“Ha ha ha! Now that’s how things should be!” Friede exclaimed, his cheerful laughter echoing throughout the room.
He raised his glass of wine triumphantly. Friede snaked his other arm around Sylvia, who was sitting next to him, and rested his hand on her waist. Recently, he’d run into monsters and bandits by chance in practically every region he’d visited, and he’d taken them all out. In the wake of these exploits, Friede’s popularity among the people was now skyrocketing. This had prompted some of the nobles—who’d been waiting to see which way the wind would blow—to start supporting Friede.
“Yes, indeed! You’re absolutely correct, Your Highness! No one else but the direct male heir of the king is fit to become our next ruler! I, Thomas, shall follow and support you every step of the way!” said the small man sitting across from Friede and Sylvia. He wore a crooked smile and rubbed his hands together as he spoke.
Friede’s expression soured upon hearing the man’s words. Thomas was one of the nobles who supported him, so he had to grant him an audience, but he strongly disliked the man.
“So, care to tell me what you want, turncoat who started wagging his tail for me the moment Elizabeth was gone?” Friede challenged.
Sylvia didn’t know Thomas, and she tilted her head in confusion. “Turncoat?”
“You see, Sylvie, the good Count Flambant here used to follow Elizabeth around like her damned shadow, mindlessly nodding along to whatever she said,” Friede spat out.
Cold sweat ran down the sides of Thomas’s face as he listened to the prince’s mocking tone. He wiped it off with a handkerchief, all the while keeping a forced simper plastered on his face.
“P-Please, don’t say that, Your Highness. I was always devoted to you. I only ever obeyed that nasty woman because she was your fiancée.”
“Hmph. I wonder.”
“I swear to you it’s true! In fact, I’ve even brought you a gift today that I’m sure will convince you of my sincerity.”
Thomas started rubbing his hands together faster as he issued instructions to one of his servants, who’d been waiting by the door. The servant went out and came back moments later with a stout man. His appearance contrasted starkly with that of Thomas, who was exceedingly thin, but the two men shared the same vulgar smile.
“This is my son, Cedre,” Thomas said.
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Highness and Lady Sylvia. I’m Cedre, the heir to House Flambant.”
While Cedre’s introduction was polite, he practically undressed Sylvia with his lecherous, insistent gaze. Friede didn’t seem to notice, but Sylvia certainly did. She clung to Friede, shrinking in on herself.
Cedre’s disgusting smile irked Friede as much as his father’s did. “Get to the point,” he ordered, barely concealing his irritation. “I’m a busy man. I don’t have all day.”
“I-I’m terribly sorry, Your Highness.” Thomas turned toward his servants. “Hurry it up!”
A pair of servants worked together to carry a heavy package to the table that separated Friede and Sylvia from Thomas. Cedre swiftly opened it to reveal a sturdy safe.
“What is this?” Friede asked.
“A safe that traitorous woman, Elizabeth Leiston, left behind.”
“What?! Why would you have that?!”
“You must be aware that she had bases of operation for her business in every territory, right, Your Highness?”
“Of course.”
“Well, we found this safe in the building belonging to her former company in the Flambant County. When I heard about it, it was about to be handed over to someone else, but I retrieved it for you.”
“Interesting. And what’s inside?”
“We have yet to open it.”
“What?!”
“It’s been sealed with powerful magic. A common locksmith couldn’t possibly succeed in opening it,” Thomas explained.
“So you’ve given me a useless box I can’t open?” Friede sighed in annoyance, convinced that his visitors had wasted his time.
Thomas gave a slight apologetic bow before speaking up again. “Please wait, Your Highness. That is why I brought my son along today.”
“Hm?” Friede found himself intrigued again.
“Well, go on,” Thomas said, looking at his son.
“Yes, father. Please have a look at this, Your Highness,” Cedre said. He made a show of pulling out a key from his pocket.
“What is that key?” Friede asked.
“It’s a magic item, Your Highness. A fairy key.”
“A fairy key?”
“Indeed. I found it inside a dungeon. It’s a relic from the Old Kingdom, heh heh.”
Despite what he’d said, Cedre hadn’t actually found the key himself—nor had he ever entered a dungeon, for that matter. What he truly meant was that the adventuring party he’d hired had found it. Nobles often presented things this way; as far as they were concerned, the accomplishments of their subordinates were entirely theirs. Friede could see right through Cedre, and his irritation grew.
“I was struck with admiration at my son’s bravery,” Thomas said. “And the first thought that came to mind was that my outstanding heir could surely be of use to you thanks to this wonderful discovery!”
“Enough details; get on with it,” Friede replied frigidly. He had quickly grown tired of listening to Thomas sing his son’s praises.
