Chapter 24 - Not All Scoundrels Are the Same (3)

"Let me get a look outside for once."

Only then did my uncle seem to understand what I meant, and his expression hardened.

"Far away, if possible."

My uncle looked troubled.

He had already ended up in an awkward position after standing surety for his scoundrel nephew once, so it was only natural that he would hesitate when I asked him to stand surety again.

"How far are you talking?"

But since he had said the words himself, he had no choice but to accept my request.

"I'll decide depending on the situation at the time."

At my words, my uncle set several conditions.

The schedule had to be within the limits of not interfering with the approaching banquet,

the location had to be somewhere the royal family's influence fully reached,

and if even the slightest unpleasant situation arose, I was to return immediately.

And, if possible, I was to follow his instructions.

"What is so hard about that?"

When I readily accepted, my uncle instead looked uneasy.

But since he had already broken his word once, he could not refuse my request this time as well.

"It will take some time to arrange the schedule."

Apparently, he had to select a place where a royal visit would not create political complications, organize the attendants, and prepare all sorts of things.

On top of that, he had to meet the King and receive permission for my trip, so even I could not simply pester him to let me leave right away.

When I answered that it was fine, my uncle turned away.

"Uncle."

I stopped him.

"Be good to me."

Something might fall into your lap, you know.

"I will repay this debt over time."

That was not what I meant.

I did not bother correcting the misunderstanding.

Whatever the reason, as long as he was good to me, that was enough.

"Then I will send word as soon as the schedule is set."

With those words, my uncle left.

I had felt eyes on me for a while now.

When I turned my head, I saw Karl and the Royal Knights glancing at me with strange looks in their eyes.

"What? What is it?"

"It is just a little unexpected, Your Highness."

Karl watched my mood, then stepped forward.

"What is unexpected this time?"

"I thought Your Highness would demand something tremendous."

At those words, the Royal Knights made subtle gestures of agreement.

"His Excellency the Count did break the promise he made before the spar, and he even lost the wager. In many ways, it is not an opportunity that comes often."

In other words,

"You thought I would squeeze my uncle dry, and since I didn't, you find that strange?"

He meant he had expected me to get excited because I had found an excuse and run wild, so it was unexpected that my demand was only an outing.

"That was not what I meant. But I did think you would make a more unreasonable demand. It would serve as a kind of revenge as well."

"I did. Make an unreasonable demand."

A scoundrel who had already caused a mess once was asking him to stand surety again.

His head must have been aching over what he was supposed to report to the King.

If the scoundrel caused trouble again, this time he would truly pay the price for carelessly standing surety.

At this level, one could hardly say my demand was simply light.

Of course, considering my past conduct, it would not have been strange even if I had made a far more unreasonable demand.

The way my uncle had acted as if he would cut off his arm and give it to me was proof enough.

"Even so..."

"When such a rigid old man is acting like that, he looks pitiful."

At my words, Karl smiled gently.

The Royal Knights wore similar smiles.

But for some reason, those smiles annoyed me.

They were the kind of smiles one might make when a yapping puppy that used to piss and shit everywhere finally learned where to go.

"All of you, together now. Just what did you think of me?"

I snapped in irritation.

But the smiles on the knights' lips did not disappear.

* * *

The old scholar came to see me again.

He called it studying, but there was nothing particularly special about the lesson method.

The old scholar brought up a topic, and conducted the lesson in the form of discourse.

It was the same as the day before.

The fact that he unfolded theories I found quite relatable, and the fact that I swore I would not be taken in so clumsily like the day before, only to lose myself in the discourse without realizing how much time had passed.

Everything was the same.

"Then, Your Highness. Let us continue the rest of the discussion tomorrow."

"Do whatever you want."

I deliberately answered indifferently.

"And this is a book I brought for you to read when you are bored."

"Iron-Blooded Theory of Monarchy?"

"Everything I spoke of is contained within it."

"Well, if I have so much time left over that I truly have nothing else to do, I might read it then."

For some reason, whenever I met the old scholar, I felt as though my pace was thrown off, so my voice kept turning curt.

But the old scholar merely smiled, as though indulging the whining of a young grandchild.

"Hmph. By the way, what is your name?"

I belatedly asked his name.

"I am Nicolo of Marchiadell. It is enough if you simply call me Nicolo."

"Nicolo Marchiadell... good. I will call you Nicolo from now on."

"Since we have exchanged names, one could say our relationship has advanced a step. Therefore, tomorrow, let us share an even deeper discussion."

Somehow, the flow of his consciousness seemed to begin and end with discourse, but I decided not to mind it.

Because even at a glance, the old scholar before me was clearly someone desperate to have discourse with someone.

"Is he lonely?"

Did they not say that when people grew old, they missed having someone to talk to?

I thought Nicolo Marchiadell must be the same.

"Hmm."

Left alone, I glanced over the book Nicolo had left behind.

It was a book far too heavy and thick for an old man to carry around, and on the cover, in plain lettering, was written 「Iron-Blooded Theory of Monarchy」.

"Huh?"

But the name written beneath it looked familiar.

「Written by Nicolo Marchiadell」

After seeing that name, I was dumbfounded.

