"And?"
"If you call me 'Brother' one more time, I feel like my heart might lean in that direction."
"Good heavens! That's too scary, Brother."
An even stronger pressure crushed me than before. My skin turned pale, and cold sweat ran down, but this much was bearable. I even gave the prince's attendant, who looked at me like I was a madman, a sidelong glance, then playfully sighed and nodded.
"Alright. Then I'll just call you Your Highness. Is that better, Your Highness?"
My brother started walking without a reply. I whistled softly and followed him.
'I wonder if Sercil heard our voices.'
At this point, he probably roughly inferred our identities.
What Brother Theodore didn't expect was that there was someone currently trapped in this basement. A smile naturally formed as I thought of Sercil, who must be holding his breath, sensing our presence.
"Sit."
My brother naturally sat in the guard's chair and gestured with his chin. I grinned and willingly took the prisoner's seat.
"Your business."
"Heh."
He let out a faint laugh, as if finding it amusing, and his brow furrowed slightly.
"Ah, alright. Put away your sword."
"..."
"I have a proposition, Your Highness."
He didn't reply, just asked me with his eyes. I briefly held a cold smile, unlike before, then playfully stretched the corners of my mouth as if to hide it.
"Archbishop Bormir's weakness. Investigate it and tell me."
"What?"
"Then I'll grant one of Your Highness's wishes, no matter what."
Brother Theodore began to stare at me with narrowed eyes. He asked coldly,
"What's your game?"
"Game? Why do you say such a thing? Where is there a person as transparent as me?"
I had expected a negative reaction. Not only had I dared to provoke the archbishop, but I had also taken a condescending stance by offering to grant the Crown Prince's wish. He must have been displeased.
"Or are you just desperate to die?"
"Oh, that's wrong too."
"Wrong?" I casually brushed off his incredulous questioning and muttered in a low, cold voice, "I absolutely loathe bothersome things." After a brief pause, I naturally resumed my suspicious smile, as if my previous mutterings were unintentional glimpses of my true feelings.
"Anyway, a deal. Are you not interested?"
"What if I'm not?"
I answered meekly. "Then there's nothing for it. For me, it doesn't matter who accepts the deal, really."
"It doesn't matter who, but you specifically offered it to me?"
"I just thought Your Highness would bring the answer fastest."
When I lowered my gaze slightly and looked down at him, he let out a very faint, cold laugh.
...This is a bit dangerous.
He never resorts to violence, but he wields authority freely. Especially towards me, whom he doesn't regard as a person, he used it even more easily and frequently.
'I was aiming for that point, though.'
If I'm not careful, I might receive a harsher punishment than intended.
'Then I might not even be able to touch the archbishop's trap episode.'
I waited for his answer, tensing internally.
About three minutes passed like that.
"Yes. As expected."
He slowly opened his mouth. His golden eyes, which had been shining brightly when I mentioned "wish," had now casually dulled.
"It was a word not worth hearing."
Soon after, he called his attendant and commanded, "Baros. Confine the prince to his palace."
"Yes?"
I let out a playful whimper, feigning distress, but Brother Theodore didn't react and coldly continued, "For three days. Tell them not to give him anything but water."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Oh dear..."
I slumped limply over the desk.
'Done.'
Fortunately, I got a suitable duration.
My brother left without looking back. I rested my chin on my hand, looking bored, until the attendant urged me.
"Please get up."
I quietly listened to the attendant's threatening urging for a while in that position.
Then, slowly, I straightened my upper body and asked, "Hmm. I can leave the window open, right? As long as I don't go out."
"Don't ask me."
"Sigh. I offered to grant a wish, but he doesn't believe me. Be sure to tell him it'll be no use regretting it later."
The attendant shook his head, then roughly grabbed my arm and pulled me up. It was a harsh touch, unbelievable for someone dealing with royalty.
As I was dragged along, I mumbled in a strange tone, "Or... are you close with the archbishop?"
Implying that there was something going on with the archbishop.
And that I knew about it.
With this, Sercil and Brother Theodore should be able to overcome the crisis.
Now, all that's left is an incident to prove that the archbishop had something to hide, and...
'A witness.'
As I thought of the person who would be the witness, my body involuntarily stiffened.
'...The Grand Duke.'
...It was fortunate that the attendant was strong.
Thanks to him, I could return to the palace without having to walk.
