The Lord Of Sinal (3)

Silence fell over the council chamber again. The fortress knights’ position was clear: if the commander approved, that was enough. Whether she was a notorious villainess or an ugly woman. Or even if it was a man. If he decided to keep them at his side, they would support anyone, at least until the commander became unhappy because of them.

Naturally, the stance of the officials from Sinal differed. Now that Sinal, the Grand Domain Sinal originally managed as imperial property, had its first duke, they wanted the Crunel family to be reborn as a prestigious ducal house through marriage with high nobility.

Kaiston himself would be tied to the Red Moon, but from his successor, things would change. As a ducal house, once they entered politics, they could exert enormous influence. For that, an alliance with at least a countly house that already had a foothold in the capital was essential.

Of course, a high noble’s daughter would not want to live in the fortress, so it would amount to a nominal marriage meeting only for about fifteen days a year. They thought it wouldn’t be bad for Kaiston if, in exchange for keeping a wife and heir in Sinal, he imposed the condition that slaves serve as the duke’s nighttime attendants in the Red Moon.

By contrast, those from the Baras Kingdom were not greatly interested in such stakes. They wanted their crown prince to find happiness now—to be freed from all chains, build a harmonious home with his beloved, and live peacefully contented. That was their wish.

What worried them was whether Liris was truly a woman worthy of him. If she were a woman the enemy, the Emperor, had sent with ill intent, and if she ruined Kaiston’s life in the end. How could they face the crown prince, who would be held on the Isles worrying foolishly about children, and how would his ancestors’ faces look in death?

Right on schedule, Kaiston entered the council chamber. After the attendants rose and paid respects, he sat down in the seat at the end of the table set aside for him.

He had changed from travel clothes into his uniform, and somehow looked in a strangely good mood. His vividly shining violet eyes scanned the attendants. Since Newton sat at the foremost seat on his right, his gaze lingered there last.

“You’ve all worked hard this past year, especially this last month. You must have been very strained granting such impossible requests.”

It was a voice tinged with apology.

“I didn’t want to trouble you with personal matters if I could avoid it, but somehow it turned out that way.”

“Trouble? How can you say that?”

The words from the crown prince left the old kingdom’s retainers stunned and at a loss. The Sinal retainers also bowed their heads, equally ill at ease.

“Not at all. How could Your Grace’s affairs be dismissed as personal matters?”

Watching those attendants speak, he reached out to Newton. As Newton handed him the stacks of files before him one by one and he glanced through them, silence settled over the assembly again.

Reports on estate management for the year, next year’s budget proposals, project plans. And in the final file handed over was the attendants’ petition regarding the duke’s marriage.

Everyone was restless until he had checked all the documents and set them down on the table.

“You’ve produced boundary stones from the Mage Tower that can even detect aerial disturbances. Good news. Master Gern will visit in person?”

“Yes, Your Grace. He wishes to meet you and demonstrate them.”

“Very well. Arrange it for tomorrow morning.”

“Understood.”

“And… wasn’t the canal project scheduled to be completed next year?”

“The irrigation channels to the farmlands are to be completed as planned. It’s just that the lower reaches of the Haran River are so picturesque we’ve added a proposal to develop them for commercial use. What do you think?”

“You submitted it because there’s potential, then?”

“Yes. As the area around the Red Moon has begun to stabilize, travelers are increasing. Many nobles are buying land to build villas.”

Kaiston nodded at Newton’s words.

“A good idea. Proceed with it.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

A few more issues regarding next year’s estate projects were discussed. In most cases, Kaiston gathered the retainers’ opinions. Though he might be an expert on defending the domain, he acknowledged that those gathered here were far more capable when it came to developing and enriching it.

“But about the banquet… it seems there was a misunderstanding.”

A sigh escaped his lips.

“I didn’t order the banquet to find a bride. I didn’t intend to send invitations across the whole continent.”

By now everyone understood it wasn’t to find a bride, but the retainers, still curious about his purpose, blinked and looked at him.

“Well, it’s just that—”

He cleared his throat a few times, then gestured toward Haris and Ban.

“I thought I might find matches for those two.”

“Eh?”

“Co-Commander…!”

Haris and Ban both leapt up in surprise.

“Left as they are, they’d die old bachelors, it seems.”

“I-I see.”

Newton and the other retainers looked at the duke with strange expressions, then nodded as if convinced. Their concerns mirrored, they worried that he might die an old bachelor.

“There was a misunderstanding, but with a wider range of choices, the chances of success should increase, right?”

At Kaiston’s words, Haris and Ban simply bowed their heads, despondent.

“Yes, Commander…”

“We’ll do our best…”

“Good.”

The duke smiled and nodded, seemingly satisfied with their answers.

