By Zephyria 
It was an open secret that the target of the purge against the noble faction was Pakirius.
Of course, while the suspicion was strong, there was no concrete evidence. Ebon was perfect.
What they were desperately trying to latch onto was Pakirius himself. The very existence of Pakirius, they argued, had shattered the trust between the Imperial family and the nobles.
Naturally, no one present was unaware that this was merely a pretext. By denying Pakirius’s existence, the nobles seemed to intend to tear him apart from all sides, starting with that premise.
They attacked Pakirius, questioning whether he, who had not even received proper education and whose birth mother’s origins were unclear—a euphemism for being of low birth—truly deserved the position of first in line for the throne. They also criticized his illicit relationship with the Hero, pointing out that a royal, who should be a role model for all, had not only dated someone of the same sex but had also set up an inn and lived together in effect, without even being married.
This was not only a jab at Pakirius’s origins but also a subtle revelation of their uncomfortable feelings about his claim to the throne, and an attempt to find fault with his private life.
Watching this, the Emperor let out a hollow laugh.
How blatant.
Of course, the Emperor knew that a shocking surprise, like “Ta-da! We have a hidden royal!” would not be amusing to them.
It was inevitable that a ‘brother of the Emperor’ who suddenly appeared and disrupted their smooth future, where the vacant Empress position would have been filled by a lady from their family, would be inconvenient for them.
Naturally, this was overstepping their bounds regarding the royal they served and an excessively presumptuous attitude.
The Emperor, on the verge of exploding with his simmering anger, managed to suppress it when he saw that Pakirius, who was openly facing such attacks, looked surprisingly calm.
They didn’t know. They didn’t know that what they were desperately trying to take away from Pakirius was not that appealing to him.
For instance, the succession to the throne.
They had no idea that the status of prince was merely a burden to Pakirius.
Unlike them, whose eyes were clouded with ambition for power, Pakirius was a child who couldn’t wait to relinquish his power.
How would he respond?
After the nobles unleashed a barrage of attacks on Pakirius all at once, Pakirius remained silent for a long time.
Normally, one might shrink back when attacked like that, but his unusual younger brother sat there with a blank expression, as if he had deflected all the attacks, and opened his mouth after a considerable pause.
“So, everyone here…”
Pakirius paused, seemingly searching for the right words, but then, unable to find a suitable alternative, spoke frankly.
“It seems my existence is inconvenient for you.”
When Pakirius pointedly addressed that aspect, the nobles fell silent.
“Ahem.”
The Emperor, unable to contain himself, almost burst out laughing at the honest, head-on approach.
Instinctively, the Emperor glanced at his long-time partner, and when his eyes met Simon’s, who had also glanced his way, he couldn’t help but raise the corners of his lips.
The social etiquette of nobles typically involved circling around their destination several times instead of heading straight for it, so Pakirius’s direct words seemed unfamiliar to them. They appeared flustered by the surprise attack, their mouths opening and closing in a rather amusing manner.
Seeing them not exactly deny his statement, Pakirius let out a sigh-like chuckle.
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of living in the Imperial Palace, nor am I particularly interested in power.”
However, at those words, the Emperor, who had been smiling, suddenly turned serious.
“Paki!”
His reaction made it seem as if Pakirius were giving up his rights under pressure from their influence.
But Pakirius smiled reassuringly at the Emperor, as if to say it was alright. The Emperor, sensing the meaning behind the smile—Trust me, it’s fine—did not speak further.
Pakirius turned back to the nobles and spoke again.
“Besides, if my brother has an heir, my claim to the throne will become meaningless anyway, so why are you all worrying about it in advance?”
The reason Pakirius was currently first in line for the throne was that there were no other direct imperial descendants.
Due to the bloody purge within the Imperial family in the previous generation, and as if cursed since the founding of the nation, the imperial line had been severely lacking in heirs. In this current generation, besides the Emperor and Pakirius, there weren’t even any common collateral relatives.
The Emperor’s late marriage and lack of children also played a significant role.
However, this would change if the still-unmarried Emperor were to marry and have children.
