Chapter 10: The Duke’s Daughter Counterattacks

Chapter 10:
The Duke’s Daughter Counterattacks

 

TWILIGHT HAD FALLEN. Usually, at this time, the taverns were packed, but instead, the people had gathered outside a church. The brand-new structure looked dim in the growing darkness, but that only contributed to its solemnity.

In attendance were the presidents of famous companies, town mayors, and other influential people, as well as a sea of ordinary citizens. Most of the crowd were those who lived in Armelia’s capital.

Even though the new church’s chapel was exceptionally large, it was packed to the brim. All the pews were filled, and people stood in every free inch of space, spilling out the doors.

They had all felt terribly anxious upon hearing their governor had been excommunicated. Many had likely come in hopes of having those fears assuaged. They had also come because of the rumors, the ones that said their governor had defied the church in order to protect orphans—the very ones now under the care of the new state orphanage. That orphanage was surprisingly well known throughout the capital, and its matron was seen as a credible source. At the same time, the citizens had a hard time understanding why the governor and the church had fought about them at all.

At last, the priest appeared and approached the altar. Once he took his place, the pipe organ began to play a hymn. Its beautiful song lifted the people’s hearts.

The priest offered his prayers up to God and entreated everyone to join him. Then he began his sermon.

“God instructs us to love one another. Humans are weak creatures. We cannot live alone. But when you treat your fellow citizens with love, you may join hands with them to build a better world. That is why God urges us to forge connections with one another.”

Though his voice was soft, his words echoed throughout the church.

“Yet though we ought to love one another, we must not turn a blind eye when we witness wrongdoing. To love one another and to rely on one another are two separate things. When you see an injustice, you must have the courage to set it right.”

A murmur washed through the church. “You must set it right.” Was he talking about the duke’s daughter?

“We must look at the world with a clear heart. What is wrong? What is right? Extend your hands to those who do right, even if they have been ostracized by others. This I bring to you from God’s teachings, from which love overflows, and so shall we pray, filled with righteous light.”

Once the priest finished his sermon, he left the altar. It seemed the opening ceremony had ended. Then a woman stood and approached the altar. She wore a pure-white dress, although it was so simple, it looked more akin to the vestments of the church rather than a dress. Despite these modest clothes, she was so beautiful that no one could take their eyes off her.

“Thank you so much for participating in the opening ceremony today.” Her voice was clear, and she spoke with perfect gratitude.

People began whispering, “Who is that?” If you listened carefully, you could hear some gasping a name: “Alice!”

The woman continued, answering the unspoken question. “My name is Iris. Iris Lana Armelia. I am Duke Armelia’s daughter and the current acting governor of this duchy.”

The murmuring grew louder, not only because the acting governor was present, but because she had been branded a sinner.

“Please listen, my people. I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here. In short, the priest gave me permission to attend, so I did. And as he said in his captivating sermon… I ask only that you listen to me with clear hearts and decide for yourselves whether I am right or wrong.”

Her clarion voice suited the atmosphere. She conducted herself with dignity, and the confused shouts trailed off. Many people still whispered among themselves, however.

“Armelia is so blessed. Our people follow God’s teachings and treat each other with love. But at times, there are those whom that love doesn’t reach, and there are people who live in unfortunate circumstances.”

Iris folded her hands as if in prayer. “I met such people not long ago. They were children who were fortunate enough to have met a compassionate nun and lived happily in an orphanage established inside of a church in our own capital. Then the sister passed away and the land upon which the church stood was sold. The orphans no longer had a place to stay and were mistreated by the heartless actions of those who bought the land. Even though they were innocents, they were subjected to the cruelest of actions. Are there any here who have heard this tale?”

A few people spoke up. Yes, they’d heard of it.

“My family did not see what had happened, and that was our sin. We are responsible for protecting our citizens.” As Iris spoke, a single tear streaked down her face. That exquisite girl in her simple dress shedding tears for her people: it was a beautiful sight indeed.

“We cannot make the same mistake. House Armelia is meant to protect you, all of you. Our first step toward that goal is this new church. It will be a place to keep the children safe. It will also be a symbol of our commitment to you and your bright future. I’ve been told my sin was tearing down that old church. But who did I sin against? Should I have turned a blind eye on the citizens, who it is my duty to serve? Should I have abandoned a church already fallen to ruin and let it decay even further? Would that have been right?”

Her voice grew more and more emotional. Everyone listening was swept up in that emotion. If she was telling the truth, who were the real sinners here?

“I am a devout follower of the Darryl Church. But I am also the governor of Armelia, tasked with serving my citizens. God watches over and protects us, but we have free will and it is our obligation to act. We cannot only hope that happiness will rain down from the sky. Everything depends on our actions and our will. Those who think evil is unavoidable are practicing evil themselves. Those who do not resist evil are enabling it.

“Those of you who just admitted you knew what was happening to those children—what did you do to help them? Did you speak up and call on anyone to save them? My two hands are small, and I have but two eyes and two ears. Yet I have officials who support my efforts, and I have all of you here. If you call, I will answer. If I find the weak, I shall protect them. If they cry out from pain or danger, I shall help them. It is my utmost desire to do everything in my power to ensure every last citizen of Armelia lives a blessed life. But I need your help.”

One person began to clap. Then another, and another, and suddenly the entire room was filled with applause. It came from outside the church as well.

If the citizens of Armelia followed the duke’s daughter, their lives would be rich and full. She would protect them, no matter who threatened them.

Such were their thoughts. They didn’t question the basis of that belief. They were so moved, they didn’t care why. They blindly thought it, swept up in her energy and in the atmosphere of the new church.

“God bless you,” the priest said to Iris. She bowed to him, accepting his blessing.

Then she turned back to the crowd and bowed toward them once more.

 

***

 

Propaganda, noun, information used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.

The speech I’d just given was exactly that. I’d used the rumors Mina had spread to get people to sympathize with me and used the teachings of the church to turn my plight into a question of morality.

One of the most reviled men in my old world’s history once said that the key to propaganda is appealing to people’s emotions. The most effective way to popularize a point of view is to keep the dogma simple and find slogans that can drive the movement forward and be repeated over and over, until every last person understands its meaning.

Had I accomplished my end? That had been the first speech I’d ever given in my life. I’d just have to hope it was a success. They’d applauded, after all. I’d also helped myself build an atmosphere by scheduling the ceremony at twilight, when the dim lighting would accentuate the solemnity of the event.

“That was a moving sermon, Father Rafiel. Please continue taking care of the orphanage.”

The favor I’d asked of him that day I summoned him had been to become the priest of the new church and the director of the orphanage.

“Of course. I’ll do my very best,” he said. “Your speech was also quite moving.”

“Thank you.”

“By the way, how’s Noryu faring?”

“I let him go. He seemed relieved.”

Father Rafiel had sent Noryu on an errand the day after I met with him and Mina. The errand had been to deliver medicine to a town near the capital. Father Rafiel had often taken care of this delivery himself, occasionally with Noryu’s help, so it hadn’t raised the man’s suspicions. We had, however, sent someone to follow Noryu to keep him busy.

First, my agent had been responsible for causing a disturbance on the road. A carriage breakdown or a blocked road or something like that. Anything that would delay Noryu’s progress from the capital. When he finally arrived, it turned out that a contagious illness was ravaging the town; the residents were quarantined and not allowed to leave, so as not to spread it.

Of course, there hadn’t actually been an illness. But since the residents of the town were indebted to Father Rafiel, they had readily agreed to the charade, and the attending doctor had been played by Headmaster Luca. The headmaster had told Noryu that, as he had been in contact with an infected person, he would also have to enter quarantine. Apparently, Noryu had been very worried that he would fall ill.

Then, of course, there had been more disruptions on the way home.

All in all, Noryu had been out of town the entire time we planned this ceremony, so he had been unable to interfere.

I had strengthened my position in Armelia, so I could now afford to leave it for a while. Thus, I headed for the capital. I had to take care of this problem at its source.

