Only two days remained until the Selection Ceremony that would determine the next ruler.
The gates of House Eldran's villa in the royal capital offered no welcome. When I told the guards I had neither an appointment nor a letter of introduction, they refused to even relay a message inside, repeatedly telling me to leave.
If I were the type to leave quietly, there would have been no point in coming back to the royal capital. I wrote a single sentence on a piece of paper I had brought and held it out to the guard.
"Give this to the Duke. If he reads it and still refuses to see me, then I'll leave."
"I will have to confirm the contents first."
"If you decide to throw it away on your own, I’ll tell the Duke exactly what happened. Expect my next visit to involve a far more troublesome scene than this."
He looked annoyed, but the paper was eventually carried into the mansion.
What I had written was simple: To possess the power to choose a King yet stand by and watch—that is not neutrality, but an abdication of responsibility.
Even if I had lined up a series of polite greetings, they would have been buried in the eyes of a stubborn man like him.
After a long wait, the servant returned, looking at me with eyes even sharper than before.
"...His Grace, Duke Eldran, will see you. Please, this way."
It seemed I had succeeded in making him angry.
◇
Waiting in the room I was guided to was an old man standing a full head taller than me.
He had short-cropped white hair, a thick neck, and an old scar running from his cheek to his chin. He had to be over sixty, but his back was straight; he looked like a man who could still stand at the head of an army today.
—So this is Duke Eldran.
I followed the etiquette I had memorized, placing my hand over my chest and bowing my head.
"Despite my sudden visit, I am truly grateful for the opportunity to—"
"Stop."
I hadn't even finished the initial greeting.
"...Stop what, exactly?"
"That unsettling way of speaking. If you’re going to force words that don’t belong on your tongue, just speak like you normally do."
I had practiced all the way to the royal capital just to ensure I wouldn't be punished. To have it dismissed as "unsettling" meant he was quite the character.
"...I'll check just to be sure, but it’s really okay to speak normally? You won't throw me in a cell or have my head chopped off for being disrespectful later, will you?"
The vassals standing in the corners of the room all grimaced in unison.
"I have permitted it. Those here have heard it as well. The name of House Eldran is not so light that I would go back on my word just to punish a single brat."
"Then I’m relieved. I just made a mess of things with royalty recently... I’m not so foolish that I’d repeat the same mistake twice."
"Is that the first thing you say after being granted leave? You should learn a little respect for your elders."
"Lecturing me already? If this is going to be a long talk, mind if I sit?"
"Sit if you like. The number of young people who lack the grit to listen while standing has certainly increased. When I was young—"
"That story is definitely going to be long, so save it. Let's get down to business first."
As I sat in the chair, the Duke furrowed his brow, but he sat across from me and placed the paper I had written on the desk.
"It seems you think of this nation as mere merchant’s cargo. A domain and its people are things we receive from our ancestors and hold in trust until we pass them to the next generation. One who only tallies immediate profits has no right to speak of a King's qualities."
Here it came. A dusty old lecture.
"It’s better than someone who lets their people starve just because they 'held them in trust' without ever looking at a ledger. If it's something you've been entrusted with, you should increase its value before passing it on, shouldn't you? To do that, you count money, hire people, and fix roads. That's what I'm doing."
"You have the face of a man who thinks money can move anything."
"I know there are things money can't move. That's why I came to you without piling up gold coins."
After staring at me in silence, the Duke tapped the desk once with his finger.
"I hear you are supporting the Second Princess. Is it because you were given five hundred gold coins and a domain?"
"If that were all, I would have signed the contract with the First Prince. I judged that Alecia was better—not just for the terms, but considering what comes after she takes the throne."
"And what did you see that made you think that?"
"Her scheming nature. She's good at mixing barren land into rewards and pushing work onto others. She also has a bad habit of trying to distance those around her when things get rough, thinking she should shoulder the responsibility alone."
The air in the room froze.
Eldran narrowed his eyes as if exasperated.
"...Do you have any intention of praising the Princess?"
"Would you believe me if I hid her flaws and lined up empty words?"
"It seems you've already grown accustomed to calling a Duke 'you'."
"You're the one who told me to speak normally. I also confirmed I wouldn't be punished. Don't take it back now."
"I can't tell if you're cautious or just brazen, you brat."
The corners of the Duke's mouth twitched slightly, but he immediately returned to a stern expression.
"I've heard the bad points... Then, why did you think she was suited to be King?"
"She listens to opinions even when they're inconvenient, and if she realizes she's wrong, she fixes it—even if she's annoyed about it. When she entrusts work to someone, she gives them the necessary funds and authority. She didn't immediately label the nobles who left as traitors; she went to see them herself. Even then, for those who wouldn't return, she didn't order them to obey at the cost of endangering their families or people."
She wasn't a perfect princess.
However, a woman who could admit failure would last longer than a man who forced everyone around him to lie just to maintain a facade of perfection.
