Eliminate the Trash
Jeremy was burning with enthusiasm for the first time in a long while.
'How many years has it been since Master showed any real curiosity about something?'
He followed Raphael like a shadow. They might as well have shared nearly every schedule.
Yet today Jeremy had skipped their joint obligations entirely, throwing himself into the investigation of Henverton Gillian instead. He was that pleased that Raphael had finally taken an interest in anything at all.
'Now that I think about it, he does seem to have changed quite a bit lately.'
Raphael had never been particularly driven, nor did he display clear desires. Nothing piqued his curiosity; life itself appeared utterly tedious to him. He simply went through the motions of existing because he was alive. To Jeremy, the sight had always seemed endlessly pitiful.
Part of it was the wide gap in their ages, but it was also because he had watched Raphael grow up neglected.
The Duchess had driven the boy mercilessly from a young age, molding him into a flawless successor.
His father, Duke Leo Kedrey, had fallen into despair for reasons no one understood and taken to drinking heavily. When intoxicated, he often turned violent—especially toward Raphael.
Jeremy still remembered the day Raphael was only ten years old with painful clarity.
“Those damn black hairs! Those red eyes! Just disappear already!”
The hollow gaze of the child clutching his father’s birthday gift in his small hands still haunted Jeremy’s dreams.
Even then, Jeremy had been Raphael’s aide and guard knight, so he had witnessed the Duke’s cruelty up close. The look that regarded Raphael as something cursed, the mouth spewing venom, the hand that hurled objects at his own young son—none of it had been normal.
It was the sort of behavior one might expect from a man who felt no paternal bond at all. No, it had been the way one treats an enemy.
Fierce anger had flared in Jeremy like wildfire. How could anyone treat a son he had not seen in so long that way—especially a young child who had prepared a gift with his own allowance for his father’s birthday?
Feeling sorry for Raphael, Jeremy had tried to step forward and speak. He had not feared punishment. But Raphael had stopped him, saying calmly,
“I’m sorry, Father.”
Raphael had not looked sad. His expression had been one of “I knew it would be like this.” It was not resignation but certainty. The boy had thrown the bright blue topaz button he had chosen as a gift into the flowerbed. He had selected it because the color resembled his father’s eyes.
“Are you all right?”
When Jeremy asked, Raphael had answered in a voice too dry for a child.
“It seems Father hates the Kedreys terribly.”
After that, Raphael never sought his father again.
Jeremy never understood why the scene had torn at his heart so fiercely. He had only wanted to comfort the young heir somehow. Making a fuss about how eating something delicious would restore his energy, he had gripped Raphael’s hand tightly. But the boy’s face had turned deathly white in an instant, and he had vomited.
That had only been the beginning. From that day forward, Raphael frequently fell ill for unknown reasons and emptied his stomach. The physicians all insisted he was perfectly healthy.
“He is in good health.”
“He may simply be a little short on sleep…”
They had sweated profusely, unable to identify any problem with the heir.
The Duchess refused to tolerate any abnormality in her son. As the strange symptoms continued, both physicians and servants were replaced again and again. Raphael spoke less and less.
It was when the atmosphere in the ducal household had grown unbearably grim that one day Raphael, looking perfectly composed, announced,
“I’m fine now. I suppose I simply became overly sensitive for a while.”
After that, Raphael stopped vomiting and truly seemed all right. The people, exhausted from living on a knife’s edge, quickly chose to believe him.
Yet Jeremy still noticed how the boy’s complexion would often turn pale.
'Perhaps Master…'
“Sir Jeremy.”
Jeremy, who had been lost in old memories, lifted his head.
“…Ah. What did the investigation reveal?”
“Here is the compiled report on Henverton Gillian’s recent movements, including those close to him.”
An attendant with a grave expression offered the documents.
When they had first begun looking into Henverton Gillian, Jeremy had not expected much. He had simply assumed a wealthy family would have some dirty secrets. That had been the extent of his thoughts.
After reading the documents, Jeremy’s face turned ice-cold.
