209 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper
Shattered Glass Slipper Shards 209
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“Thanks to you, rumors have spread that Mel’s relationship with her has soured. From my uncle’s perspective, there couldn’t be a better situation.”
The Crown Prince, muttering nonchalantly, seemed indifferent to his friend’s distress.
He even wore a mischievous smile, as if amused by Michael’s restlessness to rush to Sissae. Then, feigning generosity, he raised both hands and issued a magnanimous command.
“But I’ll allow you to leave work early today. Shouldn’t we instill some tension in them too?”
“A truly glorious statement, Your Highness.”
“Being sarcastic doesn’t suit you, Mel. You need to be more composed. That’s how you’ll bring me complete victory. But now is the time to create interesting rumors as people desire. Staying too long would be strange, wouldn’t it? So, what should we break to make it seem like a violent scuffle occurred?”
“Good heavens, are you now planning to spread the word that Idi and I got into a fistfight? Your Highness, how much of a ruffian do you intend to make me?”
Michael shrugged with an exaggerated gesture, furrowing his brow, and the Crown Prince chuckled softly. Before he could say anything, the Crown Prince grabbed a decorative sword hanging on the wall and began stabbing at the nearby sofa. Then, with a rough motion, he kicked it, creating a loud noise.
“This will make them think we had a heated argument during a conversation. It’s been quite some time since you came in, hasn’t it? I might as well replace all the furniture I don’t like while I’m at it.”
Though called a decorative sword, it was well-sharpened in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances, so the blade was razor-sharp. As he swung it around, the furniture was slashed everywhere, as if a sword fight had taken place. It was truly a ghastly sight.
“I’d like to let you land a punch, but that would be an insult to the imperial family, so I’ll refrain.”
“That’s a shame.”
“Why, do you want to? Ah, of course, I can slap your cheek instead.”
“I’ll pass. If you don’t keep it moderate, it’ll look like I’m about to defect to your side.”
“It would be nice if you became a spy.”
“Do you think I’m a fool? Would you trust me?”
Michael sighed and ruffled his hair and clothes messily. Then, he poured water from a glass and sprinkled it lightly on himself, making it look as if he had broken a sweat from fighting with swords.
The Crown Prince joked that Michael was a ‘con artist,’ and Aires responded as if it were nothing, saying, ‘Would I be Your Highness’s friend for no reason?’
To deceive the Emperor, not only the Crown Prince but also his friend Michael had to act, so this was as easy as eating cold soup.
“Let’s hold off on mentioning this matter to the Bischwartz Young Lady for now. After all, while we’re acting, shouldn’t you give me a chance too? Receiving resentful glances is too much to bear now.”
“That’s not a problem that will be solved by not saying anything. It’s up to the Young Lady’s judgment. Don’t you think so, Your Highness?”
The Crown Prince clicked his tongue as if tired of his unconditional support. At the same time, he stomped his foot loudly and threw the dessert plate next to him forcefully toward the door. Whatever his mood, the play had to begin.
“Get out of my sight right now, Michael Ayres! I am truly disappointed in you!”
His voice was loud enough to be heard outside.
“That should be more than enough.”
Michael Ayres said to the Crown Prince in as low a voice as possible. His hand was using a small knife to cut his sleeve little by little, as if it had been cut during a sword fight.
“Keep a close watch on whether anyone on our side is acting strangely.”
“When do you think it will happen?”
“I’m thinking the day His Majesty the Emperor passes away.”
“What makes you so sure when that will be?”
“The medicine my uncle is administering is working very well, so I think it will be possible in a month or two.”
“We need to find it before then.”
“Or desperately fight back. So, put in a little more effort, my dear Mel. I’ll be adjusting His Majesty’s medicine in the meantime.”
Neither the Crown Prince, who spoke casually about the Grand Duke using medicine to erode the Emperor’s life, nor Michael Ayres, who accepted it calmly, felt any guilt. Even though it was a violation of natural law.
That was because, when they discovered this, the Emperor’s illness was already so advanced that nothing could be done. Even the priests and renowned doctors were barely able to restore his breath, so what more could be done?
Barely managing to adjust the dosage to keep him alive was all the Crown Prince could do. This was to prevent great confusion from arising from the Emperor’s sudden death.
The Grand Duke, feeling suspicious of this, tried to use stronger medicine in conjunction with the Empress, but the Emperor’s inner circle was already controlled by the Crown Prince, so it was possible to prevent it from worsening rapidly.
But that was only for a short time. From the Grand Duke’s perspective, it would be better to take advantage of the chaos caused by the Emperor’s death to launch a surprise attack, so he would try to make the sun set by any means possible.
The Crown Prince could only block it for a short time, a month or two at most. Even he couldn’t do more than that. His life was already hanging by a thread, so it was remarkable that he had lasted this long.
Therefore, they had to cut off the Grand Duke’s tail before that. While also appeasing the group of nobles who had secretly allied to prevent the rebellion.
As the Knight of Ice turned toward the door, the Crown Prince asked him in a mocking voice.
“Wait a minute, you. Surely you’re not going to her like that? If I were you, I’d go straight back to the mansion? It’s better than creating unnecessary scandals, isn’t it?”
Michael Ayres stopped walking for a moment and turned his head. A refreshing smile was on his face.
“Then who should I go to? You’re stating the obvious. I’m almost moved by Your Highness’s concern for me, but I feel like I’m going to die after not seeing her for a few days.”
“Ha, in such a mess? Look, Mel. Even if I allowed the meeting, not like this. You’ll only elicit pity in that state. Really, it’s shameful as a man.”
“What does it matter if she takes an interest in me out of pity?”
