MTDL 24

Chapter 24

For a while, I talked with Pannel ajussi—no, Duke Pamel Gurment.

We sat on a small boulder, and he removed his helmet and placed it beside him.

Under the moonlight, his signature mohawk hairstyle was revealed.

His dark skin and the scars on his face were exactly as I remembered.

Seeing his familiar face brought back a flood of memories from Galnem Village.

The times when Pannel ajussi admired me the most were whenever we played chess.

We had an old chessboard made from rough pieces of wood with only the names of the pieces written on them. We often played beneath the shade of a tree.

Out of every five games, I usually won three.

After all, chess was one of the games I was best at.

“To employ such a strategy… I never would have expected it. If we’d used a tactic like this in the war against Gilles, we might have entered without spilling a single drop of blood. Hah…”

He would replay our games to himself afterward, muttering in his metallic voice while showering me with praise.

“Arinel. You absolutely must serve under my command someday.”

Since everyone in Galnem Village had their own quirks, I had simply thought Pannel ajussi referring to himself as “this lord” was just another part of his colorful personality.

Whenever his enormous body plowed my field with that giant pitchfork of his, two or three swings were enough to finish what would normally take me half a day.

Every time, I thanked him by bringing him slices of candied red sugar beet.

“Easy to preserve… Excellent as military rations. A truly remarkable idea.”

Now that I thought about it, he had probably been evaluating it as military supplies rather than appreciating it as a snack.

“It’s quite moving to be sitting with you again, Arinel.”

“I… never imagined it. That you were the Minister of Military Affairs.”

Looking at it now, someone with his overwhelming size and presence had never really suited a quiet farming village like Galnem.

“Hoho. Were you surprised?”

Standing over two meters tall, with a piercing aura that made people shrink just by meeting his eyes…

Seeing him now with his helmet and iron club, it was easy to accept that soldiering had always been his real profession.

“The Gurment family has, for generations, commanded the armies of the Aslet Imperial Family as its distinguished military house. I accompanied His Majesty to Galnem to guard him.”

“I… figured as much.”

After Aunt Piolet… no, Mrs. Allens, he was the second person.

Another neighbor from Galnem who had been hiding his true identity alongside Parmes Aslet.

“Then… besides you and Aunt Piolet… are there others as well?”

There had only been seven households in Galnem.

One was ours.

One belonged to Zimmer ajussi… or rather, Parmes.

So that meant…

Thud.

He merely rested his hand on the boulder, yet the impact made the ground tremble.

To someone as small as me, it felt powerful enough to send me bouncing.

“They exist… and yet they do not. They shall all lose the succession battle against me. In the end, history shall remember only Pamel Gurment! Glory that is not inherited is no better than blank parchment!”

“Ah…”

He seemed to have become worked up thinking about someone.

As usual, I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

Honestly, conversations with Pannel ajussi had never exactly flowed smoothly, even back in Galnem.

“Arinel.”

He called my name in his deep metallic voice.

“The reason I attended this masquerade today… was solely to see you. And among everyone in Galnem, it was I, Pamel Gurment, who recognized your talent most clearly.”

“Um… Your Grace.”

“Gurment possesses no timber as promising as you. Therefore, for the eternal peace and prosperity of the Empire, I…”

“I’m sorry, but I think I should be going now.”

I jumped to my feet as I spotted Briton approaching from the distance.

I was genuinely happy to reunite with Pannel ajussi—no, Duke Pamel Gurment—but today simply wasn’t the right occasion for a long conversation.

“The ballroom is the safest place for Arinel. Only those whose identities have been verified are allowed inside. Master, I would appreciate it if you quietly searched for any suspicious groups lying in wait outside the ballroom. I’ll finish verifying the identities of everyone inside and then come back to escort Arinel.”

That was what Briton had said before leaving me in Pamel’s care.

And now, it seemed he had finished inspecting everyone inside.

“…It cannot be helped. For the safety of my successor… and to purge the vermin.”

Pamel let out what was, for him, a “small sigh.”

To someone my size, however, it sounded more like the roar of a dragon.

The giant man, well over two meters tall, looked down at me.

