The Black Crystal and the Legend 3

Roland Dille Unakaytis, the second prince of the Yunatian Empire, headed to his own palace with the Assistant Chancellor, Dolmir Butler. In the Empire, once princes and princesses reached a certain age, they were each given their own residence. Of course, these residences were mansions formerly used by imperial family members, not newly built ones.

The palace bestowed upon Roland by the Emperor had once belonged to the previous emperor’s younger brother. It was not far from the Emperor’s own palace, making it a convenient location.

After stepping out of the carriage and heading to his study, Roland got straight to the point as soon as Butler closed the door. “Well?”

“Did you find anything?”

“I found a number of interesting things.”

Butler chanted a short incantation, casting a soundproof barrier around the room.

Seeing this, Roland remained silent, though he thought it was overly cautious since only trusted individuals were placed in this residence. Even if he voiced his thoughts, he knew he would just get a lecture about taking every precaution.

He sat down in his office chair and waited for the report from his capable assistant chancellor. Butler stood across the well-used, magnificent desk and casually dropped a piece of classified information.

“It seems the First Prince’s meals have been poisoned.”

Roland’s eyebrow twitched.

“Poisoned? When did this happen?”

“It started about a month ago, and it’s been happening quite frequently since then. So much so that they can’t keep up with changing the food tasters, I hear. The First Prince and his close aides are trying to keep it a secret, but information like this inevitably leaks out.”

Butler said it nonchalantly. The rival faction had likely planted a spy among the ladies-in-waiting or attendants, or perhaps bribed a servant to obtain the information.

Though he called him “brother,” the First Prince and Roland were only half-siblings. The First Prince’s mother was the deceased Empress, while Roland’s mother was a woman who had been elevated from concubine to Empress after her death. The only one who shared the same mother as Roland was Princess Edith. The deceased Empress had also had one daughter in addition to the prince.

The candidates considered for the throne were those two, Roland, and the Third Prince, born to the Emperor and a concubine. In terms of bloodline, Princess Edith could have been supported as an heir, but the nobles were divided into factions supporting the First Prince, the First Princess, and the Third Prince. It was in this environment that Roland had recently begun to make a name for himself.

The Third Prince’s mother was a duchess and a relative of the imperial family, so he was treated differently from the other illegitimate children. Recently, the Emperor’s favor had shifted to Marchioness Maddalena Rendano, but his backing was on a completely different level, so his position was reputed to be stable.

“If my brother were to die, which faction would benefit… the First Princess’s faction or the Third Prince’s faction?”

“Many would suspect as much.”

Butler nodded curtly. The First Prince excelled in intellect and had a talent for business. That was why many among the nobility considered him the most suitable to be emperor. In fact, the First Prince’s faction was the largest.

Roland’s expression grew grim.

It was precisely because the First Prince’s faction, the First Princess’s faction, and the Third Prince’s faction were in a standoff that Roland had been able to slowly solidify his own support base. It had been three years since he had decided to enter the bloody fray for the throne, albeit only to protect Edith and himself. Roland’s camp was gradually gaining prominence, but it still lacked that final push.

“It would be a blow if my brother died now. It would be better if he held on a little longer.”

“There is nothing to be done about that. In any case, if the First Prince were to fall to poison, the balance of power in the court would crumble. For any faction, the situation of the recently emerged Second Prince-dono being in a neighboring country would be nothing but a nuisance.”

Butler shrugged nonchalantly. If the First Prince were assassinated, the nobles of the largest faction, the First Prince’s camp, would be set loose. Some would join the First Princess’s or the Third Prince’s faction, but the First Prince and those two differed greatly in their ways of thinking, personalities, and characters. If asked whether the nobles of the First Prince’s faction could immediately adapt to those two and their camps, the answer would be no. It was possible that the First Prince’s faction might rally to support Roland.

If that happened, it was not unreasonable for some to fear that Roland might not be able to return safely from a diplomatic visit to the Kingdom of Slibegrad. They could close the border roads, inspect travelers, and arrest Roland on some trumped-up charge. However, if Roland were within the country, they could protect him.

“Am I a human sacrifice?”

“You are the most powerful man here, are you not?”

It wasn't a line the prince with the most power, save the emperor, should be saying, Roland was curtly told, and he shot a resentful look at his trusted subordinate. Butler met his gaze calmly. His expression showed that he understood what Roland wanted to say but had no intention of accepting his lament.

Roland sighed deeply.

“It will only be a matter of time before it’s known that you’re aligned with my faction.”

