SEVERAL hours later, at the emergency session of parliament the princes had jointly called, Marcus was making an impassioned speech. Pointing at the magic item wrapped in a silk cloth, he explained its purpose to those in attendance, all of whom occupied major positions in the government. His grave expression concealed the boiling anger beneath.
“This is not something that anyone can make easily. One of my employees happened to know what it was, so he recognized it, but if he hadn’t, we would’ve been holding a funeral for Ronald right about now.”
Upon hearing Marcus’s report, Crown Princess Edith had collapsed from the shock but quickly recovered, even insisting that she go out to look for her son herself if there was any chance it would help them find him. Seeing her strong side gave Marcus a renewed respect for her; he had thought that his sister-in-law was just a delicate, refined noblewoman. Mothers are strong—no, she’s giving herself the willpower to be strong for her child, he thought.
If he wanted to meet her expectations, Marcus knew that he had to gain parliament’s consent to investigate Juliette. Until then, he had only been monitoring foreign visitors under the pretense of investigating a criminal organization. However, now he wanted to get the government involved in directly criminally investigating her. That could turn out any number of ways, so he absolutely wanted permission from parliament.
“So, Prince Ronald is still alive? Do you have any proof of that assertion?” an elderly cabinet minister asked.
As soon as the man finished speaking, Reynold gave off an angry aura, unable to conceal his emotions any longer, and a sharp wave of tension swept over the room. Marcus knew from experience that his brother always acted in earnest, making his genuine expression of anger feel even better. The minister’s internal thoughts were clear to everyone: In the worst case, you can have more children. More than that, it was obvious he didn’t want to lose the customs deal with Gwyllt, which they had even given up their second prince for.
Marcus was more skilled at hiding his emotions and carrying out his plans in secret and with force of will than his brother. When he grew older, he might even come to think about things in the same way as the minister. However, for now, he hated that calculating attitude. I never want to be like that, he thought, relieved to see Reynold’s unconcealed anger. A country’s future is our children’s future, and a country won’t have a future if it doesn’t care about the children that live in it.
“Speaking frankly, taking into account the conditions under which Ronald was abducted, it would have been simpler to kill him,” Marcus explained in a clear voice. “To abduct him, then, means that keeping him alive has some value to them. Their ultimate goal is still unclear, but them taking the time, effort, and risk involved in abducting Ronald means that they’ve likely kept him alive.”
The ministers were flustered, and each incoherently voiced their opinions and looked around at their colleagues.
“Your Royal Highness, do you have evidence that this was instigated by Princess Juliette?” one of the ministers asked Marcus.
Marcus hesitated. I don’t. But is that so important at this late stage? You’re all acting much too deferential toward Gwyllt. Is our diplomacy so weak that it would be an international issue for us just to have a talk with Juliette? he thought. Then, with a cold fire in his eyes, he said, “The six-month-old, future crown prince is in danger. Is there anything that matters more than that?”
Someday, Marcus might eventually end up like one of those cunning ministers, valuing the nation over the individual. However, he wasn’t there yet. He loved his nephew and burned with a sincere, youthful rage. As the carefree second prince, he could make bold actions and proclamations that the crown prince couldn’t get away with. At the same time, he was still equipped with the power and authority of a prince. He would have things his way, even if it were based on a selfish and faulty assumption. “If I’m wrong, I’ll happily give up my life for it. I need a warrant to search and investigate the visitors from Gwyllt.”
If he risked his life, it would be for the greatest utility possible—that was Marcus’s creed.
If Cesia knew about this, she’d get angry at me again. She might even cry, he thought. He always felt embarrassed when she scolded him for not valuing his life more. I haven’t yet seen her cry, but I know it’ll be incredibly beautiful if she does.
✦ ✦ ✦
IN the end, Marcus wheedled permission out of the ministers, which gave him the authority to carry out an official investigation into Princess Juliette of Gwyllt.
It was some comfort that, at the very least, the ministers who had believed they should abandon Ronald were in the minority. Several had also held noncommittal positions, but the glare on the crown prince’s face had swayed most of the votes. A few had even argued that they should assertively challenge Gwyllt and recover the baby prince, even if it soured Emeroade’s relations with the country.
Emeroade was poor in natural resources but had grown prosperous through international maritime trade. It was second nature for them to be sensitive to the moods of every other country.
It was the role of the second prince to act recklessly, and it was the job of the crown prince to clean up after him when everything came to light. Marcus’s apologetic feelings toward his brother and his duty to rescue his brother’s son blended within him, becoming a fuel that roused and propelled him forward.
The information that Cesia had tried to attack Juliette but failed and fled had spread throughout the castle with startling speed, even reaching the lowest Emeroadian servant. Ideally, the situation would be resolved before it reached the ears of the foreign visitors.
✦ ✦ ✦
“CESIA’S the criminal organization’s spy? That’s impossible!” Felix shouted, pounding his fist on his desk.
They were in the office of the Second Division, meeting with representatives of the Security Bureau. Every one of the members of the Second Division had been taken aback when asked whether Cesia’s background was perfect when she had been employed. As the rumors of what she had done flowed from one person to the next, their contents had been modified and transformed, eventually turning into the baseless idea that Cesia was a spy leaking information to a criminal organization and that when she was about to be found out, she had attacked Juliette. Everyone in the Second Division was grateful that parliament had approved their cooperation with the Security Bureau, but when the first action by their new partners was to doubt Cesia, they were irate.
“She was dragged into quite a few incidents. If she is the spy, that would explain things,” the person in charge on the Security Bureau side said calmly. Then, he asked again whether there had been anything strange about Cesia’s behavior.
“She is awkward,” Felix said. “She always thinks through things, but those thoughts are sometimes lacking.”
“Felix, that’s insulting,” Roy gently warned him.
Felix was momentarily silent but quickly spoke again. “Anyways, she has a strong sense of justice! She would never betray her country and leak information to another. She couldn’t,” he asserted clearly.
“But,” the man from the Security Bureau continued, “Anita has also testified that Cesia attempted to harm Princess Juliette. She may not be a spy, but is there any possibility she may have retaliated after constantly being treated poorly as a maid?”
It’s Cesia. I can’t say for sure that she didn’t, Felix thought.
When he saw Felix avert his gaze, Marcus let slip a chuckle.
“Your Royal Highness,” Layne said in a critical tone.
Marcus firmly shook his head. “Cesia was disguised as Juliette’s maid under my orders. Don’t look down on my subordinates; none of them are so foolish as to forget their duty and attack someone out of a personal disagreement.”
Marcus’s voice was calm, but Felix felt as if the temperature in the room had dropped somehow.
Beads of sweat appeared on the man’s forehead, but he managed to put up a front and reply. “Whatever the reason, so long as there’s testimony against her, I want to investigate her background!” the man spat.
Marcus nodded, unbothered. The thoroughly obstinate Security Bureau had their own way of doing things. Marcus founded the Second Division of the Financial Audit Bureau because they moved so slowly. However, once they got to work, they could produce astonishing results. Against a powerful opponent like Juliette, their solid, stubborn nature was a valuable asset.