While I exchanged pleasantries with the Duke of the East, I stole a glance around the room.
I had heard that, among the remaining Privy Council ministers, the Foreign Minister was the one who had proposed to the Late King that he bring in the Northern Army to prevent the Duke of the East from taking control of the kingdom.
At the same time, he was also the one who had sent a letter to the East asking, ‘What will you do if the Northern Army intervenes?’
Besides the Foreign Minister, the others who had been playing both sides were the Minister of the Interior, the Archbishop, and the Chief Justice of the Royal Court of Justice.
As I spoke with the Duke of the East, I sorted things out.
These people could only be of use if the Duke of the East was brought under control to some degree.
“An important person has arrived, so I had no choice but to invite him. He will remain until the coronation, and we will seek his counsel in the Privy Council.”
“If the royal family’s greatest elder gives his blessing, what difficulty could the royal house possibly face? Hahaha.”
“It has been a long time, Archbishop.”
“However, Duke of the East.”
“Hmm?”
The Archbishop suddenly lowered his voice, his white eyebrows twitching.
“You must restrain any act that goes against the faith, so that the faithful of the Holy Spirit will revere you all the more. Take that to heart.”
The Archbishop gave unwelcome advice without a thought for the Duke of the East’s feelings, just as he did with me.
I liked him a little more for it.
“I have done nothing against the faith. What are you talking about?”
“I shall assume it is merely a rumor.”
It seemed the Archbishop knew something.
I had heard rumors that the Duke of the East kept a foreign witch close. Was that what this was about?
“It seems the kingdom will breathe a sigh of relief. Now that even the Duke of the East has come here, has the national consensus not been united?”
I had summoned the Duke of the East at dawn, but the Privy Council members had been awakened in the middle of the night.
That was how much I wanted to emphasize that he was an important figure.
With royal legitimacy and actual power divided, news that the Duke of the East had come to the royal citadel of his own accord would greatly influence the nobles’ opinions.
***
“What does this mean?”
“What do you mean, what does it mean? It means that even the Duke of the East does not oppose Her Majesty’s succession.”
“He is not someone who would allow himself to be brought in like that.”
The Privy Council ministers saw it.
They saw the Duke of the East enter the Privy Council chamber, crushed beneath the Lord Protector’s pressure.
He even looked cowed.
“The friendship between the two of them is well known. I even thought that perhaps the Late King intended to use the Grand Duke of the North as a bridge between them because of that.”
“Then will the two of them support the Queen together?”
“Power cannot be divided between two people. They will not join hands.”
“Could they have dueled with the Frost Sword, with one of them winning?”
The Director of the Royal Mint said something absurd, yet it was convincing enough that everyone accepted it.
In military terms, the Duke of the East currently possessed forces superior to those held by the royal citadel. Had he not once ranked above the Grand Duke of the North in the military hierarchy as well?
It was not easy for such a senior figure to appear as though he were humbly yielding to a rank-and-file soldier.
That meant something else must have happened. Since they could not know what it was, the Mint Director’s outlandish idea gained credibility.
“Though he was ranked last, strong knights like to decide their standing through martial prowess.”
“Unless the Grand Duke of the North had been hiding his strength.”
“All this time, while avoiding direct combat?!”
“What can we do? Even though we placed bets on both sides, it has simply become loyalty to the Queen. We must remain as we are.”
“The Grand Duke of the North is quite sensitive about the use of money, so do not do anything strange. Focus on your duties.”
“By the way.”
The Privy Council ministers turned their eyes toward an empty seat.
“If this is how things are, the Minister of Justice ought to flee farther away—abroad entirely, perhaps.......”
“Should we not catch that man and offer up his head even now?”
Only the fleeing Minister of Justice had become ridiculous.
***
After introducing the Privy Council to the Duke of the East, I went to pay my respects to Her Majesty once the sun had risen.
“My lady, there is someone I wish to bring with me when I offer Her Majesty my morning greeting.”
“Ah, yes, Grand Duke. However, Her Majesty has some difficulty getting up in the morning, so it may take a little time. Will that be all right? Yaaawn.”
Countess Dvari, one of Her Majesty’s closest secretaries, seemed weak in the morning herself. She yawned with eyes still somewhat puffy.
Her Majesty had been diligently studying, and the lights in the study did not go out at night. It seemed she had gone to bed late.
“I understand. Do not disturb Her Majesty’s peaceful sleep.”
“If the matter is urgent, Her Majesty will come out. What is it about?”
“It is nothing major. The Duke of the East has come, so would it be all right.......”
“Pardooon?!”
That startled me.
“My lady, shouting within the palace.......”
“No, if it is something like that, then we must wake her! Your Majesty! Your Majestyyyy!”
“Hey?”