“What? Are you begging, by any chance? The great Michael Ayres?”
“Yes, the happiest begging in the world.”
“Tsk, you’ll never be able to control her in your hands for the rest of your life.”
Michael Ayres chuckled at the warning-like words. As if he had heard something absurd.
“Good heavens, Idi. Is she a ball? To put in my hand and roll around? Don’t ever say such a thing in front of me again. And didn’t I ask you earlier? To treat the Young Lady as you would Lüce.”
“…Ha, yes, you did.”
“What Your Highness needs to focus on now is the play. For the foolish audience you’ll face the moment you open this door. Do you understand?”
The Crown Prince closed his mouth at his words. His furrowed brow, as if his mood was unpleasant, was very obviously etched, but that was it.
Michael continued, pretending not to notice.
“Then shall we raise the curtain?”
“Yes.”
Before twisting the doorknob and opening the door, the Knight of Ice shrugged playfully. Then he shouted loudly enough for everyone to hear. As if he was very angry.
“Your Highness has forsaken both loyalty as a liege and friendship as a friend. Do not force me to trust you any longer. My liege will always be Your Highness, but unless I change my mind, I will have no choice but to stand on a parallel line. Please do not dismiss what one who was once your most loyal knight is saying!”
To the people who were peeking around the Crown Prince’s palace, looking for sympathy, Aires’s disheveled appearance was nothing short of a good prey.
They pretended not to notice, glancing at the Knight of Ice, then quickly backed away and disappeared. It was to tell their group this interesting news.
Some watched until the end to see where he disappeared to, and when his horse’s head turned toward the street where the Bischwartz Family was located, they hummed a tune as if they were finally excited and ran into the place where the gathering was.
As the relationship entangled with love affairs had reached a dangerous level, they were simply enjoying watching. It was a pity that they hadn’t seen the fight that must have taken place in the room, but it was true that the relationship between the Knight of Ice and the Crown Prince had become noticeably estranged, so it was worth waiting around the palace for a long time.
Thus, the incident a little while ago also swept through society in an instant, exciting everyone.
The nobles talked about the conflict between the Crown Prince and Sir Ayres, imagining what the Knight of Ice would say when he went to Cishe de Bishwaltz. Talking about how such a man would seek comfort.
And this rumor quickly flowed into the Grand Duke’s secret retreat, which was secretly prepared on one side of the capital, but he was not excited even after hearing the news that the Crown Prince and Michael Ayres had fought severely.
Rather, he raised his eyebrows as if suspicious. And he refuted the words of the people who said that they should take this opportunity to bring Michael Ayres to their side, calming the excitement that was spreading around.
“He acts like a rascal, but a tiger cub is still a tiger. We need to watch more carefully. So don’t act rashly. It’s not the time yet. Let the thirsty dig their own well. More than that, what we need to do is bring in soldiers using merchant ships and carriages, and no matter how much I review it, there’s nothing better than the Bischwartz Family’s ships.”
Usually, ships are placed in a designated location, but the Bischwartz Family was exceptionally able to go up the waterway close to the capital by using the privilege of being nobles.
The merchant group may not be the best in the empire, but since they bring in luxury goods for the nobles to use - and sometimes even bring in animals - the size of the ships and the scale of the carriages were also among the largest.
If they brought in troops here, it would not only be easier to transport them, but if they put Sir Halberd forward as an escort, no one would dare to look inside. They would think that the goods brought in by such a person could be trusted.
If they joined forces, dealing with Michael Ayres would be a piece of cake.
“So the Young Lady will have to put in some effort.”
The Grand Duke turned his gaze to one side and spoke in a soft voice. There, Roena, who was said to have been kidnapped, was sitting in her usual beautiful attire.
With a calm expression that did not seem like someone who had been dragged to an unfamiliar place. And standing behind her was Lord Schilfise.
The rumor that Sir Aires and the Crown Prince had fought again quickly reached the Bischwartz Family’s mansion. People who liked to talk about rumors couldn’t stand their itchy mouths and hurriedly sent me letters to inform me.
The contents expressed regret and sympathy, but they couldn’t hide their interest in how this would proceed, so every piece of paper they sent was light and refreshing.
Even though the Crown Prince had been established as a rascal in everyone’s eyes, I was surprised that they could bring it up so casually like this.
Anyway, thanks to this, I was able to grasp the whole story to some extent, so I was not surprised even though Sir Aires came to me in a terrible state. I just felt sorry for him, who was suffering unwanted humiliation because of the Crown Prince.
Since I greeted Sir Aires without hiding the letters that had come to me, he also realized that I had learned about what had happened in the imperial palace and was embarrassed. And he blurred the end of his words, saying in a tone of excuse, ‘I didn’t come to receive comfort. Just in case…’
Since he was not unaware of the vile behavior of society, he had rushed over in a daze to prepare for what might happen. As a matter of fact, Sir Aires was worried and sorry about the emotional wounds I might have received.
“I’m sorry for making you receive such letters when you must already be troubled by the disgraceful incident. I should have held back more, but I couldn’t.”
“Why should you blame yourself? Above all, my heart is already full of other worries, so I don’t have the leisure to be heartbroken about this. I’m just worried that you might suffer a great disadvantage because of this.”
“His Highness is a sensible person, so he won’t dismiss me because of this.”
“If that were really the case, he wouldn’t have raised his voice so loudly that everyone could hear it.”
At that moment, what caught my eye was the sharply cut sleeve. Surprised, I grabbed his wrist without bothering with etiquette and looked around. I wondered if he had been injured. Fortunately, the man’s arm was fine, as if only his clothes had been cut. I was almost embarrassed that I had made such a fuss.
