“……!”

“He doesn’t know yet…… He left all the land management to me, and he’s slaughtering monsters in the forest of monsters.”

“……Please let me meet him.”

“It’s dangerous!”

Recalling the madness of the First Prince, Python tightly closed his eyes. Seeing his brother who had turned white in an instant, Powell could not even imagine how the First Prince had changed. But Powell was confident considering what the First Prince had shown him before he was trapped in the prison. The confidence to make good use of that superficial and hasty temper.

“Isn’t it a situation where the First Prince needs Brother’s help to live comfortably here? If you offer cooperation from our side too, he will gladly accept it.”

“……”

Python looked at his father standing behind his little brother in silence. He was facing Python without avoiding his gaze with an infinitely stiff face. Looking at his father’s tightly clenched lips, Python knew he was thinking like his little brother.

“All right, I’ll talk to him.”

When Python finally answered with his head bowed, Philip’s closed lips opened and a voice colder than frost rang out.

“Right now.”

“……!”

“Father!”

Not only Python but also Powell’s eyes widened in surprise. At this point right now, he didn’t expect that he would meet the First Prince.

“I’m the lord of Alton.”

“That’s right. However……”

“I should check with my own eyes what my estate looks like now.”

“……”

“Now!”

Philip’s voice was resolute, and unlike the few days of stupor, he radiated a solid momentum like the Lord of Alton Estate. Python, who became an infinite sinner in front of his father, eventually nodded his head and left without saying anything.

“……”

“……”

After Python left, a heavy silence fell in the dungeon. Powell took a deep breath to calm his agitation, then cleared his mind and walked up to Philip and said.

“The First Prince is a simpler person than you think. If you confirm his power and show submission, he will be generous.”

“……”

“Please never say anything right in front of the First Prince. The people in the territory could die in front of your eyes, or I could die. But even then, you should never try to confront the First Prince.”

Powell knew his father’s personality very well. He was like a thick tree, never to be bent. In particular, his loyalty to the Crombell Imperial family was even more so. The actions of the First Prince, who touched what he should not do as the prince of the Empire, exceeded Philip’s standards. It was obvious how he would come out of something he couldn’t cover with all his heart.

“Didn’t Father always say that I should see things farther away than what’s in front of me? So please do it.”

Powell persuaded him with all his heart. It was not difficult to imagine how the First Prince would react if he showed his opposite temper. Philip, well aware of Powell’s mind, replied with a heavy nod.

“I know.”

In response to Philip’s answer, Powell sighed deeply, drooping his shoulders as if relieved.

“First, we need to understand the situation of the territory. And…… we’ll have to figure out how to ask the Imperial family for help.”

Philip shook his head in response to Powell’s words.

“The Imperial family is no good.”

“Father?”

Words against the Imperial family came out of the mouth of Philip, who had strong faith and loyalty to the Imperial family. Powell was startled as if he couldn’t believe it.

“The Emperor is the one who will turn all the continents into enemies if the First Prince really uses black magic.”

“No way. It can’t be!”

“You don’t know the Emperor. So you can think of it that way.”

Philip took a deep breath. His loyalty to the Crombell Empire is unbeatable by anyone. But it was his loyalty to the Imperial family, not the Emperor. It was the loyalty that came from the belief that the Imperial family could lead this Crombell straight. The Emperor was a mean person. He was a man who never let go of what was in his grasp and wielded it at will until the end. So Philip was able to dedicate his allegiance to the Imperial family, for he knew very well that the Emperor would never let anyone else take over this Crombell Empire.

“The Emperor is a man who loves his son more than this Empire.”

“But……”

“Unfortunately, there is only one son that the Emperor acknowledges in this Empire.”

“Are you saying that’s the First Prince? What about the other two princes?”

Powell couldn’t understand Philip’s words. If the Emperor considered only the First Prince to be his son, why would he overthrow him and put him in the Alton Estate? This meant that he would hand over the throne to the other two princes.

“It’s nothing but a scarecrow. If I were the Emperor, I would probably send those two sons to Alton Estate. If the First Prince really uses black magic, he won’t let them live.”

“……So you’re saying that the Emperor is going to send both of them to the dead?”

“That’s right.”

