They moved to a meeting room that Duke Gregory had been granted in the castle and wrote the conditions Stewart had listed down on paper.
“Will this do?” Duke Gregory asked.
“Yes, this is fine.”
“Now, let’s hear what you have to say about Amakawa’s past.”
Duke Gregory looked at Stewart expectantly once both copies of the contract were signed and gestured for him to give his statement.
“Very well.”
Stewart steeled himself and began to explain Rio’s past to Duke Gregory. However, he made sure to hide the part where he had lied to shift the blame onto Rio, and exaggerated a bit to make himself sound better.
In short, this was the story of the boy named Rio. Originally an orphan from the slums, Rio pushed Stewart at an outdoor drill, which ultimately resulted in Flora nearly falling off a cliff. Rio was to be punished for this, but he disappeared before he could be caught. Thus, it was possible that Rio still held resentment for Stewart. He could have been plotting his revenge when he made such a timely appearance at Amande, and Alphonse may have been killed by him as part of that, and so forth.
Thus, Stewart finished his explanation.
“Pfft. Bwa ha ha! I see. If that is the truth, then it is indeed something that cannot be ignored. We cannot have the Honorary Knight of our kingdom be a criminal that attempted to kill a foreign royal and fled before capture.”
Duke Gregory imagined the fallout of such a truth being exposed and was unable to hold back his laughter.
“And?”
“Yes, I am happy to actively assist you.”
“Thank you so much!”
“It’s too early to thank me. Like you said at the beginning, we’re lacking critical evidence to prove that the two are the same person. Creating a fuss now would only stir the rumor mill. At worst, you could be accused of defamation.”
If the goal was to bring him down from his position, then they needed undeniable proof. Duke Gregory emphasized this calmly.
“I know...” Stewart had a bitter expression on his face.
Creating bad rumors about him isn’t enough. I need to create an incident big enough for people to lose trust in him, something that can at least get him banished from the castle...
Unless he could get rid of the risk of Rio claiming he was falsely accused, Stewart wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly at night.
“If possible, I’d like to obtain proof Alphonse was killed by him...”
Killing a foreign noble out of revenge was something that couldn’t be overlooked.
“That’s too difficult to be reasonable. He may have had a motive, but a corpse was never found, no?” Duke Gregory said.
Even if Rio had killed Alphonse, without a corpse, there was no way of proving it. Pursuing that route would require locating the corpse first.
“That’s true...”
“In a way, Amakawa himself is the greatest evidence there is. If we can prove he is the same person, his past crimes will naturally come to light. Why don’t we pursue the path of proving that Rio is the same person as Haruto Amakawa instead?” Duke Gregory suggested.
The grim look on Stewart’s face was probably because he knew that proving them to be the same person wasn’t enough to establish Rio’s guilt.
If Rio claimed he was innocent, an investigation could lead to the discovery of Stewart’s lie. That was why he needed more material to drag Rio down in case that happened, so that no one would be able to trust Rio’s statement.
“Is there something you’re concerned about?”
“Ah, no. It’s just that he’s established considerable status for himself now, and those around him trust him a lot. Digging up the past at this point might not result in any significant punishment. Princess Flora herself seems to be close to him, and she has quite the naive personality, so I fear that might be taken into consideration...”
“Good point. But the sin of attempted murder against royalty is grave. Even if the Restoration shows leniency to him, the Galarc Kingdom will definitely punish him. I won’t allow him to get away unpunished. Such unfit behavior from the Honorary Knight would be scandalous,” Duke Gregory said. But in spite of his words...
And once he’s fallen from grace, it might be amusing to offer him a hand back up and make him indebted to me.
Duke Gregory had no intention of completely ending Rio’s life as a noble. This was because he acknowledged Rio’s abilities. He believed that it was only appropriate for Rio to be valued for his long list of achievements, based on the results.
However, that didn’t mean he was impressed by the current situation where Rio was the only one achieving all the success. That’s why he was so eager to find material that could drag Rio down, and that was why he was trying to use Stewart to his advantage.
Unaware of that, Stewart rejoiced at the fact he had found a reliable ally. “Oh, how reassuring... I’m glad I consulted you.”
“I’m glad you think that of me, but are you sure you won’t consult your father about this?”
Duke Gregory didn’t want anyone else to interfere with this incident, so he preferred if Duke Huguenot stayed out of it. But it could be problematic if he didn’t at least confirm things first, so he asked for the sake of the future.
“Although I was a victim, the fact I hit Princess Flora when I was pushed angered my father a lot. He had to cover for me because of it too...”
I see. It sounds like his father was forced to use some questionable methods. It’s no surprise his father was angered by that. But this also means that if things go well, Duke Huguenot will be indebted to me too.
Duke Gregory took a guess at the situation and smiled.
“But if you expose Amakawa’s sins, your father may change his mind about you.”
He whispered the sweet words Stewart wanted to hear the most. Stewart’s expression relaxed, pleased to hear those words too.
“I sure hope so,” he mumbled.
“However, if this is the truth, he truly is a shameless man. The perpetrator appearing before the victim, innocently pretending to be someone else...”
“The man is conceited and desperate for validation. After all, he started as a lowly commoner from the slums. He probably couldn’t get over his admiration for noble society.”
“I see...”
Stewart spoke of Rio’s character with great detest, but Duke Gregory only showed a half-hearted reaction to his description. This was because Duke Gregory had his own image of Rio, and it was notably different from Stewart’s.
To him, Rio was a man of many mysteries, too calm for anyone to read his emotions or intentions, always eerily detached from the world. That was his image of Haruto Amakawa and also why Duke Gregory was wary of the questions surrounding Rio.
Well, if he truly is as he describes, then that would be interesting too.
Somewhat impressed, Duke Gregory smiled.