――The Kingdom currently has an ongoing problem.

The King has contracted a mysterious illness and this led to a dispute over the succession of the throne.

This dispute occurred because the king named the eleven year old princess, Kreschenta, his successor instead of the royal prince, Gildanstein, who was originally first in line for the throne.

The royal prince Gildanstein is a perverse person who enjoys toying with slaves and other unethical, obscene entertainment.

The king judged that Gildanstein’s behavior was not suitable to be his successor――to be the the next king of Alberan.

In the Kingdom, the king wields absolute power and the king’s wishes are prioritised above all else.

But that is only on the surface――abuse of authority would be met with resistance and pushing it too far could lead to revolution.

The king’s nomination is normally irreversible, but in reality, if there is a certain number of dissenters, it would be hard to push through with it. And right now, the palace is currently split into the royal prince faction and princess faction.

“I did not expect your highness to meet me in person……”

Bogan knelt on one knee and lowered his head.

A man in his early twenties stood before him.

A handsome young man with backswept blonde hair.

The man removed a resplendently decorated rapier from his waist and laid it on a table, then stripped off the nondescript cloak he was wearing and threw it aside onto the carpet as he sat on the sofa, crossing his legs.

Inside, he was wearing a gold and black jacket with gold ornaments and white pants.

He raised his left arm which was adorned with a gold bracelet and spoke.

“Raise your head, Bogan. I did not come to meet the hero, general Christand. I simply came to speak to an old acquaintance. There is no need for the formalities.”

“……understood. Thank you.”

The man indicated the opposite sofa as Bogan stood up.

This man is the royal prince and first in line for the throne.

Gildanstein Kalnaros Vel Sarcarinea Alberan.

An archduke of the Kingdom and the general of the army――someone much higher ranking than a margrave, than Bogan.

He appears young, but appearances are deceiving for nobles that use mana.

He is in his mid thirties.

The bodies of those with mana usually stay in their prime for a longer period, so it is common for many to only show signs of aging past their forties.

“It’s already been fifteen years since we’ve met in person.”

“Yes, your highness. Since the battle with the Empire.”

“No need for ‘yes your highness’. It’s just the two of us here.”

This is troublesome, Bogan thought as he bowed his head.

Bogan has no interest in the infighting happening in the palace.

He had wanted to join in such things when younger, but that desire has been lost with age.

Bogan does not want to get involved with the palace politics.

“First, let’s celebrate the victory. I brought wine from my secret stash.”

“Yes sir.”

The servants had been told to leave and they are the only ones in the room.

Gildanstein sloppily poured the wine into a glass and slid it over to Bogan.

Gildanstein is infamous but he is an extremely practical person and hates useless formalities.

Though he is royalty, he paid no care to how he poured the wine.

Bogan took the glass and raised it as Gildanstein raised his.

As Gildanstein took a sip, Bogan also sipped.

It seems that the wine really is from Gildanstein’s secret stash, it is a good wine with deep flavour.

“You really are good at war. I did not think you could take a bite out of the Empire in the north in that situation. I was not a mistaken to recommend you as a general.”

“No, it is thanks to my excellent subordinates.”

“Don’t be humble. I’ve seen plenty of your work in the past.”

There was a great war fifteen years ago.

Gildanstein had gathered a large army and attacked the Empire’s western lands.

At that time, Wulfenite was the border between the Kingdom and the Empire, the expanded territory beyond that is due to Gildanstein’s achievements. Despite his poor conduct, Gildanstein is far from incompetent. In fact, he is extremely capable and befitting of royalty.

At that time Bogan was a corps commander and Gildanstein promoted Bogan to general for his achievements in that war.

They talked for a while about the recent war.

It seems Gildanstein had already obtained a certain amount of information and knew how the situation developed so well it is like he was on the battlefield.

Gildanstein’s information network extends deep within other countries.

It is terrifying how he knows what would normally be impossible for him to find out, but Bogan also knows that Gildanstein would only use that information for one purpose.

Gildanstein is an unparalleled battle junkie――he simply values Bogan highly as a soldier.

