Chapter 3
"I'm terribly sorry!"
Duke Kleinert lowered his head as he said this. Beside him, the blond young man who had been serving as the gatekeeper was bowing as well. However, he seemed to have been dragged here against his will and looked displeased, apparently having little idea what was going on.
It took considerable nerve to look displeased in this situation.
"Duke. The apology can wait. Tell me what happened."
"Y-yes... Actually, it seems Silver came to visit five days ago, but this idiot son of mine drove him away without even checking properly..."
"He drove him away...?"
"But, Father! Would anyone normally expect an SS-rank adventurer to suddenly come to us? Of course I thought he was a fake!"
"Shut up! You idiot son! Since you are so useless, I told you to at least serve as a gatekeeper while I was out subjugating monsters! And you can't even manage that properly!"
"B-but you said, Father... that my job was to drive away any men who came to see Fienne..."
"I never told you to drive away an SS-rank adventurer! All you had to do was check Silver's adventurer card! Why couldn't you even do that!?"
"Th-that was..."
His son's eyes darted around. Those were the eyes of someone wondering whether to tell a lie.
Fools tell lies that are immediately exposed. Even if he lied and claimed Silver hadn't shown his adventurer card, Silver would be asked about it later and the truth would come out. In situations like this, the least damaging option was simply to bow his head and admit fault.
"Duke. I would appreciate it if you postponed lecturing your son. I hate to say this, but your son's blunder is also your own."
"I-I am painfully aware of that! I don't know how to apologize to you, Prince Arnold, and you, Prince Leonard..."
"An apology? You drove away the SS-rank adventurer sent by the princes, and you call that an apology? Then let me ask you! How will you apologize? Silver, whose face you have besmirched, probably won't cooperate with us anymore! What will you offer to make up for that!?"
"Then please accept this old man's head!"
"I don't want your head! Nor do I want your incompetent son, who drove away an SS-rank adventurer!"
At my words, Duke Kleinert's face fell into despair, while his son let out a relieved breath. How could a son like that have come from a father like him?
Since he could not atone with his life, Duke Kleinert needed to offer something else.
And it had to be something important to the ducal family and valuable to Leo and me.
In other words...
"Then I shall offer myself. So please forgive my father and brother, Your Highness."
The person who entered the room as she said this was Fienne, dressed in a blue gown.
Seeing her up close, I could not help being struck by her beauty. Even in a situation like this, I could not take my eyes off Fienne.
Her long blond hair rippled faintly, shining softly as it reflected the light. Her deep blue eyes were the color of the sea, radiating a gentle light and a warmth that seemed capable of embracing everything. She was petite, but it was obvious even through her dress that she had a curvaceous figure.
Her face was somewhat stiff with tension, but that did not diminish her beauty in the slightest. Honestly, if she was offering herself to me, I would have been happy to accept. Any man would have thought the same, and a reply nearly slipped out before I could stop myself. But this was no time to follow my instincts.
Fienne's appearance was unexpected. I had intended to pressure the duke a little further before asking him to support us in the succession struggle.
"F-Fienne!? Please forgive us, Your Highness! My daughter is still a child!"
The duke fell to his knees and pleaded desperately, his love for his daughter plain to see. Rather than offer up the head of the son who had blundered, he had first offered his own. He really was a good father.
Fienne also knelt and pleaded, trying to protect her father.
"Please spare my father and brother! I saw Silver-sama when he came, too! If there is any guilt, then I am equally guilty!"
"M-my sister did nothing wrong! It was my fault! Please forgive me!"
In the end, even the son knelt down.
This was one of those situations where I looked like the villain.
I hadn't expected things to turn out this way. I thought I would be engaged in a little more psychological warfare with the duke.
I looked to Sebas for help. He sighed in exasperation before opening his mouth.
"Your Highness. The members of the ducal family have gone this far. Perhaps you should calm your anger?"
"You want me to forgive them? They've effectively made a fool of me! If I forgive this, we'll never be able to command respect again!"
"We can resolve the matter discreetly. Let us treat this incident as if it never happened."