Still, my doubts continued to swirl in my head. The only reason I had been able to give that speech with any confidence was because of Dean—and because of the two documents he’d helped me secure, which I’d kept close to my heart ever since. These documents were the final piece of the puzzle that I had been searching for, and it was thanks to them that I had been able to make Father Rafiel the new priest.

Until Dean gave them to me, I’d wondered how in the world I could get hold of them—I’d even considered asking my mother or even the queen dowager for help. How had he acquired them?

“Are you all right, my lady?” Lyle asked in a concerned tone, interrupting my thoughts.

“I-I’m fine.”

“We can rest in a little while. Please hang on until then.”

We were on our way to the capital. Since speed was of the essence, we weren’t taking a carriage and I was on horseback instead. I didn’t know how to ride, so Lyle was holding the reins. I’d thought I’d be fine since I’d put up with the intensity of our trip home, but that had been naive. I’d had no idea riding was such a bumpy affair. I missed solid ground.

Dida, Lyle, Tanya, and my family’s other guards were with me. Dean had other affairs in need of tending and had needed to leave partway through the journey. He would meet up with us when he finished. In other words, everyone else was a skilled rider, so I was the one holding us back. But the sacrifice was worth it; we made the trip in record time.

Once we arrived in the capital, I somehow managed to walk into my family’s home even though my legs felt like jelly.

“Welcome home, my lady.”

The servants greeted me and ushered me inside the foyer, where my family awaited.

“I-I’m home. Father, Mother, Berne… I’m so sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused.” That was the best I could do at that moment. I still felt like I was moving and was overwhelmed with vertigo.

Father immediately noticed something was wrong and gave me a concerned look. “You got here awfully quickly. Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine…”

“You need to rest.”

“O-okay…”

I did as I was told and promptly slept for a few hours. When I woke up, Elulu showed me to another room—the one where we normally had tea. But the air wasn’t so relaxed today. My family was already seated, and so I took the remaining empty chair.

“As I said before, I’m incredibly sorry about all the trouble I caused,” I apologized.

“Please, don’t worry. None of us could have imagined that Darryl Church would go to such lengths,” Father said.

“But…”

“Your father’s right. You stand falsely accused,” Mother agreed.

Their warm words made a lump form in my throat.

“All your preparations for the inquiry are complete,” Father said. “The queen dowager received your information with a good deal of enthusiasm. The church aggressed against you first, so there’s no need to hold back. I want you to give this your all.”

“I will,” I promised. “By the way, Mother. Dean gave me a letter for you.”

“Oh, my. From Dean? Let me see it, dear.” My mother looked quite intrigued as I passed her the envelope, and she opened it on the spot. She giggled softly when she was finished reading it.

“What did he say?”

“Oh, he apologized for using my name without permission. Apparently, that’s how he got his hands on those items you needed—the ones from the church.”

“He did? I’m sure that helped,” said Berne. “I hear the church is in dire straits because attendance is down after you stopped going to their charity balls, Mother.”

And if no one was showing up, the church was sorely wanting for donations. They were definitely hurting. But…

“Are you sure this is all right, Mother?” I asked. “What if they come after you next?”

“Never fear. I’ve already matched last year’s donation from our house. Besides, charity balls aren’t the sort of thing one is required to attend. I made sure to send letters notifying those whose functions I missed. ‘As the mother of an excommunicated woman, I fear my presence at your party would be a distraction, so I will not be attending.’”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at my mother’s frank response.

“Well, once we’ve solved this problem, I’ll go ahead and start turning up again. That was one of the conditions upon which the church agreed to surrender those documents to Dean.”

“What do you mean?”

“He had predicted my ploy, so he used my influence as leverage. I don’t mind it, though, not if he had to use my name in order to help you.”

Goodness. Dean really had made a bold move. Not only had he used my mother’s name without getting her permission, he had used her as a bargaining chip. And he hadn’t even told her until after the fact. It was a good thing she had decided to forgive him, but it gave me a headache just thinking about it.

“Sister, I have news for you as well,” Berne said, interrupting my thoughts.

“Hm? What is it?”

“Van wasn’t behind this.”

“So I should just forgive him?” I glared at Berne, but he shook his head.

“No. I just wanted you to know I think that this can all be traced back to the pope himself. And to a person he’s lately associated with—a certain merchant who is particularly friendly with Lord Monroe.”

“So you think this merchant might be pulling the strings behind the scenes?”

“Perhaps. I found it hard to believe even the pope would dare to attack a duke’s family so openly. So I spoke with Van. Of course, there were things I couldn’t come straight out and ask, but the thing that really caught my attention was when he mentioned that merchant. Apparently, the merchant requested an audience with the pope several times, and he notably did so right before the day your excommunication was issued. I just can’t believe it’s a coincidence.”

“I see. Father, do you know anything about this merchant?”

“I’m investigating him, of course.”

Good. I had to admit I was impressed with Berne’s actions. He’d been an excellent spy, getting so much information from our avowed enemies. He’d done such a good job, in fact, that I felt compelled to go ahead and ask the real question on my mind. “I have to wonder, was Prince Edward involved in this matter?”

“No, not to my knowledge. However…”

“What?”

“It’s quite difficult for me to say this, but…he’s exceptionally unhappy that you’ve received the queen dowager’s backing. Shall I call it a grudge? And he’s complained about you to a number of people, asking what could be done. Then, once he heard about this incident with the church, he made his move. I believe he personally hired a number of your employees for a new venture of his own.”

“What? Oh, my…”

What a pathetic little man. Although, sales had dropped largely because of the rest of this matter, so it wasn’t entirely his fault.

“I’m going to do everything in my power to get the Azuta Corporation back up to speed once this is all over. Thank you for the information, Berne.”

“Of course.”

“Now, Iris, dear—why don’t you go ahead and have dinner with us and then go to bed early? Tomorrow’s a big day. You need a nice, hot meal and all the rest you can get so you can claim victory on the morrow.”

“Yes, Mother.”

She was right. Tomorrow was the big day. I had felt like a soldier heading to war the day of the Foundation Day celebration, but this battle would be even more intense. Tomorrow would decide my fate. If I lost, there would be no coming back for me. It would be the most important day of my life.

 

***

 

I readied myself and headed for the palace. I chose a simple dress, just as I had when I gave my speech at the church. Today, my father would face an inquiry about this entire situation. Since my excommunication had affected the nobility on such a large scale, they wanted him to provide an explanation as the person responsible for me. You might liken it to a company president demanding an explanation from a manager about their subordinate’s behavior.

This inquiry would decide my fate. Best-case scenario, I would be disowned or put under house arrest. In the worst-case, I’d be thrown in jail or given the death penalty. Obviously, a number of nobles were invested in the matter, and they had gathered to spectate.

I had only Lyle and Dida with me as my bodyguards as I entered the palace. To be honest, I hadn’t been formally invited. As I was technically under house arrest, I couldn’t exactly be invited, but I had come with the queen dowager’s permission. As such, I took a route she had told me about so that no one would see me. I felt like a trespasser. Perhaps that wasn’t an incorrect statement.

“Duke Armelia, how do you expect to handle the heavy burden of overseeing our kingdom when you can’t even supervise your own daughter?”

That voice belonged to Queen Ellia. She was blaming my father for my conduct and meant to imply that he should resign his post as the prime minister.

Some people who favored Queen Ellia began to snicker. Other nobles were swept up in the mood and murmured agreement.

“The queen’s right,” one said. “This is a terribly shameful incident for our kingdom. Is that girl the only one who bears responsibility?”

“Has he ever had control over his house?” another asked.

My father’s low voice cut through the noise of the crowd. “I have never supervised her.”

“So you think your failure to oversee her absolves you of guilt? You would shirk your responsibility?” Queen Ellia snorted. Her lecturing tone was haughty. “Did you hear that? The post of prime minister has always been held by the ducal house of Armelia. But now the people wonder if you should even bear the responsibility of your own duchy. Don’t tell me you’d run from that, too.”

In other words, she was threatening to take our domain.

From the standpoint of the other nobles, they stood to benefit a great deal if they could get their hands on a domain experiencing as much growth as ours now was. If anyone in charge of a domain neighboring ours approached Queen Ellia to make their case, there was a good chance they might be given permission to wrest it from us. I could see these very people emphatically nodding in agreement with everything she said.

