Chapter 64
"I see. Shall we go see her?"
"Yes. I judged that would be best."
"Well, given her personality, she won't be swayed by a letter, will she?"
"Yes. Even if she can't come all the way to the Imperial Capital, she might come as far as the duke's territory."
My father nodded several times at my words.
Franz was at his side, and not a trace of his former timidity remained.
"Your Highness. This is a personal request, if I may?"
"Go ahead, Chancellor."
"Thank you. Twenty years ago, after Duke Rheinfelt fell in love with Princess Lieselotte in his youth, he never once sent a letter directly to Her Highness. Whenever Her Highness was in the Imperial Capital, he always sent them through me. The Imperial Capital and the duke's territory aren't close enough for casual travel back and forth. Even so, the duke always sent me letters. Do you know why?"
"Because sending one directly to my elder sister would seem like a nuisance to her?"
"Yes, exactly. He asked me to give it to her when the time seemed right, if it wouldn't trouble her. If she looked displeased, I was free to tear it up. Duke Rheinfelt is the only suitor to have shown such consideration. That's why Princess Lieselotte always read the duke's letters, and never failed to accept gifts from Duke Rheinfelt. Since he began flying from battlefield to battlefield as a general, I've heard the same from his aides."
That was an unexpected fact.
It wouldn't be surprising for Duke Rheinfelt to show consideration.
What surprised me was that my elder sister always read those letters.
Could this actually be a sign?
"For a noble living in a territory far away, letters and gifts are means of maintaining a connection. They may meet once a year, or not even that often. While many nobles show excessive affection so they won't be forgotten, in that sense, Duke Rheinfelt could be called a gentleman. Thus, although Lieselotte-sama rejected his marriage proposals, she never rejected his letters or gifts."
"I see. So she doesn't personally dislike him."
"Yes. There must be a reason. Perhaps she has decided never to marry, or perhaps it's something else. If it's the former, there's nothing to be done, but if there's another reason, I want you to persuade Her Highness. If she clearly disliked him, Duke Rheinfelt would give up too, but Princess Lieselotte probably doesn't hate him. That's why I feel sorry for him."
Since all the letters went through Franz, he must have seen them.
He probably knew what was in the gifts, as well as how my sister Lieselotte reacted when she received them.
Knowing considerate Franz, he must have given advice too.
From Franz's perspective, he must want this love to bear fruit.
"Twenty years... Some people would call that persistent. I used to be one of them. I told him repeatedly to give up, that it was for his own sake, and that no matter how hard he tried, it would be pointless. But Duke Rheinfelt always replied that he would give up if Lieselotte-sama said he was troubling her. To him, Lieselotte is his life, whether it works out or not. I want to make this the point where we settle the matter."
So even my father was human, after all.
Apparently, he felt guilty about keeping one person tied down for twenty years.
Depending on how you looked at it, it could seem as though my sister was conveniently keeping him on the hook.
Knowing my sister, she probably wasn't consciously doing that, but by failing to tell him plainly to leave her alone, she was effectively keeping him tied down.
"If my elder sister says she has no intention of marrying anyone, will he give up?"
"...In that case, there is nothing to be done."
He wanted to see her in a wedding dress.
That was my father's wish, but it could also be called selfishness.
My father murmured regretfully.
Knowing my father, perhaps he believed that if she married, my sister wouldn't be drawn into the struggle for the throne.
Most likely, if either Gordon or Zandra took the throne, my sister would be eliminated after someone found a pretext to accuse her.
But if she married, she would no longer be a member of the imperial family. That would eliminate at least some of the danger. The Empire would also avoid losing an excellent general.
Even an emperor couldn't do whatever he wanted.
"Then I'll proceed accordingly. I don't know if I'll be able to bring good news, but I'll do what I can, so please wait a little while."
"Very well. I'm counting on you."
With that, I left the throne room.
■■■
After leaving the throne room, I headed to my mother's chambers.
I too would be leaving the Imperial Capital, though not as far as Leo, who was heading to the border.
I'd left matters concerning our faction to Fiene, and the power struggle within the Imperial Capital was currently in a lull, so there was no need to worry. Gordon and Zandra had worn each other down while we were abroad, and even Erik, who had come through unscathed, wouldn't make a move in this situation and incur Father's displeasure.
Father was oversensitive about the refugee issue. If Erik tried to take advantage of Leo's absence while he was dealing with it, Father would be furious without a doubt. Erik wasn't foolish enough to do that. So, at least on the surface, there would be no power struggle in the Imperial Capital for a while.