“Return safely, Arinel. We shall meet again very soon.”

Beside him stood his dark iron club, leaning against the ground, ready to crush the bones of his enemies.

“What did Duke Pamel Gurment say to you?”

At Briton’s question, I puffed out my cheeks slightly.

“He keeps insisting that I should become the successor of the Ministry of Military Affairs.”

It was the exact same reaction Mrs. Allens had shown.

Apparently, he’d considered me exceptionally talented ever since our days in Galnem.

“That’s impossible. I’ve never even swung a sword before.”

I shook my head vigorously.

Still wearing a faint smile, Briton replied,

“As my master, he does teach me swordsmanship, but martial strength isn’t the most important quality of the Minister of Military Affairs.”

“…”

“In times of war, they rarely go onto the battlefield themselves to defeat enemies directly.”

“Well… that’s how it has generally been throughout history. Though the current Minister of Military Affairs, Duke Gurment, seems to be a rather different case.”

If that wasn’t the most important quality…

“It’s the mind that commands an army. The ability to determine the optimal strategy, to calculate how to exploit the enemy’s weaknesses while minimizing casualties.”

“Then I’m even less suited for it. I’m completely hopeless at things like that.”

“…”

“Actually, Mrs. Allens, the Minister of the Imperial Household, also asked me to become her successor. She said I had talent for etiquette and high society.”

I recalled what had happened.

“But there’s no way that’s true. I’ve already made enemies of Lady Machette’s group. Those girls glare at me like I’m a crooked fence post.”

If that counted as having talent for high society, then Mrs. Allens had definitely misjudged me.

“I wonder…”

Briton looked at me with a meaningful gaze.

His serious eyes made it impossible to tell what he was thinking, but somehow they seemed filled with absolute trust.

Smiling softly, he continued,

“From what I can see… my lady possesses abundant talent.”

“…”

“That is why everyone wants you.”

“They all hope you’ll choose their respective fields.”

Hearing something like that from the handsome Crown Prince born with every advantage made me oddly embarrassed.

Talent…

Back in my previous life, I was just an ordinary office worker.

There was no way someone like me possessed such extraordinary gifts.

Just as I was about to protest—

“So I’m beginning to feel impatient.”

“I’ll have to become a husband worthy of you.”

Even though I hadn’t been drinking anything, I burst into a violent coughing fit the instant I heard those words.

“Cough! Cough!”

A husband…?

Throwing something like that at me out of nowhere is completely unfair!

Meanwhile, Briton, who had said it so casually, simply looked at me with his usual gentle eyes and lightly patted my back.

“It looks like smoke is rising from the back.”

“Perhaps something burned while they were cooking.”

When we put our masks back on and returned to the ballroom—

“Oh no… The Kraemul sherbet was supposed to be served, but all the Kraemul fruit has been ruined…”

“Viscount Jail and Lady Matten were playing with fire in the storage room. The fire’s out, but the fruit that burned can’t be restored.”

“What should we do? We don’t have enough fruit for the sherbet.”

The anxious voices of servants and maids reached my ears.

Judging from their panic, something serious had happened.

Viscount Jail and Lady Matten… Weren’t they part of Lariel’s group?

“Don’t we have any reserves?”

“We don’t. This is a disaster.”

Legend said that the founding Emperor of Albreon had eaten Kraemul sherbet after his first grand ball.

Since then, it had become tradition for nobles to end every imperial ball by eating it.

But judging from the chaos, they no longer had enough Kraemul fruit after the accident.

“…Excuse me for a moment, Your Highness.”

“My lady…?”

After giving Briton a quick greeting, I hurried into the kitchen.

As expected, it was complete chaos inside.

“Damn it! We have to get more Kraemul somehow!”

“If we ruin this masquerade, every one of us will lose our heads!”

Several of the chefs looked positively terrified.

Seriously… an imperial palace where people fear for their lives just because they can’t serve a little Kraemul sherbet…?

I wasn’t obligated to help them.

But if their lives were truly hanging by a thread, I couldn’t just ignore it.

And at that moment, I realized…

This was the perfect opportunity to reveal the true identity of the dessert that had become the talk of high society thanks to Mrs. Allens!