The Second Condition

With the date of the execution set in stone at last, the council of nobles my father had summoned came to an end.

In the moments that followed, the first to seek me out was Duke Asis.

"……Perhaps we might move somewhere more private?"

"Good idea."

I nodded and moved alongside the Duke.

"My daughter is staying in Veronica at present, with her lady-in-waiting."

"I haven't forgotten, so please don't be in such a rush."

Halting my steps for a moment, I scribbled quickly on the paper, then lifted it up for him to see.

"You haven't heard my second condition yet, have you?"

"Then what, pray tell, is this second condition?"

As it turned out, Duke Asis was an unexpectedly hopeless daughter-fool, and there was a chance he might fly into a rage upon hearing what I was about to propose.

But if I, a prince with no backing whatsoever, wished to secure a firm base of support, I needed the Duke of Asis.

What he had lent me in this council was not enough. The factions friendly to the current imperial family were, after all, my father's pillars—not mine.

"I wish to marry Lapis, the daughter of Duke Asis."

"……!"

Walking beside me, the Duke failed utterly to keep his composure and furrowed his brow on the spot.

I raised a hand and waved it, as if to calm him down.

"Political marriages are hardly uncommon, are they?"

"W-well, that is true, but—!"

"I have no proper support of my own. Honestly, if I'd had a solid faction behind me, I wouldn't have needed to go about this by laying a trap the way I did. So I want to bind myself to House Asis by blood, and have the entirety of the Neutral Faction stand behind me. At this point, there's no reason for them to keep calling themselves neutral anyway, is there?"

At my words, the Duke clutched his head for a moment, visibly troubled.

Truthfully, even if he was the leader of the Neutral Faction, how many men would be willing to marry a daughter who could not yet hold her own body upright?

I had restored her upper body, yes, but as she was, hers was a body that would struggle to bear the most important thing of all—an heir. A cesarean section would make it possible, but the medical progress of this era came nowhere near the modern age of my previous life.

It was almost surprising that the concept of sterilization was observed at all.

"If it's too difficult a decision, then just have my father and Duke Asis exchange word of an engagement."

That much was enough for now.

Besides, it would be even better if word spread that the Duke's daughter had been completely cured thanks to my power.

The rumors concerning resurrection had been steered toward suppression, but whispers of healing carrying the power of the King's Words would, if anything, work in my favor.

Life may not deal evenly with any man, but death, at least, is fair to all.

"Will that truly be acceptable to you, Your Highness?"

Wondering what he meant by that all of a sudden, I looked up at the Duke.

"You are still young. There would be no need to step so quickly into the tangled thicket of politics."

"If the Empire's only prince proves to be an extraordinary man, should that not rather be counted a blessing upon the Empire?"

"……"

"That was a joke, Duke. People are creatures that adapt to their surroundings."

And then—

"I had to mature a little faster than most, in order to survive…… and to protect the precious few things I had."

"……I see."

"In fact, someone forced to grow up as quickly as I was deserves a little sympathy, don't you think?"

At my answer, the Duke raised the subject no further.

"Rather than speak of marriage outright, I will confer with His Majesty and settle it as a betrothal."

"Understood."

Negotiations concluded, I was carried in the Duke's arms into his carriage, and we set out for the capital—Veronica.

There I was greeted by his daughter, Lapis, playing in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a room alongside the Duchess.

"It's been a while."

After jotting a short greeting on the paper, I approached her with a smile.

"H-hello, Prince Rohen!"

A flush of red bloomed across cheeks so pale they stood in stark contrast to her light blue hair.

"Today, I'm going to let you walk the world on these two feet of yours."

With both hands, I gently took hold of one of Lapis's small feet.

"Th-that's dirty!"

"Oh my, look at that!"

Oblivious to Lapis's embarrassment, the Duchess beside us covered her mouth with her left hand while prodding Duke Asis in the ribs again and again.

The sight of their daughter—who had spent every day confined to a sickbed—like this must have been genuinely moving, as a mother.

But Duke Asis, plainly displeased by the obvious affection Lapis was showing me, turned his head away.

Along with my small voice, I willed the mending of the paralysis in her lower body and poured the power of the King's Words into it—and that radiant light seeped into Lapis.

Certain that the casting had taken hold, I slowly lowered her two feet to the floor and walked over to Duke Asis.

He, convinced in advance that his daughter would walk today, had secretly bought a pair of shoes and stashed the wrapped box out of sight.

While every eye was drawn to Lapis, wiggling her feet with all her might, I scooped that box up into my arms.

"Wh-what are you—?!"

The Duke belatedly panicked at my brazenness, but I moved with perfect calm.

Shameless, certainly.

Still, I couldn't say I felt no guilt toward the girl I would one day wed through political arrangement—so it could hardly hurt to bank a little extra goodwill toward myself in advance, lest she come to regret it.

"Duke Asis and I picked out the shoes you'll be wearing."

Careful not to forget his share of the credit, I unwrapped the box to reveal a pair of shoes in a lovely design that would surely be popular among the young noble daughters of the realm.

