Yullician Kleinheitz.
The lord of the southern metropolis of Kleins and the Grand Duke of the Melvern Empire.
He had been born as the fourth prince of the vast Melvern Empire, but at the age of fifteen, he was granted the title of Grand Duke and sent down to the south.
Ever since becoming a Grand Duke, he had hardly ever set foot in the capital.
Thus, it had been a very long time since he had come face-to-face with his father.
The problem was that this reunion happened to take place in a courtroom, with Yullician wearing handcuffs.
“Yullician, is it true that you attacked the soldiers of Prince Kildian?”
Small and large battles frequently broke out along the border regions of Melvern.
Kildian often dispatched troops there to gain military achievements. When those were insufficient, he even sent mercenaries he had hired himself.
However, Yullician had attacked the allied forces in the disputed region—or, more precisely, the mercenaries hired by Kildian.
If found guilty, Yullician would be beheaded.
A murmur swept through the courtroom.
Although he had gone down to the south, he was still the most likely candidate for Crown Prince.
If he were beheaded, the balance of power in the imperial capital would change.
With everyone watching Yullician’s lips, he finally raised his head.
“It is true.”
There was no fear on his face as he admitted it.
Golden flecks were scattered like a cluster of stars across his green eyes.
He recalled the place where the borders of Melvern and Sproksen met.
The screams of children, burning homes, and rough hands grabbing fleeing people by their hair.
After the small-scale battle had ended, mercenaries from another country hired by Kildian had committed brutal acts against the people of Melvern.
“They kidnapped their own citizens, set fire to civilian homes, and plundered food.”
Kildian immediately protested, his face twisting in anger.
“Your Majesty, such things are common during war. To attack our own allies over such trivial matters and lower their morale… It is unacceptable.”
Among the nobles watching the trial, Kildian’s supporters voiced their agreement.
“Besides, that place wasn’t even within the Grand Duke’s territory!”
Yullician sneered.
“Regardless of whose territory it is, everyone belonging to Melvern is His Majesty’s subject. As a member of the imperial family who inherited the noble duty of protecting the people, is it a crime to protect them?”
The nobleman who had been overwhelmed by his presence immediately fell silent.
Yullician looked at the Emperor again.
“I am His Majesty the Emperor’s son and his subject. As someone who has sworn loyalty to Melvern, was I supposed to stand by and watch our people being invaded and abused?”
“Hmm…”
“It is true that I raised my sword against our allies. If Your Majesty dismisses me from my position, I will accept it willingly. But I have no regrets.”
Broad shoulders and a straight back, his chin held high, golden hair shining like a halo in the sunlight.
Although he was kneeling with handcuffs around his wrists, there was not the slightest trace of submission in him.
Every noble who had come to observe the trial found their eyes drawn to him.
The Emperor remained silent for a moment.
After staring at his son for some time, he finally delivered his stern verdict.
“Since the mercenaries’ crimes are clear, I shall not hold Yullician Kleinheitz responsible.”
At the unexpected verdict, Kildian vehemently protested.
“Your Majesty! You’re letting him off without punishment for attacking our allies? This is absurd!”
“When imperial knights plunder their own people, they are executed on the spot. And these men were mercenaries, no less!”
Faced with the Emperor’s resolute attitude, Kildian bit his lip.
“They were also the men who brought Your Majesty countless victories.”
“Yes. And in recognition of those achievements, I will not have them executed. However, all the rewards they received shall be confiscated.”
Kildian’s supporters protested, insisting that it was unreasonable.
But the Emperor remained firm.
He raised a hand to silence the commotion before leaving the courtroom.
As soon as the Emperor departed, the courtroom erupted into noise once again.
Kildian gripped the armrest tightly. The blood drained from his knuckles, making them stand out stark white.
For a while, he glared at Yullician with murderous eyes.
Then he suddenly rose from his seat.
His steps toward his younger brother were filled with fury. Kildian strode over and stopped in front of Yullician, looking down at him with eyes gleaming with hatred and arrogance.
“You’re always interfering with everything I do, Yullician.”
“If you continue fighting pointless battles, I intend to keep interfering.”
“What?”
“I mean that you shouldn’t sacrifice the lives of innocent people and soldiers just to fulfill your ambition, Brother.”
Kildian ground his teeth before twisting the corners of his thin lips into a smile.
