Personal Feelings

Please accept my renewed apology for my subordinates' rudeness. I am truly sorry.

"I wasn't bothered."

"It seems so. If anything, Lady Elna appears to be the one who's troubled by it."

"...You were more gentlemanly the last time you came, weren't you?"

Lars chuckled wryly as he walked in response to Elna's question.

Then he said it as though it were nothing important.

"My men dislike types like Prince Arnold."

"Dislike...?"

Elna's eyebrow twitched upward.

Lars simply nodded in response.

I couldn't help laughing. He doesn't mince words.

"Hahaha, I suppose that's true. Considering your past, I'd be the sort you dislike."

"Indeed. We do not like those who rest on their rank. Naturally, neither do I."

Lars looked straight at me.

A woman might flutter at being stared at so intently, but unfortunately, I'm a man. Besides, I knew that Lars was still sizing me up.

I shrugged in response, and Lars gave an ambiguous smile, letting the matter pass.

Under Lars's guidance, we entered a room in the garrison.

An emblem depicting a shield marked with an X hung there. It was the Nelve Ritter's insignia.

"Please, have a seat."

"Excuse me."

Saying that, I sank heavily into a chair.

Elna sat beside me, but her gaze was stern.

It was obvious that the Nelve Ritter wasn't welcoming me.

"Now then, what business brings Your Highness here?"

"I came to ask a favor, but... it looks like that might be difficult."

I gave a wry smile as I looked at the soldier standing beside Lars.

The way they looked at Elna was plainly different from the way they looked at me.

They treated Elna with respect, but showed me none. I was used to it, but this felt different from usual.

There seemed to be a deep chasm between them and me.

"We won't know whether it's impossible until we discuss it. If my men make you uncomfortable, I can have them leave."

"No, that's quite all right. More importantly, I'd like to hear your story."

"Our side?"

"Yes. I had heard you were former knights who chose justice over loyalty, but you seem somewhat different from what I was told."

When I said this with a laugh, Lars laughed too.

Not just somewhat. They were practically the opposite of the image known to the public.

They were so coarse that I could hardly believe they had once been knights.

There had to be a reason for it. Until I understood that, I wouldn't be able to gain their cooperation.

"Justice...?"

Lars muttered.

Then he resettled himself in his chair and fixed me with a piercing gaze.

It was the sort of gaze that would intimidate anyone weak of heart—the gaze of a hardened man who had crossed more than a few dangerous lines.

With that gaze, Lars said,

"We are not as fond of that word as many people seem to think."

"Oh?"

He turned his gaze to Elna.

Then he asked in a low voice,

"Is this why you advised against them?"

"Yes. But it may be more serious than I thought."

Elna had said they suited me rather than Leo, probably because this group had more than its share of quirks.

If they disliked justice, then I was indeed a better fit for them than Leo...

"Your Highness, every one of us has been disloyal at some point. If we're accused of betraying our lord, we can't deny it."

"However, the problem lay with our lord."

"Exactly. So we betrayed our lord, prepared to be branded disloyal, because we thought it was for the country and its people. But what awaited us was a hell where we had no place. Everyone praised us, but no one offered us a hand. And so we washed up here."

"You lost your place in the world as the price of justice. Is that why you've grown jaded?"

"More or less. His Majesty cannot afford to let people like us disappear. But those who betray once cannot be trusted. Yet if we were simply left as we were, there would be no one to take our place. That's why this unit was created. Because we did what we believed was right, we were treated as nuisances. Even though we acted for the country and its people."

His point was entirely valid.

The presence of people like the Nelve Ritter would prevent nobles from doing as they pleased. The effect would likely be slight, but it was still better than having no one at all.

But they couldn't be given preferential treatment. Those who put personal justice above the organization were incredibly difficult to handle.

Even if they had acted for the country and its people, they had acted as individuals—not on the Emperor's orders.

"Yet your proficiency is high enough to earn Elna's recognition. Why?"

"Even if we've grown bitter and rotten, what else can we do? We create our own worth. Strength is simple: if you're strong, you have value."

I see.

I was beginning to understand. They were former knights, but they were also former champions of justice.

They had left ideals and justice behind. As a result, they had become realists, changing in temperament from knights into soldiers.

But human nature doesn't change so easily.

"You are said to have betrayed your lord, but from your perspective, it would be more accurate to say the country and its people betrayed you. Even so, you continue to train yourselves. Is that because your loyalty to the country and its people remains?"

"We are soldiers. Our duty is to serve the country and its people. There is no room for personal feelings to intervene."

"Don't dress it up, Colonel. Why not say it plainly? You still want somewhere to prove yourselves. You want to be needed. Am I wrong?"

"And if you are?"

Lars replied as if testing me.

I understood them now.

All that remained was to persuade them.

To keep them from hiding behind the excuse that they were only following orders. To make them step onto the stage of their own accord.

"I'll provide it—a place worthy of you."

"Go on, then. What sort of place will you prepare?"

"How is the situation in the South?"

"I have a reasonable grasp of it. It will probably become a civil war."

"We'll stop it. An elite unit will launch a surprise attack on their headquarters and strike down Duke Kruger. We'll end the war before it begins."

"...I don't think that will succeed."

"Leonart will travel there disguised as an envoy. An elite unit will serve as his escort. They would be wary if we sent the Imperial Guard, so we need a force that can rival it. That's the role I'm asking you to take."

Lars's subordinates frowned at my proposal.

They immediately realized how dangerous it was.

Lars must have realized the same.

"Are you asking us to serve as a wall to protect your younger brother?"

"Yes. You could interpret it that way."

"...If it's a formal order, we'll accept it. That's our duty."

"That won't do. I don't want men who join reluctantly because they've been ordered to. Sorry, but I want you to be willing to throw your lives away."

It was an outrageous request.

They had lost faith in the country and its people. And yet I was asking them to throw away their lives for those very people.

What's more, I wasn't even going to be going there myself.

"That will be difficult. We are not pawns."

"I know. I'm asking despite that."

"For the sake of many people? If civil war breaks out, many people will suffer. Are you asking us to go to our deaths for that noble cause?"

"No. Leonart is the one championing that noble cause, not me. I'm asking for a more personal reason."

"What reason would that be?"

"My brother is important to me. I don't want him to die. So protect him for me."

Lars's eyes widened despite himself.

He hadn't expected me to say something like that here.

I grinned and met Lars's gaze head-on.

"The struggle for the throne, the country, the sacrifices of its people—I don't care about any of that. Since I'm sending my brother into a deadly situation, I want to give him the strongest allies I can. That's my true motive. You are strong. If you willingly protect Leo, I'll be able to rest easy."

"...That answer was unexpected. But personally, I prefer it."

Lars said with a laugh as he rose.

Then he slowly bowed his head.

"Personally, I would not hesitate to risk my life for you. But my men may feel differently. You want all of us to willingly undertake this mission. Do you think you can persuade them?"

"Could you arrange a meeting?"

"Very well. But unless you show them something worthwhile, my men won't offer up their lives. Are you confident you can do that?"

I shook my head.

Lars's smile deepened.

He went to the door, opened it, and said,

"I'll gather my men. It will be interesting to see how you plan to persuade them."

"Don't get your hopes up. I'm the Dull Prince, after all. I can't do much."

"I think there are two kinds of people one might be willing to risk one's life for. One has a great deal to offer and is so appealing that you want to follow them. The other lacks so much that you want to help them. But you are strange. You seem like the latter, yet to me, you also appear to be the former."

"Was that a compliment?"

"The highest praise."

After that exchange, I stood before the Nelve Ritter.