The Second Consort and the Fifth Consort

"A marriage proposal for Her Highness the First Princess?"

"Yeah. What a troublesome matter."

When I returned to my room, Fiene greeted me with tea and sweets.

As I nibbled on them, I let out a deep sigh.

"I have never met her, but I have heard the rumors many times. A princess general who has fought across the land and earned great military distinction. Her martial prowess is said to have resounded even in other countries, and she is apparently considered the strongest in the Empire."

"That isn't an exaggeration. In fact, when she took command of the eastern border defenses five years ago, the Socal Empire became unable to make a move. She completely overhauled the border defenses and made them far stronger."

"She sounds incredible. What is she like as a person?"

Fiene asked as she poured tea into my empty cup.

After thanking her, I drank the tea and considered what Sister was like as a person.

Hmm...

"If I had to describe her in one word, I'd say she's a soldier?"

"A-a soldier...?"

"Yeah, a soldier. Not a knight—a soldier. Sister embodies that distinction."

"I can't imagine it..."

"I think you'll understand once you meet her. She's not a knight like Elna. That woman is a soldier. The battlefield is her lover. She has no romantic notion of one-on-one combat, either; her philosophy is simply to win. She takes that attitude to its extreme. When our elder brother, the Crown Prince, died, she quickly declared that she would not join the struggle for the throne. She said she would serve as marshal no matter who became emperor."

Because of that, many people connected to the military came out in support of Gordon.

For soldiers who wanted to earn military distinction, it was better for an imperial family member with ties to the military to become emperor. Sister was the leading candidate, with Gordon in second place.

If Sister had joined the struggle for the throne, Gordon would probably be under her command by now.

"Military officers don't involve themselves in politics. They think only about protecting the country. She believes that is the proper way for a soldier to live, and she practices what she preaches."

"That sounds somewhat different from what I had heard... The way I heard it, she was described as much more glamorous..."

"She is glamorous. She's a tall, beautiful blonde. She has a charm that draws everyone's attention simply by standing there. Her aura is completely different, but I suppose she's similar to you."

"Oh... Th-thank you."

For some reason, Fiene blushed and lowered her head.

As I wondered about it, Sebas suddenly appeared.

"After praising Sister's beauty and then telling Fiene-sama that she resembles her, you have embarrassed Fiene-sama. It is practically the same as calling her beautiful."

"She's used to hearing that, isn't she? Is it really embarrassing?"

"Y-yes! Of course it is... Though I suppose it depends on the person..."

"Is that how it is? I don't understand that feeling."

While Fiene remained embarrassed, Sebas handed me some documents.

I had asked Sebas to investigate the prospective match beforehand. Surely Father would not choose some strange person for the marriage proposal, but if the person happened to be someone Sister disliked, I might get yelled at too.

Still, there was nothing strange about the match at a glance.

Well, naturally. It was Sister's prospective match.

"Anyone who proposes to Sister must have nerves of steel. This match is no exception."

"Indeed. She is the princess general who has never known defeat, and is even said to be the spitting image of the Second Consort. His Majesty dotes on her as well."

"The Second Consort? You mean Christa's..."

"Christa's older sister by the same mother. The Second Consort was a beautiful woman with golden hair. I remember her well as a gentle person who was kind to everyone."

"Father probably likes Fiene partly because of that connection. Since Sister grew up with the exact opposite personality, Fiene must embody his wish that a daughter would grow up this way. If you put Sister and Fiene side by side and asked which one was the Second Consort's daughter, anyone who knew nothing else would definitely choose Fiene."

"Is that so? I am deeply honored."

She must genuinely feel honored.

Fiene beamed.

That straightforwardness probably scored high with Father too.

"Well, because Sister is like that, Father is worried about finding her a husband. She's his eldest daughter, and if he tried to arrange a match for Zandra-sama, only to hear that Sister had to marry first, he couldn't very well say anything."

"In the first place, His Majesty does not care for the Fifth Consort. He would have no interest in whom Zandra-sama marries."

"Doesn't care for her? I heard that His Majesty loves all his consorts equally."

Fiene tilted her head at Sebas's words.

Hmm. Should I be letting Fiene hear this sort of thing?

As I pondered, my eyes met Sebas's. He quietly nodded.

I see. He had spoken up because he meant for me to let her hear this sort of thing too.

Well, if that was Sebas's opinion, I had no objection.

"That's how he acts on the surface. He doesn't distinguish between his children, either. But there is a rumor that follows the Fifth Consort around."

"A rumor?"

"People say that the Fifth Consort was the one who assassinated the Second Consort."

"One consort killed another...?"

