Chapter 6: 1.5

“As expected of Sister. She really showed zero interest in you.”

The guest house built near the Ruined Tower. Samuel leaned back against his bed, stretched out his legs, and let fall his shoes.

The house, which was built to entertain the nobles who came to visit Beatrice, was small but well-maintained. There was a large fireplace with a portrait of Queen Adele hanging over it, paintings of the snowy landscape of Rilbek, a chandelier topped with candles, and a round table with a basket of delicate artificial flowers that looked like the real thing.

The furniture and wallpaper were all in wine red and white. They had a subdued but glamorous look that seemed to be the taste of the proprietress.

Samuel spoke bitterly.

“She wasn’t like that in the past. She was kind and always took care of me. I bet it was that Garrett guy who made her change.”

Beatrice had always prioritized Samuel.

Luke lowered his voice and spoke quietly.

“Her Majesty is so kind that she makes much of people of all ranks, even those who are lowborn. I hear that Master Garrett conducts himself like her Scepter in the Ruined Tower…”

I knew it. Samuel said and bit his nails.

This made him more and more frustrated with Luke.

“If that’s the case, then do something about it! You’re the heir to a count! My sister thought you were inferior to that Garrett!”

“My apologies.”

Samuel threw his shoes at him, and Luke obediently picked them up and put them together. Ann was startled and hid under the bed.

Luke was the most handsome of his entourage. He heard that every time he appeared at a foreign court, he was constantly asked to dance. He had had some hopes for him.

“If only Sister would choose her Scepter from my faction. Then I would be able to make progress on my agenda much more easily. Brother is too proud to leave the palace. If I, who hasn’t been crowned yet, move around freely and make secure Sister’s surroundings…”

The first thing that came to Samuel’s mind when he heard from his sister her intention to be crowned was who her Scepter was going to be. The same was probably true for their older brother Albert.

Who on earth would Beatrice choose as her Scepter? Has she already made up her mind——?

When she announced her intention to ascend to the throne, she promptly hid in Rilbek and didn’t let anyone get close. Even when Scepter candidates were sent to her, she politely welcomed them and detained them without responding dawdlingly, only buying time.

The result was a coronation where she didn’t choose anyone.

“I don’t know what she’s thinking. Having a Scepter would give her more prestige and make her political life easier. If she keeps on not having one, she’ll be underestimated from many angles. If Sister is manipulated by Brother to do as he pleases, then…”

From the very beginning, Albert had been trying to bring Beatrice under his control. Even while she was a young girl. He always took her by the hand and walked with her wherever he went, showing off to everyone around them that they were a close and loving brother and sister.

On the other hand, Albert was indifferent to Samuel. If he fell ill with a cold, Albert would just call him “weak and careless” and always left him to go somewhere else. As a child, Samuel wasn’t allowed to go far away from home and spent his time in the children’s room of their villa, but his brother almost never visited him. In those rare cases, he only begrudgingly followed Beatrice, who wanted to see her little brother.

Albert seemed to see him as a “brother not worth having next to him.”

“This time, when my territory was almost taken away by Brother’s scheme, Sister protected it by not stamping it with the state seal. But that might not happen next time.”

Yes. During the meal, Samuel had protested to Beatrice about Albert’s behavior. He called him a terrible brother who wanted to take the western region for himself when Samuel was supposed to inherit it.

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The western region wasn’t a good source of tax revenue due to the various problems that erupted there, such as crop failures and epidemics, but he still refused to have it taken away from him.

Beatrice, however, was completely calm.

“Samuel, it is reasonable for you to feel that way. But Brother was thinking something different. The western region has always had a food shortage, and it isn’t like Rilbek where there are many tradespeople gathered there, is it? When living conditions become poor, the land becomes desolate. He was sorry to see his little brother inherit such a neglected piece of land, so he merely wanted to take care of it for you for a while.”

“But he didn’t set a term.”

“That’s right. He couldn’t set a term because you can’t improve people’s lives in one or two years. But I didn’t think it was a good idea, so I didn’t stamp the state seal on it. You can make it your first task to tackle after you become king. The revitalization of the western region. If you do it well, the people of that region will become your supporters. But you must understand that Brother wasn’t doing something malicious, Samuel.”

“——She has a very favorable view of things.”

Samuel said sulkily.

With a weak body, Samuel, the third child, was at a disadvantage among his siblings.

The queen consort doted on her sickly son, but in her heart she didn’t want Samuel to become King. In her mind, Albert and Beatrice were the only heirs, and she was afraid that Samuel would just be a hindrance to them. She confined him in a villa, separating him from his siblings, probably to make him lose interest in the crown.

Maybe that was a mother’s way of protecting her child. However——

“All my siblings can become king if they wish to, so what was I born for if I don’t wear the crown? To think that I was denied everything before my life even began.”

There were enough crowns for the number of people. Since he was born into a royal family, he wanted to be king.

To say nothing of the fact that he was a man. How could he leave the palace without leaving his name in history?

“If only Rilbek…if only I can get my hands on this land, I can turn the tables.”

To bridge the gap with his brother, his sister’s cooperation was essential. It wasn’t that he wanted to deprive Beatrice of her right to the throne. All she needed was to join Samuel’s faction and rule Hierbas with him. Even Beatrice would be reassured if she had more allies.

For the sake of rebuilding the western region assigned to Samuel.

“I will get Rilbek——and Sister.”

The female Bertrams were one of the most important pawns for the men.

A woman could be made to renounce her right of succession and be given in marriage, Otherwise, they could be made to marry a retainer and be taken into one’s own faction. Just as Samuel had recommended Luke to Beatrice to be her Scepter. The problem was when there were two or more brothers.

If he lost, his very existence would be erased from the dynasty. That was the battle between men.

“——I will become a storm. I’m going to cut down everyone I don’t like and leave not a single piece of meat behind. I will become the wisest, most beautiful, and the strongest king.”

His speckled, moss-like eyes gleamed as he reached his hand out to the canopy above him. In two years, he would be an adult. His ideals were right in front of him.

“I’m sure that Your Highness will become a grand storm.”

“Luke.”

When he called his name, Luke knelt at his feet as though he knew this by heart and took off his socks.

Kicking his chin down as he kissed his toes, Samuel cackled.

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