Chapter 32 - Pursuit

Silence filled the courtroom. The silence that had greeted the minister of administration earlier had clearly rested on some prior understanding, on assurances exchanged behind the scenes. This time, it was plainly born of sheer bewilderment.

And no wonder. What lunatic would say something that insane to a member of the imperial family?

"..."

What surprised them was that the prince himself showed no particular reaction. He merely opened the eyes he had kept closed while sitting quietly, then looked at the man before him with an expression devoid of even a flicker of emotion.

"That is lèse-majesté, Mr. Aiden."

His softly spoken words were much in keeping with that composure.

"Consider whether you are prepared to answer for your actions."

Yet his voice held a bleak chill that made even Aiden pause.

"You are free to obstruct my wishes and oppose me. But do not insult me. Do not insult imperial authority. That is no different from insulting the Empire and its subjects, whose welfare rests on my shoulders."

"..."

"As a future ruler, how I am treated personally also bears on the Empire's prestige. Do not forget that."

Every phrase carried his pride in representing the Empire. He spoke not for himself, but as the representative of the people whose burden he bore.

It was an unmistakable warning. If they were going to trade moves, they should do it behind the scenes—not through scandal and aggression that disrupted the imperial order. That was the line that allowed them to keep "fighting peacefully," as they had been, and Aiden was not to cross it any further. If Aiden became this aggressive, the prince would have no choice but to respond in kind.

'Fair play. Rules. Integrity. Sovereign. Patriot.'

Aiden laughed inwardly as he mulled over the keywords that had described the prince in the original game.

What a gentlemanly warning. For someone who played dirty, he was honest in the strangest ways. His next words were a case in point.

The prince pursed his lips, then whispered quietly enough for only Aiden to hear.

"I respect you. And not just you. I respect every member of the Empire in the same way."

"..."

"So please do not make me harm you. Allow me to return you safely to your old life when this is over."

What I want is not your ruin, but your place as the Lionhearted's husband. So don't push any further. Let me continue to respect you.

'... Well, if it isn't a living saint.'

What exquisitely refined hostility.

"We will hear your rebuttal to the minister's accusations later. Return to your seat—"

"False accusation carries a rather severe punishment under imperial law, doesn't it? One even imperial royalty can't escape."

The problem was that Aiden had absolutely no intention of being drawn into a game his opponent had laid out for him.

"... What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I'm the one giving the warning, Your Highness. Not you."

"..."

"Stop picking these pathetic fights. Before I pay you back double."

This time, the prince's impassive expression twitched.

After a brief silence, Aiden spoke in something close to a growl.

"I, Aiden Kellermain, husband of the Lionhearted, formally accuse the imperial prince. You and your associates are the ones framing Dame Noel for crimes she did not commit."

He spoke clearly enough for everyone in the courtroom to hear. It was a bombshell that left the room even more frozen than before.

"..."

Then Rad's face and the prince's both hardened. They would have instinctively understood what his words meant.

This was an open declaration of war. It meant he was confident enough to challenge them.

Of course, only a madman would do it. Failure would cost him his life on the spot. Defying imperial royalty so brazenly carried that much weight.

Yet that was precisely why Aiden's declaration commanded both attention and credibility, at least for the moment—enough to neutralize their attempt to destroy her reputation through scandal.

The "social attack" they had launched against Noel here had just been rendered entirely meaningless by what Aiden had done.

'That bastard...!'

While Rad inwardly ground his teeth at Aiden, a voice broke the courtroom's renewed silence.

"Schedule a separate hearing. I'll expose everything there."

"..."

"You asked me just now whether I was prepared to answer for my actions, didn't you?"

Aiden looked straight into the eyes of the rigid-faced prince.

"Have you checked whether you are?"

▣

That had happened yesterday: Aiden had picked a fight with the prince, staking his own neck on it.

"... Wow."

Walking beside him, Katya let out that exclamation as she flipped through the newspapers in her hands. She had picked papers from several different publishers, but every one carried the same headline.

What Aiden had pulled in court yesterday.

"Impressive. The whole Empire's watching."

"... Fortunately, they left out my personal details."

That was probably thanks to Noel's connections—and perhaps even the Emperor's. One way or another, his personal information had clearly been cut from the reports.

Thanks to that, he had avoided becoming an unimaginably huge celebrity. Thank goodness this world had newspapers and television but no internet. At least he could somehow preserve his privacy...

'... Well, more importantly.'

Sighing inwardly, Aiden called up a system window.

-Quest Info

▶ Failure in the events listed here will incur severe penalties!

◈ Sham Marriage (Important!)

▶ You have been chosen as Dame Noel's spouse. Maintain your contract with her until the end!

▶ A related event will occur soon. (D-?)

▶ This is an event of the highest importance. It holds the same value as a 'Main Quest'!

▶ Upon completion, your relationship with the target will change drastically!

It had updated following yesterday's incident. There was still no date for the "subjugation battle" listed in the Main Quest, but this, at least, had changed.

It probably ran in tandem with the Lord Protector's events, just as before.

"..."

