Influence

If possible... I wanted to see this through as your brother. But now that I've been challenged to a duel right here, I can hardly keep up the act.

With that, I straightened my disheveled clothes.

Then I straightened my back, put on a smile befitting Leo, and turned toward Father.

"Leonart offers his apologies, Your Majesty. Please forgive me for deceiving you."

"I couldn't believe it, but... are you really Leonart?"

"Yes. Deceiving Your Majesty is a grave crime, but my brother had been entrusted with full authority over this matter. It was part of his strategy, so please forgive me."

"I won't hold that against you. But... when did you switch places?"

"We switched places after making all the preparations to leave the Imperial Capital."

Father nodded several times, apparently satisfied with my explanation.

Seeing that, I turned toward Laurenz.

He seemed surprised that I'd been impersonating Leo, but the hostility still hadn't left his eyes.

"My father did mention the possibility that you had switched places with Prince Leonart... but I won't be fooled. Prince Leonart would never commit such an inhumane act!"

"That's awkward to hear... To begin with, what exactly are you calling inhumane, Marquis Weitling?"

"We followed Prince Arnold's words and moved to eliminate Prince Arnold! He said so! He told us to eliminate you by any means necessary!"

"It is true that my brother said that. If that is the basis on which you acted, I acknowledge it. But how does that change anything? You tried every means available to eliminate him, only to be defeated. Isn't that exactly the situation we're in now?"

"That's the problem! You provoked us, then used His Majesty's authority to launch a surprise attack on us! What else can you call that but despicable?!"

The young nobles of the White Gull Alliance voiced their agreement with Laurenz.

I see. So that's where their grievance lies.

They acted because they were provoked. That was all. Yet I hid behind imperial authority and moved to eliminate them. They considered that utterly despicable.

How laughable.

"I have a question, Marquis Weitling."

"What is it? Are you still calling me Prince Arnold?"

Apparently, he was determined not to acknowledge me as Leo.

What an idiot. This was his last chance to back down.

If this continued, it would be beyond my control. And I'd gone out of my way to avoid bloodshed.

"My brother provoked you by telling you to eliminate him by any means necessary. So you used every means available. You merely did as you were told, and now you claim it's unfair to blame you because you were arrested. That's your position, isn't it?"

"Exactly!"

"I see... Then if you were willing to use every means available, I don't see how you can complain when my brother used every means available as well. The first thing he did was switch places with me, after all. Surely you're not claiming that you may use any means necessary, while my brother was not allowed to do anything? The point of my brother's provocation was that he would not acknowledge anyone who could not even eliminate him. And you failed to eliminate him and lost. That's how I understand the present situation."

Ultimately, that was what this whole incident boiled down to.

The White Gull Alliance's position was that they could not accept the Dull Prince staying at Fiene's side, while my position was simple: if they had a problem with it, they should eliminate me.

And they had acted to eliminate me, only to be thoroughly defeated.

That was why, as the losers, they were being handed one-sided terms.

"Th-that is sophistry! You laid a trap, and now you're saying it's the victim's fault for falling into it?!"

"That is what I'm saying. Wasn't it clear? This was never an honorable duel from the start. It was, in a sense, politics. And in politics, the victor has absolute authority. So one cannot afford to lose. Though... that's something I've learned recently as well."

"That's absurd! I still cannot accept someone as inhumane as you! Even if you truly are Prince Leonart, I cannot allow an imperial prince who thinks that way to become Emperor!"

"If I appear inhumane, that's only because you're ignorant and naive. Let's grant, for argument's sake, that I am inhumane and unfit as a candidate for Emperor. How do you intend to explain this situation? Challenging a prince to a duel before the Emperor. That can only be taken as a challenge to the imperial family, can it not?"

I stared intently at Laurenz, and he stumbled over his words.

He had probably intended to force things into a duel on the strength of his momentum.

As if that could ever be allowed.

"Th-this is a personal duel! Laurenz is challenging Arnold as a private individual!"

"Enough... This is disgraceful."

Elder Weitling muttered as though he could not bear it any longer.

Then Elder Weitling turned toward Father, dropped to his knees, and pressed his forehead to the floor.

"It has gone too far. Please behead my son and me. I cannot bear to see my son's disgrace any longer..."

"F-Father?!"

Laurenz stared at Elder Weitling in surprise.

There was no reason to be surprised. Challenging a prince to a duel here amounted to treating the Emperor with contempt.

"Raise your head, Etmund."

"I cannot..."

"Whew... Marquis Weitling. I had thought the White Gull Alliance, including you, had 'lost.' Am I mistaken? I understood this gathering had been arranged because you lost."

"Y-Your Majesty! We have not lost! Prince Arnold merely borrowed Your Majesty's authority! And, mistaking it for his own power, he has behaved tyrannically! It is utterly insolent!"

