Chapter 10: Operation to Relinquish the Succession (3)

“They are men who must answer for their crimes.”

“Must answer for their crimes? Why do you think that?”

“They are the ones who tried to poison you, Brother, are they not? Not only that, I hear they are stirring up trouble at the borderlands. I will never forgive them.”

It seemed the misunderstanding ran deeper than he had thought.

After pondering how best to handle it, Simon slowly began to explain.

“Little brother.”

“Yes.”

“The idea that they are targeting me is only a rumor. It is not true.”

“Brother…….”

“And the matter of them stirring up trouble is the same. What if it turns out that faceless bandits are running wild while wearing the Aldebaran Family crest?”

“That cannot be. If they did such a thing, they would never keep their lives.”

It seemed his younger brother’s hostility toward the Aldebaran Family was considerable.

This will not do.

“Even if the claim that they tried to poison you is only a rumor, the Aldebaran Family is still the primary enemy of our Family. One day, they must be punished. And now, at last, a good opportunity has come.”

“First, calm yourself and listen. To begin with, I have no intention whatsoever of striking the Aldebaran Marquis House.”

“Brother!”

No matter how faithfully he followed Simon, in this moment, Kenard could not help but raise his voice.

“I told you to calm down and listen, did I not? I intend to persuade Father and avoid war. Can you follow my will in this?”

“That is…….”

“Did you not just say that if it were my request, you would grant me anything?”

“Brother…….”

In the end, Kenard lowered his head slightly.

“If that is truly your will, Brother, then I will obey. But whether the subordinate knights will follow…… I do not know. Their anger is even fiercer than mine. Surely you know that as well?”

“You need not worry about that. Knights are beings who must obey orders in the end.”

“Do you already have something in mind?”

Simon smiled faintly.

“I will need your help.”

“If it is something I can help with, then please, only give the word.”

“You mean that, do you? All I have to do is ask?”

“……Yes.”

Seeing the strange expression on Simon’s face, Kenard felt a new kind of tension he had never experienced before.

“Then come with me.”

“Pardon? Ah, yes.”

Kenard sheathed his sword and obediently followed behind Simon.

***

It was only relatively recently that Simon came to realize his younger brother truly had no interest in the succession.

After Simon inherited the Family, Kenard had been sent away to the frigid northern region, almost as if he were being driven out.

There had, at the time, been the matter of the northern tribes invading and throwing the Empire into turmoil, but it had also been the natural procedure of sending a bloodline branch that had fallen behind in the succession far away.

The northern tribes had truly rampaged like madmen.

To the point that they dealt immense damage to the Empire.

Ferocious battles raged every day, and there were more casualties than anyone could count.

And even so, Kenard never forgot to send news to Simon every month.

Then, after a great many years had passed, when the last news of his younger brother came from the north—when his brother’s allotted lifespan had come to an end—Simon realized that Kenard truly had never intended to inherit the Family.

The tear-stained letter had read like this.

—To my respected brother. I regret that I cannot be with you in your final moments. I miss you. Even if I die and become a spirit, I shall still protect you and the Family…….

After reading that letter, there had been no stopping the regret that flooded in.

Even now, after returning to the past, the ache in his chest had still not faded.

‘But not this time. I have been given the chance to begin again.’

At some point, Simon realized he had tightened the arm draped around his younger brother’s shoulders.

And his younger brother was looking up at him with a thoroughly frightened expression.

“Little brother.”

“Yes.”

“I was sorry then.”

“……Pardon?”

Kenard jolted in shock at the sudden words. His thoughts raced. Just when, exactly, where, and in what way had he made some mistake?

“Just take it that way. There were some complicated things that would take too long to explain.”

“Yes…….”

“From now on, let us get along well.”

Only then did Kenard feel the sincerity in his brother’s words, and he let out a sigh of relief.

‘Who would have thought becoming close would be such a difficult thing?’

Then again, there was a relationship of more than ten years already built up between them, so perhaps it had been naïve to think it could be changed so easily. Even now, they were closer to master and subordinate than to brothers.

But Simon remained optimistic.

‘It is only a matter of time.’

Once he had decided to change, there was no reason to hesitate.

A little while later, the two brothers arrived at the headquarters of the Knight Order. Knights who recognized them from afar gave military salutes.

Before entering, Simon halted for a moment and said the one thing that absolutely needed to be said.

It was the same thing he had said to Ranieri.

“In the end, if we fight those Aldebaran bastards, the side that profits will not be us, but the Alphonse Count House.”

“……That could very well be true. The Alphonse Count House lies directly above both our lands and the Aldebaran territory, so it would be ideally placed to profit by selling military supplies.”

“And Alphonse is also Imperial Princess Mercedes’s maternal family.”

“Brother.”

Kenard, too, had heard the story. The Imperial Princess had returned far earlier than planned.

Unless something unpleasant had happened, there was no reason for her to leave so quickly.

There had even been a banquet scheduled for that day.

That meant Kenard, the vassals, and everyone else already knew there was discord between Simon and the Imperial Princess.

In such a situation, the mention of the Alphonse Count House was not something that could be dismissed lightly.

“I will follow only your words, Brother. Tell me what I must do.”

Kenard was wise.

Instead of asking what had happened behind the scenes, he said he would act.

Simon nodded and said,“I think you will have to make a speech to the knights.”

“A speech?”

“To be precise, about why we must not go to war.”

“Why must I……?”

“You are the Vice Commander of the Knight Corps in your own right, are you not? And did you not say you would do whatever I asked?”

“But I think it would be better if you gave the speech yourself, Brother. They will not accept my words. The best would be if Father spoke, of course.”

“The knights all already know that I oppose this war. Now I am telling you to lend weight to that.”

