Chapter 142
"He was just as awful as ever! Rude, and always going after people's sore spots!"
"Because you brought up my height, didn't you?"
"You can't just come up with the word 'flat-chested' on the spur of the moment! You must have formed that disgusting impression of me the moment you saw me again after all this time!!"
Elna's face turned bright red as she said that.
Seeing her like that, Leo wisely kept his mouth shut. Al would have said something unnecessary like, 'Given your figure, it's only natural,' and rubbed salt in Elna's wound, but Leo was a gentleman toward women and wouldn't say anything of the sort.
But because of that, Elna's anger lingered. Anger did not subside when there was no one to take it out on. Leo surmised that Al deliberately made unnecessary remarks partly to help her vent that anger.
And precisely because he could make such deductions, Leo felt he had to bring Vin into the fold at any cost.
"Remember this, Vin! If you come back to the Imperial capital, I won't show you any mercy!"
"What will you do if Vin really doesn't come back after you say that?"
"Leo will be fine even without Vin!"
"I hope so... But unfortunately, I'm far from omnipotent. I'm lacking in both strength and judgment. Once I've made up my mind, I want to see it through no matter what. But I'm bad at figuring out how to do that, so I end up causing trouble for everyone around me. Vin would surely find a safe way to grant my wish. He'd complain, of course."
"I'm sure he would. He'd bombard you with sarcasm."
"I don't mind. If I'm serious about becoming Emperor... I need someone who can be to me what the Chancellor is to Father. That can only be Vin."
Saying this, Leo steeled his resolve.
What Leo needed was someone who could keep him in check.
■■■
"Good morning, Vin."
The next morning, Leo visited Vin's home with a smile.
Vin, who had been reading, told him with an annoyed look,
"You're interrupting my reading. Go home."
"I won't bother you."
"Your being there is the bother. Stay out of my sight."
"Then I'll wait outside until you're done."
"..."
With that, Leo left the house with a smile.
He then began chatting amiably with the villagers. He helped women carrying bundles and lent a hand with farm work. Vin clicked his tongue at the sight of conduct utterly unbecoming of a prince.
It was a virtue. Without a doubt, it was a virtue. The former Crown Prince had been the same way.
"..."
"I think Leo would make a good lord, don't you?"
"Tch... Don't just walk into other people's homes."
"I did call out first."
"I didn't hear you."
"Maybe your hearing is going, Grandpa. That's what you get for pretending to be one."
As she spoke, Elna looked at the books around Vin.
They were books on politics and military affairs. They were not the sort of books one read as a hobby, but for study. Every book there was like that.
"So you haven't given up on becoming a strategist."
"...It's all I have."
"Then Leo's offer must be exactly what you've been waiting for, shouldn't it? The struggle for the throne of a great power like the Empire. For a strategist, isn't helping the lord you serve ascend the throne the stage everyone dreams of? And afterward, you'd be guaranteed a position as one of the Emperor's close aides."
"...I won't deny that I have ambition. I do want my name to remain in the history of the Empire. It would feel incredible to outmaneuver everyone else and put my lord on the throne... But I don't have the ability."
Vin's expression fell slightly.
Seeing that, Elna looked surprised.
"It's unusual for you to lose confidence."
"I never had much confidence in myself to begin with. I defined myself as second-rate. But as long as my lord was His Highness the Crown Prince, that was enough. He had many outstanding retainers, and he himself was unquestionably first-rate. What he needed was a retainer who could always do what was expected. I tried to be that man."
"Then be that man with Leo as your lord."
"Leo isn't His Highness the Crown Prince. He's talented, but he still has plenty of shortcomings. And if I became Leo's strategist, I'd be his chief strategist. What would be expected of me would exceed my capabilities."
"So that's why you won't become Leo's strategist? He came to you for help, didn't he? His Highness the Crown Prince told you to think of Leo as your little brother..."
"That was a long time ago... Traveling abroad taught me something. Every strategist out there is a monster. Among them, I wasn't merely second-rate—I was third-rate. If someone like me became Leo's strategist... Leo would surely lose. I couldn't face His Highness the Crown Prince after doing that..."
After the Crown Prince died, his former retainers each went their separate ways. Few of them went to serve other members of the imperial family. Most had lost the ideal lord they had served and chose to retire. Vin was no different.
They had envisioned serving the Crown Prince and made it their goal to live within the organization he had built. Once that collapsed, many of them could no longer envision a future.
