Chapter 8: A Seat at the Table

“Thanks to you, we were able to easily capture that rat-like fellow. I appreciate your cooperation, Your Highness.”

Gaius bowed his head to Rohan, who stood beside him.

“No need for thanks. Strictly speaking, this was my job.”

Rohan walked over and stood in front of the wagon Reginald had brought.

Whoosh!

He flipped back the thick cloth covering the wagon, revealing several crates inside.

When he opened one of them, gold coins sparkled even in the dead of night.

“Tsk.”

The thought that these precious coins nearly ended up with Reginald made Rohan click his tongue softly.

In his previous life, that man must have lived a life of luxury in a foreign land with this money until the day he died.

“But, how did you know he wouldn’t give up the gold coins and would use the late night to flee north?”

Reginald’s cautious question was met with Rohan’s reply as he closed the crate.

“That man, Reginald, is extremely greedy. There’s no way he’d abandon so much gold. And during the day, there are too many eyes, so of course he’d try to leave at night.”

“Oh-ho.”

“As for how I knew he’d head north…”

Rohan shrugged his shoulders.

“Just because. Every time he took a vacation, he always went to the Kingdom of Laolacis.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Gaius clapped his hands in genuine admiration.

“You’re very sharp and have a good memory. That was perfect reasoning. If you weren’t a prince, I’d have asked you to work with us in the Inspection Department.”

Gaius laughed heartily as he made the joke.

Though half in jest, it was also half true.

It was no easy feat for someone so young to make such deductions and catch a criminal in one stroke.

‘I’d heard rumors that he was timid and never left the palace…’

Gaius realized all the rumors about Rohan were false.

The dignity he displayed, his confidence, and even his intelligence—he was nothing like the rumors.

“Eighty percent of the credit belongs to you, Chief Inspector, for believing in me and acting swiftly. No need to flatter me.”

“Haha.”

And to think, he was this humble too.

“It’s truly an honor to have met you, Your Highness. I’ll have the knights return the gold coins to Boronia Palace at once.”

“Thank you. You’ll be busy at dawn, so don’t linger—go ahead.”

“Thank you.”

Gaius bowed, then promptly left with the inspectors.

Reginald’s punishment would now be handled on their end.

“Whew, it’s over.”

As Rohan dusted off his hands, Martin, who stood beside him, spoke up.

“Just like with the teacher last time… Again, it turns out someone close by committed these misdeeds.”

“Indeed.”

How… did he know?

Martin could not bring himself to ask the question that rose to his throat.

He had sensed his lord had changed recently, but to deal with those around him so swiftly—it was truly astonishing.

It was almost unbelievable that this was the same person he’d always served.

“Strange, isn’t it?”

“Y-yes, sir?”

Martin, who answered without thinking, was startled and opened his eyes wide.

Rohan grinned.

“That I didn’t know such people were around me all this time.”

“Ah, yes. That’s true.”

His answer was so apt that Martin felt as if his mind had been read, and he let out a relieved breath as he replied.

Just then, someone emerged from the darkness.

“Looks like you handled things well.”

“Thanks to you.”

Rohan gave a slight smile at the sight of the woman, her hood pulled low.

Wheat-blonde hair, gray eyes.

It was Lucretia Finch.

“My, I didn’t realize you had such a bold streak.”

She had provided Rohan with information on Reginald using her secret intelligence network, the “Embroiderers.”

Where Reginald’s gold was hidden, which routes he was taking—she’d shared all of it.

Rohan had already known, but he’d needed confirmation.

“You were watching the whole time?”

“How could I resist? I was too curious.”

Lucretia shrugged.

“After seeing you in action tonight, I’m even more convinced.”

“Convinced of what?”

“That His Highness is not just all talk.”

“Hahaha!”

Rohan burst out laughing.

What an entertaining woman.

Even knowing who he was, she spoke so boldly—some things never changed.

“Well, I’ve finished watching the show, so I’ll be off. I’ll come see you soon with some outfits, Your Highness.”

“Alright. See you then.”

Lucretia disappeared into the darkness as she had come.

Rohan and Martin, too, soon made their way back toward Boronia Palace.

---

Reginald’s actions—embezzling the Boronia Palace’s budget and even the Empress’s medicine money, putting the royal family at risk—became the talk of the capital.

He was sent to the imperial court, and his punishment was the confiscation of all property, loss of status, and a sentence of lifelong hard labor, moving stones day after day.

“That’ll probably be harder than death.”

Rohan smiled faintly as he checked the trial results.

“……”

And someone shivered at the sight of that wicked smile.

‘Was he always this scary?’

It was none other than Xenon Lorance, the scribe of the Records Archive.

To see such an innocent-faced boy mocking a fallen steward—it was truly terrifying.

“But, why are you here, watching all this?”

Xenon asked cautiously.

It wasn’t just that—from the morning, Rohan had barged in, asked for tea, read documents while drinking tea…

For someone as busy as Xenon, it was nothing but a nuisance.

