Chapter 124: The Way Back

As we walked back, keeping a safe distance from the security team, I told Lily what Prime Minister Richelieu had said. Even at night, I could see Lily’s expression harden.

"What will you do, Lord Robby?"

She asked in a strong tone.

"I don’t know. I’ll have to obey whatever His Majesty the King says."

"That’s true. But if you’re going to a neighboring country, who will you take with you?"

"Huh? I hadn’t even thought that far."

"Please think carefully. I don’t know how much time you have before departure, but the people going with you will have to arrange their lives. They’re planning to settle down and be buried there."

Lily’s words made me realize how difficult it is to go to another country. I had never left the capital before, so I didn’t understand what traveling outside the capital even meant, let alone going abroad.

"I’ll say this in advance, but even if you choose a man or a woman, I don’t think you should take a married person."

"Really?"

"Yes, I think so. First, Lady Catherine Gilmore would definitely be impossible. Since Lady Doreen is pregnant, she’ll probably focus on giving birth and raising her child. That means Lady Doreen won’t let Catherine go.

Also, Lady Catherine has her husband. Living apart from her husband would be impossible. If you really want to bring her, you’d have to take her husband too."

It felt like my head was being hammered. That’s how it would be, I thought, but the old Robby would have been shocked.

"Lady Catherine’s husband is a financial official who is expected to have a bright future. So I don’t think he can simply resign from his position."

She said something similar last time too. Even Cass, who I thought was in a fake marriage, probably found divorce extremely difficult. A part of me knew that was true. Taking Catherine and her husband to the Kingdom of Mainz whole is out of the question.

"Then..."

I pretended to think for a moment.

"Then... what?"

Lily was waiting for me to say something. Stevie was also looking at me curiously.

"I’m thinking of taking both you and Stevie. Will you two come with me?"

I asked while looking at their faces.

Stevie gave an easy smile and said,

"Yes!"

But Lily, while looking happy, said with some hesitation,

"Well... I’m already a certain age, so I’m not sure..."

Her words were deliberately vague, so I replied,

"If Lily doesn’t want to, it’s fine. I’ll go with just Stevie."

"Don’t say that! If Lord Robby wants us, I’ll come with you! Please take care of me!"

Lily bowed her head. Why can’t she just say "yes" like Stevie?

"Hmm, that’s interesting."

Lily said.

"What’s interesting?"

"Is it that you want to bring us? No, not that. It’s about the Crown Prince succession dispute. Did Prime Minister Richelieu mention Prince Maxim and Prince Alan?"

"He did. He mentioned their names and asked me which one I would choose."

"I see..."

Lily lowered her voice as if thinking.

"Could it be that... I shouldn’t say this to anyone, but there’s a son of the Crown Prince who was a memento of him. I found it strange that Prime Minister Richelieu didn’t mention that grandchild."

"How old was that prince?"

"I think he was about the same age as you, Lord Robby."

Eh?! Same age as me?! Are there others like me?!

"If he’s ten, there should already be adult princes, but it’s unthinkable to pass over them to make a minor the heir, even if he’s a direct descendant."

"There are cases like that, but perhaps Prime Minister Richelieu or His Majesty the King wants the Crown Prince’s child to be the heir, so he avoided naming him out of consideration."

Even if she was sympathizing, it would only sow more seeds of discord.

"If that’s the case, the succession struggle would only become more chaotic."

Please, Your Majesty, don’t sow the seeds of conflict. I also thought maybe they should stop trying to have children. But then I wouldn’t be here. Ugh, it’s complicated.

"Yes. So I thought Prime Minister Richelieu was trying to keep Lord Robby out of the succession struggle."

"Sounds like you’re overthinking."

"Even if that’s the case, Prince Maxim and Prince Alan aren’t going to settle this peacefully no matter who wins."

"True, but it’s like three-way deadlock... Now things are getting even more chaotic."

Heh heh heh. It was a classic pattern for a small country surrounded by great powers to fall into civil war over succession. I was terrified just thinking about it. Not a flag. Not a flag.

After hearing my sigh, Lily continued.

"I’ve heard rumors that the Crown Prince’s death was actually caused by a horde of magical beasts, but there are strange theories. The main unit sent to exterminate the beasts somehow bypassed them and attacked the Crown Prince. It’s unnatural no matter how you think about it."

"Is that true?"

Stevie asked.

"There are rumors like that. It’s said that the magical beasts deliberately attacked the Crown Prince instead of going after the main unit. A lot of people in the palace believe someone deliberately led the beasts to attack him."

"Really? Why?"

Stevie tilted her head.

"I don’t know. But a surprising number of people say that. There are people who want the Crown Prince gone, though, so no one knows who did it."

"I see."

The two of them were saying terrifying things.

Could someone really control magical beasts? If there’s a Tamer job in this world, it would be possible. Or if there’s a magical tool that controls them. But if controlling beasts is possible, there should also be tools or spells that prevent them. There was nothing I could do about it.

Silence is golden, after all.

—-

[A/N: The updates are a bit small for a while since I’ve been sorting out my other books too but it will all be fixed soon. Thanks for reading!]