What bothered him was the phrase "your relationship ... will change drastically."

Katya, who had received a similar notice before, used to snarl as though she wanted to devour him. Now they called each other friends. Comparing before and after, that certainly qualified as a drastic change.

The problem was...

'... Isn't Dame Noel already incredibly well-disposed toward me?'

In fact, it was no exaggeration to say she had gone beyond friendly and become blatantly overprotective. He understood that she felt responsible because she had brought him here and put him in this position, but sometimes it was enough to make even him flinch.

A "drastic change" would surely mean another leap in the same direction. How on earth would she behave then...?

"..."

Honestly, he was a little worried. What had happened immediately after yesterday's stunt was a case in point.

'... She really tore into me.'

As soon as they returned to headquarters, she had sat him down and lectured him for hours. How on earth did he intend to deal with the consequences? If he kept acting this way, there was no telling what might happen. Did he realize how difficult this made things for her, when she wanted to return him safely to his family...?

Of course, her genuine concern for him had been so painfully clear throughout the tear-inducing scolding that he hadn't been able to utter a word.

["Thank you."]

... Come to think of it, she had even said that at the end.

["Whatever else, you did it for me."]

["... I never expected you to go that far."]

With those words, Noel had practically fled to her room, telling him to be sure to let her know if there was anything she could do to help.

... Her face had been bright red, too.

'Hmm.'

She had thanked him while thoroughly drunk before, but this was the first time he had heard it sober.

And, much as he regretted it, grateful as he was for her willingness to help with anything, he couldn't bring her here.

"Why?"

"Because what we're about to do is something only you can do, Katya."

At that, Katya grinned, keeping pace beside him with quick little steps.

"... You mean it's something only friends can do together?"

"Well, more or less?"

He saw no particular reason to deny it, so he agreed. Katya giggled beneath the low-pulled hood of her robe and pressed herself against him. The way she clung to one arm as though claiming it as her own made it clear that she was very pleased with his answer.

'... Do friends normally stand this close?'

The question came naturally.

Who knew? He had always thought she struggled to define relationships, but sometimes even he couldn't work out what "friend" meant in her mind.

More precisely, he had no idea what she thought of him. It certainly didn't seem romantic, but it wasn't ordinary friendship, either. What was it...?

'... Anyway.'

Katya being far clingier than he had expected was something to think over with a little more time. Something else had to come first.

'The immediate goal is...'

To expose the prince's smear campaign against Noel. That would take three steps in total.

Proving that Noel had nothing to do with the unauthorized weapons brought into the capital, and that she was likewise uninvolved in the attack on military headquarters.

"..."

Fortunately, a single action could bring him dramatically closer to both those goals. He only needed to find one thing: the "operational organization" behind all three incidents, the point where they intersected.

He had heard a hint about them before.

["If I can't find them, whoever's backing them is a high noble at the very least. You want me to dig into that? Trying to get someone's head cut off?"]

Billy Hagan had told him that when he asked him to investigate who was smuggling weapons into the capital. There was an organization with a backer so powerful that even an information broker that capable had said as much and washed his hands of it.

'The weapons shipments, including the hell bombs. The Suppression Pillars used to abduct Katya. The roots needed to open a dimensional rift...'

Every one of those was difficult to acquire through ordinary channels. That made it extremely likely there was an organization "managing" all such dealings.

If it existed, it would also have plenty of evidence that the prince and the minister of administration had commissioned those jobs. At least, that was how illegal operations worked in Aiden's experience as a con man.

"Aha. So we're here to find their henchmen?"

When he explained his goal, Katya nodded in understanding. She might be a royal no one paid any attention to, but she had still lived in a palace rife with intrigue. She seemed to know how these things worked already.

Acquiring such items and bringing them into the capital without word getting out required a small elite team working fast. Dangerous, secret work always called for the smallest possible number of highly skilled people.

And the place Aiden was walking through could be called their natural habitat.

'... Here I am again.'

The capital's black market. The ideal place to begin an investigation: a hotbed of crime, beyond the reach of the law, overflowing with a near-limitless supply of information.

He almost felt glad to be back. Come to think of it, wasn't this where he had first met Katya?

"So how are you going to find them? Even if they're somewhere around here, we don't have any information yet, do we?"

"It is like looking for a needle on a beach."

They were hidden so thoroughly that even an information broker couldn't dig anything up. The comparison was hardly an exaggeration.

"So..."

Aiden gave a small chuckle as he spoke. Even he thought the method he had come up with was ridiculous.

"Shall we scoop out all the sand? The needle should fall out eventually."

Somehow, he felt more reckless than usual when he was with Katya. Was her habit of seeking out the most intense stimulation just to "feel" something rubbing off on him?

"What does that mean?"

"Katya."

She tilted her head as she asked, and Aiden answered as though it were nothing.

"Life's been a little dull lately, hasn't it?"

"..."

The moment she heard that, a mischievous grin spread across Katya's face.

"... I knew becoming your friend was a good idea."

Whatever the details, it was obvious that the method he had brought along was going to be very "stimulating."