The Worst Noble

Seeing Alexia's unusual state as she wavered, Crown Prince Kelves thought for a moment before speaking.

"Let's take a short break. You must be tired since you're still recovering. Tell them to let her rest in the next room."

"Yes, thank you."

I gratefully accepted the offer.

I asked Elza, who was supporting Alexia's shoulder, to let her rest as she was.

Alexia, who usually carried herself bravely even when seriously injured, now looked fragile.

"Alexia-chan, come this way."

"I'm fine…"

"With that complexion? What are you saying? Come on, you should lie down for a bit."

Elza led Alexia by the hand to the other room.

Though Alexia said she was fine, it was obvious to anyone that she was putting on a brave front.

"I actually haven't had time to eat breakfast. Have some of this."

What was prepared was a heaping pile of dried fruit.

Sugar had been used generously, making them sweet and easy to eat.

It made a perfect snack in place of breakfast.

Since portions were prepared for Azu and the others too, I helped myself without reservation.

"Is she Imperial?"

"If you mean Alexia, yes, she's from the Empire. She's currently serving as my guard, among other things."

"I see. She might be one of Arius's victims. That man literally sold his life for power and money, so it wouldn't be strange. I finally understand why the old man always opposed letting him into the Senate."

I hesitated to tell the future Emperor of the Empire that she was a former Imperial noble turned slave.

Setting that aside, this was a good opportunity to ask about Marquis Arius.

To summarize: Marquis Arius had manipulated Alexia's father, the lord of the city of Aquarius, into attacking the Kingdom, leading to his downfall.

Afterward, he sent one of his vassal barons to Aquarius, who tried to evaporate the friendly Water Elemental using burning stone and forcibly seal it into an Elemental Stone.

As a result, a massive drought nearly wiped out an entire city.

After we freed the Water Elemental, we'd had no further involvement, but it seemed he'd participated in the succession war.

"What kind of person was Marquis Arius?"

"A relatively new noble elevated by the previous emperor. Good appearances, but his insides were like sludge. When I investigated after he mummified, I was astonished. How he managed to hide it all this time. He reportedly imposed heavy taxes on his territory, and if a woman was beautiful, he'd forcibly take her even if she was someone's wife. He hired mercenaries with money, and anyone who defied him was executed using that military force. Thanks to him, his territory is in shambles. Who knows how many years it will take to rebuild."

Crown Prince Kelves let out a deep sigh.

As a noble who aspired to join the Senate, he must have held quite a large territory.

If that territory had been squeezed beyond its limits… it was chilling to think about.

The city of Kassad, where Yohane lived, had also been pushed to a dangerous state by the lord's son, and that had been the worst.

Fewer visitors came, and along with the economy, public safety kept deteriorating.

If things had continued that way, I would've had to close up shop before long.

A lord's decisions were a matter of life and death for the city's residents.

"When the succession war began, he first tried to cozy up to me. But the old man wouldn't allow it, so he sided with a rival candidate… though it seems he was playing both sides like a bat, funding multiple factions from the shadows. So that whoever won, he'd be fine. And in the process of me crushing the rival candidates, when Carlos achieved his grand coalition, he openly threw in with him. Well, I'm sure he was scheming behind the scenes regardless."

"He sounds like a troublesome opponent."

"Indeed. Nobles are like that by nature, but he was particularly hard to deal with. His territory was large and he surrendered early, so while I could weaken him, I couldn't destroy him entirely."

The ringleaders of the army that had challenged Crown Prince Kelves were Carlos and the imperial scions.

He couldn't behead all of their subordinates.

Hearing this, it sounded like Arius had maneuvered well to survive despite doing whatever he pleased.

If it were me, I thought I would have laid low for a while and waited for the next opportunity.

When I said as much to Crown Prince Kelves, he smiled wryly.

"Making a comeback after a setback. I think the same way. But it seems Marquis Arius couldn't wait any longer. He'd been strung along for so long and had come so close, only to be sent back to square one… that was probably what triggered this. Even though a seat of power is as uncertain as a wave."

"So he tried to eliminate Your Highness and Duke Dantarg to seize power himself. As someone who got caught up in it, that's the worst."

"I'm sure it is."

He laughed loudly at that.

"It appears he'd been buying up suspicious items with money extorted through heavy taxes. He used one of those to cause this incident, as far as we can tell. To think he could seal someone away, space and all, make them vanish, then kill them inside. If you had lost and been killed, I would have been next. No matter how strong my guards are, there's little they can do from the outside."

Crown Prince Kelves's guess was probably correct.

Even if someone reached King Izard to try to clear the challenge, unless they were from the Kingdom, he would've looked like nothing more than a bleached skeleton.

What awaited was either starvation or madness…

"As a result, my coronation ceremony has been postponed slightly until security can be assured. The Empire can't afford to put any more guests in danger. I'm relieved we'll be able to hold it safely."

"I'm also glad I'll be able to fulfill my role."

This time, I'd come on Princess Tianis's orders, ostensibly to celebrate the succession.

With the threat of the Church of the Sun God looming, we wanted to maintain a friendly relationship with the Empire.

"Don't worry. I won't treat you poorly. Let's get along well as neighboring nations. Now, about your reward—"

"Oh no, you don't need to—"

There it is, I thought. I couldn't possibly admit I'd been secretly hoping for this.

I wondered what he would give me. Crown Prince Kelves seemed generous, so something valuable would be nice.

"Sorry for passing along confiscated goods, but how about this? I had some decent items picked out from Marquis Arius's collection."

Gloria, his guard, laid out various magical tools on the desk.

Every one was first-rate. I could either sell them or use them.

So this way, Crown Prince Kelves's purse wouldn't be hurt either.