"Insolent... Then what of you? You have made the two dukes who arranged this gathering, your father, me, and the Chancellor lose face. For a marquis, is that not rather insolent?"

"Th-that... I apologize for my discourtesy in allowing my emotions to get the better of me... But I have no intention of withdrawing my challenge!"

Father looked fed up, as though he were dealing with a disobedient child, and glanced at Franz beside him.

Franz nodded as if he understood what was expected of him.

"Marquis Weitling. May I ask you a question?"

"Yes, Chancellor."

"If you do not acknowledge defeat, why did you seek reconciliation?"

"That was not our true intention. My father and the others acted, and by then the momentum could no longer be stopped..."

"I see. But it is a fact that you were in a disadvantageous position, is it not?"

"Th-that... Yes, it is."

Laurenz seemed about to argue, but under Franz's direct gaze, he must have lost the will to do so. He admitted it in a small voice.

Having heard what he wanted, Franz nodded and brought matters to a close.

"Then this duel cannot be recognized. A person who is in a disadvantageous position cannot challenge someone in a superior position to a duel as an equal. More fundamentally, duels are only permitted between equals. A duel between a member of the imperial family and a noble cannot take place, and there is no precedent for one."

"No!"

"No matter how loudly you shout, the answer will not change. And since the duel cannot be recognized, the matter before us is how to deal with your discourtesy. If you cannot respect His Highness, you need only oppose him. We are in the midst of a succession struggle, after all. There was no need to slight His Majesty by challenging a prince to a duel. As you know, there is a vast difference in authority between a prince and an emperor. The Emperor is the absolute ruler of the Empire. To slight him is a crime more serious than any other. Naturally, anyone who supported such an act is equally guilty."

Franz's gaze shifted to the young nobles standing behind Laurenz.

They were naturally caught up in the matter as well, but the young nobles' faces turned pale.

No wonder. How could they be so thoughtless?

Laurenz was no better. I'd revealed that I was Leo to prevent the worst outcome. Had he acknowledged that things would be different if I were Prince Leonart, the result might have been different as well.

"I see... So the Chancellor is on Prince Arnold's side."

"You may interpret it however you wish. But you should learn that your father kept you away from politics because you can only take things in such an emotional manner. Though I don't know whether you'll get another chance."

With that, Franz looked toward Father.

What Franz was saying was whether Laurenz should be beheaded.

What Laurenz had done here merited it. Knowing that, Elder Weitling had offered his head without delay, to keep the blame from spreading to those around him.

Laurenz was the Marquis of Weitling and the leader of the White Gull Alliance. Though he claimed to have issued the challenge as a private individual, as a marquis he could not be considered one. He was also the head of the organization.

This matter would not end with simply beheading Laurenz. He had gone far too far.

They would either behead everyone who had participated, holding the White Gull Alliance responsible, or behead those connected to House Weitling, holding the house responsible.

Either option had problems.

If they chose the former, many nobles would be beheaded before the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Emperor's accession. That would make the Empire appear unstable, foreign guests would stop coming, and a dark shadow would fall over the commemorative ceremony.

If they chose the latter, everyone in House Weitling would be implicated. The problem was that this included the Commander of the Imperial Guard. Making an exception would highlight the Emperor's leniency, but losing the Commander of the Imperial Guard over a matter like this would be absurd as well.

Laurenz's greatest stupidity was his failure to consider his own influence. He acted as he pleased, but House Weitling was not a house that could be treated so casually.

"...This incident has gone far beyond the pale. If insolence is at issue, Marquis Weitling is the insolent one. As a subject, he has shown contempt for the imperial family. Marquis Weitling is to be beheaded, and the principal nobles of the White Gull Alliance likewise."

So he chose the Commander of the Imperial Guard over preserving his reputation. Well, that was only natural.

The Empire's military strength was too valuable to lose.

As I thought that, a woman's voice echoed through the throne room.

"Wait, Your Majesty."

It had been a long time since I had heard that voice.

Well, well. She really did show up.

She certainly knew how to complicate matters.

That was the troublesome thing about House Weitling: it could bring someone like her into play. I had wanted the head of the house to act cautiously, taking his influence into account, but...

Suppressing a sigh inwardly, I bowed to the middle-aged woman who had appeared.

"It has been some time, Your Majesty."

The Emperor's lawful wife and head of the imperial harem.

The highest-ranking woman in the Empire.

The Empress, Brunhilde Reks Adler, stood there.

It went without saying who had set this in motion.

Then Therese appeared from behind her.

The Empress must have acted at the request of her daughter-in-law, Therese, the Crown Prince's wife, but...

You've certainly made things troublesome.

I glanced at Father's face.

Deep anger suffused it. Franz beside him was frowning as well.

Of all the situations I could have imagined, the worst possible one had now become reality.