"It isn't unusual in the Imperial Harem. But such things happen during major turning points, like when a struggle for the throne begins or a child is born. At the time, the Crown Prince already existed, and Christa had already been born. Besides, the Second Consort, who had only daughters, was not in an important position even if she was favored. She wasn't someone who needed to be eliminated through assassination."

"Then why is there such a rumor?"

Right. That was the crux of it.

A consort who had no reason to be assassinated.

And yet she suddenly died.

An investigation was conducted, but the cause of death was unknown.

That made the Fifth Consort the most suspicious person.

"The Second and Fifth Consorts were close in age, and as daughters of ducal families, they had constantly been compared with each other. But unlike the Second Consort, whom Father favored and made his consort, the Fifth Consort was married for political reasons. Both gave birth to daughters as their first children, but the Second Consort gave birth first. Their daughters were well-regarded too, but the Second Consort's daughter was better liked. Zandra had been talented since childhood, but there was something wrong with her personality. There was a kind of resentment between them—a one-sided rivalry."

"Was that the cause of the rumor? That she assassinated her out of jealousy?"

"I don't know. The Fifth Consort has a perfectly solid alibi. When the Second Consort died, the Fifth Consort was with the Empress. Directly killing her would have been impossible, and the investigation found nothing that pointed to murder. Even so, the Fifth Consort is suspected because she is Zandra's teacher."

"Zandra-sama's teacher?"

"The magic I use is Ancient Magic. In other words, it is lost magic that has not been passed down. The magic that has spread throughout the world, meanwhile, is Modern Magic. Of that magic, Zandra specializes in forbidden magic—spells that the pioneers who spread Modern Magic prohibited."

Of course, forbidden magic varied widely in quality.

Some spells made you wonder why anyone had prohibited them, while others were clearly the sort that should have been forbidden.

Zandra researches such forbidden magic and has the designation removed from spells that could benefit the Empire.

To mages, Zandra was an immensely valuable person because she had the forbidden designation removed from all sorts of magic. It meant there were more spells they could learn, and even if forbidden magic varied in quality, it had once been forbidden for a reason. Most of it was powerful.

And the first person to engage in such activities had been Zandra's mother, the Fifth Consort.

"Zandra argues that magic currently forbidden should be reclassified because it is useful, but in the process, she also learns forbidden magic that is clearly dangerous. Naturally, the Fifth Consort, her mother, is involved too. The rumor arose because people suspected that one of those forbidden spells might have been capable of cursing someone to death."

"Does magic like that exist?"

"I don't know. I can only use Ancient Magic. It might exist if you looked for it. A curse spell powerful enough to escape detection even when the Emperor investigated it. It wouldn't be strange for such a spell to be forbidden, and the only people who could search for forbidden magic of that level are the Fifth Consort and Zandra, who gather grimoires of forbidden magic from across the continent."

"But... if such magic existed..."

"Yeah, anyone could be assassinated. That's why it has remained a suspicion. But the Crown Prince died three years ago too. An investigation found no evidence of assassination, just as when the Second Consort died. Ever since then, Father has looked at the Fifth Consort with suspicion. Publicly, there is no evidence, so he doesn't forbid Zandra from researching forbidden magic."

The fact that Zandra's activities were producing results was probably another reason he did not prohibit them.

Some of the magic whose forbidden designation had been removed had been introduced into the military as military magic, while other spells had contributed to the development of new magical weapons.

With the Socal Empire, a magical superpower, right next door, arbitrarily prohibiting such activities could cause talented mages to defect to the Empire.

Father must have been struggling with that dilemma. Personally, he probably wanted to order her to stop immediately. But the fact that he did not show those emotions was what made him a fine emperor.

"So she is suspected because she fits both conditions: she had a personal grudge against the Second Consort, who should not have been assassinated, and she could carry out an assassination without leaving any evidence?"

"That's right. But it is nothing more than speculation. There is no evidence at all. When the Crown Prince died, the Fifth Consort and Zandra were both in the Imperial Capital, while the Crown Prince was at the front. That is taking things too far. Even Ancient Magic probably has no long-distance curse spells. Still, it gave people enough reason to become suspicious."

Zandra's mother came from a family in the south.

That was where Leo was going to apply pressure.

The office of inspector, a position tasked with exposing wrongdoing, suited Leo perfectly. He was serious, and he would not overlook even the slightest falsification.

But the south was a region where the family that had produced such a woman held power.

I hoped nothing would happen.

This time, we could not help him openly.

Giving us separate assignments at the same time was probably also meant to test our individual abilities.

"I suppose all we can do is support him from the shadows."

"Then there is no need to worry. Isn't that what we always do?"

"True enough."

As we talked, I smiled and ate Fiene's delicious sweets.