Chapter 4
“Baron Droysen, so when will the inheritance be settled?”
Kalias clenched his fists and barely held back. He knew his deceased brother had supported the Crown Prince. But he had no idea the Crown Prince was that kind of person.
“After all funeral procedures are completed and His Majesty the Emperor gives his approval, it will take at least a week.”
It might take even longer. A week was only a general estimate.
“Who do you think will become the guardian? There are no adults left in the Grand Duke Alexandros family.”
Unable to discern Henry’s intentions, Kalias remained silent.
If he himself did not become his nephew’s guardian, then who would?
“I know you are the strongest candidate. But think about it. Guardian and representative of a Grand Duke. Do you really think that position can be held by a mere baron?”
“…Nevertheless, I am the closest family member. The judgment will be made by His Majesty the Emperor.”
Henry’s eyebrow twitched.
There stood a lowly man who dared tell the Crown Prince that it was none of his business.
“You haven’t been back in the capital long, so you seem unaware of certain things…”
Henry shot Kalias a displeased glare.
“Have you forgotten whose doing it is that you were even allowed into the capital? Rolling around with lowly mercenaries has made you forget gratitude?”
The mercenaries bristled. But there were also those who agreed with Henry’s remarks.
The sudden accident had been shocking enough, but to have these barbaric, ignorant-looking mercenaries occupying seats—how appalling it had been.
The collateral nobles of the Alexandros line had already been displeased with Kalias. They could not allow the guardianship of one of the empire’s only five Grand Duchies to fall to a bastard son with only the title of baron.
“I hear the successor is even afraid of you. Who’s to say the young successor might not run away out of fear?”
Henry patted Kalias on the shoulder, pretending to be concerned.
“I’ll take my leave now. I hope the rest of the funeral goes well.”
Having shattered the atmosphere, Henry departed gracefully.
Kalias hadn’t even received such treatment on the battlefield. He let out a deep sigh.
“Captain, that’s the Crown Prince. When the big shots want to chew you out, they chew you out. Just shake it off.”
The unit commander tried to console Kalias in his own way.
“You’re right. Lift the emergency alert. Set up shifts and get some rest.”
“Understood. You should get some sleep too, Captain. No matter how good your stamina is, there’s no substitute for sleep.”
“Follow Mr. Natan’s advice, young master.”
The butler, Adam, added his support.
Even when Kalias was young, the butler had been quite old. Back then, his hair had been merely gray-streaked, but now it was as white as snow.
“And Michael?”
“He just fell asleep. Why don’t you rest beside the young master?”
With the butler himself urging him, Kalias left the funeral hall arrangements to him and entered the mansion.
Michael was fast asleep. He had complained of being tired since morning and had stayed cooped up in his room all day, so he must have been very exhausted.
He was the last remaining Alexandros. Kalias had to protect this child at all costs.
Kalias recalled what Robeleta had said.
‘I told you to stay away from Crown Prince Henry. There’s no harm in being careful.’
Leaving the Grand Duke Alexandros estate, Robeleta did not return directly to the Remington estate.
Instead, she headed to a small orphanage located on the outskirts of the capital.
The old, shabby orphanage was full of scruffy children. But their eyes were bright and alert. When Robeleta appeared, wearing a small hood, the children quietly followed her into the building.
Once inside, away from outside eyes, the children rushed to embrace Robeleta.
“Welcome back!”
“We missed you!”
The children chattered each in their own way. Robeleta responded to each one, patting their heads.
“Is the director inside?”
The children nodded in unison. They were happy just to be with Robeleta, but her asking for the director meant she was here on business.
The older children among them calmed the younger ones, and the eldest led the way to the director’s office.
“You’ve arrived, Lady Robeleta.”
The elderly director stood up as soon as she saw Robeleta.
“Please, sit down, Director Margaret. I have a quick request.”
“Oh? What is it?”
