—A mansion at the northernmost edge of Luzahal.
It was a lavish, spacious hall. At the table in the center of the room, a dozen or so noble-looking men sat huddled together, drinking in broad daylight.
These men belonged to the faction of First Prince Gilbert Loto Amelia. They were deeply entangled in the plot to sell the princess off to the Empire, having provided funds and maintained secret correspondence with imperial contacts.
Here in Luzahal, close to the scene of the incident, a knight backed by the Gilbert faction was competing in the Sacred Martial Arts Tournament. Under the guise of cheering him on, they were gathered together, awaiting good news.
"So, Lord Fracton's failure is certain, then?"
A man with a barrel-shaped frame slammed a wooden cup filled to the brim with fruit wine onto the table, making no attempt to hide his foul mood.
"Her Royal Highness the Princess has been sighted here in Luzahal. Of that, there is no mistake."
A solidly built man whose head was cleanly shaved except for a patch of blond hair at the crown crossed his arms, asserting this with a grim scowl.
"Does this mean the Empire betrayed us at the eleventh hour? To think they pushed forward with a royal marriage without His Majesty's permission... Lord Fracton's execution is guaranteed. If only suspicion does not fall upon the rest of us..."
As a sickly thin noble with a pale, gaunt face muttered this, panic erupted across the room.
"T-This is no laughing matter! I only went along because you swore success was guaranteed!"
"The same goes for me! I merely lent my name because I was told it was for Prince Gilbert's sake!"
The anxiety they had desperately kept under wraps suddenly burst forth among the assembled nobles.
"Do not lose your heads! Even if Lord Fracton confesses, there is no physical evidence. Not even His Majesty can punish every noble in this room on mere suspicion alone. What is more, we have already arranged a proper scapegoat. There is not the slightest chance any harm will come to us!"
At the barrel-shaped man's furious roar, the surrounding nobles finally regained their composure.
"And? Why is Princess Rose in Luzahal in the first place? Lord Lumpa, surely you have deduced the reason?"
When a hulking blond noble with hair styled like a pineapple posed the question, the barrel-shaped man, Lumpa, spat out a single word.
"The Incompetent."
"Pardon?"
"She is chaperoning the Sword Saint's disgrace, who is currently competing in the martial arts tournament."
The matter regarding Lord Fracton was a life-or-death crisis holding the fates of every noble present in the balance. None of them had possessed the peace of mind to pay attention to the Sacred Martial Arts Tournament.
"The Sword Saint's disgrace? Ah, that pitiful boy saddled with that joke of a Gift called 'The Most Incompetent in the World'?"
At one noble's mocking sneer, the rest of the room erupted into derisive laughter.
"And? How did Her Royal Highness's prized knight fare?"
"Is there even any need to ask? I imagine he ran away in tears."
"No, no, perhaps he was overwhelmed by the other martial artists' fighting spirit and passed out while wetting himself?"
The barrel-shaped noble—Lumpa—twisted his face in sheer disgust.
"The Incompetent won an overwhelming victory in the preliminaries."
He delivered the outcome with icy bluntness.
"An overwhelming victory? Preposterous! Isn't he 'The Most Incompetent in the World'?!"
At one noble's shrill, panicked cry, the room began to buzz like an agitated aviary.
"It is the truth. I did not witness the Incompetent's match with my own eyes, but my own knight who fought in the preliminaries insisted upon it. He claimed emphatically that Kai Heinemann was far from weak."
"No, that cannot be! There must be some trick to it!"
"Indeed! He must have cheated!"
Lumpa nodded heavily in response to the barrage of denials.
"I am of the same mind. It is easy enough to guess what scheme Princess Rose devised. An assistant instructor of the Heinemann Sword Style lodged a protest with tournament officials, claiming Kai Heinemann achieved victory through the use of a special item. Though it seems they dismissed the complaint due to a lack of evidence."
"Cheating in the Sacred Martial Arts Tournament is utterly unforgivable!"
"This should be denounced publicly at once! What on earth are the organizers doing?!"
Without harboring the slightest shred of doubt, the nobles collectively decided that Kai Heinemann had cheated, spewing a venomous torrent of curses and abuse.
Lumpa raised both hands, motioning for the slanderous crowd to quiet down.
"A candidate for Prince Gilbert's Guardian Knight is also competing in this tournament. Even if it is through underhanded tricks, losing to mere scum like that princess's knight candidate would be far worse than a simple humiliation. It would smear mud across Prince Gilbert's noble face. We must win at all costs!"
"I agree with Lord Lumpa's sentiment, but the boy has already advanced to the main tournament with that item, has he not? If the officials do not acknowledge the foul play, is there not a risk that our Guardian Knight candidate could fall as well?"
"Hmph! Regarding his item, I have already compelled the tournament officials to ban any item other than clothing from being brought into the arena. Besides, we cannot allow the knight we painstakingly groomed to cross swords with such incompetent trash. Worry not. Every measure has already been taken!"
With his face contorted into an ugly smirk, Lumpa threw his head back and drained his cup.
"I see. So it was a needless worry after all."
The noble with the pineapple-like hair let out a soft sigh of relief and moistened his throat with his drink.
Taking their cue from him, the other nobles cast aside their gloom. As the alcohol flowed, the room grew lively with malicious gossip regarding their favored Guardian Knight and the incompetent swordsman.