While a grand departure parade centered around Empress Audrey was held in the capital, I quietly set out on my journey, accompanied by two maids.
They were Zoe, my head maid, and Kate, whom I had recently taken in.
Riding in a well-made but inconspicuous carriage to pose as a respectable merchant, I had Zoe and Kate follow on foot.
After traveling along the highway for about half a day, I sent Kate ahead to secure our lodging for the night.
As I watched Kate jog off to find an inn from atop the carriage, Zoe spoke to me from the side.
Since we were traveling incognito, her manner of speech and way of addressing me had reverted to how they were during my time as an imperial prince.
"Master, may I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Why did you bring Kate along?"
"Hm?"
I turned to look at her.
Zoe was looking up at me with a troubled, questioning expression.
"I understand why she caught your eye, Master. She is earnest, devoted, and very perceptive. However, she lacks experience far too severely. At the estate, there are other maids to cover for her immediately, but while traveling..."
"True enough. It's undeniable that she's still clumsy in many ways."
Looking at Kate's back in the distance, now reduced to the size of a tiny bean, I smiled faintly.
It holds true for everything: when people psych themselves up, it's because they're attempting something beyond their capabilities or pushing their limits.
People don't pump themselves up thinking, Time to walk! when simply going for a stroll; they only think, Time to run! when trying to sprint.
In that sense, Kate—constantly full of eager determination—must seem unreliable in Zoe's eyes.
"There's no grand reason. I simply recognized Kate's talent and intend to nurture her by letting her gain experience."
"Nurture her, you say?"
"Yeah. That girl will flourish if given the chance. Don't you think so?"
"That may be true, but... doing so when we are short on hands will only cause you inconvenience, Master."
"Nurturing people is a noble's duty, and bearing the burden without complaint is a noble's privilege."
"But... right now, Master, you are..."
Zoe started to speak, then trailed off.
What followed the hesitation was likely "...the Emperor."
After hesitating for a moment, she shook her head.
"As expected of you, Master," she said, nodding in understanding.
Having known me for so long, she seemed to realize that regardless of whether I was the Emperor, I would foster talent when the opportunity arose.
I hadn't brought only Kate; I brought Zoe with the intention of nurturing her as well.
Because she excelled as head maid, I had kept her close by my side, but in truth, I had wanted to send her out into the world much sooner, just like Evelyn.
Even Evelyn was now a magistrate in Almeria.
Zoe's talents were by no means inferior to Evelyn's.
That was why I had brought Zoe along as well—to let her gain valuable experience.
☆
After a journey of about a week, we arrived in Ducel, the provincial capital of Gabel.
Ducel.
It was a city built on both banks of the Ducel River, spanning across the water itself.
This city, which had flourished through river trade, was bustling enough that one could tell even from afar, despite it being night when we arrived.
"It is quite a lively city."
"It's a city with two hundred thousand people registered in the census ledgers alone."
"T-Two hundred thousand?!"
Kate was so shocked that her voice cracked on "hundred thousand."
"More importantly, did you manage to secure our lodging properly?"
Unlike Kate, Zoe, who had spent a long time in the imperial capital, was unphased by a city of merely two hundred thousand.
She questioned Kate calmly.
"Ah, yes! I've secured the rooms on the top floor of an inn by the river. Just to be safe, I also chartered the entire floor below it."
"Couldn't you charter the entire inn?"
"I'm sorry... by the time I arrived, there were already several guests..."
"You should have negotiated with them and—"
"That's enough. You did well, Kate."
Stopping Zoe's interrogation, I offered Kate a word of appreciation.
What Kate did might not have been ideal, but it was certainly good enough.
If it was a solid effort, then at Kate's current stage, it was far more important to praise her and build her confidence.
Having received praise, Kate breathed a sigh of relief.
Rather than feeling joy, relief washed over her first.
She'll still take a while to get there, I thought as we entered the city.
It was a town that remained fairly lively even at night.
In particular, the riverfront—the very lifeblood of the city—was packed with various night stalls and people plying their trades after dark.
Amidst that bustle, we entered the inn Kate had arranged.
Perhaps because she had paid a generous sum upfront, the innkeeper came out to greet me accompanied by his staff.
After telling Zoe to tip them appropriately, I headed up to the top floor.
Presumably designed with wealthy patrons in mind, the room featured wide windows that offered a sweeping view of the Ducel River.
I stood by the window and gazed out over the water.
"Fuhahaha!"
Suddenly, a man's boisterous laughter echoed from the river.
Looking down, I saw a pleasure boat in the middle of the water. At the bow stood a lone man, laughing heartily as he scattered something into the air.
A massive crowd of onlookers lined both riverbanks, gasping in admiration and cheering every time the man tossed a handful.
Pleased by their reaction, the man showered the air with even more.
The spectacle repeated itself endlessly.
"What is that...?"
"It's so sparkly."
"It's beautiful..."
Zoe and Kate stepped up behind me.
Standing a pace back, looking over my shoulder, they watched the man on the boat.
"What could he be scattering?"
"Gold."
"Gold?"
"Real gold."
Whaaat?!
Zoe and Kate gasped in disbelief at the exact same time.
