Single, 21, and Powerful — 2
The Crown Prince's merciless, breathless dealing nearly drove me out of my mind, but one thing had become crystal clear from our conversation just now.
This bastard already knew.
His reaction to my report was not the bewilderment of a man blindsided by a sudden incident. It was the pure enjoyment of watching a hidden-camera victim thrash about on screen.
That I was leading the club members to the territory was something the Imperial Family already knew. More precisely, it went beyond mere knowledge—the Imperial Family's will itself had been reflected in the matter.
No wonder it felt off.
Mother, who until now had never once contacted me first and had never sent a letter. Yet the moment I had the club members with me, she sends a letter telling me to bring them along as well? Why this timing of all times?
Of course, seeing the butler defend her, there might have been some genuine change of heart. She might truly be worried about her eldest son charging straight down the confirmed-bachelor route.
But even so, Mother's will would have stopped at summoning me and Erich. The lord of the territory was strictly the head of the family. Inviting royalty without the family head's permission was impossible even for the family head's wife.
Therefore, inviting the club members had been the family head's will, not Mother's. And the only person who could move an Imperial Count—
The Emperor.
Only the Emperor. Even the Crown Prince could not directly touch an Imperial Count who was a direct vassal of the Emperor. If the Crown Prince had been the one driving this, he would have teased me about it before I ever received the letter.
The half-formed suspicion I had entertained since first reading Mother's letter solidified, and I immediately stopped thinking about it. Had the Crown Prince been flustered, my guess would have been wrong and I would have cancelled the trip to the territory on the spot. But since the Emperor had indeed intervened, I simply had to shut my mouth and go along.
I had not received a direct order; I was merely entangled in something the Emperor was advancing. In that situation there was no need to dig any deeper.
Damn it.
I massaged the back of my neck and let out a long sigh. People who had rolled through the political world for decades developed values ordinary men could not fathom, and for the Emperor one had to add a spectacular case of paranoia on top of that.
Questioning such an Emperor's moves only exhausted me. Digging into it for no good reason would simply get me burned.
But what the hell was this really about? I did not want to know—yet I was curious all the same.
I arrived at the territory I had not particularly missed. It was already close to the Imperial Capital, and with a teleport magic circle installed we reached it in no time. Since I planned to stay only a few days, I had packed light.
I had not wanted to come with these idiots, but Mother had sent the letter herself. Ignoring it would have been the same as advertising a dysfunctional family to the world, and besides, the Emperor's breath was in the matter. So what choice did I have? I came obediently.
"You've come."
"I greet the family head."
Upon arriving at the lord's castle in the center of the territory, the family head—who had come out in advance—greeted us. With high-ranking personages in the party, it was only proper for the lord himself to appear.
Bowing my head to the family head, I confirmed that Mother as well as the butler and the chamberlain had come out. Every key figure of the territory was present.
"I am Wilhelm Crassius of Tailglehen, lord of the County of Tailglehen. It is an honor that such distinguished guests have graced us with their presence."
"How could we ignore the chance to see a pillar of the Empire? I have long wished to meet the renowned Count in person. I can only thank the lady for the invitation."
After a brief exchange of greetings, the family head turned his gaze past me and exchanged courtesies with the club members as well. He bowed first to Ainter. Honestly, between a prince of one's own country and a foreign prince, even without real power the domestic prince took priority.
"Karl."
"It's been a while, Mother."
Turning my gaze from the family head, I found Mother speaking. Unlike the family head who was clad entirely in black, she was a woman of light brown hair and blue eyes, possessing the ageless youthful appearance common to high nobility.
She nodded at my greeting, took a few steps closer, and simply stared into my eyes without a word.
"I'm glad you seem healthy."
Her lips had been moving as if she had something she truly wished to say, yet in the end she only offered a light inquiry after my well-being. If it was important, she would bring it up later.
Looking about awkwardly, Mother spotted Erich and gestured. Come to think of it, that fellow ought to have greeted his parents the moment he came home instead of standing there like a statue. The awkwardness I understood, at least.
"Erich, have you been well?"
No.
At Mother's hesitant words I nearly closed my eyes. What was I supposed to do if even a mother felt awkward around her own son? At least a son had the excuse of puberty.
"Ah… yes."
Even Erich was swallowed by Mother's awkwardness and committed the disaster of answering in a single clipped word.
The conversation snapped off in an instant. Eyes that wanted to continue yet could not decide what to say. Mother, already stiff as a board, looked even more at a complete loss.
"It seems we have kept the guests standing far too long. Though there is much to say to one another, let us first go inside and speak."
