The Identity of the Hidden Little Rat
[But just by having Young Master appear at the Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony and show support for Crown Prince Joshua, the other nobles will think that the Emperor has ultimately accepted Count Tarel’s son as a prince, as a member of the family.]
[Is that…?!]
[But yes, this is just a misunderstanding. The reality is that he simply attended the investiture ceremony as Count Tarel’s son and congratulated the Crown Prince from close by.]
[Is that… possible?]
[It’s a matter of perspective.]
[……!]
Philipo belatedly understood what Lady Amaterasu was trying to say.
[……A matter of perspective.]
[Yes. The Emperor will let the nobles misunderstand as they please. That way, power won’t lean to one side. Even if someone questions it later, the Emperor can stand confident.]
[Because he never actually said he would recognize me as a prince.]
Lady Amaterasu nodded.
[That aside, how do you know so much about His Majesty the Emperor?]
However, to Philipo’s subsequent question, Lady Amaterasu only smiled instead of answering.
****
In the dining room, Giselle Grante, Duke Amaterasu, and Mikhail were having dinner.
True to the atmosphere where they rarely engaged in unnecessary conversation, the dining room remained quiet throughout the meal, without even the sound of clinking utensils.
“……Giselle?”
Mikhail broke the silence and spoke.
Giselle Grante slightly raised her head and looked at Mikhail.
“Do you remember our conversation in the carriage heading to the Grand Temple earlier?”
To Mikhail’s question, Giselle Grante lightly nodded.
“If my memory is correct, Giselle, you seemed to know what would happen today?”
At Mikhail’s sharp observation, Giselle Grante gently placed her utensils on her plate.
Duke Amaterasu also seemed to be waiting for Giselle Grante’s response.
Only after rinsing her mouth with water did Giselle Grante speak.
“Let me ask a question first.”
Giselle Grante looked back and forth between Duke Amaterasu and Mikhail as if seeking permission, then continued.
“Who does the House of Amaterasu support?”
“…….”
Mikhail looked taken aback, and Duke Amaterasu’s expression also stiffened slightly.
But Giselle Grante continued speaking.
“You said this was a family dinner… but it seems there are only two people from the House of Amaterasu at this table.”
“Giselle. The reason I haven’t told you about the complicated circumstances… was for your sake.”
Duke Amaterasu hastily poured out excuses.
It seemed he had quickly grasped the essence of what she was saying.
What Giselle Grante really wanted to ask was why people from the same family were sharing information differently.
“I need to know. So I can decide for myself who to associate with going forward.”
“Giselle, I can say this for certain. It absolutely wasn’t because we were ignoring you.”
Duke Amaterasu nodded as if agreeing with Mikhail’s words.
Giselle Grante looked at both their faces, hoping for a proper answer to her question.
Mikhail, who had been looking down as if troubled, soon looked at Duke Amaterasu.
“This is a difficult matter to answer immediately.”
Duke Amaterasu wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up.
Understanding that he was asking for time to think, Giselle Grante didn’t try to stop him.
****
That dawn.
Giselle Grante tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep easily, but eventually drifted off.
However, she woke up not long after falling into a light sleep.
As she blinked drowsily and closed her eyes again, she heard the sound of horse hooves from outside.
It wasn’t particularly loud, but since it was dawn when everyone was asleep, even small sounds seemed magnified.
‘……Who could it be at this hour?’
Giselle Grante quickly got up from bed, lit a light, and approached the window.
Though it was dark outside and hard to see clearly, the person who dismounted entered Duke Amaterasu’s estate through the back door.
She couldn’t know the purpose of the visit, but it certainly seemed like something very important.
Giselle Grante put on her outer garment and quietly left her bedroom.
‘It would have been nice to have a cloak.’
She found herself missing the cloak she used to wear when she was at the palace.
Remembering how she used to put it on and slip in and out of the palace’s special library, avoiding the eyes of its guards, Giselle Grante crossed the corridor with silent steps.
Wondering where the person who visited the duke’s estate at this late hour was going, and whom they intended to meet.
‘Over there……?’
The person who entered through the back door of Duke Amaterasu’s estate was heading toward Duke Amaterasu’s private study.
****
Meanwhile, in a secret space connected to Duke Amaterasu’s private study, besides the two men from the House of Amaterasu, Duke Cardia and the nobles supporting him had gathered.
“Marquis Howard seems to be late.”
Kavelaseth glanced toward the entrance for a moment, then looked away.