"I understand how you view the Princess. However, it is not you who will become King."
"I know that much."
"Having someone capable by one's side is one thing; whether the person themselves is fit to be King is another. I have no intention of moving the soldiers of House Eldran based on your words alone."
I had heard he wasn't an old man who nodded easily, but he was truly difficult to handle.
"Then see for yourself. See what Alecia does in these last two days."
"Does the Princess know you came here?"
"No. Right now, she's meeting with two houses that only she can move. I came here in secret because if I told her she was being watched, she might start choosing her words just for show."
"You came to negotiate with another house on your own without telling your master anything?"
"Alecia and I aren't master and servant; we’re partners in a contract. If she fails, I’d be in trouble if I didn't have another path open. I came here as a precaution."
This time, the Duke laughed clearly.
"Hoh... So instead of a knight swearing loyalty to a princess, you're a merchant acting on your own?"
"I'm a lord! Don't get it wrong."
"...Very well. I shall observe the Princess. When backed into a corner, will she curse those who left, make impossible promises to those who stayed, or push the responsibility for failure onto her subordinates? I shall decide by watching her actions, not her words."
"Do as you like. However, don't look at just a part of it and pretend you understand. If you're going to watch, watch until the very end."
"Giving advice to an elder? You've certainly become high and mighty. When one is young, they overestimate their own wisdom. In ten years, you too—"
"Don't start another lecture. So, in the end, you won't decide whether to support her right now?"
"I will not."
It was an immediate answer.
I had failed to get any kind of promise and was forced to listen to a long lecture instead. Just as I was starting to wonder what the point of coming here was, the Duke turned toward the door.
"Enter."
The door opened, and a woman with a sword at her waist walked in. Her long silver hair was tied back in a single ponytail, and her posture was as straight as the Duke's. She had refined features, but the gaze she directed at me was freezing from the moment we met.
"This is my daughter, Lydia. I am sending her to your domain with a hundred soldiers."
"...For what purpose?"
"The road to the frontier is dangerous. Use them as guards."
"Even if I go back alone, these guys are going to follow me all the way to my domain, aren't they?"
"Naturally."
"...That's not a guard, that's a surveillance team!"
The Duke didn't deny it.
Beside him, Lydia's brow twitched slightly.
"Count Razgrim... That manner of speaking is unacceptable for someone addressing the head of a ducal house!"
"The Duke himself was the one who told me to speak normally, you know?"
"Just because you were permitted does not mean you may abandon all moderation. To take advantage of someone's generosity and lack respect is a shameful act for a noble."
"...Don't say the same things as the old man."
"Do not call my father an old man."
We had only met for a moment, and yet I was already quite disliked.
Lydia looked me straight in the eye and spoke without hesitation.
"Let me say this first... I detest you."
"We just met."
"In that short time, you have behaved in a way that warrants such dislike."
"What’s this... Don’t you two seem to get along?"
Since the Duke said that so cheerfully, Lydia and I glared at him at the same time.
"If you're sending a hundred soldiers, I assume your side will cover the costs for food and lodging. I see no reason for me to pay for the privilege of being watched."
"...Is that the first thing you ask?"
"It's a hundred people! Just feeding them meat once will cost a fortune in silver coins. I have no intention of making my people bear the costs for those who came here for the convenience of a ducal house."
Eldran stroked his beard and pretended to think for a moment.
"House Eldran will cover the necessary expenses during the stay. There is no need to treat my daughter specially... Let her eat the same things as the soldiers and servants of the domain."
"Put it in writing. Not just food, but fodder for the horses, damaged equipment, and what's needed for the return trip."
"Do you not trust a verbal promise?"
"How am I supposed to trust the word of an old man who foists a hundred people on me without permission?"
Lydia's hand moved toward the hilt of her sword, but the Duke laughed and ordered his vassal to prepare a document. I thought he was just a stubborn old man who wouldn't listen, but it seemed he wasn't the type to be vague about responsibilities. I could give him a little credit for that.
"Lydia. Lead a hundred soldiers to the Razgrim domain. Observe the state of the domain, the treatment of the soldiers, the use of money, and whether there is any falsehood in what this brat said. See it all."
"I understand, Father. Regarding his lack of manners, I shall have him correct them if necessary."
"...Don't take it upon yourself to be my tutor."
"If I were to list everything you lack, a hundred soldiers wouldn't even be enough."
"I'm already wanting to send you back before we even reach the domain..."
"I feel the same. However, I shall follow my father's orders."
I had only come to ask for support, but I gained no promises and instead ended up taking home a hundred soldiers and a Duke's daughter who hated me.
Eldran pressed his seal onto the completed expense document and handed it to me with a satisfied look.
"Brat. Show my daughter that you are more than just talk."
"You're a shrewd, stubborn old man."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"I wasn't complimenting you."
Beside us, Lydia was scowling at my manner of speaking again.
...As I thought, coming here might have been a mistake.