Chapter 87
After returning from the training ground, we gathered before the king once more in the audience chamber.
Those present were King Zeurasia and his two sons, Prince Zelando and Prince Ural; the king's scribe, Nelfia; Rays-sama, Granz-sama, and Rapiria-sama; and me, Wickhart, Ryuzel, and Frein.
The princes' attendants had already been dismissed at the training ground and were not present.
Once the atmosphere had settled somewhat, the king addressed his sons.
"Now then, is there anything you would like to say?"
The question was probably directed mainly at Ural, who had been looking down and biting his lip ever since we left the training ground. However, since Ural said nothing, the king first prompted Prince Zelando to speak.
"I... I had so much fun. Roa-dono taught me that on a real battlefield, observing people, reading your opponent, and psychological warfare are the most important things."
He said this while looking at me with sparkling eyes.
I felt terribly guilty.
In fact, more than half of this battle had been made possible by Rays-sama's groundwork.
Of course, it wasn't that I had received any advice beforehand. Rays-sama had simply stepped away before the match, saying, "Get it over with quickly."
Since our opponents were Granz-sama and Rapiria-sama, there was no way to finish a battle quickly by fighting head-on, regardless of the commander's ability.
In other words, he was effectively telling me to launch a surprise attack.
Though I had offered various reasons in front of everyone for Ural to establish his camp near the royal capital, I thought he would have ended up making camp on the eastern high ground regardless. Rays-sama could have arranged things however he pleased.
Then all I had to do was come up with a plausible reason and launch a surprise attack from behind. There was no way I could have known the personality of a prince I had just met. I had merely spoken based on my first impression.
However, if I revealed that now, Prince Ural would probably make another fuss, so I decided to remain silent and bask in his admiring gaze.
Even so, it seemed to have given Prince Zelando a little confidence, and his expression was brighter than when we had first met.
Still, psychological warfare was part of battle? It did seem remarkably perceptive. To arrive at that idea right off the bat... Could this prince actually have the makings of a great commander?
That answer seemed to satisfy King Zeurasia as well, and he next looked at his younger son.
"What about you, Ural?"
Ural's shoulders jerked.
For a moment, tension filled the room.
"I...?"
"What is it? Speak clearly."
"Do I have no talent as a commander?"
As he forced the words out, tears rolled down Ural's cheeks.
"Rays? What do you think?"
"You could say he has talent, and you could say he doesn't."
"I don't want to hear some riddle-like answer!" Ural glared at General Rays, who replied calmly.
"If you remain as you are now, learn nothing from this defeat, and surround yourself with attendants who do nothing but praise you, the best Ural-sama can hope for is to become a minor figure. If you accept this defeat, learn what went wrong, and train with people at your side who will tell you when you are wrong, you may yet become a great general."
"Then... is there still a chance that even I can become a general?"
"Why are you so fixated on becoming a general, Ural-sama? You seem terribly anxious."
"If I establish myself as a commander of note and swear loyalty to my elder brother, then no one will look down on him anymore..."
Everyone present held their breath.
I never imagined he had been thinking about something like that...
"Ural... It's all because I've been so inadequate..." Zelando looked at his younger brother as though he were about to cry.
"I see. Your Majesty, to drive a young prince to this point... dismissing these attendants alone may be too lenient a punishment," Rays-sama said.
"Yes. I am somewhat angry myself. Zelando, Ural, I understand how you feel. Zelando, you must learn so that Ural will no longer have to worry. Ural, you need not hurry so much. This is your father's fault for failing to provide you with proper attendants. I'm sorry. You will surely become a great general. You need only grow at your own pace."
Having brought the matter to a close, he urged the two princes to leave.
After the two had left.
"Well then, Roa, and you as well, Wickhart, Frein, and Ryuzel, thank you for your efforts," the king said.
"So, in the end, you wanted to eliminate the princes' entourages?" I asked to confirm my understanding, and Rays-sama said, "That's right."
Powerful nobles apparently competed to have their people appointed as the princes' tutors and attendants. The candidates were selected while balancing their family standing and the balance of power among the parties involved.
This time, the positions had mainly been filled with people put forward by powerful nobles who had spent large sums of their own money to gather well-regarded talent, but that had turned out to be a mistake.
The king had apparently known that the entourages were acting on their own, but the problem was that, outwardly, they were proper tutors. For instance, in the board games, they had even involved Zelando's entourage and deliberately arranged things so Zelando would lose, trying to instill the impression that Zelando was incompetent and Ural was capable.
Dismissing them would have been easy, but without a reason, the nobles who had sent them would not have remained silent. With enemies to the east and west, the king had been waiting for the right opportunity, unwilling to let another source of conflict smolder within the kingdom.
"I had hoped to settle this peacefully, but they were more malicious than expected. That house seems intent on turning against the royal family. Rays, consider what measures would be effective. Nelfia, gather that house's weaknesses."
"Understood."
I had thought the same thing back when we were bottling things, but my country's king was far shrewder than I had expected.
And so the princes' quarrel came to an end after we glimpsed both heartwarming brotherly love and the murky world of adults.