Chapter 21
"Good day, Count Beltz."
"Ah, Prince Arnold. What brings you here today?"
Count Beltz, who lived in the Imperial Capital, was a court noble without a fief.
For generations, his family had held important positions in the Empire, and Count Beltz himself assisted with civil engineering and flood control as Deputy Minister of Public Works.
Count Beltz had consistently kept his distance from the struggle for the throne. Since his position gave him no direct influence over the succession struggle, none of the other three had actively tried to bring him into their camp.
I had gone to Count Beltz's residence because I'd heard a certain rumor.
"Actually, I heard a rumor."
Count Beltz was a man in his thirties.
He was bald, and combined with his timid-looking appearance, that had kept women from paying him any attention until now.
However, a marriage match had finally been arranged a few years ago. He was a capable man who had inherited the headship of a prestigious family and risen to become a deputy minister. If only he hadn't gone about looking for a wife the wrong way, he could have found any number of wives.
The problem was that this man had gone about choosing a wife the wrong way.
"A-a rumor...?"
"Yes, just a rumor. Apparently, your wife parties extravagantly every night. People say she enjoys herself like a member of the Imperial Family, and they can't understand where the money comes from. That's what I've heard."
"Th-that is... an exaggeration. My wife does enjoy going out, certainly, but she would never entertain herself like a member of the Imperial Family..."
Count Beltz hurriedly wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief.
It looked like Sebas's information was accurate.
According to Sebas's investigation, Count Beltz had apparently voiced his dissatisfaction with his wife to acquaintances. His complaints were supposedly extreme: He wanted a divorce, and if that wasn't possible, he wanted to kill himself.
Judging from his actions, he must have hated his wife's extravagant lifestyle. The question was how far he had gone.
"Count Beltz."
"Y-yes!"
I changed my tone and glared sharply at him, and he straightened his back so noticeably it was almost comical.
Was that because he had something to feel guilty about, or was it simply his innate nature? I wondered which.
"There's another rumor going around: that you've been using public funds."
"I-I absolutely have not done any such thing! I have always devoted myself to my duties as a loyal servant of the Empire! Please believe me!"
"You say that, but I came here because the rumor has reached the palace. If it reaches my father, it will become a serious matter, you know? I want to get this cleared up before that happens."
The blood drained from Count Beltz's face.
He was easy to read. He might simply have been timid, but it seemed he really did not want the Emperor to find out.
Could he be useful?
"P-Prince! Please lend me your aid! Help me!"
"I have no intention of helping a criminal. And neither does Leo."
"I-I truly haven't touched any of the nation's money!"
"Then where have you been getting the money? A count's salary couldn't possibly sustain your wife's lifestyle."
"A-at first, we had enough savings, so it was fine... But those soon ran out. I borrowed money from my acquaintances, and lately I've even had to borrow from merchants... I feel guilty toward my acquaintances, and the repayment deadlines for the merchants are fast approaching. What am I supposed to do...?"
Why on earth had he married a woman like that?
I was thinking something terribly rude when the door to the room was thrown open.
"Darling! My allowance is too small this month!"
"B-Bettina?! Get out! I'm having an important conversation with the prince!"
A flashy blonde beauty had entered. She was about my age, perhaps a little older. That was young for the wife of a man in his thirties.
Her clothes were flashy too. She wore a dress I often saw in the harem, and every piece of jewelry she wore was genuine.
No wonder he wanted a divorce.
"A prince? Who are you?"
"H-hey?!"
"I'm Arnold Recks Adler. Sorry to intrude, Countess Beltz."
"Arnold? Oh! The Spent Prince? The son of Duke Holtzvart told me about you. A pathetic prince who had all his good qualities sucked away by his little brother. I hear you're incompetent, right? What do you want with my household?"
"..."
Count Beltz was speechless.
Well, I was in the same boat. The only person who openly made a laughingstock of me to this extent was Gido. She probably thought she could do the same because Gido did, but he was my childhood friend and the son of a duke. Our positions were different.
Ah, this woman was an idiot. Once I was certain of that, I felt sorry for Count Beltz.
"P-please leave..."
"What? You're ordering me around?"
"Just leave!!"
It was probably the first time he'd ever truly lost his temper.
Bettina, taken aback, left the room with a look that plainly said she was offended.
"Please forgive my wife's rudeness, Your Highness!"
"I don't mind. I'm used to it. Still, your wife is quite a shock."
