The conversation shifted back to the flute, and after thinking for a moment, the crown prince spoke up.
“But even if Grand Duke Camelon manages to get rid of Slanford, that doesn’t mean Nir will fall into his hands.”
If Harty, who had no children, died, everything from Slanford would automatically go to his uncle, Duke Scandars, who was also aligned with the crown prince. Even if Grand Duke Camelon somehow managed to kill Harty, he wouldn’t gain anything from it.
“Ah, that,” the vice-captain nodded, as if he understood.
“There have been reports about a child near the warehouse who looks like Harty Slanford.”
“Did Slanford have a secret child?”
Even though the report only mentioned that the child resembled Harty, the crown prince instantly assumed it must be an illegitimate child.
Harty Slanford, of all people, would definitely have at least one secret kid, the crown prince thought. It wasn’t surprising.
“The kid claimed to be Harty Junior. But apparently, he’s not really his.”
The child said that one day, some well-dressed men came to his house, gave his parents some money, and took him away.
“They probably planned to pass him off as a fake illegitimate child, since he had similar hair and eye color.”
The vice-captain shrugged as he explained, and the crown prince couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
A fake illegitimate child?
It sounded ridiculous, but he had to admit, it was a smart move.
Everyone, including the crown prince, knew about Harty’s scandalous lifestyle. Even now, people wouldn’t be surprised if a hidden child popped up. No one would doubt it was his.
“But to become the legitimate heir, the child would need the priest’s approval. And if he’s a fake…”
How could a fake child get that kind of recognition? The crown prince was about to say more but then stopped mid-thought.
“There’s probably someone in the temple helping them.”
There must be a priest willing to give false testimony. And with something as serious as succession, it had to be someone in a high position, not just any priest.
“We’ve only been looking into the priests who got kicked out of the temple after the evil spirit incident, but maybe we need to check out the ones still inside too.”
“Grand Duke Camelon has his hands in everything. It’s exhausting.”
He let out a long breath, his smile barely there. It felt like everyone he trusted was turning against him, trying to take him down. The thought alone made him feel sick.
The only good news was that they had tracked down the flute. But even that was still basically in the Grand Duke’s hands.
How in the world were they supposed to take it from him?
The crown prince’s worry deepened.
“Now that I think about it, something doesn’t really make sense.”
“What do you mean?”
“Moving the flute to Vizhreng makes sense. They didn’t want us to find it.”
Sig nodded in agreement.
“But if they moved it through the southern route to Vizhreng, why would they absolutely need to control Nir?”
Taking over Nir had its advantages, sure. They could control the trade routes and get all the resources that came with it.
But going as far as preparing a fake illegitimate child for that? Even if they had a priest on their side to lie for them, if the truth came out, both the priest and Grand Duke Camelon would lose all credibility.
“In the teachings of the goddess, lying under oath is a serious crime. If they get caught, they’ll have to atone with death to be forgiven.”
“If they get caught, yeah.”
“Did they really think they wouldn’t?”
How? Even if just one high-ranking priest started asking questions, it would blow up into a huge problem. Could they all really be in on it?
“Has Grand Duke Camelon completely taken over the temple?”
The crown prince’s face darkened.
“There are six high-ranking priests, not counting the high priest. If he managed to get three of them on his side, he could push things through easily. And even if he had to pay off all six, it’d still cost less than what Robley’s been charging for transport fees.”
The vice-captain clenched his jaw, remembering how Robley had demanded ridiculous amounts for grain transportation, using the excuse that bandits were everywhere.
“Brian Radars said it himself. Doesn’t everyone know by now that Robley has a nasty temper?”
The deputy mimicked Brian’s exasperated tone.
“And we weren’t the only ones he hit with those crazy fees.”
“So he pulled that on others too?”
“With the bribe money added in, the total cost must’ve been enormous.”
The vice-captain clicked his tongue, wondering where Robley was planning to stash all that money.
“With the flute payments and transportation costs… I’m starting to wonder where Grand Duke Camelon is getting all this cash.”
Rumor had it that Camelon had missed a bunch of payments for the flute, which is why Devon had stopped doing business with him. But this time, Camelon had paid upfront, so Devon agreed to the deal.
“Maybe he’s collecting from the families that support him.”
“Vizhreng.”
Sig looked up from the white cloth he was sewing.
“The money probably came from Vizhreng. That’s why the flute is being kept there too.”
The vice-captain nodded, agreeing with Sig’s theory.
“If he owes them money, then getting his hands on Nir and Slanford’s wealth becomes even more crucial for him.”
“He needs to pay off his debt to Vizhreng. Makes perfect sense.”
“That’s exactly it.”
Brian had only joined Grand Duke Camelon’s side because he was promised that Harty wouldn’t be harmed. But why was Camelon still holding onto that fake illegitimate child?
Camelon needed more cash, even if it meant betraying Brian.
“There’s something else, Your Highness.”
The vice-captain lowered his voice, as if what he was about to say was especially important.
