Chapter 170

It seems my etiquette training was remarkably effective, as Persval hasn’t caused any trouble since then. In fact, he’s been so disciplined, like a fresh recruit just assigned to the unit, that I couldn’t help but feel quite satisfied.

Well, after all, lessons accompanied by pain are always the most effective, aren’t they?

“You understand, right, Persval? All that advice was for your own good. I get that you’re feeling the pressure now that you’ve just become a Royal Guard, but… if you keep walking around with your neck stiff and your head held high without knowing your place, you’ll end up with your head smashed in before you even realize it, you know?”

As we headed toward the Main Palace where the court meeting was to be held, I offered some warm words of comfort to Persval, who was walking beside me.

“Yes…! Thank you… for the lesson…!”

“Thank me? It’s only natural as your senior. *If you were an enemy, I’d have ripped all your limbs off…* But since we’re both colleagues tasked with guarding His Highness the Prince, we’ll have to work together for a while. It’s best if we don’t make each other blush, right? Don’t you think?”

You get what I’m saying, right?

If you betray me, you’ll be saying goodbye to those limbs. Remember that.

“Senior, you’re absolutely right…!”

“Senior, *sir*…? Persval. Did you just call me ‘Senior, sir’? How dare you?”

At my rapidly lowered tone, Persval seemed flustered and stammered.

“…Huh? But you said it yourself—”

“No, Persval. Just because I said it doesn’t mean you can call me that. Do I need to remind you who’s standing next to you?”

I can say it, but you can’t.

Is that so hard to understand?

“My apologies! Princess Ai-shan Gi-or!”

“Hmm? Why did you feel the need to emphasize the ‘Ai-shan Gi-or’ part? Are you trying to imply that I’m just some barbarian princess and not a true imperial citizen?”

“N-no, not at all!!”

Persval’s face turned pale.

…This is kind of fun.

I chuckled and patted Persval’s back. The sturdy armor, forged with steel, rang out like a bell.

“Relax, it was just a joke. Call me Princess Ai-shan Gi-or if you want. Or, you know, Sir Median.”

Persval bowed his head deeply. His exposed neck was trembling.

“No answer? Are you mad? Are you protesting because your senior made a little joke?”

“N-no! My apologies! Sir Median!”

“That’s more like it.”

I nodded and followed Prince Leopold again.

From behind me, I could hear the satisfying sound of teeth grinding.

If he keeps abusing his teeth like that, he’s going to have a hard time when he gets older.

Not that it’s any of my business.

—

Walking through the corridors of the Main Palace.

Perhaps because my stress had decreased significantly since the morning, no one freaked out upon seeing me.

Though there was some whispering.

Still, no one dared to cross the line openly.

Of course not. With the Imperial Prince right in front of them, anyone foolish enough to make snide remarks would’ve already been dealt with.

“…Wasn’t that a bit too harsh?”

Suddenly, the Prince whispered in a quiet voice, low enough that Persval behind us wouldn’t hear.

So he had been listening after all. I thought he wasn’t paying attention since he hadn’t said anything.

I lowered my voice as well.

“He seems like someone with strong pride. Shaking him up a bit like that might provoke a reaction. I wanted to see what he’d do.”

Exactly.

Do you really think I was tormenting Persval just for fun?

I’m not that kind of person.

There was a reason behind it.

I did it to gauge how much I should be wary of him.

…Though, admittedly, it was kind of fun.

If he just grumbles to himself, that’s a normal reaction, so I’ll let it slide.

After being treated like that, anyone would complain behind someone’s back.

If he reaches out to someone else to vent, I’ll need to know who that person is.

If he’s close enough to someone to complain about me, then that person must be someone he trusts.

If that person is connected to Ernst’s faction, then Persval must be a spy for them.

If he just endures it without a word… that’s actually the most suspicious reaction.

It means he has a reason to endure it.

Maybe he’s a pawn of the Empress, biding his time to take revenge on me someday or something like that.

“But what if you end up pushing a perfectly good knight to the Empress’s side instead?”

“Your Highness. A traitor will betray you no matter what.”