"What about Silver!?"
"He is a man of honor. He will not abandon a commission he has accepted, and he may still be nearby. Let us have some people search for him. If we offer him a sincere apology, I believe Silver will be satisfied."
"Even if Silver settles the problems in this territory, the fact that we were made fools of by the Kleinert ducal family won't disappear."
A good way to resolve the matter was coming into sight.
All Sebas had to do was point out that I had acted unilaterally, and then I could back down.
The ducal family would probably see me as a small fry borrowing my younger brother's authority, but that was exactly what I wanted.
It was Leo, not me, who was joining the succession struggle.
"As for that, we can discuss it later with Prince Leonard present."
"Discuss it with him? That's pointless! He forgives everything!"
"That is precisely why people gather around him. Besides, Prince Arnold, while you are indeed Prince Leonard's elder brother, it is Prince Leonard whom people are rallying around. Even if you are his elder brother, worsening your relationship with the ducal family without his knowledge will put you in a bad position."
"Tch... Fine. We'll do as you say. Duke, use your people to find Silver. Once you do, I'll handle the matter. Sebas, go help him, too."
Pretending to be reluctant, I brought the matter to a close.
All that remained was to solve the territory's problem as Silver, after which Duke Kleinert would become an ally of Leo.
It was a decent first step in the succession struggle.
As I thought about that, I began racking my brain over how I was going to play both roles.
■■■
"So you were still in the territory's capital after all. I didn't expect that."
"I expected someone to be dispatched sooner or later. In that sense, I was surprised that the Dull Prince came himself."
Silver was in an unremarkable inn in the territory's capital. More precisely, I had made it look as though he was.
Using ancient magic, I tampered with the innkeeper's memories and made him believe that a strangely dressed guest had been staying there for the past five days. I made it look as though Sebas had discovered him, then met with Fienne as Silver.
"And who is the young lady with you?"
"It is an honor to meet you for the first time, Silver-sama. My name is Fienne von Kleinert."
"This isn't the first time I've seen you. Our eyes met five days ago."
Fienne flinched faintly at those words.
For a girl of only sixteen, speaking with an SS-rank adventurer was a formidable challenge. Trying to win his forgiveness when her own family was at fault made it even more difficult.
Duke Kleinert was apparently unable to leave because he had his hands full dealing with the monsters. I had said that I would go persuade Silver alone, but Fienne insisted on accompanying me as the representative of the ducal family.
As a result, I created Silver with illusion magic and was now playing both roles in front of Fienne. The reason I had created Silver with illusion magic was that, if anyone noticed something strange, I could claim that Silver had been keeping his guard up. If I had done it the other way around, they would have questioned how I could use such advanced illusion magic that reproduced not only Silver's appearance but his voice as well.
There was no chance of anyone recognizing me by my voice, either. The silver mask Silver wore was an extraordinarily powerful magical artifact. It changed not only the wearer's voice but also their body odor and even the impression they made on others. No one who spent time with him would ever suspect that he was the same person as me.
"I am truly sorry for my family's discourtesy..."
"Your apology is unnecessary. Your reputation has already hit rock bottom. I had heard that the Kleinert family was a wise ducal house that cared about its people, but it seems that was merely its reputation."
"That was..."
"It is not unusual for adventurers to come to lands suffering from monsters. If you truly cared about your people, you should have been prepared to accept any adventurer. Your brother drove me away because the duke failed to make such preparations."
This was the important point.
Rather than treating it as his son's fault, I would make it the responsibility of the entire ducal family. If I did that, simply punishing the son would not settle the matter. Though I doubted that duke would do such a thing anyway.
"Quite right... We, the Kleinert ducal family, failed to live up to our responsibilities..."
As I watched Fienne hang her head, I decided it was time and made a suggestion to Silver.
I had come here to persuade Silver. If I made it look as though I had somehow persuaded him, that would accomplish my goal.
I had not brought Sebas into the room because I had no idea what he would say if he witnessed this cheap little performance. After all, I was about to persuade myself.
