After the chaos with the illegal slave merchants was settled, I invited Brother Henry back to my mansion, and we had dinner together.
Brother and I sat facing each other across the long table in the grand dining hall, separated by quite a distance.
There was no real need to be so formal with Brother Henry, but this too was part of imperial etiquette.
As the meal progressed with the maids serving us, just as the main course was about to arrive, Dylan, the head butler, entered the dining hall.
Dylan first bowed to Brother Henry, then whispered into my ear.
"...Understood. You may step back."
"Very good, Your Highness."
"What is it, Noah? Did something happen?"
"It's about the people from the estate of the First Prince—Brother Gilbert."
"Oh? And what did they have to say?"
Brother paused his fork, his eyes glinting with keen interest as he asked.
"'Thank you for apprehending them. When we interrogated the scoundrels, it turned out they were indeed conducting their business under my name. We intended to hand them over to the court tomorrow, but the moment we took our eyes off them, they committed suicide.'"
"...I see."
Brother let out a sigh, and I let out a sigh of my own.
Good grief, and here people are supposed to be treasures...
Brother and I exchanged glances, and without either of us prompting it, we gave each other a faint nod.
Both Brother and I understood. The exact same thought had surely crossed our minds.
Cutting off the lizard's tail.
Dead men tell no tales—that held true in any era, anywhere.
And to go to such lengths to silence them could only mean one thing.
"Brother Gilbert ordered the illegal slave trade himself, didn't he?"
"Yeah."
Brother Henry nodded in agreement.
"Gilbert has always been that way. Commerce—owning shops, buying up manors. He's always been obsessed with that sort of thing."
"It can't be helped, Brother."
"What?"
Surprised, Brother Henry furrowed his brows and stared at me.
"Brother Gilbert may be the First Prince, but he is the son of a concubine, which is why he couldn't become the Crown Prince. Perhaps he's venting his frustration, or perhaps he's looking for a substitute because he cannot inherit the Empire itself. His businesses and manors are merely his substitute territories."
"..."
After I laid it all out in one breath, Brother Henry stared at me in silence for some reason.
"Is something wrong, Brother?"
"No... you even understand that much, do you? You truly are remarkable, Noah."
"Do you think so? Anyone could see it with a little thought."
"I wouldn't say just anyone."
Brother Henry smiled gently and turned his attention to the main course the maids had just brought over.
Having heard such a sickening piece of news—the cutting off of a lizard's tail—the meal didn't taste very good at all.
☆
After Brother Henry went home, I was in the mansion's living room.
Present in the room were myself, my bodyguard Shirley, and several young boys and girls.
In the room illuminated by lantern light, the boys and girls who had almost been sold knelt before me as I sat.
Five in total: three boys and two girls.
They were about the same age as I was now. If our circumstances and births had been just a little different, we might have been the kind of peers who played hide-and-seek together.
I addressed the children.
"I have already made the necessary arrangements. You are free now. You won't be sold because of what happened today."
"..."
Though I had declared their liberation from slavery, the five of them showed little joy. Instead, they merely looked at one another in bewilderment.
Is this... that situation?
"You may go wherever you wish. Do you have anywhere to go?"
"We don't..."
One of the girls—the one in the center who had stopped my carriage first—answered in a faint, dying voice.
"Nowhere at all?"
"Yes... I was sold in exchange for the money to buy this year's seed rice."
"I was sold to pay for my mother's funeral."
"I was sold to reduce the number of mouths to feed..."
The boys and girls each shared their circumstances.
Every single one of them was a child who either had no home to return to, or would simply be sold off again before long if they did.
Incidentally, parents made more money by selling their children to illegal slave merchants.
There was no special trick to it; illegal slave merchants didn't have to pay taxes, so they could use that extra money to purchase their stock at higher prices.
Parents who had sold their children to illegal slave merchants once would undoubtedly sell them again, even if they returned.
"I understand. Dylan."
I clapped my hands and called for the head butler, Dylan.
Almost immediately, Dylan entered the room.
"You called, Your Highness?"
"I will take in all of these children. Arrange sleeping quarters and assign them suitable work."
"As you command."
"And if any of them prove clever, see that they receive an education."
"Understood, just as always."
"A-Are you buying us?!"
The girl asked, half in surprise, half in delight.
"I am not buying you. Therefore, if you wish to leave, you may do so at any time. However..."
I paused for a moment and looked at each of the boys and girls one by one.
Perhaps sensing something in my gaze, they all flinched and held their breath.
"Once someone leaves, I will never employ them again. Which is to say, I do not forgive traitors."
"..."
The children stood there, dumbfounded.
Hmm? Was that too difficult for them?
Sensing their confusion, Dylan stepped in from the side.
"All it means is that you must serve His Highness with absolute sincerity without betrayal. Hurry and offer your thanks to His Highness."
He urged the children along.
Prompted by Dylan, the children thanked me while remaining on their knees, and Dylan led them away.
Left alone in the room, I suddenly remembered something.
"Call Evelyn."
When I clapped my hands and gave the order, the maid Evelyn appeared a short while later.
She was a maid who had long been in charge of receiving guests at the estate.
"You called, Master?"
"Yes, I have this for you."
Saying so, I took out a large envelope and handed it to Evelyn.
Evelyn took it with a bewildered expression.
"What is this?"
"An official appointment. You are to be the governor of a small territory in Almeria."
"Gov... er... nor...?"
Perhaps unfamiliar with the word, Evelyn parroted it back in a flat tone.