Another wave of murmurs washed through the crowd. My father swept his glare over them. His cold gaze silenced them.

“I shirk no responsibility. I only said that I do not supervise my daughter. And that is because I knew my daughter, my noble line, would do the right thing as she saw to Armelia in my place. I speak from my position as prime minister when I say that I did not misjudge her.”

“Thank you, Father,” I whispered.

Hearing that firm statement gave me the courage I needed to walk forward. My hands trembled as I took my first step. I’d been waiting in a hidden room that gave me a view of the audience chamber, so I didn’t even have to pass by anyone—yet.

The hallway twisted and turned as I made my way to the audience chamber and stood outside the door. The guards waiting outside were flustered at first and cried “Halt!”

But then I showed them the letter I had received from the queen dowager, and they let me pass.

 

***

 

The second that the doors to the chamber opened, everyone turned and stared at me. Once they realized who exactly had interrupted this vitally important inquiry, the crowd erupted in shouts. The only people who weren’t surprised to see me were my father, the queen dowager, and Father Rafsimons Christopher.

I moved farther into the room. The audience chamber was ornate yet austere. As I walked through it, I was greeted by stern expressions on either side of the aisle. The royal family sat at the front of the chamber, facing the crowd—although today, only the queen dowager and Queen Ellia were present, along with officials from the Darryl Church.

I was especially terrified of these church officials, and my hands began to tremble again. And here I’d thought I’d finally summoned my courage!

Don’t worry, I told myself as I clenched my hands into fists. But I couldn’t stop shaking. The walk to the front of the chamber felt like an eternity, though I’m sure it only took a minute.

Once I got there, my focus settled on one person. Father Rafsimons Christopher. He was a thin, intelligent-looking man who wore spectacles. His face was expressionless. But unlike the rest of the crowd, I had the impression that he was sizing me up, as if he was wondering if I might really turn this situation in my favor. If I was really going to use what he’d given me.

The instant that thought ran through my head, my hands stopped shaking. I had remembered the man who had connected me with Father Rafsimons in the first place. I wasn’t about to waste all the effort he’d gone to for my sake. I had to live up to the trust he and everyone else had placed in me.

I stood beside my father. An empty throne loomed across from us, Queen Ellia and the queen dowager seated on either side of it. The Darryl Church officials sat in ordered seats in front of them.

“Why are you here?” Queen Ellia’s cold voice asked, her eyes staring daggers at me.

“Because I thought the best person to explain the situation would be the one most directly involved.”

“Explain? No explanation will change the fact that you have been excommunicated from the holy Darryl Church. This inquiry has nothing to do with that. The sole purpose of our work today is to establish how Duke Armelia plans to atone for your sins.”

Pope Wilmots Lutasha—father of Van Lutasha, one of the second prince’s cronies—nodded emphatically in agreement. “Iris Lana Armelia. You destroyed a church, the holy ground of God, without permission. It was a despicable act for any person of faith—and even worse for one who stands above others and governs them. I’m sure God wept over your unspeakable deed.”

“I agree, Pope Lutasha. Destroying a sacred sanctuary, a place of prayer, is most certainly a despicable act. I understand why God might weep over such a thing.”

Queen Ellia and the pope looked equally confused as to why I was agreeing with their accusations.

“By the same token, I think that selling the land on which a church stands is equally impious. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“What are you trying to say?” Queen Ellia snorted with laughter and then covered her mouth with her fan to hide it.

“Exactly what I said, Queen Ellia.”

“I’m asking what you meant by it. If destroying holy ground is wicked, could transferring it to someone outside the church be good? Of course not. Of course it’s impious.”

“Exactly. I agree. Yet here I have the deed of sale proving that the land the church stood on was sold.”

I held up one of the documents I’d brought. It was the deed of sale I’d found when I looked into the human traffickers harassing the orphans. The traffickers were listed as the buyers, and the name on the line that said “Seller” was none other than the Darryl Church.

The crowd that had grown so raucous suddenly fell completely silent. Those in the second prince’s faction tried to raise their voices again soon enough, but everyone had started to sense where this was going.

“I was shocked to learn anyone would sell the holy ground upon which a church stood. Just as Your Majesty says, selling land reserved for a church is an appalling act of blasphemy. Yet immediately after the church’s caretaker passed away, the land upon which it stood was sold. Moreover, the signature of the seller belongs to a priest of the Darryl Church. What do you make of that?”

“Nonsense! A priest of the church would never sell holy ground! Let alone a church! It must have been someone impersonating a priest, which is a very serious crime!”

“I also wanted to believe it wasn’t the case. How dare a servant of God do such a thing? But it is in fact what happened. This church’s caretaker was a nun, and after she passed, the church fell to ruin and the new owners tried to force the orphans who lived there to leave.”

“Oh, yes. I’m sure that’s the truth. How dare you doubt servants of God in favor of some random strangers? And you call yourself a noble? Honestly, it’s despicable.” Queen Ellia snickered, denying my claims outright.

“As I said, I also wanted to believe. As everyone knows, I am the acting governor of Armelia. My father entrusted me with this position, and I have worked tirelessly to reform our government. I’ve completely revamped the tax system, performed a census, reevaluated every official in our employ…and registered ownership for every plot of land in our domain.”

“What of it?”

“In order to build our land ownership registry, we worked with all landowners, including the church. If a party declared that they could not claim ownership of a parcel of land, then they were not registered as the owner.”

Even though I hadn’t planned on having to use the census and registry like this, I was so thankful that I had taken care of them as soon as I had.

“In our registry, the Darryl Church did not claim ownership of this land. I was shocked. I couldn’t believe that the Darryl Church had actually sold it. But I have the proof right here, in this document.” I held it up again. The seal of a Darryl Church priest was clearly stamped on it.

“The orphans who were looked after by the nun were still there, but the church had fallen into a heartbreaking state of disrepair. I contacted a priest of the Darryl Church and consulted with him over whether it would be better to tear that church down and build a new one in its place. Not only were the officials of the church made aware of my plan, I sent these plans to other kingdom officials as well. I have copies of those notices here, too.”

“I see you have proof of these notifications to the kingdom, but do you have proof that you proposed this idea to the church?” Queen Ellia frowned, and her voice was razor sharp. “As I said before, perhaps you were working with an individual who was impersonating a priest? Or perhaps you conspired with someone after the fact to fabricate all this ‘proof’?”

In other words, she was demanding more evidence.

“I sent the plans directly to the palace, so those officials surely were not impersonators. Unless we should doubt the veracity of every interaction we have with the palace?” I said with as much sarcasm as I could muster.

Queen Ellia snapped her fan shut, looking profoundly uncomfortable. “That’s enough! This is of no consequence. It appears you’re running your mouth to talk away your sins. But as I said, you have no proof that you engaged with a true member of the Darryl Church. No matter how much evidence you claim to have, I will not be deceived!”

She wanted to tell me to give it up—but I spoke before she could.

“I do have more proof. Right here.”

I took out a thin booklet, one that was very old and yellowed.

“Wh-what’s that?!”

Most of the people in the room didn’t recognize it, and they murmured to each other, confused. But as soon as the Darryl Church officials laid eyes upon it, all the color drained from their faces. They knew exactly what I held.

“Any official of the Darryl Church can tell you what this is, because they know better than anyone: it’s a ledger of every single priest in the kingdom.”

The Darryl Church was an organization, after all.

Maybe layman’s terms were a bit inaccurate, but priests are like everyone else—they need some kind of income to live on. I’d been sure they had to have some manner of record of their employees in order to manage their payroll, and it turned out I was right.

There was also a list of the priests who owned the various churches. Including the ones I’d spoken to, of course.

“The name of the priest who signed the deed of sale, as well as the one with whom I communicated about rebuilding the church, are both here in this ledger. I was surprised to see they both held quite prominent positions within the Darryl Church.”

“How did you…” Pope Lutasha muttered in disbelief, staring at the booklet.

