The small tea party at House Rosemary having concluded, Celestine Crocus climbed into the carriage for the ride home.
"Hoo..."
Mounted guards surrounded the carriage.
It was an almost excessive level of protection for a trip within the royal capital, but given the current situation with Marquis Eiger's rebellion, it was hardly surprising.
Celestine occupied the delicate position of being both the prime minister's daughter and, technically, the fiancée of the Third Prince Rodele.
There was no guarantee that her political enemies wouldn't reach out with the dark hand of assassination or kidnapping.
(Well, the position of that man's fiancée is almost over, anyway...)
Her engagement to Rodele was set to be dissolved soon.
Specifically... it would be dissolved the moment Marquis Eiger's rebellion was officially announced.
The dirty work of cleaning up after the idiot prince would be finished then, too. She felt as though a heavy, heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders.
(Still... I'm glad Lord Rest agreed to take on the task.)
It would have been possible to force it upon him through a royal decree if it came to that... but that would leave a poor impression on the royal family.
She wanted to avoid having the royal family harbor resentment. Though she hadn't conveyed this to him personally... Rest was becoming a figure of tremendous interest to the royal family.
(He single-handedly subjugated Sabnock, lord of the demon realm... well, Lord Lubeth did lend him a hand...)
When Rest and Lubeth returned from the depths of the demon realm and the report of Sabnock's subjugation was delivered... the people on the royal palace side initially refused to believe the information.
Sabnock was a magic beast that had, in the past, faced multiple subjugation forces and repelled every single one.
That it had been slain by just two people — or in substance, by Rest alone — was something that seemed utterly impossible.
However, once an investigation confirmed the remains of Sabnock... they hastily conducted an inquiry into how the lord of the demon realm had been defeated.
The information they were told was beyond belief. The fact that Rest possessed an enormous quantity of mana — enough to be ranked among the world's greatest — and was a fighting force equivalent to an entire army, was finally laid bare.
Whether to celebrate or be wary of the birth of a fighting force capable of toppling a nation — the royal palace remained torn, but ultimately decided to embrace him as a "hero."
Fortunately, Rest was under the direct command of House Rosemary.
Marquis Rosemary served as the chief court mage to the royal family — a loyal retainer who enjoyed the crown's deep trust.
Rest himself had no issues with his character; he was not the type to wield power on a whim.
Through deliberations among the kingdom's upper echelons, it was secretly decided that rather than eliminating Rest, they would actively put him to use for the development of the realm.
(First, a title and a domain. They would have him contribute to the suppression of Marquis Eiger's rebellion, and grant him the rank of count for his achievements. They would have him develop the frontier of the lordless plains, solidifying his foundation as a young noble who would spearhead reform.)
The Magic Hunt Festival had already caused great damage, and now a rebellion had erupted on top of it.
To lift the dark, somber mood engulfing the nation, a hero was indispensable.
The royal palace expected Rest to fill that heroic role.
(As a commoner, Rest would surely be well-received by the masses. Next in line would be Lubeth, who hailed from minor nobility...)
In name, the Third Prince Rodele was being championed — yet it was the high-ranking noble Marquis Eiger who had sparked the rebellion.
It was precisely because of this situation that they would deliberately elevate commoners and those of minor noble birth.
They aimed to breathe fresh, young wind through a kingdom still suffocated by the stale air of the queen dowager's faction.
(If they could subjugate Marquis Eiger, they could purge the internal decay eating away at the Kingdom of Aiwood. Develop the frontier to enrich the nation, and then turn their full attention to external threats...)
The Kingdom of Aiwood faced several external enemies.
The most prominent among them were the barbarian tribes to the north. And as a potential foe, the Gaiselle Empire to the east — an allied nation.
The empire had long been governed by a moderate emperor, but recently the extremist faction advocating foreign conquest had been gaining momentum.
If the extremist faction seized power, they might turn their sights toward the Kingdom of Aiwood as well.
(...I feel truly sorry for everyone who became a casualty in this incident, but Marquis Eiger choosing to act at this particular moment might actually work in our favor.)
If Marquis Eiger were the one to launch the rebellion, they could openly carry out a subjugation.
The problem, if any, was that Prince Rodel had been propped up as the figurehead of the rebel army.
If they struck down Rodel — the child of a concubine from the empire — relations with the neighboring country would deteriorate.
(A confrontation with the Gaiselle Empire will be unavoidable, but... there is no choice but to steel ourselves for that. It was bound to happen eventually. The time has simply come to resolve a problem that had been put off for too long. The hands of the stopped clock have begun to move again.)
The tides of history carry their own current.
In the Kingdom of Aiwood, ever since the death of the queen dowager, that current had been dammed up and stagnating.
Now, with the birth of the young hero named Rest, it was regaining its momentum, poised to bring about sweeping change in every direction.
"...First, Marquis Eiger and His Highness Rodel. If we lose here, it's all over."
Celestine pressed her palms together, her voice brimming with resolve.
In the name of House Crocus, the foremost noble house, she would defend the Kingdom of Aiwood and guide it toward prosperity.
For that, she had to wring every last drop of wisdom and strength she possessed.
No matter what sacrifice it required. No matter what agony she had to endure.
As one of the people who would carry the kingdom into the next generation, Celestine steeled her determination to fight through to the end.
"I'll be breaking off the engagement anyway... so perhaps I should just let Rest have his way with me?"
Celestine murmured in a voice that could have been a joke or could have been perfectly serious, then quietly turned her gaze to the scenery beyond the window.