Margaret’s expression shifted. It had been five years since she first connected with Robeleta. Robeleta was a generous client.
“I attended the funeral of the Grand Duke and Duchess Alexandros today.”
“Oh, you’ve made a difficult trip.”
“There, I whispered some personal advice to Sir Kalias. Could you spread a rumor that based on that, Sir Kalias and I have a suspicious relationship?”
“Kalias would be the late Grand Duke Alexandros’s bastard son. A famous figure on the Western Front. Brilliant military achievements, excellent physical condition, and above all, extremely handsome.”
Margaret smiled contentedly. She was both an orphanage director and an information broker.
The orphanage children, upon reaching a certain age, did odd jobs and handled information as well.
“But that man prioritizes the Grand Ducal family above all else. Next would be the soldiers he saved on the battlefield. Furthermore, his reputation isn’t good because he failed to save the Grand Duke and Duchess this time. As a marriage prospect, he’s questionable. Why are you working on him?”
“Even worse Edward used to follow me around.”
“Hmm, at least he has a high status and a clean record with relationships, doesn’t he?”
“That’s all. And besides, I don’t need that anymore.”
Robeleta truly seemed to have not a shred of lingering attachment to Edward. Margaret thought it was for the best. Apart from his status, Edward wasn’t a very good person. And he had a fatal weakness.
The vicious Empress backing him.
“Take this first, and let’s continue.”
Robeleta placed a pouch on the desk and pushed it toward Margaret. Margaret beamed, opened the pouch, and then her mouth fell wide open.
“You’ve always been generous, but this is too much.”
Robeleta had always filled the pouch generously with gold coins. But even Margaret had never seen gold bars before.
“If it’s difficult to use, shall I introduce you to somewhere that can exchange them?”
“No, it’s not that. You’re very bold.”
Margaret tucked the pouch away and patted it.
“Let’s first discuss the scale and speed of the rumor’s spread.”
Having received an excessive payment, it was time to earn her keep.
A roar of fury erupted from Henry’s maternal family, the Grand Duke Neuberg’s residence.
“At this rate, everything will be ruined before we even pull off the main event!”
Despite issuing stern warnings, he was still dissatisfied. The sight of those arrogant mercenaries guarding the Grand Duke Alexandros estate like an iron fortress was also displeasing.
After all, the one who had allowed them to bring mercenaries to the capital in the first place was none other than Henry. Had it not been for Henry, Kalias wouldn’t even have been able to attempt to save his brother.
“He’s just a country bumpkin who was scraping by at the border, so he doesn’t know any better.”
Henry’s maternal grandfather, the Grand Duke of Neuberg, replied calmly. He was Henry’s staunch supporter and the blood relative Henry constantly visited and relied on.
“Still, don’t lose your composure too much, Henry. You are destined to be a wise king. Our plans haven’t been greatly affected, so there’s no need to be so anxious.”
As the Grand Duke Neuberg soothed him, Henry sat down on the sofa.
“The late Grand Duke Alexandros was just as incapable of understanding reason. The more I think about it, if we had caught Remington’s eldest daughter yesterday, things would have gone smoothly. If we had extracted a confession from that woman that she harmed the Grand Duke and Duchess Alexandros, it would have been a clean finish.”
“That’s true. The conclusion would have been neat.”
A smile appeared on the Grand Duke Neuberg’s face as he listened to his grandson’s schemes with satisfaction.
As Henry said, the best scenario would have been for Kalias, enraged by his brother’s death, to grab someone from the family suspected of being the culprit right at the funeral hall, wipe out the Remington family, and even implicate Edward in the process, sending him away as well.
The current Emperor advised Henry to ‘be patient as you are the Crown Prince,’ yet he indulged and spoiled the other imperial son, Edward.
“I don’t know how long Father intends to tell me to be patient. That Milderak bastard, who clings to the empire and doesn’t even know gratitude—what’s so special about him that Father dotes on him so much!”
Henry exploded in anger.