The moment children were born, Pakirius’s succession would be pushed back to second, then third, and so on.
Yet, even if he truly had no interest in the succession, it wouldn’t look good to appear to be yielding to the nobles, a thought suddenly arose. Pakirius looked directly at the nobles and said,
“Of course, I have no greed, but I also have no intention of giving up what I possess. If neither side interferes with the other, we can be more peaceful.”
In other words, if you don’t provoke me, I won’t need to suppress you with the authority of the Imperial family.
This was not an indirect warning.
If you don’t stir things up unnecessarily, I’ll stay put, so let’s be quiet. I’m not that interested in the position.
As if saying the enemy of my enemy is my friend, Pakirius, who smiled while saying this, paradoxically seemed to inspire great caution.
Whether he knew it or not, Pakirius looked around the now-quiet surroundings and scratched his cheek.
“And, well, regarding Ket, whom you call the Hero…”
Someone muttered, “Ket?” but Pakirius ignored it.
Only the Emperor, who knew his younger brother’s peculiar insistence on that cute and charming nickname for the Hero, let out a hollow laugh. At that moment, Pakirius dropped a bombshell.
“That’s right, we’re involved.”
This was likely the first time a royal of high blood, above the rank of Grand Duke, had publicly announced a male lover. However, Pakirius, seemingly unconcerned about the weight of his official statement, awkwardly smiled at the murmuring nobles and scratched the back of his head.
“I understand that it might be perceived as a threat for a royal to be too close to the Hero, humanity’s great hero.”
Then, with a genuinely puzzled look, he tilted his head and added,
“If I wanted to, would I even need the Hero to bother you?”
The conference hall, which had become noisy with the simultaneous murmurs of countless people, fell silent.
There was no noble among them who did not understand the young prince’s words.
After all, even without the Hero, all your friends are dead by my hand, so why would I need the Hero’s help? wasn’t that what he meant?
After that, no noble dared to challenge Prince Pakirius again.
“Then, let us move on to the discussion regarding the criminals.”
The presiding official, sensing the mood, quickly moved to the next agenda item.
Pakirius, realizing he had nothing more to add given the atmosphere, leaned back against the chair, his back feeling stiff.
“He’s quite…”
The Emperor, watching him intently, said to Marquis Rivalt.
“He lacks tact but is strangely good at hitting the nail on the head.”
Isn’t that also a political talent? Huh? The Emperor looked at Marquis Rivalt, seeking agreement, and he nodded.
“It was a clumsy yet strangely perfect offense and defense.”
His younger brother lacked tact, and was a person who didn’t need to consider it. Thus, it was a rare situation where not caring about tact and confronting head-on yielded remarkably good results.
In any case, the nobles quieted down, and faced with that powerful final statement, no brave noble dared to bring up Prince Pakirius again, so the atmosphere naturally shifted to the new agenda item.
It was a discussion about the disposition of the criminals Arthur and Boram.
“You handled that much more boldly than I expected.”
The Emperor revealed his thoughts as he walked with Eddie immediately after the meeting concluded. Eddie, who had been spacing out, belatedly understood the meaning of the words and let out a hollow laugh.
“It wasn’t meant to be that aggressive.”
He was sincere. Eddie had simply been honest in every moment. After all, trying to speak indirectly to seasoned nobles would only complicate matters, and since there was nothing he felt he needed to hide, he had intended to be honest from the start.
A large part of it was that he had no lingering attachment to power or anything else. Eddie was still a commoner who felt awkward about being a prince.
However, the Emperor seemed quite pleased with Eddie’s handling of the situation.
“You would have done well even if you became Emperor.”
“…Please, brother, don’t set up any weird flags.”
What a dreadful thing to say. When he was young, while his friends would say they wanted to be ambitious and declare their dream job as President, he was a humble sprout who wrote down ‘bookstore owner’ as his desired career path.
“I’m going to go rest now.”
Eddie preempted the Emperor before he could say anything stranger. The Emperor looked at Eddie for a moment, then readily nodded.
“Yes, you seemed to be in low spirits throughout today’s meeting. Go and rest.”
At those words, Eddie flinched.