That was surprising.
And it wasnt about how he imdiately recognized as a prince. I already expected him to be able to tell that much. I am not so naive to think that he would be so easily deceived.
What surprised was how he correctly identified who I am.
Was there an information leak? I am supposed to be sleeping at the Imperial Capital though?
It is just a guess. Before the battle truly began in the north, your younger brother ca to visit . Secretly with only a few Imperial Knights accompanying him that is.
I see. So you recognized from Leos face huh.
There is that too. But it was your brother who said that if the war goes on, his elder brother will co to . He said that he will leave it to you to persuade when the ti cos. Thats why I can tell right away.
He sure said so extra thing.
I sighed and crumpled my hair.
Im not surprised that Leo was here before . Rather, it is a given. After all, Duke Lowenstein has that important of a position.
However, I was surprised that he told the Duke I would co.
Certainly, the longer the war, the higher the probability that visiting the Duke would be included in my course of actions.
Considering the mbers of the Imperial Family left in the capital, it can be predicted that I would be the one who will be dispatched to the north.
However, it was impossible to certainly predict that I will co to persuade Duke Lowenstein here.
After all, there is a possibility that I would just lead out the army from the Imperial Capital or that Leo is not even at a disadvantage in the first place.
So it was not a prediction based on the situation at the ti. It was the result of thinking about what he would do if he was .
He knows that I dislike leading a large force.
He knows that I dont want to leave the problem of the Northern Nobles alone.
After all, if we leave the problem of the North as it is it will only be an ember for future problems after we win the war.
Thats why he thought that I will definitely try to solve the problem of the North in one go. With that line of thinking, persuading Duke Lowenstein is inevitable.
Even if he is my own younger brother, he sure understands well.
That Hero Prince seed to be confident that you can persuade but if you rely on a disguise like that then I guess I cant expect much from you huh.
I was only hiding my identity to hide my existence from the enemy. It has nothing to do with persuading you.
Hou? Then what kind of bargain have you brought to my table? You ca all the way here with my granddaughter, dont think I will just let you go back to the capital if you bring out so boring deal alright?
The duke said as thunder crackled from his body and struck the floor.
It seems he doesnt like the idea of using Char to approach him huh.
Well, that much is obvious.
Judging from his words, the root of his grudge against the Imperial Family was how we took away his daughter. It wouldnt be strange for him to be protective of his granddaughter.
Dont think I will just let you go back to the capital, huh.I have no intention of heading back to the capital without attending to the problems in the north. You said that I looked down on you? Let repeat that back to you then. My own younger brother is fighting right now, I have no plan to run away by myself. Also, as a mber of the Imperial Family, I will not neglect the problem of the north any longer. Dont underestimate too much. Even if people call the Dull Prince, I am still a prince of this nation.
Duke Lowenstein listened and sat back on his chair.
His eyes were even sharper than before.
What Dull Prince. You were only pretending to be incompetent right? Your father was the sa. He pretended to be lazy about everything and gradually showed his claws in the succession war. It is extrely difficult to be on guard against soone who you are so used to look down on. His opponents were defeated without being able to see his full ability. You give off the sa sll as he did you know?
My father, Emperor Johannes had the ambition to ascend the emperors throne. That was the reason he hid his claws. But I am different. I can not protect my family unless I enter the succession war with my brother. Thats why we joined the succession war in the first place. If not for the succession war, I would have continued to be the Dull Prince and I have no problem with that at all.
If there was no succession war, you would choose to continue being ridiculed for the rest of your life? Dont make laugh.
Exactly. At the very least, I think I have proven that for 10 years already.
Father was hiding his abilities to take the throne. He was not like who had no such ambition and ended up not showing my abilities.
Father had a clear purpose while I didnt.
It would be rude to my father to compare myself to him.
Hmph, whatever. So you are saying that you unwillingly participated in the succession war? That this is no place for others to see your abilities? Dont you think that this is the opportunity to make those who looked down on you kneel before you instead?
You are correct. Besides, I do not enjoy making others kneel to in the first place. I am not exactly like the old n of the previous generation you see.
to take a knee is an ancient tradition. It has a deep aning to it.
Proof of loyalty, proof of heartfelt gratitude. I am well aware of those anings. It is exactly because I am aware of its aning that I do not wish for it. When you force another person to kneel before you through a show of force, what aning does it have? If the person kneels before out of recognition then I will gladly accept it but if that is not the case then it will only make feel sick instead.
despite being a part of the Imperial Family, you can still make so sense huh. Souls do not dwell in aningless actions. If you already understand that then what are you trying to do by persuading ? To save your younger brother?
It seems that I gained a little of his recognition.
If he kept testing as he was, I would never be able to get down to the main topic.
This is good.