“The other assistant chancellors are feeding information to the factions they support. I couldn’t keep pretending to be neutral forever, so the timing is just right.”

Butler was not the only assistant chancellor. Several assistants worked at the court, and each was aligned with a different faction. Of course, the Emperor was not ignorant of this. He deliberately let such existences be, watching as his own sons and daughters engaged in a bloody struggle.

Looking at the nonchalant Butler with an exasperated expression, Roland let out a wry smile.

“It was a stroke of luck for me that I managed to win you over first. The thought of you going to another faction is a headache—you’ve had offers before, haven’t you?”

“Of course. My abilities are known to be exceptional among the assistant chancellors.”

The assistant chancellor, who had just casually revealed to his master that he had been recruited by other factions, shrugged and added, “But I had no intention of aligning myself with any of the other princes.” Seeing that Butler seemed to be in a talkative mood today, Roland, as if not to miss this opportunity—but careful not to spoil his difficult subordinate’s mood—deliberately raised a single eyebrow nonchalantly.

“Oh?”

“The other princes are, for better or worse, impulsive, short-sighted, crude, and arrogant. To think that these are members of the imperial family is truly lamentable. Among them, I found Prince Roland to be relatively human. The people will not follow someone who is not ‘human.’ It’s a different story if you rule by fear, but a half-baked fear will quickly crumble.”

Roland had been listening with understanding up to a point, but he couldn’t help but question the last words Butler uttered.

“Half-baked fear?”

“Yes, with half-baked fear, the people will get the idea to rebel. That would lead to a usurpation of the throne. That would be interesting in its own way, but it would be a hassle if it happened now.”

“So you’re saying that if you could bind them with such thorough fear that they wouldn’t even think of rebelling—you would have supported another prince or princess?”

Butler blinked as if he had heard something unexpected. He stared at Roland for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

“As a possibility, that might have been the case. But I am not considering it now. If possible, I would like to maintain a friendly relationship with the neighboring kingdom.”

“—I see. I’m curious as to what caused that change of heart. But with that way of thinking, you wouldn’t be able to align with any faction other than mine, would you?”

Conquering the Kingdom of Slibegrad by force, turning the royal family into puppets and manipulating them, causing it to collapse from within—the methods differed, but all the heirs to the throne other than Roland aimed to absorb the Kingdom of Slibegrad into the Yunatian Empire or make it a vassal state. But that would never build a friendly relationship. To achieve Butler’s goal, they had to create a relationship of mutual respect, like Roland envisioned.

But now was not the time to delve deep into Butler’s thoughts. To get the conversation back on track, Roland slightly changed his tone.

“Do you know who poisoned my brother?”

“Unfortunately, not yet. It seems they replaced the vegetables and dried meat stored in the food pantry, but even so, the poison was found mixed in a few days later. The First Prince’s palace is quite on edge right now.”

Roland nodded. Even if the person who administered the poison were found, they would be nothing more than the perpetrator. The one who actually ordered the poisoning would surely have made it impossible to trace back to them. Anyone who left such an easy trail would have disappeared from the public stage long ago.

So Roland changed the question.

“How is Kuentzel?”

“He seems to be in a bad mood recently. Well, that’s to be expected—he’s busy collecting information to strip the nobles aligned with the First Princess’s faction of their titles.”

Earl Kuentzel was the head of the First Prince’s faction. And he was the man most trusted by the Emperor. His power had been growing year by year, to the point where it was whispered that you couldn’t survive in the court if you were on his bad side. And yet, the First Princess’s and Third Prince’s factions had begun to gain strength under the Earl’s nose. In other words, even Kuentzel, who was rumored to rule the court, had not been able to obtain information to bring them down—it could also be said that they had managed their information thoroughly and shown no weaknesses. The nobles who supported the First Princess and the Third Prince were fewer than those in the First Prince’s faction, but they were more cunning, shrewd, or sharp-witted.

Still, Earl Kuentzel’s power and connections were attractive. Anyone involved in the power struggle would want to bring him into their own camp.

“If my brother dies, who do you think Kuentzel will side with? Do you think he’ll remain a spectator?”

“Let’s see—”

At Roland’s question, Butler made a show of thinking.

Most of the nobles in the First Prince’s camp might support Roland without much thought. But Earl Kuentzel was different. He had some motive for backing the First Prince. Therefore, if it aligned with his principles, it was conceivable that he might side with the First Princess’s or the Third Prince’s camp instead of Roland.

