Chapter 60

He is a tall young man with silver hair and red eyes, just like Randolph.

His face, as delicate as a doll's, is adorned with a gentle smile.

"Prince Emil..."

(This is the person I saw in front of the dress shop when we went out into the town the other day!)

Charlotte immediately remembered.

Before the Fenrir incident, the reason Charlotte had moved away from Oswald was because this young man was waiting for Oswald.

(If he is a prince, then he must be a prince...)

"Oswald, you sure acted quickly. Being proactive is a good thing."

"---That would be inappropriate, Your Highness."

Oswald took a bow, and Charlotte hurriedly followed suit. Then, while still bowing, she thought to herself.

(Since he is a prince, he must be Oswald's older brother. I felt like I had seen his face somewhere before because he resembles Oswald...)

It made sense once she figured it out. She had been so focused on Oswald's face that she hadn't noticed it.

"Go ahead and raise your heads. You too, Charlotte."

"...Yes, Prince Emil."

Following the instructions of 'The Wicked Saint,' Charlotte raised her head. She thought it would be better if no one other than Oswald knew about her memory loss.

Looking at Emil again, his appearance indeed resembled Oswald's.

The difference was that Emil seemed more androgynous. He had a slender and delicate appearance, and his silver hair was smooth.

However, despite his delicate appearance, Emil approached Randolph.

Then, while standing, he used the tip of his shoe to lift the chin of his brother, who was sitting against the wall.

"Get up, foolish brother... Ah, no good. You're completely unconscious, aren't you?"

"I hit him seriously. Is there a problem?"

"Haha, it's fine. Yeah, let's leave him like this for a while."

Seeing Emil's smile, Charlotte was unsure how to react.

Emil, seemingly uninterested in Charlotte's response, nodded to himself.

"Still, it's a good thing Grandfather's approval came in time, Oswald."

(Grandfather...?)

Charlotte's inner confusion was noticed by Emil.

"You haven't told Charlotte anything, have you?"

"...There were many things happening, and I didn't have the chance."

"Hmm."

Oswald, looking a bit embarrassed, turned his face away. The gesture was so cute that it made Charlotte's heart flutter, but she kept it from showing on her face.

"By the way, Ignatius said Charlotte had run away. I see, that's why there hasn't been any conversation between you two."

"Prince Emil..."

"I'll tell you, Charlotte."

Emil smiled and looked at Charlotte with his red eyes.

"---Oswald has declared his intention to participate in the succession dispute by asserting his right to the throne."

"Eh...!!"

She couldn't help but exclaim. Looking up at Oswald, he bowed his head, pressing his forehead.

"So, Randolph must have told you about my lineage."

"Y-You, you talked to me, or rather... So, does that mean Lord Oswald wanted the throne...!?"

"No. I have no interest in such things, and I would decline if offered."

"Then, why did you declare your intention to participate in the succession dispute?"

Realizing something, Charlotte stopped.

"Was it to help me...?"

"......"

Oswald's silence clearly affirmed her guess.

(Lord Randolph is a prince, and Lord Oswald is a duke. Given their master-servant relationship, even to help me, Lord Oswald couldn't harm a prince...!)

If things went wrong, not only Oswald but also Charlotte, who was married to him, could be executed. Treason against the royal family was punishable by death for the entire family.

Emil's laugh seemed to confirm her suspicion.

"Until now, Oswald couldn't retaliate against Randolph. But our father allows succession disputes between royal heirs."

(What... an extreme king. I heard he is very shrewd, but the king in my memory was a scary person...!)

As Emil continued, he drew a magic circle around the unconscious Randolph.

"For a non-royal to reassert their right to the throne, they need the recommendation of at least one royal. So, Oswald went to the former king, who had abdicated, to get his approval."

"That's the 'Grandfather' you mentioned..."

"Grandfather abdicated twenty years ago. You've never met him, right? He traveled abroad right after abdicating and only returned recently. He loves plants and has been traveling to see the flowers of various countries... In short, he's a bit of an eccentric."

Hearing 'a grandfather who loves plants,' a certain person came to mind for Charlotte.

"Grandfather was once a renowned king. Of course, he can't interfere with the current king's decisions since he has abdicated, but he still has the power to recommend a bastard grandson as a royal heir."

While listening to this, she recalled the events of the other day.

The day she first met the old man in Oswald's mansion's garden.

In front of the scarf that had fallen into the lake, the old man had said:

"Please don't look so sad. My grandson also comes to this mansion, so I plan to ask him later."

(Could the 'grandson' the old man mentioned be...?)

Charlotte looked up at Oswald again.

When she heard that story, she had unconsciously imagined a boy around ten years old.

However, the color of the old man's eyes was the same red as Oswald's.

And the hair color, which she had thought was white, was similar to the silver hair of Emil and Randolph.

(The true identity of that old man is...)

But now was not the time for that.

"Um... But, Lord Oswald..."

Charlotte looked at Oswald with a sad face.

"By asserting your right to the throne, won't you be involved in some kind of conflict in the future? Even if you don't actually aim for the throne..."

Emil, who was here, was also a participant in the succession dispute. Wouldn't Oswald be a hindrance to him?

"Because of me!! Lord Oswald will be in trouble..."

"Charlotte, that's not it."

"!"

Oswald's index finger gently touched Charlotte's lips.

"I have always shunned great power. Having power doesn't mean you can protect anything; sometimes it can even lead to chaos. I even thought that the power of a royal was just a hindrance... But this incident is a turning point for me to change that view."

"Change...?"

"I need a certain level of power to make a difference, not just a little."

Saying this, Oswald smiled at Charlotte.

"---I want to protect what is important to me, in my own way."

"..."