Sir Graham, who had no real way of taking responsibility, shook his head while nervously trembling.
“Then, who will take responsibility? Who gave you the wrong information? You said that you did not remember, but do you remember now?” Sir Graham continued trembling, this time giving nothing away with his body language. “Sir Graham, is this your way of wholeheartedly taking responsibility? You have decided to remain silent?” You’re picking the wrong fight. I was close enough that I could hit him if I wanted, but as I continued to forcefully stare at him, he started crying. I hope he did not think that would mean I would let him off.
“Sir Fenix, enough.” Just as I thought that I should lay off him a little bit, a new voice spoke up. It was His Majesty the King wearing a frown on his face.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” I obediently heeded his royal command, and I felt the tension in the air leave the room. “However, Your Majesty,” I continued, bringing the tension right back. “I am still concerned with where responsibility for this blunder lies.”
“Do not worry. As you said yourself earlier, I am responsible for the royal knights. I will bear the responsibility and see to the situation.”
“Yes, as you wish, Your Majesty.” I stepped down in order to respect His Majesty’s authority. Although honestly, I thought his authority as weak as a winter’s sunshine, and I thought nothing of it. He was obviously protecting the crown prince, so I gave up trying to find any kind of serious solution to the situation. As I glanced over to Count Gentoh, he returned a nod with a sour expression on his face. Count Gentoh and the king were good friends, but even Count Gentoh realized we had to give up. I sat down next to Count Gentoh with a shrug and a sigh. “I apologize once again for my tardiness. Please, begin the discussion.” I believe I had done a sufficient job of showing who was in control here.
The royal council meeting was delayed because of me, but it was still one week ahead of the original schedule. As a result, the way I saw it, the meeting had begun early. Count Gentoh began by stating our agenda—deciding what to do about the disaster in the Yanga territory and the subsequent emergence of refugees as soon as possible. The crown prince stood up and responded, “Count Sacula is quite correct. With our people struggling, we do not have time to waste. I would like us to discuss what kind of support is required.”
“Oh?” All right, Crown Prince, that’s enough. It seems you are toeing the mark and trying to take control again. Like I’m gonna let you do that. “What kind of support? Your Highness, are we here to discuss that today?” I asked. A frown appeared on his face. Being born into such a prestigious position, I doubt he’s ever had someone make a fool out of him like this.
“Is there a problem, Sir Fenix?” asked the crown prince.
“I find it rather odd that you think I would not have a problem with that. It has already been three months since the demon disaster. I believe there has been more than enough time to consider what kind of support is needed.”
“I understand why you are in such a hurry,” the crown prince said in an attempt to quell my irritation. “This is a difficult situation. There is quite a bit of distance between the royal capital and Sacula, and we require the personnel and finances to be able to gather more relief supplies. We first need to consider if we can even replenish our stock afterward.”
“I see. In other words, it has been three months, and you have been unable to come up with even a basic plan on how to deal with this, since it is that difficult of a situation,” I retorted.
“Even more than you think, sir,” the crown prince replied.
“I sincerely apologize, but Her Highness Princess Alicia and Father Birkan were able to gather up supplies in less than a month, and by the second month, those supplies had already made their way to the affected areas. I thought that surely the royal capital would have enough personnel to be able to pull off that much, but I guess I misunderstood.”
Moreover, the supplies had been carefully selected based on what we needed. Sure, with the scale of the disaster, it was not enough, but it helped more than I could have imagined. “Although that is not unusual for Princess Alicia and Father Birkan,” I continued, turning toward the two of them. “That reminds me, I offer you both my deepest gratitude and respect for your support regarding the refugees.” I bowed to Princess Alicia and Father Birkan, and they returned modest smiles. The head priest looked like he always did, but Princess Alicia did not seem well. It was just like Count Gentoh had written in his letter.
“The answer is simple,” I went on. “We need not have a lengthy discussion in front of His Majesty. Her Highness Princess Alicia and Father Birkan’s support was enough. It would be better to simply expand and continue doing what they were doing.” Thus I had resolved the problem that the royal council’s higher-ups were unable to. I smiled at the crown prince, and he returned a scornful look. It was not hard to tell that he was incredibly mad and not having the best of times right now. While he was focused on Princess Alicia and the conflict regarding the line of succession, she had gone ahead and solved a problem that he had regarded as impossible. You saw how the princess skillfully provided relief and decided to make problems for us, so why are you bringing it up? To me, it just looks like you’re diving into the grave you dug for yourself.
The crown prince continued to have a glaring match with me but stopped to speak. “However, if we take a wider look at the situation, you may not be able to say that Princess Alicia’s support is enough.”
“A wider look. Yes, you are correct, there could be better ideas,” I responded.
“Exactly. So I would suggest we reconsider what to do.”
“Let us discuss what we can do on a wider scale, then.” I completely agreed with the crown prince. However, our intentions differed slightly.