Gildanstein has an almost childish desire for battlefield stories and regardless of his other aspects, Bogan likes this part of him.

Gildanstein is infamous and the rumors are likely true, but when interacting with him in person, Bogan could not bring himself to dislike Gildanstein.

“――But still, the two beautiful princesses? The rumors have reached the palace. Seems like they’re quite amazing.”

“Thank you. I can confidently say that both of them are more talented than I am. One day, they will definitely become new pillars of support for the Kingdom.”

“To that extent? Well, if you say so it’s probably true.”

Gildanstein chuckled as he stared at his wine.

“I’m sorry. The capital was quite slow because of the quarreling. I know the burden on you and Garkha was quite heavy……too many people are against me leading the central army right now.”

The conflict over the throne.

If Gildanstein, the leader of one faction has control of the army, he could easily seize the throne by force.

It is an obvious concern and in the end, the neutral western general, Hilkintos, lead the central army.

The central general is also deeply involved in the Kingdom’s politics and could not be used for the same reason as Gildanstein. So it took time for Hilkintos to arrive and get the army in order――the struggle on the frontlines is simply due to politics.

If Gildanstein could have lead the central army to the war immediately, Wulfenite would not have fallen.

With the time Bogan has spent on the battlefield, he could not help but detest the world of politics.

“Well, leave that aside for now. I have something to tell you that will affect how you act in the future.”

“……how I act?”

“It’s about Kreschenta.”

Gildanstein grinned.

“I don’t know what you’ve heard. Probably something along the lines of my brother not liking the idea of me inheriting the throne because of my bad conduct and so he nominated Kreschenta. Well, I won’t deny that, it’s the truth.”

Gildanstein swirled the wine in the glass as he spoke, still grinning.

“I did not mind that at first.”

“Does that mean……you did not want to throne?”

“Yeah, I didn’t. I’ll not defend myself. It’s the truth that I enjoy such entertainment. I also went too far when I was young. They say I’ve settled down recently, but that’s only because I’ve done everything and gotten sick of it. My nature has not changed.”

Bogan did not show any emotion, but his expression was slightly stiff.

Gildanstein laughed humourously as he saw that.

“Archduke of the Kingdom, I’m quite alright with that rank. It’s not like there’s anything I can’t do if I wanted to with that rank. In fact, the throne is just worse since I’ll have to do a bunch of pointless chores. I like war, but I hate political fighting. I don’t have any problems with handing over the throne to someone else.”

Gildanstein drained his glass and poured more wine, then continued speaking as he swirled the glass.

“But the problem is that someone. You should’ve seen Kreschenta before. What did you think?”

“……a young, but intelligent and beautiful person.”

A beautiful princess with shiny strawberry blonde hair――a fairy-like princess.

Bogan had only seen her at a distance and never spoke to her directly, but he clearly remembers the way she carried herself in a confident, but refined manner.

The last time he had seen her, she was nine――

“Wonderful. Exactly that, intelligent and beautiful. A gentle and kind person, slightly tomboyish but still elegant――as if born to be a queen. But my concern is that that thing is a monster.”

“……what does that mean?”

“Exactly what I said, Bogan. You must’ve heard the rumours of me making slaves kill each other for no reason, of me confining a noble’s daughter then casting her aside. It is the truth that I have played around by toying with people. But it’s because I’ve played like this, I know humans well…..and I know a monster when I see one.”

Gildanstein ran a finger along the table, drawing an invisible line.

“The royal family has a long history. It almost went extinct, then revived many times. Many wise and many foolish rulers have been born. But this long history is built upon a tradition. Any child that behaves abnormally from birth is to be killed, for it is a cursed child……Kreschenta was supposed to be one of those children.”

“Cursed child……”

“An absurd royal tradition. I think it is ridiculous but my brother is stubborn. He tried to follow that tradition…… my brother had problems with infertility, so when the first child was finally born, he took quite a while to make the decision……but in the end he banished it and had it killed in secret.”

Bogan frowned.

“The concubine that gave birth to it was a particular favourite of my brother’s, so those steps were necessary. Either way, she never met her daughter after giving birth to her and the daughter was effectively imprisoned after that, so she was probably happier that way.”

