Chapter 128
"Second Imperial Princess Zandra Lakes Adler. I hereby order you to remain confined indefinitely. Until I grant permission, you are forbidden to leave your room in the inner palace or meet with anyone. Naturally, you are also forbidden to take part in the struggle for the throne—"
The unrest in the south had ended.
The aftermath had begun, and the first person to be punished was Zandra.
"Your Majesty the Emperor... I am indeed Duke Krueger's niece, but I am also a member of the imperial family. I have no intention of rebelling against the Empire. I regret failing to realize Duke Krueger's schemes, but I did not cooperate with him."
"I will believe you. But your punishment remains unchanged. You are of Duke Krueger's bloodline, and he was your patron. No matter what you say, those facts will not change. I say this as your father. Listen carefully... Abandon your bid for the throne, Zandra."
To Zandra, those words must have sounded almost like a death sentence.
In front of so many influential people, she had been told that she was out of the running for the throne.
Humiliated, Zandra's face contorted. Then she glared sharply at Father and said,
"Do you hate Mother that much?"
"I did not make this decision out of personal feelings."
"No, Father. You are being swept along by your personal feelings right now. You believe the shameless rumor that Mother assassinated the Second Consort, don't you!? I know that you have not considered me your child since that day!"
Zandra took a step forward.
The Imperial Guards around them reached for their swords, but Father held them back.
"I do consider you my child. If I truly hated you, I would have married you off to some noble immediately."
"What a disingenuous answer! The anger in your eyes toward Mother and me has never disappeared! I've told you countless times since that day! Mother did not kill the Second Consort! Why won't you understand!?"
"Zandra. The Second Consort has nothing to do with this matter."
"If you truly thought of me as your child, you would believe me! Isn't it unreasonable for my uncle's crimes to be visited upon me simply because I am his niece!?"
"Zandra... Placing you under house arrest is an act of kindness on my part."
"That isn't kindness! I bet everything on becoming Crown Princess!"
"...As I thought, you are not suited to be Emperor. Give up."
Father said it sadly.
Those words carried a weight unlike anything Father had said before.
Father continued, looking straight at Zandra.
"Someone who can think only of themselves cannot become Emperor. The first thing an Emperor must consider is the country. Next come the people. His own concerns come after that. Duke Krueger's crimes have become known even among the common people. He ran an organization that abducted many people's children. Naturally, they cannot understand or forgive that. You have no understanding of this."
"I understand!"
"If you understand... then why do you speak only of yourself? From the standpoint of the country's dignity and the people's feelings, you cannot be permitted to pursue the throne. You are descended from a rebel and related to a criminal who tormented the people. Whether or not you knew, it remains a fact that you cooperated with a criminal. The people are angry. A public example must be made. Know that the only reason I do not have your head cut off is a father's mercy."
"F-Father... I..."
"Leave. I do not want to hear the words of someone who thinks only of themselves."
Father signaled to the Imperial Guards with one hand.
Two Imperial Guards seized Zandra by the arms.
Seeing that, Zandra glared at them.
"Insolent fools! Who do you think I am!? I am an imperial princess! Let me go!"
"Please forgive us, Your Highness."
"Guh! You... I won't forgive you! Let go of me!! Father! Father! Fatherrrrrrr!!!!"
Zandra was dragged from the room.
Father let out a weary sigh and leaned back in his chair.
His eyes turned toward Gordon.
"Having seen Zandra just now... do you have anything to say, Gordon?"
"No."
"I see... You failed to keep your subordinates under control, endangered the imperial envoy's delegation, and nearly started a full-scale war with the south. This is no minor offense, you know?"
"Yes. It was all due to my own shortcomings. I will accept my punishment without complaint."
It was rare to see Gordon so contrite.
But in a sense, that was because he could afford to be.
The skirmish at the front had occurred because the general was assassinated. Gordon could claim that it had been a situation beyond his control.
He must have figured that acting contrite would keep him from receiving a severe punishment.
In reality, it had not turned into a major incident. Well, if it had, it would have meant war with the south, and there would have been no time to punish Gordon anyway.
"You appear to regret your actions. But punishment is punishment. Go serve with the Northern Border Defense Forces. Do not return for two months. Go to the front and remember what it means to protect the country."
"...Understood."
Gordon said it through clenched teeth.
There had once been talk of appointing Gordon commander of the Northern Border Defense Forces. He had turned it down, citing the struggle for the throne and the fact that the northern border was a low-priority posting. Still, I knew the real reason. It had been obvious that he would be compared with Sister Liese, who commanded another border defense force.
For Gordon, it must have been humiliating. He was being sent to a place he had once refused, and not even as its commander.
The reason Father had not sent him south was probably that he had considered the danger of sending Gordon into the south, which was still being rebuilt and remained in a state of confusion.
There were great powers to the west and east. Gordon would be difficult to deploy to either of them, so the north was ultimately the best choice—and the most humiliating one.
"That concludes the matter of punishment. Everyone, you have all worked hard. Thanks to your assistance, the situation was contained with minimal fallout."
Father said that and thanked everyone present.
Erik was not here at the moment, but he was abroad as the foreign minister. He was there to deter other countries from invading the Empire, where civil war had been looming. It was a low-profile effort, but a sure and useful one.
Leo had earned points, but Erik had earned plenty as well.
I had knocked Zandra out of the running and caught up to Gordon, even reaching a point where I could overtake him, but Erik was still far ahead.
"In particular, Erik and Leo, who are not here today, worked exceptionally hard."
"I merely did what any prince would do."
"Do not be so modest. I hear you used grand magic at the end. Are you all right?"
"Yes. I have no problems."
