After my two older brothers left, I swung the magic sword around inside my room.
If I remembered correctly, its name was... Right, Leviathan.
The Magic Sword of Water, Leviathan.
Drawn from its scabbard, it trailed an afterglow of pale blue light with every swing.
At six years old, it was still heavy and awkward for me to handle, but it looked impressive enough, so I figured I would hold onto it.
Above all, it was a gift from my brother—His Highness the Crown Prince.
Showing that I made good use of it and valued it was essential for demonstrating my loyalty.
That said, it wasn't something I needed to carry around the estate.
"Someone come here."
I called out, intending to have the magic sword put away.
"...Hm? Anyone there?"
I found it strange when no one answered.
I was the Thirteenth Imperial Prince, after all, and the master of this estate.
Normally, the servants came running the instant I summoned them.
Yet no one appeared.
Wondering what was going on, I glanced toward the door and saw a male servant standing outside the room with a terrified look on his face.
"What's wrong?"
"N-No, nothing. Excuse me..."
The man hurriedly stepped inside.
His face was deathly pale, however, and his body trembled faintly.
Something was clearly off.
"What's the matter with you?"
"Th-That sword..."
"This sword? Ah."
When he pointed it out, I remembered what had happened when my brothers first brought it over.
Back then, my brother's servant had turned pale too, hadn't he?
Just as I realized this had to be the sword's doing, the man confirmed my suspicions.
"Just looking at it chills me to the bone, and it stings all over as if I'm being pricked by needles."
"I see, so it really was the magic sword's influence. Let's see... If I recall, my brothers..."
Remembering how they had transported it, I placed the blade back inside its box.
"How about now?"
"Ah... That's a bit better..."
"Is that so?"
"This is one of those 'magic swords,' isn't it? As expected of Your Highness. To touch it without feeling a thing is truly incredible."
"That's why His Highness the Crown Prince gave it to me. More importantly, can you carry it if it's in the box? If so, go put it away properly."
"Understood!"
Though his complexion was still somewhat pale, he looked far better than when I had first called him.
Following my order, the man lifted the box containing the magic sword and left the room.
In his place, a maid stepped up outside the room and gave a soft knock.
"Master."
"Hm? Zoe, is it? You may enter."
She was one of the maids whose faces I remembered relatively well—a girl named Zoe.
She was just shy of twenty, which made her on the older side among the estate's staff.
Since she attended to my baths every day, she was someone I had naturally come to recognize.
"What is it? Coming here without being summoned... Did something happen?"
"Yes... Um, I would like to ask for my leave."
"Hm?"
Having been a commoner in my previous life, I had made a few blunders right after reincarnating, and this had been one of them.
When a servant asked for their "leave," it meant they were resigning. At first, I hadn't known that and ended up causing misunderstandings.
Of course, I knew better now, so I replied with that in mind.
"Why are you quitting?"
"Um, my family's fields were washed away by the spring floods."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. With our house, fields, and everything else gone, my family has no way to feed themselves. So they told me to go to the brothel... and sell myself on the premise that I 'attended to the Imperial Prince'..."
"Understood. That's enough."
I paused to think.
For the past six years, I had been learning how to conduct myself as a noble—and as an imperial prince, no less.
I searched for the optimal solution.
"Zoe, if I recall, it was just your mother looking after the fields back home, right?"
"Yes, which is partly why—"
"You don't need to say another word. Bring your mother to the capital."
"Eh?"
"Your mother will work here at the estate... Let's see, locking up the back gate. I'll pay her ten Rien a month."
"Master?!"
Zoe looked flabbergasted.
And naturally so; there was no such job as locking up the back gate. It was just a task I had invented on the spot.
Ten Rien was also the average monthly wage of a man in his thirties working in the capital.
"I believe I own a few vacant houses on the western outskirts of the capital. Use one for your family."
"...Thank you so much!"
So utterly stunned, it took Zoe nearly ten seconds to come to her senses.
The moment she snapped out of her daze, she dropped to her knees before me and bowed her head all the way to the floor in gratitude.
"Don't worry about it. More importantly, go bring your mother from the countryside at once."
"Yes! Thank you very much!"
Overjoyed, Zoe dashed out of the room.
There were two reasons for handling things this way.
The first was Zoe herself—she was about to be sold to a brothel with the selling point of being a "woman who attended to the Imperial Prince."
If I left that unchecked, it would tarnish the name of the Thirteenth Imperial Prince.
If that happened, my older brothers—or in the worst case, my father, the Emperor—would come down on me with severe reprimands.
An imperial prince had his dignity to maintain.
The other reason was—my own possessiveness.
No matter what, once someone became my servant, they were mine for life.
The only time they left would be when they died, or when I personally cast them out.
I couldn't stand the thought of one of my servants quitting over a paltry sum of a few dozen Rien, let alone being sold off to a brothel.
"...Dylan."
"Right here, My Lord."
The moment I called his name, a middle-aged man in his late thirties entered.
He had narrow, thread-like eyes and a neat beard.
He held a position essentially equivalent to the head butler of the Thirteenth Imperial Prince's estate.
"You were quick."
"Because I witnessed the entire affair. But as expected of you, Master Noah. That was a magnificent decision."
"If you were listening, then this saves time. You know about the flood, right?"
"You speak of Dosso, I presume."
"Go buy up as much land there as you can. In the wake of a flood, merchants will inevitably show up to swindle families who can no longer make ends meet, just like Zoe's. Secure the land before they do."
"..."
"What's the matter? Why look so surprised?"
"Because I am indeed surprised."
Dylan gave a straightforward reply.
"This is the first flood since you were born, Master Noah, yet you made such a brilliant, forward-thinking decision. And immediately upon hearing of the situation, no less."
"..."
"I simply find myself astonished by how you were able to accomplish such a feat."
I couldn't exactly tell him that I had seen plenty of such schemes in my past life before reincarnating.
"No, that was a foolish remark on my part. You are the offspring of our great Emperor, His Highness the Thirteenth Imperial Prince. To question the source of your innate brilliance would be impolite."
"Then get moving."
"We will require roughly five hundred thousand Rien, however."
"I'll have it sent shortly. Go at once."
"Yes, My Lord—and, Master Noah."
"What is it?"
Wondering if there was something else, I noticed a look of deep, earnest sincerity in Dylan's eyes.
"Thank you very much."
"Yeah."
After I nodded, Dylan bowed and took his leave.
Ah, right. Come to think of it, Dylan was from around that area too, wasn't he?
I only remembered that fact after he was gone.