"Every time he opened his mouth, he said, 'In the Iron-Blooded Theory of Monarchy,' 'In the Iron-Blooded Theory of Monarchy,' and it was a book he wrote himself?"

He was truly a shameless man.

Still, since he had shown the sincerity of bringing this heavy thing over, I might as well read it.

I opened the book.

And turned the pages.

Slowly, but without stopping.

I continued reading through the book.

THUD.

As I read like that, I somehow found myself at the final page.

"Hmm."

The relationship between sovereign and subject was treated on the same level as a merchant's contract, and noble loyalty was dismissed as nothing more than sincerity used to pursue political stability.

How a monarch could package himself as the most attractive contract partner, and how he could maintain that contract for a long time without trouble.

That was the main content of the book.

"I feel like nobles and monarchs would absolutely hate this."

He had done an impressive job of selecting and arranging only the words those who called themselves noble would dislike.

Of course, I was not one of them.

The book suited my tastes perfectly.

"Yes. This is how people should be handled."

I related to it greatly.

But sadly, I was not a monarch.

The only people I could call mine were Adelia and Arwen.

Among them, Arwen was in a situation where I had not even seen her face since she swore loyalty, and even that had not been an oath of loyalty born from sincere feeling, so it was a little ambiguous to call her mine.

In the end, the only one who was truly mine was Adelia.

"Your Highness."

Just then, Adelia appeared.

"Adelia. What do you want from me?"

"I have already received more than enough. Now I merely follow."

At her firm answer, I shook my head.

There was no room to apply the theories of Iron-Blooded Theory of Monarchy to her, who had taken subordination upon herself.

In the end, this book was useless to me.

Because I was not a monarch, but merely a prince who had fallen out of the King's favor.

"Your Highness. A letter has arrived for you."

While I was lost in thought, Adelia handed me a letter.

It had been sent by my first knight, who was diligently training at Iron Lion Castle.

「I have recently gained a small achievement. I believe I will be able to visit you soon. May you remain well until that day.」

The plain sentence, like her plain nature, was indeed just like Arwen Kirgayen.

"Though for that, her handwriting is far too conscious of how others see it."

The handwriting clearly showed she had deliberately written with strength, and her desire to be seen not as a woman, but as a knight, was entirely visible in it.

"An achievement..."

Perhaps by now, she too might have become a Double Chain knight.

And she had decided to return to my side after becoming a true knight worthy of investiture.

That meant the day she would return was near.

"She'll be perfect practice before I face that Third Prince bastard."

The wager with my uncle, that he would become my guardian if I crossed swords with a Double Chain knight and won, effectively held no more meaning for me.

To begin with, the condition my uncle had set was not especially to my taste.

It had merely been a small motivation given before my training.

What meaning would defeating a Double Chain knight have for me with my current achievement?

Of course, that did not mean I intended to cancel the match.

Nor did I intend to lose for him.

The face of that Third Prince bastard, who had looked down on me, came to mind.

I considered the petty scheme of the bastard who had only intended to step on me and make his own name known.

"If I'm going to do it, I should do it properly."

"Your Highness?"

At my mutter, Adelia gave me a puzzled look.

"Oh, nothing. More importantly, how was your training today?"

Because I had been engaged in discourse with the old scholar, I had not supervised her training.

Given that her talent was what it was, I was sure she had done well, but I asked just in case.

"I merely strive to live up to Your Highness's expectations."

"Good. I will look forward to it."

I truly looked forward to it.

Because the growth of the one who had offered me the [Poem of Subordination] would itself become a great strength to me.

At the same time, I was worried.

Because I did not know when the [Butcher] and [Warmonger] traits sleeping within her might burst out.

"Later, you know."

"Your Highness?"

"If you start feeling impulses that are hard to endure, make sure you tell me."

I urged her, just in case.

And even that did not feel like enough, so I reminded her several times that I was her master.

* * *

Several days passed.

My body and mind recovered to the point that even I could feel the damage to my soul had somewhat stabilized.

And when one more day passed, I felt mana begin to rise within my empty heart.

I stopped what I was doing and immediately began scraping together mana.

Like dry cotton soaking up water, my Mana Heart greedily devoured mana.

But the amount was far greater than I had expected.

If it had been as before, my Mana Heart would have filled long ago, but it was still nearly half empty.

Mana continued to rise.

Belatedly, I realized it.

That the [Poem of Slaying Dragons] I had forced myself to use had not left behind only aftereffects.

『You attempted a miracle beyond your capacity and glimpsed a part of that enormous will.』

『That influence has been reflected in your body.』

『Your Mana Heart has expanded.』

『Due to the expanded Mana Heart, your body's constitution has changed considerably.』

『Your body has become able to endure more mana.』

At last, the mana reached saturation, and a message sounded in my ear.

『You have reached the realm of Sword Expert.』

「Sword Expert」, the realm commonly called 「expert of the sword」.

I had grown once again.

But the messages still had not ended.

『Your connection to the origin has improved somewhat.』

『Some of the restrictions on the recovered authority have been lifted.』

『Authority, [Third Eye], has improved considerably.』

『Authority, [Third Ear], has improved considerably.』

A new power settled inside my body.

『You can now additionally use a portion of the authorities possessed by the origin.』

A portion of the power that had originally been mine, but that I could not use, was unlocked at this very moment.