“Marquess Duriel.”

At Crown Prince Edsen’s call, Marquess Duriel met his eyes without hiding his cold expression in the slightest.

It carried a firm intent, plain to see—he would no longer show Edsen any respect as royalty.

“I heard your story well. Even at your age, you’re truly vigorous.”

Marquess Duriel’s face stiffened faintly. Had he heard everything I said from outside just now?

“Ha.”

After a moment of fluster, Marquess Duriel let out a short laugh. So what if he’d heard? Nothing would change.

“Then there’s no need to separately explain what today’s most important agenda item is.”

Marquess Duriel had convened today’s meeting to strip Crown Prince Edsen of not only his position as crown prince, but even his right of succession.

He didn’t want to drag this out any longer. Wrapping up this situation even a day sooner would be better for everyone, too.

That was why he could only wear a stupid expression when he heard Crown Prince Edsen’s next words.

“You’ve worked hard.”

...Worked hard?

“What...?”

Did he not understand his own position at all?

He can’t be that clueless.

Marquess Duriel had expected him to flare up in anger, but instead, Crown Prince Edsen merely let out a small laugh, grinning. Duriel’s brow furrowed.

Edsen didn’t avoid his gaze. If anything, he shrugged, deliberately making an even more irritating expression.

“I’m saying you worked hard, waiting for when the three dukes weren’t here.”

With the three dukes out of the capital to deal with Eva Faith remnants, wasn’t it obvious why Duriel had called a noble meeting now? He wanted to handle things while the three dukes were absent.

Crown Prince Edsen clicked his tongue lightly as he looked over the people gathered in the hall, one by one.

“While some people are spilling blood and sweat to stabilize the empire.”

And these things... the only thing they could do was gather and—

At the contempt in his eyes, no one needed prompting. Everyone hurried to avert their gaze with awkward expressions.

Because they all understood that the “some people” Edsen meant were the three dukes currently away from the capital.

In an instant, the petty ones flushed. They had nothing they could say.

“Qualifications...”

Murmuring to himself, Crown Prince Edsen swept his gaze around once more. The corner of his mouth slowly lifted.

“I agree with that as well.”

“Your Highness!”

“That...!”

Was he saying he agreed with Marquess Duriel? When he should be refuting him, he was agreeing?

A few nobles who had always followed Crown Prince Edsen without wavering in any situation sprang up from their seats, their faces plainly shaken.

He’d been looking exhausted lately—was he planning to give up the throne? They had to stop that, no matter what.

But Crown Prince Edsen raised a hand lightly, stopping their attempt to halt the meeting.

“Losing the seal the First Emperor created. I do think it’s right to say that’s when we truly lost our qualifications.”

Rather than deny it, Crown Prince Edsen emphasized again what Marquess Duriel had said earlier.

“Your Highness! You know how long ago that was!”

“Why do you keep bringing up something so old...!”

The crown prince faction nobles grew even more flustered. They couldn’t understand why he kept mentioning something unfavorable.

Marquess Duriel felt the same.

What is this?

Watching Crown Prince °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Edsen side with his words and the nobles trying to restrain him, Marquess Duriel’s thoughts tangled.

What scheme is this?

That snake-like bastard—why? He wasn’t the type to back down so meekly. Had he found some other move?

Impossible.

At this point, what could you even do?

He had to finish everything before the three dukes returned to the capital.

“Exactly as Your Highness says.”

Marquess Duriel spoke at once. He didn’t know what Edsen was thinking, but there was no reason to miss this chance now that Edsen himself had denied his own qualifications.

“As everyone knows, the seal of the First Emperor is an extremely important object symbolizing the empire. I believe its disappearance is no different than the disappearance of the imperial family’s authority.”

“Then.”

After pausing, Crown Prince Edsen looked at Marquess Duriel and pulled the corner of his mouth up slightly.

That familiar smile of his—quietly infuriating—made Marquess Duriel’s face twist before he could stop it.

He’s smiling?

In a situation like this?

A nameless unease surged over him.

“If I find that seal, what happens then?”

“...Pardon?”

But the unease didn’t last long.

What kind of nonsense was this? He was saying he’d find that seal that had vanished long ago?