This ledger was never to be taken off the premises of the main church, so they were all floored to see it in my possession. I’d known that no matter what evidence I presented, I might have been able to convince the nobles to take my side, but the church would never budge. They would vehemently deny that any member of their clergy would be capable of actually selling a church. This ledger was the only way to shut them up.

“I cannot imagine how you got that, but I doubt that booklet is even real!” Father Rafsimons spat.

Queen Ellia’s eyes glinted. So predictable. “Yes, exactly!”

“Go ahead and check it yourself, Father Rafsimons. And anyone else who’d like to see it as well.” I took a step toward them. No one stopped me.

I handed Father Rafsimons the ledger, and he flipped through it until he stopped at the final page. His eyes widened in shock as he stared down. “This is…”

I had to admit, I was thoroughly impressed with his acting.

“I apologize. Yes, this definitely belongs to the church,” he said hesitantly. His voice was quiet, yet it resounded throughout the room.

“No!”

“Go ahead and see for yourselves.” Father Rafsimons passed the notebook to another church official, who passed it to another. At first, each one looked skeptical, but then, one by one, they nodded their assent.

“And just what makes you so certain?” Queen Ellia asked with clear annoyance. Her hands were shaking; she had to be incredibly angry.

“The last page bears the mark of both the pope and the cardinals’ official seals. In order to prevent forgeries, these particular seals have never been made public. They are used only for internal documents such as this.”

Specifically, it bore the seals of the pope and the five cardinals directly beneath him, who were the highest-ranking officials in the church.

“This is undeniably authentic,” I said. “I’m sure this will all go much faster if we just check in with the rest of those involved, don’t you think?”

The moment those words left my lips, Lyle strode into the chamber escorting two men, i.e., the priests in question. Ah, pardon me—former priests. Tanya had used the full authority of my family in order to locate them.

“Would the two of you please introduce yourselves?” I did my best to sound kind.

“M-my name is Danon. I did clerical work at the church in the capital.”

By that, he could only mean one place: the church whose congregation comprised nearly half the capital’s population—the church that the royal family and the highest-ranking officials all attended. It was inextricably associated with the royal line.

“I assisted the pope with all his needs. Regarding the sale of the land in Armelia, the pope gave me permission to sign the deed on his behalf. But then for some reason, I was abruptly fired…”

“My name is Leinin,” said the other man. “I also worked at the church in the capital. I received the request from the governor of Armelia regarding the church in question and responded. But for some reason, I was also abruptly let go from the church following that. They told me it was because I gave false statements, but I was only following orders. I have a copy of the response we sent to the governor of Armelia, which had been approved by the church. If you have any doubts regarding the truth of my words, this document should clear my name.”

The crowd grew even louder after hearing these two statements. I could feel it in my bones that the tide had turned in my favor.

“I’m sure the officials of the Darryl Church recognize these two men.” Naturally, this wasn’t actually a question.

The officials’ eyes widened, and they looked away awkwardly.

“I have additional physical proof as well as witnesses, but I suspect that I have already sufficiently proved my innocence, don’t you think?” I asked calmly.

Queen Ellia bit her lip. Oh, I’m sure there were dozens of things she wanted to say to me circling through her head, but none of them would have been permissible in front of this crowd.

Likewise, Pope Lutasha’s face had gone deep red with anger, but he said nothing.

The queen dowager finally broke her silence. “Very well, then. I think we’ve seen this girl did nothing wrong, and I’m sure everyone here can agree with me. Yes?”

She had posed a question just as I had, but it was clear she wasn’t truly asking for anyone’s opinion. In fact, she was putting an end to this inquiry once and for all.

“Iris Lana Armelia, the royal family hereby proclaims that you have done nothing at all to shame the name of House Armelia, a most noble family of our kingdom.”

There. Her declaration sealed the deal.

“My thanks, Your Majesty. Might I say one last thing?”

“Oh? What else have you to tell us?”

“It’s in regard to who bears true responsibility for this incident.”

Queen Ellia scowled. “You’ve already been absolved. I don’t imagine House Armelia will face any punishment for this either…”

“Of course not. That’s not what I meant. I was referring to the person who caused this misunderstanding. That is who bears the responsibility.”

I lifted my head and stared straight ahead. Directly at Pope Lutasha.

“House Armelia has served the royal family for generations. We have a long history of loyalty and have been granted great influence for it. So to falsely accuse a member of that house of such egregious acts is simply unacceptable.”

Several people averted their eyes. Every lie they’d spewed before was coming right back at them like a boomerang.

“Now that my innocence has been proven, it would set a terrible example for our kingdom if the person responsible were to go unpunished.” I didn’t mention Pope Lutasha, but I continued to stare right at him the entire time I spoke.

“That rings true… What do you think, Ellia?” The queen dowager asked the queen.

But Queen Ellia said nothing.

“All right, then. What does the Darryl Church have to say for itself?” The queen dowager gave an exaggerated sigh as she turned the question over to the officials.

Several of them opened their mouths to speak, got flustered, and then closed their mouths again.

“I simply don’t understand this silence. As I was listening to Iris, a thought crossed my mind. I’m sure everyone here thought something similar. Whyever did the Darryl Church fire the priests involved and suppress evidence…if not to purposefully undermine Iris? Or perhaps even the entirety of House Armelia, one of the most prominent noble families in our kingdom? Just how do you intend to take responsibility for that?”

The entire room went deathly quiet, and then Father Rafsimons spoke up. All eyes turned to him. “With all due respect, Your Majesty… This was an utter failure on the church’s part. I would like to conduct a thorough investigation to identify all parties responsible and punish them accordingly.”

“That will certainly be necessary. But how can we be sure you will in fact do this, when the officials of the church stand surrounded by a veil of secrecy?” The queen dowager’s expression was as cold as ice as she stared at the church officials. She cast the most intimidating pall upon the chamber, just as my father had.

But she was right. The church was so deeply embedded in our society that not even the most influential noble house could interfere with it. Moreover, since it was the only state religion in our kingdom, claiming every citizen as a believer, not even the royal family could interfere with its sacred status. If this investigation was mishandled, it could stir doubt among the citizens, and that could leave an opening for any number of malcontents to take advantage of.

Either way, the church couldn’t use God as a shield to escape responsibility for this scandal.

For my part, if I didn’t use this opportunity to split the church off of the second prince’s faction, who knew what they would do to me in the future? At the very least, I had to get the pope to abdicate, especially since Van was so close to Edward. I had to sever that connection.

“I won’t let that happen, of course,” Father Rafsimons declared. “I am a priest who serves God, but I am also a citizen of the kingdom of Tasmeria, and therefore I have every intention of punishing those involved in this transgression, no matter their position within the church. And as proof… Lady Iris, since your innocence has now been proven, I assume you no longer need that ledger?”

“That’s correct.”

“Would you mind giving it to the queen dowager?”

“Of course. All I do is for the good of the kingdom.”

“Now, Your Majesty, please take that ledger into your keeping. As you know, it has a list of all the Darryl Church officials in the kingdom as well as their registered churches.”

The queen dowager blinked in surprise for a moment. The booklet listed which church each official was employed at, as well as their positions. It was a glimpse inside the inner workings of the church, hence why it was never permitted to leave the premises. Her reaction indicated that she knew full well the value of what she held.

“I recognize your commitment,” she said. “You have my confidence. Now, when you say those responsible will be punished no matter who they are—do you include yourself?”

“Of course. I shall notify everyone in the church’s employ, as well as the royal family and the nobility, that whoever is found to be responsible shall be punished to the full extent that the royal family allows.”

Pope Lutasha finally came back to his senses and cried out. “Father Rafsimons! What gives you permission to—”

But Father Rafsimons only turned a cool gaze toward the pope. “Pardon me for overstepping my bounds, but I have no other choice. We cannot turn a blind eye to the unspeakable treatment Duke Armelia’s daughter received as a consequence of these false accusations. You do understand that, don’t you, Your Holiness?”

The pope was silent.

“Look around. The people of this country doubt us. That in and of itself should never have happened. In order to rebuild trust with our followers, we must ensure this never happens again and severely punish those responsible.”

