I thought we would be pressed for time, but thanks to everyone moving as I planned, the bomb to be detonated in Aletheia was quickly prepared.
Other things are almost ready.
Now that I have some free time, I decided to organize my father's office in the capital city's Duke's residence, which I had been putting off because I was busy.
I left organizing the bookshelf to the servants and took charge of organizing my father's desk.
Although I have lived the same life four times, this was the first time I was cleaning out the office in the capital's Duke's residence.
In my first life, Chernosser threw everything away before I had time to sort it out.
In my second and third lives, I was unable to organize affairs because I was too busy keeping an eye on the Emperor's mood and rarely came to the capital.
When I opened the first drawer of the desk, I saw a fountain pen, ink, notebook, and other items that my father used often when he was alive.
I took out my father's stained fountain pen and scribbled on some paper.
But the ink was dry, so nothing was written.
The nib was so crushed that it seemed like it wouldn't be usable even if I filled it with ink.
“I wonder if it can be fixed.”
If it had been an ordinary fountain pen, I would have thrown it away right away, but since it contained memories of my father, I didn't want to throw it away.
I guess I'll have to take it to a repairman later.
I put my fountain pen aside and this time I took out my father's notebook and opened it up.
The schedule my father had followed up until just before he left to subdue monsters was written down in great detail.
I wanted to slowly reminisce about my father's footsteps, but for now, organizing things took priority.
I put the items in the first and second drawers into a box and opened the third drawer, but it just rattled and wouldn't open.
“There’s no lock or anything.”
As I was looking around, wondering if there was a hidden keyhole, I discovered a small magic circle drawn under the drawer handle.
The drawer was locked with magic, not a padlock.
That means there's something important inside.
While I was wondering how to open this, I remembered that Perdes was studying magic circles and called him.
“You called me?”
“Look at this, Perdes.”
After a while, when Perdes arrived, I showed him the magic circle drawn in the drawer.
“Do you know what this is?”
“Yeah. It’s Stereos.”
It seems that the name of this magic circle is Stereos.
“Is this why you called me because the drawer is locked and won’t open?”
“Yes. Can you possibly dispel this magic circle?”
“Well, well.”
Perdes examined the magic circle carefully and then scratched his head.
“It may not be easy, but I’ll give it a try. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll ask the teacher.”
Second Friday in March, 1:00 p.m.
The regular meeting of the noble council, Aletheia, was held in the conference room of the outer palace.
“Come in.”
“It’s been a long time, Your Excellency the Marquis MacMillan.”
From 12:30, the nobles belonging to the noble council gathered one after another in the conference room.
By the time one o'clock approached, all the seats except those furthest from the door had been taken by the nobles.
The empty seat belonged to Duke Leopold.
In principle, as soon as a vacancy arose, Aletheia had to be opened to accept new members.
However, the Duke Leopolds are a senior family in the nobility, and since one of the Princes is about to receive the title of Duke Leopold, they unusually leave the position vacant.
To the right of the empty seats sat the pro-imperial nobles, to the left sat the anti-imperial nobles, and on the opposite side sat the neutral nobles.
At exactly one o'clock, the Marquis Macmillan, who was serving as the moderator this time, stood up, looked around the audience, and said:
“Now that everyone is seated, we will begin the first Aletheia of the year.”
The heavy agenda was discussed from the beginning, ending with a light applause.
The question was, who bribed the imperial knight to kill Chernosser?
It's been two months since Chernosser was murdered, but the body hasn't been found and no one has figured out who's behind it, so everyone is having a heated discussion.
While everyone was expressing their opinions, Count Eman, an anti-imperial noble and a knight of the temple, smiled and said.
“I heard that the Imperial Knight is a member of the Anatome, His Majesty the Emperor’s secret bodyguard... Is that true?”
“Of course not!”
The Count of Smithon, a pro-imperial noble, shouted in anger.
“His Highness the Second Prince is His Majesty the Emperor’s biological son! But His Majesty the Emperor would never have given the order to kill His Highness the Second Prince!”
“Who said what? I just asked if the escort was from Anatome, I don’t know why you’re so upset.”
Count Eman shrugged his shoulders and replied jokingly.
“There’s a saying for this situation: A thief’s own feet are numb.”
“Haha, that’s a famous quote.”
“That’s right.”
“...”
The anti-imperial nobles laughed as if they had heard a very funny joke, but the faces of the Emperor nobles gradually rotted away.
While the two factions were in a tense standoff, the neutral nobles sat indifferently.
“Haam.”
Among them, when the Duke of Lucien yawned so loudly that his mouth was torn, all the nobles in the conference room looked at him.