“Brother.”

“Can you not just do it for me?”

“……Very well.”

Before they went in, Simon outlined the key points of how the speech should be given. Kenard concentrated with all his might, as though fearful of missing even a single word.

Fortunately, Kenard was not stupid. He only seemed so because Simon overshadowed him, but he was a man of keen intelligence in his own right.

“I understand it all. I will do as you said, Brother.”

“Good. Let us go.”

“I am worried whether I can really do this.”

“It is all right even if you cannot!”

The two brothers entered the headquarters of the Knight Order side by side. Simon gave his order in a solemn voice.

“As Commander of the Knight Corps, I command you. Summon every knight. At once.”

“Yes, sir!”

Deng! Deng! Deng!

The great bell at the top of headquarters rang out, announcing the order of assembly to every knight.

***

“It is all utterly incomprehensible.”

A knight sitting off to one side of the training grounds grumbled. Beside him were no fewer than five other knights.

This was the training ground primarily used by the Second Order of Knights.

The knights had finished their afternoon training and had set down their weapons for a short rest, cooling off the sweat that had drenched them.

Whenever it was break time, the knights would chat endlessly about the Aldebaran Marquis House and the Imperial Princess.

Most of those conversations, however, revolved around the Aldebaran Marquis House’s provocations.

The matter of the princess was, naturally, somewhat delicate to speak of.

“Why is Young Master Simon defending those Aldebaran bastards? Does he truly not know what they are doing at the border?”

“Watch your voice. Do you think this is your own sitting room?”

Unable to bear it any longer, Hans, commander of the Second Order of Knights, rebuked him. But the middle-aged knight did not back down easily.

“Commander, this is not a problem that can be solved by staying quiet.”

“There are still stories going around that the aftereffects of the burning fever remain. We must give it time and wait. Even a small wound needs time to heal.”

“Even so, what must be said must be said. Striking the Aldebaran Family is also His Lordship’s will.”

Commander Hans bit his lip. At a time when they ought to be standing united, their opinions had effectively split in two.

And yet, on the other hand, he could not help but feel some doubt.

‘The Eldest Young Master’s swordsmanship that I saw not long ago was truly extraordinary. Extraordinary enough that the notion of aftereffects seemed absurd.’

In a single exchange, his neck had been wounded and he had been subdued.

And at the same time, an irreverent thought arose in him.

‘If it had been me crossing swords with my lord…… would the result have been the same?’

He thought it impossible to know.

Marquis Deneuve was a man who had brought the Arcturus sword forms to great completion. And yet the swordsmanship Hans had seen from Simon seemed to contain something that surpassed even those forms.

‘He is a man who hones his skill more than anyone. If such a man has spoken, then there must be some reason in it.’

Among knights, strength was everything. Simon met every condition that defined strength.

Without noticing it, like clothes growing wet in a fine drizzle, Hans was gradually being influenced by Simon’s way of thinking.

And then, at that very moment—

Deng! Deng! Deng!

The bell rang out from headquarters.

“It is the assembly call. Hurry!”

“Yes, sir!”

The knights who had been inside and outside the estate alike began gathering one by one.

‘They move remarkably quickly.’

Standing on the platform with a satisfied expression, Simon looked down at them. Beside him, by contrast, his younger brother looked somewhat tense.

If they were told that war must be avoided, how would the knights react?

There were more than a few hardliners among them.

If not outright insubordination, there was every possibility they would voice their dissatisfaction openly.

“Take the roll immediately and report!”

“Yes, sir! First Order, First Squad assembled!”

“First Order, Second Squad assembled!”

“First Order, Third Squad assembled!”

“First Order, Fourth Squad assembled, excluding those currently on assignment!”

“Second Order, First Squad assembled!”

“Second Order…….”

And the reports continued after that.

There were more than five hundred knights formally invested by the Arcturus Marquis House. But the knights of Arcturus now showed everyone exactly what it meant to be elite.

Powell, commander of the First Order, and Hans of the Second Order reported to Simon.

“All have assembled, Commander.”

“Good.”

Every part of the process flowed as naturally as water.

The sight of the knights arranged in orderly ranks across the vast parade ground was like a painting.

But there was one man watching that painting with a strange expression.

“What in the world is going on?”

Marquis Deneuve, who had been reviewing documents in his study, had also come out upon hearing the bell. A clerk approached him quietly and reported,

“It seems Young Master Simon has summoned the Knight Order.”

“Simon? Why?”

“He is together with Young Master Kenard, so it seems he intends to make an important announcement.”

“There is no end to the turmoil within this Family.”

At first, when Simon had collapsed with the burning fever and hovered at death’s door, the marquis had wished only for him to recover his health. He had even said there was nothing else he desired.

But once Simon regained his health and began showing a side wholly unlike before, the marquis could not help but feel a growing unease.

Because it was not simply that he had changed—he was going directly against the marquis’s will.

“Could it be something related to the Aldebaran Family?”

“Aldebaran?”

“There seems little else that would cause the Young Master to mount the platform. I have heard he does not want war. It must be his intention to express that will.”

Kalim the clerk had long been praised as a wise man. As clerk, he handled affairs great and small for the Arcturus Family.

He was also a man who had shared a friendship with Deneuve, the head of the Arcturus Family, since childhood, and one who never withheld subtle advice in his role as a strategist.

As expected, his insight was sharp.

And yet even the eyes of wise Kalim failed to foresee what happened next.

“Hmm?”

The one who stepped forward first was not Simon, but Kenard.

From the blind spot where no one could see, Simon had given his younger brother’s back a light push.

“Do well, little brother.”

The curtain rose on the “Operation to Relinquish the Succession.”