"I see... Al did well too, I hear. Good work."
Father turned his gaze toward me.
It was probably about the matter involving the Nelbe Ritter.
I scratched my head with a wry smile, then steeled myself and said the words I had prepared.
"Well, not really. Things worked out pretty well this time. In the end, there wasn't even a war. So you could say everything went perfectly, couldn't you?"
I deliberately said it in a way that sounded like I'd gotten carried away by the praise.
The ministers standing nearby all grimaced at once. They knew exactly how Father would react to such a statement.
He had lectured Zandra about considering the people. In other words, Father understood the people's perspective very well.
That being the case, the outcome was obvious.
"What do you mean, there wasn't even a war...? You idiot! There was a war! It may have been a mere skirmish from our perspective, but a city at the front was exposed to the flames of war! To them, it was a major war! There was a war!!"
"I-I misspoke... Please forgive me."
"You do not understand anything! Our duty is to run the country so that the people never have to experience such things! If you can only see things from above, you are no different from Zandra! Do you want to be placed under house arrest too!? Think carefully!!"
As he scolded me, I lowered my head.
Of course he was angry. But I had gotten the confirmation I wanted.
The Emperor had acknowledged that what happened in Gels was a war, not a skirmish.
In other words, the promise I had made Gordon about the next war was over.
I glanced at Gordon. He must have realized it too, because he was glaring fiercely at me.
I gave Gordon a broad, mocking grin.
Serves you right. There was no way I'd leave a troublesome promise hanging.
However, the price was high. Father's sermon went on and on.
It was quite a hefty price, I thought, as I listened to the sermon with half an ear and prayed for it to end.
■■■
A party with no one to talk to is boring.
Another party had been held to celebrate the peaceful resolution of the unrest in the south.
Just as when Leo returned after defeating the demons, none of my acquaintances were at my side.
I became a wallflower again and waited impatiently for Father to leave.
As I was thinking this, Father suddenly picked up a glass and stood up.
"Thank you all for gathering tonight. I intend to give the heroes who resolved the unrest in the south proper rewards at a later date, but tonight, let us make do with a toast."
With that, Father had everyone take a glass.
Then he began to speak.
"Everyone had been prepared for war in the south. Among them, Fiene, our Blue Gull Princess, bravely volunteered to serve as an imperial envoy. I would like to dedicate the first toast to her! Cheers!!"
"Cheers to the Blue Gull Princess!!"
"Cheers to Fiene-sama!!"
Everyone at the party raised their glasses.
Fiene's name and cries of cheers continued to echo through the hall.
"The next toast should go to our proud soldiers. A surprise attack by a small force was a dangerous mission. They were the only ones who could have pulled it off! To the elite force our Imperial Army takes pride in! Let us toast the Nelbe Ritter!! Cheers!!"
"To the Scarred Knights!"
"Cheers to the Nelbe Ritter!!"
The reputation of the Nelbe Ritter had completely changed because of this incident.
Everyone had been reminded that they were knights as well as soldiers.
They were the only knightly order in the Imperial Army. From now on, people would treat them with considerable respect.
And the last toast would probably be for Leo. Once that was over, Father would leave.
I was thinking about that absentmindedly.
But something slightly unexpected happened.
"Lastly, I dedicate this toast to my sons! A surprise attack by a small force! Leo presented the strategy and carried it out brilliantly! And in the end, he saved the southern nobles with grand magic! I have nothing but praise for him!"
"Absolutely! Prince Leo has impressed me at every turn!"
"This may mean that Prince Leo is now the closest to becoming Crown Prince!"
Everyone began talking cheerfully.
But Father's speech was not over.
There was more.
"And then—the other son who supported Leo. Al, who persuaded the difficult Nelbe Ritter to volunteer. Surely he deserves a toast as well."
"Huh...?"
I never expected him to call my name, so an idiotic sound escaped me.
But Father was looking straight at me.
His eyes were not those of someone making a joke.
"W-wait, F-Father? I, uh, didn't..."
"Even if I told you to accept a reward, you would refuse. So accept this toast, at least. The Nelbe Ritter came to me. When I praised them, every one of them answered at once that they had fought for Prince Al. It is nothing short of remarkable that you made them say that. Your love for your little brother drew out the full extent of their strength. That achievement is no less than Leo's."
As he said that, Father raised his glass higher than before.
Then he proclaimed in a voice loud enough to fill the party hall.
"Let us toast! To the princes of our Empire! Well done, my sons! I am proud of you! Spread the word throughout the Empire! No matter what anyone says, these two deserve the greatest credit for this achievement! To the Empire's Twin Black Princes!!!!"
After Father, everyone shouted, "To the Twin Black Princes!"
After that, people began shouting Leo's and my name.
"To Prince Leo!"
"To Prince Al!"
"To the Empire's Twin Black Princes!!"
"Cheers!"
"Long live the Empire!!"
No, no, spare me.
A party where no one spoke to me was boring, but a party where I was the center of attention was extremely uncomfortable.
Noble ladies who had seemed completely uninterested in me came over, while unfamiliar noblemen spoke to me as though we were old friends.
As I moved around trying to escape them, I ran into Leo, who looked like he was taking a break.
"Hey, brother. Good work."
"Yeah, you too. Sorry to do this right away, but..."
"Huh?"
After apologizing, I messed up Leo's neatly styled hair, used him as a decoy, and quickly left the party hall.
Like hell I was going to deal with that.
"Wait!? Brother!!?? Whoa! Hold on, I'm not your brother! I'm Leo!"
"Sorry, Leo! Forgive me! There are situations even I can't help you out of!"
Murmuring that, I left everything to my little brother and fled.