“How is Mother?”

The Crown Prince brought up the story of Empress Maria first.

“My aunt? Well, she’s the same as always. She doesn’t show it, but she worries a lot about Your Highness.”

The Crown Prince touched the bridge of his nose with a somewhat strange expression.

Worry…

How should he explain this?

Should he say that her worry was rather what worried Crown Prince Kyle?

“… No word about Arthur?”

Rembrandt also smiled bitterly while furrowing his brow.

“No… She’s not the type to talk to me about such things.”

He felt somewhat relieved.

The Crown Prince leaned back against the carriage seat and said with a bland smile.

“… It’s an imperial dispatch to Julius territory. I was wondering if she might have said something.”

Rembrandt hesitated for a moment, then asked something he hadn’t brought up yesterday, worried it might be an uncomfortable topic for the Crown Prince.

“… Is it very troublesome for you?”

“It’s a bit scary.”

The Crown Prince admitted, laughing candidly.

“He’s my benefactor. A brother. I owe Arthur a lot. But to Mother, he’s probably ‘a momentary benefactor and soon to be an enemy’… So, well.”

After a brief pause, the Crown Prince said.

“Arthur seems to understand too and has started distancing himself from me.”

“…”

Rembrandt said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Do you feel hurt?”

“What right do I have to feel that way? I just feel sorry.”

The Crown Prince was silent for a moment before speaking.

“I have a favor to ask. I hope Arthur doesn’t get hurt. Even if Mother doesn’t approve of this situation…”

The Crown Prince chose his words carefully.

“She’s doing it for my sake, so I can’t do anything about Mother, but…”

“…”

“If perhaps ‘someone’ orders something that can’t be refused…”

The Crown Prince finished with an awkward smile.

“Let me know. I’ll try to do something about it.”

Only the sound of wheels rolling on the well-maintained road filled the carriage.

“…”

Rembrandt, who had been silently watching him, smiled calmly.

“… It seems Lord Arthur has won Your Highness’s heart.”

The Crown Prince sighed and smiled.

“What value does my heart have? Arthur just gained bad karma because of me. I’m worried I might end up repaying kindness with enmity.”

The Crown Prince muttered emptily.

“That guy should be happy.”

Rembrandt silently looked at him.

“… Your Highness will become a good leader.”

The Crown Prince laughed.

“Seeing that there are already flatterers, I guess I’ve failed at becoming a wise ruler.”

“I’m sincere.”

The Crown Prince smiled and turned the topic to him.

“What about you?”

“Pardon?”

“Do you still intend to inherit the family?”

Ah…

Rembrandt smiled.

“You remember that one comment from five years ago?”

“How could I forget? It was the same worry I had.”

I see.

Rembrandt looked at the Crown Prince, tapping his fingertips a few times before lowering his head and smiling.

“… Yes. My thoughts remain the same. Besides, there’s no one else to take over. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing to me?”

“I thought you might say, ‘Why don’t you break free when you can, while I can’t even if I want to?'”

The Crown Prince chuckled softly.

“Ah. That’s a somewhat romantic criticism.”

“It suits Your Highness.”

“Thanks for the high praise. But I’m sorry to disappoint you. I was relieved that I’m not alone in this pit. I can’t escape either, so I’m glad you’re the same. You’ll be with me till the end, right?”

Rembrandt laughed out loud.

“Haha. That suits Your Highness too.”

The Crown Prince crossed his stretched legs and leaned back, using his folded arms as a pillow.

“Sigh. Neither you nor I are destined to be Ryan Dalton.”

Rembrandt smiled.

“Not just anyone can be Ryan Dalton.”

Then he changed his tone and casually threw out:

“But Your Highness should first find a fiancée before saying that. You do know that because of you, none of us can even date, let alone get married, right?”

The Crown Prince groaned, holding his forehead.

“Yes, yes. I’m really sorry about that.”

How to bear this karma, why did they do this?

Not just for a year or two, but holding back young people in their prime marriageable age for five years with a marriage ban.

“This wasn’t the picture I wanted. I didn’t know it would turn out like this. When they said it was for the noble youth drafted into the war, it sounded plausible for a moment, so I let them have their way. I didn’t know it would take five years…”

“I know.”

“It’s really crazy. Who came up with such an insane idea? A marriage ban because an unmarried Crown Prince went to war. It’s bound to be used as an example in every classroom where children sit, saying, ‘This is why we should never do such a stupid thing again’ in history for generations to come.”

Rembrandt laughed.

“You’ve already benefited the world greatly even before ascending to the throne. Isn’t this proof of your qualities as a wise ruler?”

The Crown Prince grumbled.

“Stop it, it’s embarrassing.”

After running his hand through his hair, a deep sigh followed.

“I should have gotten married five years ago. I was quite popular then… Quite a few ladies shed tears when I left for the war.”

Rembrandt asked.

“So, do you have any lady in mind?”

“Well… Mother and Father probably have ladies in mind, but me… I don’t know who would want to marry me now that my reputation is so tarnished.”

Rembrandt chuckled.

“Don’t worry about that. You should be more concerned about being surrounded by debutante ladies as a golden trophy. Prepare yourself mentally.”

