Immediately after exiting the room...
“Stewart.” Duke Huguenot came to a stop and addressed his son. However, he did not turn around.
“Y-Yes?”
Stewart couldn’t tell what kind of expression was on his father’s face. However, he had witnessed the fierce argument with Christina just now, so his reply was nervous.
“Forget what you heard in the room,” Duke Huguenot ordered in a cold voice. He still did not turn around.
“Excuse me?” Stewart’s reaction to the sudden order was delayed.
“Your reply?”
“Y-Yes!” Duke Huguenot’s irritated voice startled Stewart into nodding immediately.
“Don’t do anything else,” Duke Huguenot added, voice still devoid of all emotion other than resentment.
“Huh?”
Stewart couldn’t make heads or tails of what he was saying, but Duke Huguenot started walking back to his office on the same floor without saying anything else. Stewart quickly chased after his father. They soon arrived at the office, where a visitor was waiting for them.
“Ah, good timing. I thought I had missed you and was about to leave.”
The visitor was a middle-aged man of large stature. There was also a guard beside him.
“Why, if it isn’t Duke Gregory.”
Duke Huguenot’s eyes widened at the unexpected encounter. Clement Gregory was one of the leading nobles in the Galarc Kingdom. Before Rio became a transcendent one, Saint Erica had seized the capital of his territory.
“I apologize for the unannounced visit, but I had some pressing matters to discuss with you. Is this boy with you?” Duke Gregory looked at Stewart.
“My son, Stewart.”
“Hello. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Stewart brought his right hand up to his chest and gave him a knight’s salute.
“My, how dependable.”
“Not at all. I’m ashamed to say he has no claim to the title despite being my eldest.”
“Guh...” Humiliated by his father, Stewart trembled in shame. Duke Gregory looked at him and smiled.
“No, no, he looks like a wonderful son.”
“Thank you. Now, you said you had something to discuss?”
“Yes, preferably off the record.”
“Of course. Please, come in.” Duke Huguenot invited Duke Gregory into his office. He then turned to his son.
“Stewart, return to your post.”
“Yes!” Stewart replied respectfully and returned to his patrol.
✦ ✦ ✦
After Duke Huguenot’s secretary prepared tea and left the room...
“I heard your queen is about to have a meeting with our king,” Duke Gregory said as though he was making small talk.
“Yes, I’m surprised you know.”
“The hero of our nation, Lady Satsuki, is also attending along with the new hero, Sir Masato. So is Princess Charlotte of our kingdom, and Princess Lilianna of the Centostella Kingdom. On top of that, Amakawa, the one at the center of all this commotion, will be there too.”
Duke Gregory’s eyes narrowed slightly. He seemed to have an opinion on the attendance list, and in particular, Rio.
“Oh?” Duke Huguenot’s eyes widened.
“Oh, were you not aware?” Duke Gregory asked pointedly after seeing that reaction.
“Not of the full list of attendees, no... It seems like quite the grand gathering.”
“Yes, who knows what will be discussed with all the heroes gathered there.”
“I haven’t heard anything either...”
It was indeed an interesting gathering. Duke Huguenot hummed to himself.
“It’s not good having so many secrets. They said they weren’t going to discuss anything major, but that appears to be a clear lie.”
Duke Gregory shook his head in disapproval.
“Indeed, I wish they would hide things better if they wanted to keep secrets. Otherwise it just feels like they’re telling us to our face that they don’t trust us.”
It would be one thing if it only lowered motivation for a short period of time, but for an ongoing cooperative relationship, mutual trust was essential. It would be terrible if the dissatisfaction grew to the point of losing even the minimum level of trust, leaving only resentment.
“I completely agree. Sharing information is proof of trust, after all. Such poor lies will only lead us to suspect something unfavorable to us is going on. As their chief vassals, I do wish they’d trust us more.”
Perhaps it was because of his own experience, but Duke Gregory’s words carried not only empathy, but his own dissatisfaction.
Well, it’s not like I’m demanding to be told everything. I have no intention of asking for information unrelated to me, and I understand that there are some things that need to be kept confidential. I do the same to those around me.
