A Useless Policy
Olivia walked toward Ferda with a smile on her face.
Ferda decided to greet her properly, if only out of courtesy.
"I greet Your High—"
"Shh."
She lightly pressed a finger against Ferda's lips.
Her finger was soft, and the rich scent of flowers spread through the air.
"I am not a princess here. I came as a simple believer and a member of the relief group."
"Is that so?"
"And what brings you here, Mr. Ferda?"
He could hardly admit that he had come to meet one of his closest agents, so he decided to lie.
"A beggar stole one of my gold coins and ran away, so I pursued them."
"No matter how angry you were, how could you come this deep into the slums?"
"Indeed."
"There must be many people targeting you. I cannot allow you to expose your identity like this."
Olivia gave a soft laugh and beckoned behind her.
One of the men accompanying her took out a robe and handed it to her.
"Come with us under my protection."
Ferda silently stared at the robe.
Ordinarily, he would have ignored the offer and walked away.
But the main cause of the conflict that had troubled him for the past several hours was standing right before him.
As Garnet had said, asking Olivia herself might also provide him with an answer.
"Very well."
Ferda put on the robe.
"Stand beside me. A little closer."
Despite all the guards accompanying her, Olivia placed Ferda directly at her side.
Looking uncomfortable, Ferda asked,
"Are we not standing too close?"
"You look as though you have something you wish to discuss. Is that not why you agreed to this absurd arrangement?"
She was remarkably perceptive.
"But before that, help me with my work for a little while."
"...Understood."
Ferda had not been particularly curious about why Olivia was there, but the subject he intended to raise was not a light one.
He had little choice but to accompany her.
Her destination was the heart of the beggars' settlement.
Their unwashed skin was dark with grime.
Body odors far removed from anything fragrant mingled together, while the cries of children sang of despair.
In such a place, Olivia seemed like a single ray of light.
The listless beggars, drained of all vitality, hurriedly moved when they saw her.
Even the children they had hidden away were brought out and made to kneel.
Had they recognized her as the Princess?
No.
These were untouchables who had never even seen what the Princess looked like.
To them, the highest powers in the world were the local gangs and the Alte Church's relief groups.
From Olivia's robe, they appeared to have assumed that she belonged to the latter.
That was also the reason Olivia had come here.
The guards accompanying her carried relief supplies.
Whenever they brought out freshly baked bread and cups of water, Olivia personally handed them to the beggars one by one.
"This is the grace and mercy of Alte, the Almighty Light."
Olivia spoke those words, and the beggars responded mechanically.
"We give thanks for the grace of the great Alte."
She dealt with each person individually.
It was time-consuming work, and above all, it reeked.
Some saw her beautiful hands and brushed their fingers against hers, hoping to feel them even for an instant.
Yet Olivia neither showed disgust nor recoiled in alarm.
By the time she had distributed all the bread and water, her delicate hands were covered in dirty stains.
"Is this part of your training to become a saint?"
Ferda asked.
Olivia wiped her hands with a perfumed handkerchief before answering.
"Would you believe me if I said I had been doing this for years?"
Ferda replied bluntly.
"Not particularly."
She was not just anyone.
She was a princess whose mind was filled with schemes.
Ferda found it difficult to believe that such a woman would show kindness to others without an ulterior motive.
"I thought you would say that."
Olivia merely smiled, as though his reaction were only natural.
"As I told you before, there are simply too many people in this Empire. Because there are so many, we forget how precious each person is. It is as though they are replaceable parts inside a vast machine."
Even if countless people died, the imperial capital itself would continue to stand unharmed.
Olivia had once spoken of her solution to that problem.
"That is why you said the Empire needs a second capital."
"Yes. People only understand how precious something is once they are in danger of losing it."
This, too, could have been an act intended to gain political support.
Yet even nobles renowned for caring about commoners did not help others as actively as Olivia did.