If someone would betray me just because I gave them a hard time, then they were rotten from the start.

It means they’d betray me the moment someone offered them a better deal, regardless of how I treated them.

“Just trust me on this. I know what I’m doing.”

Leopold shook his head.

“I’d rather trust Isabella.”

“Then go die.”

“Are you serious?”

Leopold, faced with a question that lacked a subject, couldn’t find the words to respond and just let out a deep sigh that could’ve made the earth cave in.

—

The court meeting was a complete mess.

Instead of exchanging constructive opinions, it was split into Ernst’s faction and Leopold’s faction, both too busy blaming each other.

The main issue was, of course, Matthias’s death.

“That matter has already been concluded as the work of monsters, so what’s the point of bringing up baseless rumors here!”

A noble from Leopold’s faction opened the floodgates of argument.

Starting with his shouting, the noise in the council meeting rapidly increased.

“Monsters? Who would believe that! Monsters suddenly appear near the capital, kill only Prince Matthias, and then vanish without a trace? Even a five-year-old wouldn’t fall for that. It’s more believable that it was the work of remnants of the beastmen!”

A bald noble from Ernst’s faction retorted, veins popping.

The light from the chandelier shone down on his shiny head like a halo.

“Uh, uh? That actually makes sense. Maybe it really was the beastmen…”

“Get a clue, Lord Hanson. That’s not the point right now.”

What the hell is this guy?

Listening to this, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“So, you’re saying it was our doing?”

“If it wasn’t you, then who else could have done such a terrible thing!”

“Are you accusing the prince without any evidence? What reason would we have to do something like that when we knew we’d be suspected!”

As the conversation between the two grew more heated, another noble from Ernst’s faction stepped in to try and calm things down.

“Lord Baynum, calm down a bit. Would the wise Prince Leopold really do such a thing? We don’t think so either. However… not all of his followers are as wise as he is. Some might resort to extreme actions to prove their loyalty. Lord Bald’s words were meant in that context.”

…Is that really calming things down?

The tone was polite, but the content was still blaming Leopold’s faction, just like Bald, the bald noble.

“So, you’re saying… one of our fools acted on their own?”

“Seeing how quickly you understand, Lord Baynum, it seems you’re not the culprit.”

After that, it was just a festival of personal attacks, minus the swearing.

Isabella, who was supposed to preside over the meeting, just let out a light sigh and calmly watched this chaos.

Ernst also remained silent with a dark expression, and Leonor didn’t even attend.

Well, except for Isabella, Ernst and Leonor must have been shocked by their brother’s death.

Leopold, sitting quietly in a lavish chair next to the throne, just listened to the meeting.

Maybe he’s staying silent to avoid being counterattacked if he speaks up.

If the topic of his former guard knight, Hector, comes up, it would be disadvantageous for him.

I leaned in close to Leopold and whispered in his ear.

“Is this what the Empire’s court meetings are usually like?”

Honestly, it’s a miracle the country is still running like this.

Is this the real blessing of Elpinel?

“It wasn’t this bad before… but lately, it’s gotten worse…”

Leopold replied with a quiet laugh, trying to hide his discomfort.

Despite his expression, his low voice was filled with frustration.

“Everyone, that’s enough. We have more than one or two issues to discuss, yet you’re causing a ruckus over baseless rumors and delaying the meeting. Is this really honorable? Let’s postpone any discussion on this matter until we have solid evidence.”

Finally, Duke Bien couldn’t take it anymore and spoke up, bringing the argument to a reasonable end.

The nobles, still divided into two factions, continued to glare at each other, but at least no one was shouting anymore.

“Your Majesty, the Empress. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to move on to the next agenda. Do you have any objections?”

“No, it’s fine, Duke Bien. I’m just the Emperor’s wife, and I’m ashamed to say I don’t know much about political affairs… It’s best to leave the meeting’s progress to you.”

Thanks to Isabella’s gracious nod, the rest of the meeting proceeded smoothly.

The fact that she readily handed over control to the Duke suggests that, despite not showing it, she wasn’t pleased with the meeting either.