Chapter 18

Chapter 18 - Hidden Truth and Revealed Facts (3)

The chirping of sparrows. The faintly spreading waves of twilight.

“Hoo.”

I drew the cool dawn air deep into my lungs and stretched.

I had come out at dawn to train for a change of mood, and despite the late-spring weather, my body had grown rather cold.

Tap. Tap.

Cold drizzle touched my fingers.

For rain to fall at just the right moment—the timing was good.

Feeling the chill at my fingertips, I muttered without realizing it.

“It is about time I went inside.”

I wrapped my coat around my sword so it would not get wet and moved toward the inside of the royal castle.

Even if it was not the 1st Prince’s Treasure Sword I had used before, the proper way to treat a sword was already ingrained in my body.

“Ah, have you returned?”

Baron Vidor, who had been organizing the office since dawn, put down a bundle of documents and greeted me.

As I approached, the hollow look in his eyes, as though he had not slept a wink, was extraordinary.

It was not difficult to guess the reason.

“How are the preparations for the party?”

“Hoo…… Somehow, I think we will be able to have everything ready by the scheduled time.”

“It seemed that way.”

As I walked down the corridor, I had seen servants moving with busier hands than usual.

From my perspective, the fact that they had to toil from the early dawn for the sake of the delegation was not particularly pleasing.

I roughly skimmed through the piled-up documents and said,

“Have they contacted us?”

“They…… Ah, do you mean the delegation from the Federal Empire?”

“Mm.”

The private meeting with the delegation that Father and I had arranged.

Fortunately, the answer that came from the baron’s mouth was exactly what I had been hoping for.

“They say that any time before the party begins is fine.”

“……I see.”

It would not be an exaggeration to say that everything I had done so far had been a process of waiting for that moment.

After all, the meeting hall was not an appropriate place to sound them out about what they were thinking, or how they intended to move from here on.

“Then summon them to the office two hours from now.”

“Understood.”

I slowly began undoing the buttons of my rain-dampened coat.

I felt the baron’s gaze follow the tattoo revealed through my loosened sleeve.

“Is the bath prepared?”

“……George has already instructed the maids to prepare the bathwater. He has stepped away for a moment to prepare the clothes you will change into.”

“It seems he is adapting well. How does he look to you?”

“He absorbs knowledge at an astonishing speed. It would not be an exaggeration to say that if I teach him one thing, he learns ten.”

“I see.”

Although it was a trivial matter, understanding the schedule and coordinating manpower were both things that required some experience, and they were certainly difficult to handle naturally without it.

If the baron, who was in charge of teaching him, was praising him, then George’s ability could indeed be called exceptional.

“Pay attention to George’s education. It is about time for you to wrap up your duties as temporary aide, is it not?”

“Ah……! Yes, I will keep that in mind!”

“Send him up as soon as he comes.”

With that, I headed to my room without looking back.

It was a pity that the face reflected in the mirror looked even more hopeful than before.

‘I never said I would let him return to his territory, though…….’

The fact that I was smiling while thinking such a thing seemed rather devilish even to me.

***

Splash.

“Hmm.”

The hot bathwater washed over my body, which had been soaked by the rain.

I submerged myself all the way to my head and came back up, and nothing could have felt better.

It was only after that that I sensed someone’s presence.

Knock, knock.

“I have brought the clothes you will change into.”

A grumbling voice came from outside the door.

At the unwelcome visitor who had arrived before I could even fully savor my rest, I answered in annoyance.

“Just put them down somewhere.”

Then, along with the sound of a tongue clicking, I heard the clothes spill onto the floor.

Because I had told him to put them down somewhere, he had truly thrown them onto the floor.

Even without confirming it through my senses, the scene was vivid before my eyes, and I gave a small laugh.

“I should cancel the reward.”

I let my body sink into the water that gently wrapped around me and leaned my head back.

Unfortunately, the same satisfying amusement as before did not rise within me.

It was because of that unwelcome visitor grumbling outside.

In the end, I had no choice but to roughly dry myself and bring my brief rest to an end.

“So, the report?”

“I silenced them all.”

“……Be more specific.”

“There were two employees of the society who knew the truth. I gave them a suitable amount of money and immediately dispatched them as investigators to the remote northern region.”

“A reasonably logical way to keep them quiet.”

With this, stories about the mithril mine would not spread for at least a month.

And that amount of time was enough to fully absorb ownership of the plains.

However, it seemed to be an area George could not understand.

“This is not just anything; it is a mithril mine. Would it not be better to permanently silence them?”

Sacred iron.

This ore, also called mithril, was a rare material whose value could not be compared to gold or the like.

Its hardness could be compared to diamond, and as for its conductivity of aura, there was no ore that could rival it.

“If it is said to have been land belonging to the Federal Empire, there is no way a dispute will not arise.”

“That is true.”

The benefit the mithril mine would bring to Esteban was beyond calculation.

Considering that one of the great wars of the past on the continent, the Hundred-Year Holy War, had begun over the seizure of control over a mithril mine, its value could easily be imagined.

And what George had just pointed out was precisely that part.

But my thoughts remained unchanged.

“It does not matter.”

“It does not matter…… What, are you planning to go to war with the bastards from the Federal Empire?”