“Well put,” said the queen dowager. “Now that you’ve said as much, I assume you won’t mind if I place you in charge of the investigation, Father Rafsimons?”

“It would be my pleasure.” He bowed deeply to her.

“But!” Pope Lutasha raised his voice in a panic.

The queen dowager turned her frigid gaze on him. “What has you so flustered?”

“Please reconsider! Does anyone truly deserve punishment for this? Of course it’s possible that some individuals covered up misdeeds that were inconvenient for them, but—can’t we simply give Your Majesty a report after we’ve conducted a fair investigation?”

“I’m sorry to say, Pope Lutasha, but as Father Rafsimons just said, at the moment, we cannot trust the word of anyone from the Darryl Church. Father Rafsimons has pledged to hold himself as accountable as everyone else, and so I have asked him to take charge of the investigation.”

“But…”

“I will hear no further arguments on the matter. Father Rafsimons, I am counting on you.”

“With God as my witness, I shall follow through.”

“If I may speak, there’s something else I’d like you to investigate as well, Father Rafsimons,” I said, speaking loudly and clearly.

“What’s that?”

“The church’s flow of funds.”

“You mean…what happened to the money the church received when they sold that holy ground in Armelia? Yes, I shall include that as part of the investigation.”

“Yes, I’d like you to. However, there’s something else on my mind.”

“Oho?”

“They received quite a sum for the land that the church stood on, yes, but they also receive large sums of money from the nobility in the name of donations. Yet they begged my mother to attend their charity balls, lest they receive too few donations to continue operations. What is the meaning of this?”

“Well…”

“You intend to notify the nobility of this incident in order to regain their trust, yes? In that case, I think this matter also requires thorough investigation. As governor of Armelia, I have of course made my own donations, and I do not begrudge them in the least. I’m sure now that my innocence has been proven, my mother will feel the same way. But I fear something similar will happen again unless we get to the bottom of this matter.”

“Yes, I think you speak some unfortunate truths, Lady Iris.” Father Rafsimons’s face was bitter. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was touching on a sensitive subject or because we hadn’t discussed this beforehand in our meeting. Either way, I had no intention of stopping.

“Also, I have a concern about the Azuta Corporation. Please excuse my frankness, Pope Lutasha, but how much is your salary?”

“What?! How dare you ask a servant of God such a vulgar question!”

“I don’t ask it because I want to, but this is an important matter. This year, you’ve spent about the same amount purchasing Azuta Corporation products as some of the richest nobles. I have to think your salary is quite hefty. Father Rafsimons?”

“It isn’t,” said Father Rafsimons.

“Well, then, Your Holiness, how in the world did you afford to spend so much on our products?”

“What cheek!” the pope snapped. “I would do no such thing!”

I didn’t come right out and say he’d used the money from the sale of the church to fund his luxury spending spree, but I saw the doubt and suspicion crossing people’s faces, so I knew the seed had been planted.

“Of course,” I said, “because to stand here and accuse you of such a thing without proof would be to do the exact same thing the Darryl Church did to me. Father Rafsimons? Please conduct a thorough investigation to discern where those funds went.”

“O-of course.”

“Is there anything else, Iris Lana Armelia?” the queen dowager asked.

“No, nothing.” I shook my head and bowed to the queen dowager.

“I see. I hereby order the officials of the Darryl Church to be placed under house arrest until the investigation is completed—especially Pope Lutasha and the cardinals.”

The pope opened his mouth to say something but then decided not to. Did he want to once again claim innocence, or was he trying to hide something? I felt momentarily anxious about it. I’d thought he would put up more of a fight, so his easy acquiescence made me nervous. Still, I had successfully struck back against the church. And I was sure that Pope Lutasha could expect a most exacting investigation.

Finally, the inquiry had come to a close.

 

***

 

“I wish you wouldn’t have made my heart race like that!”

“Oh? You didn’t have faith in me?”

Father Rafsimons chuckled wryly at my question.

It had been a week since the inquiry. In that week, the pope and his allies had been purged one after another. They weren’t excommunicated, but they were removed from their posts, so it was in the end a similarly severe punishment.

The investigation of church funds was still ongoing, but I was confident that these men would face the full extent of the kingdom’s punitive system once those crimes came to light.

“That’s not it. I was just surprised you brought it up during the inquiry. Now I think I know how a prey animal feels when cornered by a predator.”

“I had a good reason for saying it there. I had to cast doubt on the church in front of the entire nobility. That’s rendered it far more difficult for his allies to plot any resistance in the open.”

In a single moment, I had ruined every personal connection and ounce of trust the pope had ever earned. Even if he tried to plot against me again, no one would dare cooperate with him in fear of earning my suspicion.

“If he does try anything again, he’ll have to have an extraordinary reason for doing so. It might be necessary to root out the rest of his ilk as well.”

“You certainly have a point.” Father Rafsimons let out a sigh.

“Well? Are you satisfied with the outcome?”

“I think so. We were able to oust the pope and his faction, and now we’ll be able to start rooting out the rest of the corruption in the church.”

If you had to describe the relationship between Father Rafsimons and me, the most suitable word would be “accomplices.” Although it had seemed we were on opposing sides during the inquiry, we had been in on it together behind the scenes.

This accomplice was the final piece I had been missing that Dean had provided for me. I had desperately needed definitive proof of the church’s involvement before the inquiry. However, that proof had been incredibly difficult for me to get, since I had been excommunicated. But Dean had given me access to the exact person I needed.

“Now you can have what you wanted—the church is at last headed down the righteous path,” I said.

Father Rafsimons had been deeply unhappy with the church’s direction as of late. He had risen through the ranks but had been unable to be elevated any further due to the war between internal factions.

“Indeed… I’m ashamed to admit it, but the degree of corruption in the capital’s church was truly incredible. Clergymen simply cannot start acting like nobles. Getting caught up in worldly indulgences and embezzling money from the sale of a church is a blasphemy upon blasphemies. If the church had continued on under those people, it would’ve lost the people’s trust sooner or later. And all because those people had been enabled to neglect their duties. I intend to set things right.”

“I’m counting on you, Father.”

“I suppose now it’s my turn to be tested, hm?” he said with a laugh.

“And did I live up to your expectations?” I asked.

He was the one who had provided me with the ledger, of course. And since it was absolutely forbidden to take the booklet off church premises, he had taken an enormous gamble—a profound risk—to help me.

Also, while I no longer had them, he had given me leverage against him in the form of documents with his signature. That was how he had proven his trustworthiness as an accomplice. He had vowed not to betray me, and I had vowed the same to him.

“You have. So now it’s my turn.”

“I can’t express my gratitude. I swear that House Armelia will do everything in its power to aid you moving forward.” In exchange for his cooperation, I’d promised to give him our full support once my position was recovered. “Well, I suppose I should be going now.”

“Oh, already?”

“Yes, I’m terribly busy with the company these days.”

Not only had my excommunication been rescinded, I’d received a full apology from the church. Immediately following that, I’d put a new product out for sale. It was a dessert using the dandelion coffee I’d had Merida make, a simple one that also used gelatin. It was a real hit, and sales were already up.

I had also put several new chocolate products out. Only those on the development team in the main headquarters of the Azuta Corporation in Armelia had known about it, so even if the employees whom Prince Edward had poached for his own venture had tried to copy our wares, none of them had the recipes for these new products. As such, our customers were returning.

As well, I’d heard that a number of my employees who had left me for Edward wanted to come back. As if I’d allow that.

My clients who had turned their back on us were also returning, so soon enough, the copycat companies would have a hard time truly competing with us. I’d heard they were careless with their businesses anyway.

“All right, then. Thank you for everything.”

 

***

 

After Iris left, Father Rafsimons let out a sigh. Talking with her always made him incredibly anxious. Her aura was more dignified and intimidating than that of any other noble he’d ever met—and coupled with the business acumen of a merchant at that. He had no idea how anyone could ever look down on her.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. He had a feeling it was his other accomplice.

“Ah, pardon me, Dean. Lady Iris was just here. Did you miss her?”

