"Oh, no! I didn’t hear it! Oh, I didn’t hear anything!”
“It’s too late to back out.”
“Hic!”
Actually, even if you denied it from the beginning, I wouldn't have believed it.
Michael kept his mouth shut and was lost in thought. It seemed as if he was wondering what to do with Alben.
The sight was so frightening and gruesome that Alben almost lost his mind. But he couldn't do that.
'I haven't even been a prime minister yet, so I can't go to the secret palace!'
Why did this unfortunate thing happen to me?
There was no use in lamenting why such an unfortunate thing had happened to him. He immediately began racking his brain based on the information he had heard so far.
It seemed that Michaelis Agnito was a special being who had the power to control all the homunculus. It was said that his power surpassed that of the Emperor, which essentially meant that all the homunculus were freed from the imperial family.
It means that the room has been opened.
'Oh, my God.'
How long has the imperial family exploited and treated homunculi like slaves?
The grudge runs as deep as time. It was obvious that the homunculus would soon rebel.
'No! We cannot allow anything to interfere with His Majesty's great cause!'
"Then..."
“Sir Michaelis Agneto!”
A determined call cut off Michael's words. Immediately, Alben shouted.
“Oh, Your Majesty...!”
“Your Majesty?”
“Don’t you want to be a Prince, Sir Agneto?!”
Silence fell on the windbreak forest.
Snorlet, Sylvestian, and Elijah blinked, and Michael narrowed his eyes. Alben hurriedly added his explanation, sweat pouring down his face.
Alben's loyalty burned. At that moment, Michael had also finished thinking about what to do with Alben.
“Sir Michaelis Agneto!”
A determined call cut off Michael's words. Immediately, Alben shouted.
“Oh, Your Majesty...!”
“Your Majesty?”
“Don’t you want to be a Prince, Sir Agneto?!”
Silence fell on the windbreak forest.
Snorlet, Sylvestian, and Elijah blinked, and Michael narrowed his eyes. Alben hurriedly added his explanation, sweat pouring down his face.
“You know what I can do, right?! I can make Sir Agnito a Prince!”
At this moment, Alben's head was spinning strangely.
Michaelis Agnito is the strongest and most likely to rebel. Accommodating him would save Alben's life and protect Eve's cause.
The pilgrimage to the Holy Land, which offered Alben's soul, began.
“Now, think about it carefully! If you become the Emperor for no reason, you will likely suffer greatly. Wouldn’t it be much more comfortable to be the Emperor’s husband and stay by her side?! As for Her Highness, isn’t she a woman of outstanding ability, good character, and boundless energy? There is no better fate than being favored by her side and living a life of leisure!”
“Well, of course, if you’re the Homunculus King, the old-fashioned nobles will probably be a little irritated. But don’t worry! Don’t you have me, Baron Linus and future prime minister? I’ll help Sir Agnito with your palace life in both material and spiritual ways!”
“Oh, you’re worried about the harem intrigues because of polyandry? That’s no problem! I’ll just clean up the list so Sir Agnito doesn’t have to worry about anything!”
The last words seemed to have been said with his eyes closed and without any particular reason.
Michael, who had been listening expressionlessly until now, finally opened his mouth.
“Your maternal’ home?”
"Yes, yes!"
“Alben, you?”
“Yeeeees....!”
Michael tilted his head slightly to the side while staring at Alben. His face, overflowing with devilish charm, was completely unreadable. That’s why Alben had to swallow his dry saliva countless times.
For a long time, Michael didn’t respond. This was the first time in Alben’s life that he had ever been flattered like this, so his face turned pale.
'Ah, Your Majesty! I will go first. Ahahaha!'
That was when.
Crunch!
Night Ray went into his scabbard. Alben carefully opened his tightly shut eyes. In his field of vision, Michael was lowering his posture and extending his hand.
“Please take good care of me, brother.”
It was the most effective word to announce that a contract had been concluded.
"Ah..."
Alben's body swayed as if the tension had been released. Snorret quickly supported his shoulder to prevent him from hitting his nose on the dirt.
Snorret said as he examined Alben's condition.
“He fainted.”
Elijah chuckled.
“Your brother is a bit timid. But is it really okay not to kill him?”
“No way. He is the kind of person we definitely need to accomplish a great undertaking.”
Michael had no intention of killing Alben in the first place. He wasn't that cruel, and Alben was an indispensable loyal servant to Eve.