Of course, various things were happening behind the scenes. Conflict between merchant guilds was one example. That was another reason I couldn't take Fiene along. She was the demihuman merchant guild's trump card.
"Looking at things this way, we're seriously short on people."
I had to leave Sebas behind to guard Fiene.
There would be fewer people around me, but that was better than thinning Fiene's protection. In my case, there was no danger to my life; I only had to worry about my identity being exposed. And that could be handled by moving more cautiously than usual.
Linfia was at Leo's side, and Sebas was at Fiene's. If I had one more guard who could move freely, things would be a little easier, but I suppose that was asking for too much.
Unfortunately, Elna had been given a different mission this time, so I couldn't count on her.
"It isn't simply a matter of being strong. If I can't trust someone, I can't use them as a bodyguard. Sigh... Excuse me. It's Al."
"Al!? Come in at once!"
When I announced myself outside my mother's room in the rear palace, a sharp voice came from inside.
I immediately sensed that something was wrong and quietly entered.
Inside, Mother was holding the trembling Krista in her arms.
"Krista!?"
"S-sob... Uu..."
"She suddenly started crying and won't say a word. I assume she saw something again."
Since Mother had raised Krista, I had of course told her that Krista possessed innate magic.
Usually, Mother would pretend not to care and brush it off, asking, "Is she always like this?" But even she couldn't simply brush it off now.
I approached Krista, knelt down, and met her gaze.
"Krista. Are you all right? Al's here."
"...Brother Al... Brother Al!"
Krista, who had been clinging to Mother, came rushing to me and threw her arms around me.
Her body was trembling in tiny shudders.
She must have seen something truly terrifying.
I continued stroking her head until she calmed down.
Krista finally seemed to have regained her composure, but she still wouldn't speak.
"...Krista. What did you see? Was it something that frightening?"
"Krista. Tell Al about it. Maybe there's something we can do."
"...Sob... Uu..."
"Krista?"
"...A small hut... Lots of children..."
Then Krista began to speak, little by little.
Her fragmented account of what she had seen was difficult to follow, but at the end she murmured something crucial.
"R-Rita..."
"Rita?"
"She's going to die...! Rita's going to die right in front of me...!"
"What!?"
"No..."
It was a shocking statement.
In the past, some of Krista's visions had come true and others had not.
But as far as accuracy went, the futures in which Krista herself was likely to be directly involved tended to come true.
My eldest brother's death involved a family member, and the attack on Kiel happened while she was there.
In that sense, an event occurring directly in front of Krista herself represented a highly probable future.
But of all times, why now?!
"Brother Al... Save Rita...!"
"Al..."
"...I just greeted Father. I'm due to leave..."
"What...? No! Brother Al! Don't go!"
Krista clung to me desperately. Her tiny hands gripped my clothes tightly.
What should I do?
Should I tell Father that I'd changed my mind?
No, there was no way he would approve. I needed a reason. And that would mean explaining Krista's situation. If I did, word would spread about Krista's ability. Even if it was uncertain, magic that could see the future would be valuable to the country as well.
That would be the worst possible outcome. Krista would be placed in danger and forced to see things she didn't want to see.
But by this point, we had no one to spare.
"Al. I'll somehow ask His Majesty the Emperor. Then..."
"...Even if I stayed, I couldn't remain in the rear palace all the time."
Other than consorts, guards, and ladies-in-waiting, the only people permitted in the rear palace were female members of the imperial family and imperial princes aged twelve or younger.
No matter how much of a prince I was, once I passed a certain age, I wasn't permitted to remain in the rear palace all day.
If something happened in here, I would be too slow to respond.
If Linfia were here, Mother could request that she be assigned to guard the rear palace, but I couldn't do the same.
Even if I became Silver, simply appearing in the rear palace without warning would make me subject to punishment.
"Given the circumstances, Krista herself is likely to get caught up in something. She needs a guard who can stay by her side as much as possible. A woman who is also skilled at fighting..."
"...There is only one person who comes to mind."
"Exactly."
At this point, we had no choice but to ask Elna.
I would have to ask her to somehow decline her assignment and stay by Krista's side.
If that didn't work, we'd have to think of something else.
"But Elna has been assigned a mission. In terms of risk, it's the same for her as it is for me—or even greater."
I was assigned a mission as a prince, while Elna was assigned one as an Imperial Guard knight. Even a child could tell which of us had the greater duty to fulfill.
Depending on why she refused, she might even be expelled from the Imperial Guard.
Even so, we had no choice but to rely on Elna.