Philip nodded heavily and clenched his fist so tightly that his nails dug into his palm. The First Prince and the black magician. Whether or not the Emperor intended this combination, the Emperor would take advantage of this opportunity and would never abandon the First Prince. He had to prevent Alton from being sacrificed in the hands of the Emperor as much as possible.

“There must be someone in the Imperial family who made the First Prince fall. A person the Emperor cannot help but keep an eye on. You must find that person and ask for help.”

Philip’s words flashed through Powell’s mind the news he had heard before.

“I heard that the First Prince was overthrown this time because he threatened a woman and a child with a sword and put them in critical condition. The Duke of Ambrosia personally witnessed this and raised the issue.”

“……The Duke of Ambrosia? Are you talking about Ethan Ambrosia?”

“Yes! I remember wondering that the First Prince, who was normally fanatical, was finally deposed for that reason. No doubt the Duke of Ambrosia had pressured the Emperor.”

“……However, Ambrosia is the Emperor’s watchdog. Like Alton, Ambrosia was loyal to the Imperial family from generation to generation.”

The current Duke of Ambrosia was the most trusted nobleman of the old Emperor. So did the previous Duke of Ambrosia. There was something between the Imperial family and Ambrosia that no other aristocrat could notice. However, it did not make sense that the Emperor could not withstand the pressure of the Duke of Ambrosia and dismissed the First Prince whom he loved the most.

“No, no…… Ambrosia was a family that maintained neutrality in the struggle for the throne. There is no way he could point his sword at the First Prince just because he could not stand the injustice.”

The fall of the First Prince was possible because both the Emperor and Ambrosia moved at the same time. There must be one more person to influence the two.

“Who is the woman that is said to be put in critical condition by the First Prince?”

“Ah……, she wasn’t the average aristocratic woman. I heard that the Emperor himself conferred the title……”

“You mean Small Countess of Millen?”

“Ah, yes! That’s right. Wasn’t it quite tumultuous a few years ago that a Lady received her title?”

“Small Countess of Millen, Millen…… I see.”

Philip pondered for a moment at the name Small Countess of Millen, then opened his mouth with a sharp gleam in his eyes.

“So it’s her, Countess Millen. She was the one who could move the Emperor and Ambrosia.”

“You mean the Small Countess of Millen? She is only a Small Countess who has not yet received the Countess title. It is said that even if she became the Countess of Millen, she wouldn’t be able to enter politics……”

“Powell.”

“……Yes.”

“Do you know why she became the Small Count of Millen?”

“I don’t.”

Powell shook his head. It was because she disappeared shortly after she became the Small Countess of Millen. So little was known about her, even though it was very unconventional at the time.

“Because there is something special about her, the Emperor must have made her the Small Countess. Sarah Millen, she might have the key to saving Alton.”

“Sarah Millen……”

Powell brooded over the name. But he still didn’t understand what Philip meant, so he had to hold onto his throbbing head.

“You should ask Sarah Millen for help. If you have the chance, don’t hesitate.”

“……I understand. But Father, in front of the First Prince, that name should be taboo.”

“I know. I’m the Lord of Alton Estate. There is nothing I can’t do for Alton.”

Powell was greatly relieved by Philip’s words and swept his chest.

* * *

At that moment, Sarah shook her head and sneezed as she felt a tingling sensation in her throat.

“Achoo!”

She couldn’t bear to swallow her sneeze. The loud noise made Sarah sniffle and mutter.

“Who’s talking about me?”

It had been a long time since she sneezed, so she had to tilt her head in wonder.

“Sarah, did you overexert yourself?”

As soon as he heard her sneeze, Ethan opened the door of the carriage from outside and came in. And―.

“Countess Millen! Here is the blanket.”

“Please use this handkerchief!”

“Please have some warm water!”

“I’ll get you some medicine soon, it’s perfect for a cold!”

The Knights of Ambrosia began to scramble and push everything into the carriage. It wasn’t just that.

“Everyone, surround the carriage! Don’t let even a gush of cold wind get into the carriage!”

“Countess Millen has caught a cold! Bring all the medicinal herbs!”

“Bring in the bed! What? You don’t have it because we’re in the mountains? Make one and bring it here!”

“Protect Countess Millen! Don’t let her even hear the breath of the monsters!”

It was very noisy outside the carriage.