Yaldemar Golt, hailed as a hero of the people, did not even regard untouchables as human beings.
Her actions could only have come from a conviction that went beyond politics.
After watching her, Ferda finally made his decision and spoke.
"Grand Duke Golt made me an offer."
The smile disappeared from Olivia's lips.
"What sort of offer?"
Ferda answered calmly.
"He promised to guarantee the safety of the Far East in exchange for me selling you to him."
"Did you accept?"
Contrary to Ferda's expectation that she would be shocked, she immediately moved on to the next question.
"I postponed my answer. Or rather, he ended the conversation before I could give one."
"He wants to make you think about it. That means he must be confident that you will eventually accept."
"That appeared to be the case."
An uncomfortable silence followed.
Her expression was hidden beneath the robe, making it impossible for Ferda to read.
Regret began to prick at him as he wondered whether he had asked something unnecessary.
As they continued walking, Olivia suddenly stopped.
Her concealed gaze had turned toward something nearby.
An old woman and a frail child were begging there.
The child lay weakly in the old woman's arms while she held out a wooden bowl and pleaded for mercy.
"Did you know?"
Olivia spoke while looking at the old woman.
"Know what?"
"Grand Duke Yaldemar Golt once introduced a policy for people living in extreme poverty like these. It provided free education. It allowed children who could not even obtain water to wash their faces to learn letters and arithmetic."
Literacy was the exclusive privilege of the upper classes.
At the same time, the ability to read and write could provide a commoner with a foothold from which to rise.
"Does that not sound like a policy worthy of a hero of the common people?"
"Does it not?"
"No, it does not. He introduced it because he already knew it was nothing more than a useless policy dressed up with a noble justification."
Her chin tilted toward the child in the old woman's arms.
"For people like them, food for today matters more than education for some distant future. It is more efficient to use a child as a tool to gain sympathy than to invest in that child's future. That is why businesses that rent out children exist."
Renting out children.
At her words, Ferda looked at the old woman and the child.
They certainly did not resemble each other in the slightest. They were clearly strangers.
"So if you truly care about their future, you should not give money to beggars like them. Once you prove that lending out children is profitable, those children will spend their entire lives as tools for adults and simply pass their poverty on to the next generation."
It was a harsh but rational statement.
Ferda thought she would simply ignore them and walk away, but Olivia crouched down and placed a silver coin from her pocket before the old woman.
The woman bowed repeatedly in gratitude for her generosity.
No matter how rational and reasonable a solution might exist, Olivia was still human.
In the end, she was an emotional person who could not turn away from the tragedy directly before her.
"...About Grand Duke Golt's offer."
Olivia spoke.
Emotion showed in her voice.
Ferda recognized it well.
A cold blade forged from deep sorrow intertwined with burning rage.
"Accept it."
It was revenge.
Morning of the second day in the Empire.
Despite the peaceful brilliance of the clear morning sunlight, the attack against Ferda began.
In front of the luxury inn where he was staying, a group of people moved into place and constructed a platform.
Once the stage was complete, a middle-aged man dressed as a noble climbed onto it.
"Subjects of the Empire, please lend me your ears!"
With the aid of a mage, he used amplification magic to seize the attention of those on their way to work.
"I stand before you today to accuse a murderer!"
As expected, the shocking declaration drew a crowd.
"My name is Perry Yurei! I am a duke of the Kingdom of Heinkel, not of this Empire, and therefore a noble belonging to another nation!"
A duke held a position comparable to the king of a small nation.
For such a man to stand in the street and address commoners with respect was shocking in itself.
"Today, I stand here not as a duke, but as a father! My son's name was Marcus. Unlike his wretched father, he was a young man with a brilliant future ahead of him. Unlike this failed father, he would undoubtedly have governed our territory with distinction! And yet that child...!"
Duke Yurei's hands trembled.
The sorrow of losing a child was an emotion that transcended social status.