They’ll be hunters who have been sharpening their blades for five years.

The Crown Prince burst into a short laugh and nodded towards Rembrandt.

“Isn’t it ‘Rembrandt Eton von Klein’ who should be worried? The young ladies won’t leave you alone either.”

Until now, he might have been able to postpone it using his personal goals and the marriage ban as an excuse,

But now that he’s officially decided to inherit the family, Rembrandt must get married too.

Rembrandt responded plainly.

“I plan to hide behind Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

The Crown Prince narrowed his eyes and rested his chin on his hand.

“… I wonder? I might have to hide behind you.”

“… Pardon?”

The Crown Prince gestured towards him with his chin.

“If I were a lady, I think I’d rather be the Duchess of Klein than the Crown Princess, honestly.”

Less burden with similar honor.

“Besides, even I would prefer a husband like you over one like me.”

Rembrandt’s expression momentarily became speechless.

“… Wow. That’s terribly flattering…”

The conversation flowed lightly, carried by the wind and the sound of the carriage.

Well, anyone can see you’ll be a responsible and good husband. You might end up going first.

Even cold water has a top and bottom.

There’s no order in going.

I don’t think that’s the right phrase to use here…

Let’s see who becomes the shield.

… With a golden trophy next to you, why bother with a silver trophy…

Wake up. You’re platinum.

… Whether silver or platinum, it doesn’t show next to gold.

I guess you and I are both dead men walking. Whether gold or whatever.

…

Five years of waiting for marriage.

The competition rate is five times higher.

It’s going to be a real war.

Once again, Arthur became intensely enviable.

They spent the remaining time with meaningless conversations.

[This is the timeline separator]

Kay began his report in front of Arthur.

Rembrandt Eton von Klein.

He is the heir to the ‘Klein’ family.

He’s the second son of the Elector ‘Duke Karl Klein’, who is the older brother of Empress Maria.

Hm. Now he might actually be considered the eldest son.

He was originally the second son, but the firstborn son, who was his elder brother, died.

Being the second son, Lord Rembrandt originally had no obligation to inherit the family.

But with his brother’s death, that duty was passed on to Lord Rembrandt.

So now, Lord Rembrandt is the heir to the ‘Klein’ family.

Usually, when a second son inherits the family and title in such circumstances, he’s considered lucky, but…

For Lord Rembrandt, it wasn’t like that…

In fact, it was more like a bolt from the blue.

Because for a talented artist, the duty of being the heir to inherit the family is like having one’s wings clipped.

He hasn’t been active as a painter for the past few years, but he was famous as an unrivaled painter in his age group.

Hence, it was a hot topic in the art world at the time.

Lord Rembrandt was quite a promising painter, so many people were saddened when he suddenly got tied down by the duties of the firstborn.

If he were to inherit the family, he would have to give up on leaving his name in history as an artist.

So there was a lot of talk about whether he couldn’t pass on the position of family heir to other siblings.

In such cases, if the second son doesn’t want it, other siblings would typically take over.

But in the end, it seems he decided to take it on himself.

In terms of capability, there really wasn’t another sibling who could lead the family as well as Lord Rembrandt.

Be it sense of responsibility as a nobleman, stable social skills, or health.

Or the ability as the head of the family to protect the family and shield the siblings from other nobles.

There was no one who could replace him.

It seems Duke Klein said, ‘If you want to pursue the path of an artist, you don’t have to inherit the family.’

But it appears Lord Rembrandt accepted the situation where there was no one else to inherit the family if not him.

Still, Duke Klein seems to hope he won’t give up.

It seems he’s still allowing him to roam freely here and there without passing on the duties of the heir.

Even this portrait commission seems to be part of that, in fact.

While it’s disguised as an imperial request for Elector Julius,

In reality, he was sent to ‘paint’.

[This is the timeline separator]

“…”

Rembrandt, upon returning, stood in front of the white canvas on the easel.

“But Rembrandt. It’s okay to put down your sense of responsibility sometimes.”

The Crown Prince smiled, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingertip.

“Surprisingly, things don’t go terribly wrong even if you play hooky a bit.”

Rembrandt chuckled.

And he picked up a pencil and drew a meaningless line across the blank canvas.

“…”

Your Highness, the Crown Prince.

I’m actually already playing hooky.

“Lord Rembrandt, a message from Duke Klein and Her Majesty the Empress.”

He recalled the words Francis had conveyed.

“They say if the portrait work is stagnating, you should return, as the situation there seems to be hectic.”

Rembrandt crossed one arm in front of the easel.

“…”

Father, having heard about the situation here, seems to have judged that my stay in Julius is a waste of time.

Which was true.

“Shall I inform Marquis Julius and prepare for your return?”

Rembrandt smiled slightly.

“No. Please tell them I’ll return after staying a bit longer.”

Francis seemed to find that answer a bit unexpected, but soon smiled.

“You’re staying longer?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you show enthusiasm for such work.”

“Do you like the life here?”

Enthusiasm, huh.

“Well. Rather than liking the life here…”

A few days ago, he might have said it seemed interesting.

But now, someone’s tear-stained face came to mind first.

“I just feel like I need to stay a bit longer.”