Chapter 29
Like Rain That Seeps Through, Unseen
How wonderful would it be if everything in the world went the way I wanted.
Marcel, his eyes soulless, trudged out of the office and rubbed his gaunt cheeks.
How had things ended up like this?
There was never a day without a headache, and Marcel was growing thinner and thinner.
It was only slightly less galling to know that the real culprit behind all this was suffering similar symptoms, but at this rate, the crisis of Marcel losing his head was looming ever closer.
‘Just what happened to leave the Imperial Prince in such a state! Aren’t you the one who serves the prince most closely? If you don’t know, who possibly could!’
It had been about a month since the prince returned from the Ice Lake, and already two seasons had passed since he took to his sickbed.
That the Imperial Prince, famed for his bravery and martial prowess, would suddenly be bedridden… What utter nonsense was this?
Everyone in the Imperial Palace doubted their eyes and ears, but the fact remained: the prince was lying abed as if gravely ill.
Today again, Marcel—worn out from being personally hounded by the Emperor—entered the prince’s room, his mind exhausted.
Sensing someone approach, Mikhail barely opened his eyes and asked in a weak voice,
“…Nothing came today, either?”
Damn it.
Marcel swallowed a curse.
That’s right. The diagnosis for this not-yet-of-age fledgling prince was all too obvious.
Mikhail Ivan Osbrandt, Second Imperial Prince.
Diagnosis: Lovesickness.
Some said he’d been attacked by a monster or cursed—making up stories as they pleased—but this was the damned truth known only to Investigator Marcel Humphries.
When Marcel and the prince returned to the palace after several weeks of investigation, the prince had been perfectly fine.
He had no ailments and never complained of fatigue.
Every day, he was nothing more or less than a warrior itching to train against stronger opponents.
The problem had started about a month after that.
Marcel recalled the moment when the prince, who had recently grown much quieter and spent more time lost in thought, confided in him for the first time.
‘Marcel, there’s something I’m curious about.’
Worried because the prince had seemed somewhat unwell lately, Marcel replied, tense with concern at the sudden request for advice.
‘Yes, Your Highness. Please, go ahead.’
The question that came from the prince’s lips was one of the worst-case scenarios Marcel had anticipated.
‘Isn’t there any way for the Duke to be pardoned for the crime of treason?’
Both Marcel and the prince knew all too well that the simplest way would be for the prince himself to rise to a position where he could control the national treasury.
But frankly, that was impossible unless the prince suddenly lost his mind and ousted his elder brother, the Imperial Crown Prince, with his own hands.
The prince was asking if there wasn’t another way, aside from becoming the Crown Prince himself.
Marcel let out a long sigh inwardly.
Honestly, it was impossible.
There were only two people in the entire empire who held the right to pardon the Duke’s crime.
And both of them, for the sake of Osbrandt’s stability, were no doubt plotting how to have the Duke executed as soon as possible, with not the slightest intention of sparing his life.
Avoiding the prince’s gaze, Marcel opened his mouth.
‘To be honest, it’s not possible as long as His Majesty is on the throne.’
If the current Crown Prince became Emperor, and the Crown Prince’s snot-nosed son became the new Imperial Crown Prince—well, if it came to the point where he just followed his uncle around, admiring him, what would a two- or three-year-old know?
Maybe, just maybe, he could be coaxed into saying, ‘Can’t you give that to Uncle? Uncle has a friend who really needs Emil’s heart.’
But of course, that was little more than a wild fantasy.
At Marcel’s indifferent answer, Mikhail’s expression instantly turned grave.
But no matter how pitiful or lovable a face he made, what couldn’t be done simply couldn’t be done.
Marcel couldn’t bring himself to tell the prince that the impossible was possible.
To make Mikhail give up, Marcel began his lesson in reality.
‘Do you know how many troops were mobilized because of that man? Just the fact that Your Highness returned alive that day was nothing short of a miracle.’
Talking to the prince about that day in detail was originally a forbidden topic.
The reason was absurd: the prince was still young and innocent, so no one was to tell him that hundreds, even thousands, of young men had risked their lives in the war to rescue him.
But Marcel couldn’t leave things as they were, fearing what the prince might do because of that man, so he decided to share at least part of the truth of that day with Mikhail.
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