"...My wife came to me when she was seventeen. She was the daughter of a provincial noble and famous for her beauty. I fell in love with her at first sight and won her hand with various gifts. Even after that, I kept giving her whatever she wanted because I was afraid she'd come to hate me. But it kept escalating, and now she seems to have mistaken herself for a member of the Imperial Family or a high-ranking noble..."
"Without a doubt, your wife is at fault, but you're also responsible for encouraging her arrogance. As her husband, you should have reprimanded her and made her change her ways."
"Yes... You're absolutely right."
His spirit must have been completely broken.
A tragic air hung over Count Beltz as he hung his head.
Now, what should I do? I'd need to change my plan a little from here.
My original plan had been to gradually earn the count's trust, but if I left him like this, he might kill himself before long.
I suppose it couldn't be helped.
"Is the reason you can't bring yourself to ask for a divorce that you were the one who proposed to your wife?"
"That is part of it, but... when I announced our marriage to His Majesty the Emperor, he was delighted... He even gave us several wedding gifts."
"I see. That would make a divorce difficult."
The reason I'd singled out Count Beltz wasn't just because his wife was a weakness I could exploit.
It was because my father valued Count Beltz highly.
He probably intended to make him Minister of Public Works someday. Count Beltz was devoted to his duties and didn't indulge in unnecessary pleasures, which made him easy to trust from an employer's perspective.
If the Emperor learned about Count Beltz's current situation, he would probably recommend a divorce. But a mere subject like Count Beltz had no way of knowing that.
We needed someone to mediate.
"Count Beltz. You aren't stupid. You understand why I came here, don't you?"
"Y-yes... To bring me into Prince Leonart's faction?"
"Yes. If possible, I wanted to take a little more time to determine whether you could be trusted, but... You may not last that long if we take our time. I'll ask Leo to inform my father of your situation. If Father's reaction is favorable toward a divorce, get one immediately. I'll also write to your wife's family, so don't worry."
"I-Is that really true?!"
Count Beltz looked at me as though I were his savior. How desperate must he have been?
It was somewhat self-serving, but this was for the struggle over the throne. Countess Beltz would just have to swallow her tears. In a way, both of them were getting what they deserved. The difference was that Count Beltz had value to me, while his wife did not.
But how was I going to explain this to Leo? Knowing him, he'd probably say we should talk it out.
Still, I didn't want to expose Leo to that harsh wife. He might end up traumatized by women.
"Count Beltz, I'm sorry to ask this, but could you write a letter of petition to Leo?"
"A-a letter?"
"Yes, right now. It will be easier to persuade him that way."
"Persuade him?"
"Leo is kindhearted. If I only told him about this, he might try to mediate between you two. That wouldn't be what you want either, would it?"
"Y-yes! I'll write it at once!"
At my urging, Count Beltz began writing a letter of petition to Leo.
Despite being an elite born into the nobility of the Imperial Capital and rising smoothly through the ranks, could one woman really reduce him to this?
I really needed to be careful when choosing a wife.
For a moment, the two women nearby, Fiene and Erna, came to mind.
I imagined either of them becoming my wife and felt thoroughly dejected. Whichever one became my wife, I'd be in for all sorts of trouble. Better not think about it.
I wanted a woman who was ordinary in every respect.
"Y-Your Highness, is this all right...?"
"Let's see."
I looked at the letter, and my face tightened.
It was a written complaint detailing his wife's misdeeds. Even through the writing, his dissatisfaction with his wife came through loud and clear.
As I looked over what was practically a curse, I sighed.
"Once you start cooperating with us, watch out for honey traps."
"Y-yes! I will never let myself get distracted by women again! I will serve Prince Leonart and Prince Arnold with all my heart and soul!"
"Don't get the wrong idea. We're only asking for your cooperation. Your liege is His Majesty the Emperor, not us."
"I-I'm terribly sorry..."
I had to make sure to nip this sort of thing in the bud.
If he treated Leo as his lord, it would give our enemies an unnecessary opening. I wanted to eliminate such vulnerabilities as much as possible.
"Then I'll take the letter. I'll tell you the result in a few days, so wait until then."
"Yes! I leave it in your hands!"
And so, I left Count Beltz's residence.
As I left the residence, I saw his wife glaring at Count Beltz from a distance, but it would only be a few more days.
In the end, when I showed the letter to Leo afterward, he responded with the perfectly reasonable question, "Why did this man get married?" After persuading Leo, I told Father what was happening, and he immediately ordered Count Beltz to divorce her, so the divorce proceeded quickly.
Father probably couldn't bear to see a promising future minister's career ruined by the daughter of a provincial noble, either.
And so Count Beltz joined Leo's faction, making it just a little larger.