Good Changes, Bad Changes
This was only the second time he had seen a Grand Duke — the first being Grand Duke Schurelitz.
The highest nobility of the Empire, a presence no one save the Emperor and the imperial heir could treat lightly. Even with the military strength of every house strictly curtailed, his family alone could still keep large forces under its command. This was a man who, without exaggeration, could erase an entire mountain with a single word of power.
And yet here he sits, drinking tea in a café like this.
It felt like cognitive dissonance — until you thought about it again and realized it was not so impossible. The Imperial Princess herself had bolted from the palace and was punching her attendance card at the Academy every day. There was no rule that a Grand Duke had to stay sealed inside his own castle. People simply caused chaos every time they moved, so most of them preferred to stay still.
“Father.”
Elga bowed her head; Kyle offered a respectful greeting of his own. Grand Duke or not, the man was an elder, and that alone deserved the courtesy.
“You’ve come.”
Aias Mentain de Litorio, Grand Duke of Litorio, regarded his daughter and the young man standing beside her, then waved them lightly through their bows.
“Sit. This is no place to linger long.”
The pair took the seats opposite him, and the proprietor hurried over with fresh tea. Given who the customer was — and the truly staggering sum that had already changed hands — the haste was only proper.
Kyle studied the Grand Duke of Litorio carefully. Unlike Grand Duke Schurelitz, who had once ranked among the former Ten Strongest, this man was simply an ordinary person of moderate ability. He had not completely neglected exercise, yet neither did he possess anything like a solid, well-trained body. Looking at him now, Kyle could almost see the host of aches and ailments waiting just around the corner.
Should I ask if His Grace gets any training in…?
The tension one might expect from meeting a Grand Duke face-to-face? Nonexistent. The only thing that truly unsettled Kyle was how fragile the man looked after so many days spent among genuinely sturdy people.
“You wear the face of someone deep in thought.”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind. It would be rude to keep a man occupied for long on the weekend.”
Knowing nothing of what actually occupied Kyle’s mind, the Grand Duke of Litorio could only assume the young man’s furrowed brow came from the weight of their meeting.
“I trust my daughter has given you the rough outline already, Student Kyle.”
“Yes, Your Grace. And please, feel free to speak more casually.”
“I already am speaking casually. Rather than fretting over forms of address, I believe we ought to discuss the more important matter. Would you agree?”
“Of course, Your Grace.”
Expanding the gym was a matter of the highest importance. Absolutely. Double the floor space at least — no, triple it — and stock at least twice as many machines as they had now. Add proper showers, and if possible divide the place into beginner and advanced sections…
“My thanks. Because of you I was able to slip quietly out of a rather awkward situation.”
A blunder by the Foreign Ministry could easily have dragged Litorio into the political mire as well. For a house as vast and as carefully watched as a Grand Ducal house, the risk was even greater. Both the Ministry and Litorio itself were therefore deeply grateful to John Nassen for resolving the affair without major incident.
“I simply did what needed to be done.”
“What needed to be done, you say.”
“Power gained not through honest effort but by destroying one’s own body must be erased from this world. Leave it be and those who train properly will be the ones who suffer.”
The Grand Duke murmured, “Is that so,” then smiled as though the reason no longer mattered. Whatever the motive, John Nassen had done them a service. Within the house there were still those who found the family that had injured their young lord distasteful, yet compared with the first days the undercurrent had grown noticeably weaker.
“I hear the Imperial Family itself bestowed a medal upon you. Belated congratulations. Litorio, for its part, wishes to express its gratitude by making a gift to the Academy in your name. My daughter tells me you devote yourself entirely to training. We are therefore considering an expansion of the training grounds. How does that strike you?”
How does that strike me, Your Grace? It strikes me as an outstanding idea! I would be overwhelmingly grateful!
He needed to keep a poker face, yet it proved nearly impossible. Suddenly he understood why his elder brother — that famously taciturn man — broke into a blissful smile every time he stood before a new piece of equipment.
“That sounds like a truly excellent plan.”
He tried valiantly for an expression of mild interest; the corners of his mouth had already ascended to the heavens. Watching him, the Grand Duke of Litorio confirmed that both he and his daughter had predicted correctly.
Good. He looks not merely satisfied but positively delighted.
Why else come all the way here, and on an unofficial visit at that? The point was to forge a fresh point of contact with John Nassen while stimulating the Imperial Family as little as possible — to move before the other Grand Ducal houses could.
People remember two things: the one who came first, and the one who came last.
The first to seek out talent ought always to be the Imperial Family. That was why no one had dared approach John Nassen until the medal ceremony and the discussion of a title elevation were complete. Now the Imperial Family had finished its business. John Nassen had been shown to all as a noble of the Empire, and those who respected the Emperor had been clearly identified. Whether the display was sincere or pure formality hardly mattered; the world, after all, fixed its entire attention on appearances.
What remained was which of the Grand Dukes would be first to extend a hand. Word had it that Grand Duke Schurelitz had already shown a quiet familiarity while traveling to the battlefield with John Nassen. That left only Litorio and Baien.