“Let’s wait a little longer. If he still doesn’t arrive after that, then we can proceed among ourselves……”
Before Duke Amaterasu could finish speaking, the door burst open.
“Something came up, so I’m a bit late.”
Marquis Howard walked in, breathing slightly hard. Duke Amaterasu gestured toward an empty seat.
“Well, since everyone seems to be here, let’s begin the meeting.”
Naturally, the biggest concern of the nobles gathered at Duke Amaterasu’s estate was today’s Crown Prince investiture ceremony.
“It was completely unexpected. Introducing the son of a mistress who had been treated as non-existent until now.”
“And not at any other time, but specifically introducing him at such an important occasion as the Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony – doesn’t that mean he intends to recognize the mistress’s son as a prince?”
“I think so too.”
The Emperor’s unexpected move had thrown their plans off course a bit.
But there didn’t seem to be any major changes. At least not yet.
The Empress firmly maintained her position, which meant Joshua’s safety was also guaranteed.
“…….”
Each of the nobles gathered in the meeting room imagined the worst-case scenarios that might unfold and tried to predict corresponding countermeasures.
As the silence in the meeting room deepened, Young Duke Amaterasu spoke cheerfully.
“Nothing good comes from things leaning too much to one side, right? If anything, the situation seems to have improved – or am I the only one who thinks so?”
Mikhail looked around at the others with an inquiring gaze.
Marquis Howard, who had been frowning as if deep in thought, spoke up.
“It seems difficult to place great expectations on the mistress’s son, but couldn’t he at least play a role in tarnishing the Crown Prince’s image?”
Starting with that comment, the nobles in the meeting room began offering their opinions one by one.
“Then how about this? Using the Crown Prince’s arrogant nature……”
The nobles began gathering opinions on ways to weaken the forces supporting the Empress and Joshua.
“……?”
Kavelaseth, who had been observing the nobles engaged in heated discussion while leaning back in his chair, frowned.
Without pondering long, Kavelaseth asked Mikhail, who was sitting next to him.
“Who else among the people in the estate knows we’re holding a meeting here?”
As he said this, he looked at Duke Amaterasu, who was listening intently to another noble’s words.
Very few people knew about the existence of such a secret space within Duke Amaterasu’s estate.
The meetings were held in the early hours when all the servants were fast asleep, and on meeting days, ingredients with sleep-inducing properties were used for dinner.
So there shouldn’t be anyone awake at this hour.
There was even less reason for anyone to approach Duke Amaterasu’s private study.
“Besides father and me, there’s really no one… Kavel?”
Before Mikhail could finish speaking, Kavelaseth abruptly stood up.
And he strode toward the door.
“It seems a little rat has snuck in.”
As the door suddenly opened without warning, Giselle Grante, who had been standing right in front of the door and was startled, quickly covered her mouth.
Fortunately, she managed to avoid screaming.
But soon she found herself unable to scream for a different reason.
A massive shadow that emerged from between the doors instantly covered Giselle Grante’s slender body.
And a large hand that reached out grasped her neck with a full grip.
“Who are you?”
It was a moment of crisis where she might lose even her second chance at life if she made a wrong move.
Giselle Grante clawed at the back of the man’s hand that gripped her throat, struggling.
“Let… go…….”
Due to her compressed vocal cords, only strange croaking sounds flowed faintly from her throat.
Meanwhile, Giselle Grante’s contorted face came into view of Kavelaseth, whose eyes had adjusted to the darkness.
Momentarily, the grip in Kavelaseth’s hand loosened slightly.
“Lady Amaterasu? ……What were you doing here?”
“F-first, let go… let go and then we’ll talk.”
Barely escaping from his grip, Giselle Grante coughed painfully while glaring at Kavelaseth.
She was about to snap at him about what kind of rude behavior this was.
“……Kavel? Is something wrong there?”
In the darkness, Giselle Grante and Kavelaseth’s gazes met.
There would be plenty of excuses she could make to Mikhail about why she was here at this late hour.
But somehow she had a premonition that she shouldn’t be caught.
Giselle Grante shook her head frantically.
“……Kavel?”
Then Mikhail’s voice calling Kavelaseth came a little closer.
Giselle Grante stared intently at Kavelaseth’s face in the darkness.
To predict his next action.
But no emotion could be read from Kavelaseth’s expression.
She had no idea what action he might take.
Giselle Grante frowned in contemplation, and just as Kavelaseth’s lips began to part slowly.