"It takes effect today. With this, you are now a full-fledged official."
"W-Why me?"
Evelyn asked, half in shock and half in delight.
The fief granted to an imperial prince was quite vast; naturally, an imperial prince could not manage everything alone.
For that reason, the land was divided into smaller parcels, and governors were dispatched to rule them by proxy.
A governor acting on behalf of an imperial prince—the common folk also referred to them as magistrates.
From a maid to a magistrate—it was quite a promotion.
"I have observed you for a long time. Among the maids currently here, you are the cleverest. It would be a waste to leave that intellect confined to receiving guests as a mere maid in this estate. That is what I thought."
"B-But! Um, I..."
Evelyn's eyes darted around.
She was clearly searching for words.
"Rather than going out to advance my career, I want to serve you more, Master!"
Evelyn pleaded earnestly.
Her words were sincere, and I could tell she meant them from the bottom of her heart.
"I know. However, you will grow. And if you grow and distinguish yourself, it will prove that I had an eye for talent when I appointed you."
"Ah..."
"Go out there and work for my sake."
"Y-Yes! Understood!"
Holding the letter of appointment against her chest as if it were a lifelong treasure, Evelyn left the living room, her face a mix of joy and determination.
"Incredible..."
"Hm?"
I turned around and looked at Shirley.
Shirley had been standing guard the entire time.
A guard in a situation like this wasn't just for physical safety.
Depending on the circumstances, a noble could lose standing merely by "personally raising a hand."
This was one of those cases; even if the children had flown into a frenzy and attacked me, I, as an imperial prince, could not strike back directly.
It would demean my noble status, and the attacker's crime would become far graver for having troubled the hands of an imperial prince.
That was why I had Shirley stationed there.
Shirley was a knight, not a noble.
Even if the children tried anything, having Shirley handle it would prevent any issues.
And that very Shirley was staring at me with utter admiration and awe.
"What is?"
"The way you utilize people compared to the First Imperial Prince is completely—"
"Shirley."
I cut off Shirley's words.
"That's enough. Even if you think such things, you shouldn't say them aloud."
"Y-Yes! I am terribly sorry!"
Shirley hurriedly apologized.
She apologized, and didn't utter another word.
Even so, she continued to look at me with eyes full of deep respect.
☆
The next morning.
I was summoned to the morning assembly held in the audience hall with His Majesty and the ministers.
After the general affairs of state were addressed, my name was called. I stepped out from the row of ministers, dropped to one knee, and bowed to His Majesty.
After receiving my bow, His Majesty spoke.
"I have heard the news, Noah. I am told you protected Gilbert's honor."
"It was merely a coincidence, Your Majesty."
He meant the matter with the illegal slave merchants.
Which meant Brother Gilbert had reported it himself.
Clever.
Rather than hiding it clumsily, stepping forward properly made him appear as though he had nothing to hide.
"Still, what outrageous scoundrels they were, engaging in the illegal slave trade under Gilbert's name. What is the penalty for dealing in illegal slaves again?"
"Yes, under Imperial Law, unauthorized slavery—human trafficking—carries the penalty of the amputation of the dominant arm for the principal offender, and conscription into military service for accomplices and below."
"Is that so, First Prime Minister?"
"It is precisely as His Highness states."
Standing at the very front of the line, the First Prime Minister bent slightly at the waist as he answered.
"I see, I see. By the way, Noah, were you injured? I hear they flew into a rage and attacked you."
"Fortunately, I was able to turn the tables on them."
"I see. Well, since it is Noah, you naturally would not be harmed. If it had been Me, since it was an incognito trip, I likely would have been beaten black and blue while hesitating over whether to reveal My identity."
"In that case, it would have constituted high treason, punishable by death."
The First Prime Minister answered His Majesty in stride with the flow of the conversation, but...
"No."
I objected to that.
"Under Imperial Law, the crime of lèse-majesté does not apply to those who do not know His Majesty's true identity—in other words, before His Majesty reveals Himself during an incognito trip. In that case, it would merely be charged as simple assault."
The moment I spoke, the already quiet audience hall grew even quieter.
Every single minister was staring at me.
Perhaps I had gone too far. Lèse-majesté—whether one was disrespectful to the Emperor—was inherently a delicate subject.
In a hypothetical scenario like this, it might have been better to flatter Him and agree that it was lèse-majesté, but topics like this needed to be handled strictly according to the rules.
Even so, I had indeed overstepped.
There was no helping it; I should apologize—just as that thought crossed my mind...
"Hahaha."
His Majesty suddenly burst out laughing.
"What do you say, First Prime Minister? It seems I won our wager, did I not?"
"You have bested me, Your Majesty."
"Um... what does this mean?"
With His Majesty suddenly talking about "wagers" and "winning" while laughing with the First Prime Minister, I was at a loss, unable to grasp His intent.
"Oh, it was merely a small wager between Myself and the First Prime Minister. I wanted to test whether Noah would speak strictly and uprightly based on the law alone."
"I-I see..."
Tested? For what purpose?
"Splendid, Noah. Truly, I have known for six years that you are strict when it comes to the law. I merely wished to confirm it just to be certain."
"...?"
"Noah."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"In the name of the Emperor of the Empire, I hereby appoint Noah Ararat as the Minister of Justice."
...
"Ooooohhh?!"
After a breath of stunned silence, cheers erupted from the ministers.
Somehow, after being tested and answering just as I normally would...
I was appointed as the Minister of Justice.