"G-Gold, as in real gold?"
"Yeah. It drifts in the air for quite a while, so it's probably gold dust or gold leaf. The fact that we can see the reflection from this distance means he's tossing fairly large flakes."
"Gold... That's, um, terribly expensive, right?"
I answered Kate, who asked timidly.
"Judging by the size and the amount catching the light, each toss is probably worth about a hundred Rien."
"..."
"Eep..."
Thud. Kate collapsed onto the floor.
She seemed to have fainted dead away from the sheer absurdity of the amount.
Zoe had served as head maid at the imperial prince's residence for years, so it wasn't a sum that would make her swoon.
Even so, she was shocked enough that the color drained from her face and her brow furrowed.
"Fuhahaha!! Take it, take it all!"
Kyaaa!! Lord Olcott, you're wonderful!
"Olcott?!"
Hearing the name mixed in with the squeals from below, Zoe furrowed her brow for an entirely different reason.
"Master!"
"Governor-General of Gabel, Olcott. Either the man himself or one of his kin. Looks like we crossed paths with him right from the start."
"There is no way he could afford such extravagance on a governor-general's stipend."
"Exactly. He's taking bribes, no doubt."
"Let us arrest him at once."
"Hold on. This alone isn't proof of bribery. We'll let him run free until we catch hold of evidence he can't talk his way out of."
"I see..."
Though wearing a bitter expression, Zoe nodded in agreement.
There was one vital quality I looked for when selecting maids to send out into the field.
They had to be the type whose reason could rein in their emotions when it mattered most.
Someone who balked, saying, "Logically that may be true, but..." would fail the test.
I preferred people who could readily say, "Then I shall follow logic."
Zoe possessed that quality in spades.
By now, Zoe's expression had shifted entirely.
With a puzzled look, she tilted her head and stared down at Olcott on the river.
She seemed utterly bewildered watching him scatter gold while being fawned over by women.
"What's on your mind?"
"Ah, no. It just felt like something was amiss."
"Like what?"
"Even though he is a governor-general, he carries no air of nobility whatsoever."
"Because he isn't fulfilling a noble's duty."
"A noble's duty?"
Parroting my words, Zoe looked at me.
"A noble's duty exists precisely through performing selfless acts."
"I see!"
"Even when dispersing wealth, a true noble converts it into food and distributes it to disaster-stricken regions. That man is nothing more than a vulgar upstart."
"Indeed you are right!"
"...Zoe. Was there any intelligence on Olcott accepting bribes?"
Before leaving the capital, I had gathered a fair amount of information on key figures in Gabel—especially those who warranted scrutiny—and had Zoe memorize it.
So, I decided to test her memory.
"No, none at all. His record appeared completely spotless."
"Then there aren't many possibilities... Zoe, there's something I need you to look into right away."
"What would that be?!"
Perhaps energized by the sheer display of Olcott's folly, Zoe was brimming with motivation.
☆
The next morning, upon waking up, I had Kate assist me in getting dressed.
Having only recently become a maid, Kate blushed furiously at the sight of me standing stark naked.
Since it was just routine dressing, I felt no embarrassment and let her proceed.
Right then, a knock sounded at the door.
"Enter."
"Pardon the intrusion."
Zoe stepped into the room.
Even seeing me bare, Zoe was completely unfazed.
Kate wore a conflicted expression at Zoe's nonchalant reaction.
She'll get used to it in time, I thought, ignoring Kate's flustered state to question Zoe.
"Well? What did you find?"
"Yes. Out of the three possibilities you mentioned, Master, it was poetry."
"I see."
"A single poem penned in Olcott's own hand was listed for ten thousand Rien."
"And naturally—"
"None have been sold; they are merely displayed in the shop window."
"I see. I had hoped it would at least be paintings, but to think it was poetry."
"Um... what does that mean?"
Helping me into my clothes, Kate asked curiously.
"Olcott's lavish spending would be impossible without taking bribes—which means he must be taking them. You follow so far?"
"Yes."
"However, he doesn't accept them as direct payoffs. If so, how does he do it? In such cases, the safest method is dealing in art or literature. The party wishing to pay the bribe purchases otherwise worthless poems or paintings... Did you bring a copy?"
"It was far too expensive to purchase, so I couldn't bring the original... but I transcribed it."
Zoe handed me a scrap of paper.
After reading it, I showed it to Kate as well.
"'Nothing is eternal; that is eternity.'"
Immediately after Kate read it aloud, Zoe added:
"And that one is ten thousand Rien."
"Eeeek?!"
"This one is five thousand Rien."
"'Yesterday's sunset is today's sunrise.'"
"Fueeeh?!"
"This one is somehow even worse. Though it's splitting hairs."
I shrugged.
"At this rate, a note listing his breakfast menu will soon be fetching a thousand Rien."
"As expected of you, Master."
"Hm?"
"It appears that is already the case."
She must have asked around during her investigation.
Zoe spoke with an expression of pure disdain.
"I see. And who is running those shops?"
"Yes."
Zoe nodded firmly.
"Every single establishment dealing in his poetry was set up by salt merchants solely for that purpose."