“Over here, Lord Sekiei. I don’t want to get violent with you...”
“Yeah, don’t worry. I know.”
I obeyed the military officer, who looked to be in his midtwenties, and stepped into the underground cell. Actually, it looked like the prison was only half underground—I could see the crescent moon from the single window high above my head. The officer locked the door behind me with a click. I turned around. Even without the moon I would have been able to tell where he was since he was holding a lantern, as faint as its light was.
“So, when can I expect to know my verdict? Sure hope it’ll be before I starve to death.”
“I don’t know,” the officer replied, the cold answer his only response before he and his men were returning down the passage we’d come from.
I had fought and beat up the sons of several nobles in the imperial palace. Idiots they might be, but they still held significant status within the Ei Empire. It was due to the respect father commanded that the soldiers in the palace didn’t treat me with violence or anger, but there was a limit to their clemency. I leaned against the wall and then crouched down on the cold stone floor. More than half of the cell was covered in darkness and the only light source I had now was the moonlight barely managing to shine in through the window.
“Man, I really caused trouble for father and Hakurei...” I wondered if she was all right. Despite appearances, she was a crybaby.
I stretched, losing myself in thought before noticing that the moonlight had vanished. When I looked up, someone was standing in front of the window. Judging by the length of the shadow, the person was male. Who would come at this hour—and to the imperial palace of all places?
Despite thinking it weird, I yelled, “Hey, you’re blocking the moon if you stand there! Can you move?”
“Why?” the shadow asked, ignoring my request. He sounded old. Was he a senior? Even as my mind raced to figure out his identity, the man continued his questions. “Why did you start a ruckus inside the court? I hear you’re living with the Chou family. Are you just a fool who can’t imagine how your actions will reflect upon General Chou?”
“You’re a pretty strict one, gramps...” I laced my hands behind my head. “I wanted to avoid causing my father problems, but those idiots insulted him using nothing more than secondhand knowledge. Not just that; they also disrespected the one who saved my life. I’m not so mature that I can ignore scumbags like that.”
I’d already died once. And in this life I would’ve been long gone if it weren’t for father and Hakurei. Because of that I’d gladly put my life on the line if it meant I could keep my saviors safe.
“Though you were the one who threw the first hit, weren’t you?” the old man said. “It may be true that they were at fault, but there’s no escape from punishment if you physically harm them.”
“Huh?” I rolled the words over in my head and came to a conclusion: the soldiers who’d been present in the waiting room hadn’t reported the truth. The person who’d gotten violent first had been the grand chancellor’s grandson when he’d swung a sword at Hakurei. That certainly explained why the officer earlier was so polite; it must have been the result of his conscience. It looked like while father and the other members of Keiyou were fighting for their lives on the front lines, Rinkei’s court had become nothing more than a bushel of rotten apples.
“Humans never change no matter what times we live in, do we?”
“What?” The old man sounded seriously confused. “What are you talking about?”
I didn’t feel like explaining anything to him, so instead, I crossed my legs and started to think. Even if there are witnesses to their crimes, they can use their parents’—or grandparents’—authority to hide the truth. Then once they became proper adults, they’d likely attain a position in the state government for themselves.
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this after you came all the way here,” I said to the old man, “but I’ve got no interest in your opinion. I don’t think I can ever see eye to eye with someone who can make fun of the people fighting on the front lines. With someone who can enjoy a false prosperity, eating good food and drinking delicious wine, safe within the walls of the capital.”
For a moment, the shadowy figure didn’t respond. When he finally did, there was, for the first time, deep anger in his tone. “A false prosperity, you say?”
I shrugged. “I mean, that’s what it is, isn’t it? It’s because of my father and his army doing their best on the front lines that Rinkei and its people can pass the days in peace. Nothing more, nothing less. But...” I looked up and glared at the shadow outside my window. “Do you know the number of enemies on Gen’s front lines, just past the river? Even if we’re being optimistic, they have three times more men than the Chou family’s army. Do you hear that? Three times. And yet, as far as I know, there’s never been a single person—soldier or official—sent from the capital as reinforcement. Even the walls of our northern fortresses were built using funds straight from the pockets of my father and his generals. Do the people in Rinkei think, ‘Sure, the enemies exist, but there’s no way they’ll be able to cross the river’?”
The old man didn’t reply. There was something heavy in the silence and it was clear that he knew something. After a while, he said, “That’s the truth, isn’t it? General Chou is able to keep all the enemies at bay.” He sounded like he was barely managing to push out the words.
I sighed. “Surely, you must be joking.” With how dark it was in the cell, I was sure that my black hair was melting into the shadows. I ran my hand through it and said, “Chou Tairan is an unparalleled general. However, he’s not invincible and he’s constantly being slowed down by his own allies. Compared to that, the young emperor of Gen has full authority over his army and I hear he’s an extremely talented commander. We can win battles, but we can’t win the war—the difference between our manpower is too great. Gen needs only one victory, whereas we cannot afford a single loss. Do you get it? We’re at a serious disadvantage.”