Back to the East (5)
The royal family!
Count Agon’s eyes widened so far they looked as though they might burst through his eyelids. The gap between his fully stretched eyes and brows perfectly conveyed the count’s emotions. He remained frozen in that state for nearly a minute. Only after waving his hand to signal that he had calmed himself did Count Agon finally relax his rigid body.
The pattern of the lily. The only person in this kingdom with the authority to bestow it was one man alone.
Georges II. The king of this nation.
“No, you… just who in the world….”
His words came out in stuttering fragments, unable to form a proper sentence. Should he ask how the man had entered this room? Should he ask who he was? Should he ask why he had come here? Count Agon’s mind was flooded with countless questions when the intruder let out a sigh and gestured for him to sit.
“For now, let us speak slowly. In the meantime, it would be best to send away any servants or visitors who might come by.”
The calm voice helped the count regain his senses. He nodded.
“…Understood.”
The count sat down in the chair at his desk. Still, a considerable commotion must have occurred during the earlier disturbance, yet none of the servants had shown themselves. That worried him.
“Are my people outside safe?”
“I never entered the building in the first place. There wasn’t any loud noise, after all. It’s only natural that no one came.”
At the intruder’s matter-of-fact reply, the count gave an awkward cough. Then, as he always did, he pulled the desk chair back into its proper position.
“I see. I was a bit startled.”
Wait a moment. Wasn’t it far stranger that he, the lord of this land, was making excuses to this brazen intruder? Before Count Agon could fully register that sense of unease, the man before him lowered his head.
“First, I must apologize for committing such rudeness by intruding without any prior notice.”
A polite intruder, it seemed. Count Agon wanted to sneer at the thought, but having already shown such an undignified display, he was in no position to make light of the situation. The count swallowed the lump in his throat along with a dry gulp and focused on the intruder.
“You must have a perfectly reasonable justification for visiting me in secret like this, yes?”
“That is correct. To be precise… this is a matter that only Your Lordship must know about. No one else.”
“And that includes the fact of your visit itself, I presume?”
“Of course.”
The count closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again.
“Who exactly are you?”
The intruder slipped his fingers beneath the edge of his hood and slowly pulled it back. The rustle of fabric revealed hair as black as a raven’s feathers. Beneath sharp eyes of the same dark hue, a prominent scar crossed the bridge of his nose. Setting the scar aside, he possessed strikingly handsome features, yet the count had no recollection of ever seeing such a man. Or perhaps… he faintly resembled someone. While the count was searching through his hazy memories, the black-haired man spoke.
“Knight of the Royal First Guard, Arsen Bern. I have come to deliver His Majesty the King’s proposal to you, Count.”
The count’s eyes flew wide open. The First Guard! The knights chosen from among the kingdom’s finest, tasked with protecting the king himself. That level of skill explained how he could carry the lily emblem, and how he had been able to enter this office undetected.
“I see… For someone who should be guarding His Majesty’s side to come all the way to Murat, it must be on a secret royal order.”
“Correct. And for that very reason, the fact that I have visited you must also remain secret.”
Count Agon rubbed his temple. The very issue he had been deeply contemplating all day had suddenly become the topic before his eyes with the appearance of this royal guard. Everything else was pushed aside for now. The count cleared away all the miscellaneous thoughts cluttering his mind, gathered every piece of information related to the royal family’s situation, and began to lay them out.
“…I have been keeping a constant eye on the movements in the capital as well.”
“Not only you, Count Agon, but every other noble is doing the same.”
“Which also means this subject is rather obvious. Therefore, it isn’t difficult to guess what kind of proposal you have come to make.”
Now that he was seated at the table, Count Agon had no intention of relinquishing the initiative. Even if the man was the king’s messenger, there would be no exception. On the other hand, the black-haired knight remained silent, allowing the conversation to flow according to the count’s pace. Engaging in lengthy negotiations was not a knight’s role.
“Yes. May I present the proposal?”
“I will listen. I have no desire to be branded a traitor and have my head cut off by you right here.”
Whether it was a joke or sincere, the count’s face was quite serious. The knight showed not a flicker of discomfort. A difficult opponent, the count thought inwardly.
“I will speak directly.”
The knight took a breath and fixed his gaze on the count. His eyes were deep. The count was inwardly surprised that a man who appeared not yet thirty could possess such profound eyes.
“Please stand with His Majesty.”
“Elaborate.”
“Together with His Majesty the King, drive out the traitors who threaten the peace of the royal family and the kingdom, and restore prosperity and stability to this land once more.”
There was no commanding tone, no coercion. Only a calm request remained.
“That was His Majesty’s proposal and request.”
Count Agon let out a long sigh. He had thought the number of things to worry about had decreased lately, but it seemed everything had been arranged for this very moment.
“Hah.”
“His Majesty…”
The count could not continue. Even though Leon Benning was involved, this was still an internal affair of the royal family. If outsiders were drawn in further, wouldn’t it only throw the royal house into greater chaos?
“I understand that Leon Benning is openly supporting the Second Prince. The Magic Tower stands behind him.”
Count Agon’s eyes changed. To him, this was a test containing every ounce of loyalty, concern, and permissible rudeness he could direct toward the palace.
“They have justification to intervene in royal affairs. The royal family has not yet announced a successor, and the Second Prince is not without legitimacy. If they intend to overturn the order through strength, they are fully capable of doing so.”
Moreover. The count raised a finger and added,
“And that strength is more than sufficient. The Benning family, which has grown into the kingdom’s foremost martial house, is backed by the Magic Tower. It would not be an exaggeration to call Leon Benning one of the kingdom’s greatest knights, and his daughter, Theodora Benning, is a knight whose fame extends beyond the kingdom across the entire continent.”
