「……Frizione is acting suspiciously? What is it specifically?」
Shurus, who was looking through documents in his office, reacted with a start at the words of his trusted adjutant, Amare.
「The First Princess’ faction has been making various sudden movements in recent times. Some of them have even returned to their own territories while others have started to gather their forces.」
Shurus gave a wry smile at Amare’s words as his gaze turned back to his documents.
「She’s told us about it before, hasn’t she? When Kabajid and I said we’d be forming a joint punitive force, she will be the one maintaining strict order in the Imperial Capital.」
Shurus was disappointed that his sister wouldn’t be sending troops to the joint punitive force, but it was still good to know that she would act to ensure order in the Imperial Capital wouldn’t be disturbed after they set out.
If a disturbance were to break out at their backs as they confronted Mercurio……especially in the Imperial Capital, their home base, their supply lines would definitely be affected and their morale would plummet rapidly.
The place where they would fight the rebel army wasn’t far from the Imperial Capital, but that didn’t mean they could retreat quickly without a supply line.
Rather, there was something else that concerned Shurus. And that was……
「More importantly, are you sure we don’t need to send troops to the territories of nobles in my faction? If Crimson, who can annihilate an entire army on his own, were to attack them……it would cause serious damage that would be incomparable to the deaths in the first punitive force I sent out.」
That was right. Rei was skilled in wide area annihilation magic. He also had a Griffon that could fly freely through the sky, easily slaying even Dragon Knights. If they were to let the pair of them roam freely, there was risk that a noble belonging to their faction might have their territory burned to the ground.
Fortunately, the Imperial Capital had a powerful barrier in place, making intrusions from the air impossible. However, the magic items and mages required to create such a barrier were not easy to come by.
It might be a different story for high ranking nobles, such as dukes or marquises, but even then, it was impossible for them to set up a barrier in every city, town, and village in their territory.
It would be even harder for other nobles.
However, Amare responded by telling Shurus that it wouldn’t be an issue.
「If they did something like that during this civil war, they will incur strong resentment from the people after the war is over. If it were an enemy country and not the Bestir Empire, it might have been a little different, but as long as we’re in the Bestir Empire, they won’t and can’t do something like that. Besides, since Vihera-sama cares about the people, I don’t think we’ll need to worry about that.」
「But what about Crimson? He’s not someone from the Bestir Empire. So he doesn’t have such concerns.」
「I don’t know what Crimson’s intentions were in joining the rebel army, but as long as he’s with Vihera-sama, I don’t think he can ignore her decisions. ……Honestly, if we could hire Crimson with money, we would.」
Amare sighed.
Shurus carried a lot of support from the military, so if they were to gain the strength of someone who could face an entire army by himself, it would be easy to imagine that the reaction from those who supported Shurus would be split in two.
If they were to recruit Crimson, who had hurt them so badly in the Spring War, most of the military, if not all, would be against it.
For Shurus, the military was a foundation he couldn’t risk. So, gaining Crimson at the cost of losing that wasn’t an option at all.
The same was true for many nobles. Many had seen family, friends, and acquaintances go to the Spring War only to never return.
Of course, there were still some nobles would would welcome Crimson. After all, having such a force on their side would greatly mitigate potential losses in the civil war.
(It’s true that if you think of Crimson as a fighting force, he may be comparable to an entire amry. But that’s only in pure combat strength. If you consider him as an actual army, then his individual strength is far too small.)
Though it was unlikely to happen, if the rebels were to resort to occupying cities, Rei alone wasn’t enough to do that.
Such a thing would only be possible with the numbers of an army.
(Even so……there are many who harbour grudges against Crimson, even among the rebel army. It’s surprising how many people don’t express their dissatisfaction.)
In his heart, Shurus admired those who controlled the rebel army, Mercurio, Theorem, and Vihera.
However, it didn’t change the fact that there were still quite a number of rebels who didn’t like Rei.
That said……after annihilating a punitive force by himself as well as seeing and experiencing Rei’s training, their resentment towards Rei had gradually lessened.
Also, there was no doubt that Set’s cuteness had helped him a fair amount.
This tendency was especially strong among the female soldiers and knights.
「Anyway, there’s no need to worry about Crimson burning down a city. Basically, you only need to be careful on the battlefield. Oh, and the same goes for the supply troops, as they might be targeted.」
「……That’s the tricky part. Seriously, the tournament is already over, so shouldn’t he just go back to the Mireana Kingdom? Why did he stay here?」
Shurus tapped his fingers on the desk in frustration until Amare eventually spoke up.
「I’m sorry, but there’s another unpleasant incident I have to inform you of.」
「What? Is there something else? You’re not going to tell me Crimson has been discovered hiding in the Imperial Capital, are you?」
Shurus probably never expected that what he said as a joke would actually be true.
The same went for Amare, who gave a bitter smile before speaking.
「We just received a complaint from the Royal Knights. It seems they found Dune and the White Rose Knights in a tense confrontation near the castle. They said it wouldn’t have been strange for both sides to draw their weapons at any time.」
「……That guy again?」
Shurus muttered bitterly as his tapping grew louder.
Dune. Dune Conradi, the second son of Viscount Conradi, was someone who had caused trouble countless times in the past.
Shurus would have liked to send him in first punitive force, which had been made up of incompetents in his faction.
However, there was a reason why that hadn’t been possible.
