Before throwing herself fully into running the Kadimo Troupe, Riersha called to mind the practical lessons Oberon had casually shared with her.
“The best way to recover your initial investment is to create as many related products as possible.”
Strike while the iron is hot, as they say.
Oberon’s business instincts were so sharp that Riersha found herself marveling at him more often than not.
“People, by their very nature, see what others are doing and want to do the same. Even if only just a little.”
Nobles, in particular, took notice the moment products featuring designs they might use in their daily lives hit the market — interest would at least double.
Even if you started in the red, you would eventually come out with far more than you’d put in.
In a sense, it was a gamble.
And yet…
There had been one decisive factor that made this venture a spectacular success.
“Thanks to the Duke, the Young Duke, and the Young Masters all attending the opening night performance, the promotional effect has been tremendous.”
The headline of it — the entire Arachrene ducal family present at the Kadimo Troupe’s very first showing — had run on the front page of the Declair Capital Gazette.
She hadn’t actually planned for that effect when she invited her family along, but…
“Really?”
“Yes. You handled it masterfully, Miss Riersha.”
Oberon’s praise made Riersha feel oddly embarrassed.
“Here, please have some pudding.”
“Mm.”
Well, she had worked hard. She deserved the pudding.
Riersha scooped up a generous spoonful and let it melt slowly in her mouth.
The Declair Capital Gazette is one of the papers noble families subscribe to regularly, so…
It was nearly time for the people with guilty consciences to start squirming their way to the surface.
“Heh heh.”
She laughed to herself, small and wicked as a little imp.
Even that expression was utterly, hopelessly adorable.
⁂
Early morning.
Duke Willias was reading the freshly printed edition of the Declair Capital Gazette when his brow furrowed in distaste.
A street performance troupe making front-page news. Of all things.
He could not fathom why people found such trivial matters worth their attention.
“Tch.”
Duke Willias clicked his tongue and shoved the paper aside.
“The Declair Gazette has clearly seen better days.”
“I’m told that Miss Olivia saw the play and was quite furious about it.”
“Olivia?”
The butler’s report drew a displeased click of the tongue from Macton Willias.
He didn’t like the idea of Olivia taking any interest in that sort of low-culture entertainment.
She was still a child. It would be far too easy for her to be corrupted by things of that caliber.
“Has there been any word from House Kineart?”
“…That is actually what I find strange.”
The butler tilted his head, wearing an expression of complete bafflement — something quite rare for him.
Duke Willias’s eyes narrowed at the sight of it.
He preferred his reports to contain only confirmed, verified facts, and his butler knew this well. Which made this display of uncertainty all the more unusual.
“Speak.”
With his master’s permission granted, the butler opened his mouth.
“House Kineart has been far too quiet.”
“That can’t be.”
When The Throne of Lybunessia had been the talk of the town all those years ago, it had been Duke Kineart himself who personally responded. He had sued the author and everyone connected to the work on grounds of tarnishing the nobility’s image and causing severe damage to their honor, had he not?
“It truly is the case. …Which is precisely why I found it strange enough to investigate further. Apparently, there has been an unsavory incident at the Kineart estate recently.”
“Unsavory incident?”
“It seems someone broke into House Kineart. The Duke apparently deployed his private soldiers in the early hours of the morning because of it.”
“…What?”
Something shifted in Duke Willias’s eyes at the report.
House Kineart was the current Empress’s family home, which meant it also fell under imperial protection.
Security there was formidable by any measure. Who on earth could have broken in?
And for what purpose?
Duke Willias reached for the Declair Capital Gazette again.
[The performance presented by the Kadimo Troupe features the sensational premise that a hidden imperial prince exists within the Empire… (excerpt) …and is generating a level of impact comparable to that of the earlier work,* The Throne of Lybunessia*.]
Duke Willias skimmed the article rapidly, then let out a short, incredulous laugh.
He still found it difficult to believe that someone had truly broken into House Kineart — yet if there were something inside the estate worth breaking in for…
Something like, say…
“A hidden imperial prince?”
“…Pardon? That’s… that’s the storyline of the Kadimo Troupe’s play, is it not?”
“It can’t hurt to look into it.”
The butler’s expression shifted to one of visible bewilderment.
The Duke’s order was, by any reasonable measure, absurd.