Despite the pouring gazes, Duke Lucien paid no attention and wiped the tears from his eyes with a handkerchief.
Even the handkerchief had a black and white checkered pattern that perfectly reflected his taste.
One of the anti-imperial nobles licked his lips and spoke in discontent.
“His Excellency the Duke of Lucien seems to be quite bored with this meeting.”
“It’s boring.”
Normally, he would make excuses like, “I was just too tired,” but Duke Lucien answered honestly.
At this, the neutral nobles secretly sighed and shook their heads as if it were the beginning again, while the other nobles' faces hardened.
The atmosphere in the conference room became even worse than when the two factions were at odds, but Duke Lucien paid no attention and continued speaking.
“If you want to find out who was behind the plot to kill His Highness the Second Prince, why don’t you go out and find out for yourself instead of doing it here? I think it’ll be faster than just talking about it.”
“We’re not doing this because we don’t want to. We need to gather evidence to find the culprit, so we’re discussing it.”
“It’s evidence.”
The Duke of Lucien tilted his head and lifted the papers before him.
“I think we’ve collected enough evidence to this point, but I don’t know what else you’re looking for here.”
“Based on that evidence, let’s discuss...”
“It’s not that I can’t read, so is there really any need to discuss it?”
“Ahem.”
The nobleman, who realized too late that he could not defeat the Duke of Lucien through verbal arguments, kept his mouth shut, but his attacks did not stop.
“It’s not a very frequent meeting, it’s a regular meeting held once every three months, and it’s so boring because we just keep repeating the same thing. Next time this kind of agenda comes up, I’ll take a short nap and come back, so please call me when you’re done.”
“But it is His Highness the Second Prince’s problem...”
As the other nobles came to the noble's defense, the Duke of Lucien's arrow struck him right in the eye.
“That’s why I’m saying this. These are things that should be troubling the minds of the Knights of the Palace or the investigators of the court, not our nobles. Why should we be troubling ourselves about them?”
"That..."
“Oh, are you all free and have nothing to do? Then, should I give you some work to do?”
The nobles who saw the momentary flash of madness in the eyes of the Duke of Lucien were all shocked and said no, saying that they should move on to the next agenda.
As they were dealing with the agenda items that had come up one by one, they heard a knock on the door.
“Lady Adele Leopold has arrived.”
“Leopold Young Lady?”
“What's going on?”
While everyone was looking puzzled, Duke Lucien's eyes sparkled as if he were expecting an interesting spectacle.
The Marquis of Prasis covered his face with both hands, with an expression that said it had finally come.
“If she has come to Alethia, it means that she has something to suggest. According to the rules of the noble council, I will bring in the young lady.”
The Duke of Lucien was a thoroughgoing bystander, except when doing what he liked.
However, as the Duke of Lucien took the initiative, question marks arose over the heads of the other nobles, except for the Marquis of Prasis.
Some nobles speculated that Adele Leopold's sudden visit had something to do with the Duke of Lucien.
A moment later, Adele entered, drawing everyone's attention. She was wearing a knight's uniform, not the dress that young ladies usually wear.
“Adele of the House of Leopold sends greetings to the nobles, the pillars of the Empire.”
“What brings you here, Young Lady Adele Leopold?”
When the Marquis of Macmillan asked, Adele smiled.
“I came here because I have something to suggest to the nobles.”
“If that’s the case, it would have been better to bring up the agenda in advance.”
“I thought about that too, but since it is an important matter, I thought it would be better to come and tell the nobles in person, so I came here.”
“So what’s the agenda?”
“It is about Duke Leopold.”
The nobles nodded as if they finally understood and continued talking.
“Now that I think about it, His Highness the Fourth Prince has become an adult, so it is time for him to inherit the ducal title.”
“But I understand that he has not yet married Lady Leopold, so his name is not registered in the Duke’s family register.”
“Even if the wedding is a bit late due to His Highness the Second Prince’s business, I don’t think there will be a big problem since the marriage vows can be written even now.”
“You must have written the marriage vows, Young Lady?”
“No, we didn’t write anything like a marriage vows.”
“Yes? Then how can you give the title of Duke to His Highness the 4th Prince?”
“You don’t have to worry about that at all. I’m the one who will become Duke Leopold.”
“...!”
The room became quiet as if cold water had been poured on the relatively calm words.
Everyone except the Duke of Lucien and the Marquis of Prasis is looking at Adele.
She held her head straight, put her hand on her chest, and spoke forcefully, one letter at a time.
“I, the only blood relative and daughter of the Duke Leopold family, not His Highness Prince Perdes, wish to become Duke Leopold.”