"Silver, are you still willing to continue the commission?"
"If I weren't, I wouldn't be here. However, there is something I need to confirm first."
"What?"
"Have you managed to bring the ducal family over to our side, Dull Prince?"
"...No firm promise was made."
"Just as I thought—the Dull Prince. You're nowhere near your brother."
Silver let out an ostentatious sigh.
It felt strange to disparage myself, but if Silver said things like that, the ducal family's cooperation would be nearly certain.
"I will secure their cooperation. You have my word."
"You will secure their full cooperation. If you can do that, I will carry out the commission. For my own reasons, I need your brother to become emperor. I came all the way from the imperial capital to a place like this because I wanted to make a ducal family into Leonard's ally. I assumed a ducal family that lived up to its reputation would repay the favor and cooperate with Leonard, but this family has failed to live up to its reputation. Unless you make them sign a written oath, they may betray you."
"My father would never do such a thing!"
"Your protest is pointless, Miss Fienne. You have already lost my trust."
Silver spoke in an even tone.
I had him say this for a reason.
Silver had not been eager to help, but I wanted it to look as though I had persuaded him. Fienne would surely repeat this to the duke, along with Silver's intentions.
If I went this far, Duke Kleinert would certainly side with Leo. It might have been roundabout, but Duke Kleinert was that important to the succession struggle.
"Silver, are you saying you won't help unless they promise that?"
"Of course."
"...Please make an exception and accept the monster-subjugation request. I will definitely win the duke over."
"...You expect me to trust the Dull Prince? Do you realize how unreasonable that is?"
"Of course I do. Even so, I'm asking you. Please."
I bowed as I said this.
I had never had much pride to begin with, so I could bow to anyone. Bowing to an illusion I had created was hardly painful or embarrassing.
"The fact that you bow so readily suggests that you truly have no pride as a member of the imperial family."
"If Leo were here, he would do the same... I understand that you don't trust me. But I'm still Leo's brother. I will do the bare minimum. So please hunt down the monsters. I don't want to let this matter drag on any longer."
"...Very well. As an adventurer, I cannot allow monsters to run wild, either. I will accept the commission. However, Miss Fienne, I am counting on your family. Do not forget that my cooperation is contingent on that."
"Th-thank you! I will make certain we live up to your expectations!"
And so, having finished persuading Silver, we left the inn.
We boarded the carriage Sebas had waiting for us outside, and I let out a deep breath.
Seeing that, Fienne lowered her head apologetically.
"Thank you..."
"...? Why are you thanking me?"
"You bowed your head for our sake, Prince... Even though we caused you trouble, you went so far as to persuade Silver-sama for the sake of the people in our territory. So of course I owe you my thanks."
She had completely misunderstood the situation.
Was she, like Leo, the sort of person who interpreted everything in the best possible light?
I needed to set her straight. If she mistook me for a good person, it would make things difficult for me from now on.
"I bowed for my own sake. It wasn't for the reason you think. You've got it wrong."
"I see... Then I shall continue misunderstanding you as I please. I had misunderstood you a little, Prince. I thought you were frightening, but perhaps I was wrong."
"No, that's not what I meant..."
"Yes. It's my misunderstanding. You bowed for your own sake, didn't you? Not for the people, and certainly not for us. But... you'll forgive me for misunderstanding, won't you?"
Fienne said this with a gentle smile.
The smile was far more natural and beautiful than the one she had shown when the emperor once gave her the Azure Gull hair ornament and captivated the people of the imperial capital.
Could I call this being moved? Once, when my mother took me to see a meteor shower that appeared only once every several decades, I had felt this same awe. Shooting stars filled a magnificent, cloudless night sky. They were simply beautiful and wonderful. The happiness and joy of seeing them welled up inside me again as I looked at Fienne's smile.
Inadvertently captivated by that smile, I turned my gaze outside so she would not see my reddening face.
As a result, I lost my chance to correct her misunderstanding.
I found myself thinking that perhaps it was not so bad to let Fienne misunderstand me in a favorable light, and in the end, I never corrected her misunderstanding.