Setting aside the crown prince and the princess, I’d never met the Second Prince. Hilda was the only one of us who was acquainted with him. The Second Prince was famously in poor health and rarely showed himself at official functions.

The elderly attendant politely requested that I accept the Second Prince’s invitation to lunch tomorrow. And he was inviting Hilda along too. From my perspective, however, there was no reason to accept an invitation from the Second Prince when he wasn’t even the crown prince.

Not all royals are the same. Plenty of high-ranking nobles looked down on the Second Prince. On top of that, his faction was made up mostly of outsiders in noble society, so its influence was negligible.

A sudden invitation at this point—there had to be something behind it.

Normally, invitations aren’t issued on such short notice. It’s considered very rude because it disregards the other party’s schedule. But the Second Prince’s attendant repeatedly emphasized that this was unofficial.

In the end, I accepted the invitation. The attendant left in good spirits.

It might not be a bad idea to use this chance to size up what kind of person the prince was.

"Louis has been frail since childhood, with precarious health. So he’s always dreamed of becoming a knight. You and he could become good friends, Wolf."

In the carriage, Hilda told me everything she knew about Louis. Since she was on close terms with the royal family in general, she seemed to regard Prince Louis with the affection one might have for a dear younger brother.

"Thank you for accepting my invitation, Lord of Feuzen."

"It’s an honor to meet you, Prince Louis."

"It’s been a while, Sister Hilda. I’m sorry I couldn’t attend your wedding."

"It’s all right, Your Highness. No one understands your circumstances better than I do."

He was a handsome prince with an exceptionally polite and gentle demeanor. Aside from his pale complexion, he didn’t really seem all that frail. He was very kind and stirred a protective instinct in me.

If only his disposition hadn’t been conspiracy (evil), this would have been wonderful.

Once I detect a conspiracy disposition, I have a habit of becoming guarded without realizing it. Conspiracy is the disposition you can never let your guard down around. Just look at Mort, Bertheim, the Grand Duke, and the Finance Minister.

Hmm, somehow the Finance Minister has ended up being the easiest to handle.

Among his siblings, Prince Louis resembled the Grand Duke the most.

In the worst possible way.

Crown Prince Franz was a man with a strong sense of justice, and Princess Evangeline tended toward vanity but was far removed from conspiracy.

Hilda chattered cheerfully with the dear younger brother she hadn’t seen in a while. An ordinary person couldn’t easily tell whether his smile and kindness were genuine. His mindset was pointing toward deceit.

"There’s something I’d like to ask you, Lord of Feuzen."

"Ask anything you wish. I’ll answer to the best of my ability."

"Is Brother Franz a man worthy of your service?"

Huh? What’s with this curveball?

Hilda was startled, I was startled, and the elderly attendant nearly fainted.

"Ha ha ha, just a light joke. A joke."

"You shouldn’t joke about things like that. You gave us such a fright."

"Sorry, I just suddenly felt like teasing you."

It didn’t seem like a joke to me.

"To answer Your Highness’s question, he is more than worthy of my service. At the very least, His Highness the Crown Prince knows how to distinguish right from wrong, possesses courage, and has compassion."

"Wolf, the Prince was joking. Why would you answer so seriously?"

Hilda pinched my side with a small whisper.

Her technique for pinching me without others noticing seemed to be improving.

But Louis’s smile seemed to twist slightly when he heard my answer.

"Thank you for taking my joke seriously and answering it earnestly. Hearing your assessment, Brother Franz really is a man of great character. He’s always been gentle and kind to me, but I’ve worried that very quality might make him weak as a crown prince. Unlike a sickly man like myself."

The atmosphere had grown strange, and Hilda was clearly flustered. Louis flashed a bright smile again and skillfully steered the conversation to the tournament. As the winner of both the individual and team competitions, I was the natural center of the topic.

It was about time to head home.

Hilda seemed reluctant to part with Louis, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time. But Louis still hadn’t dropped his artificial smile. He was meticulous when it came to deceiving people.

"Sister Hilda, would you let me speak with the lord alone?"

He must have something to say.

After Hilda and the attendant stepped out, the two of us were left alone.

What in the world did he want to tell me?

"I have admired you, my lord."

"It’s an honor, Your Highness."

I’d rather not be admired by a man whose exterior doesn’t match his interior.

"The Gale Knight who saved my brother from an assassin, the war hero who crushed Burgundy, the tournament champion—a knight walking such an honorable path."

It sounded like he was being sarcastic.

"Unlike me, you shine brilliantly. Enough to stir envy."

"Your Highness, what are you trying to tell me?"

His mask slipped for the first time.

The smile was already gone.

"I wanted to offer you a word of advice, my lord—you who walk only the honorable path. Sometimes, lies become truth. But I will not allow lies to become truth."

"What do you mean by that?"

But one thing was certain: there was genuine conviction in those words alone.

"There will come a day when you understand. Now, please go safely."

On the way home, I chewed over his parting words.

Lies sometimes become truth. But I will not let lies become truth. What was the lie, and what was the truth? Why would he give me such a cryptic warning and put me on alert?

I couldn’t figure out the intent behind his conspiracy (evil) disposition.

So I dutifully reported every word Louis had said to my brilliant Lady Hilda.

"Do not cover the truth with lies, nor sully the truth with falsehoods."

"That sounds like a passage from scripture."

"It is. It’s a passage from the Gospel of Mark."

Oh, really? Since I’d never read the Bible, I had no idea what passages it contained, but what mattered was the true meaning behind those words. Hilda could only speculate that Louis, as a devout believer, had perhaps received some kind of revelation.

If I connected it to the assassination conspiracy targeting the survivors of the third battle, the picture started to come into focus. But the pieces were so disjointed that everything remained as unclear as a riddle.

What was certain, though, was that Louis didn’t harbor warm feelings toward the crown prince. The two were said to be on good terms, but the truth was completely different. My Scouter couldn’t be fooled.

Could there be something off about the crown prince?

"Wolf, how do I look in men’s clothing?"

"Oh, it suits you. It would be even more perfect if you threw on a surcoat."

"Hee hee, you’re unusual, Wolf—you prefer me in something like this over a dress."

Of course. Those men’s clothes that showed off Hilda’s perfect figure were designed by me personally and made by a tailor. It was an outfit reserved exclusively for Hilda. Screw the law against women wearing pants.

The retainers were quite excited to be visiting my fief for the first time. Oscar and Ted had been there before, but they’d only stayed one night and never entered the village, so it was practically a first visit for them too.

It was practically my first real visit as well.

I’d led by example to keep the soldiers in check, so I’d stayed at the encampment and never entered the village. At the time, I never imagined Feuzen would become my fief.

"You’re going to Feuzen? I’m coming too!"

"Don’t you have anything to do these days?"

"I’m on leave right now. But if I stay home, Father will keep finding work for me."

Oh, is that so? Michael and his wife joined us. As for Rosengarden, I asked Göring to manage it. Göring was reluctant at first, but Old Man Bertheim agreed it would settle his debt for the trouble he’d caused me.

So Göring was stuck with no way out, forced to stay at Rosengarden until I returned.

Michael clicked his tongue at the size of the escort.

"Using a knightly order as your escort—isn’t that a bit excessive?"

"I’ll be operating from my fief, so I’m bringing them along. It also doubles as training."

"Well now, what an extravagant escort. Not that I’m complaining, since it makes things easier for me."

With my retainers, carriages packed with supplies, and an escort of fifty Gale Knights, we finally set out for Feuzen. First things first—let’s get to Feuzen and let this weary spirit rest.