Where had this woman sold off her ladylike dignity? She suddenly turned into a complete scatterbrain.
I hurriedly caught her, hushed her, and covered her mouth.
“Why are you doing this?”
“I understand why you are doing it, but Her Majesty’s protocol is far higher than the Duke of the East’s, and her authority is of greater importance. It is right to make him wait until Her Majesty coughs. Do not wake her.”
“But does that man not have to kiss the back of her hand and kneel so that our Her Majesty can properly act as Queen?”
“......Where did you hear about that?”
“If I did not know even that while serving in the palace, would I be fit to remain here?”
Even an ordinary commoner, to say nothing of a palace maid, would know it.
Countess Dvari was Her Majesty’s unofficial secretary.
Though she worked as Her Majesty’s nanny, it would be stranger if she did not understand the workings of power.
“In any case, I will wait until Her Majesty coughs.”
“I will wake her even if I have to pull her cheeks.”
“Please do not do that.”
I did not stop her too forcefully.
A monarch who was a late sleeper would not earn a particularly good reputation either.
“They say it will take a while.”
“I see.”
“To disturb Her Majesty’s peaceful sleep—you truly are an honored guest.”
“If I am not an honored guest, who is? Yaaawn.”
“Did I bring you here too early?”
“No. In any event, I cannot return to the East before the coronation. And if I say that I intend to return, you will put me in a political bind again. I might as well rest.”
“Look on the bright side. It means you are so necessary that he wants to see you again less than four hours after seeing you last.”
“I was needed for the stability of the court. There was nothing else I had to do. I did see them spreading hymns throughout the country, though.”
“Train while you can. Once you begin doing politics, you will have no time to swing a sword.”
“I would, if you granted me a royal villa.”
“Very well.”
I nodded.
That was not difficult, and as Her Majesty’s uncle, it was only natural that he had such a right.
The royal family’s summer and winter palaces were also palaces the royal family had used in their childhood.
“Which one may I use?”
“Use either the winter palace or the summer palace as you please.”
“The summer palace is outside the citadel. That one?”
“A winter palace will not make it harder for you to escape. And if you escape, you will be politically foolish. I hope you do not make such a foolish decision.”
“What if I say that the eastern unrest has worsened?”
“You could have simply not come on that pretext from the beginning. Since you came, unless you are merely playing a game, it must mean there is no major problem.”
If the King’s uncle, who had come under the pretext of attending the coronation, fled, it would be a windfall.
Every noble and subject in the Royal Domain would simply think, ‘He is not fit to be King.’
“Your Grace, I have a question, just in case.”
“Has my daughter started walking?”
This man?
He did seem a little different. Was it because he had become a father?
“Well, she must be at a very cute age.”
“That is right! Ah, um....... Was that improper?”
“Ah, no, no. It is all right.”
“I apologize.”
Rather than being rivals over the affairs of the kingdom, we had originally been the two generals the Late King trusted most: one of royal blood and one unrelated by blood, representing the royal family and the nobility.
The North and East were not far apart, so we had often conducted joint operations and built a friendship.
But after he had run off with the Lion Unit, he had greatly lost the Late King’s trust. I, too, had thought the act profoundly petty.
Whatever way one put it, failing to return the unit was open treason.
Still, until he became a traitor, we had more in common than differences, and we had not precisely severed our friendship even now.
“What was your question?”
“Is it possible that the Lion Unit does not even listen to you?”
That was the only reason the Duke of the East had to move so completely in accordance with the Regent’s royal government.
The Lion Unit was in a state where it did not even listen to the Duke of the East.
By my calculations, the East was likely a region with less than half the Royal Domain’s tax revenue, yet it maintained tens of thousands of troops.
Judging from the fact that he had kept the Lion Unit there for one year, it did not seem he lacked money immediately. But to maintain them longer, he would have to impose crushing taxes on an entirely different scale from the Royal Domain’s.
Raise taxes further in the East, where the rebellion included popular uprisings?
It would be madness—handing every subject over to the rebels.
But if he did nothing, the maintenance costs would become unbearable.
‘He could borrow from the commercial republic next door, but that would only go so far.’
Then the answer was simply to borrow money and hold out, but how long could he endure on debt?
His expression showed considerable agitation.
It appeared to be true.
Nobles and kings alike feared money.
I had also considered the possibility that some Royal Domain funds had flowed to the East through the Finance Minister’s people, but that was not yet certain.
“......I have a question as well.”
“What is it?”
Rather than answer, he changed the subject with another question. But I had already seen his sincerity in his expression, so I decided to answer him.
Then I would become the one who had answered honestly, while the other side would be the one who concealed things.
“Could it be that you see the future?”
“To receive such high praise from you. Thank you. It seems my guess was not wrong?”
