"Master. His Fourth Highness has arrived."
"Brother Henry?!"
The following afternoon, while I was reading in the inner court, Cecily, the reception maid, startled me with the announcement.
"Yes, Master."
"Show him in."
Cecily bowed and left the room.
A moment later, Brother Henry, whom I hadn't seen in a while, walked inside.
I stood up and gave him a slight bow.
"It has been a while, Brother. What brings you here so suddenly?"
"I am here on official business—an imperial decree."
Caught even more off guard, I dropped to my knees on the spot by pure reflex.
An imperial decree—a direct command from the Emperor himself.
"'I have heard that a new water suitable for direct drinking has emerged in Syria. Direct Imperial Prince Minister of the Imperial Household Henry to oversee its transport to the summer resort.'...And so, here I am."
When I looked up, Brother Henry was wearing a gentle smile.
"Please prepare the water."
"Understood."
I summoned a maid and instructed her to take a message to Don, who was waiting in the side room of my outer court study.
What His Majesty referred to was undoubtedly the special-grade water.
I ordered twelve barrels to be packed and prepared for transit.
Since it would take some time to ready, I turned back to my brother.
"I will have it prepared immediately. Please, make yourself comfortable."
"Mm."
With that, Brother Henry sat down opposite me.
"Were you surprised?"
"No. Transporting water is hardly an unusual affair. Even in the imperial palace, water from the Beryl Spring is constantly transported and kept on hand for brewing tea."
"Indeed. Water from the Beryl Spring—the finest water in the Empire for brewing tea, or so it is said. Because it is so precious, it is reserved almost exclusively for His Majesty's personal consumption and as rewards for his ministers. It seems your water will receive the same treatment. Impressive, Noah."
I was amazed by how quickly His Majesty had learned of it.
Hardly any time had passed since the special-grade water began flowing.
Yet he had already caught wind of it.
As expected of His Majesty; his eyes and ears were as terrifyingly sharp as ever.
Naturally, I couldn't say that aloud, so I offered instead:
"It contains very few impurities, so I believe it will be ideal for His Majesty's recuperation."
"Indeed. We need His Majesty back on his feet as soon as possible."
"Ah, right. There was one more thing."
"One more thing?"
"I was told it was fine for you to read this one yourself."
Brother Henry reached into his robes, pulled out an imperial edict, and handed it to me.
I unrolled the edict and read from the top.
It was a formal commendation and a reward.
As a reward for this achievement, a noble title was bestowed upon my son—my eldest son, who had not even been conceived yet.
The sons of an emperor are born imperial princes, but the sons of an imperial prince hold no inherent title at birth.
Yet before the child was even born, His Majesty had already granted him the rank of baron.
"I am profoundly grateful."
"This is extraordinary, Noah. For an imperial scion to receive a title before birth... how many decades has it been?"
"At least that long, yes."
I searched my memory for a precedent, but came up empty.
"Almeria's aqueducts were already well developed. So much so that they hardly seemed to need any adjustments. Yet in less than half a year since taking charge of your fief, you have enacted a tremendous reform."
"I intend to convert all of them eventually."
"Is that so?!"
Brother Henry's eyes widened in astonishment.
"Yes. It will be better for the people's health, and maintaining the aqueducts will become far easier. Every year, several people lose their lives during maintenance work. Above all, I want to put an end to that."
"You cherish human life as much as ever."
"It's just my nature."
"Truly commendable."
The door clicked open, and Audrey entered the room, followed by several maids.
She stepped before Brother Henry and offered a bow in accordance with noble etiquette.
"It has been a long time, Brother-in-Law."
"Ah."
Brother Henry merely gave a brief nod.
It was so simple a gesture it might have seemed cold to an outsider.
Though not on the same scale as the Emperor's, an imperial prince's inner court was managed in a manner akin to the inner palace.
Even a brother-in-law was still a man other than her husband.
While he was permitted inside the inner court, refraining from unnecessary conversation was standard decorum among the imperial family.
"You look well."
Brother Henry spoke to me.
In situations like this, speaking through an intermediary was customary.
"And... in the short time since I last saw you, you have truly grown to carry yourself as a legal wife."
Brother Henry spoke with a satisfied expression.
The maids handed Audrey various implements: teaware, tea leaves, and hot water.
As the maids passed them to her, Audrey brewed the tea and served it to my brother and me.
It was her duty as lady of the house—a task that could not be left entirely to the maids.
Watching Audrey carry out the routine in silence, Brother Henry looked thoroughly pleased.
"Please, enjoy."
I accepted the black tea Audrey poured and took a sip.
"Mm, splendid."
So Brother Henry said, keeping his eyes firmly on me.
"Both of you are still young, yet you handle your affairs remarkably well."
He seemed entirely satisfied.
☆
After Brother Henry departed, I headed to the study in the outer court.
If His Majesty ended up enjoying the water after tasting it, I thought it best to arrange the logistics for regular shipments in advance.
When I reached the study, the door swung open from within, and Don stepped out.
"Ah! Lord Noah. I was just about to go find you."
"What is it?...Did something happen?"
Don seemed visibly flustered.
"Please, come inside."
I nodded and entered the study.
Inside, a young boy was on his knees.
With a tear-stained face, the boy turned toward me the moment I walked in and slammed his forehead hard against the floor.