“Ah, right.”

Rohan straightened up and rummaged through his pockets.

“I came to give you a gift—I almost forgot.”

“A gift… Don’t tell me!”

Xenon’s eyes sparkled.

Seeing this, Rohan chuckled in amusement.

“It’s exactly what you think. Didn’t I promise?”

Before he knew it, Rohan was holding out an old book.

“T-this is…!”

Xenon covered his mouth.

“The Life and Architectural Styles of the Ancient Unified Urald State”

A rare tome on an ancient nation, nearly impossible to find!

Xenon’s outstretched hands trembled.

“Can I really accept this…?”

“Of course. It’s a gift.”

Gulp.

Xenon swallowed dryly as he accepted the book.

‘I thought he was just being polite…’

It was too much.

He’d only found a few documents, yet he was being given such a book.

He couldn’t even estimate how much it would cost to acquire something like this.

‘Do all royals have a sense of money beyond imagination?’

Or perhaps, surrounded by treasures all their lives, things like this just didn’t impress them anymore?

Xenon’s heart pounded.

“If you stay on good terms with me, you’ll have a chance to see many more books like this.”

“Y-yes?”

Xenon’s eyes grew wide.

“As you know, I don’t have any close friends in the capital. I usually shut myself away in the palace alone.”

“……”

He knew that well.

It was so famous that there was no one who didn’t know.

“Most of the officials in the capital are older, aren’t they? I have no friends my own age—that’s what troubles me.”

“Ahh…”

Now he understood Rohan’s words.

‘Of course. He may not act like it, but His Highness is only fourteen years old.’

At eighteen, perhaps Xenon seemed more approachable?

To have suddenly entered the palace and lost his ailing mother—just how lonely must the young prince be?

Xenon was an only child himself, so he understood that loneliness well.

His strict father never allowed him to attend social gatherings until adulthood, and he had no peers with whom he could truly talk.

Books were his only friends.

They were his window to the world, his guiding light.

It was because of this background that he had entered the capital as its youngest-ever scribe.

“Your Highness…”

Xenon’s eyes grew misty.

He knelt before Rohan, taking the prince’s hand in his own.

“…?”

Rohan blinked, confused, but Xenon continued regardless.

“If you ever need someone to talk to, please come here. I may not be able to call myself your friend, but I can at least share in your loneliness.”

“Huh? Oh…”

Rohan awkwardly withdrew his hand.

‘He’s really this sympathetic?’

Tears in his eyes, even!

‘Wait a moment.’

Come to think of it, he’d once said something like that before.

—Ever since I was a child, my only friend was books. That’s how I started collecting old tomes.

As the heir and only child of the Lorance family, Xenon was well-known for avoiding social life.

At the time, Rohan thought it was just a family trait, but…

‘He must have been lonely.’

Not by his own choice, either, Rohan realized suddenly.

“That’s right.”

Rohan reached out and took Xenon’s hand once more.

He’d intended to get close to him by other means, but now there was no need for detours.

“I’ve been so lonely. Day after day, isolated in Boronia Palace, without anyone to talk to.”

Sniff.

Rohan lowered his head with a deep breath.

“But then, by chance, I came here looking for documents, and there you were. Seeing someone my own age, I found myself drawn to you.”

“S-so that’s why…! I did think it was odd that you kept coming here.”

“I wondered why you kept coming to mind, and now I realize—it’s because I wanted to be friends with you.”

“…Your Highness!”

Xenon choked back a sob.

‘I’m sorry, Xenon. But my desire to be friends is real.’

Rohan patted Xenon’s warm hand.

“I’m truly glad you said that. Now I have someone to talk to.”

“As much as you want! I’m always here, so please visit any time, Your Highness!”

Looking into his clear, shining eyes, Rohan smiled bitterly.

He was someone he’d failed to protect in the past.

He had watched this boy, who had been so warm, die cold and alone.

‘In this life, I’ll never let that happen. I promise.’

Rohan gripped the hand tightly.

---

From early morning, the main palace was abuzz.

“Isn’t that… His Highness the Second Prince?”

“That’s the Second Prince?”

“What brings him to the main palace so early in the morning?”

The main palace officials whispered in curiosity as Rohan walked past.

Since these were the officials actively involved in the Empire’s governance, many of them recognized Rohan’s face.

“Dressed like that, he looks like a different person.”

Someone muttered quietly.

Step, step, step.

Rohan strode confidently through the main palace lobby.

His clothes, made from luxurious fabrics and appropriately ornate, marked him as someone far from ordinary.

When Rohan stopped before the breakfast hall, the knight standing guard asked, a puzzled look on his face,

“Excuse me, Your Highness. May I ask what brings you here? I need to report inside…”

“If I’ve come here at this hour, there can only be one reason, can’t there?”

Rohan smiled as he replied.

“Tell His Majesty: the Second Prince Rohan is here to attend the breakfast meeting.”