It was fine there was information that couldn’t be shared—what was important was to make that clear without trying to evade the question. Sometimes, not sharing information could be proof of trust as well. At the very least, that’s what Duke Huguenot personally believed, and he tried to put that into practice as much as possible.
“Especially when the matter concerns oneself. Avoiding the question, changing the topic and speaking in circles...then being annoyed when asked for clarification? It’s inexcusable,” Duke Huguenot agreed. The latter half of his words also appeared to be based on his personal experience, as he had a glimpse of a bitter frown on his face.
“Bwa ha ha! Why does that sound so familiar to me? It seems we’ve both suffered a lot.” Duke Gregory laughed heartily.
“So it seems,” Duke Huguenot said with a chuckle.
Having exchanged lighthearted complaints as business talk in lieu of greetings, they formed a feeling of camaraderie.
“While I would love to drink the night away with you while discussing such things, let us leave that for another day. I came here to discuss something serious today.”
“You mentioned it was a pressing matter...”
“Yes, and one I would like to keep between us.”
“Understood. What is it about?”
Both dukes stiffened in expression and stared at each other warily.
“I was actually reluctant about accepting this duty. But you’re familiar with the association of nobles across kingdom borders, no?” Duke Gregory presented an oddly roundabout preamble.
“Does this involve the Beltrum Kingdom’s nobility?”
“As I expected, you’re an astute one. You see, one of my relatives married into a noble family of your nation. I’ve received a message from a certain person.”
“Oh?” The look in Duke Huguenot’s eyes sharpened at Duke Gregory’s words. Never mind the person in question, what exactly could the message be?
“There is someone who wishes to meet you in secret.”
“Requesting to meet me when I’m affiliated with an enemy faction doesn’t sound too peaceful.”
If the fact that he had met someone in secret was made public—no, even if the fact that he tried to meet someone in secret circulated as a rumor, it would be quite bad. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he was branded as a traitor.
“You would both be nobles of the same kingdom, worried about the kingdom’s future, no?”
“It all depends on how you say it. Bringing up something like this could put your own position at risk, Duke Gregory.”
“That’s why I’m here meeting you one-on-one. I have nothing to fear as long as you stay quiet.”
“You’re crossing a line,” Duke Huguenot warned.
“My apologies. My aforementioned relative was begging in tears, you see. I felt the need to fulfill my obligation to them, so please forgive me. Don’t get me wrong—I am merely a neutral party. I have no idea what they wish to discuss with you, and it won’t be my concern whether you choose to meet them or not,” Duke Gregory said, emphasizing his neutrality, but it was clear that Duke Huguenot was wary.
Is it a trap, or a defection? Either way, they’ve made a move to throw me off-balance. But approaching me in this way means...
He had expected there to be traps to split the Restoration, but he was surprised to see he was the target. If this was a trap, it was most likely an invitation for him to betray Christina and defect to the Arbor faction.
It wouldn’t be strange for other nobles to be targeted already. This is why I’ve been telling her we need to make the first move...
In order to prevent these kinds of situations, they needed Haruto Amakawa’s reputation. Yet Christina was still hesitating at this late stage. Duke Huguenot bit his lip in irritation.
With such an unclear future ahead of them, it would be no wonder if people started defecting. If Duke Huguenot was being shaken as one of the leaders of the organization, the nobles at the bottom would be even more agitated.
What if there were nobles lining up to accept the secret meeting? Would it be better for him to accept the meeting just to see what the other party was up to?
No, that’s out of the question. I would never...
Before he knew it, Duke Huguenot felt like he was standing at a crossroads with no way back. He swallowed his breath nervously.
“I’m sure you’ll need some time to consider. You may give me your reply at the meeting that will surely be held about our future with the Beltrum government...or at the very latest, the coronation ceremony.”
Duke Gregory gave him a deadline for his response. There was a thin smile on his face, as though he was enjoying Duke Huguenot’s distress.
“I can’t give a reply without knowing who the other noble— No, never mind. I will pretend we never had this conversation.”
Duke Huguenot refused the offer firmly. He pressed his right hand over his eyes as though holding back a headache—or keeping away the fog of hesitation hanging around him.
“Very well.”
Duke Gregory nodded easily, looking unaffected by the reply. Thus, the secret discussion between the two dukes came to an end.