“……what?”

“Then the second child was born soon after that. And it was another cursed child.”

“Er, can cursed children, be identified at a glance……?”

Bogan had also struggled with infertility and could no longer endure the question.

“A baby that does not cry. Though I believe it’s up to the baby to cry or stay quiet.”

“A baby that does not cry……”

“But it was an unfounded concern and that baby was brought up as the princess…… kuku, it would be better to say that it immediately learned to cry.”

Gildanstein was smiling, but his eyes were not.

“The concubine died of puerperal fever after hearing that she had given birth to another cursed child. It must have been too much after what happened to her previous daughter. My brother grieved and asked many times if it really was a cursed child. The servants did their best to make the cursed child cry……in the end, the cursed child learnt to cry and survived.”

“I went to see it once to celebrate the birth”, Gildanstein continued.

“It was just like any other baby. It threw tantrums and cried. I was disappointed since I had heard that it was a cursed child, but it seemed like a perfectly normal baby. But something weighed on my mind……the eyes were different.”

“Eyes?”

“An act, Bogan. That thing was able to act when it was a baby. Though at that time I only felt that something was off, it was quite a while before I realised it.”

“It’s the ideal princess”, Gildanstein said, still grinning.

“It makes selfish demands occasionally, loves flowers, reads books, admires fairytales. It does not excel in any particular field, but is not poor at anything either. But this is all its act. That thing is smarter and sees things more clearly than anyone else. It knows how others see it. It is simply acting in accordance to what others’ wish for.”

“With all due respect, but……”

“It’s not my imagination. I can tell. All of my brother’s children born after that have died. The cause of death varies, but there have also been other suspicious deaths in the palace and I was almost killed too.”

“……your highness was?”

“Surprised right?”

Gildanstein’s mouth was still twisted in a grin, but his eyes were dead serious.

“I do not sleep with women. If I did, they could kill me in my sleep.”

He said that casually.

“……that day, something had put me in a good mood and I called for a woman. I was in the mood to break out my special wine, but when we got to my room, that wine and a glass was already prepared. There were even fruits and a sharpened knife and I was thinking about praising the considerate servant who prepared these later……but that day, I fell asleep next to that woman for some reason.”

“……?”

“There must have been sleeping drugs mixed in the wine or in the glass. The sharpened knife was for the woman to kill me. It was definitely a situation where the woman could have easily killed me if she wanted to.”

Gildanstein’s eyes narrowed as he recalled that night.

The smile had disappeared from his face.

“I was not killed only because on that day, I happened to call a woman I treated normally. If I had called for another woman, I would definitely be dead……I am very well aware of how much I am hated.”

Bogan stroked his chin, thinking for a moment.

“But, just because of that……?”

“That is enough. All servants said they did not prepare those things. Kreschenta also happened to be staying in that building to recover from some flu……I had a premonition, I asked around and found out that Kreschenta had apparently demanded wine earlier that day, so the servants had guided it to my wine cellar. They even pointed out which wines were part of my prized collection so that it would not drink those.”

The royal prince stared at his wine as he spoke.

“……that was when it clicked. That was when I realised that was how Kreschenta had been getting things to work in its favour. It never showed any signs of it, using methods where it would never be suspected and removed everything in between her and the throne.”

Gildanstein traced the rim of the wine bottle.

“My brother’s illness is probably Kreschenta’s doing too. They say its an unknown illness but he’s been poisoned. Nobody suspects Kreschenta. My brother dotes on that thing, as do the fools around them. They haven’t noticed a thing.”

“……but.”

“Well, you won’t believe it just cause I said it. That’s the kind of person you are. I simply told you this as thanks for what you did in the war. It’s a reward.”

“Like I said, this is for you to think about how you act in the future”, Gildanstein continued as he watched Bogan’s dubious expression.

“I’m not saying to join me. You are a man that we need to keep fighting for the Kingdom for much longer. I just want to tell you not to get involved in the political strife happening in the palace.”

Bogan is not the type to get involved.

So why did Gildanstein tell Bogan this?――Bogan did not know.

