Frederick paced anxiously around the room. He couldn’t keep his hands still, repeatedly running them through his hair or rubbing his face.

It was the first time in his life he had felt such tremendous anxiety. His emotions reached their peak when the date for the court meeting was set after allegations of treason were raised.

Damn those Vandermirs.

He muttered under his breath. In all the years of preparing for rebellion, he had never imagined a situation like this. He had been confident. He had been overconfident that he could place anyone on his chessboard and use them at will.

But the sudden actions of the Duke and Duchess Vandermir had shattered all his plans.

He thought they wouldn’t dare speak up anywhere, knowing they couldn’t escape punishment if the rebellion was discovered.

Because of the Duchess who had gone mad with grief over her son’s death, and the Duke who decided to cut ties even at a loss, Frederick’s life was on the verge of ruin.

‘Ha, who would have thought I’d crumble like this. We both misjudged each other.’

His crimson eyes sank ominously and flashed. He had no intention of backing down like this. He desperately racked his brain for a way out of the current situation.

However, no matter how much he thought, there was no way to escape without shedding a drop of blood.

‘…In that case, I have no choice but to counterattack, even if I take losses.’

Having made his decision, Frederick spoke to the pro-Crown Prince nobles who had come to discuss future plans, including Duke Lester.

“Let’s admit to all other crimes, but reverse the charge of treason onto the Vandermir ducal family. If the whole family is branded as traitors, Demian Vandermir will be taken care of as well.”

“…Your Highness, are you sure that’s alright? Given the high risk if we fail, wouldn’t it be better to deny all charges outright?”

One noble cautiously voiced his opposition. Though it was a reasonable suggestion, Frederick reacted sensitively.

“Do you think the method you propose has little risk? And when we ourselves are in a dangerous situation, what use is there in weighing the pros and cons?!”

“I-I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

“If you’re going to say such exasperating things, just keep your mouth shut and follow my words. Remember, if I fall, everyone here dies.”

The nobles shrank back at the murderous warning, tucking their tails between their legs. They had no choice but to follow what Frederick, the highest authority, said anyway.

Satisfied with the now-quiet nobles, Frederick opened his mouth.

“First, we’ll pin the blame on the Vandermir ducal family, and if that fails—”

He declared in a cold voice, standing straight with his hands behind his back.

“We’ll have to use our last resort.”

The court meeting was held in the southern hall of the main castle where the Emperor resided. As the meeting time approached, attendees began to appear one by one.

The nobles, divided into the Crown Prince’s faction and the Prince’s faction, sat down while glaring at each other with displeased faces. An ominous atmosphere hung in the air, as if they were determined to finish off their opponents today.

In this situation, Frederick, Lucas, Demian, and Arasila appeared in turn.

Frederick looked unwell, as if he hadn’t slept well the night before, while the other three appeared relatively calm. Finding this quite disagreeable, Frederick broke the uncomfortable silence.

“You look well, elder brother. It seems you don’t intend to help your younger brother who’s in an unfair situation, unlike someone else?”

Lucas calmly responded to the words dripping with sarcasm.

“How disappointing to hear you say that, Frederick. I came here to thoroughly investigate the treason allegations and uncover the truth, so you won’t be wronged.”

“Well, it seems your heart’s scales are already tipped unfairly. I don’t have any expectations at all.”

“Oh? I think you could look forward to it.”

Lucas ended the conversation unilaterally with a slight smile. Frederick stared at his half-brother with a displeased face.

Unlike himself, whose insides were burning with anxiety, Lucas looked relaxed, putting Frederick in a foul mood. It seemed things used to be the opposite.

Just as the atmosphere in the meeting hall grew even heavier, the Emperor appeared. The attendees stood up in unison to greet him.

“We greet His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Everyone, be seated.”

As the Emperor gestured after taking the highest seat, everyone sat down. The Emperor’s aide, confirming there were no empty seats, stood solemnly beside his lord and spoke.

“We will now begin the court meeting. Today’s agenda is to confirm whether the recent allegations against His Highness Crown Prince Frederick are true.”

Plotting treason and the murder of Oscar Vandermir.

When these two uncomfortable suspicions were mentioned side by side, there was an unpleasant cough from the pro-Crown Prince nobles’ side.

“First, we will hear from the Vandermir ducal family, who first accused His Highness the Crown Prince.”

At the aide’s signal, the doors to the meeting hall opened and the Duke and Duchess Vandermir appeared. They walked across the hall with confident strides.

Frederick glared coldly at the two as they stopped in front of the Emperor.

“Respected Emperor, we thank you for summoning us here today and giving us the opportunity to explain our grievances.”

