He'd already done so.
But his uncle was resolute.
"Uncle's pathological sense of responsibility is not something I can do anything about."
"You should phrase it properly. It's not a sense of responsibility, it's guilt."
"Yes, guilt."
More precisely, it could be called a damnable combination of guilt and responsibility.
Remembering his uncle, who tried to shoulder responsibility even for the dead, Elpidius quietly swallowed a sigh and looked at Alethea, whose expression had rarely become so rigid.
"You understand, Alethea? We don't have time."
The problems that would arise from not hurrying were great, but there was nothing bad about hurrying.
From the day he realized the hallucination issue, the Crown Prince had taken over nearly all responsibilities from the Emperor. So that he could immediately succeed him and continue handling affairs whenever trouble broke out.
──At least so the Emperor could rampage freely on the battlefield without worrying about other matters.
Now, the only thing left was the matter concerning Deon Hart.
At first, knowing nothing, he'd approached him simply as someone who had gained his uncle's trust. It wouldn't hurt to build a rapport as Crown Prince.
But now, having been briefed on everything, his perspective couldn't help but change.
'And no wonder—a corps commander? A double agent?'
Of course, even after that, he'd approached him casually, just as before.......
But today, with his perspective changed and observing Hart more intently, something subtly grated on his nerves.
'More precisely, I should say I noticed it.'
Thinking about that aspect of Hart he still hadn't perfectly defined, an aspect whose identity he couldn't identify and somehow full of a sense of unease, Elpidius finished, muttering as if to himself.
"......So Alethea, you focus on what you're learning now. I'll put in my own efforts."
"Given the situation, we should at least stop the war......."
"Has our persuasion ever worked before?"
"......."
True.
True to his words, the two of them had tried several times to dissuade and stop the Emperor's self-destructive behavior.
If they'd succeeded back then, things wouldn't have gotten this bad.
Alethea's shoulders slumped dejectedly.
"......I'll do my best......."
If they couldn't help their uncle directly, they would help indirectly.
Because to Alethea and Elpidius, Edoardo Desert was a family member precious enough that turning the whole world against them would be of no concern.
[I'm sorry.]
He raised his head, recalling his uncle's voice still vivid in his ears.
Unlike that day, a sky terribly, achingly clear filled his vision.
[It's my fault. I'll take full responsibility.]
'No, you don't have to.'
What would change by answering now, anyway?
Answering inwardly at last to his uncle's voice—apologizing for things that required no apology, trying to take responsibility for things that needed none—Elpidius calmly lifted his cooled teacup.
A long time had passed since then, and their uncle, trying to take responsibility for what needed none, had ultimately ended up shouldering an even greater burden.
Back then, everyone was young. It was just that being young in the Imperial Palace was a crime.
──The tea was bitter.