“Yes, and I did it on purpose.” Dean chuckled and sat across from the priest in the seat Iris had just vacated. “Well? How are things?”

“Going so smoothly, it’s almost frightening, actually. Now that we’ve shaken things up, all the dust has come out into the open, thanks to Lady Iris.”

“I see.” Dean smiled gently.

Father Rafsimons was surprised to see that face. “Aren’t you going to ask for more details?”

“I’ll see them when I read your report.”

“That’s true.”

The tender smile vanished from Dean’s face as he resumed his usual expression. Father Rafsimons felt himself tensing up as well. He was always nervous when he met with Dean, almost more so than when he met with Lady Iris.

“I know the risk you took to see this through,” said Father Rafsimons.

“It was a small price to pay in exchange for rooting out the corruption in the church.”

“Was it really that small? The general public may not realize it, but anyone with an ounce of good sense has figured it out—that although you’re supposedly studying abroad, you were actually directing your faction to ensure that the inquiry ran smoothly to prevent the ouster of the prime minister. Now that I think about it, that must’ve taken quite a network.”

“Goodness. Now that you mention it, you’re right.”

“Are you sure that was a good idea? Normally, you prefer working from the shadows, but you really put yourself out there.”

“I couldn’t let my grandmother be the one to put herself on the line this time. Since my father’s health has declined, she’s the head of the family. I couldn’t have her pitting herself against the church. That just would’ve made things worse.”

“I suppose that’s a good point.”

“What’s the problem, anyway? I’ve simply returned from a long absence. It’s my choice to decide how I move forward at this point. And anyway, I’m not putting my name out there as much as you might think. If I did, I’d have all sorts of deadly problems to deal with, even if it was just one little rumor.”

“I’m not sure if measuring your well-being by the number of assassins actively hunting you is the right way to go, but all right, then.”

“Anyway, let’s get back to the main topic.”

At this prompting, Father Rafsimons took out a piece of paper and handed it to Dean. He read it over, checked it, and burned it. Then he read and checked the next document the priest handed him.

“Yes, this is it,” Dean said. The priest nodded and added his signature, then placed his seal on the document.

The document they had just burned was the one Dean had exchanged with Iris before giving her the ledger. The document said: “All responsibility lies with Dean.” That was the collateral he had put up in order for the priest to give Iris the booklet.

In other words, if Iris had not emerged victorious after the inquiry and the first prince’s faction had not won, or the end result had not lived up to Father Rafsimons’ expectations, Dean would have taken full responsibility for the entire incident. Without this guarantee, no one who had worked so many long years at the center of the battle between political factions would have trusted some girl they’d never met before at the risk of their own life.

These two documents, the one they had burned and the one they held now, had been written to become valid at this time. They’d arranged beforehand that if Iris won Father Rafsimons’s favor, this new contract would be put into effect. That was the one he had just signed; it’d already had Dean’s signature on it. It stated that from hereafter, Father Rafsimons would swear his allegiance to Dean.

“When you first contacted me a few years ago, I thought I was dreaming,” said Father Rafsimons. “But I’m glad I listened to you and that I didn’t give up on the church.”

“Everything has been arranged for you to move forward. Don’t slow down now.”

“No, of course not.”

 

***

 

Footsteps echoed loudly as two men walked down a darkened hall.

“Quite a lovely dungeon.”

Rudy laughed in response to the man’s sarcastic quip. “Well, he is the pope. We couldn’t house him with the commoners.”

“It was that line of thought that got him into this mess in the first place, wasn’t it?”

The man gave instructions to the guards, who opened the doors. The guards were standing watch over a special jail cell in which the pope was being held.

“Who’s there—ah, it’s you!” The pope’s eyes widened when he saw who it was.

The man was amused by his reaction, his lips curving up into a grin. “It’s been a long time, Pope Wilmots Lutasha. Although I suppose now you’re no longer a pope.”

The man was aware that the smile on his face was quite mean. He couldn’t help it; the knowledge that he was about to snuff out part of the church’s deep-seated corruption was just too sweet.

“Prince Alfred! Why are you here?”

“Why? Well, because you called me, of course.”

After the briefest pause, the truth finally dawned on Lutasha, and he took several deep breaths to calm himself.

“After you joined forces with Queen Ellia and Marquis Marea, I was compelled to come forward in order to put a stop to it. We’re vying for power, after all. Presently, they have more influence in the capital. Once they had the church’s backing as well, I couldn’t just keep lurking in the shadows. They used your leverage to try to rid themselves of House Armelia, which they find most troubling. I’m not sure they’ll be pleased with the outcome, however, as not only did they fail in that regard, they also forced me to intervene more directly.”

“I-It’s as you say, Your Highness. Queen Ellia and Marquis Marea just used me! Please, have mercy on me, Prince Alfred!”

At this, the prince laughed out loud. He couldn’t help it. He was far too amused. Then he stared at Lutasha like he was out of his mind. “You underestimate me. Were you instructed to do this?”

“Of course not! Queen Ellia would never!”

“That’s not who I meant.” The prince’s voice was ice-cold. Colder, actually, as it had borne no warmth in the first place.

Lutasha blanched at the audible menace in his tone. “What?”

“I’m talking about the merchant. What was his name? Divan?”

All the blood drained from Lutasha’s face. His reaction was so transparent that the prince had to wonder how he’d ever survived as the highest-ranking member in such a cutthroat world as the church.

“H-how did you…?”

“You were a pawn used by Queen Ellia and Marquis Marea. It’s most accurate to put it like that. You really should have predicted this would happen before you joined forces with them. Why did you just go ahead and do whatever they said? Didn’t it occur to you that all of you might have been manipulated?”

Lutasha’s mouth hung open.

“Your purpose was never truly to oust Iris. Well, they would have liked it if you succeeded. But all you really had to do was temporarily hamper the power of Louis de Armelia. You needed us focused on him to make it easier for Divan and his people to act. And his job was to disrupt the flow of income to House Armelia. I don’t know if you thought you’d be rewarded with a position of faith or nobility in that country—but then, I’m not asking you to answer me.”

“But if you knew all that, then why…”

“Why? I’ve been waiting for a chance to lance the boils like you. All I had to do was destroy your plans. I have to thank you, though—you spared me the effort and destroyed yourself first.”

Lutasha’s face twisted to an almost humorous extent.

“I’ll return with more news when it becomes available. Until then, you may continue relaxing in this wonderful room of yours.”

Now that the prince had said all he wished to say, Rudy escorted him out of the room. They heard the sound of Lutasha wailing behind them.

Good thing I left when I did, the prince thought with a smirk.

“You’ve really made your move now, Prince Alfred,” Rudy remarked with a grin.

“This was my best chance to get at the church. It’s used its faith as a shield for far too long. I couldn’t waste the opportunity.”

“Ah, that’s not what I meant. I was referring to helping Iris.”

The prince gave Rudy an irritable look. “Well. She stood on the gallows for me. It was the least I could do in return.”

“Even if you did save her from those false charges in the end, you still could have used the chance to strip House Armelia of its power. Yet you chose to help her. And you crossed quite a dangerous bridge to do so.”

“Yes? What of it?”

“I’d like to leave it at that, but unfortunately I can’t. Because of this, you’re officially in league with House Armelia. From now on, when the head of the Armelia family makes a move, the neutral faction who favors the king will start leaning toward our side.”

Rudy was right. Once the neutral faction heard that the first prince had entered the fray in earnest, they would try to get in contact with him.

“But most of all, as her cousin, I want to thank you for helping her.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“You’re quite fond of my cousin, aren’t you?” Rudy asked with a grin.

The prince let out a sigh. Had that been the conversation Rudy had been angling for from the start? “What about you? You seem to know an awful lot about her.”

“Well, I’m her cousin, after all. But not only have you kept returning for her temporary contracts, now you’ve become quite intimately involved with her. I can’t think of anyone else who would do such a thing for her sake.” Rudy laughed.

“I was…surprised. She visits the orphanage often and plays with the children. And not as a noblewoman. She hares off to take care of other things by herself, too. Even if she were doing it without an alias, I’d hardly believe it if you told me.” The prince shook his head, still in disbelief. “I really only meant to work with her the once.”