The ducal couple bowed politely towards the Emperor. The Emperor acknowledged their greeting with a slight nod of his chin.

As all eyes in the meeting hall focused solely on the two, the Duke opened his mouth.

“My son Oscar ended his life after being murdered in the imperial castle a year ago. And the culprit is none other than His Highness the Crown Prince.”

The Duke shot a hateful glare at Frederick as he turned his head sharply, then continued speaking.

“I have brought a witness who can prove this.”

“Let them enter.”

At the Emperor’s permission, a knight of the ducal family brought in Brady. Overwhelmed by the pressure emanating from all directions, Brady trembled and prostrated himself on the floor.

Although he knew this would happen, he couldn’t help feeling scared and nervous when actually facing the Emperor and high-ranking nobles.

“Ah, g-greetings. My name is Brady.”

“The Crown Prince commissioned the assassination of Oscar to the guild where this fellow worked. Is that correct?”

The Duke asked, nudging Brady with his foot. Brady carefully nodded.

“Y-yes, that’s right. At first, I didn’t know because a man hiding his identity with a robe decorated with an owl came, but after the mission was over and guild members kept meeting mysterious deaths, I found out during the investigation process.”

Brady paused, swallowed dryly, and added clearly.

“That the owl was the emblem of those working under the Crown Prince.”

As even the owl was finally mentioned, Frederick’s brow furrowed slightly. Thinking that they had come this far because he couldn’t deal with just one measly fellow, his blood pressure seemed to soar.

As he struggled to suppress his anger and maintain calm, the Duke Vandermir spoke in an even louder and higher voice.

“His Highness tried to annihilate the entire guild for permanent silencing, but failed when this fellow survived! Then why did His Highness the Crown Prince do such a thing?”

The Duke turned his body towards the Crown Prince and pressed him with a dramatic tone. The Duchess nodded vigorously in agreement. Both had come with determination, so there was no hesitation.

“It’s because—! His Highness plotted with the Lester ducal family to swallow up the Vandermir ducal family, while also trying to eliminate me who knew about the rebellion plot!”

The Duke accurately pinpointed Frederick’s intentions.

With Demian succeeding as Duke, he would become useless, a ticking time bomb holding secrets. Frederick caused the Oscar assassination incident planning to first eliminate his love rival, then kill the Duke when the opportunity arose.

Then the Vandermir ducal family would fall completely into his hands, and he wouldn’t have to worry about secrets leaking out.

“Do you have definite evidence that the Crown Prince prepared for rebellion?”

The Emperor, who had been sitting silently until now, asked. The Duke answered as if he had been waiting for this.

“Yes, Your Majesty. For about 4 years, His Highness the Crown Prince forced us to purchase weapons to be used in the rebellion on his behalf. We were compelled to participate together with the Grant marquis family until just two years ago.”

This meant that the Vandermir ducal family had also partially participated in the rebellion, but for now, they had no choice but to reveal it honestly.

Instead, the Duke very meanly and quickly added the following words.

“Of course, I intended to inform Your Majesty of this fact later. Before His Highness made the wrong choice.”

Frederick, knowing full well that the Duke had no such intention, let out a hollow laugh. Pretending not to notice, the Duke raised his voice again.

“But when the Grant marquis family fell after being caught purchasing dark magic artifacts, he must have brought in the Lester ducal family to set up a new plan!”

“Watch your words, Duke!”

Duke Lester retorted, slamming the table. As an intense staring contest broke out between the two dukes, Frederick opened his mouth.

“Your Majesty, please give me the right to speak. I can no longer listen to the Duke’s one-sided and distorted claims.”

He rose from his seat and politely requested. Judging that he had heard enough of the Duke’s claims, the Emperor nodded.

Finally given the right to speak, Frederick calmly began his rebuttal. He raised his hand, pointing at the Duke, and said.

“The ones who really plotted treason are not me, but the Vandermir ducal family. When they were caught, they’re trying to frame me!”

“That’s nonsense! Absolutely not!”

The Duke, turning pale, immediately denied it. He stared incredulously at the Crown Prince who was trying to pin all the treason charges on him.

Frederick easily ignored this and continued with what he had to say.

“I’ll be honest. A few years ago, I discovered that the Vandermir ducal family was committing tax evasion and smuggling through a certain merchant guild. To find out the exact details, I asked the Grant marquis to start trading with that guild.”

Being a Crown Prince who took bribes was better than being a traitor. That was his thinking.

While preparing for the court meeting, Frederick gave up on remaining a flawless Crown Prince. The other side had too much on him for that.

Therefore, he concluded it was better to admit to some flaws and wrongdoings, and focus only on shedding the decisive charge.