“Ha.”

A hollow laugh burst from Marquess Duriel.

He’d thought Edsen might have some hidden trump card, but was he really just saying anything, trying to buy time until the three dukes returned?

Well, with his position as crown prince already precarious, he had to try something.

Even if they come back, nothing changes.

It would take longer to resolve, sure—but wasn’t it true there was nothing left to claim Crown Prince Edsen’s legitimacy?

“Then of course, Your Highness should inherit the throne.”

Marquess Duriel’s voice grew noticeably gentler.

“Didn’t the First Emperor leave those words? The one who inherits the seal is the emperor of the empire.”

If he wanted to make one last struggle, wasn’t it entertaining to watch?

How was he going to find a seal lost five hundred years ago now? Over the ages, countless people had tried to find it, and all of it had been for nothing.

It really is strange.

If someone had stolen the seal, shouldn’t it be somewhere?

Then why hadn’t it been found, even after all these years? It wasn’t as if a seal made of dragon bone could have been destroyed.

It had been something he’d said to incite the crowd earlier, but now he was truly convinced.

Wasn’t it the truth that the First Emperor’s seal had abandoned the empire and concealed itself? It had vanished because false royals had no right to possess it.

“Hm.”

That peculiar smile returned to Crown Prince Edsen’s lips. His gaze remained fixed on Marquess Duriel.

Marquess Duriel didn’t avoid it, either. If anything, he met it with a sneer, openly saying: do whatever you want.

“Then how much time should we give you?”

A month? A year? Surely he wasn’t going to drag it out longer than that.

“One minute will do.”

“...Pardon?”

“Come in.”

At Crown Prince Edsen’s short command, the conference room door opened and someone stepped inside.

The newly appointed chief attendant.

Why is he—?

At the sight of Chief Attendant Joyner, Marquess Duriel’s brow creased faintly.

Chief Attendant Joyner was someone who had been driven out of the palace back when Duriel’s daughter had been empress.

Empress Javiela had found it deeply displeasing that he remained in the imperial palace, solely because he had served Crown Prince Edsen’s birth mother, who had died long ago.

And yet Crown Prince Edsen had now appointed that very man as the new chief attendant and pulled him back into the imperial family.

A single fact flashed through everyone’s mind.

The former chief attendant was an Eva Faith believer, too.

The former chief attendant who had served the emperor had also been an Eva Faith believer. When this incident erupted, he had taken his own life, and Joyner had filled the vacancy.

In any case, with the chief attendant’s appearance, everyone’s eyes turned to him.

“Your Highness.”

Bowing with formal respect, Joyner approached Crown Prince Edsen and very carefully extended what he held forward with both hands, as if presenting an offering.

It was the small wooden box Camilla had given Crown Prince Edsen earlier.

“Don’t forget what you just said.”

At Crown Prince Edsen’s lightly smiling face, Marquess Duriel’s expression stiffened.

And as if he meant to miss not a single twitch of Duriel’s face, Crown Prince Edsen kept his eyes locked on him and slowly opened the box.

CLICK.

“That is...?”

“...Isn’t that a seal?”

A seal?

At the people’s exclamations, Marquess Duriel’s spine turned cold on its own.

Don’t tell me...!

No. That couldn’t be. Absolutely not. It had to be—

“W-Wait!”

“That...!”

“Ghk!”

At first, people had only looked on in confusion, but then they couldn’t contain their shock.

A seal of black, ink-dark color. How could anyone fail to recognize it?

The legend the people of Fable cherished most, and were proudest of.

The tale of the hero who slew the Black Dragon, once called an evil god—the First Emperor—was something every citizen of the empire knew. They’d grown up hearing it, so much so that there was no one who didn’t.

The First Emperor’s seal, said to have been made from the Black Dragon’s bones, was the same. You could find the seal’s shape easily just by going to any library right now.

“Y-Your Highness... surely that is...”

Their conversation with Marquess Duriel just now—could it really be what they thought?

“It is.”

His smile deepened.

“The First Emperor’s seal.”

“...!”

They’d thought it might be—but!

At Crown Prince Edsen’s confirmation, the people were struck with shock all over again.