Epilogue

"Excuse me."

Three days had passed since the incident at the Great Cathedral.

Lucas sighed deeply with a sense of relief from having finally finished a tough job, as he exited the audience chamber. He had been tirelessly running around cleaning up the aftermath for the past three days, and the report to the King had finally allowed him a moment's peace.

(I managed to resolve the matter with my older brother somehow...)

The kidnapping plot of Lecty, orchestrated by First Prince Slay and Marquis Hortness. Although it ended in failure, the involvement of both individuals was clear.

The testimony of Hortness's eldest son, Idiot, and the apprehended Traitor Inform and Baron Inform. And the plethora of evidence left behind from the overly sloppy kidnapping plan.

Slay and Marquis Hortness quickly admitted their guilt and were currently confined in the Royal Castle's dungeon. Their sentence would be passed down soon.

(Marquis Hortness's punishment will be house arrest, the Hortness family's title will be reduced from Marquis to Baron, 70% of their territory will be confiscated, and the headship of the family will be passed to his son, Idiot Hortness. I'm glad I managed to persuade Father.)

The crime of defying the Royal Edict, even if it was only attempted, was severe. The Hortness family would have been entirely dissolved if Idiot hadn't gained the achievement of rescuing Lecty. It was only through the pleas of Lucas and Lecty herself that the King was persuaded.

As for the Inform family, their title was stripped, and they were exiled from the country. This lightened the punishment a bit, compensating for the reduction in the Hortness family's penalty. The entire family would have been executed if it weren't for Idiot's efforts.

(The punishment for my older brother will likely take a while longer.)

Slay's stripping of his succession rights was a certainty. The crime of defying the Royal Edict would not be excused just because he was of the Royal Family; usually, the punishment would be execution... But there were circumstances that prevented that.

Slay's maternal family was the Empire of Raiga. It was a great nation in the Western Continent, a rival to the Reese Kingdom in both national strength and military power. The Reese Kingdom had a history of countless wars with the Raiga Empire since its founding.

(Executing my older brother would inevitably worsen relations with the Empire. On the other hand, keeping him alive would be a nuisance, but Father wouldn't punish him until after the victory celebration.)

No matter what form it took, he would use it as a diplomatic card against the Empire. Lucas knew all too well that King Lios Reese was that kind of man.

On the way back to his room from the audience chamber, Lucas noticed a figure approaching him and stopped. Blue hair, a crescent moon earring dangling from one ear. The resolute-looking handsome man raised his hand casually and said, "Hey."

"Older Brother Blut, why are you here?"

"I heard a rumor that my excellent younger brother was working around the clock, so I came to check up on you. You look livelier than I thought, don't you?"

"Thanks to you, I am."

Although he wanted to collapse into bed immediately, he was conscious of not letting his true feelings show. With First Prince Slay's elimination, the Succession Conflict was now narrowed down to the two men in the corridor. He couldn't show weakness to his rival for the throne.

"I hear you maneuvered things quite well this time. Big Brother lost his succession rights. Most of the nobles who supported him defected to your faction. And you've put the Divine Grant Religion in your debt, haven't you? The next King is basically already decided."

"I hope that's true."

Lucas observed his brother through the blindfold. There was no hint of resignation on Blut's face. If anything, he exuded confidence. He didn't seem to have given up the right to the throne.

"It's amazing how quickly people change, though. Seven years ago, they were all making a huge fuss about the Drephon family curse."

"...Older Brother."

"Whoa, don't look so scary. I don't believe in curses, you know? Just a series of unfortunate accidents happening at the same time. That's all it is, right?"

Blut laughed flippantly, without a hint of guilt. Lucas knew that even that careless attitude was a calculated performance.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have time to stand around talking. I have a few unresolved issues to deal with. Please excuse me."

As Lucas swiftly cut the conversation short and tried to leave,

"Was it you, Lucas, who poisoned Father?"

Blut tossed the question at his back.

"The rumor is going around the castle, you know. That it was you who poisoned Father, and that the entire sequence of events was manipulated by Lucas behind the scenes."

