Silent Secret Meeting
Silent Secret Meeting
"Say it so I can understand!! I can't get a word of what you're saying!!"
At my words, he gasped as if he couldn't believe it.
"So are we doing math today or not!! Just say that! I'd like it even better if I don't study!!"
"Ah..."
A sigh mixed with a lament leaked out from his mouth.
He could not take his eyes off me.
His eyes grew wide as if they would pop out at any moment, and his mouth forcibly swallowed back the words that were about to come out.
His gaze was fixed as if nailed to the paper I was holding in my hand, which I had scribbled on until just a moment ago.
"Tell me quickly! Are we taking a break today?! Or not?!!"
『The Lord Protector is listening to this conversation』
On the paper I was holding, those words were written.
It was mimicking a comic I had read in the past, but in the current situation, there were no words more fitting than this.
The Count slowly raised his head, which had been looking at the paper, and looked at me.
In his eyes, how would the current me be reflected?
Right now, I had stopped all acting except for my voice acting.
My eyes, which were always half-dazed and staring lifelessly into empty air, were now looking straight at him, and my expression, which was always somehow blank or smirking, now remained emotionless without a twitch as I quietly raised my chin and looked at the Count.
The air in the classroom sank heavy and cold.
Inside the classroom, where even the air seemed frozen, only Count Andrew Bartolomeo was wildly shaking his pupils as he looked back and forth between me and the note I wrote, forgetting even to breathe as he tried to grasp the situation.
The thumping sound of the Count's heart felt as though it echoed through the air. His expression gradually changed.
First, bewilderment.
He was angry, and then saddened.
And then, joy.
With an expression where all those emotions mixed together at once, the Count suddenly tried to drop to his knees.
His lips trembled and quivered repeatedly, looking as though he were about to drop to his knees this instant to offer an apology to me, so I took the paper away from my hands and, without opening my mouth, stopped him with a gesture.
When I stopped him with a gesture, he looked at me in shock, and I quietly pointed to the door with one hand while using the other hand to extend only the index finger from a clenched fist and pressed it to my lips.
No matter how much I dismissed the maids and knights outside, these classrooms were strangely un-soundproof.
While speaking extremely softly or the sound of writing on the chalkboard might not leak out, doing anything noisily would unconditionally be heard by those outside.
Having confirmed my gesture to be quiet, he nodded slightly, and this time I pointed at myself with a finger, then pointed at the Count, and gestured talking with my other hand.
It was a gesture telling him to answer what I had said.
The Count finally realized it and was startled once more,
"Ah... Ah, no! Today, today's lesson will be held..."
Should I cut him some slack for spitting that out with an awkward, strange pitch in his voice?
Swallowing down the urge to let out a sigh, I got up from my seat, approached the chalkboard, and opened my mouth.
"Tsk. I thought I could get some rest... So what are we doing today then!"
The words coming out of my mouth were, as always, stupid, arrogant, and devoid of any intelligence.
However, I picked up a piece of chalk lying there and quietly wrote words on the chalkboard.
『Which faction?』
As soon as I wrote those words and saw that the Count confirmed them, I erased them immediately.
Grasping what I was doing, the Count nodded and picked up a piece of chalk himself.
"Continuing from last week... we will be doing subtraction. Because Your Majesty... has not yet... learned all of... subtraction..."
『Neutral.』
He did not write at length.
Perhaps out of consideration for the fact that I was actually still receiving an education, he wrote only the most important word in a short phrase.
Seeing that, I also decided to focus on short phrases so I could write quickly and erase quickly.
While speaking a tedious string of numbers with our mouths, the Count and I breathlessly exchanged information with our hands.
Sagak-sagak-sagak
The chalk sprinted rapidly across the chalkboard.
Instead of numbers, concise sentences written in the common language of the empire were swiftly engraved and swiftly erased on the chalkboard.
『Since when?』 Since when did you realize the Lord Protector's evil clutches?
『From the beginning.』 『Neutral faction, is that all?』 I knew from the beginning. Are you merely part of the neutral faction?
『Former Emperor Faction, to uphold duty.』 I was part of the Former Emperor Faction. I am neutral now, but I came to this position to uphold my duty.
