Young Bastian looked around. Would he be able to meet that girl today? ‘That girl’ was none other than his half-sister and the beloved princess.
He used the bathroom as an excuse to delay his father’s reprimand. Anyway, he thought it would be good for his mother to get closer to the king. Mother and father were strong people in each other’s world. So Bastian went to the place where he had first seen the girl.
A princess who was loved by the queen. The queen built a private garden and a dressing room for the princess. There was no one in the garden when he arrived. Immediately he headed to the track. Fortunately, Llewelyn had just arrived at the stable.
The girl on a big horse rode pretty fast. Could he ever go that fast? Bastian nearly fell down every time he climbed onto a horse. And yet she made it look so easy, perched high up looking dignified and beautiful.
He inherited the blood of the same king, so why was he so stupid? Was it because his mother was of low blood?
He’d always felt withdrawn when he saw that girl. An illegitimate child of a pathetic king who was always sloppy and limp. That was Bastian’s position.
At that moment, the movement of the horse stopped. The princess had stopped riding. As if it were natural, she took a servant’s hand and dismounted the horse.
“What’s going on here?”
“…”
She was only thirteen years old. Nevertheless, there was a precious expression on her face. She always had a low-pitched voice and indifferent expressions. Although her face was red from riding a horse, it did not look vulgar or unnatural.
“I… I… I…”
Bastian stuttered. There was a look of pity on her face. However, she did not spit out abusive language like her mother, nor did she leave, ignoring him like her father. She waited patiently.
“You, to see… I’m here.”
“… Why me?”
It was an amazing response. Bastian lost more confidence.
“That is, you… you… you…”
“Ah, do you want to ride a horse?”
Bastian simply nodded at Llewelyn’s question.
“Then do you want to ride this one?”
“Ha, ha, but, I… fall… I mean… clearly…”
“You think you’re going to fall because you saw me ride? Come on.”
It was a rare day when Llewellyn, who had always been arrogant towards Bastian, showed her good nature. Even as he rode a horse led by Llewelyn’s hand, he was stunned.
“I’ll help you stay more sturdy.”
She wasn’t as nervous as his mother, nor did she despise him like his teachers did. Cleverly she knew his position, but she reached out to him first.
That day, Bastian was able to ride properly for the first time.
Bastian thought. Shouldn’t that little girl be okay?
*
“This is the first time the Marquis Gertlinger has asked to see me.”
“Sit down, Duke Biserk.”
With a table in the middle, the young and old man looked into each other’s eyes. The old man was of the Gertlinger family, one of the five noble families. ‘The choice of the Gertlinger family is always right.’ Perhaps because of that saying, the nobles considered the Gertringer family to be their support. However, the Marquis Gertlinger was very cautious and did not provide support at all.
“Okay. Are you doing this to cut off the heads of the king and queen and support the princess?”
“…”
It was quite a radical remark for a cautious Marquis. Besides, for him as a duke, he had a strange subordinate, not an engineering school. In fact, it was not a big disrespect for him, an old man and the owner of the most honorable family.
Seeing Almondite not answering, Marquis Gertlinger laughed.
“The queen is not an idiot, as you have noticed.”
“It doesn’t matter. We only need to eliminate the Duke of Brion.”
“You’re saying you should lower yourself… The advice of a cautious old man will never work for a young man.”
At his quick response, one corner of the Marquis’s lips twisted.
“They never break. Do you know how intensely she has been ostracizing others? It is a survival strategy. You’re letting her do it to show that you’re harmless. Do you think she will be left alone if the Duke of Brion returns to suppress this rebellion?”
The Marquis Gertlinger knew exactly what Almondite’s intentions were.
“It’s strange that the princess has been safe so far.”
“…”
“Looking at your reaction, it seems that the princess is of no value to you. What are you going to do?”
Almondite said vigorously.
“We are going to make it happen soon.”
“Haha. Looks like she’s going to become a queen.”
Even with Marquis Gertlinger’s straightforward words, Almondite had a relaxed expression on his face. He was unaware that the Marquis Gertringer was a patron of the kingdom’s largest intelligence network.
“So, do you want to help?”
“You think I’ll help you? How about going to Count Sundbleen, a close friend of the princess, rather than me? That girl overtook her younger brother to become a count.”
He laughed bitterly. It was information that Almondite knew well. The Marquis also said with a relaxed smile,
“I have called you, just to confirm. But you’ve disappointed me. The princess is still meaningless, and you are the only one moving.”
At his express disappointment, Almondite grinned. “Are you sure? How can you ask a question when you already know how the picture will be drawn? Isn’t it the Marquis who passed the information on to me?”
“…You are unusual. I thought you were a warrior who only used swords, but you are a tactician.”
“…”
“So, when are you going to Mod Street?”
“Soon.”
The Marquis Gertlinger smiled contentedly. Almondite stared at the Marquis with a puzzled expression on his face.
“How can we not take back what was stolen by an undeserving person?”
Gertlinger interlaced his fingers at the meaningful words. The old man leaned over to Almondite.
“Why are you doing this?”
“…”
Seeing the Marquis Gertlinger, Almondite stood up.
“Are you going to go without results?”
“If I go on like this, my information will be stolen. It’s embarrassing.”
The Gertringer family was the most powerful family that governed the opinion of the nobility. If Almondite wanted anything, he had to be a little more polite. But Almondite was simple. He had the attitude that even if there was no cooperation from the Marquis, information was enough.
“Then let me ask you one last question.”
At the words of the Marquis Gertlinger, Almondite stopped walking.
“The previous queen was executed, so why was there no movement in Thessaly?”
“…”
“Then there will be war.”
“Thessaly is a small country. Why are you asking what you already know?”
“Really?”
Almondite’s face hardened and he stood up suddenly, not sparing him a glance before stalking out the room.