I’d worried that Michael might have such tastes, but thankfully he had no interest in that sort of thing. His weakness was gambling. Fiel and Viktor were thoroughly wholesome men, which was a blessing.

"Hohoho, your interest in women never wavers, does it, gentlemen?"

"Oh, Lady Mühe! As beautiful as ever. That voluptuous figure of yours sets my heart racing."

Lady Mühe made her appearance from the upper floor.

She still favored gaudy dresses and heavy makeup. Her potent perfume served as something of a stimulant for the nobles. She descended the staircase slowly and took her seat beside Viscount Dumarck.

"In the end, isn’t it we women who rule over the nobility?"

"Indeed, Lady Mühe is more than qualified to rule us."

The bond between the leering Viscount Dumarck and Lady Mühe seemed as sticky as the one Cavalry Commander Pensler had shared with her. But was I imagining it? For a brief instant, it felt like Mühe and I made eye contact.

"Viscount Dumarck! Why not share with our friends here the truth you’ve uncovered?"

When a noble with a thick beard prodded Viscount Dumarck, the other nobles looked puzzled. Viscount Dumarck raised his glass.

"It might not be a bad idea to share the truth with the new associates you’ve invited tonight."

"The truth? What truth are we talking about? That the Virgin Mary was actually a prostitute?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, I’ve something far more striking than such trivial nonsense. A truth that will jolt you all wide awake."

After enduring the nobles’ protests about why he was dragging this out, Viscount Dumarck finally spoke.

The fact that my name was being mentioned here at all was already deeply unpleasant.

"You all know that upstart Streit who enjoys the Grand Duke’s favor."

"What noble doesn’t know that puffed-up duchy knight who doesn’t know his place?"

The nobles clearly couldn’t stand me, openly showing their distaste.

The feeling’s mutual, you bastards.

"Lately a rumor has been spreading that the upstart is the Grand Duke’s bastard."

"What? This is the first I’ve heard of it. The brat is really the Grand Duke’s bastard?"

"You’re slow on the uptake, friend. When I heard it, I thought it had the ring of truth."

According to Viscount Dumarck, the story went that the bastard child—me—had been secretly sent off to the Streit family to be raised in hiding, and now that I’d grown up and was making a name for myself, the Grand Duke was openly backing me from behind the scenes.

"If that’s true, shouldn’t we be dragging that bastard down?"

"A filthy bastard, a lord! It’s outrageous!"

The nobles, hearing this for the first time, hurled curses at me, calling me a filthy bastard sheltered by the Grand Duke. Most of them joined in. All the while, Mühe seemed uninterested and simply drank her wine.

"Calm yourselves. The rumor about that worthless bastard is nothing but a smokescreen."

"Streit being the Grand Duke’s bastard is only a smokescreen?"

My rumor was just a smokescreen?

Viscount Dumarck savored the attention of the nobles fixed on him.

"Viscount Dumarck! Don’t keep us in suspense. Out with it."

"Hahaha, since you all support Prince Louis, I’ll tell you."

"The crown prince is the queen’s bastard. He carries no Altringen blood."

At Viscount Dumarck’s words, the entire hall froze in silence.

Bodo and Anton, who had been listening through gritted teeth, stared with wide eyes.

Only Lady Mühe remained composed in her seat.

...So that’s how it was.

The source of the rumor was Prince Louis.

The scattered puzzle pieces were slowly starting to fit together.

If it weren’t for Louis, Viscount Dumarck would never have spoken so boldly. Or perhaps the viscount had uncovered the information himself and passed it on to Prince Louis.

Either possibility was plausible, but Viscount Dumarck’s role seemed to be that of a mouthpiece. The problem was that my own rumor was being used as part of all this somehow. The nobles had been thrown into total chaos.

"Uh, Master? Those bastards are spouting nonsense, right?"

"...The crown prince, a bastard child..."

Bodo and Anton were thrown into confusion too.

I would have to make sure these two kept their mouths firmly shut.

"H-hold on, what are you saying? The crown prince, a bastard? Can you take responsibility for those words?"

A noble fixed his eyes on Viscount Dumarck and pressed him fiercely. This was an enormously grave matter—a scandal explosive enough to shake the very foundation of legitimacy. Viscount Dumarck spoke with absolute conviction.

"The wise Prince Louis uncovered this information himself."

"H-how can this be? How could such a thing be possible? Not of Altringen blood!"

"Then why isn’t such a serious matter being made public?"

"It’s all moving forward in due course. Prepare yourselves for when the time comes."

Moving forward? More important than the rumor about me, that was the critical piece of intelligence. But Viscount Dumarck refused to share with the nobles what exactly was in motion.

Viscount Dumarck’s role was nothing more than that of a mouthpiece.

And he emphasized the importance of unity within Prince Louis’s faction.

The nobles were filled with the hope that if Prince Louis rose to crown prince, their standing would shoot straight up to the heart of the government. That was wildly optimistic. The ministers were not opponents to be trifled with.

What caught my attention, though, was how unnaturally composed Lady Mühe was. She looked as if she had known everything from the start, completely out of step with the other nobles. And now, once again, my eyes met hers.

It wasn’t my imagination.

She absolutely knew I was here.

Wary of variables I couldn’t account for, I judged that the time was ripe.

I sent the order through Bodo for the Vice Commander to launch the raid.

Then I kicked open the storeroom door and burst into the hall.

Bang!

"Wh-what is this?"

The startled nobles fumbled, dropping their wine glasses.

I drew my longsword with a fierce flourish and shouted.

"You have insulted the crown prince and conspired in treason. As commander of the Gale Knights and a holder of judicial authority, I place you under arrest! Drop your weapons and surrender!"

"Streit?! How did you get in here?"

"Viscount Dumarck! What is the meaning of this?"

And then the Gale Knights’ raid began.

"Cut down anyone who resists!"

"I-intruders! Hold them off!"

"Aaargh!"

"Suppress them!"

The clash of blades and screams filled the air outside.

The nobles, shaken to the bone, didn’t know what to do.

Viscount Dumarck glared at me and spoke with cold composure.

"The so-called Gale Knight turns out to be nothing more than a rat."

"I happened to receive word that someone had been loudly spreading slander."

"A worthless bastard like you!"

Strictly by rank I should have shown him proper courtesy, but in a situation like this, no one stood on ceremony. Viscount Dumarck gave a glance to the private soldiers in the room. Two of them lunged at me from a blind angle.

My five senses were sweeping the surroundings without a single gap.

The instant the first soldier brought his sword down in a straight strike, I knocked it aside and countered with a thrust that punched clean through his throat. I kicked the slumping corpse off my blade.

As the next soldier rushed in, instead of parrying, I grabbed his arm with practiced ease, hooked his leg, and slammed him down. Then I drove my longsword into a vital point, sending a fountain of blood into the air.

Splat!

Drenched in blood, I growled out my words.

"I’ll show you exactly why they call me the Gale Knight!"

Terrified, the nobles couldn’t so much as twitch under the weight of my presence.

Viscount Dumarck, barely holding himself together, screamed out almost in desperation.

"Ugh, attack! Attack him!"

"Anton! Watch my back!"

Savoring the pounding of my heart, I swung my longsword at the soldiers charging toward me.