Write. Read. Erase.
White chalk dust billowed like a bizarre mist amidst the scattering light.
Outside the classroom, the bored murmur of a child exhausted by tedious arithmetic and the voice ignoring such murmurs to painstakingly continue the education leaked out, while inside the classroom, I continued a silent secret conversation with someone to whom I could lay bare everything for the first time in my life.
『Need. Survival. Shield. Pass Grand Duke. But insufficient. Information.』 To survive, I still need more shields. I obtained the shield called the Pass Grand Duke, but it is still insufficient. Tell me what you know.
An indescribable, complex emotion flickered across the corners of the Count's mouth as he read what I had written.
Realizing that the one he had thought to be merely an incompetent child was actually walking on thin ice with a blade held to his neck, the Count bit his lip hard as if some overwhelming emotion were about to spill over.
And just at the moment he was about to write something down, a deolgeureok sound rang out.
Both the Count and I quickly turned toward the door, and I returned to my seat at a rapid pace while hushing my steps as much as possible.
Whether it was a sound made by a tired knight dozing off or the sound of swapping shifts with another guard knight, I didn't know, but that sound was practically a signal announcing that the lesson was ending soon.
Sighing over the conversation that could not yet be fully completed, as I was returning to my seat, I noticed that the paper I had written on had fallen to the floor, and I picked it up.
It wasn't that I had an intention of recreating a scene from a comic, but I couldn't think of a better device to quietly show Count Bartolomeo while having maximum impact than this.
Because if I hadn't shut his mouth right then and there, a knight might have come in not to shut his mouth, but to shove a sword into his mouth.
However, an accident occurred while doing so.
What should I do with this paper? I can't just tear it up and throw it away.
If I did something like that, someone would naturally come along to pick up every single torn piece and piece them back together.
I can't carry it with me either.
My body is checked after every lesson under the Lord Protector's orders.
Doing it was fine, but how do I handle the cleanup? ...Should I swallow it?
While I was holding the paper and worrying like that, the Count, who had walked up near me, took the paper held in my hand.
"Let us stop here for today, Your Majesty. Your Majesty has already sufficiently mastered subtraction."
"Really?!!"
Contrary to the doubt expressed on my face, words of joy poured out of my mouth. Having different words come out of my mouth than what was inside was a familiar thing I had been doing since my past life.
"Yes. Please take a moment to catch your breath."
Seeing my confusion, he gave a slight smile and pulled out a pipe made of black wood with luxurious silver filigree work from inside his coat, as well as a slender tinderbox gleaming in silver and embedded with several jewels.
He put the pipe in his mouth.
Chi-ik—
Sparks flew along with the rough sound of steel scraping stone.
Transferring the spark to the tinder and blowing a breath with a huu, an ember glowing orange flared up.
The Count held the ember against the edge of the paper. Soon, the paper burned and began spewing smoke.
He used the remaining ember to light his pipe, held it in his mouth, tucked the tinderbox back into his breast pocket, and this time pulled out a small silver-crafted canister.
Then he opened the canister and dropped the paper he was holding inside. Seeing the inside of the canister quickly reduced to nothing but ashes, the Count smiled faintly and,
『Disposed』
wrote that on the board and erased it.
With a huu, the tobacco smoke puffed out by the Count billowed toward the ceiling.
The humid, deep sweetness reminiscent of figs erased the pungent acrid burnt smell of the burning paper.
Watching that scene, an idea suddenly popped into my head.
I immediately gestured toward the Count and opened my mouth.
"Hey...! You, tobacco...!"
"Ah, my goodness. Forgive my discourtesy, Your Majesty. Smoking when taking a break is a habit like a chronic illness of mine, so I couldn't help myself."
"What, so does that mean right now is break time?!!"
"Since Your Majesty has said so, this humble servant can only comply."
"Great! Then from now on, all smoking time is break time!!"
Thanks to the Count playing along with my act, things went smoothly. I dislike tobacco smoke, but I like a teacher who gives break time instead of smoking.
Isn't that a reason fitting for a child?
And so, today's lesson came to an end.