How to create a favorable first memory with the John Nassen who had broken a long silence and suddenly appeared? In that invisible ranking contest, Litorio had moved first — the Grand Duke himself, unofficially, meeting the young man in a tiny café.
Baien’s Grand Duke must be fretting. He would have caught the scent of money on this youth for certain, yet the Finance Ministry snarl has him by the ankle.
The military budget the Finance Ministry had calculated, plus the support funds Baien had been pressured by the Imperial Family into providing — thanks to John Nassen almost none of it had been spent. Returning the surplus now kept the Ministry busy and left Baien in an awkward spot: reclaim the funds, or simply declare them a gift to the Empire and be done? Word had even reached him that the Grand Duke of Baien had paid a personal visit to the Finance Ministry.
A man with no interest in power or martial might, only in wealth. That was Baien. Spot anything — or anyone — that might turn a profit and they invested without hesitation, then always collected their rightful return. They never crossed the line. They knew full well that gambling one’s life for a single copper could end with one’s head rolling. Thus they could lust after riches yet never be ruined by them.
In any case, we have avoided finishing last. Or perhaps this is even better.
The young man’s reaction proved they had aimed at precisely the right target. Elga had claimed he would be happier about this than about receiving the medal. Honestly he had doubted it — a medal from the Imperial Family, after all — yet looking at Kyle now, his daughter’s prediction had been spot on.
“…Your Grace. About the equipment that will go inside. There is far too much we lack at present. It is not merely a matter of size or floor space; the contents themselves must be improved across the board.”
“Is that so?”
From the moment the letter had arrived he had sensed that this John Nassen was different from the rumors. Seeing him in person, he understood why his daughter was so ambitious. In whatever form, the young man was clearly someone who would exert a positive influence on those around him. He was the youngest of his house, not the heir; nothing bound him there forever. The John Nassens of the past had never left their homeland, yet he had heard that was never an absolute rule. And the Kyle seated before him somehow looked more inclined to remain in the Empire than to return.
His Majesty the Emperor must have noticed that long ago and is already moving accordingly.
Which meant the man in front of him was someone the Imperial Family wanted. Coveting him too openly was therefore dangerous; even if one desired him, taking him would be difficult. Elga knew that as well — and that was precisely why she desired him all the more.
“Yes. And most importantly, there is no shower room right next door. A great many people find that regrettable, and I myself feel the lack keenly. Therefore…”
Utterly oblivious to the Grand Duke’s deeper calculations, Kyle launched enthusiastically into a full lecture on gym expansion.
“How did you find him?”
After Kyle, who had afternoon obligations, had declared “I’ll take my leave now!” and vanished, Elga toyed with her teacup and regarded her father, the Grand Duke of Litorio.
“Does my opinion matter so much?”
At the Grand Duke’s counter-question Elga could not help smiling. Why should his opinion matter? The only things that mattered were herself and the other party.
“Understand one thing clearly.”
The Grand Duke of Litorio drew on his outer coat, preparing to leave.
“The Imperial Family has conferred both a decoration ceremony and an elevation of title upon John Nassen. They intend to raise him higher — socially, in status, in every respect. Do you grasp what that means?”
“…Yes. I understand.”
“What, then, is it?”
Elga swallowed once and answered.
“It means the Imperial Family is watching Kyle closely. More precisely… as a potential member of the imperial house.”
“Correct. Everything they have shown thus far is part of the work of ensuring there will be no difficulty even if he is joined to the Imperial Family. An imperial medal, and a title elevation by imperial decree — with those two alone there is no obstacle to a direct connection with the imperial line.”
“….”
“Elga Bless de Litorio. You must compete with the Imperial Family.”
Each word flew like a sharpened dagger. Compete with the Imperial Family. The weight of the phrase was greater than imagination. Looking at the present atmosphere, she could even roughly guess who the rival would be.
“As you are now, you will lose without question. You have no choice but to lose. Do you know that?”
“…Yes.”
“And yet you still desire him. Is that so?”
“…Yes. It is.”
She had no choice but to admit it. As she stood now she could never win. The title of daughter of the Litorio Grand Ducal house alone would never, even if she died and returned, be enough to surpass what was coming.
But—
“The future me might be different.”
“The future you. What is the future you?”
To her father’s question the daughter answered.
“…The future Grand Duke of Litorio.”
At that reply the Grand Duke of Litorio allowed himself a cold smile.
“Do you desire the Grand Duke’s seat merely for the sake of one man?”
“Of course not.”
“Then?”
“Among the things one can obtain by becoming Grand Duke… he is also there. That is why I intend to become Grand Duke.”
At his daughter’s cool answer the Grand Duke of Litorio laughed. Would she truly keep that word? Would the man really remain only incidental to her? Or would the Grand Duke’s seat in the end become nothing more than a single stair leading to one man?
“Then strive for it. Surpass your elder brother, Elga Bless de Litorio.”