“The most likely candidates are you or the Third Prince.”

“Not my sister?”

“Impossible. Their principles are in direct opposition.”

The First Prince wanted to make the Kingdom of Slibegrad a vassal state, but he did not intend to use military force. At most, he would cause skirmishes at the border and engage in negotiations. Basically, he wanted to turn the royal family into puppets of the Empire, dye the various nobles into the pro-Empire faction, and manipulate them from behind the scenes.

The First Princess, on the other hand, did not hesitate to say that the Kingdom of Slibegrad should be conquered by military force. The princess herself was a young but skilled martial artist.

“The Third Prince was against a military invasion, wasn’t he?”

“He may not use military force, but he intends to infiltrate spies and assassins to make it collapse from within.”

Butler nodded, supplementing Roland’s words.

There was no doubt that Count Kuentzel was against the use of military force. The remaining question was whether he placed importance on the continued existence of the neighboring kingdom or if he envisioned bringing it under the Empire’s control. That was what was unknown. If he considered the continuation of the neighboring kingdom important, he would side with Roland. If he thought it should be brought under the Empire’s control, he would support the Third Prince, Mathias.

“There’s also the possibility that he won’t belong to any faction and will remain a spectator for a while.”

“—That possibility seems high as well. I could believe it if you told me he intended to snatch the biggest fruit at the end.”

Roland nodded bitterly at the assistant chancellor’s point.

He didn’t want to think about it, but that was the final and greatest possibility. What Kuentzel wanted was the power to rule the Empire from the shadows, and his future was to identify the largest faction to maintain that position. The First Prince’s faction had had a large support base from the beginning. Therefore, it seemed Kuentzel had not hesitated to support the First Prince.

“Just in case, don’t neglect to gather information so we can win Kuentzel over.”

“As you wish.”

Butler nodded at Roland’s instruction. Then, as if a thought had just occurred to him, he added a word.

“Also, next year is the investiture ceremony of His Highness Crown Prince Riley Williams Slibegrad.”

Unable to keep up with the abrupt change of topic, Roland blinked in confusion. When he silently prompted him to continue, Butler flashed a wicked grin.

“Originally, the First Prince was scheduled to attend, but considering the risk of assassination, the word may come down for another member of the imperial family to go. Well, not that it’s something the imperial family needs to go out of their way for.”

Roland felt like burying his head in his hands. Though he didn’t say it outright, it was certain that Butler was asking Roland if he “wanted to go.” He knew, yet he deliberately said it—that mean streak of his hadn’t changed. And if Roland tried to brush it off out of embarrassment here, Butler would do whatever it took to make sure Roland did not attend.

With a deep sigh, Roland replied, feigning nonchalance, “I see.”

“It would be best if I go. I’m the only one who wants to build a friendly relationship with the kingdom. Besides, if we send a civil official, the factions will just bicker over whose spy to make the envoy.”

Even for this diplomatic visit, he had been stopped by the nobles who said there was a risk of him not being able to return. It was possible that next year, they would argue that Roland shouldn’t go for the same reason. But Roland decided not to think about that for now.

“As you wish, Your Highness.”

Butler bowed theatrically, with an exaggerated tone. Taking a deep breath to keep from getting angry at his attitude, Roland narrowed his eyes and glared at Butler. But Butler, unfazed by the murderous gaze, remained calm with a mischievous smile on his lips. And with that, Butler announced his departure and left the room.

After watching him go, Roland slumped in his chair, his body drained of strength.

“Honestly—can’t that man speak normally?”

For Roland, who had long been distant from the court’s power struggles, Butler’s presence was a great help. Without him, he wouldn’t have been able to solidify his base in just three years, nor would he have been able to expand his network to protect Edith. But Butler had a habit of speaking in a teasing tone. There had been more than one or two times when he wanted to get angry at his disrespect, but he knew he was a rare talent, so Roland never got truly angry.

“And then—there’s the matter of the promise.”

He had promised to send Edith books, but that was not what crossed Roland’s mind now.

When he decided to aim for the throne, he made a promise with Butler when he ordered him to join his camp. Butler had said there was a “woman he wanted.” That promise had yet to be fulfilled. Of course, if the woman in question refused, Roland had no intention of forcing her, and in that case, he intended to use his authority as a prince to stop Butler. But there was one big problem.

“It’s a problem that he still hasn’t told me who she is.”

A heavy sigh escaped him unconsciously. With a hint of fatigue, Roland closed his eyes and decided to take a short nap.