The suffocating silence was broken by the butler's intervention. As expected of the butler—the true pillar supporting the county.
When I gave him a glance of thanks, he answered with a small smile that looked thoroughly reliable.
"Yes, let us go in."
Mother, not wanting to miss the chance, quickly climbed aboard the butler's suggestion. If her receding back looked somehow pitiful, it was surely just my imagination.
"Brother."
"What."
"Mother… did something happen?"
"That's something you should know, not me."
I became independent before you did. You were still living at home until a few months ago.
Erich and I stood blankly watching Mother's back. Only after the family head also moved did we finally enter the castle.
I still did not know why Mother was acting that way, but living together for a while would surely make it clear. In any case, while we were in the territory we would probably talk a great deal about marriage-proposal matters.
After greeting the guests I headed straight for the office. As lord of the territory I had gone out to receive them, but the true host of the invitation had been my wife; I could safely leave the rest to her.
"My lady. How about inviting them all?"
"All of them? Including His Highness the Prince and the foreign princes as well?"
"Yes. I ask this of you."
Of course, from the perspective of a wife who had intended only to summon her two sons, the request had come out of nowhere. Recalling her flustered expression still left me uneasy, yet she ultimately did as I asked, and for that I was grateful.
And I was relieved—relieved that I could follow His Majesty's will.
I intend to send them outside the capital. Since the Audit Department Chief is their advisor, the Count's territory should be suitable.
On the very day my wife wrote the letter to our son, His Majesty had personally commanded me through the communication crystal. He wished the foreign princes and the saint candidate to leave the capital. And the place chosen as suitable was, gloriously, the County of Tailglehen.
Thus I came to receive guests at the castle after a long absence. Receiving guests was something I had not done in ages, yet how could a subject refuse his master's command with reluctance? Since it was His Majesty's desire, I simply received and obeyed.
No one nearby.
As I walked I arrived at the office before I realized it. Confirming that no one else was in the vicinity, I activated the communication crystal. The conversation that followed was one no other person must overhear.
"Is that the Count of Tailglehen?"
"This lowly servant, Wilhelm Crassius, greets the noble and great sun of the Empire."
At the face of His Majesty the Emperor that appeared, I dared not raise my head and knelt at once. Even if it was only a phantom projected through the crystal, how could a mere subject look straight upon His Majesty's countenance without leave?
"Raise your head."
At His Majesty's voice I lifted my gaze, and the Empire's sole and legitimate ruler stood before my eyes. Though aged and having lost much of his former health, he remained the undisputed master of the Empire.
His once-blond hair had turned pure white and wrinkles marked his face, yet the violet eyes that were the symbol of the Livnoman Imperial Family alone still shone with piercing brilliance.
"Have they arrived?"
A short question. Yet no one dull enough to miss its meaning was even qualified to receive His Majesty's commands.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"The Crassius family's handling of affairs is always swift."
"I am humbled."
At the excessive praise I bowed my head once more. Realizing His Majesty's will with all possible speed was a subject's duty; to receive commendation for something so natural—how could I not be moved?
"Now the Ministry of Special Affairs will watch them."
His Majesty's words meant that the Ministry of Special Affairs would monitor the key personages who had arrived at the County of Tailglehen. Because the agents had been personally selected by His Majesty, there was no chance of them being discovered mid-mission. Some had likely already entered the territory.
It was both advice to take note that agents were operating within the County of Tailglehen and a command to cooperate should the need arise.
"We shall see whether they are guests… or thieves."
His Majesty's voice was low, yet what lay beneath it was anything but calm. Ever since he had heard that key foreign figures had chosen to remain in the Empire rather than return home, His Majesty had been watching them with unblinking attention.
Why had foreign royalty enrolled in the Imperial Academy? Why had they chosen to remain rather than return during the vacation? Why had they come even as far as the capital? Why did they wish to see the entire Empire under the pretext of travel?
Why, why, why, why.
At the end of those questions His Majesty had reached a single conclusion: they were spies. Spies who sought to exploit the Empire while it still reeled from the Great Subjugation War and the imperial succession dispute—spies who dared challenge the Empire's mandate of heaven.
Thus they remained in the Empire to gather its secrets. The reason those spies were royalty was that they had calculated upon the fact that even foreign royalty could not be treated carelessly.
There was strong suspicion of espionage, yet no hard evidence. For that reason he had sent them outside the capital, where imperial surveillance was thickest. When the eyes disappeared, they would show their true colors. And then the evidence would appear.
"Are you not looking forward to what result will emerge?"
At His Majesty's words I simply bowed my head.