"Well, I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about."

Lucas turned around, shrugging in reply. Lucas was already aware of the rumor that had unnaturally started spreading yesterday. And he also knew who was behind it.

"I thought so. I was the one who started that rumor. The maids and servants I look out for are happily spreading it around, you know."

"Just like with Older Brother Slay, I presume?"

When Lucas asked, Blut gave a slight smirk. Although he didn't explicitly say it, it was unmistakable. It was Blut who spread the rumor that Slay was not of the King's blood.

"Was that all you did, though? Spreading a rumor?"

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing, never mind."

Lucas knew that he would be a suspect the moment they announced that the King's poor health was due to being poisoned by someone, not illness.

Since the rumor that King Lios's condition was due to poison was already circulating, the major incident of the King being poisoned was accepted by the nobles and residents of the Royal Capital without much confusion—a simple, "I knew it was true all along."

The King's successful recovery was also a significant factor that prevented panic.

Within the Royal Castle and in various parts of the Royal Capital, people were reportedly engaged in a quiet guessing game of who the culprit who poisoned the King was. In that flow, Lucas being a suspect was inevitable.

(I'm the most suspicious one, objectively speaking.)

If you asked who benefited the most from the series of incidents, there was no one but Lucas.

He not only gained the achievement of curing the King by inviting the girl with the 〈Saintess〉 Skill, but his rival in the Succession Conflict, First Prince Slay, was eliminated.

With the majority of the nobles in Slay's faction defecting to Lucas's, he was suddenly in the advantageous position in the Succession Conflict, and he also made a significant political move by being entrusted by the King to negotiate with the Divine Grant Religion, opening up a large channel with the Papal State.

Objectively, Lucas was the sole victor. If he weren't involved, even Lucas himself would have suspected the rumors of manipulation. That's how favorably things had turned out for him.

"That idiot brother of ours panicked and destroyed himself just by spreading a rumor, but you're not like that, are you?"

(My older brother Slay wasn't like that originally, either.)

The Slay Lucas knew was a deeply thoughtful, and above all, cunning man. He possessed the capability to fulfill his duties as the First Prince while protecting his mother, who had come from an enemy country.

(I didn't tell Hugh, but Malicious wasn't the only one who seemed out of the ordinary. My Older Brother Slay, Marquis Hortness, and even Greed Lecheley...)

If that were the case, Blut was the next most suspicious candidate, but judging from his reaction, that possibility seemed unlikely. If he could truly manipulate people's will, he would just manipulate them to benefit himself. There was no reason for him to manipulate things to benefit Lucas.

(Did the results just coincidentally benefit me...? No, that's wrong. It's just that I want to believe my Older Brother Blut is the one behind it.)

If it were Blut's doing, the story would have been simple. It would have been a nuisance, but since the identity of the enemy was known, formulating a countermeasure would have been easier.

"Lucas. I don't know what you are plotting, but I will be the one to become King."

(I'm not plotting anything, though.)

He gave a wry smile internally and faced Blut.

"I apologize, but I will be the one to become King. I cannot entrust this country to you, Older Brother."

"Well, aren't you getting mouthy."

Blut laughed, his smile resembling a savage beast's, then turned and walked away.

Lucas watched his back for a while and then started walking toward his own room.

(I should still have some leeway until my Older Brother takes serious action. Until then—)

As he walked, strategizing for the future, he reached his room door.

Opening the door and entering, he saw,

"These cookies are so delicious! I was just going to secretly have a quick bite, but I can't stop eating!"

Merry, dressed in a maid uniform, was sitting on the sofa, stuffing her face with the cookies that had been prepared for Lucas.

She must have entered the room to clean and discovered the cookies. Tea was even prepared on the low table. No progress had been made on the cleaning.

(...Honestly, the things I don't want to see are always the ones that are clearly visible.)

Lucas, who had taken off his blindfold just before entering the room, sighed resignedly at the floating words above Merry, who was eagerly shoving the cookies into her mouth.