A tall young man with silver hair and red eyes, similar to Randolph, appeared.

A gentle smile appeared on his doll-like features.

“Your Highness Emil…”

When we went out to the town the other day, I saw him in front of the dress shop!

Charlotte immediately recalled seeing him from somewhere.

During the commotion with the Fenrir, Charlotte had to give Oswald some privacy to speak with that man.

So, he’s also a prince?

“—You went straight to it, Oswald. Being proactive is a good thing.”

“As you can see, Your Highness, I’m not holding up well on my end.”

As Oswald bowed, Charlotte bowed as well.

He must be Lord Oswald’s older brother. No wonder his face resembles Lord Oswald…

She was convinced. Back then, because she was fixated at Oswald, she didn’t have time to put two and two together.

“No, it’s fine. Raise your head. Charlotte, the same goes for you.”

“…I understand, Your Highness Emil.”

Charlotte acted like the cruel saint. She thought it’d be better if no one but Oswald knew she had lost her memories.

When she looked up at him again, she noticed that despite how similar the two looked, Emil was more androgynous. His features were thin and delicate, while his silver hair was long.

Emil walked to Randolph’s side. Randolph was sitting back against the wall.

Then, contrary to his eloquent appearance, Emil raised the chin of his brother with the tip of his shoe.

“Wake up, you fool… Ah, I see, you’ve fallen unconscious…”

“That’s because he got beat up. Any problem with that?”

“Haha, isn’t it fine? Well, let’s leave him be.”

Charlotte was unsure of the appropriate way to respond when Emil smiled at her.

Emil nodded to himself, as if he wasn’t interested in what Charlotte had to say.

“Anyway, I’m glad you got your grandfather’s approval in time, Oswald.”

Grandfather…?

Emil seemed to notice that Charlotte had some questions.

“You haven’t told Charlotte anything?”

“…There were a lot of things going on. Also, it’s not like that—”

“Ahaha.”

Oswald, looking somewhat embarrassed, suddenly averted his gaze. His gesture was cute and tense. He was trying to feign calmness.

“Now that I think about it, Ignatius did mention that Charlotte ran away from home. I see, that’s why you weren’t able to discuss it.”

“Your Highness Emil—”

“Let me inform her, then.”

Emil smiled and looked at Charlotte with his red eyes.

“—Oswald has claimed his right to inherit the throne and declared his participation in the succession dispute.”

“Eh!?”

She couldn’t help but scream. When she looked up at Oswald, his gaze dropped and he clutched his forehead.

“I assume Prince Randolph told you everything?”

“Oh, he did, or rather, what should I say… Uhm, does that mean Lord Oswald covets the throne?”

“No, I have no interest in such things, and if it is given to me, I’ll firmly refuse.”

“Then why are you participating in the succession dispute?”

Charlotte was taken aback by his reply.

“Is it for me…?”

“…”

Oswald’s silence told her everything.

Randolph is a prince, while Lord Oswald is a duke. Due to their master-subject relationship, Lord Oswald shouldn’t be allowed to harm the prince…!

After all, if something went wrong, not only Oswald, but also Charlotte, his wife, would be subject to execution. In principle, rebellion against the royal family was punishable by death for the entire family.

Emil laughed, confirming her assumption.

“Oswald shouldn’t be able to retaliate against Randolph. However, because our father approved of the succession dispute…”

…Wait, isn’t that too extreme? I did hear that he’s cunning and opportunistic, but in my memories, His Majesty was that scary of a person…!

Emil continued to explain while casting a magic circle around the unconscious Randolph.

“If someone who isn’t a child of the queen wishes to claim the right to inherit the throne, he or she must be recommended by at least one member of the royal family. So, Oswald went to the former king to gain his approval.”

“…Which is his grandfather?”

“Grandfather abdicated his throne twenty years ago. Charlotte has never met him, right? That’s because immediately after his abdication, he left to travel around other countries and only recently returned. He’s a plant lover, and has traveled around looking for flowers from many different countries. An oddball, I know…”

When Charlotte heard the last part of his sentence, a certain person came to mind.

“Grandfather was famous during his regime. Of course, now that he’s abdicated, he can’t interfere with the decision of the current king. Nevertheless, he does have the power to recommend his illegitimate grandson as an heir to the throne.”

While listening to that, she recalled what happened the other day.

The day when she first met that old man in the garden of Oswald’s mansion…

After she helped retrieve his muffler from the lake, he mentioned that his grandson was in that mansion.

So, the grandson he was talking about is Lord Oswald?

Charlotte looked up at Oswald again.

When she heard that story, she subconsciously imagined a boy around 10-years-old.

…Now that I think about it, the eyes of that grandpa were also red.

Also, his white hair resembled that of Emil and Randolph…

Which means, that old man really was…!

But that wasn’t important right now.

“Uh, but Lord Oswald…”

Charlotte asked Oswald with a sad look on her face.

“By claiming the right to inherit the throne, doesn’t that mean you’ll be involved in some sort of conflict in the future? Even though Lord Oswald himself has no intention of actually succeeding the throne.”

Emil should be a participant of the succession dispute, as well. What if he considered Oswald as a hindrance?

“—This is my fault! Because of me, Lord Oswald is being dragging into trouble!”

“Charlotte, that’s not true.”

“!”

Oswald pressed his index finger against Charlotte’s lips.

“Back then, I always rejected the notion of acquiring great power. After all, even with my power, I couldn’t protect anything. Sometimes, I would even lose control of this power of mine. Even the authority I have as the member of the royal family is just a hindrance… But this time, it’s different. This incident changed my perspective.”

“Your view… has changed?”

“I need to have power to control things to a certain extent. And by this, I don’t mean half-baked power.”

Oswald smiled at Charlotte.

“—I want to protect those that matter to me the most as I see fit.”

“…!”

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