They were crafted with a low heel, kind to the toes, and sturdy enough that even running would not turn an ankle.

"Well? Think you can move?"

Ignoring the Duke's contorted expression, I rose from my seat and extended my hand to Lapis.

And as if entranced, Lapis rose from her seat to walk toward me.

"Aah……!"

Watching from the side, the Duchess wept, overcome with emotion.

Even Duke Asis, his credit so shamelessly stolen, for this one moment wore a deeply moved expression as he patted his wife on the back.

"How does it feel, walking the world on your own two feet?"

Lest Lapis, who had struggled her way to me, lose her balance, I gently clasped her small hand and rested my other hand at her waist, bearing part of her weight for her.

Her face turned scarlet, Lapis bowed her head deeply before speaking.

"I…… I want to walk more of the world together with you, Your Highness."

Barely louder than a whisper.

The voice was small, but I was not so dense as to miss the courage Lapis had squeezed out of herself to say it.

"W-would you… dance with me someday? I'll practice hard, I promise!"

Unable to take up a pen at that moment, I pried open her palm and stretched my fingers out upon it, answering her there.

"I look forward to it."

Perhaps because of that melting sensation in her hand, or perhaps because she had received the very answer she'd hoped for—

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Lapis, beaming, nestled herself into my arms.

The expression on Duke Asis's face, standing right beside us, was a sight worth beholding in its own right.

A week had passed since I fully cured Duke Asis's daughter, Lapis.

The imperial palace was far busier than I had expected.

Well, naturally—there was a mountain of affairs to settle in connection with the traitors who had raised their banner of rebellion.

And on top of that, now was the time to root out the maids who had aided the Empress in her treason.

Together with the knight order my father had assigned to me, I began sifting through the palace maids, imbuing their confessions with the power of the King's Words to single out the collaborators.

The maids attached to the palace were not few in number, but once you seized one tail, the rest came strung together like beads on a thread—the work was hardly arduous.

"Please, I beg you!"

"Your Highness! Release us! I-I'm begging you!"

Had they finally grasped, even a little, that the cliff's edge they found themselves crowded upon was the very same one my mother had once stood upon?

No—it was precisely because they lacked that awareness that they had thrown away even the barest shred of conscience and come groveling like this.

"Let them go."

"Your Highness!"

The knights who had finished binding the maids turned to me with wide, startled eyes.

The only one standing there unperturbed was Sir Brand, who had watched over me all this while.

"What power could these maids possibly have had? The Empress ordered it, and so they obeyed—that is all. So I'll speak to my father on their behalf myself."

At my words, the maids evidently decided this was an opening they could not afford to waste, nodding their heads vigorously in eager agreement.

"Th-that's right!"

"We only did as the Empress commanded!"

"So release them."

"But……!"

Even if a petition were submitted, it would never be granted.

The knights knew this as well as anyone, which was why they were pushing back—but Sir Brand stepped forward to mediate.

"Release them."

"Commander!"

"Hear me out first."

A prince or not, a child was still a child, it seemed.

Wearing expressions ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of sheer, dumbfounded disbelief, the knights untied the bound maids and let out a collective, heavy sigh.

Meanwhile, once every maid we had flushed out was freed, I confirmed the flood of notifications that a great number of altered quests had been completed, and let my gaze drop ever so slightly.

Among all the palace maids, I had never once managed to draw so much as a single plea out of those sworn to the Empress.

Rotted through and through, reeking of decay—and yet, as fertilizer, they were apparently no worse for wear. Fortunately, they would serve as a final dose of nourishment before their deaths.

"Th-thank you, Your Highness!"

Bowing their heads was not enough—they pressed their foreheads to the floor in gratitude. A revolting display of hypocrisy.

And at the sight of it, I opened my mouth, a clear sneer playing at its corners.

"There's no need to thank ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me. It's all a lie."

"……What?"

"Did you enjoy feeling alive again, if only for a moment? I'm sorry to say I want you dead."

"……"

"You have families of your own, and if we combed through every last detail, no doubt grievances would surface here and there. But there is no one in this world without a story to tell. If I stopped to hear out every single sob tale, discipline would dissolve into nothing, from top to bottom. That is precisely why the law exists."

Even a sneeze of mockery felt wasted on them now, so with a face gone cold as frost, I drew the final line.

"The prince of this Empire hardly has the privilege of breaking that law, now does he? Do not worry. Why is it that some escape execution even after aiding a rebellion…… I will see to it that no such cries of injustice are ever raised. At the very least, your road to the afterlife will not be a lonely one."

With those words, I looked to Sir Brand, and he roused the knights—who still wore dazed expressions—and began binding the maids once more.

Then, belatedly, the condemned began to wail, their pleading voices clashing together like a discordant chorus—but I ignored every last note of it and walked on.

All the foul, stagnant water of the world could never be bailed out.

But the rot within the imperial palace—that much, I intended to purge, every drop, here and now.