Chapter 99

Is this fine as it is?

I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.

――Still, I can’t accept it no matter what.

I stopped in front of the door I see every day.

Hugh spoke smoothly about the companions he had brought in. Therefore, a large-scale arrest operation, led by my brother, had already begun to capture the people he had placed within the castle.

Nathan was receiving treatment, and Lord Syl was also being examined by a doctor as a precaution.

I――if I were to say I’m back to normal, I am.

In the sense that I’ve reclaimed Clifford.

He has officially returned as my guard knight.

I was about to enter my room after being advised to take a break and being escorted to the door of my room by Clifford.

I once thought of doing just that.

In the end, the culprit was caught, and there was no major damage, so the case was resolved. I thought I would just be quiet from then on――.

But I can’t just rest in my room yet.

I turned around.

“Clifford”

“Yes”

Looking up, I saw his deep blue eyes gazing back at me.

“I’m going to see Hugh. Please guide me to the dungeon.”

Clifford blinked.

“……”

He seemed to want to ask something but bowed his head.

“――Understood.”

We hurried to the training ground where the dungeon was located. Despite the obstacles along the way, such as soldiers and the commotion of the large-scale arrest, we arrived safely thanks to Clifford’s accurate guidance and the forceful authority of the princess.

We descended from the training ground to the dungeon. At the entrance, three guards were stationed. Recognizing me, one of the guards, who had hurriedly shown respect, I called out to him.

“Which cell is Hugh Roberts in?”

“Yes! It’s in the lower level, at the far end!”

“Thank you. Don’t let anyone through for a while. And then――”

I added a request... no, an order. I wasn’t sure if they would comply, but I had seen them taking command nearby. If they intended to, they could come here immediately.

Seeing the guard nod vigorously, I proceeded.

I followed behind Clifford, who held a torch.

...Hugh had explained it to me. The cells vary depending on the severity of the charges.

I thought the cell where Clifford and the others were placed was relatively better.

The corridor I walked through to meet Clifford back then was nothing compared to this. The smell here was foul. The corridor seemed to be cleaned to some extent, but the cells were all in terrible conditions.

And――no one was imprisoned in the cells leading to the farthest one.

They were deliberately isolating Hugh.

Clifford stopped.

The torchlight illuminated the farthest cell. Hugh, still in his guard knight uniform but without the jacket, looked at me with a dazzled expression.

He stood up from the bloodstained and stained cot. The iron shackles on his wrists and ankles clanked as he moved.

Out of courtesy?

Hugh bowed to me.

My brother, Lord Syl, Hugh, and Nathan. We visited the dungeon to see Clifford just two days ago.

Yet now, Hugh is in a cell.

I opened my mouth.

“――Why did you cut the gold tassel?”

Hugh’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Did you come all the way here just to ask that? It’s a trivial matter, isn’t it?”

“...I think it’s important. You cut it yourself, didn’t you?”

There was a meaning behind it, I felt later.

And it was related to the ‘real’ reason Hugh caused the incident.

“I and Clifford are the only ones here. You don’t need to lie, do you?”

“What am I lying about?”

“The motive. The motive for causing this incident.”

“Motive”

Hugh muttered.

“The loyalty to your brother and the reason you gave don’t align in my mind.”

“Don’t align? Perhaps my thoughts were a stroke of luck for Princess Octavia? I thought you would agree with me.”

I can’t agree with the means, no matter what. But the denial of the way the Esphera royal family operates, where the king must leave an heir but only has companions of the same sex, is something I also feel.

“――Is this really your thinking?”

It just doesn’t sit right. The fact that Hugh is the culprit and the motive he gave are inconsistent. If Hugh had personal doubts about the way the Esphera royal family operates――but the result is too extreme.

And the method that would damage my brother.

...Think.

So, perhaps……

“Perhaps, it would be more convincing if you were ordered by someone to do it.”

“……”

Silence. ...No, huh.

Then, what about an order? If Hugh, as a ‘guard knight,’ still has that consciousness.

“Hugh. You haven’t been officially relieved of your duties as my guard knight by my brother. That decision is made with a formal document. Relieving you also requires a document.”

“……?”

“Serve me as you serve my brother. You still have to obey my orders.”

Hugh smiled faintly.

“That’s sophistry.”

“What’s wrong with sophistry? As the first princess, I recognize it. You are still my guard knight.”

And you are still my brother’s guard knight.

I repeated the first question.

“Why did you cut the gold tassel?”

“――Exactly half. I thought it was fitting for me.”

It seemed more like a monologue than an answer to me.

“You once asked me which order I would follow. Is that related?”

If Hugh received conflicting orders?

In this case, who is the one giving the orders……

The person Hugh would obey if ordered is my brother, right? In terms of status, it would be my father or Lord Edgar. Me or Alexis too?

The torchlight flickered slightly. My gaze shifted to Clifford. It felt like Clifford was trying to tell me something.

I moved only my eyes to where the light had moved.

A vague figure appeared in the distance, barely visible.

I had given orders to the guards, but I could only imagine how they would handle my informal message.

...They came.

But the figure didn’t seem to be approaching.

“I chose the one I wanted to follow. And if I had to follow only one of the two orders――I didn’t have the right to attach the tassel given to me by Prince Serius to my sword in its original form.”

“Then, shouldn’t you have not worn the tassel given to you by my brother at all, like you did on the inspection day?”

――Just half.

………….

Ah.

...Um, I just thought of something really strange.

Let me say it out loud.

“Was it my brother’s order?”