INSIDE the carriage on the return journey, Ehrenfried contemplated everything he knew so far. Some time ago, one of the lady’s attendants in the imperial villa had informed him that Prince Claudio was reading through the archive of information on the Federation every day. The attendant was the youngest daughter of one of his close friends.
Uneasy after hearing this information, he had met with Claudio alone and talked to him. In the beginning, his nephew had insisted he was only studying for the sake of studying. But the battle between a man and a boy was unfair from the outset, so he had eventually, skillfully drawn the truth from him.
“I intend to renounce my imperial blood and leave this country for the Federation.”
Ehrenfried had been stunned speechless by Claudio’s words. He had known about Bertine and Cecilio’s visit not too long ago. Shortly thereafter, his nephew began his search for Federation documents. In short, one of those two said something to spur the boy on. Bertine’s mother and Lady Dalila had been close friends, making his brother’s concubine, Diana, and Bertine childhood friends as well. It wouldn’t have taken much then to open Claudio’s heart, especially because of the boy’s inherently kind nature.
“I want to leave this country.” He knew Claudio meant exactly what he said, but he also understood the implicit meaning in his nephew’s desire—by leaving the Empire, he wanted to destroy the circumstances under which he and his mother endured. Not to mention Bertine lived in the Federation as well.
Claudio knew his mother was a concubine. He grew up watching his mother feel ashamed and inferior. Even so, both mother and child had continued to lead quiet lives, not making any waves. At least until recently. But then Bertine inspired hope in the boy’s heart.
Instead of rejecting Claudio’s desire to leave outright, he had tempered his response by telling the boy he sympathized with and understood his feelings. Because it would have been foolish of him to ignore the thoughts of someone at that age. His efforts bore fruit when his nephew finally confided in him.
“I want to exchange letters with Lady Bertine. Will you help me?”
The woman is backed by Cecilio. It’s very possible he’s been skillfully manipulating her all this time. So Ehrenfried had thought until actually meeting her.
But he’d changed his mind about her when she expressed her opinion that Claudio should wait to make any life-changing decisions until he was of age. If she intended to use him for her own ends, she would have done so now. After all, the younger he was, the easier to control.
Cecilio, the eagle who didn’t fly with pigeons, and Bertine, the Alchemist’s daughter. A dangerous combination no matter how he thought about it. Ehrenfried knew he needed to remain ever cautious, but he had come to a conclusion based on what he’d gleaned from their conversation—she hadn’t deliberately influenced or instigated Claudio’s new mindset.
However, he also wouldn’t deny his idea of usurping San Luenne’s throne was a bad one. It had come to him because of Claudio’s words. For the Kingdom of San Luenne survived by leaching off the Empire’s prosperity. Meaning it wouldn’t pose any sort of problem if San Luenne became an imperial territory instead. Ehrenfried suspected both the Luennian aristocracy and proletariat would welcome Claudio with open arms.
The reason his bond with the boy was so strong was because he himself knew very well what it was like to be born and live as the second prince.