“Do you think there is a story that could shake the whole empire, not just this level of rumor?”

Derrick stroked his chin and took a moment to organize his thoughts.

It was a sentence with a lot of hidden meanings.

Soon, Derrick’s face was covered with a meaningful smile.

“You plan to shake the empire.”

Khaled immediately grasped the meaning of Derrick’s words. He was indeed not the Information Guild Master for nothing.

He was quickwitted and fast in calculation. He immediately understood what they were going to aim for. He didn’t like it, but he had to admit he was a usable talent.

“You have to be at least that good to meet the master.”

“Hahaha. That’s too much to say, but for now, my identity is a secret, so please call me Branch Manager Rain.”

Even within the Information Guild, very few knew his identity. So he couldn’t just use the name master. Khaled immediately understood his situation.

“I see. Then, since you’ve asked me a question, may I ask you one?”

“Of course.”

Khaled seemed to be enjoying himself as he spoke.

“Not long ago, I heard from Velia that the Count of Serron had a bastard.”

Derrick’s face hardened.

“It was half a year ago, wasn’t it? I heard that the only son of the Serron family had died. There were a lot of worried voices saying that the lineage of the Serron family had been cut off. I never thought there would be another son. The Count is quite affectionate towards his son.”

Khaled, watching Derrick’s expression, asked what he was really curious about.

“Do you really not want to join the Count’s family?”

“Is this Your Highness’s question?”

“Yes.”

Derrick hesitated for a moment and then answered.

“Yes. I have no intention of joining there.”

“Why not? It’s certain that you’ll be the next count if you just join the count’s family.”

He couldn’t understand why he was refusing such an enticing condition.

If he doesn’t become the heir and the count’s family falls into ruin, it will definitely be advantageous for him. But regardless of his personal feelings, it was an opportunity for Derrick.

“The Serron Count’s family is one of the prestigious families in the Empire. It’s a chance to hold power, there’s no reason to refuse.”

Being the one running the Information Guild, he must have known this clearly.

Then, Derrick sighed quietly and spoke.

“I thought my father was dead from the beginning. He’s looking for me now for his own greed. I don’t want to have anything to do with the Count Serron.”

Derrick cautiously spoke.

“You lack ambition.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for Your Highness if the count’s family just disappeared?”

The Count Serron was a supporter of the first prince.

So, in a way, this was a perfect opportunity to reduce the power of the first prince.
Derek, seeming to see through the whole situation currently unfolding, asked Prince Khaled with a meaningful look. Khaled feigned ignorance.

“What does it have to do with me?”

“Aren’t you trying to become the emperor?”

Oh?

Khaled looked at Derek with interest.

“Why do you think so?”

“Because I’ve met Princess Velia.”

His answer piqued interest.

“The story that Princess Velia chose Prince Khaled, not Prince Raul, had been noisy for a while.”

Khaled’s shoulders lifted involuntarily.

“I was curious why she did that, but when I saw the princess, I immediately understood.”

Derek thought back to when he met Velia.

The confident and serene expression of Princess Velia could not be forgotten. This was a foreboding close to certainty based on long experience in intelligence.

“Princess Velia is not someone who will remain merely as a prince’s wife.”

Khaled felt somewhat proud at his words, but also felt bad again as he spoke as if he knew Velia well. But he didn’t show it.

“And isn’t the content of the rumor an attempt to change your image? If there is a reason for her to do such a thing, it would only be to make you the emperor.”

The look in her eyes when she proposed a deal was filled with ambition looking at a very high place. That’s when he realized that Princess Velia had decided to make Prince Khaled the emperor.

“Of course, at first, your image was not very good, so I thought it was an intention to refresh it a bit, but I was surprised because there was a bigger intention hidden than I thought.”

Thinking of winning the people over to their side first.

It was not a thought that the royal family could easily have.

“Honestly, I don’t want to get involved in the imperial succession dispute.”

Derek lowered his eyes.

But soon he raised his head and looked directly at Khaled.

“Do you think I can be a trump card because you are looking at me this way?”

At Derek’s question whether he was thinking of hiding him as a force to be on their side in the struggle of the first prince, Khaled ha, let out a hollow laugh.

Isn’t he a really useful guy? Derek very naturally grasped the core and led the conversation. He was certainly capable of leading Runess. But Khaled is not so easy either.

“I was just curious. But you were audacious enough to really consider me. Calculating whether to stick to me or to the first prince.”

Khaled put his hands with knuckles on the table.

“So… what do you think of me? Is the calculation of which side to stick to coming together now?”

Then he waited with a leisurely attitude for what kind of answer would come from him.

After some time passed, Derek opened his mouth.