It was because he was under the protection of someone with great influence in Shurus’ faction.
Someone whose life had been saved by Viscount Conradi in a battle against the Mireana Kingdom several decades ago.
If that person had been someone incompetent, Shurus might have been able to do something. However, he was a famous and powerful person within his faction, so Shurus couldn’t let anything go wrong.
Of course, if he used his power as a prince, it would be a different matter, but worsening the relationship with a leading member of his faction just to eliminate a small fry would do him more harm than good.
For better or worse, Dune had caused a lot of trouble up until recently, but never anything major.
……That was right. Up until recently.
Dune had probably realised he could do whatever he wanted without being severely punished and had started causing major trouble from time to time.
For example, just before the start of the fighting tournament, he had blocked off a road near the Imperial Capital to extort money from travelers under the guise of tolls.
Fortunately, the matter had quickly been settled by Claudius, the vice-commander of the Unicorn Knights, but it had resulted in a complaint from the Unicorn Knights later on.
Now, Dune had caused another disturbance……with the White Rose Knights.
The thought just made him more irritated.
Why did he have to deal with such a person?
「So, what did the Royal Knights say?」
「Just that there was some sort of commotion. Fortunately, it seems Prince Kabajid showed up and calmed the situation before it escalated further.」
Hearing Kabajid’s name, Shurus’ eyebrows twitched.
「Kabajid? What did you say again? The commotion didn’t happen inside the castle, but near it, right? In that case, did Kabajid go out of his way to leave the castle?」
「That seems to be the case. From what I heard, he showed up because he seemed interested it what was going on.」
Shurus’ expression twisted slightly at Amare’s words.
It was clear that something was going on, why did Kabajid leave the castle? There was no clear reason.
After thinking about it for a minute, Shurus still couldn’t understand why Kabajid had appeared there and turned his gaze to Amare.
「It can’t be helped. I really don’t want to meet him, but call Dune in. It would be quicker to hear from him directly.」
「You don’t have to go that far. It’s possible that Prince Kabajid was there by coincidence.」
「No, that’s impossible.」
Shurus immediately asserted without a moment of hesitation.
「I can’t imagine that Kabajid would leave the castle for no reason. Something must have happened.」
Shurus and Kabajid were currently in a cooperative relationship, but once the civil war was over, they would naturally return to hostility.
Because of that, if Kabajid was planning something……or had found out about something, this was the best way to find out.
Amare seemed to understand Shurus’ thoughts. Amare gave a slight bow as she left the office to call for Dune.
「Kabajid. What have you found? You’re as sharp as ever……」
Frowning at the slight sense of unease in his chest, Shurus calmed himself down and continued looking through documents as he waited for Dune to arrive.
「I see. In the end, Princess Frizione……」
「Yes. Probably……no, without a doubt.」
In the corner of one of the castles many gardens, two men were conversing, trying not to be seen.
One of the men belonged to the First Princess’ faction. The other belonged to the First Prince’s faction.
It appeared that the man from the First Prince’s faction was in a higher position.
「I understand. I will deliver that information to Prince Kabajid safely. I will also convey that your assistance was of great help to him.」
「Sorry for the trouble and thank you very much.」
「Listen, you must keep an eye on Princess Frizione. Only take action when you are truly about to betray her.」
「Yes. I understand.」
Feeling the cool autumn breeze, the two men continued their secret discussion for a while longer.
……All without noticing the eyes watching them.
「P-Pardon me, it’s Dune Conradi. I was summoned here.」
「Yes, come in. ……Now, do you know why you were called in?」
Even Dune couldn’t use his usual rough language when talking to a prince.
As Dune entered with Amare and spoke with a somewhat reverent voice, Shurus felt a slight irritation in his heart, thinking that everything would have been fine if this was how he behaved normally……
「Why I was called in? No, unfortunately……」
「It’s about the incident with the White Rose Knights near the castle.」
「-!?」
Dune gasped at Shurus’ words.
He had never guess that Shurus already knew about it.
He quickly thought about it in his mind before speaking.
「The truth is, regarding that incident, I saw the White Rose Knights trying to bring a suspicious person into the castle and I wanted to confirm who it was. However……Widele protected that person and that’s why it ended up like that……I’m sorry Your Highness Shurus.」
A suspicious person. Shurus’ expression twitched at Dune’s words.
「Was that person a man? Or a woman?」
「No, I don’t know the details……but from what I saw, they were short and wearing an ordinary robe, so I don’t think it could have been anyone in particular.」
「……Short and wearing an ordinary robe? Not very distinctive.」
「I’m very sorry.」
「Well, there are quite a few people who wear roes. Other than mages, some people wear them as clothing to protect from the cold in this season. But……I’m curious as to why Kabajid showed up in such a place?」
「Why His Highness appeared? Prince Kabajid was taking a walk and it was a coincidence……」
Shurus seemed a bit stunned by Dune’s words, but then realised it was hard for others who weren’t close to Kabajid to appreciate his ability.
「Since my brother was there, something must have happened. If there was nothing strange about the White Rose Knights, or you guys, then the most suspicious person is the one in the robe. I wonder who it was.」
The answer to Shurus’ question was revealed a few seconds later.
There was a hasty knock on the door.
After Shurus gave them permission to enter, a noble from his faction walked in.
The noble’s face was stiff as he spoke.
「Your Highness Shurus. A mage under me sensed Crimson’s magic power.」
Those were his words.