Don't Hide, Audit Department Chief!
Only after nearly two hours trapped in Father's office did I finally manage to escape.
A stifling urge to sigh rose in my chest, but I held it back. One careless breath and rumors of discord between the Emperor and the Crown Prince would start circulating—and that would be a problem.
Even if Father had slapped me across the face, I would still have to walk out smiling. That was simply the fate of a Crown Prince.
"Your Highness."
While I was still composing my expression, Sir Hendrick approached—the man who had been forced to wait outside for those same two hours. When the master suffers, the escort knight suffers with him.
"It took longer than expected. With Father offering so much precious wisdom, how could I simply walk out?"
"That the two of you share such a close bond is truly a blessing upon the Empire."
I offered Sir Hendrick a faint smile. So an escort knight's duties included guarding not only the body but also the master's mood?
Still, I appreciated the effort. I gave him a light nod.
A close bond, is it?
I turned my head and let a bitter smile twist my lips. An amusing choice of words. We were not exactly at each other's throats, but "close" was still a stretch.
Of course, in front of the ministers I played the part of the devoted son. After the bloody struggle among the imperial bloodline, I had only barely been named Crown Prince. If that same Crown Prince then appeared distant from the Emperor, what would the court think?
Fortunately Father shared the same calculation, so no ugly rumors had surfaced yet.
"Doubt everything and examine it again and again. The moment you believe you have won is the most dangerous of all. Always watch the ground beneath your feet."
Father's words from the office returned unbidden.
Would open discord actually be better?
I seriously wondered. Whether I was unilaterally scolded by Father or we openly opposed each other—was there really much difference?
The Great Subjugation War as an external crisis, the succession struggle as an internal one. Father, already aging, had seen his health collapse under those successive disasters. As a result he had stepped back from most duties to focus on recovery.
But a man who had spent his entire life living in suspicion, chasing only the twin goals of imperial authority and the Empire's stability—would such a man quietly devote himself to rest?
And so I was summoned to his office at every opportunity to receive advice—or rather, lectures dressed up as advice. From the perspective of a monster who had spent decades in the political arena, I was nothing more than a hastily manufactured greenhorn. Of course he could not rest easy.
...Still, this is better.
After a moment's thought I shook my head lightly. Yes—better a string of lectures than fresh discord inside the imperial family. This way the suffering stayed mine alone.
I must have grown soft. Here I was complaining about a situation that did not even involve the risk of death.
"It eases my mind that the Crown Prince has found a good match."
And it was not as though every word out of his mouth was grating.
Because you never managed it yourself.
An Empress chosen purely for political calculation. The true partner he met only later. The imperial strife that followed.
Having lived through all of that, Father's expression softened only when conversation turned to the Crown Princess. As if he found genuine relief that the man who would succeed him would not share the same misfortune.
A father's affection, of a sort.
He had lived solely as the head of the imperial house, as Emperor of the Empire. He had never been much of a father to any one person, never much of a head of a household.
Even so, some scrap of paternal feeling must remain in him. That was why he showed me that face.
If that affection had only appeared a little sooner, a little more often, my brothers and I would never have had to stake our lives against one another.
If only he had stayed cold throughout.
If he had shown only that coldness until the day he died, I would have spent my whole life resenting and hating him.
But those rare glimpses of a father's heart made me hope against my will. It was absurd that even the man who had killed his own younger brother still carried expectations of family.
"Your Highness?"
"Ah—I was just thinking. Let us go."
I had sunk too deep into sentiment.
The duties of the Crown Prince, plus the work Father had handed over while he recuperated—together they made for a formidable load.
I had to begin at dawn simply to finish by evening. And even finishing by evening counted as early.
The sheer volume of paperwork sometimes made me want to hurl the documents across the room, yet one single thing kept me going.
"Your Highness."
"My Consort."
The warm smile that greeted me seemed to melt the fatigue away.
The Consort I could see only after the day's work was done. The Consort who welcomed me with that gentle smile. I endured everything just to see that.
Without her, how would I have survived? I would never have become Crown Prince in the first place—nor remained physically alive.
"You are later than usual today."
"Tomorrow is your day, is it not? I stayed a little longer to finish tomorrow's work as well."
"Oh my."
She widened her eyes in exaggerated surprise, and a laugh escaped me.
"If only you had done the same last year."
At those words I quietly shut my mouth.
...Yes. Last year I had failed to manage my schedule and arrived late to her birthday banquet. Because it had been an official matter both she and her father had been understanding, yet every time she casually brought it up cold sweat still broke out.
The pebbles my Consort tossed without thinking were more than enough to kill a Crown Prince. I wished she would realize that.
"This year I shall feel Your Highness's love most warmly, shall I not?"
"Of course."
She laughed softly as she spoke, and I nodded with great vigor.