“Then, Your Grace, must you really do that?”

At Newton’s question, all eyes turned back to the duke.

“Hmm…”

Kaiston leaned back leisurely in his chair.

“What shall I do?”

“Yes?”

“I’ve read the petition. I fully understand your desire for Sinal to be more stable and maintained by a good bloodline, so how about this?”

With anxious hearts, everyone waited only for his words.

“Adopt an heir from a high noble house based at the capital and pass on the duchy to them. I can live in the Red Moon with my wife.”

“Gasp!”

“W-what is that…!”

“Your Grace!”

“Of course, I’m not saying do it immediately. Vet candidates thoroughly, choose one with the qualities of a wise ruler, observe them for years, then hand over governance.”

He remained calm even as the retainers could not contain their shock.

“You all know about my bloodline. I’m not someone the Empire would welcome. Even if the exiled imperial family blood continued to rule Sinal, they would only be watched and checked. If Sinal were governed by the lineage of a prominent imperial house, Sinal would be far more stable.”

His gaze turned to the Baras-born officials who were trembling almost visibly.

“I feel only remorse toward my grandfather’s loyal retainers who trusted me enough to come this far, but you too must forget the past and care for Sinal’s subjects as if they were your own. Settle here and live, and someday this place will feel like home.”

At his bleak words, they rose from their chairs one by one and fell to their knees on the floor.

“Your Grace, please retract your intention!”

“We were wrong.”

“That was not our meaning, Your Grace!”

While Sinal-born officials bowed their heads in apology, the Baras retainers lay prone and wept, inwardly chanting the unutterable ‘Your Highness, the Crown Prince’ and striking their aching chests.

Kaiston watched them with a troubled face and shook his head.

“Get up. Sit quickly.”

“We cannot do so unless you withdraw your intention.”

“Forgive us, Your Grace!”

“No, I’m not blaming you. It’s something I’ve long been thinking about. I can’t keep occupying this position when I spend less than a month here each year. I too want to lighten my burden and live comfortably with my wife.”

“That’s unthinkable, Your Grace!”

“Only Your Grace and the Crunel bloodline are the lords of Sinal. Who else could be acknowledged to rule this land?”

He sighed as he saw the retainers shouting resolutely and refusing to accept his words. Since when had it come to this? When there is something to protect, it eventually becomes a weakness.

Those he had thought to give up someday because they were not truly his had, before he realized it, begun to follow Kaiston Crunel rather than the dukedom of Sinal. He hadn’t expected it. He had thought he could let go easily.

He did not want that. He did not want to bear any more burdens, not anymore.

Just a handful of warmth in his arms. The pretty, beloved Liris. Owning only her would be enough. He thought that was fitting for him.

Then no one would dare demand it. They couldn’t possibly take even that away. But was it already too late? Kaiston shut his eyes in frustration.

“Your Grace.”

Standing with his arm on the terrace railing, looking down at the manor busy preparing for the banquet, Kaiston was handed a large mug by the steward Damon. It contained a warm, rich chocolate drink. Kaiston snorted with amusement. Damon, who had stayed by his side since childhood, was one of the few who knew his peculiar tastes.

“Thank you, Damon.”

Only after he retracted his words did the retainers finally rise. He had stepped out alone for air after watching them ardently begin to discuss ways to make Liris the duchess.

“Have you heard news of Father and Mother?”

“Yes. They are both said to be living peacefully.”

“Is that so.”

He knew they remained on the Isles, but there was no way to learn where or how they lived. No one had seen them, no rumors circulated. The occasional letters the Emperor sent about their wellbeing were the only comfort. He had never thought them untrue. After all, the man was not so thoroughly rotten.

Or perhaps he merely wanted to believe it so.

Their son, miraculously born in their old age, would be thirty in a few days. Even if the Baras imperial family’s average lifespan exceeded ordinary people’s, it was natural his heart grew anxious.

How long would his frail parents live? Would a day come when he could see them?

“Damon.”

“Yes. Speak.”

Damon waited silently as he toyed with the mug. After a long moment, he spoke.

“If we have a child, I will request from the Emperor to allow me to see my parents once. If he agrees, you will come with me.”

“…Your Grace.”

Watching the moisture gather at the corners of Damon’s aged eyes, Kaiston brightened as if recalling something and spoke in a cheerful voice.

“Would you like to see the woman who will be my wife? She’s stunningly beautiful.”

He said it with the eager, childlike look of someone desperate to boast of his precious thing. Damon smiled broadly.

“I’ve been waiting to hear that.”

“Come then. Oh, bring another of these drinks with you.”

“Yes. I will.”

Damon followed after him as he turned and led the way, dabbing his eyes. Growing older made him tearful more easily. The young lord had grown up and become so adept at hiding his expressions.