Under the pretext that I had mostly mastered addition and subtraction, the math teacher remained as Andrew Bartolomeo.
My intention was also in play here. When the Lord Protector directly asked me how the teachers were, I slammed most of the teachers, including Count Andrew.
Because there was no way the young child I was playing would like education.
However, I added a caveat for Count Andrew in a different sense: "I don't like that man because he smokes, but I like that I can rest when he smokes."
Thus, when the 5th week of math class began, Andrew was in the classroom. Our stratagem had worked brilliantly.
"Just math," thinking so, the Lord Protector's miscalculation in leaving the stupid emperor and the neutral noble alone was what brought about this situation. Andrew and I gave small smiles.
As the 5th week of class began, the secret conversation between the two of us proceeded even more covertly.
The maids and knights outside fundamentally could not look inside the classroom. This was because there were no windows near the entrance.
However, even so, they might feel something was off, so we had no choice but to be even more cautious than before.
With our mouths, we uttered extremely simple calculations of addition and subtraction or recited multiplication tables, while on the chalkboard, various pieces of information were written and erased.
Through written dialogue, I frankly asked about the vague fear and dread I possessed.
A situation where it wouldn't be strange to die at any moment. The Pass Grand Duke Rosencavalier, a shield I had managed to craft somehow. The Margrave of the East, whose alliance remained uncertain.
No matter how much of a shield I obtained, I conveyed my exact thought that I couldn't possibly be invincible.
The fact that he kept me alive because there was a benefit, yet I did not know what that benefit was.
Even down to the fact that if it were him, wielding absolute power, he could have easily assassinated me, yet I did not know why he hadn't done so.
Upon hearing that, Count Andrew actually wore a look of surprise and began writing words on the chalkboard.
And those words were a story that overturned my terror from its very roots.
『You are mistaken, Your Majesty. Maximilian is not 'choosing not to' kill Your Majesty. He is clearly 'unable' to kill you.』
Maximilian. It was neither the Lord Protector nor Lord Wallenstein.
This man was reducing the man standing at the center of the Empire's power to a mere name.
Before I could even savor the strange thrill that fact provided, the weight of the written words crashed over me belatedly.
The Lord Protector can't kill me?
What kind of nonsensical talk is that?
The ones everywhere in the imperial palace are the Lord Protector's soldiers, and he holds all power in the imperial palace. Such a man can't kill me?
At my doubt, Andrew repeatedly wrote and erased a few words at a time, instilling the truth into my head.
『Nobles are creatures that breathe through justification. The current situation in the empire seems like Maximilian has seized all power, yet that is not entirely so. That is why Maximilian cannot recklessly cause a mishap to Your Majesty's person.』
The sound of the chalk tip scraping the chalkboard ran down my spine.
『If an unfortunate incident should occur to Your Majesty's person, Margrave Chrysoricos will without a doubt raise the banner of rebellion. Whatever the circumstances, the Margrave will brand Maximilian as an unjust usurper. This has nothing to do with whether he is truly Your Majesty's subject or not. He will move for his own justification.』
My head grew dizzy.
The essence of aristocratic politics, which my shallow modern brain could not fully imagine.
『The Southern Sea Grand Duke is the same. Should an unfortunate incident occur to Your Majesty's person, it would not be strange for the Southern Sea Grand Duke to raise the banner of rebellion under the justification of being Your Majesty's maternal grandfather.』
Justification was the noble system itself.
Then, if there was no justification... the Lord Protector couldn't move in the first place?
『However, until now, it was unknown whether the Southern Sea Grand Duke would move. No matter if the Margrave holds the greatest military force among the five pillars of the empire, he cannot cause a civil war—much less win it—by that alone. Above all, to enter the imperial capital, the Southern Sea Grand Duke's territory must pass through the territory of the Pass Grand Duke.』
As if answering my question, Andrew continued moving the chalk.
『Therefore, your judgment up to now was correct. As long as the Pass Grand Duke remained the Pass Grand Duke, Maximilian could have killed Your Majesty at any time. So long as he accepted the loss of the East, he could have done it at any moment.』
My action.
That gamble, where I struggled with all my might simply wanting to create a shield.
