370 - Alfred's Perspective - The Responsibility That Accompanies Authority
To Solana, the fact that Alf dressed in Black Knight formal wear and I dressed in prince's formal wear had switched places drew only a slight tilt of her head, and she said nothing. She must have felt a moment of dissonance, after all. But she could not grasp it as a clear shape, and I think she dismissed it as her imagination. Solana trusts Alf and me completely, and the thought of suspicion does not occur to her. That is precisely why Alf, whose personality has been twisted in various ways by going along with me, has taken a liking to Solana alone and keeps her at his side.
"How is Randol doing?"
"The gentleman you brought has finished preparing himself and having a light meal. He said he would be ready to begin action as soon as Alf Big Brother wakes."
"I see."
Solana answered smoothly, to Alf who had until now been Alfred. In Solana's mind, that one is the Alf she has always known, so naturally that is how it should be. Alf was in the capital as Alfred until just a little while ago, but the way he confidently acted as though he had ridden hard from Grenore was impressive, to say the least. He plays me quite convincingly.
"Request an audience with Father. Alf has come from Grenore with urgent business."
"An invitation to breakfast has already arrived."
As she spoke, the steward held out a silver tray upon which rested a white envelope. Even without bothering to open the seal, I understood the matter. As the steward said, it would be an invitation to this morning's meal.
...While I was sleeping in, Alf must have had the steward send word ahead.
Terribly efficient. As Alfred, he does shout about his love for Alf to an excessive degree, but in all other respects, he is a very reliable milk brother.
Since it was a report concerning Christina, it seemed they had managed to have breakfast time cleared, rather than lunch or squeezing into an audience slot. I follow the lady's maid who leads the way to the dining hall in the king's castle, and once before the doors, I take a single deep breath.
"...It's a bother meeting Father without Christina present."
When I inadvertently let slip such honest feelings, Alf gave a faint wry smile. Because Christina might be frightened, I had told Christoph to restrain himself in her presence. Whether due to that effort, Christoph had interacted with Christina without asserting himself too much, but standing before Christoph without Christina as the strongest shield is terrifying beyond words. My father Christoph loves his country and people, and on the other hand has a reputation for being cold toward his family, but this is not a very accurate assessment. In terms of priority, he loves his country and people, but family is also part of the people. Naturally, he loves his family too, and that love pours out upon his three wives, fifteen children, and even the grandchildren who are still increasing, without ever knowing calm. There is no way that such a Christoph, faced with a son who has returned after nearly twenty years, would keep his restraint in check. A breakfast setting means not a king-prince audience, but simply a father-son meeting.
"How about accompanying him for about thirty seconds?"
"Ten seconds."
In the sense that I had hardly even sent letters, I may indeed have been unfilial, but all of that was due to Chadwick, whose removal was difficult. As long as I did not eliminate him, both Alf and I were in danger, so I had no choice but to keep my distance from my family and from Alf. Now that Chadwick has been eliminated, I will not hold back on contact as much as before, but that does not mean I want to be smothered by my father's attention.
"...Alright, open it."
I do not want to be smothered by Christoph's attention, but neither can I stand before the doors forever. I came riding hard to the capital with urgent business, so I simply need to fulfill that original purpose.
I watch the dining hall doors slowly open at the signal, and straighten my back.
Inside the dining hall were only Christoph, his three wives, Elvis, and Felicia. There were also lady's maids for service, but they were all elderly maids trusted by Christoph and the queens. I can understand Elvis, who often stays at his birth mother Gloriana's detached palace, being present, but Felicia usually leaves her own detached palace and lives in a residence in the noble district. There is no way she would come to the king's castle just for breakfast, so she must have caught wind that there was an urgent report and came specially this morning.
"It seems my arrival was the latest. My apologies."
"It is fine. You must have heard the details from Alf beforehand. More than that..."
He started to say "more than that, sit down quickly," but Christoph's voice stopped. He stared intently at my face, then abruptly rose from his seat.