The atmosphere shifted. For a brief moment, Count Agon felt an overwhelming killing intent radiating from the knight across from him. Those black eyes gleamed with chilling hostility.
“Hm?”
Before the count could react to the unease, the killing intent that had flared so briefly vanished. It had lasted such a short time that he almost believed he had imagined it. Yet the thick residue of that malice left a cold wind blowing through the office. The count knew the target of that killing intent had not been himself. Who had it been directed at? Count Benning? Or his daughter?
“Please continue.”
“…That is all. Royal Guard. You said your name was Bern?”
“Arsen will suffice. I have not yet accomplished anything worthy of being addressed with such honorifics.”
“Very well, Arsen.”
Count Agon changed the subject to lighten the mood.
“What justification does His Majesty hold? What power stands behind him?”
It was rude. The words of a treacherous man doubting the royal family, the arrogance and disloyalty of weighing a single noble house against the stability of the throne. And yet, at the same time, it was the utmost loyalty. The count was asking directly, without fear, what the royal family lacked and what it needed in order to fight the traitors.
“There is one correction I must make.”
“Speak.”
“His Majesty does not intend to place you, Count, at the forefront in an overt manner.”
What was needed was a balance of power. The king had emphasized that point.
They claim the justification of a succession dispute. This is partly because I have not yet personally designated a successor, and partly the lingering consequence of past mistakes I committed.
I wish for Count Agon and the Border Count to support the First Princess and the First Prince respectively.
…Is that truly acceptable?
I feel sorry for the First Princess… no, for Michelle. At the same time, this turmoil may become an opportunity for her.
No matter which path we take, it is far better than allowing this country to fall completely into someone’s grasp.
The moment Benning places this entire kingdom within his clutches will be the moment the Loire royal family ends.
Maxim—now operating as Arsen Bern—opened his eyes.
“Your Lordship is correct. Rather than directly interfering in the succession struggle and obstructing them, it is right for His Majesty to publicly declare a successor and quell the chaos within the palace.”
But that timing had already been lost. Before the royal family could formally announce a successor, the cunning Benning had already begun pushing the Second Prince forward with full force.
“Indeed. As you say, for some reason His Majesty missed the proper moment. Yet even now, if he wishes to reestablish the foundation of the royal family, it is not impossible. The eldest son, the First Prince, is still alive and well. So why…”
Count Agon stopped mid-sentence. A single possibility had surfaced in his mind—one so unthinkable he could barely speak it aloud, one so blasphemous that merely thinking it felt like treason. Why had the First Prince not been declared successor long ago? Why, even in this current crisis, did they refuse to put the First Prince forward as successor? And knowing this simple truth, why had the Benning family not yet taken full-scale action?
“Is there a problem with the First Prince?”
“That is something even I do not know.”
Maxim’s answer half-confirmed the count’s suspicion.
“His Majesty said that the justification they gain by putting forward the Second Prince is solid. That is also why they are in no hurry to act.”
“How terrible.”
Count Agon sighed. If there was indeed a problem with the First Prince, then Benning, who had the Second Prince in his grasp, had no reason to rush. Whether the issue concerned the First Prince’s personal character or his legitimacy, there must be a reason the royal family could not carelessly designate him as successor.
A bastard. A prince and princess born on the exact same day. One the child of the lawful queen, the other of a concubine. Count Agon’s mind grew tangled.
“The more I hear, the more it feels as though I have stepped into something I should never have become involved with.”
“It was something that would have become connected eventually. You already know that, don’t you?”
The knight was right. Though it was embarrassing to admit, Murat’s lord, Count Agon, was a noble with the influence of a great aristocrat. In any major royal matter, he could not avoid becoming involved in some form.
“…What does His Majesty wish me to do?”
Count Agon asked for the king’s true intention.
“The First Princess and the First Prince.”
At the names that flowed from Maxim’s lips, Count Agon frowned.
“Are you telling me to support one of those two?”
“His Majesty wishes for you to maintain the balance of power within the royal family until the proper order is restored.”
In the end, it was leading to a succession war after all. It seemed the king intended to draw every major noble in the kingdom into this crisis and settle matters once and for all. Count Agon found it distasteful, but if he hesitated now, he would surely be among the first forces to be purged—whether by Benning or by the royal family.
But still.
Count Agon lightly placed his fist on the desk.
“How long do you plan to stay in Murat?”
“My schedule aligns with that of the merchants currently staying in Murat.”
Count Agon sighed.
“It will be difficult to find you again.”
“If you set a time and date, I will visit you again in this manner.”
The knight’s confident declaration that he would commit another unauthorized intrusion made the count let out a hollow laugh.
“Come to this mansion the day before those merchants depart. I will give you my answer then.”
“Please consider it with great care.”
“Naturally.”
The moment the count closed his eyes briefly to gather his thoughts, the black-haired knight had already vanished.
“As ghostly in his departure as he was in his arrival.”
The count clicked his tongue.
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the office door.
“Enter.”
The person who opened the door was the female knight who had been escorting Marion and Catherine. She stepped into the office and wore a puzzled expression.
“Did you finish touring the territory safely?”
“Yes. Both of them have returned to the mansion without incident.”
“Well done. You may leave now.”
Even after receiving the order to withdraw, the knight hesitated for a moment.
“Is something the matter?”
“No. It just feels a little chilly in the office.”
“I had the window open. It felt a bit stuffy.”
“I see.”
The female knight slowly withdrew. Yet the doubt clouding her expression did not disappear.
It didn’t feel chilly so much as… eerie.
Probably just my imagination, she muttered to herself as she stepped into the corridor and closed the office door behind her.