The Founding Monarch Became the Mastermind

Chapter 29

“Ha! Are you going whale hunting or something? Did a monster whale appear somewhere?”

Mentioning the highest levels of the Information Guild should have piqued his interest, whale or no whale, but the Crown Prince only frowned. Earl Rundel patiently explained once more.

“‘Whale’ refers to a particular person or organization.”

“A person or an organization?”

“Yes. We don’t know who yet, but this whale, believed to be a specific individual or group, might be in the August Estate right now. Coincidentally, Duke Lloyd seems to be interested in that place as well.”

“That’s… a bit odd, isn’t it?”

“It’s more than just a bit odd.”

“Hm. Well, I understand for now. But is that all? Am I supposed to be interested in this whale too? What’s in it for me?”

Earl Rundel suppressed a sigh and answered.

“The fact that Duke Lloyd is interested means Your Highness should be interested as well. Duke Lloyd doesn’t pay attention to just anyone. Therefore, whether used for good or bad, affecting Duke Lloyd by dealing with this whale is inevitable, wouldn’t you say?”

“Oh?”

Could this be an opportunity to influence his annoying nephew who had recently become unbearable?

The insolent brat who just smirked no matter what he said?

“This sounds appealing. So, what do you think? What do you want to do?”

“We should first find out what this whale is. And why Duke Lloyd is interested. If possible, we should recruit it.”

“Recruit? Why not just eliminate it?”

As someone who might one day rule the country, Philon had no qualms about taking lives.

Yet Earl Rundel found such a trait gratifying.

Compared to having multiple mistresses while constantly lusting after other women, this side of him was more befitting of a monarch.

“Your Highness, if I have obtained information about the whale, then others might have as well. We can’t carelessly eliminate it.”

“Others? Who? Who would dare obtain information that even Lord Rundel struggled to acquire… C-Could it be…?”

For the first time, Philon’s face showed a strong emotion, even though he had always been nonchalant about matters, including taking lives.

“C-Could it be His Majesty, the King…?”

It was fear.

The one person Philon feared in the world was his grandfather, the King of the Kingdom of Obla.

“Yes. We should assume that His Majesty most likely knows.”

“I-I see. Then, let’s just observe for now. And be careful.”

Although his reaction differed starkly from how he dealt with other high nobles like himself, Earl Rundel didn’t mind.

In fact, he found it a relief that his reckless, immature nephew still feared someone.

Besides, the elderly King, who was over eighty years old, frightened Earl Rundel too.

The best course was to stay quiet and not provoke him until the end.

“So, is that all regarding this whale or whatever? There’s nothing else?”

“Yes. Ah… Now that I think of it, there’s one peculiar piece of news.”

“Peculiar news? What’s that?”

After briefly stroking his beard, Earl Rundel spoke.

“It seems that an individual, presumed to be from a collateral branch of the royal family, has caused some commotion in the northeastern region. He goes by the name Salen. Jang Salen, I believe?”

“Salen? There are countless collateral branches with that surname.”

“Exactly as Your Highness said, many collateral branches bear the surname Salen. Moreover, the name Jang doesn’t give any clear indication of who he is.”

“You’re sure he’s from the royal family?”

“Two administrators confirmed the royal family’s crest.”

“Then it’s highly likely to be genuine. Anyway, what’s so peculiar about it?”

“Well… As you know, collateral branches with the surname Salen are generally of ordinary standing, aren’t they?”

Here, ‘ordinary’ meant average from the perspective of the royal family or great nobles like Earl Rundel, roughly equivalent to mid-tier nobility.

“They’re probably just getting by. So what?”

“It seems this Jang Salen possesses an enormous fortune. Not tens of thousands, but hundreds of thousands of Dien. He’s been throwing it around.”

“What!”

This time, even Philon was quite shocked.

Even though his grandfather was the King and he was the Crown Prince with considerable wealth, sums in the hundreds of thousands were still a significant fortune.

“He’s been throwing around hundreds of thousands of Dien? Then his total wealth must be even greater.”

“That’s why it’s peculiar. As far as I know, there’s no one among the Salen collateral branches with that kind of wealth.”

“Hm. That is strange indeed.”

Rubbing his chin, Crown Prince Philon pondered something.

A glimmer of a new emotion soon settled in his eyes.

It was greed.

“This person named Jang Salen… Even though the administrators confirmed the crest, it hasn’t been definitively decided that he’s from the royal family, correct?”

“That’s… right.”

“Then it needs verification. He might be an impudent fool daring to impersonate royalty.”

“Hmm.”

Just from those words, Earl Rundel understood what his nephew desired.

And he agreed with Philon’s thoughts.

After all, he had guided the situation to this point.

“Then I will investigate Jang Salen’s actions. As you said, it’s possible he’s been impersonating the royal family.”