Yet serving one’s master, no matter what was asked, was the very essence of a butler’s duty.
“…I will look into it.”
“Find out whether there is anyone who served closely at the Empress’s side for at least eight to ten years. It doesn’t matter if they’re no longer in the Imperial Palace. Don’t miss a single name.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The butler hurried out of the study.
“If this plays out the way I think it might… things could come together quite nicely.”
Duke Willias gazed down at the Declair Capital Gazette and leaned back into his chair at his leisure.
⁂
The tenth day since the Kadimo Troupe’s performances began.
“Congratulations, Miss Riersha!”
“Sona! …What’s all this?”
“These are congratulatory gifts addressed to you, Miss. You’ve put on such a successful debut performance, after all.”
Sona beamed as she set down an armful of beautifully wrapped gift boxes.
Word had spread swiftly among the nobility that the youngest daughter of House Arachrene had launched a business venture, and they had moved with remarkable speed to acknowledge it.
It was already common knowledge that House Arachrene stood as the firm backing behind the Kadimo Troupe.
On top of that, the news that the entire Arachrene family had shown up to the performance in support of their youngest had sent Riersha’s standing in social circles soaring.
The gifts Sona had selected were specifically from noble houses worth keeping an eye on.
“If you could look these over and write replies personally, Miss, that would make the best impression.”
“Mm. Goodness, I’m tired.”
Riersha tapped her shoulders with her fingers.
She had been feeling unusually fatigued lately.
…Is it because everything hit all at once?
Part of it was likely the accumulated tension of these past weeks finally catching up with her.
But even accounting for all of that, it felt like too much — and that made her tilt her head in puzzlement.
Still. Things needed to be done.
Riersha pushed herself up from the sofa.
“Gotta row while the tide is in.”
“…Pardon?”
“Oberon taught me that.”
She would row hard.
But before she got to the replies, there was something else she needed to see to first.
“I need to go see Grandfather.”
“The Duke?”
“Mm.”
She needed to deal with the mana-suppressing cuff on Oberon’s wrist.
No matter how much she’d thought it through, however, it was clear she couldn’t manage it on her own.
Clearing Oberon’s name and removing the device would require the help of someone with greater authority than herself — because Oberon sat at the center of a tangled web of competing interests.
Oberon never said it was uncomfortable, but…
Even without saying a word, he was surely facing no small amount of difficulty.
It was as if an ability he’d possessed his entire life had been stripped away in an instant. It was only natural he hadn’t fully adjusted.
“Then I’ll accompany you, Miss Riersha.”
Sona fell in closely behind her.
⁂
The study of Arachrene Ducal Castle.
Arcmund squinted his weary eyes and frowned.
The text on the document blurred for a moment, splitting into two, before sharpening again.
He had initially told himself it was simply the natural deterioration that came with age, but…
Arcmund had come to understand that it was something far more than that.
The symptoms had begun a year ago.
His five senses were slowly, steadily fading.
It had started with his sense of touch, but now…
And now my sight is going as well?
Arcmund pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose.
The illness was advancing quickly, and the pain kept pace — intense enough that even Arcmund, who had endured decades of battle across countless frontlines, had been reduced to reaching for pain relief.
“Ugh…”
A crushing, seizing pain tightened around his heart. He gasped for breath and wrenched open his desk drawer with trembling hands.
His fingers barely cooperated.
Cold sweat had soaked through his shirt entirely.
At least I’ve managed not to show this during any of the grand council meetings. That much, I’m grateful for.
Though “so far” was the more accurate word — still, it was a relief beyond measure.
Because Pernoa had finally come home.
If Pernoa had not returned, the family would have been left far more dangerously exposed. The cadet branches that had gathered around the Arachrene main line and swelled into something formidable were, every last one of them, enemies in all but name.
It would not be possible to conceal his illness forever. And once the cadet branches caught wind of it, they would bare their teeth.
“Huu…”
Arcmund had just tipped several pain tablets into his mouth and was waiting for the agony to ebb, when —
“…Grandfather?”
“…Riersha?”
He noticed her only belatedly — Riersha, standing at the doorway, her eyes wet with the beginnings of tears.
Arcmund instinctively moved to hide the pill case, but one look at those trembling, searching eyes told him she had already seen everything.