Apparently my reaction satisfied her; she stepped quietly closer and nestled into my arms.
"I am already looking forward to tomorrow."
So was I.
The next morning I made my way to my father-in-law's residence within the Imperial Capital.
There was still time before the banquet began, but my Consort had said she wished to see her father sooner. How could I refuse? I would have gone at dawn if necessary.
"Y-Your Highness!"
"We greet His Highness the Crown Prince!"
Perhaps we had arrived a little too early; a minor stir of surprise ran through the servants.
"The star of today's banquet is the Consort. Can you not see her standing right here?"
"Ah—no, of course not!"
"I am only joking."
I offered a light jest to ease the tension, yet the reaction that came back was intense.
Strange. With the Audit Department Chief they would have returned fire with something like, "You shine so brightly our eyes are blinded." Even my Consort had secretly enjoyed hearing that sort of thing.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince. Your Highness the Crown Princess."
Sensing the commotion, my father-in-law appeared with his steward.
"It has been some time, Duke. I trust you have been well?"
"Indeed. What else remains for this old man if not his health?"
He gave a hearty laugh, and my Consort hurried straight to his side.
My head told me the sight was only natural, yet my heart felt a small pang of envy. To run to someone so unhesitatingly...
Of course she rarely had the chance to see her father except on days like this, so there was nothing to be done.
"Father."
"Your Highness the Crown Princess. I am glad to see you in good health."
Father and daughter who had not met in so long clasped each other's hands and simply looked at one another for a long while.
Seeing them like that, even the faint envy melted away at once. A son remaining in the duchy, a daughter who was Crown Princess—both children the Duke rarely had the chance to see.
"I fear we have come too early."
After waiting so as not to interrupt their reunion, I spoke carefully.
We had arrived at this hour because my Consort wished it. Still, the feelings of a father welcoming his daughter and those of a duke receiving the Crown Prince and Princess were not the same.
"Not at all, Your Highness. In fact I was preparing for another guest who is expected."
"Oh? At this hour?"
Coming from someone who had arrived at the same early hour myself, the words were a little rich, yet I was still surprised. Who on earth was idle enough to come to a banquet venue first thing in the morning?
"Yes. The Iron Blood Duke is expected."
So an idle man it truly was.
How enviable.
The Iron Blood Duke, who had handed the running of his territory over to his children and now lived a life of leisure.
Honestly, after all the hardships of his youth, resting in old age was only natural—yet envy was still envy. If I ever had the chance, I might even consider abdicating in my later years.
"He said he would come first thing in the morning because his youngest daughter would be attending."
"His youngest?"
At those words a laugh burst out of me unbidden. The Iron Blood Duke's youngest daughter was Lady Margeta.
And the moment I heard that Lady Margeta would be present, the causal chain snapped into place.
A partner.
From the Duke's wording it seemed the Iron Blood Duke and Lady Margeta were arriving separately. That meant she was not attending as her father's partner—and if she was not his partner, the answer was obvious.
She was the Audit Department Chief's partner. Both of them were at the Academy, so traveling together would be convenient.
This will be entertaining.
The corners of my mouth lifted of their own accord. The youngest daughter the Iron Blood Duke doted on more than anyone else appearing as the Audit Department Chief's partner—that much was fine. A man could not keep his daughter at his side forever.
The real problem was that the Iron Blood Duke already looked unfavorably upon the Audit Department Chief. And that his daughter had chosen that same man over him.
He will be furious.
The Iron Blood Duke's fiery temper was famous. Age had mellowed him somewhat, yet a man's fundamental nature did not simply vanish. The tale of how, during the war against the three kingdoms, he had beaten an enemy general nearly to death with his bare fists was still widely told.
Troublesome.
Very troublesome. Both the Audit Department Chief and the Iron Blood Duke were loyal subjects of the Empire. If conflict arose between them, how was I supposed to handle it?
Well then—I would simply watch. Better for the imperial family to stay out of private noble disputes and merely observe.
My condolences, Audit Department Chief.
He had only just been released; he would not even have had time to collect himself, and now he would have to face the Iron Blood Duke's wrath.
Just thinking about it filled me with regret. Deep, profound regret.
"Your Highness?"
My Consort's voice pulled me back. I had grown far too absorbed worrying over a loyal subject's unfortunate future.
"Have you thought of something pleasant?"
She asked with a soft smile, and I surreptitiously touched the corner of my mouth.
Hmm. It had risen a little too high.
"Today is a happy day—that is all."
Today was indeed a happy day. It was the birthday of the woman I loved, and I had the joy of watching her reunite with her father.
And the Audit Department Chief... no, that part was not happy at all. Of course not.
Do not run away, Audit Department Chief.
I did not for a moment believe he would hide like a coward. Surely even he would not stoop to something so petty.
In any case, today was a happy day.