“I……simply think of myself as a sword.”

“That’s fine. In fact, although it’s true that thing is abnormal, it might also become an extraordinary ruler. In that case, I would stay the same as now and you would still be the Kingdom’s sword. Even if I won, it would be the same.”

There was no sign of malice in Gildanstein’s grin.

But then his refined features turned serious as he looked Bogan in the eye.

“……you cannot be replaced even with your weight in gold. As long as I live, I can’t have you losing your life in such pointless squabbles, remember this.”

“……thank you.”

Gildanstain brought the glass to his lips and drained it.

He did not pour a new glass.

Bogan also finished his wine. This is the signal that their talk is done.

Gildanstein prepared to leave immediately.

That is the kind of man he is, quick and efficient.

Bogan felt that this is this man’s strength.

“Be very careful. Kreschenta is merciless if you get in its way. Whether you believe me or not, remember what I said……do not be fooled by appearances.”

“I am grateful for your warning.”

Bogan stood and bowed his head deeply.

Gildanstein waved a hand and picked up his cloak.

Bogan took the lead and opened the door, escorting Gildanstein down the hallway towards the entranceway.

That was when they heard voices.

“That was good hot water, Krische-sama.”

“Yes, very nice.”

Krische and Bery came up the stairs, snuggled close together.

Their thin negligees were hidden under blankets wrapped around their bodies.

They caught sight of Bogan and Gildanstein and stepped to one side, bowing their heads.

Bogan was impressed by their synchronised movements while Gildanstein enjoyed the glimpse of Bery’s chest from under the blanket――then his eyes landed on Krische.

“My adopted daughter Krische and servant Bery.”

“I see, raise your heads.”

The two did as they were told and raised their heads.

Although Gildanstein had been lusting over Bery’s cleavage before, he now stared at Krische.

Krische stared back with a curious look.

“……adopted? Bogan, where was she from?”

“Karka, a village in the north.”

Gildanstein’s brow furrowed as he seemed to think for a moment.

Krische glanced up at Bery, wanting to quickly return to their room, but then turned as she heard noisy footsteps.

A servant with black hair in a bun trotted over from the bath on the first floor, it was Anne.

――Anne has not been able to do her job as a servant at all.

This time, she had raised her spirits and followed them into the bath to help them bathe, but Bery had taken care of everything for Krische.

So she thought to help Bery, but then Krische was stuck to Bery and started washing Bery――there was no chance for Anne to step in.

They had finished washing themselves as Anne was still at a loss.

Then Bery had shyly recommended that Anne also relax and bathe.

So Anne also washed herself, but she was late.

The two were stepping out of the bath by the time Anne finished washing herself, but Krische said that her body would not be properly warmed up if she did not enjoy the hot water, so Anne had to stay in the bath.

Anne had breathed a sigh and relaxed, blushing as she recalled how they had looked like they were flirting (they were) as they washed each other. She completely forgot her job and enjoyed the bath. By the time she remembered and hurriedly got out, the two of them had already gotten dressed.

Bery smiled wryly and told Anne not to rush, but Anne is a serious worker.

She hastily put on her apron dress and rushed out with her hair still dripping.

“I, I will prepare tea, ow.”

――and she tripped dramatically.

The four watching her froze.

Anne quickly bounced back onto her feet and bowed her head, shouting an apology.

Bery smiled wryly while Krische also showed a soft smile as she looked at Bery.

Was it my imagination? Gildanstein muttered when he saw Krische’s expression.

“They’re as beautiful as I’ve heard. It’s a shame they’re your daughter and servant.”

“……you jest.”

Bery stiffened a little and Krische frowned.

Gildanstein laughed, enjoying their reactions.

“Loyalty cannot be bought with money. It was just a joke. Don’t take it seriously.”

“……yes sir.”

“I’ll be leaving, Bogan. I look forward to seeing your other daughter at the ceremony.”

Gildanstein glanced at the dazed Anne as he walked by and said to Bogan at his side.

“She seems dumb, say it if you don’t like the servants here, replacements will be sent immediately.”

Anne froze.

-End-

R.I.P. Anne.