"It has been since yesterday, my son."
"Since yesterday, Father."
As Alfred, I have always been in the capital, so I could hardly say "it has been a long time." I obediently settled into the arms of my father, who said "it has been since yesterday" and embraced me. A hug is nothing special. The only problem is that this being merely a hug lasts only a brief moment, and before long, an overcome Christoph will begin squeezing his son's body with all his might.
"A~lfre~d~!! My so~n!!"
Christoph, as if forgetting how old his son is, hugged me tight and rubbed his cheek against mine. I think a hug is a normal expression of affection, but at this age, I really do not want my father rubbing his cheek against mine. The faint nice scent of perfume is actually what makes it subtly worse.
Still, Alf did say that much, and I myself think I may have been a bit too unfilial, so I desperately count in my heart alone. Alf said at least thirty seconds, but this ordeal of being hugged with all the strength of a father well past fifty and having my cheek rubbed is something I can only endure for fifteen seconds. I held out longer than the ten seconds I said myself, so Alf should be satisfied.
"It is hard to breathe, Father. Please let go."
"Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!?"
I put strength into my five fingers, grabbed Christoph's face, and forcibly peeled him off. For a prince to do such a thing to the king might be disrespectful, but this is my father. Since he embraces me as a father, I too, as his son, refusing this 'gently' should be no problem.
"Evelina, the son you bore me is cold."
"And yet he endured a full fifteen seconds for you. Before, he would run away after three seconds, so it seems Alfred has learned filial piety."
To Evelina, who called for her husband to please sit down, Christoph complied with drooping shoulders. He still seems insufficiently satisfied with having his real son standing before him as a son.
"Then, I shall give my report in order."
This is not exactly the kind of story that makes a meal more delicious, but it cannot be helped. Since this is also an unscheduled audience, I reported what happened in the city of Grenore in a matter-of-fact manner.
"At the Harvest Festival in the city of Grenore, an incident occurred in which Christina was kidnapped. Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of her guards and the cooperation of the city's residents, Christina was rescued quickly, but because the culprit caused a carriage to run wild on the festival-crowded streets, there are many injured."
Christina was also injured, but her injuries themselves are light. Just some minor bruises and scraped knees. There was bleeding, but it stopped quickly, and I heard from Leonardo that proper treatment had been administered. In terms of Christina's injuries, there is no worry at all.
"The one who committed such a foolish act was caught, naturally?"
"Yes. The person called himself 'Second Prince Chadwick,' but..."
"There is no way a member of the royal family would send a carriage running wild onto a festival-crowded street. Chadwick... I see, Alfred did not know. That one died of a heart attack just the day before the Harvest Festival."
"Is that so. Then we shall dispose of the wretch who falsely called himself the Second Prince here."
Gloriana's eyes lowered softly. He was a foolish son, but he was still a son she bore. Having him declared officially dead must stir something in her. That said, this time we caught him in the act. We could no longer leave Chadwick at large, clinging to the possibility of a slight false accusation as we had before.
"However, I had not heard that Second Prince Chadwick had passed away. Might we be permitted to receive some memento items?"
"Yes, feel free to take out whatever you like. We will also need compensation for the city people who were injured. Let us sell the things that child used and put it toward solatium funds."
Permission to enter Chadwick's private quarters to collect evidence was granted by his birth mother. I had been thinking of selling the furnishings from his private rooms to cover the medical expenses of the residents injured in the carriage runaway incident, and this permission came from Gloriana as well. I want to return to the city of Grenore immediately, so I have no time, but if it is just collecting evidence, I can leave it to the Silver-White Knights.
"...Anselm said he was going to meet Prince Chadwick and Christina."
Joslynne, Anselm's birth mother, expressed concern about Anselm, who had been talked into going to Grenore by Chadwick. Chadwick, who was supposed to have gone with him, was now being stripped of his royal status as a criminal. It is only natural for her to worry about what happened to Anselm.