『However, the situation has changed. Your Majesty took the young lady of Rosencavalier as your fiancée and used the Pass Grand Duke's house as a shield. Because of this, Maximilian can no longer easily cause a mishap to Your Majesty's person.』
Returned to me as the best single move that saved my life.
Chillingly cold calculations were added to Andrew's chalkboard.
『Should a mishap occur to Your Majesty's person, this time even the Pass Grand Duke will move. If the Pass Grand Duke moves, there is no reason for the Southern Sea Grand Duke not to move. The Margrave will unconditionally move. If so, only one thing will happen.』
Civil war.
That word struck my head hard.
Yet Andrew continued writing sharp predictions on the chalkboard beyond what I had imagined.
『If a civil war breaks out, the Western Sea Grand Duke will certainly not participate. The current Western Sea Grand Duke has no great interest in central politics. If a civil war breaks out, rather than standing on Maximilian's side, he might declare independence.』
The Western Sea Grand Duke declaring independence? He had spoken words emphasizing stability to the Lord Protector at my Birthday Banquet. His words back then and Andrew's words now intersected.
Could it be that the stability the Western Sea Grand Duke spoke of was not the stability of the empire, but the stability of the Western Sea Grand Duchy?
Before I could even clear up my doubt, Andrew kept writing words.
『If that happens, Maximilian will have to face three pillars with only the troops from the North and the troops in the imperial capital. But it does not end there.
The enemy of the 40-Year War, the Norden Kingdom in the north, and the Parmanum Empire in the east, which has fought large and small wars with the empire for hundreds of years, will also move. Should that happen...』
Saying up to that point, Andrew paused his writing. Perhaps considering anything beyond this to be disloyalty, he looked at me.
I had no intention of telling him to write further either. Even without him writing it, I could tell.
Civil war, simultaneous invasions from two enemy nations. What that meant was only one thing.
The fall of the empire.
Even if it did not fall, what the Lord Protector would gain was an empire battered to pieces.
In that case, truly, the Lord Protector cannot assassinate me without any justification.
『However, it is not as though he currently has no justification whatsoever. Your Majesty's act as a tyrant to survive—especially what you did to the young lady of Rosencavalier—will not be enough justification for dethronement on its own, but if he stacks a few more justifications...』
The actions I took became a leash around the Lord Protector's neck, and a leash around mine.
Even as I was barely breathing a sigh of relief at the fact that I wouldn't die, Andrew hardened his expression and began writing on the board with a feel far more cautious than before.
『However, you must never lower your guard. The passing of the previous Emperor may not have been due to a fever.』
...What?
The content written by Andrew's hand was something not easily believable.
『It is merely suspicion, but there is a rumor that His Majesty did not pass away from a mysterious fever, but rather that Maximilian was involved. Nevertheless, because the previous Emperor trusted Maximilian, everyone remains silent. Therefore, if Your Majesty shows a threat that crosses a certain line, Maximilian could create a fever once again.』
I felt as though a cold blade were pressing against the back of my neck. Whispered rumors circulating among the Former Emperor Faction. Whether that was true or not did not matter. What mattered was that he was a man capable of doing such a thing.
That was why I must not stop acting. Andrew was saying just that.
Around the time I heard and processed all those facts, it was signaling the end of the math lesson.
The chalk marks on the board had vanished completely, and Andrew assumed his usual cynical expression as if nothing had happened.
I realized the scale of the world I was standing in.
From the weight of the shield to the length of the invisible dagger held by the enemy, I felt everything with my entire body.
At the same time, something inside me bared its fangs.
It was a beastly determination that I could no longer servilely hide behind a shield and just tremble.
My justification surrounded me like a castle. But with a shield alone, I could never pierce the heart of that giant-like Lord Protector.
Without saying anything further, I turned my back to the classroom and walked outside.
As always when a lesson ended, a full smile was painted across my face.
However, this time was a little different.
I felt as though I finally knew what I had to do.
From now on, I had to forge not a shield, but a sword perfectly fitted to my hand.
In this ropan where deceits collided, my stopped clock had finally begun to move.
Tick, tock.
Reeking of blood.