kscans

Chapter 64 - Chapter 4. Faction Meeting

The members of Central Garden, having grilled Noel and Mia with questions, finally took their leave. Fulsy and Mia led the utterly exhausted Noel, whose grand role was now over, to a waiting room. Naturally, that left only people connected to the royal family, besides me.

After serving tea, the maids withdrew at a signal from the Grand Duchess. The butler stood guard near the entrance. This had all the makings of a Third Prince faction meeting.

I really wish they’d let me leave.

To be honest, even setting social status aside, this situation was extremely uncomfortable.

"And then Ricardo-kun said, ‘This is a prediction we made together, so you don’t have to bear the prophecy alone anymore.’"

"Ho, ho. So that’s his way of thinking."

Prince Craig listened to his sister-in-law’s words, resting his cheek on his hand propped on the table. After his sister-in-law had said, "I was completely useless today. It’s pathetic, even though I’m a Vinder shareholder," the prince had declared that he wanted to hear the story of how Alfina and I got together.

As a result, the princess was now endlessly recounting the tale of some anonymous hero, making me want to interrupt and ask just who this legendary hero was supposed to be.

"Now, now, that bit about ‘not having to bear it alone’ was something the head librarian added on her own. Those weren’t my words, you know."

I corrected her in a hurry. Alfina pouted. "But…" The Grand Duchess sighed.

"So that is how the prediction of the western Monster Flood came to be. That was very informative. Now then, what about the dragon?"

Well, there was nothing to hide about the procedure we used to analyze the prophecy.

"W-well, that…"

For some reason, Alfina’s face turned bright red.

"My, my. Come to think of it, when we were taking Ricardo on the subjugation mission, you were quite…"

The prince shot a glance in my direction.

"A-anyway. Ricardo-kun is not only my classmate, but as a shareholder in the Vinder Company and as a comrade who has helped avert the disasters foretold in the prophecy, we are close in many, many ways."

"Hoh, so in other words, you’re saying Ricardo is yours and I shouldn’t lay a hand on him."

"N-no, that’s not it. Ricardo-kun doesn’t belong to anyone, but I… that is, what I mean to say is that you mustn’t take Ricardo-kun to any dangerous places."

Alfina became flustered and incoherent. To be honest, I’ve had more than enough of battlefields. But…

"Grand Duchess. What did you intend to do, hiding someone like this? The dragon was a surprise, but this time, the scale of his influence on the kingdom is on another level entirely, is it not?" Craig said, sitting with his legs crossed. It wasn’t just battlefields that were dangerous.

"I haven’t a clue. Alfie just picked him up at the academy one day. The story you just heard might be a bit embellished, but it’s mostly true. By the way, I am also a Vinder shareholder, so I will not permit you to mess with him so easily."

"T-that’s right, and I was of no use at all. Mia was so incredible, wasn’t she."

Alfina was worried about being a single, concerned shareholder. I’d seen her during the meeting, trying to raise her hand several times, only to stop herself each time. Everyone has their strengths, and I think that not meddling in matters outside one’s expertise is an important quality for a person of high standing.

"I am also interested in this ‘shareholder’ business, but perhaps we should leave it there for now."

The prince managed to back down.

"Indeed. There are more pressing matters to consider than sounding out our allies. Thanks to the commotion you’ve stirred up, the royal court is in a troublesome state once again…"

"The Second Prince’s faction?" I asked, as someone who still didn’t consider himself part of the Third Prince’s faction.

"Since we have an opponent, it’s only natural for them to make a reckless move when we gain an advantage. If we can crush that move, ‘we’ will be in an even better position. If we can’t, they will turn the tables on us. That’s how it works," Craig explained.

"…I see."

When the unreasonable gets its way, reason has to back down. It’s a principle that holds true in any world. Of course, it’s possible for an opponent to self-destruct by repeating reckless moves, but in reality, you often get crushed before your opponent does.

The poor loser’s excuse of "They can’t keep up that kind of nonsense" is useless, even if it’s true. It means nothing if your opponent is eventually ruined if you yourself are ruined first. That’s why you have to call out your opponent’s recklessness whenever possible.

By the way, since the prince’s unreasonable demand that "you’re involved too" prevailed, my reasonable argument that "no, I’m not in the Third Prince’s faction" was forced to back down.

"Since I’ve secured more than half the knight orders, my second brother is desperate to win over the First Knight Order."

"Wasn’t the Second Prince from the civil administration side of things?"

"Putting aside the Second Prince’s qualities, the achievements from two monster subjugations cannot be undone with a pen."

"Even so, the First Knight Order is basically the Royal Guard, isn’t it? Would they really side with a specific member of the royal family?"

In ancient Rome, the Praetorian Guard, the military force stationed in the capital, had a history of swapping out emperors, so I couldn't say for sure, but they were supposed to be directly loyal to the king.

"The commander of the First Knight Order is Marquis Tenbelk, who rendered distinguished service in the last civil war. He seems to be voicing his discontent over that matter with the relief carving. Even without that, all the renown has been centered on Prince Craig lately," the Grand Duchess explained.

I see. From his perspective, it felt like his own accomplishments were being disparaged. What a pain.

"And that brings us to this matter. I have decided to go along with it, but if word gets to the First Knight Order in a strange way, it will earn their opposition. It’s no fun to deliberately push them over to the enemy’s side," Craig said.

"And if the matter of those carriages becomes public, Kurtheite is certain to be displeased as well. The later they learn of our intentions, the better," the Grand Duchess added. Both of them were operating on the assumption that the news would eventually get out. It was only natural.

"By the way, how does the Vinder Company intend to profit from this matter? As a shareholder, I have a right to know."

