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In the end, the event had to be called off. Once I had finished what I needed to do, I quietly returned to the seat beside Ren. He carefully checked whether I was hurt anywhere and straightened my clothes for me.

“How was it?”

“The unsightly spectacle was rather amusing.”

“I wanted to see it too. What a shame.”

“It wasn’t a sight for you to see. It would have harmed your eyes, so it’s better that you didn’t.”

I wanted to snort derisively right in front of him, but I absolutely wanted to be the one who poured in the cockroaches. Ren couldn’t understand it, but doing that had been incredibly satisfying. It was one of the few punishments someone as fragile as me could carry out personally!

“I didn’t expect Elysia to go that far.”

“Neither did I. But it’s good news for us.”

“Do you think this can be handled as well?”

“……The loyalty of both me and the Grand Ducal family will depend on how this is dealt with.”

Ren’s face as he said that looked resolute, yet deeply troubled.

The next day, the empire was in complete turmoil. Lawrence filled the front pages of every newspaper. They even included illustrations of him being swarmed by cockroaches, which more than made up for my regrettable inability to see it in person.

“Chancellor, I heard you went to the event yesterday. D-did you see that spectacle yourself?”

As soon as I arrived at work that morning, the members of my department rushed over to me in a frenzy. Since I couldn’t exactly say that I had planned the whole spectacle, I merely gave them a faint smile. Elysia continued questioning me.

“Then was everything in the newspapers really true? I mean the things Crown Prince Lawrence said at the event!”

“Yes. Unfortunately, it was all true.”

“Chancellor…… did you know?”

“Yes. An order of silence was issued, so I didn’t go around talking about it. Yesterday’s events will throw the government into turmoil.”

The color drained from my colleagues’ faces. That meant a bombshell of work was coming. I calmed them down.

“Just handle things the way you did when Prince Raven was in charge. You only need to focus on your own work. I’ll take care of everything else.”

Lucan raised his hand.

“If this is true, then what does this mean for the succession……?”

“It’s a sensitive matter, so it’s difficult for me to comment. One thing is certain: it depends on the Emperor’s wishes.”

“But even the temple has turned its back on him…….”

Eldo said this as he unfolded the newspaper in his hands. The front-page illustration showed a confident Elysia withdrawing her support beside a cockroach-covered Lawrence.

“His position will weaken, of course. In any case, Crown Prince Lawrence handled all the preparation and responsibility for this event, and our Chancellery didn’t lift a finger, so there’s no need to worry.”

Perhaps because he was afraid I might do something, Lawrence never requested any work from the Chancellery throughout the preparations. One could call that wise in a way, but ultimately it would all be meaningless if he failed to persuade the Saintess. Just then, Selena hurriedly opened the door, rushed in, and shouted.

“They say the temple has returned every treasure sent by Crown Prince Lawrence!”

“What?”

I hurried to the window overlooking the Imperial Palace. The staff followed me. Outside, the splendid procession of carriages Lawrence had sent was returning exactly as it had gone. This was an unmistakable ‘rejection.’

‘What will you do now, Your Majesty the Emperor?’

“What in the world am I supposed to do about this!”

Soren, the Emperor of the Seraphina Empire, had never been this furious with the son who looked exactly like him. After that day last year, he had thought it impossible to become that angry again, but this had surpassed his previous record.

“Your Majesty, please calm down!”

The Empress tried to soothe the Emperor, whose face had turned bright red. But his fury did not diminish in the slightest.

“I summoned only Lawrence, so why have you come, Empress? Return to your chambers at once!”

“Your Majesty, please calm down just a little. The prince—Lawrence—only made a brief mistake. You know he’s always been a capable child.”

“A capable child? Hah!”

Even those words felt like a betrayal to the Emperor. At first, when he began handling state affairs together with his sons at the Chancellor’s urging, he had been quite hopeful. He thought sharing the work he had handled alone would lessen his burden and give him a chance to hear his intelligent sons’ thoughts.

“Do you think your father is a fool! Did you think I wouldn’t know that you had servants handle your work for you!”

But his expectations were completely shattered. Raven, whom he had not expected much from, was the one who distinguished himself. Lawrence had no interest in work and was too busy trying to talk to him. The Emperor himself enjoyed chatting with his son, but there were things that had to be done.

The reports piled up before him concerned serious matters that could change the lives of the empire’s people depending on his decisions. He tried reasoning with Lawrence, but the prince’s attitude did not improve. Soren tried to take comfort in at least having capable subordinates.