"So you can't lend Leo your strength because you think of him as a little brother. Because you'll make him lose if you join him."
"It would be different if Leo had another excellent strategist. If there were someone capable of unconventional ideas, I could operate with solid, practical plans. But I can't do it alone. If I stick to the standard playbook, I'll lose. I thrive in situations where victory is assured. I don't force things or incur needless casualties; I win when I'm supposed to win. That's my style."
"I see. Then you can rest easy. Leo already has a strategist like that at his side."
"What?"
Vin muttered suspiciously.
Elna answered him with a smile.
"Al can come up with the unconventional ideas you're missing. If you need an unconventional idea, you can rely on Al."
"Al is a strategist?"
To Vin, Al had always been the wastrel prince who skipped his studies.
Though he occasionally displayed the competence befitting Leo's older brother, Vin could hardly see him as the kind of outstanding figure Elna would call a strategist.
"Hmph. Ridiculous. His reputation has reached even this village, you know?"
"Why not judge him with your own eyes instead of relying on his reputation?"
"I've watched him since we were children. I can't imagine he's that capable."
"You're third-rate after all. You have no eye for people."
"What did you say?"
Even though Vin described himself as third-rate, he could not let it pass when someone else—especially Elna—said it to him.
He glared at Elna with a look that would have made an ordinary woman burst into tears, but Elna's smile did not waver.
"This works out perfectly. Al is currently in the Imperial capital, having a minor clash with the nobility. Why don't you decide after seeing what he accomplishes? If Al proves to be the kind of person capable of unconventional ideas, as I claim, you'll become Leo's strategist. If he disappoints you, you can go back to your quiet life. You have no objections, do you?"
"You're leaving my future to Al's accomplishments? That's an absurdly dangerous gamble. He runs away from anything troublesome."
"Al never runs when it's a matter of protecting someone. You can take my word for it."
"...An endorsement from the future head of the House of Valor."
"That's right. What do you think? It's not a bad offer, is it?"
"..."
Seeing that Vin still seemed unable to decide, Elna smiled wryly.
The fact that he was taking it so seriously was proof of how much he cared about Leo.
Vin calmly assessed his own abilities and concluded that if he took a position leading a faction, he would fall behind the other factions. Elna valued that composure and his refusal to overestimate himself.
As the strategist to keep idealistic Leo in check, Vin was ideal.
All that remained was for Vin himself to be satisfied.
Thinking this, Elna left the house. Leo arrived just as she was leaving.
"Did talking to Elna change your mind?"
"...Why did you go out of your way to entrust persuading me to Elna?"
"You wouldn't listen no matter what I said, would you? I thought Elna might be able to get through to you."
"Is that why you brought her along?"
"No, it was just a spur-of-the-moment idea. She came along as my bodyguard, nothing more. Bringing a whole retinue of guards to the village would only inconvenience everyone here."
Saying this, Leo looked outside through the window with a smile.
People heading out to work in the fields, and others returning from hunts in the mountains. Women knitting and children playing.
It was a peaceful scene.
"It's a nice village."
"It's an ordinary rural village."
"That's a good thing. If only there were villages like this everywhere. But it's still not enough. I know there's no end to wanting more. I know I can't save everyone. But I want to reduce the number of people who cry in grief. I don't want to stop trying. I... will take up Crown Prince Wilhelm's mantle. That's why I need you, Vin. Please lend me your strength."
Saying this, Leo held out his hand to Vin.
When they were young, the Crown Prince had recognized Vin's talent and held out his hand in exactly the same way.
Remembering that moment, Vin closed his eyes.
And then.
"...I'll accompany you to the Imperial capital. But whether I become your strategist depends on Al."
"It depends on my brother?"
"I need to determine whether Al can make up for my shortcomings."
"I see... Then welcome to my faction."
"You... Were you listening to me?"
"I was. If it depends on my brother, then it's practically decided already. He's my amazing big brother. I'm sure he'll live up to your expectations, Vin."
Leo said this with absolute confidence and not a trace of hesitation.
It could have been attributed to the trust born of being twins, but Vin sensed something more between the two of them. A bond like that of comrades who had fought their way across battlefields together.
Seeing that trust, which went beyond blood ties, Vin grinned with interest.
"Very well. If you trust him that much, then let me see what he can do. Let's see Al's skill."
With that, Vin took Leo's hand.