“Compile the reports from the other investigators and prepare the full dossier at once. I will report to the young master.”
The moment he reached the residence, Jeremy headed straight for Raphael’s bedroom.
“This is the first compiled report on the matter you mentioned before.”
Raphael fastened the ruby cufflinks he often wore onto his shirt, then accepted the documents.
“Leave us.”
Raphael skimmed through the report.
Henverton Gillian had been living in the capital for roughly five years. His active social life and the recent dissolution of his engagement held nothing unusual. The low character of the nobles and bourgeoisie he associated with was noted, along with the fact that they had formed a secret gentlemen’s club.
But that gentlemen’s club was the problem.
“The most active hub for drug transactions in the capital…”
The empire prohibited drug distribution by national law. Penalties for violations were extremely harsh.
Jeremy nodded.
“We examined possible overseas import routes capable of supplying such quantities, but found no connection to this gentlemen’s club.”
If the drugs were not being imported, the answer was obvious.
“Then it means they are cultivating the drugs somewhere inside the country.”
“I have already ordered the source to be traced.”
Drugs were not the only issue. Human trafficking, illegal gambling dens, and underground colosseums were all linked to the club. Frequent murders appeared to be part of the operation as well.
No matter how outstanding the Kedrey ducal house’s intelligence network was, uncovering this much in such a short time was unrealistic. It meant the activities were so overt they could no longer be concealed.
The empire did not strictly police such matters. In practice, interfering with a gentlemen’s club founded by nobles was difficult.
Raphael set the report down on the table. He had only ordered the background check because Cayena’s reaction had lingered in his mind. What it uncovered was a chain of filth.
Even Jeremy’s expression remained grim. After all, the Gillian viscount family was a vassal house to the Kedrey ducal family, and the fortune they had amassed through their warhorse business was enormous. The nature of that business made it dangerous to touch them lightly. Cavalry formed one of the pillars of the western ducal lands.
Jeremy added one more notable detail.
“He has recently begun displaying an intense obsession toward Her Highness the Princess.”
At those words, Raphael’s head tilted slightly. His eyes grew colder than usual.
Jeremy continued.
“We have also secured evidence that he has approached supporters of both imperial succession candidates while searching for ways to become the princess’s consort.”
Both Lezef and Grand Prince Heinrich would certainly eye the Gillian family’s warhorse enterprise. It was an exceedingly tempting prize.
“What should we do?”
Raphael recalled the insidious lust he had seen burning in Henverton’s eyes that day at the Imperial Library. It had been a damp, filthy obsession directed at the princess. The sight had been so repulsive he had wanted to erase it from existence immediately. It was the first time such an impulse had struck him.
Raphael considered the fastest and most effective solution.
“Isn’t it better to remove the trash before it becomes a problem?”
If a person could not be salvaged, it was best to dispose of them early. That way there would be no future complications.
Jeremy froze at the word “remove,” then asked with clear disbelief,
“Pardon? What sort of removal do you mean…?”
Raphael answered casually, as though the question were absurd.
“Henverton Gillian.”
His emotionless eyes turned toward Jeremy.
“I must eliminate that man.”
“Master.”
Jeremy felt a faint throbbing at his temples.
“Of course his depravity is considerable, but this level is not enough to punish a noble.”
At the earnest dissuasion, Raphael frowned slightly.
“…We can simply kill him in secret.”
“If the heir of the Gillian viscount family dies suddenly, everyone will suspect foul play. Moreover, that house is a vassal of the ducal—”
Raphael waved a hand.
“It was merely a passing remark.”
Lies.
Anyone could see it had not been a passing remark. Yet his master quickly schooled his features into perfect blankness, pretending otherwise. For some reason, it felt faintly irritating.
Jeremy felt as if his lifespan had shortened during that brief exchange. Still, it seemed Raphael did not intend to act on it, which brought some relief.
'He has always been rather cold, but this feels different from usual…'
Was it because the matter involved the princess? He regarded Raphael with a strange look.
“Continue monitoring Henverton.”
“Yes, Master.”