The Successor of the Duchy (1)
The Successor of the Duchy (1)
The Duchy's capital was incredibly lively when I visited again after more than a year.
Or rather, it was trying hard to seem lively.
Merchants were calling out to customers more loudly than before, and passersby were chatting eagerly, but none of them could hide their tense expressions.
After all, with their neighbors and family members away fighting, there was no way they could be genuinely happy.
Still, on the surface, it looked no different from before, so we were able to enter the capital with relaxed minds.
First, we secured an inn and changed our clothes.
We couldn't meet the Grand Archduchess in secret the way we had when we met Ivana.
Even with Balea's ability, sneaking into the royal palace was impossible, and we had no intention of trying anyway.
Instead, we decided to pay her an official visit.
I was visiting the Grand Archduchess as the escort knight of Princess Aisha, her close friend.
I couldn't go to a place like that dressed as a mercenary.
I went into my room and took out the armor I'd prepared from my backpack.
A magnificent set of plate armor.
Though all the crests had been erased, it was the armor of the Royal Knights.
This was the armor I had worn during the Knight Tournament, making it the perfect attire for presenting myself as the Princess's escort knight.
Balea also changed into a dress in her room.
With her hair, which she'd kept tightly tied up all this time, now let down, Balea looked incredibly radiant.
Lesty, though, remained unchanged.
Instead of entering the royal palace, he decided to contact the believers in the Duchy.
Once everyone was ready, a carriage pulled up in front of the inn.
It was a carriage we'd arranged through the innkeeper.
It wasn't the kind of carriage nobles rode in, but it was extremely ordinary, and neither Balea nor I minded.
Following proper etiquette, I took Balea's hand and helped her into the carriage, and the coachman's face stiffened at the sight of us.
A noble lady in a dress and a knight in full armor climbing into such a carriage...
As an ordinary hired coachman, he couldn't help but be nervous.
"W-Where are we going?"
"To the royal palace."
My answer was enough to make the coachman faint right where he sat.
At this rate, it seemed unlikely we'd even make it to the royal palace.
I handed the frozen coachman a gold coin.
As expected, financial therapy worked. The glittering gold brought him right back to his senses.
"I will serve you with all my heart!"
He bowed so deeply that his back looked ready to snap.
And with good reason: that gold coin was no small sum.
To me, now that I'd grown wealthy, it wasn't a huge amount, but to him, a mere coachman, it was a jackpot he hadn't seen in ages.
He drove the carriage with absolute dedication.
Thanks to that, the ride was incredibly comfortable.
Though it was just an ordinary carriage, by the time we arrived at the palace, it felt as though we were riding in a royal carriage.
A moment later, the carriage arrived in front of the royal palace.
The city felt as lively as ever, but the royal palace was undeniably different.
Unlike during our previous visit, security at the palace was extremely tight.
Soldiers lined the inner castle walls, keeping watch over the surroundings, while Duchy Knights in full armor stood before the gates, their eyes sharp and alert.
"What is your business?"
As the carriage came to a stop, one of the knights stepped forward and asked.
The coachman couldn't bring himself to answer, so I stepped out of the carriage instead.
Clink.
As I stepped out of the carriage clad in full armor, the sound of swords being gripped echoed from all directions.
Glancing up, I saw that even the soldiers atop the walls were aiming their crossbows at us.
Perhaps coming in full armor had been a mistake. It felt as though I had made everyone tense for no reason.
At this rate, it seemed difficult even to say anything.
Just then, amid the heavy tension, Balea stepped outside.
"Ah."
A soft gasp of admiration rang out, and the highly charged atmosphere immediately cooled.
Thank goodness.
Balea's beauty could shine even in a place like this.
It seemed absurd, but I was grateful all the same.
"I am Alex de Gracia, a member of the Gracia Dukedom. As the escort knight of Princess Aisha, I wish to meet the Grand Archduchess."
A member of Gracia...
Even as I said it, the words felt strange.
Perhaps because it was the first time I'd said them in an official setting.
After deciding to join hands with the Princess, I had received the Duke's tacit permission to use this name.
I had finally shed the label of a bastard.
That permission came with various exceptional conditions, of course.
A name I could use only while operating outside the family during this civil war.
It was a name that wasn't recognized within the family or officially acknowledged.
That was because the stubborn elders and relatives opposed it.
The arrangement was also meant to ensure that the position of the successor, Simon, would not be shaken.
They were ridiculous conditions, but it didn't really matter.
I only planned to use the name for this civil war anyway.
Once the civil war ended, I would obtain a title and territory, so there would be no reason for me to rely on the Duke's estate anymore.
To me, it was just a convenient name tag.
Even so, the bitterness didn't entirely fade.
Perhaps that was because of the wounds I'd suffered for so long under the label of a bastard.
While I was lost in these thoughts, the knights who had heard me looked at each other, seeming quite perplexed.
"...By any chance, do you have anything to verify your identity...?"
They hadn't arrived in a proper carriage, and with no escort, a plain carriage and two young people showing up out of nowhere were bound to look suspicious.
Yet we looked far too distinguished to simply be dismissed.
It was understandable why they were so conflicted.
Just as I was debating whether to take out the Princess's letter, someone fortunately recognized me.
It was a knight standing in the back.
He strode over and put a hand on my shoulder.
"You're the student who was dispatched from the Kingdom Academy last year, right?"
I remembered him too.
"Ah, have you been well? You remember me."
He was the knight who had escorted us to the border when the Grand Archduchess went abroad to study last year.