"Vinder intends to profit from usage fees for the dies. As long as the carriages are made in Bertold, I don’t mind who makes them, but that’s a conversation for after we’ve demonstrated the power of the bearings."

Even if it was a demonstration rather than a sale, the merchants who handled carriages were not going to be pleased.

"Naturally. That must be one of the reasons for making them in Bertold rather than the Royal Capital."

"But the pressure won’t be nonexistent, will it."

"Of course not. Craftsmen have their own world. For example, if I were to commission a new carriage, a merchant would come to take my order. I’ve never even seen a carriage craftsman."

"It’s the same with the Knight Order," Craig added.

The structure was that a merchant received an order from a client and then had a craftsman build the carriage. In itself, that was the role of a merchant mediating a transaction, but considering the difference in standing between merchants and craftsmen, the amount of profit being skimmed off was substantial.

From what I’d investigated, it was on the level of exploitation.

"So this place will also be to protect them. For now, it would be best to start this under the pretense of repairing one of the Grand Ducal House’s carriages. I would like to use one of the Grand Ducal House’s properties in Bertold as a workshop."

"I can clear out one of the warehouses. The problem is the people."

"Yes. Both making the bearings with the dies and installing them on the carriages will be done by existing craftsmen. It’s impossible to train them from scratch."

"Considering the future scale and influence of this enterprise, choosing the right people will be difficult," Craig mused.

"The best narrative would be ‘pitiable craftsmen forced to go along with the Grand Duchess’s whim.’ The minimum requirement is two people. a skilled blacksmith and a woodworker with experience repairing carriages."

"…I am the greatest beneficiary in this matter. As the lord of this domain, I can manage that much, so long as I save some face for my purveying merchants."

It seemed the Grand Duchess was willing to play the fool.

"In that case, once the Grand Ducal carriage is improved… repaired, would it be alright to have Your Highness see it first?"

"Yes. As I said earlier, strengthening our logistical capabilities is important. We will postpone our carriage maintenance schedules as much as possible," the prince said. With that, the path to starting our transportation revolution was set.

"If I might add one thing, it is not just from those within the kingdom that we must hide this."

"The Empire?"

"Yes. They seem to be desperately gathering information on us."

"…That, too, is to be expected."

From their reactions at the time, the Empire had not believed the kingdom capable of slaying a dragon. From the Empire’s perspective, this meant they had underestimated their neighboring country’s military strength. A matter of grave importance.

"Fortunately, no matter how much they investigate the Knight Order’s strength, they won’t reach the greatest secret behind how we slew the dragon. At best, they’ll find out about that high-altitude training."

"This is a bit late to ask, but what is the faction’s relationship with the Empire?"

"It’s not that we wish to damage our relations with the Empire, but if I am considered to be in the faction that is wary of the Empire, then my second brother and the prime minister would be in the pro-Empire faction."

It was somewhat natural for the military to be hawkish and the bureaucrats to be dovish. But that was conditional on it being for the sake of their own country’s security. Siding with a neighboring country beyond that was another matter entirely. And I knew I absolutely could not let my guard down around the Second Prince’s faction, which had tried to hand Alfina over to the Empire.

"We are struggling to gather intelligence on the Empire. The terrain is what it is, and if you stray even slightly from the roads, you’re in monster territory," the Grand Duchess said.

"In that case, it would be better to obtain information from adventurer-related sources." I guess we'll have to rely on Jacob and the others. That said, I couldn’t very well send them into the Empire. Then there was…

"Regarding the import of lumber, it seems it will be difficult to acquire what you desire. I will push a little harder, given the carriage matter."

I had also asked Kenwell, but I was looking for massive trees over a hundred years old from various regions. It was bound to take time.

"Hmm. I suppose that’s all for now. This is all giving me a headache."

"It’s always like this when he’s involved."

The prince and the Grand Duchess said whatever they pleased. I couldn’t accept how they completely ignored the fact that things only became this serious because the two of them were involved.

By rights, this stage shouldn't even have started for another ten years.

"Um…"

Alfina hesitantly raised her hand.

"The management of magic crystals is under the jurisdiction of the Royal Palace and Duke Grynisias, correct?"

"That is correct. Normally, the Knight Order holds only a minimum amount of magic crystals, and the necessary quantity is distributed for things like monster subjugations. It’s a form of control by the palace. Though, using magic crystals for domestic conflicts is far too inefficient anyway," Craig answered.

"We were able to use the spoils from the last subjugation this time, but if we are to continue using the alchemy molds, this is an issue we must clear," the Grand Duchess added.

Even as an apprentice, Noel was a member of the Magic Division. Legally, it was like having a public servant working a side job. And if we needed to make another die, our supply of magic gold would run out immediately.

"I think we need to speak with the Duke in some form or another," Alfina said.

"Indeed… We managed to get him on board for the prophecy, but this time it’s a matter where Kurtheite stands to lose. This will be difficult."

This was a matter that could change the very shape of the nation, or rather, it would change it. That meant everyone in the central government was a stakeholder. Give me a break. Speaking of the central government, there was one person who never seemed to appear.

"By the way, what is the Crown Prince doing?"

I voiced the question that had been on my mind for a long time. Now that I’d been railroaded into the Third Prince’s faction, I couldn’t afford to ignore it.

"Umm…" "Well…" "……"

The faces of the three relatives clouded over. Did I just step on a landmine?

"The Crown Prince has been in poor health for the past few years…" the Grand Duchess began.

"Yes. He used to perform his duties with great energy, but he gradually began to lack vigor. Now, he hardly appears in public except for major ceremonies. That is why my second brother began to make his various moves," Craig finished.

Another piece of information I hadn’t wanted to hear had been added to the pile. Depending on the situation, this could very well develop into a battle for the throne.