The only thing he was worried about was how to explain the truth. So he thought about taking him to Eve first...
'I never thought Alben Linus would make such an offer first.'
For Michael, this was a huge gain.
He spoke with force at the corners of his mouth that were about to curl up on their own.
“Wake up. I think we’re going to have a long talk.”
Michael took Alben, who had regained consciousness, to Eve's quarters.
At Michael's request, Eve put aside her political duties and created a place for just the three of them.
Michael confessed to Eve the series of events that had occurred in the windbreak forest.
He thought Alben was the first to know Michael's identity.
So Michael was terrified that Eve would be shocked.
“Ah, no! I can explain it to Your Highness, but why did Sir Agneto do it himself! W-No way! Are you trying to threaten Your Highness too at this time...!”
“Phew!”
“Your Highness?”
Of course, Eve's laughter broke that misunderstanding.
“Oh, really? Phew, phew! You said you would become Michael’s maternal relatives and proposed a political marriage between us... Phew!”
"No way."
Only then did Alben notice.
“Did you know everything?”
“That’s right. I think it’s time I told you about it.”
Eve and Michael had a chance to open up to Alben about everything.
Eve revealed that the reason she wanted to become Emperor was to improve the treatment of homunculus, and to facilitate this, she brought in a special homunculus named Michael as her direct knight.
She also calmly explained that the policies and dispatch activities that Eve had promoted so far were all in the same context.
'If I talk about regression, Alben's head will explode, so I'll stop here for now.'
She tried to convey the main points by vaguely explaining them. But there was still a lot of story to tell.
“...So, when I become Emperor, I will enact a special law that will allow homunculus to enjoy the same rights as subjects.”
"Oh my god..."
“I understand that you are shocked. When Michael first heard about it, he said that it was something even a traitor would not do.”
Alben waved his hands.
“No, no. I was surprised, but it wasn’t because Your Highness's intentions were shocking.”
"Then?"
“Rather, I am surprised by Your Highness's consistency.”
To Eve, who was puzzled, Alben revealed his feelings with eyes filled with superiority.
“If you think about it, the reason Your Highness was ostracized from the royal family was because your values regarding homunculus were completely different from those of the other royals. Whether it was when you were a worthless Princess or now that you are the most influential Princess, Your Highness has remained the same.”
“...I realized that if I wanted to change the world, I had to start with myself.”
Eve smiled bitterly. Alone, upright, and innocent.
It was a smile that felt regretful about the days when she was satisfied with just that.
“You are really cool.”
Alben's words pulled Eve out of her depression. After recovering, she royally opened her mouth.
“So let me tell you. The first building I want to blow up is the proton station. Do you get what I mean?”
Alben bowed deeply and politely.
“Just leave it to me! I’ll blow it up and come back as soon as possible!”
The answer was that he would gladly join Eve's will.
Eve felt a mixture of a slight sadness and an indescribable sense of gratitude.
Eve decided to reveal one more fact. She took Michael's hand and held it proudly in front of Alben.
“Alben, I really intend to take Michael as my companion. The status issue will be resolved soon, and the succession issue can be resolved through the alchemy handed down in the imperial family.”
Alben was jumping for joy.
“As expected of Your Highness! There is no other companion with as much military power as Sir Agnito! How dare you not only look at all the flower-like spirits out there but also pick out such a perfect groom!”
“Right? It’s perfect, right?”
“Yes! I thought I could solve the problem of succession that had been bothering me! I, too, should plant an olive tree in Sir Agnito’s front yard!”
“No, well, Michael and I will take care of that.”
“Yes, yes! Please. It seems that it will be easier to rank the royal family if the successor is announced!”
Alben's eyes were shining with sincerity. As expected, he was a man who never broke his promises.
It was then. Alben stroked his smooth chin as if he had remembered the name list.
“Come to think of it, while I was away, Sir Agnito was a bit upset because of Antonio Belteor.”
“Ah... So you heard that conversation too.”
Michael felt embarrassed as he felt Eve's gaze touch his cheek.
It was then that Alben placed one hand on Michael's left shoulder.
“Hehehe. Don’t worry, Sir Agnito.”
“Baron Linus?”
“It seems that we will be starting the internal investigation sooner than expected. You can look forward to it, as the entire Antonio Belteor family will be dealt with soon.”
His snickers, his mean smile, were as trustworthy as ever.
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