It had all started from pure curiosity over how Armelia had developed so much so quickly. Once the prince had heard the acting governor was Iris, a girl who had been expelled from the academy, his curiosity had only grown stronger.

He’d seen her once while at the academy, but at the time, his only impression of her had been that she was cruel. She had unabashedly insulted Yuri Neuer to her face. Not only had the words themselves made Alfred raise an eyebrow, he had thought them bitingly harsh even knowing the circumstance that prompted them—and his brother’s involvement in it.

And now that girl was an acting governor? Alfred hadn’t been able to fathom what the prime minister was thinking. He assumed the people surrounding Iris had to be impressive indeed in order for Armelia to have experienced such growth. He decided to go undercover to see the inner workings of the duchy. It had shocked him to see she really was the one giving orders. The realization had changed him.

“It was fascinating. I’d never been responsible for anyone but my own family, and nothing I was responsible for had ever felt outside of my control. Thus, I’d never felt a true sense of accomplishment. In fact, I felt nothing about everything, and nothing truly interested me. But being with her is invigorating. She has ideas I never could have imagined, and I can never predict what she’ll do. Everything about her broke my beliefs about the world as I knew it. She constantly inspires me with new innovations. Every time I’m about to see her, my heart beats faster, wondering what new thing she’ll show me. I honestly never tire of her, and I started wanting to just watch over her.”

In truth, he wanted to spoil her rotten. He wanted her to break down all her walls, but only for him, so only he would ever see her vulnerabilities. She hadn’t allowed it yet, but even that stubbornness was adorable to him. He really was terribly weak for her.

“To me, the people, money, government—I dealt with them all at a desk. Numbers were numbers and nothing more, nothing less. The people who worked for me were pawns on a chessboard and all I had to do was determine where to move them. But after I met her, I realized none of that was true.”

“Yes, you’ve definitely softened.”

“Ha. You’re just going to come right out and say it?”

“That’s why I’m worried.” Rudy’s tone suddenly changed. Before it had been teasing, but now it was serious. “The fact that you’ve grown softer is a good thing for you personally. But if you let yourself get carried away with your emotions, it could ruin your plan. That’s all I’m saying.”

“You just thanked me for saving your cousin. Now you’re telling me to let Iris get involved, Rudius Gib Anderson?”

“First, I think it would take a lot more to take her down. Second, no matter what, I know I’ll always choose you, Alfred Dean Tasmeria.”

Rudy’s words hit Alfred hard. He was declaring his loyalty to the prince over his own flesh and blood.

“Don’t worry,” Alfred said. “I won’t change the plans we’ve already set into motion. My mind hasn’t changed, not once, since we decided to remove both Ellia and the king from power. I won’t become like my father.”

Rudy breathed a sigh. “I’m relieved to hear that.”

“You never had anything to fear. My resolve has only strengthened since forging a bond with her.”

“Why?”

“An incompetent king kills his citizens. My father loved my mother, and even though it’s a tragic thing that he lost heart when he lost her, it’s nothing to pity him for.” The king had lost his will to live with the death of Queen Sharia. He’d grown distant even from himself. That was how Queen Ellia and her father, Marquis Marea, had taken so much power from him.

Like a fool, the king had turned a blind eye to Queen Ellia’s involvement in Queen Sharia’s death. Even worse, he’d been nothing more than her puppet as she tried to rid herself of both of Queen Sharia’s children—Alfred and Letty. Even though they were the children the king’s beloved late queen had given birth to, they had all but vanished from the king’s life. If the queen dowager hadn’t given them sanctuary, they would have suffered the same fate as their mother and died by Queen Ellia’s hand.

“When I saw Iris risking it all, putting everything on the line for her duties, my conviction only deepened. The king is ill, and there’s nothing to be done for him now. Sooner or later, he’ll have to abdicate, and I will fulfill my sovereign duty to rid this kingdom of that corrupt filth.”

Even if it means taking my own flesh and blood down with it, he thought. At this point, his filial bond with his father was nothing more than a burden. The only person he truly thought of as family was his sister, Letty. Removing the king from power wouldn’t trouble him in the least.

Ahh, that’s why… he thought, suddenly realizing something. Letty had also mentioned she thought he was softening. Only now did he realize how right she was.

He had indeed been cold and disinterested in the world. He hadn’t cared how many people died or who suffered in order to achieve his goal—these losses were merely numbers. All he had to do in the aftermath was balance the loss with his victory.

But to the two people closest to him, who saw him from outside himself, his change had likely been strikingly obvious. In a way, that meant Iris had made even more of an impact on him than he’d realized, as she was the fulcrum of this change.

He had to laugh at himself for taking so long to notice it. Seriously, how blind was he?

“I won’t become like my father,” he assured Rudy, “because the woman who has my heart won’t become mine.”

Rudy frowned. “I believe House Armelia would be pleased to join with yours, if that’s what you desired. It would be the natural thing. Iris’s younger brother will be the next governor of Armelia. She’ll have to hand the reins over to him at some point anyway.”

True enough. House Armelia had Berne to care for its obligations, and at some point, Iris would be expected to relinquish her role to him. Alfred wondered what she thought about that. Moreover, even if she let Berne become the governor of Armelia, she would still have the Azuta Corporation. And with governorship off her plate, she might well find some other project to pursue and start running toward that.

“The woman I love is a woman who flies free. I could never clip her wings and keep her in the royal palace.”

She had dedicated the whole of herself to governance, and she spent every spare moment traveling through the duchy. Her eyes sparkled every time she overcame a challenge, which only made her more attractive to Alfred. It would be such a waste to confine her to the rules and regulations of the palace.

“I know that’s what the queen dowager expects, and I hate to disappoint her. But I have no intention of asking Iris to join the royal family.”

“I see.” Rudy had a conflicted expression—a mixture of relief and disappointment.

They continued talking as they walked to their destination, the library. This was where Alfred spent the majority of his time when he lived at the detached palace, besides when he slept. Lately, he had been traveling more, so he hadn’t come often, as he spent the majority of his time sneaking into the main palace to work.

One wall was covered in bookshelves, stuffed full of books. He’d always thought it quite the collection, but now that he had seen House Armelia’s library, it seemed small in comparison. How could one person own so many books, anyway?

Alfred walked toward a desk in the back of the library and took a seat there. This wooden desk and chair had been used by generations of the royal family, and although not particularly beautiful, it was comfortable, and therefore he had always been fond of it.

“Shall I bring you some tea?” Rudy asked.

The prince nodded and closed his eyes for a moment. He heard the faint sound of the door closing quietly. Rudy was speaking to a servant outside the door. The detached palace retained the bare minimum of servants. Ostensibly, this was because the queen dowager had retired, but more truly it was because Alfred and Letty lived there as well, and their lives were under constant threat from Queen Ellia.

“Here’s your tea, Prince Alfred.” Rudy carefully placed it in front of him, ever the model attendant. Rudy had a number of remarkable skills, but his tea especially was always delicious.

“Thank you. Hm? Is this…?”

“Yes, it’s one of the Azuta Corporation’s most popular herbal teas. Supposedly, it’s effective against fatigue.”

“I’m aware. That’s very thoughtful of you. Thank you.”

“Of course.”

The pale gold liquid had a unique aroma—it was exquisite.

“Sounds like the corporation is making a comeback.”

“Indeed. Iris remains impressive. Now that she’s been proven innocent, she isn’t letting any opportunities pass her by. She’s been putting out one new product after another.”

“Sounds like my younger brother is suffering because of it, too,” Alfred said with a laugh.

Although Prince Edward’s reasoning for starting his own company was small-minded, he certainly had chosen the right timing to steal employees from the Azuta Corporation. The ones in higher positions—for example, the employee in charge of the kitchen in the café located in the royal capital—would have been well worth the effort of poaching and remained valuable. But most of the employees Edward had taken from Iris had not held meaningful positions and could therefore add little worth to his company.

Azuta’s greatest asset was its ability to produce new and innovative products. In Alfred’s estimation, Edward really should have tried to steal someone from their research and development department instead.

