Silence lingered.

He thought he wouldn’t hear an answer anyway.

Over the past five years, he thought that as in the past, secrets related to the palace wouldn’t easily come out of his mouth.

But Arthur opened his mouth after a short silence.

“Yeah.”

Tristan, who didn’t expect Arthur to admit it, was surprised.

Kay also looked at Arthur with unexpected eyes.

“The palace isn’t preventing treatment. But it’s a secret.”

Arthur spoke during a short pause.

“If there was a way to treat it, the palace would have found it by now. It wouldn’t have been prohibited for Kyle to come for treatment. After searching for decades, if there was a way, they would have found it.”

“…….”

Ora?

Kay and Tristan realized that it was the name of Arthur’s ability.

With a cautious look, Kay asked him unexpectedly.
“……May I speak about it?”

Arthur was not the person to disclose information classified as a royal secret.

With his hands in his pockets, Arthur leaned back in his chair.

“Yeah, Kyle permitted it. He said it’s okay to share with the chief subordinates.”

Both Kay and Tristan widened their eyes.

Tristan asked, “When did he permit it?”

“It’s been a while. When I judged that you guys would need my help after knowing that I lost my sight.”

Tristan looked at Arthur with a somewhat betrayed expression.

“…But why are you telling us now?”

Arthur cleared his throat as if feeling awkward.

“…You didn’t ask.”

“Well, because we thought it was a royal secret!”

Arthur smiled apologetically.

“It is a secret. I wasn’t ready, and Kyle waited for me to speak for myself. Don’t think too badly that Kyle didn’t tell you.”

Arthur summarized the story briefly.

“My vision problem is a side effect of the ability you guys can guess. Since you can roughly estimate what kind of ability it is, you should know why it’s classified.”

“…….”

“It’s a secret because it’s an ability to hear sounds in places where I can’t see. If it’s revealed, its utility will drop significantly. It also has the function of detecting space, so it can replace sight. Thanks to that, I’m living without significant inconvenience. It’s a talent passed down from the ‘Sun Emperor.'”

“…….”

Arthur continued speaking.

“It doesn’t get damaged every time I use it. It gets significantly damaged when used excessively. There’s no problem if I regulate it so that it doesn’t strain me, but I couldn’t regulate it in the last battle.”

“…….”

Both Kay and Tristan knew that it wasn’t that he couldn’t regulate it but that it wasn’t a situation where he could control it.

Both of them felt that Arthur was minimizing the side effects.

Arthur concluded calmly.

“That’s all. It’s fine as long as I use it in moderation.”

“…….”

Arthur lowered his gaze, placing his thumb on his index finger.

“There’s nothing I can do about the already damaged vision. If there was a way to reverse it, it would have been discovered already. Emperor Alexander Lucac II would have already tried every method that the empire could mobilize. As a member of the imperial family, it’s a valuable ability, so they would have continued investigating.”

“…….”

Arthur chose his words carefully during a short pause.

“If there was a way to treat it, Kyle Crown Prince also had the same talent. But Kyle was prohibited from honing his ability. Kyle is going to be the emperor, and he has to oversee the affairs of the country for a lifetime. A person who might go blind even for a moment shouldn’t be allowed.”

“…….”

“He would need to hone his ability for more than ten years from a very young age to reach a practical level like mine. So, Kyle couldn’t manifest his ability because he couldn’t train it.”

After a short silence, the conversation continued.

“Kyle practically couldn’t use Ora. He could only vaguely sense that I used Ora.”

It seemed like a kind of excuse for Kyle not being as active in wars as Arthur.

“…….”

Tristan spoke up.
“Emperor Alexander… Did he lose his sight during his lifetime?”

Arthur replied, “Yes. But for reasons similar to mine, others probably didn’t notice. He must have had trustworthy closest aides. He would have received their help.”

Then Arthur grinned, intending to express his trust in them.

However, Tristan, with a stern face, asked first, “Forgive me for being straightforward, Your Highness. Is there a possibility that other characteristics possessed by Emperor Alexander might be inherited by you?”

Leaning back against the chair, Arthur looked at Tristan.

“Well… Are you asking if there’s a chance I’ll go blind?”

Arthur laughed.

“No. There are no such side effects with Ora.”

But both Tristan and Kay stared at Arthur with serious expressions, not believing him.

Seeing that his attempt to conceal was too obvious, Arthur added hesitantly, “Really.”

“Is it really true, or are you not sure?”

Arthur replied, “For me, there’s no problem.”

It wasn’t a perfect answer.

Both Kay and Tristan sensed a brief hesitation before the answer was given.

After a while of silence, Tristan bluntly uttered, “The imperial family is really despicable.”

Even Kay briefly commented, “I agree.”

Arthur looked at them with a bewildered expression.

“…Can’t you guys be a bit more careful with your words?”

“Anyway, you’ve confirmed that no one is listening with Ora, right?”

Tristan retorted coldly, “I’ve become less fond of His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Me too.”

Even Kay unexpectedly made such a childish remark.

“…”

Arthur once again thought that being loyal subordinates was quite cute and worth nurturing.

“And Your Highness has stepped back.”

“…”

Kay sighed in agreement without saying anything.

Arthur scratched his eyebrow awkwardly.

Not knowing about such circumstances, Kyle grew up, Arthur almost started to say, but he gave up.

Arthur just smiled.

“…”

Seeing Arthur laughing as if he wasn’t bothered, exposing his naive admiration for Kyle, Tristan spoke coldly.

“I’ve become a bit dislikable of His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Me too.”

Even Kay made such a comment without hesitation.

“…”

Arthur couldn’t help but think that he couldn’t like Kyle to the extent of having a pure heart without any disappointment.

Arthur, again, let out a sigh that seemed to be the fortieth already.

He depended on his subordinates, thinking it would be a waste of time and only bring frustration if he focused on his own affairs because he expected that they would be disappointed.

Arthur, pushed by his subordinates, agreed to meet a good doctor, and if possible, he would consult with Dylan about the treatment.

He chose to answer in a way that wouldn’t worry them unnecessarily, especially since it was a doctor meeting for Dylan’s treatment.