Chapter 459: Drunk on Power

That was why Ingrid, known as the Phantom Princess, had married into the Offenburg marquisate. And Lily was Princess Ingrid’s one and only granddaughter. Now it was as if that granddaughter were returning to Altringen.

"But there’s something a little strange. Why did Lily go out of her way to pick you, Baron?"

"Lily may act like a spoiled kid, but she’s pretty sharp."

"A spoiled kid?! Where else will you find a young lady as noble and graceful as Lily?"

"...Ah, yes."

The problem with rose-colored glasses is that they hide the truth far too well. The way I see it, Lily only shows her true self to our family and puts on a total act for everyone else. She’s a master at playing innocent.

Lily wanted to get away from the Offenburg family. Her uncle, Marquis Offenburg, had treated her relatively well, but because she loved novels, he’d regarded her as more or less the black sheep of the family.

But once the political marriage with the crown prince was arranged, Lily was apparently disgusted by how completely the family’s attitude toward her changed. That’s why she had tried to use me when I went to Offenburg as the grand duke’s envoy.

After coming to Feuzen, Lily opened up once Hilda and I respected her hobbies and treated her like family. We had grown so close that she didn’t mind at all being called our girl in white.

Usually, Lily caused trouble and I cleaned it up. But I’d genuinely come to care for her like a little sister. If the crown prince ever made Lily shed so much as a single tear, I’d make him pay dearly.

"Lily won’t use Offenburg to exert influence over the royal family."

"Even if Lily has no intention of doing that, Marquis Offenburg won’t sit idly by."

"That’s why I’m here. And that’s why the marquis and I have become political rivals."

Marquis Offenburg had turned against me when Lily began distancing herself from his family. But the decisive factor was how quickly my influence had grown after the civil war.

The marquis saw me as a rival, and on top of that, I was on friendly terms with his greatest rival, the Count of Essenbach. It was only natural that he’d come to see me as a political enemy. The crown prince was worried about what lay ahead.

"I’m sorry. I feel like I’ve put a burden on you, Baron."

"I was prepared for it from the moment I gained the royal family’s favor."

There’s no shortage of jealous people out there.

It’d be hard to stand up to them on my own. That’s why I’d been steadily building up allies. Outside the court, I had the Western lords’ faction, and within it, the Military Department and the Finance Department. Plus plenty of regional powers.

Even Marquis Offenburg couldn’t take me lightly.

And once the details of the Rosenheim-Basel War got out, he’d realize that military provocation wasn’t a wise move. That left only a political fight.

It was pretty funny, though, when I thought about it.

A mere baron in a political fight with a marquis?

That’s how big I’d gotten. I might even end up the most powerful baron in Beren. But since that power ultimately came from the grand duke, I always tried to remember my place.

The moment you get drunk on power, ruin is inevitable.

"I’ll help you as much as I can, Baron, so don’t worry too much."

"Just hearing that puts my mind at ease. I’ll be counting on it."

It felt like my friendship with the crown prince had grown even stronger.

"So, with that settled, could you call Lily for me?"

"...I knew it. So that was your goal."

"I came all the way to Rosenheim. Is it so bad to want to see my fiancée before I go?"

It wasn’t a bad thing, but I didn’t want to watch Lily get all full of herself. In the end, I allowed the meeting under Sabine’s supervision. With Viola’s and Priscilla’s pregnancies both showing quite a bit now, Sabine had gotten very busy.

"Wolf, those two really are perfect for each other."

"That simpering laugh of Lily’s really grates on my ears."

"Hehehe, that’s not nice. Does my laugh grate on your ears too?"

"What are you talking about? Your voice is like a heavenly harp."

Hilda must have loved that line, because she burst out laughing. Hmm, even when my wife laughs so hard she nearly falls over, she’s charming. I want to bury my face in that lush wine-colored hair.

"But I don’t like letting them meet so easily."

"Don’t tell me you’re planning to be the villain who tears two lovers apart?"

"A villain? No, I’m just going to put him through a little trial."

I went through it, so now it was His Highness’s turn. I locked Lily in a tower. Once she learned about the scheme, she was more enthusiastic than anyone. I spread a huge pile of soft straw at the bottom of the tower and called the crown prince over.

"...So you want me to climb this?"

"That’s right. You’ve heard of night visiting, haven’t you?"

"That’s a commoners’ custom."

"Since when do customs distinguish between nobles and commoners? I overcame this very trial to see Hilda."

"But I’m the crown prince. Is it really necessary to go this far...."

The crown prince didn’t look thrilled about it at all.

But instead of stopping him, his attendant Ulrich egged him on.

"A real man should be able to overcome a trial like this for the woman he loves."

"That’s true, but shouldn’t you be stopping me, for my safety’s sake?"

"It’s much safer than a battlefield. And this tower isn’t that tall."

I’m not an idiot, you know. Why would I be crazy enough to make His Highness the crown prince climb a tall tower? The tower where I’d locked up Lily was the lowest one, only three stories high. And yet the crown prince was still hesitating.

"If you really don’t want to, you don’t have to climb it."

At that, the crown prince lit up.

Uh-uh, you should hear me out first.

"Ah, so that’s all your love for Lily amounts to, Your Highness. How sad Lily will be when she finds out. She might be so heartbroken that she refuses to come down from the tower and goes on a hunger strike."

"...I’ll do it. Fine, I’ll do it."

Ulrich, who’d been watching, chuckled.

In the end, the crown prince started climbing the tower, grunting and straining. Fortunately, this tower was relatively easy to climb. And even if he fell, the massive pile of straw would catch him, so there wasn’t much to worry about.

"Oh! His Highness the crown prince is climbing the tower!"

"So his love for Lady Lily really is true!"

"Who’d have thought a royal would go night visiting!"

It seemed as if every last person in Rosenheim had come flocking to watch. Public opinion turned in the crown prince’s favor. Perhaps because he heard the people cheering him on, the crown prince climbed with even more vigor.

Ulrich spoke up.

"This reminds me of when you climbed up to the mansion window to see Hilda, brother-in-law."

"Huh? You were there back then too? I thought it was just your elder brother."

"I was watching from behind."

And at last, the crown prince reached the window.

Hmm, not bad for a crown prince. Honestly, I’d only set this whole thing up to scare him.

"Oh, my love! I have come!"

"Ah, Your Highness! You went through so much for me! I’m so happy."

"In the face of our love, this is no trial at all!"

Incidentally, Sabine was also in the room as a chaperone. It must have been torture for her to sit through all those sweet whispers of love, but it couldn’t be helped if we wanted to prevent a scandal.

After staying the night, the crown prince triumphantly mounted his horse the next day. Ulrich and the Grand Duke’s Guard fell into formation on either side of him. Hilda reluctantly said goodbye to Ulrich.

Lily didn’t come out. Or rather, to be precise, we didn’t let her, since seeing her would have made it even harder for the crown prince to leave. Truth be told, we were practically forcing him to go home. The Administrative Minister kept pestering him to return quickly.

"I’ll be off now. I’ll see you again once Father returns to the royal palace."

"Safe travels, Your Highness. I’ll see you at the royal palace."

After the crown prince’s party left, Lily grabbed Hilda and launched into a long speech about the crown prince’s courage and love. After listening for a good while, Hilda palmed Lily off on me, and thanks to that, I thought my ears were going to bleed.

Anyway, a few more days passed, and word came from the royal palace.

It was a notice that the grand duke’s party had returned to the capital and that everyone was to attend the homecoming ceremony.