***
"There were no signs of the Second Prince using a curse."
It was exactly half a day after the Second Prince was confined to his palace.
The Grand Duke leaned against the Crown Prince's desk and calmly continued speaking.
"I've confirmed that one thing for sure over the past ten years, so this is certain."
"Yes, it must be certain."
Platinum blonde hair with a subtle sheen, clear blue eyes. A gentle smile always on his lips and a mild, refined character that addressed everyone with polite honorifics. He was a handsome man, as if an angel statue from a myth had come to life.
But those close to him knew.
That beneath that beautiful facade lay a madman.
'Especially towards half-demons, he becomes even scarier.'
When it came to managing unruly half-demons, there was no one more reliable than the Grand Duke. And no one could detect the traces of a curse used by a half-demon faster than him.
'But that's why the situation is ambiguous this time.'
Even though the Grand Duke put aside all his day's work to investigate the curse in reverse, nothing was found in the prince's palace.
The prince, who was one of the top surveillance targets, had acted suspiciously. If he had actually been planning a curse, at least there would have been a justification to deal with him, but that wasn't the case.
Theodore slowly shook his head, stopping his scattered thoughts. Then he spoke to his old friend and confidant, the Grand Duke.
"But he said he would grant my wish."
"...I don't know of any half-demons assisting the prince, but it might be necessary to investigate again."
Then the Grand Duke tilted his head slightly. A shadow fell across his elegant face, as if he couldn't understand at all.
"However, it's strange. If the prince's personality from his childhood was such that he knew how to use curses, even through another's hands, he would have boasted about it everywhere by now."
Certainly, the Second Prince's personality from his youth would have been like that. He wasn't threatening enough to plant people, nor cunning. Yet his desire for recognition was strong, so if a curse had been possible, he wouldn't have kept it hidden by himself for all those years.
"He would have dealt with at least one or two disliked attendants."
"Yes."
So for the past few years, they had put aside their concern that he might become a threat and only checked if half-demons were approaching the prince or if traces of their curses were left in the prince's palace.
But the prince Theodore met today was completely different from what they had understood him to be years ago.
"Today, his thoughts were hard to read."
"Hmm."
"Though he seemed as arrogant as ever."
Should that be a relief?
"It's natural for people to become more cunning as they age, though."
Muttering this, the Grand Duke lowered his eyes and fell into thought with an expressionless face. After a moment, he spoke with his usual subtle smile.
"Let's assign someone to him."
"Preferably a versatile talent."
"I'll assign someone capable of detecting even minor curses."
There are only a few such talents in the empire.
'Among them, the talents currently in the capital are few and far between.'
If you had to name them, perhaps the Grand Duke and the unruly Sword Master?
Theodore finally nodded then. There was nothing his friends couldn't find out by moving directly themselves.
***
"Surely they won't assign some innocent person, will they?"
Ah, stop talking to myself!
Perhaps it's because I've lived for so long without anyone to answer me, but at some point, my self-talk increased. If my plan works, that person who will be my witness will arrive soon. I need to control myself now.
I sat on the bed, staring blankly into space, and repeated to myself, 'It's okay. It's okay. It's nothing.'
Not long ago, this was the person who tore at my flesh with a face as if his soul had died.
I couldn't quite tell if the trembling of my body at the mere thought was an aftereffect of the torture he inflicted, or if it was fear of seeing that despair-filled face again.
'Maybe both.'
Brother Theodore and Sercil could avoid danger in this incident simply by being wary of Archbishop Bormir.
But Brother Marcus and that person, the Grand Duke, are different.
They not only had to be wary of the archbishop but also had to divert their attention elsewhere. That's because if there's anyone suspicious regarding curses, they dig in relentlessly.
At least until the incident was completely over, I needed to keep their focus on me, not the archbishop.
'If the Grand Duke… comes to me, Brother Marcus will probably monitor me from hiding or search my palace when I'm not there.'
If a person is incredibly suspicious but nothing comes up, they'll focus on that person even more. And what if I walk right into Archbishop Bormir's trap during that time?
'Everyone will avoid the trap, and they won't trust the archbishop either.'
Moreover, the archbishop's attention might shift, at least a little, from them to me. He'll tell the half-demons that the foolish prince interfered with his plan to harm the Crown Prince.
"...Preferably all of it."
It would be good if I could handle everything.
That's when it happened.
Knock, knock.
Comments Box