“The ducal family noticed this fact and forcibly shoved bribes at me, threatening me to turn a blind eye. Since the Grant marquis was already in cahoots with them, I, pathetically powerless at the time, had no choice but to follow their words.”

Frederick, acting as if he was deeply ashamed and guilty of such behavior, skillfully twisted the Duke Vandermir’s testimony.

“Afterwards, I pretended to get along with the Duke and Marquis while slowly building up my strength, waiting for the chance to strike back.”

Naturally tying up loose ends with the Grant marquis as well, he spoke in a dramatic tone like Duke Vandermir had earlier.

“Then when it was revealed that the Grant marquis had purchased dark magic artifacts, I felt something was off and upon checking, I discovered! That the Vandermir ducal family was preparing for rebellion by illegally gathering weapons.”

Arasila watched Frederick, who was performing almost like a one-man play actor, with a mix of admiration and exasperation.

His malice in stubbornly clinging to the Vandermir ducal family, to which Demian belonged, was truly persistent.

“When the Vandermir ducal family was caught by me again, this time they deliberately sent their young lord to try and seduce me. Of course, it didn’t work on me. However, I was worried.”

“About what?”

“They are one of the three great ducal families called the pillars of the empire, aren’t they? If just one of them raises a rebellion, the empire will suffer great damage.”

Frederick, who had instantly transformed from a Crown Prince who took bribes to one sincerely concerned for the country, placed his hand on his chest.

“So I decided to eliminate the young lord who had joined the rebellion following his father, to break their power. I didn’t mind getting blood on my hands if I could do that.”

Frederick clenched his fists tightly and put on a resolute expression.

If the Vandermir ducal family became a traitorous house, killing Oscar wouldn’t be a big problem. Especially if it was done to prevent rebellion.

“But in the end, the Duke failed to come to his senses even after his son’s death, and instead harbored a grudge against me, trying to frame me for treason.”

Frederick sighed pitifully, rubbing his forehead. At this, the pro-Crown Prince nobles eagerly stepped forward to denounce Duke Vandermir.

“This is worse than what beasts would do! How can someone wearing a human mask be so shameless!”

“Your Majesty, the Duke said he purchased weapons on the Crown Prince’s orders, but not a single one of them ever flowed to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Honestly, I find this whole accusation process suspicious. Didn’t it occur on a grand scale at the party of Lord Vandermir, the Duke’s second son? The whole family must have conspired to trap His Highness the Crown Prince!”

As if they had completely erased from their minds that the Duke had strongly demanded Demian’s execution, they lumped Demian in as well and thrust the blade of suspicion sharply.

Despite the situation turning unfavorable, Arasila and Demian remained calm. In contrast, the Duke turned pale blue with anger.

Their situation was that they had only slightly dipped their feet into rebellion and been betrayed, but now they were about to become the main culprits, so it was natural.

“Who’s being shameless now? Did Your Highness not order us to purchase weapons and keep them safe until the time was right?”

“Isn’t that just the Duke’s one-sided claim? Do you have any evidence that His Highness said so, or even a letter perhaps?”

The Duke flinched for a moment and couldn’t speak.

He had burned and destroyed all potentially controversial letters exchanged with Frederick. At the time, he thought keeping them could become a weakness for himself as well. After all, it was true that he had gone along with the rebellious Crown Prince’s wishes.

As the Duke failed to answer properly with no more evidence to present, Duke Lester shouted triumphantly.

“There is no clear evidence that His Highness the Crown Prince prepared for rebellion! The only things that have come out are from the Vandermir ducal family, who are mortal enemies, so they can’t be trusted!”

No one objected or nitpicked at those words. Frederick smiled, covering his mouth with his hand.

Just as the pro-Crown Prince nobles were smiling, sensing they had gained the upper hand, a low and gentle voice resonated through the meeting hall.

“Then, I suppose I should present some trustworthy evidence.”

All eyes turned to Lucas at once. It was the first time he had spoken, having watched the meeting with a consistently relaxed attitude.

Frederick’s shoulders stiffened. He had tried to figure out what cards Lucas held before the court meeting, but had thoroughly failed.

He looked at his brother with eyes mixed with anxiety and hostility.

“Are you saying that Your Highness the Prince has evidence of His Highness the Crown Prince’s treason?”

“That’s right. In case my younger brother was being unjustly framed, I looked into various things to help him as his elder brother.”

Unable to contain himself at this abominable statement, Frederick burst into incredulous laughter. When had this person, who used to wander weakly outside the empire, become so shameless?

Lucas, unconcerned, spoke gently towards his younger brother with a beaming smile.