“From the moment they planted agents and induced a rebellion, the relationship between the two nations had already fallen apart. This agreement is nothing more than something for show.”

“That may be true, but…….”

“War will certainly happen. Only its timing is uncertain.”

I recalled the war with the Federal Empire from before my regression.

Although I had been manipulated by Asus’s scheme and decided on war against them, that war could be called inevitable.

For a very long time, they had been planning to devour Esteban…….

Of course, even I had only completed all the pieces of the puzzle at the moment of my death.

“If it is a war that cannot be avoided, it is better for us to hold the reins.”

“…….”

In any case, the moment we began investigating mithril distribution channels, rumors would inevitably spread.

I had no intention of standing by and watching them discover the mithril mine as they had before.

Even if it was unknown whether its existence would hasten the ignition of the fuse called war.

‘However, that is exactly why I am moving.’

For the sake of a better Esteban tomorrow.

For the sake of living in the present without regret.

This was directly connected to my goal of not repeating the mistakes of the past.

“But at this rate, it would be like a lamp before the wind.”

I finished my short bath and nodded.

The eyes reflected on the surface of the water were gleaming.

***

“Your Highness the 1st Prince. Thank you for inviting me to breakfast.”

Count Eshula offered a perfect bow suited to a breakfast meeting, one that had depth yet was never too heavy.

Behind him, a person who appeared to be an attendant gave a small nod.

I gestured to the seat opposite me and said,

“Sit.”

“Thank you.”

Scrape.

The Count pulled out the chair with sluggish movements and carefully sat down.

Then, as though she had been waiting, a maid approached and began placing tableware on the table.

“Is there any particular liquor you enjoy?”

“I usually seek out Cort Dame of the eightieth year.”

“Then we will have that.”

It was a splendid taste for an aperitif.

Once the liquor I had ordered was served and touched our lips, the real conversation began.

“I read the letter sent by the Federal Empire. Then, who does the Federal Empire believe plotted this matter?”

“According to the information we have confirmed, we are certain it was the Divine Empire.”

“So you are saying that, in the end, both nations are being played by a trap dug by the Divine Empire?”

“That is exactly so.”

I gently swirled my wineglass and asked another question.

“What benefit do they gain by doing that?”

“The Federal Empire suspects that they will use this matter as a pretext to interfere in your internal affairs under the name of protection.”

“Hmm.”

“For that reason, His Majesty the Emperor sent me to your country with the goal of strengthening our friendship with Esteban while uncovering the atrocities of the Divine Empire.”

Esteban served as a kind of neutral zone between the Divine Empire, the Federal Empire, and the lands of the barbarians.

If one heard only this story, it could truly seem as though the Divine Empire had tried to sow discord between Esteban and the Federal Empire in order to gain an indirect benefit.

“But for that to be the case, I cannot help feeling that you handed over the land I demanded far too readily.”

If they had truly come to provide support for uncovering the truth, they would not have accepted the demand for land in the first place.

As a result, the current situation looked no different from handing over money for a settlement.

The answer to that was simple.

“This is merely the cornerstone for strengthening our friendship. Of course, separately from that, we will continue gathering information to reveal the crime.”

“I see. Outwardly, it belongs to the realm of support, but in the end, it is a plan for the future.”

“Precisely.”

It was a conversation made entirely of lies.

Like a scripted play, even though both sides had already perceived each other’s intentions, they faithfully followed the script.

And its ending had already been decided.

“In that case, Esteban must also strive to uncover the truth in accordance with that intention.”

“His Majesty the Emperor will be pleased as well.”

For me, who knew everything, it was nothing more than a tedious probing.

‘Disgusting.’

The reason they gave the land?

From their perspective, they had readily handed it over because they thought they could take it back at any time.

Rather, they probably thought it was a bargain if they could smooth over this incident in exchange for giving away some twenty kilometers of land that was difficult even to manage.

‘A troublesome piece of land because of the existence of the Divine Empire.’

In truth, that was the position Esteban occupied.

‘But what about in this life?’

Their scheme had long since been seen through, and I had even taken the mithril mine from them.

Unlike the past, the causal relationships that formed the future had been completely shattered.

Just then, the dishes the maid brought began to be set upon the table.

An exclamation flowed from the Count’s mouth.

“Oh!”

“It is a bacon dish served with Esteban’s specialty ingredients. It was prepared specially for the delegation.”

“This is a meal so fine that it feels undeserved.”

It was not sarcasm.

I had personally ordered them to prepare food finer than ever before.

My hand, stroking the knife, had gone cold.

“By the way, is the man behind you not joining us at a place like this?”

“……Pardon?”

“He has only been standing behind you since earlier, has he not?”

Leaving the bewildered Count behind, I looked at the man over his shoulder.

“We have prepared good food, so how about dining with us?”

“……Ahem! How could an attendant be allowed to join a meal with Your Highness?”

“Is that so?”

I set down the knife and rose from my seat.

Then I looked at the face of the man who smiled as though I did not need to mind him, and smiled back at him.

“You must have been bored standing there all this time, so please take a seat now.”

“…….”

“Or do you truly not join ‘places like this’?”

Then I whispered softly.

“Your Highness Raiden del Carrot.”