Other things are almost ready.
Now that I have some free time, I decided to organize my father's office in the capital city's Duke's residence, which I had been putting off because I was busy.
I left organizing the bookshelf to the servants and took charge of organizing my father's desk.
Although I have lived the same life four times, this was the first time I was cleaning out the office in the capital's Duke's residence.
In my first life, Chernosser threw everything away before I had time to sort it out.
In my second and third lives, I was unable to organize affairs because I was too busy keeping an eye on the Emperor's mood and rarely came to the capital.
When I opened the first drawer of the desk, I saw a fountain pen, ink, notebook, and other items that my father used often when he was alive.
I took out my father's stained fountain pen and scribbled on some paper.
But the ink was dry, so nothing was written.
The nib was so crushed that it seemed like it wouldn't be usable even if I filled it with ink.
“I wonder if it can be fixed.”
If it had been an ordinary fountain pen, I would have thrown it away right away, but since it contained memories of my father, I didn't want to throw it away.
I guess I'll have to take it to a repairman later.
I put my fountain pen aside and this time I took out my father's notebook and opened it up.
The schedule my father had followed up until just before he left to subdue monsters was written down in great detail.
I wanted to slowly reminisce about my father's footsteps, but for now, organizing things took priority.
I put the items in the first and second drawers into a box and opened the third drawer, but it just rattled and wouldn't open.
“There’s no lock or anything.”
As I was looking around, wondering if there was a hidden keyhole, I discovered a small magic circle drawn under the drawer handle.
The drawer was locked with magic, not a padlock.
That means there's something important inside.
While I was wondering how to open this, I remembered that Perdes was studying magic circles and called him.
“You called me?”
“Look at this, Perdes.”
After a while, when Perdes arrived, I showed him the magic circle drawn in the drawer.
“Do you know what this is?”
“Yeah. It’s Stereos.”
It seems that the name of this magic circle is Stereos.
“Is this why you called me because the drawer is locked and won’t open?”
“Yes. Can you possibly dispel this magic circle?”
“Well, well.”
Perdes examined the magic circle carefully and then scratched his head.
“It may not be easy, but I’ll give it a try. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll ask the teacher.”
***
Second Friday in March, 1:00 p.m.
The regular meeting of the noble council, Aletheia, was held in the conference room of the outer palace.
“Come in.”
“It’s been a long time, Your Excellency the Marquis MacMillan.”
From 12:30, the nobles belonging to the noble council gathered one after another in the conference room.
By the time one o'clock approached, all the seats except those furthest from the door had been taken by the nobles.
The empty seat belonged to Duke Leopold.
In principle, as soon as a vacancy arose, Aletheia had to be opened to accept new members.
However, the Duke Leopolds are a senior family in the nobility, and since one of the Princes is about to receive the title of Duke Leopold, they unusually leave the position vacant.
To the right of the empty seats sat the pro-imperial nobles, to the left sat the anti-imperial nobles, and on the opposite side sat the neutral nobles.
At exactly one o'clock, the Marquis Macmillan, who was serving as the moderator this time, stood up, looked around the audience, and said:
“Now that everyone is seated, we will begin the first Aletheia of the year.”
The heavy agenda was discussed from the beginning, ending with a light applause.
The question was, who bribed the imperial knight to kill Chernosser?
It's been two months since Chernosser was murdered, but the body hasn't been found and no one has figured out who's behind it, so everyone is having a heated discussion.
While everyone was expressing their opinions, Count Eman, an anti-imperial noble and a knight of the temple, smiled and said.
“I heard that the Imperial Knight is a member of the Anatome, His Majesty the Emperor’s secret bodyguard... Is that true?”
“Of course not!”
The Count of Smithon, a pro-imperial noble, shouted in anger.
“His Highness the Second Prince is His Majesty the Emperor’s biological son! But His Majesty the Emperor would never have given the order to kill His Highness the Second Prince!”
“Who said what? I just asked if the escort was from Anatome, I don’t know why you’re so upset.”
Count Eman shrugged his shoulders and replied jokingly.
“There’s a saying for this situation: A thief’s own feet are numb.”
“Haha, that’s a famous quote.”
“That’s right.”
“...”
The anti-imperial nobles laughed as if they had heard a very funny joke, but the faces of the Emperor nobles gradually rotted away.
While the two factions were in a tense standoff, the neutral nobles sat indifferently.
“Haam.”
Among them, when the Duke of Lucien yawned so loudly that his mouth was torn, all the nobles in the conference room looked at him.