“If you truly mean that, give up your claim to the Crown Prince’s position.”
“I never intended to have it in the first place.”
Despite Yullician’s sincerity, Kildian merely scoffed.
Kildian had always been like this.
He had always been wary of Yullician, who was constantly praised for his excellent character.
That wariness soon turned into hostility, and Kildian repeatedly attempted to assassinate Yullician in order to kill him.
Yullician, on the other hand, had little desire for power.
Whether it was the position of Crown Prince or Emperor, he had no desire to see his brothers’ blood spilled over something so pointless. That was why he had voluntarily gone down to the south.
Yet Kildian refused to lower his hostility, claiming that even that decision had some hidden motive.
“You’re still pretending to be righteous. It’s absolutely disgusting.”
“Seeing how you resort to insulting others whenever you run out of things to say, I’m relieved to know you haven’t changed either, Brother.”
Having his own words thrown back at him twisted Kildian’s face with rage.
“We’ll see how long that smug face of yours lasts.”
“Oh dear. In that case, you’ll have to live for a very, very long time.”
Yullician smiled gently.
Kildian felt like spitting in that smile. If there hadn’t been people watching, he probably would have grabbed Yullician by the throat.
“Yes, go ahead and act arrogant while you still can. I’ve prepared something very interesting for you.”
Leaving behind those ominous words, Kildian walked away.
Only then did the knights approach and respectfully remove Yullician’s handcuffs.
Yullician rotated his stiff wrists before looking at the nobles remaining in the courtroom.
They were all whispering to one another while keeping their eyes fixed on him.
They were obviously gossiping about him, but Yullician himself simply turned away without a care.
Papillion, his aide who had been waiting in the spectator seats, quickly followed behind him.
“I haven’t even lived that long, yet I’ve already seen all sorts of things. I never thought I’d live to see Your Highness wearing handcuffs.”
Even as he grumbled, Papillion draped a cloak over Yullician’s shoulders.
“This is exactly what I told you. For the sake of your dignity, don’t get involved personally.”
“If maintaining one’s dignity means turning a blind eye to something like that, then there’s no need to maintain such dignity.”
“There is! Do you know what the nobles are saying? They’re all saying that Your Highness is an aggressive and dangerous person.”
“I don’t care as long as I have nothing to be ashamed of. Do I really need to worry about my reputation?”
“You do!”
Yullician smiled as he watched his subordinate thump his chest in frustration.
Papillion straightened his expression and discreetly pulled a resignation letter from inside his clothes.
“If you don’t want to receive my resignation letter, stop smiling and start behaving yourself.”
“How frightening.”
His tone made it clear that he wasn’t frightened in the slightest.
After leaving the courtroom and mounting his horse, Papillion mounted his own horse as well.
“The rain looks like it’s going to get heavier, so we should hurry.”
Papillion assumed they were finally heading back south, but Yullician instead headed toward a forest on the outskirts of the capital.
They were even heading toward the city center.
Papillion frowned and moved closer to Yullician.
“Your Highness, you’ve taken the wrong road.”
“No. I’m going the right way.”
“Kleins is in the opposite direction.”
“That’s right. This is the road to the Grand Temple instead.”
“The Grand Temple?”
“Yes. My brother has been continuously transporting military supplies to the border regions. And the mercenaries’ brutal acts have been rumored to be the work of the enemy.”
“Does that mean he intends to fuel hatred between the people of both countries and start a war?”
“Probably.”
He likely intended to lead the war, earn military achievements, then win the people’s support by easing the hatred between the two nations.
It was obvious how many people would die because of his lust for power.
“I intend to ask the Pope to mediate the battles and atrocities taking place in the disputed regions.”
Papillion’s jaw slowly dropped.
Kildian had always kept a close eye on Yullician’s movements.
If Yullician had come to the capital of his own accord, Kildian would have figured out his purpose and contacted the Papal Court beforehand to make preparations.
But Yullician had been brought to the capital as a prisoner.
“…Don’t tell me you deliberately allowed yourself to be captured?”
“Kill two birds with one stone.”
“Don’t say that as though it’s nothing! What if you had been sentenced to death? …Did you already know you would be found innocent?”
“I was prepared to spend a few days locked in the underground dungeon, but the verdict was unexpected.”
“Could it be that you’ve gone mad…?”
Yullician simply laughed it off, while the infuriated Papillion grabbed the back of his neck.