"As for Anselm, it seems he was found alone at an inn in the city of Grenore and taken into protection by the Black Knights. They say they would like to request several Silver-White Knights be sent to escort him, as they are uneasy about sending him back to the capital alone."
He is being treated as having acted separately from Chadwick. He is currently under Black Knight protection. While he could not be sent back immediately, if an escort comes, he can be returned without issue.
When I conveyed this, Joslynne's expression relaxed slightly. Joslynne has five children, but Anselm is her only male child. Incidentally, Anselm is Joslynne's youngest child. Whether as her first son or as her youngest, he must be a special worry.
"Enough talk of the fool and Anselm. You would not have come using relay horses just to report that Christina scraped her knees."
Christoph asked what else happened, and I set my cutlery down on the plate. The main subject is not about Chadwick, who has already been captured.
"Christina was taken from the Sedovara Church where she was left for treatment of her injuries."
Someone's sharp intake of breath echoed, oddly loud. King Christoph does not show agitation at a report of this level, but Felicia and Evelina, who have feelings for Christina, are different. Trying to suppress their agitation, they set their cutlery down on their plates, missing the mark slightly and making a clinking sound.
"The guard Aaron and the guard dog were incapacitated by poison and could not move, and while we are still confirming, Christina's nurse maid was found as a burned corpse. The bodies of three men presumed to be the perpetrators were also found at the same location."
The bodies of the warehouse manager and the warehouse keeper, who may have witnessed something about the fire at the pier, have also been found. But Christina's whereabouts remain unknown. I finished reporting what needed to be reported, that reinforcement of border inspections has already been communicated, and let out a light breath. What comes next is something I would prefer not to wish for, but I cannot afford not to wish for it.
"Could you entrust to me, the Third Prince, all matters requiring the king's judgment regarding Christina's kidnapping?"
Christina's kidnapping is also a battle against time. Originally, there was no time to come back to the capital. The decisive moment is before she can be taken out of the country. As long as she is within the country, with the king's permission, I can move freely however I need.
Conversely, if she is taken out of the country, recovering Christina will instantly become difficult. Once outside the country, my status as 'Prince of the Kingdom of Ivizia' and Leonardo's title of 'Commander of the Knights who holds the Fortress' would become shackles. If, by any chance, Leonardo and I are to go out of the country to retrieve Christina, I would begrudge the time spent asking the capital whether such action is permissible. If that is the case, I would rather take on all responsibility from the start and borrow the king's authority.
"...You want to borrow all of the king's judgments, do you. If you are going to make such a grand claim, you must be prepared, I take it."
"Yes. I will be sorry to my elder sister Felicia, but I have no intention of exercising borrowed royal authority and then escaping from the responsibility that comes with it."
If I am to request authority second only to the king, then I bear the responsibility that accompanies it. The responsibility of succeeding the king.
"Felicia, is that acceptable?"
"I have no objection. To become queen, I would need a suitable partner, but I have not been able to find a man with the mettle to become the king's consort."
If her younger brother has the will to take the throne, that is better, Felicia said with a brilliant smile. If she does not need to sit on the throne, she will find a compatible husband, bear children, and raise the next generation of Royal Peerage, she said. The qualities required of a king's husband and a princess's husband are different. With the high standards of qualities she sought in a partner, her husband search had been difficult, but from now on she will decide by looking at her own heart, apparently.
"Then, if Alfred is to be made the next king, it is time you settled down. The ceremony can be in one year. Go and be rejected by your fiance, who has been kept waiting so long, with a 'I never heard anything about becoming the next king!!'"
"I will not be rejected."
Do not say such ill-omened things, I glared at my father. My fathers, who have built good relationships with their three wives and still get along like newlyweds even now, are annoying at times but also a little enviable. When I someday take a wife, I would like to build a harmonious family like my fathers.
"...I grant you authority second only to the king. Use it to your heart's content, and be sure to bring Christina back."
"I humbly accept your command."
Running out of time, so it seems the next king of this country will be Alfred-sama. One more chapter or so from Alfred's perspective.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date.