Of course, there is that too. Leo is needed for the future of the Empire. I know that there are people who ridicule his idealism. He certainly still has many shortcomings. Still, there is no future for an Emperor who can not go through with his ideal.
for the Empire huh.
Disappointnt appears on Duke Lowensteins face.
He probably didnt expect such a mundane answer.
He averted his eyes away as though there is no worth listening to anymore.
At that mont, I continued to speak.
Thats whyI will not leave the problems as is. I want the Empire under Leos rule to be better..thats why I decided to solve the problems of the north.
.the Imperial Family is always like this. Misleading its vassals with nothing but words that are only pleased to the ear.
Thats right. That is what it ans to stand on top of people. We mislead people and make them dream. Thats the role of the people who stand on top. After all, people can not live without dreams.
People cant live without dreams? That might be true. But you can not live with your dream alone.
I understand that too. Thats why the Emperor assembled talented people at his side. To realize the dream he has envisioned. It is not an emperors job to solve problems.
Leo left this to .
Thats why I can not fail.
After all, Leo didnt even have it in his mind that I would.
If I cant do this much for him then I cant retain my dignity as his older brother.
And you are saying that you are one of those talented people? If you do then answer ! How will you solve the problems of the north!? If we side with the Emperors side now we will only be punished for being too slow to act! We have no path left! Just what do you expect us to do in this situation!?
That is not really the case. [You have already made your move after all].
Unable to understand the aning of my words, Duke Lowenstein looks at suspiciously.
In response, I muttered a na with a grin.
Sebas.
Right here, sir.
Sebas appeared behind without producing any sound.
I extended my hand out toward him and he handed a bundle of papers in return.
After the war, the people of the Empire will probably think this. Its impossible for the Dull Prince to suddenly raise a military achievent like that. It is as you said. It is extrely difficult to be on guard against soone who you are so used to look down on. Reputation works the sa way. Thats why no one will believe in what I achieved.
People are like that. But if you keep repeating such achievents then they will have no choice but to recognize you.
Thats right. But I dont want them to recognize . I ca to like the nickna of the Dull Prince you see.
When I said that, I handed the bundle of papers to Duke Lowensteins aide.
The aide then handed it to the duke.
These are.letters?
Thats right. [Its the letters from you to ].
..you bastard! You are planning to give all the credit to !?
As expected of the Duke. You saw right through it.
What do you an?
Char asked with a confused expression.
Seeing that, the Duke roughly opened the letter and read it.
He then showed it to Char while sharply gazing at .
This is!? Ojii-samas handwriting!?
Naturally, that wasnt written by . But it was elaborately forged. No one besides would be able to tell that it is fake.
My butler is quite skilled at forging letters you see.
It has been a long ti but these are my masterpieces, sir. Im so glad that there were so many samples in Deuce.
What I ordered Sebas to do in Deuce was to gather information and forge a letter with Duke Lowensteins handwriting.
There were many letters that the Duke had exchanged with Marquis Zweig inside the vault of his mansion.
If it was impossible for Sebas then I would have done it myself but with so many samples, he managed to do sothing about it. After all, Sebas beca quite good at imitating others handwriting from his old profession.
Transport the supply with Large Flying Dragons, the enemy supply base is inside the mountains..these are all instructions?
Thats right. Prince Leonards main army was locked in a siege battle. To combat that, the 6th Imperial Knight Corp who ca to the north as reinforcents conducts a supply transport operation. They managed to deliver a lot of supply from the sky and the only one on the enemy side who could respond appropriately was the Dragon Prince.
Thats
Considering the situation, the only one who could co up with such a strange strategy would be this prince. But now he is saying that he is willing to hand over all the credit to us.
Since Duke Lowenstein is a big presence in the north, if he moves personally, he will alert the enemy. He has been working for the Emperor and the Empire from the beginning. Ever since I ca to the north, he has contacted through Sebas and gave precise instructions to pull off the operation. With this, not only for his future rits he will also gain credit for everything that has happened so far. There is no need to worry about any punishnt anymore.
So may feel uncomfortable about this.
But with the letter and my testimony as evidence, no one would bother to complain about it.
That was why you visited Deuce first?
I was going to talk to Marquis Zweig about this strategy. In the end, I couldnt make it in ti but Marquis Zweig was also planning a eting with the other northern nobles. He probably wouldnt say no to my plan. Thats why I went with it. I have to apologize to you for not telling you beforehand, Char. Im sorry.
Thats fine but.with this letter, everything you did would..
I have no need for such credits. Im not interested in it in the first place. I will not let anyone say that the northern nobles were uncooperative. Your achievents are the achievents of the northern nobles. You can protect both the north and your house with this. Of course, it is up to you to decide what you want to do from now on.
That was the path I showed to Duke Lowenstein.
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