It did not feel too bad to receive such lofty praise.
Some people asked that as a compliment, while others asked because they truly suspected it. Either way, I treated it as a compliment and brushed it off.
In the latter case, those who asked with genuine suspicion became awkward.
Like heretics who believed in dark magic.
“You are treating this as a joke.......”
As the Duke of the East tried to say more, Countess Dvari emerged.
Mentioning a joke, he seemed to have understood my intention.
Of course, there was no reason to confirm it for him.
I enjoyed letting him connect it to the nickname Dragon’s Eye and become confused.
I was a man who waged war and practiced politics.
I had never lost anything by making people think, ‘There must be something.’
“Grand Duke, Her Majesty has coughed and is waiting for you. Please enter.”
“Let us go.”
“That....... No. Let us.”
Her Majesty was waiting on the small throne in the audience chamber.
She wore a crown, and her hair was styled in the same twin buns I had tied for her before.
It was an odd thing to feel, but it made me happy for some reason.
Even so, perhaps worried that the large crown would fall, she waited with one hand resting on it.
If she sat cross-legged too, she would look like a Buddha. The thought made me smile.
“Your Majesty, I, Benevento, Grand Duke of Friuli and Administrator of the East, present my respects.”
“Ah, um. Yes, welcome.”
“It has been a long time.”
“I see. Hmm, I heard you were recently blessed with a daughter.”
“It is awkward to receive congratulations before the Late King’s funeral.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“The Late King’s passing is truly regrettable.”
“My father, the Late King, was your elder brother as well.”
“That is correct.”
“.......”
It was exceedingly awkward, and Her Majesty’s expression went completely stiff.
Her Majesty was wary of the Duke of the East.
It could not be otherwise.
The Duke of the East she knew was the uncle who had stolen the soldiers that were rightfully hers, then made a show of force that had left her no choice but to marry a one-eyed monster.
Even the Late King, who had trusted his younger brother to some extent, had come to deeply distrust him because of that show of force.
In the end, the royal citadel had found itself in a situation where the Grand Duke of the North, the Duke of the East, and other martial factions from the frontiers had effectively occupied it.
Thanks to my taking her side, Her Majesty was no different from a young girl who had fallen into the hands of warlord factions.
Nor could I say that the Late King, in his brief final command, had not considered such a concern.
Yet if she could make the Duke of the East loyal despite his prestige and power, Her Majesty would be fit to govern the kingdom through the art of employing people.
Enough of his weaknesses had been exposed.
That was when it happened.
“Ah!?”
“Y-Your Majesty?!”
Her Majesty was using her ultimate move.
The hip-hop crown.
At a meeting with the Duke of the East, it was right for her to wear it so that she could show she was the owner of the throne, but.......
“Ah, ah? Uh.”
Countess Dvari rushed over, startled, to straighten the crown. Her Majesty’s cheeks had turned red all the way to her ears, and she did not know what to do.
The Duke of the East was, strictly speaking, her uncle. If a niece acted like that, he would find it adorable.
But this was not a meeting between an uncle and his niece. It was an audience with the Queen by a frontier martial lord.
“Duke of the East, it appears that Her Majesty is not yet ready to receive visitors. Out of respect for Her Majesty and Countess Dvari, would you withdraw for a moment?”
“Ah, I shall.”
I took the Duke of the East outside for a moment, then went back in alone.
I could not let the Duke of the East see any more of Her Majesty’s embarrassment.
As a member of the royal family, the Duke of the East would have seen every private sight of the royal family that should and should not be seen. He also understood the etiquette required at a time like this and withdrew readily.
The King’s audience chamber was in chaos.
Countess Dvari’s scolding, especially, was laced with such wailing that it reminded me of mothers.
“Your Majesty! What kind of disgrace is this? This is why I kept telling you to arrange your hair.......”
“I, um. Ah, G-Grand Duke. Ah.......”
I kept silent as I looked at Her Majesty.
I was silent because I was thinking.
She seemed to be blaming herself, Countess Dvari was already scolding her, and I could not decide whether I should cover for her.
Or should I rebuke her for failing to show dignity as a monarch?
But it was not her fault that her head was small.
“I am sorry, Grand Duke. I still cannot manage this.”
But after watching my reaction, Her Majesty finally apologized when I remained silent.
At that moment, I gripped her shoulders.
“What monarch ever apologizes to a subject?”
“......!”
“Do not lower your head. Act as though it is nothing. Do not bow. Think like this: What does it matter if the likes of you find me laughable? That is the attitude you must have.”
For just a moment, Her Majesty had stiffened in surprise as I barked at her. Then she seemed to smile.
“I shall do so....... Grand Duke.”
And she did not behave as though she had lost all composure, as she had when the crown fell.