"My son attended the Beginning-of-Spring Festival, where he was attacked and disappeared without a trace. Until recently, I believed monsters were responsible. But beneath the light of the great Alte, no darkness can remain hidden forever."
His emotions rose.
The atmosphere intensified.
"I discovered who killed my son, and I have come here today to accuse him before all of you!"
Duke Yurei pointed toward the luxury inn and made his declaration.
"Ferda Valdrova, regent and fiancé of the Princeps of Valdrova! He is the murderer who killed my son!"
Everything unfolded exactly as planned.
As a father who had lost his son, Duke Yurei won the people's sympathy, and the rumor spread in an instant.
They said that a tale without legs could travel a thousand miles, but this one spread throughout the entire capital in a mere two hours.
Someone was undoubtedly working behind the scenes.
But what did that matter?
To the people, all that mattered was that Duke Yurei had lost his son and Ferda Valdrova was a murderer.
Ferda set out once more to attend the Golden Council.
The moment he stepped outside, hostile gazes fell upon him.
The condemnation that should have begun yesterday had finally arrived today.
"We will escort you safely."
Count Consilus wore the grim expression of a man marching into battle.
He knew that if anything flew from the crowd and so much as touched Ferda, the situation might become irreversible.
Mounted on horseback, Ferda surveyed the people.
Anger and hatred...
Ferda showed no emotion.
He had no desire either to understand people who raged without knowing the truth or to make them understand him.
He entered the Golden Council.
Ferda, a man devoted to his fiancée, had become a criminal and the subject of gossip.
Strangely, the marshals' security inspection had also become far more rigorous.
"Regent."
An old man stopped Ferda before he entered the council chamber.
The mastermind behind the entire affair.
Yaldemar Golt stood there like a chief justice.
"Are you prepared to give me your answer regarding my proposal?"
Everything could end if Ferda merely sold Olivia.
She herself had volunteered to act as bait.
He could hand Olivia over and allow the matter of the Far East to pass without difficulty.
Ferda answered.
"Unfortunately, I do not possess the power to change another person's heart."
"...I see."
Yaldemar neither clung to him pathetically nor became angry.
He merely nodded as though he understood.
"I understand your decision."
It was the calm before the storm.
Ferda had thought that knowing what was coming might at least keep him from feeling unsettled.
It did not.
Instead, his heart became calm, as though every worry that had shaken him had fled.
Ferda quietly took his seat.
"Now that everyone is present, we shall begin."
The chamber fell silent at Chairman Akad's declaration.
"Before addressing the acquisition of magitech technology, we must first deal with a crime that cannot be overlooked."
Everyone knew what that unforgivable crime was.
"Regent Ferda, would you please take the witness stand?"
Ferda stepped forward as though he had been waiting for the invitation.
"Regent Ferda, as you are aware, Duke Yurei's son was murdered, and you have been identified as the killer."
The rumor had traveled with astonishing speed, and the proceedings were moving just as swiftly.
"Duke Yurei has also lodged a formal protest with the Empire. As this matter may damage diplomatic relations between our nations, we have permitted him to attend the Golden Council despite being a lord of the Kingdom of Heinkel."
At those words, Duke Yurei entered the chamber.
It was the first time Ferda had seen him since the Grand Council.
But the bewildered and helpless Duke Yurei from that time was nowhere to be seen.
He was exactly as Yaldemar Golt had described him.
The face of a man with nothing left to lose.
His eyes yearned for revenge, prepared to drag the entire world down with him now that he had lost everything.
Not enough.
Ferda needed certainty.
"Regent Ferda, do you admit to murdering Lord Marcus Yurei?"
The chairman asked the question, and Ferda prepared to answer.
His eyes turned toward Duke Yurei.
"Lord Marcus Yurei..."
Ferda did what he did best.
"Committed crimes for which he deserved to die."
And he caused Duke Yurei's fury to erupt.
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