“It all started a month ago with the robbery of the gift intended for my royal grandmother, Sir Levive. Of course, we genuinely believed the gift had been stolen, which was why we took it so seriously.”
The little prince looked up with a sly smile, leaving Lynch—who had thoroughly enjoyed putting on that performance back then—feeling a bit embarrassed. Prince Louis merely blinked and continued:
“We had already learned through other channels of Sir Levive’s feats in tracking down the robbers. Naturally, we launched our own investigation to see who within our borders was involved. That led us to notice the group of Ancient Flicker cultists hiding inside the Commercial Alliance. Those scoundrels who throw away all morals the moment they see profit—it isn't surprising at all that they would do something like this.”
Lynch nodded vigorously, wholeheartedly agreeing.
“They might have had some grudge against you, Sir Levive,” the little prince said, offering Lynch a smile. “However, at their core, they are profit-driven merchants. They wouldn't pick a fight with someone without reason, nor would they take risks purely out of hatred. The only thing that could make them take a risk is profit.”
Lynch had considered these points as well, and they made complete sense. Yet coming from the mouth of a ten-year-old child, it gave him a jarring sense of dissonance.
“There's no need for surprise; I speak on behalf of my royal grandmother,” Prince Louis said calmly. “Initially, our investigation ended there. But soon after, news of Sir Levive reached us again. You, along with Miss Angel here and her colleagues, wiped out a group of pirates colluding with those Flicker cultists. Merchants and pirates do not share friendly relations. The fact that they colluded proves there was a far greater profit hidden behind the scenes rather than mere hatred.”
“The Shadow Alliance?”
“Yes. According to our investigation, the Shadow Alliance was behind them coordinating everyone's interests, which was what drove those bloodsucking merchants to do such things. Furthermore, while investigating this, we discovered another problem.”
The little prince suddenly fell silent, seeming to hesitate. After a long pause, he took a deep breath and murmured, “The Shadow Alliance is also in very close contact with someone in the royal court.”
Hm?
The three exchanged glances before Lynch cautiously asked, “Isn't that normal? An intelligence-broker organization like that—plenty of people contact them. Duke Vane of Lande, Emperor Rudolph II... they've all had dealings with the Shadow Alliance.”
“It's different, Sir Levive. The major nations know exactly what the Shadow Alliance is. We don't mind contacting them, but we would never do so too frequently, nor would we enter into any deep collaboration with them—otherwise, we would inevitably be used by them. Moreover, barring extremely special circumstances, we never deal with those shadowy rats in person.”
“So?” Lynch could understand the nobility's reluctance to engage directly with the occult world. “Someone has been dealing with the Shadow Alliance directly and deeply? Who?”
“My father.”
???
Lynch was taken aback, not immediately processing what that implied. But he quickly realized who the little prince's father was.
The King of Friedman, Princess Sophia's uncle, Carlos VII.
So, was the King of Friedman supporting the Shadow Alliance behind the scenes? Was he the one orchestrating all this?
No, if that were the case, the little prince's actions wouldn't make sense.
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Lynch regained his composure and frowned. “Go on.”
“Following this lead, we discovered that my father has been in frequent contact with them. Sometimes he doesn't even use intermediaries, meeting with their representatives directly. This is completely contrary to his past attitude. Such abnormal behavior forced us to become suspicious and launch a deeper investigation. But the further we investigated, the stranger things appeared.”
“What kind of strange?”
“Many of Father's policies and attitudes have drastically changed from before—some are even total opposites. Especially regarding those rabble in Parliament. He used to tell us multiple times that we must never take an overly harsh stance against the riffraff in Parliament; we had to appease them, divide them, and let tensions dissipate slowly. Otherwise, the whole kingdom would fall into severe trouble, leading to civil war or even total collapse. Yet now we realize that for over a year, Father has taken an extremely hardline stance against Parliament, causing frequent conflicts. He did every single thing he previously claimed must never be done.”
Is this the negative example of Friedman that Princess Sophia mentioned? A complete reversal in behavior... there really seems to be something wrong here.
“Not only that, but over the past year, his attitude toward our family has become very cold,” the little prince pouted, his voice turning somber. “Not just toward me, but also my sisters, my brothers, and even my royal grandmother and the Queen. It isn't that he has a bad attitude, but rather that he's gradually distancing himself, avoiding any close contact with his family.”
Hiss, this sounds a lot like an imposter replacing him. Lynch's experience from his previous life immediately sent his imagination running wild, piecing together four or five plot twists.
“No, Sir Levive, you misunderstand,” the little prince said, shaking his head with a gloomy expression as if seeing right through Lynch's thoughts. “If someone had truly impersonated Father, there's no way we wouldn't have noticed after a whole year. Every single physical feature matches Father's, and he knows every secret Father knew. He absolutely cannot be an imposter.”
Lynch bit down on his pipe and fell silent. After a long moment, he asked softly, “Are there any other anomalies?”
“Yes. On many matters, his reactions have become somewhat slower than before. At first, we thought he might be ill, but we soon realized he is perfectly healthy—his responses have just slowed down. It's very strange.” The little prince thought for a moment before adding, “There's another odd detail. I'm not sure when it started, but whenever he speaks, it's accompanied by a very strange buzzing sound.”
“Huh?”
The little prince found it hard to describe, so he tried to imitate it a few times. It sounded somewhat like the fluttering of insect wings, though lower in pitch and quieter in volume.
“Whenever he speaks, that sound appears,” the prince explained. “My royal grandmother is deeply worried. She suspects the Shadow Alliance used some means to influence Father, aiming to stir up trouble and incite a civil war in Friedman. But we have no evidence, and something like this can't be made public. So we could only seize this opportunity to ask you for help.”
“Us?” Lynch pointed to himself. “Where do we fit into this?”
“Sir Levive, please do not doubt yourself. You are the only ones my royal grandmother can be certain are not accomplices of the Shadow Alliance,” the little prince said with a bitter smile. “The Shadow Alliance's tentacles might reach into every corner, and anyone could be working for them, including those priests outside. We cannot trust a single one of them—except for Sir Levive, Miss Valente, and Miss Angel.”
So that was why.
The three finally understood why he had specifically sought them out. What he said was true: their side and the Shadow Alliance were mortal enemies.
“So what do you want us to do?”
“After this, we will visit Norin together with Cousin Sophia. This itinerary was arranged by Father. If there really is something wrong with him, I believe he must have a purpose for making this arrangement.” The little prince sighed. “I hope that during this period, you can help me uncover some clues. If possible, once your urgent matters are resolved, could you travel back to Friedman with me? You don't have to resolve everything, but at least help my grandmother and me uncover the truth.”
Rate on N.U.