“Apparently, after paying for the flute, Camelon borrowed some of that money back from Devon.”
“…So even after taking out a loan from Vizhreng, he’s still short on funds.”
The crown prince let out a brief laugh but quickly went serious again. Despite Camelon’s money troubles, it seemed like the entire world was on his side.
“The east, the south, Vizhreng, and now even the temple. Grand Duke Camelon has so many allies. And who do I have?”
It felt like everyone around him was betraying him.
Realizing he had no room to mock Camelon, the crown prince felt a deep pit in his stomach.
“But Your Highness, you’ve got loyal allies too.”
The vice-captain brought up a name.
“There’s Duke Scandars, the ambitious one who’s all about making Your Highness the emperor. And then there’s Count Slanford, the rightful heir to Nir, who Grand Duke Camelon would kill to get his hands on.”
“And let’s not forget the stalker, who’s head over heels for the marquis and will do anything, plus seems to know quite a lot.”
The vice-captain muttered this with a sly smile.
“On top of that, Your Highness’s strongest ally is right here.”
Sig, who had been focused on his sewing, noticed the shift in attention and looked up.
“If my brother wishes it, I’ll bring back anyone’s head.”
Sig, holding his tiny needle, made the vow with determination. The vice-captain found the sight pretty amusing.
“If it’s you, Duke, I bet you could kill someone with just that little needle. Very reassuring. But our duke here also has an even stronger ally.”
The crown prince smirked, watching the deputy place his hand over his chest. He fully expected the next words to be about himself.
“Lady Britia.”
But the vice-captain surprised him by mentioning someone else.
“If it weren’t for Miss Britia, we would’ve been completely at the mercy of Grand Duke Camelon and Vizhreng.”
And that’s not all. Thanks to her, the frosty relationship between the emperor and empress had started to thaw for the first time in thirty years.
“Our alliance is stronger than it looks. The duke and Lady Britia wouldn’t betray Your Highness, no matter what.”
Compared to that, what did Grand Duke Camelon have? His allies were only with him out of convenience, making it easy for them to turn on him when the time came.
“With just a bit of pressure, we could tear apart Grand Duke Camelon’s alliances pretty quickly.”
The vice-captain started tapping his fingers on the table, thinking over any useful information he might’ve picked up.
Robley had already had a falling-out with the Grand Duke over those ridiculous transportation fees, so he seemed like an easy target. Did Robley have any weak spots? The deputy felt like he’d heard something recently.
His tapping suddenly stopped.
“Ah, right. Apparently, Duke Robley is getting divorced.”
“Robley?”
Sig, caught off guard by the news, turned to the deputy.
“The temple’s already given the go-ahead, and now they’re just waiting for the emperor’s approval to make it official.”
“The temple doesn’t usually approve divorces so easily.”
“For them to do that, something serious must’ve happened.”
Maybe they could rattle Robley by using the divorce. The vice-captain rubbed his hands together, thinking hard.
****
Around the same time, Duchess Robley sat in the palace reception room, nervously sweating as she waited for Britia to arrive.
By the time her lips had gone completely dry, Britia finally walked in.
“It’s been a while, Duchess.”
Britia looked at the unexpected visitor with a mix of emotions. She realized she wasn’t actually grateful to see her. In fact, she resented her.
There were so many things Britia wanted to ask, so many things she wanted answers to, but the words wouldn’t come out. The duchess had changed so much in the time they’d been apart. She looked frail, her hair hung limply, and she was trembling like a brittle twig in the wind.
The poised and elegant woman Britia once knew was gone.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet me on such short notice.”
Her voice was small, weak, and completely drained of energy.
“Britia, I owe you an apology.”
“…Is this about how you interfered with my marriage all those times?”
Duchess Robley flinched, clearly not expecting Britia to bring that up first.
“Oh, that… Britia, I was thinking about my family back then. But please believe me, it wasn’t because I didn’t like you. Actually, it was the opposite.”
The duchess rushed to explain, her dry lips moving rapidly.
“A good wife can change a man for the better. I thought if it were you, you could help him mature. I never imagined he would ever hurt you…”
Britia just stared at her silently.
“I know you might not believe me, but I wanted to apologize as his guardian.”
“But when I came to see you, you wouldn’t meet with me.”
“At the time… things weren’t good for me. I wasn’t in a position to see you.”
Duchess Robley closed her eyes tightly.
“I’m sorry. But that’s not the reason I came to apologize today.”
She let out a long, slow breath.
“I’m here to tell you about something that no decent person could have done, something only a truly wicked person would be capable of.”
At the mention of a “wicked person,” Britia blinked slowly. Was she talking about Duke Robley?
“It’s about something that happened ten years ago.”
It must be about that unfair contract that had put her estate in jeopardy, Britia thought bitterly, waiting to hear more.
“Ten years ago, a traveler came to our castle. He said the seeds he had were from a special type of wheat that only grew in his homeland.”
Britia hadn’t expected the story to start this way, and suddenly, she felt a cold chill run down her spine. Something about this didn’t feel right.