Because we'd faced the Empire's knights and mercenaries together, I remembered his face.
"There's no way I'd forget a comrade-in-arms."
He felt the same way.
"He is indeed the escort knight of the Kingdom's princess. He came here with the Princess last year."
At his words, the knights who had been gripping their swords let go.
The crossbows aimed at us were lowered as well.
"Please wait a moment. I will report this."
The knight who had spoken first adopted a much more polite tone.
Even the coachman of our rented carriage had become exceedingly respectful.
If gold could buy kindness, it seemed power commanded politeness.
Not long after the message was sent inside, the Chief Steward hurried toward the main gate.
It was the same Chief Steward I had seen a year earlier.
He stopped in front of me and bowed politely.
His greeting was far more respectful than it had been a year ago.
"Princess Frida was overjoyed to hear that the two of you have arrived. The Princess is waiting for you."
Fortunately, Grand Archduchess Frida welcomed us warmly.
By the way, had they called the Grand Archduchess "Princess" before? I tilted my head at the Chief Steward's words.
Still, this time, I was able to meet the Grand Archduchess without any problems.
Up until now, few things had gone smoothly. Since incidents and accidents were a constant, there had to be days like this.
I was about to enter the palace with Balea.
But there was an obstacle this time as well.
The Chief Steward blocked my path.
"Miss Balea may proceed immediately, but before you go to the Princess, Young Lord Alex has a place to visit."
As expected, it was the same this time too.
I sighed inwardly and asked the Chief Steward,
"Where must I go?"
I hoped it wasn't some strange place.
The Chief Steward answered my question.
"The Grand Prince summons you."
My jaw dropped.
The Grand Prince!
It was the strangest destination of all.
I had completely given up on meeting the Grand Prince, but for him to summon me directly...
Even as I entered the audience chamber, I still couldn't comprehend what was happening.
I ended up entering the audience chamber still clad in my armor.
Whatever their reason for feeling so confident, they didn't even search me physically, allowing me to meet the Grand Prince with my relic pouch and sword still on me.
Upon entering the audience chamber and seeing the Grand Prince, I understood why they hadn't searched me.
He wore armor that covered his entire body, and a gleaming sword hung at his waist.
The Grand Prince was fully armed.
'Surely, he won't ask me to spar with him, right?'
The moment I first saw the Grand Prince, I worried that I might have to spar with him.
That was how intensely the Grand Prince was projecting his mana.
Based on what I could sense of his skill and mana, the Grand Prince was stronger than most Royal Knights.
He was stronger than both the First and Second Princes, and might even be stronger than the Senior Knights of the Royal Knights.
Yet the "Mana Resonance" that had allowed him to split the country was surprisingly difficult to perceive.
It was strange, but I couldn't verify it right now.
That was because the Grand Prince asked me a question.
"I summoned you because they said you came as the Princess's escort knight. Did you bring the Princess's personal letter?"
To infer that I'd brought a personal letter just from hearing I was an escort knight...
It was still difficult to keep up with the intuition of those in power.
I pulled the letter from my breast pocket and presented it to the Grand Prince.
The Grand Prince broke the seal right there and read the letter.
After reading the entire letter, the Grand Prince burned it in the flame of a candle mounted on the wall.
"It is an excellent letter for something written by the Princess herself. Yet its contents are useless now."
I agreed with the Grand Prince's words.
The proposal to join forces and face the two princes had come far too late by this point.
It might have been possible before the Grand Prince stepped forward publicly or before the Princess revealed herself as the successor.
But now that both had revealed their ambitions for the throne, joining forces was impossible.
Even so, having met the Grand Prince like this, I couldn't simply abandon the proposal in the personal letter and retreat immediately.
I spoke cautiously.
"Even if we cannot cooperate officially, there is an unofficial way."
"Unofficial?"
"Simply by not interfering with each other and not attacking first, we can achieve an effect greater than cooperation."
It was something countless organizations and nations had done in my past life.
In my past life, I was just an ordinary citizen who got annoyed by countries constantly plotting behind the scenes, but I knew very well that it was surprisingly effective.
At my words, the Grand Prince tilted his head and muttered,
"It is a deed unbefitting of a king, unbefitting of a noble..."
I stared askance at the Grand Prince. What kind of nonsense is he spouting?
I quickly came to my senses and schooled my expression, but the Grand Prince had already noticed it.
"Hahaha! What an amusing fellow. To make such a face right in front of me."
Oops, had I overstepped?
I stealthily scanned my surroundings.
With killing intent seeping out from various spots, the place was terrifying despite its humble appearance.
If my luck was bad, I might have to start all over again.
Seeing my eyes darting around busily, the Grand Prince chuckled.
The Grand Prince looked at me and spoke again.
"I summoned you partly because of the personal letter, but also because my daughter praised you so highly."
As expected, there was no way the Grand Prince would summon me for no reason. I had no idea how highly she'd praised me for him to call me directly.
The Grand Prince nodded, then raised a single finger.
"Very well. If you win a wager, I shall deeply consider your proposal."
I doubted my ears. A wager, all of a sudden?
"If you spar with an opponent of my choosing and win, I will review it favorably."
And a spar on top of that? Surely, he didn't mean for me to fight the Grand Prince himself, right?
Even if I won, there was no guarantee my head would remain attached to my shoulders.
Fortunately, my opponent wasn't the Grand Prince.
"Your opponent is my son. The Crown Prince of this duchy."
Strictly speaking, he was an even more troublesome opponent than the Grand Prince.