“Father, please forgive me! This is a trap!”

“A trap?”

He took a step toward the prostrate Lawrence.

“Whose trap is it, exactly?”

“T-the Chancellor! That Vespera bastard! The two of them set this trap for me! Punish them, Father!”

He was once again accusing the subordinate who had never hesitated to offer him frank counsel.

“Then were the things you said to the Saintess lies? Did someone else say them in your place?”

“Th-that…….”

“If only you hadn’t been rude to the Saintess! Whatever you said, there would have been no problem even if it had been heard loud and clear! How could the mere falling of an artifact from the podium have grown into such a major incident!”

“F-Father! It’s a scheme! It’s a scheme by all of them!”

To be honest, Soren had thought that if his son had made mistakes, he would reflect on them. He believed that Lawrence had simply mishandled the great power entrusted to him and made a mistake, and that he would surely learn from it.

But the voice he heard from his son at the event had sounded like it belonged to an entirely different person. He had not sounded like the son who always respected and followed him, and looked after those around him. How could he have said such vulgar things……? It was shocking.

“Empress…… even with your son in this state, are you telling me to endure it?”

“Your Majesty, he is the empire’s only legitimate Crown Prince! Nothing is more important than perfect bloodline!”

“All the people of the empire have turned their backs on him!”

This had happened in front of everyone. Even as the Emperor, he could not possibly contain the situation. The atmosphere as everyone looked at Lawrence in furious outrage had been truly terrifying. It felt as though he were being harshly scolded with the words, ‘Is this your son?’

“An Emperor whom the people of the empire will not follow cannot be their master!”

“C-call the Chancellor! Call your loyal Chancellor and tell them to handle this situation quietly!”

“Have you gone mad?! Don’t you know that Lawrence was the one who cut ties with the Chancellor?”

The Empress was just as unaware of the situation. Since she had no interest whatsoever in state affairs, she only kept defending her son. Soren felt stifled. Only now did he understand why the Grand Duke had repeatedly told him to pay attention to his son’s character education.

All he could see before him was his son, kneeling with his head bowed low. He had no idea where or how to begin fixing him. Looking at the boy who caused trouble every time and merely pretended to reflect made the back of his neck stiffen. A headache surged over him.

Perhaps his disappointment in his son had been too great. Or perhaps the shock of betrayal had overwhelmed him. Word came that the Emperor had taken to his bed.

“How can he lie down over something like this? Priests who had received special baptism got back up even after suffering worse.”

I wasn’t particularly moved. All I could think of was the inconvenience of the approval process for documents being delayed.

“You’re cynical.”

Eldo said this as he entered the Chancellor’s office. I answered with a shrug.

“How is Lawrence these days?”

“He hasn’t specifically sought me out. He’s being quiet.”

“I see. There probably isn’t anything else he can do right now. But if we leave him alone like this, don’t you think he’ll crawl out again a year from now?”

“The situation is different from then. This time, the temple has turned its back on him.”

The temple had remained quiet since the Saintess’s declaration. Despite the Pope clearly being on the Emperor’s side, the fact that he had not changed his position meant that he too had accepted the Saintess’s will. Olgard and Priest Nora would likely be lending their support as well. I didn’t want to let this opportunity pass.

“The academy sent a letter to you, Chancellor?”

Eldo asked in surprise when he saw the open envelope on my desk.

“I don’t know if you heard, but I gave a commencement speech recently. The atmosphere definitely didn’t seem very good, yet they say the response was enthusiastic and are asking me to give a special lecture?”

“A special lecture? On what subject……?”

“They said I could choose the subject myself. I was actually thinking of refusing, but I just changed my mind. I thought of an interesting story to tell them.”

“If you insult Prince Lawrence there, you’ll be arrested for insulting the imperial family. Keep that in mind.”

“How could I tell such a story to children who should only see good things and hear good things?”

Eldo seemed worried that I might do something crazy again. I gave a small laugh and was about to return to the original subject when Lucan and Elysia hurried in with a knock. I could tell that something was seriously wrong.

“His Majesty has ordered Crown Prince Lawrence and Prince Raven to act as regents of state affairs.”

“Hah!”

A breath that sounded like a swallowed curse escaped me before I could stop it.

‘XX, even after all that, he’s still looking after that bastard Lawrence?’

Such an obsessive love for his legitimate eldest son. It was time to put an end to it.

The Emperor had made his final choice, and I had confirmed his answer.