"Lord Prince! Please, please save my father!"
"...What is the meaning of this?"
"It is regarding this, My Lord."
After shutting the door, Don held out an object from the side.
Looking at it, I saw the box.
The secure whistleblower box I had distributed to various people.
The box Don held was unopened, but its top was severely caved in, as if smashed with a hammer.
"This is... Lawrence's?"
"You can tell?"
"Yeah."
Embedded within the box was a fragment of Huwawa's power.
Because of that, I could tell at a single glance whom it belonged to.
"You mentioned your father. Are you Lawrence's son?"
"Yes! My name is Linus!"
"What happened to Lawrence?"
"Lord Pascal framed him with false charges, and now he's locked up in prison!"
"...Explain."
I felt my brow furrow tight.
Swallowing my rising displeasure, I listened to Linus's account.
Ever since the previous incident, Pascal had begun treating Lawrence harshly.
"What underhanded trick did you use to curry favor with His Highness?"
Pascal had repeated this time and again, clearly resentful that I had taken a liking to Lawrence.
Then, a few days ago, he finally framed Lawrence for a crime he didn't commit and had him thrown into prison.
"Taking bribes to overturn a trial... My father would never do such a thing!"
"I believe you."
"Can you tell, My Lord?"
Don asked with a grave expression.
I took the dented box from Don's hands.
"Do you remember what this box can do?"
Don tilted his head, searching his memory.
This was the very box I had instructed Don to hand-deliver to Lawrence, and I had explained its properties to him back then.
"If I recall... once locked, no one other than Your Highness can open it, and if someone tries to show it off, it will destroy itself. Was that it?"
"Yeah. And since I went that far, wouldn't it be natural to embed one more safeguard?"
"...Indeed."
Finding it almost amusing, Don couldn't suppress a chuckle.
"A person corrupt enough to accept bribes would hardly be qualified to possess such a thing."
"Precisely."
"As expected of Your Highness. A brilliant countermeasure."
I looked down at the box.
Pascal had tried to break it, but Lawrence had kept it intact.
In that case...
"Where is the prison where Lawrence is being held?"
Linus looked up at me as though he had just found his savior.
☆
Guided by Linus, I arrived at the prison on the outskirts of Nisir.
Nisir was the provincial capital of Almeria Province.
As the largest city in the province, it had a sizable prison situated just outside the city proper.
Linus and I stepped up to the entrance.
"Halt! State your business!"
"Noah Ararat."
The guard barked at me routinely, and I gave my name in a cold tone.
"Noah... Y-Your Highness?!"
Recognizing who I was, the guard threw himself to the ground in a frantic kowtow.
"I'm going in."
"Y-Yes, My Lord!"
I brushed past the guard and entered the prison.
There were jailers stationed inside as well, but they seemed to recognize my face immediately; before they could even challenge me, they flinched, struck dumb with fear.
Striding forward, I called out to one of the jailers.
"Where is Lawrence?"
"Um, well..."
"Where is he?"
As the jailer hesitated, I stopped, turned on my heel, and glared at him.
The jailer shuddered, his legs trembling so violently he looked ready to collapse.
"A-At the very end of the hall, My Lord!"
I started walking again, heading straight for the deepest part of the facility.
Linus trailed a few steps behind me.
After walking for a short while, a muffled groaning sound reached my ears.
I quickened my pace.
Upon reaching the rearmost cell, I saw an appalling scene unfolding inside.
Lawrence was lying flat on the floor, with heavy sandbags piled across his chest and stomach.
Three men clad in black surrounded him.
One was bearing down with his entire body weight on top of the sandbags, while the other two pinned Lawrence's arms and legs.
A vile, insidious method.
As the Imperial Prince Minister of Justice, I had reviewed countless records on executions and torture at the Ministry of Justice.
This was a technique used to stage a murder as a natural death.
Place sandbags over the body and pile weight on top.
The chest—and the lungs beneath—are crushed under the pressure, making it impossible to draw breath.
It took roughly an hour, but once finished, it left behind a corpse with zero external trauma, looking for all the world as though the victim had died of natural causes.
"Father!"
"──?!"
At Linus's scream, the men in black snapped their heads around.
One of them grunted, instantly pulled a dagger, and lunged to plunge it into Lawrence.
Realizing they had been caught, he had abandoned all subtlety.
"Naive."
I drew Leviathan and swung it downward.
As the acting Imperial Prince Prime Minister, I held absolute command over all subjects of the Empire.
My status was boosted to an invincible SSS across the board.
A light swing from Leviathan sent an arc of force flying toward the three men.
The two pinning Lawrence's limbs were too slow to react and were slashed down instantly, while the man with the dagger tried to parry the strike with his blade.
The force shattered his defense, knocking the dagger clean from his grip.
The man drew a second dagger and charged straight at me.
It was an impressive burst of speed, closing the distance in a straight line.
The blade gouged straight into my chest—or so it appeared.
"That's an afterimage."
"—?!"
Moving behind the man at a speed that left an illusion in my wake, I brought the edge of my hand down hard against the back of his neck.
The man's eyes rolled back, and he crumpled to the floor.
"A-Amazing..."
Linus, who had followed me in, stared with wide eyes, looking as though he had just witnessed a miracle.