“That’s what I think too. And it’s unlikely this has been going on for just a year or two. He might have been impersonating even while accumulating his wealth.”

“Indeed, Your Highness speaks wisely.”

For the first time since they were alone, Earl Rundel smiled.

With Duke Lloyd challenging the succession, the more rights and money they had to sway the nobles, the better.

Especially if it involved shady wealth formed through crime that could be disposed of as they pleased.

Even if it wasn’t, it didn’t matter.

Once their will aligned, they could make it so.

“Let’s keep a close watch on the whale and prepare a team to handle Jang Salen whenever necessary.”

“As expected of you, Uncle. Haha!”

As Philon’s title for him changed, Earl Rundel also laughed.

***

Baron Lyle August, Lord of August Estate, was dreaming.

It was his wedding from when he was young.

In the dream, he gently kissed the cheek of his new bride, who shyly smiled.

He had found her beautiful when he first met her, but living together had only deepened his affection.

His wife’s cheek, the granddaughter of the legendary Hero, Duke Si-on, flushed red, and the scent of her fragrance and her warmth made young Lyle August’s heart pound.

Though his beautiful wife delighted him, the thought of her powerful family supporting him excited him even more.

Just as he suppressed the urge to bite the heated bride’s earlobe and moved his face away from her cheek, Baron August’s eyes met someone’s gaze.

“…!”

Baron August felt as though his hair stood on end.

A man watching from afar, hiding the lower half of his face behind a fan used by noblewomen.

He was tall and well-dressed, yet no one around seemed particularly aware of him.

But Baron August couldn’t take his eyes off the man or his gaze.

It felt as though an unseen force was being transmitted.

It seemed like a warning, but also, strangely, like encouragement.

But the former feeling was stronger.

His trembling hand attested to that.

Just as his legs were about to give out, the man turned his head away.

“My lord! Are you all right?”

His shocked bride supported him, and he quickly shook his head, assuring her he was fine.

But the man who had been staring at him with a gaze that held the weight of a mountain was nowhere to be seen.

‘Who is that?’

“Who… is that…?”

Murmuring the thought he had in his dream, Baron August awoke.

Sunlight streamed through a slightly parted curtain, suggesting he had awoken from a nap.

Now fully aware of his state, and the illness that had been gnawing away at his body and soul for years, Baron August sighed and extended his hand towards the side of the bed.

He intended to pull a cord to summon a maid.

“Are you thirsty?”

A stranger’s voice accompanied a glass of water being offered.

Still half-asleep and believing himself safe in his bedroom, Baron August didn’t realize the person had spoken informally. With trembling hands, he took the glass.

After taking a few sips, he raised his head and looked at the person who had handed him the glass.

“Who… are you?”

The same words as before.

But moments after saying them, Baron August’s eyes widened, and he muttered without realizing it.

“Am I… still dreaming? Is this my wedding…?”

“A wedding?”

Si-on, who had been quietly watching Lyle August, furrowed his brow slightly at the cryptic words.

But he soon nodded.

“Ah, right. You did see me briefly when you married Roana.”

Si-on dragged a chair near the bed and sat comfortably.

“Was that dream about the wedding, Lyle?”

“Y-You are…?”

Though Si-on appeared young enough to be his grandson, and spoke informally, Baron August could only tremble, eyes wide.

Currently, his mind returned to clarity two or three times a day for a few dozen minutes each time.

Thus, the baron was certain.

The man before him now was the same person he had seen at his wedding decades ago—the person who had left an unforgettable impression even as he lingered on the brink of death.

“Come to think of it, you don’t know who I am, do you? Well, even Roana didn’t know, so how could you?”

With a wry smile, Si-on continued, speaking calmly to the trembling Baron August, who stared at him in disbelief.

“As you can see, I’m the one who warned you at your wedding with Roana. I’m also the one who gave a separate dowry of a hundred thousand Dien.”

“…!!!”

Hearing this, another memory resurfaced, and Baron August’s eyes widened.

It was hard to forget such a large sum among the bride’s relatives’ guests, excluding the Si-on Ducal Family.

No, it wasn’t common for even close relatives of the bride or groom to give such a large congratulatory gift.

“As a grandfather at my granddaughter’s wedding, that much was only right.”

“Huff…!”

Now, even his mouth gaped open as Baron August breathed heavily.

Ah, now he understood.

Why the man had looked at him that way.

Why he had felt both a warning and encouragement in that gaze.

Why, though cursed with an illness that slowly ate away at his mind, the man before him hadn’t changed at all since that day, as if frozen in time.

“Duke… Si-on?”

“This is the first time we’re meeting formally. It’s good to see you, my grandson-in-law.”

Si-on gazed at his aged, ailing grandson-in-law, who was nearing the end of his life, with a heavy heart as he spoke, meeting him again after more than fifty years.