“The report from Father Rafsimons has arrived. First, the charges against the pope are as follows: embezzlement, false allegations against Iris Lana Armelia, and concealing evidence. Due to these incursions, he has been stripped of his position as pope. As you saw in our meeting with him, he is currently imprisoned. Two cardinals and three priests have also received punishment. The full report is here.”

So two of the five cardinals had participated in this scheme. The church was fully on Edward’s side, so Alfred had been lucky to hamstring their operation and their usefulness as pawns of House Marea. It would take some time for the church to regain its influence, and in the meantime, they would be unable to meaningfully participate in the war between the factions.

“By the way, have you seen Milo?”

“I haven’t. I’m not sure he’s returned yet.”

“Hm…”

“You called, so I came… Dun-da-da-daaah!”

Suddenly a bright, cheerful voice interrupted their conversation. The owner of the voice was the person they had just been discussing. He had light brown hair, and his face was strangely sweet. It wouldn’t have been surprising if someone mistook him for a woman.

“You remain unusually skilled at showing up out of nowhere…”

Milo was a master of stealth, so neither Alfred nor Rudy had been alerted to his presence. He had been trained as a spy from the time he was a young boy.

“That’s because I’m a shadow,” said Milo. “Well? What is it you wanted?”

“You know what I want. Your report. Get on with it.”

“Eep! To start, that girl’s terrifying,” Milo began.

This elicited another sigh from the prince. “Why do you say that?”

“The pope’s son hasn’t yet been punished, you see. He’s still living in the house that’s been reserved for the papal family for generations.”

“We don’t yet know what will happen with regard to him,” said Rudy. “Those in line to become the pope enter the academy to study and make connections with the nobility. Upon graduation, they join the church and begin training for their papal duties. But now in the midst of Van’s training, his father was stripped of his position. If we wait for Van to finish training, we’ll be without a pope for several years. Not to mention, I’m sure many people will be opposed to installing a pope of a disgraced bloodline. I’ve already heard that very sentiment from some of the highest officials in the kingdom.”

Milo nodded in agreement. Basically, the chances that Van would succeed his father as the pope were exceedingly low.

“Mm-hmm, exactly. That’s why… So, the kid will try talking to that girl like he always used to, but she’ll say something like ‘Can I help you?’ Like he’s a total stranger. It surprised me. I always thought he stuck his nose into other people’s business without permission, but now she treats him like he’s totally useless. I never expected her to abandon him so quickly.” Although Milo said all of this with a smile, there was an edge in his voice. “I just think it’s a bit soon to cast him aside. I mean, if she really doesn’t have any use for him, I can understand cutting him off, but I just wonder if that’s really in her best interest right now.”

“Is she your type or something?”

“Not sure. She has her pros and cons. But I already have a master. I have no intentions of fooling around with her.”

“Well, and? Don’t tell me that’s the end of your report.”

At this, Milo’s eyes suddenly grew serious, though he maintained his smile. “No. There are an awful lot of rats hanging around her. What do you want me to do with them?”

“Her guards? Or…”

“Both, I’d say? They behave rather strangely for people tasked with her protection.”

“I see… You haven’t gotten anything useful out of them, have you?”

“No one in her circle knows what we’re up to, at least. The duke’s son is starting to distance himself from her—as is the son of the knight commander.”

“Oh? Even Dorssen?”

“Yes. The knight commander forced him to, though. Good thing either way. Got him before it was too late, I should say. If he’d kept clinging to her, we would’ve had to take care of him.”

“The absence of one knight makes little impact on the kingdom,” Rudy said sharply. It was understandable how he’d come by that perspective, given his grandfather’s affiliation with the military.

“That’s creepy, Rudy.”

“Says the man with the splendid mask,” Rudy retorted.

Milo didn’t seem bothered. He had his usual innocent smile plastered onto his face. “Ah, and the duke’s daughter’s maid is sniffing around again.”

“Tanya?”

“She’s pretty good. Almost makes me want to hire her.”

That was true praise, coming from Milo. While eccentric, he was purely professional when it came to his job. For a moment, the prince did consider hiring Tanya, but…

“She’d never entertain the thought of leaving Iris for us. Never in a thousand years.”

It was impossible.

Milo chuckled. “That’s part of what makes her so good, yes! I wish we could have met her before she had a mistress…”

“You only ever met her because of her mistress.”

“Oh, right. What a shame, what a shame.”

“Well? What’s the baron’s daughter after?”

“Hmmm, she meets with that merchant Divan about two or three times a month. They don’t talk about anything especially important. How things are going with Prince Edward, how things are at home. That sort of thing.”

“How things are with Edward, hm? I’m sure that’s quite important to Divan. But why was Divan trying to make another move in the first place? As long as the baron’s daughter has her hooks in Ed, he can pull any strings he wants once he’s on the throne.”

“I don’t know. Perhaps he’s feeling nervous about you, Your Highness. Or perhaps she was nothing but a pawn to him from the very start. One of the two.”

Rudy frowned; he seemed dissatisfied with Milo’s answer. “I’m sure it’s the latter. We have to take into account that he can’t just sit and wait for everything to pan out in the future. Things as they are aren’t good enough for him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s say Edward takes the throne, but the prime minister is still Louis de Armelia. Duke Armelia has a strong, fortified domain with financial wealth and abundant resources. He holds every official in the palace in the palm of his hand and is the highest-ranking noble. Even if Divan tried to use Edward, he wouldn’t be able to make any bold moves. Instead, it would be more effective to use the internal strife that presently exists within the nobility to weaken the kingdom and grow his own influence.”

“Hmm… I feel like that would be a complex plan with a lot of moving parts. And where would Tweil come into it?”

“Tasmeria’s land is fertile enough to be attractive in itself. Enarene’s report agrees. Just this year, Tweil’s harvest was the worst it’s been in a generation.”

Enarene was another “shadow” just like Milo, one who was currently operating under Baron Marvelas Messi, a noble who held the border with Tweil. Enarene relayed information between Alfred, and the baron and had recently gone undercover in Tweil. According to the newest report, Tweil had suffered an exceptionally poor harvest. Winter lasted most of the year in that northern country, and not only was the soil poor—a condition of the cease-fire with Tasmeria had them paying an enormous amount of money to support the princess who had married into House Rubens.

In other words, they were cornered and could no longer afford to be patient. They would much rather try to destroy a fragile kingdom and take it over, rather than wait for a better future for their own. That was their philosophy, anyway.

“Well, it’s not my place to sort out what to do. And now I’m tired.”

“Is that the last of your report?”

“Hm? Oh, yes, yes. Not much else to say.”

“All right. Keep up the good work.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Milo’s expression turned serious. Then he vanished as suddenly and soundlessly as he had first appeared.

After the prince gave Rudy a list of instructions, he took his leave. Now alone, he flipped through the documents on his desk, but his mind was somewhere else entirely.

He was thinking of the day Iris had let her emotions show and cried.

He knew he had pushed her, and hard. But he hadn’t expected her to explode like that. She had seemed so frail. Truly desperate. She always had such bright, glowing eyes and never showed any sign of fatigue. But that day…her slender shoulders had been bowed under such a heavy burden.

Alfred had seen the immense guilt she felt over bringing such troubles to her family. And it was no wonder, with her history. A noble daughter’s most important role was to get married and bring two houses together. After her engagement was broken, he couldn’t blame her for feeling she had to prove herself. Her driving force was her desire to be valuable to her family. Yet she was afraid that she had caused irreparable damage to them.

Seeing her like that had saddened him. At the same time, it made him angry. He wanted to tell her to stop hating herself. He chuckled bitterly. He really had it bad for that woman, if he found even that part of her adorable.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Rudy entered once more. Alfred listened to his report and let out a sigh.

“Rudy. I’m going to be asking you to take on another job for me.”

“With the military again?”

“Yes. General Gazell is there, after all.”

“That’s fine. I don’t mind getting some exercise.”

Rudy agreed with a smile, but then he froze when he glanced at the door.

The prince smiled wryly when he saw who was standing there. It was his little sister.