Despite the pouring gazes, Duke Lucien paid no attention and wiped the tears from his eyes with a handkerchief.
Even the handkerchief had a black and white checkered pattern that perfectly reflected his taste.
One of the anti-imperial nobles licked his lips and spoke in discontent.
“His Excellency the Duke of Lucien seems to be quite bored with this meeting.”
“It’s boring.”
Normally, he would make excuses like, “I was just too tired,” but Duke Lucien answered honestly.
At this, the neutral nobles secretly sighed and shook their heads as if it were the beginning again, while the other nobles' faces hardened.
The atmosphere in the conference room became even worse than when the two factions were at odds, but Duke Lucien paid no attention and continued speaking.
“If you want to find out who was behind the plot to kill His Highness the Second Prince, why don’t you go out and find out for yourself instead of doing it here? I think it’ll be faster than just talking about it.”
“We’re not doing this because we don’t want to. We need to gather evidence to find the culprit, so we’re discussing it.”
“It’s evidence.”
The Duke of Lucien tilted his head and lifted the papers before him.
“I think we’ve collected enough evidence to this point, but I don’t know what else you’re looking for here.”
“Based on that evidence, let’s discuss...”
“It’s not that I can’t read, so is there really any need to discuss it?”
“Ahem.”
The nobleman, who realized too late that he could not defeat the Duke of Lucien through verbal arguments, kept his mouth shut, but his attacks did not stop.
“It’s not a very frequent meeting, it’s a regular meeting held once every three months, and it’s so boring because we just keep repeating the same thing. Next time this kind of agenda comes up, I’ll take a short nap and come back, so please call me when you’re done.”
“But it is His Highness the Second Prince’s problem...”
As the other nobles came to the noble's defense, the Duke of Lucien's arrow struck him right in the eye.
“That’s why I’m saying this. These are things that should be troubling the minds of the Knights of the Palace or the investigators of the court, not our nobles. Why should we be troubling ourselves about them?”
"That..."
“Oh, are you all free and have nothing to do? Then, should I give you some work to do?”
The nobles who saw the momentary flash of madness in the eyes of the Duke of Lucien were all shocked and said no, saying that they should move on to the next agenda.
As they were dealing with the agenda items that had come up one by one, they heard a knock on the door.
“Lady Adele Leopold has arrived.”
“Leopold Young Lady?”
“What's going on?”
While everyone was looking puzzled, Duke Lucien's eyes sparkled as if he were expecting an interesting spectacle.
The Marquis of Prasis covered his face with both hands, with an expression that said it had finally come.
“If she has come to Alethia, it means that she has something to suggest. According to the rules of the noble council, I will bring in the young lady.”
The Duke of Lucien was a thoroughgoing bystander, except when doing what he liked.
However, as the Duke of Lucien took the initiative, question marks arose over the heads of the other nobles, except for the Marquis of Prasis.
Some nobles speculated that Adele Leopold's sudden visit had something to do with the Duke of Lucien.
A moment later, Adele entered, drawing everyone's attention. She was wearing a knight's uniform, not the dress that young ladies usually wear.
“Adele of the House of Leopold sends greetings to the nobles, the pillars of the Empire.”
“What brings you here, Young Lady Adele Leopold?”
When the Marquis of Macmillan asked, Adele smiled.
“I came here because I have something to suggest to the nobles.”
“If that’s the case, it would have been better to bring up the agenda in advance.”
“I thought about that too, but since it is an important matter, I thought it would be better to come and tell the nobles in person, so I came here.”
“So what’s the agenda?”
“It is about Duke Leopold.”
The nobles nodded as if they finally understood and continued talking.
“Now that I think about it, His Highness the Fourth Prince has become an adult, so it is time for him to inherit the ducal title.”
“But I understand that he has not yet married Lady Leopold, so his name is not registered in the Duke’s family register.”
“Even if the wedding is a bit late due to His Highness the Second Prince’s business, I don’t think there will be a big problem since the marriage vows can be written even now.”
“You must have written the marriage vows, Young Lady?”
“No, we didn’t write anything like a marriage vows.”
“Yes? Then how can you give the title of Duke to His Highness the 4th Prince?”
“You don’t have to worry about that at all. I’m the one who will become Duke Leopold.”
“...!”
The room became quiet as if cold water had been poured on the relatively calm words.
Everyone except the Duke of Lucien and the Marquis of Prasis is looking at Adele.
She held her head straight, put her hand on her chest, and spoke forcefully, one letter at a time.
“I, the only blood relative and daughter of the Duke Leopold family, not His Highness Prince Perdes, wish to become Duke Leopold.”
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