“This fairy key can force magic seals to open, heh heh,” Cedre declared. He pushed the tip of the key inside the lock and turned it once. There was a soft click. “Please open it and see what’s inside, Your Highness.”
“You check it,” Friede retorted.
“M-Me, Your Highness?”
“Yes, you. Hurry up.”
Cedre didn’t seem to like the idea very much, but Friede glared at his father and Thomas elbowed Cedre in the side, urging him to open the box. Reluctantly, he did as he was bid. Inside the safe were countless documents.
“Pfft. It’s not money,” Cedre grumbled, taking out a wad of papers from inside.
“What do they say?” Friede asked.
“I don’t really get it, but they don’t seem all that valuable, do they?”
Friede took the documents from Cedre and started reading. As he did, a smile slowly replaced his aggravated expression. “Ha ha ha! This is perfect! I’ll reward you for this!”
“I-In that case, would you please make my son your aide, Your Highness?!” Thomas asked, pouncing on the opportunity with enthusiasm.
“Urgh... Well... All right, all right. I’ll allow it. Start coming to the palace regularly. I’ll find a use for you.”
“It’s an honor, Your Highness. I’ll put my many talents at your disposal, heh heh.”
Cedre’s arrogance annoyed Friede to no end, but he simply replied, “Sure. You’ve done great today. You may retire.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Before I go, however, if you don’t mind me asking...is that handmaid over there one of yours?”
Cedre pointed at a young handmaid in a corner of the room. Under normal circumstances, a waiting maid should have been in charge of welcoming visitors to the prince’s drawing room, not a lowly handmaid. However, Friede’s past mistakes had led to severe cuts in his retinue. Still, he had so little regard for Thomas that he had simply grabbed an impressionable maid from a corner of the palace and ordered her to make tea for him. Needless to say, as a proud royal, Friede hadn’t touched it. He’d never take a sip of tea that such a lowly girl had brewed.
“No, she’s not one of mine,” Friede replied.
“Is that so? I just had to ask because...she’s quite charming, heh heh.”
“Charming...? Well, I suppose she’s not repulsive or else she wouldn’t be allowed to work in the palace, but she’s just a commoner.”
“That only makes it better, Your Highness. There’s only so much you can do to a noble girl,” Cedre replied with a wicked grin.
Friede was already tired of this conversation. He sighed and turned to the maid. “Hey, you.”
“Y-Yes?”
“What’s your name?”
“Anna, Your Highness.”
“From now on, your job will be to take care of this man. Cedre will become one of my aides and be given an office in the palace. You’ll report to him whenever he’s there. I’ll speak to the head maid directly to put things in place.”
“T-Take care of him...?”
“You’ll heed his every order. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Your Highness...” Anna replied, her voice shaking.
“Now then, that’ll be all for today— No, wait, Cedre. You said this key could open any lock, didn’t you?”
“Heh heh. Yes, Your Highness.”
“I see. Follow me, then.”
Friede led Sylvia and Cedre through the corridors of the palace. They walked for several minutes until they reached the deepest part of the palace: the living quarters of the royal family.
“We’re here,” Friede said. He stopped in front of the crown princess’s preparation room. This was the room that Elizabeth had occupied whenever she had to stay over at the palace because of her princess lessons or the duties linked to her position.
“Your Highness, what is this room?” Sylvia asked.
“The room that should have been given to you,” he replied.
“B-But I received my own room when I officially became your fiancée!”
“The one they gave you used to be a guest room.”
“Why wasn’t Lady Sylvia given this room?” Cedre asked.
How impudent, Friede thought. He clicked his tongue but replied anyway. “Elizabeth was using this room, and she always sealed it with magic. Her jewelry, dresses, and likely the cash and promissory notes she used for her business must still be in there.”
“Oh! So that’s why you’ve brought me here,” Cedre replied.
“Exactly. I should be able to buy new dresses and jewelry for Sylvie with what’s inside and replenish my funds for the future. Open the door, Cedre.”
“Leave it to me, Your Highness!”
Cedre’s protruding belly shook as he took a resolute step forward. He fished out the small fairy key from his pocket and pushed it inside the lock. Layer upon layer of magic circles emerged from the door, and as Cedre twisted the key, they shattered one by one.
“Elizabeth’s seals were quite sturdy, but the key still functioned, Your Highness. The door is open, heh heh.”
Friede clicked his tongue once more, repulsed by the way Cedre’s nostrils flared as he gloated. The prince reached for the doorknob, but Cedre stopped him.
“Please wait, Your Highness! If this was the room of that foul woman, who knows what traps might await inside?”
“Hmm... All right, then. You go in first, Cedre.”
“Huh?! Me?!”