While Rest had returned to House Rosemary, the royal army that had crushed the rebellion also made its triumphant return to the royal capital.
A deployment lasting only a few days. The royal army, back sooner than anyone expected, was welcomed as heroes and greeted with smiling faces from the people.
The ones who entered the royal castle were the crown prince and his close guard. Marquis Cattleya, who had served as his second-in-command, remained behind in Marquis Eiger's domain, handling the aftermath.
Crown Prince Richard Aiwood had returned ahead of the rest to report to the king and bring back "that."
"You did well, Richard."
"I have returned, Father."
Richard, back from the war, reunited with his father.
The king saw his son's face, returned completely unharmed, and let out a sigh of genuine relief.
"The whole thing was settled faster than I imagined. Honestly, I didn't expect you to perform this well."
"It wasn't my doing. Marquis Cattleya, the soldiers, and above all… it was thanks to 'him.'"
"…I've received the report. He too seems to have exceeded expectations."
The "him" referred to here was Viscount Rest Clover.
On this battlefield, there was no doubt that Rest was the single greatest contributor.
He was the first to charge the enemy lines, defeating seven thousand soldiers.
He faced Rodele, who had pushed dangerously close to their own lines, in a one-on-one duel and repelled him spectacularly.
The royal family had been planning to elevate Rest into a hero… but the results far surpassed what they had anticipated. There was no need to deliberately promote him—he had been a genuine hero in every sense.
"I know that Viscount Clover subdued the magic beast Sabnock. But it seems there was no exaggeration whatsoever in the accounts of his true strength."
The king had heard reports beforehand, but listening to his son's account drove home just how formidable Rest truly was.
In a world where the special power known as mana exists, it is not uncommon for warriors or magicians of extraordinary caliber—warriors who can turn the tide of a battlefield single-handedly—to appear.
The Council of Sages, led by Verroid Hahn, the academy headmaster of the Royal Academy — the sages who served on it were the foremost representatives of such.
And it appeared that Rest Clover was yet another individual who possessed such superhuman abilities.
"At this rate, we'll have to properly bind Viscount Clover to our side."
The king furrowed his brow in deep thought.
Simply granting him a title and a domain might not be enough.
To further strengthen the ties with the royal family, they would need to set yet another keystone in place.
"If it were possible, I'd like to have him marry a daughter of the royal family, but..."
"...I don't have any sisters, though?"
Richard interjected in response to the king's muttering.
Unfortunately... the current royal family had no princesses available for a political marriage.
The three children in the royal family were all princes. And to make matters worse, one of them was already gone.
The king did have sisters, but they were either already married or too far apart in age from Rest.
"But my aunt is still unmarried, isn't she?"
"No one could order a man to wed a fifty-something 'princess.' Far from binding Viscount Clover to our side, it could very well provoke a rebellion."
If Rest happened to have that sort of preference, it would be a different story, but few men would be pleased about being forced to marry a woman nearly three times his age.
Even Marquis Rosemary, as Rest's guardian, would surely have objections, and having him marry the king's elder sister was simply out of the question.
"If that's the case, then we'd need to have him marry a daughter from a family close to the royal family..."
"In that case..."
"......"
The king and Richard's gazes converge on a single point.
There stood a figure who had been silently standing by so as not to intrude on the conversation between the king and the crown prince... Duke Velios Crocus.
The ducal house was a lineage that had descended from the royal family into the peerage. There were other ducal houses besides Crocus, but... they were all ducal families in name only, holding the title without real power.
And, as if it had been arranged by fate, the ducal house had a daughter the same age as Rest with no existing fiancé.
Rodel Aiwood's former fiancée, that is... Celestine Crocus.
"I understand what you two are thinking."
Receiving the gazes of his sovereigns, Duke Crocus spoke solemnly.
With an expression as hard as stone, no less stern than Marquis Cattleya.
"My daughter was betrothed to His Highness Rodel through a magical contract forged by the previous head of the household, who had been devoted to Her Majesty the Queen Dowager. While there were ways to break the spell if one was willing to go to any lengths... I deliberately left the engagement intact in order to investigate the movements of the Queen Dowager's faction."
"Prime Minister..."
"I could never, not if my mouth were to be torn open, ask my daughter—who has already been forced into an undesirable engagement for the sake of the royal family—to now marry for political convenience on the royal family's behalf. Even if it were the best decision for the kingdom."
Duke Crocus had devoted himself selflessly to the crown, sacrificing his own interests to serve the country.
For a man like him, perhaps this was the first time he had ever spoken his true feelings.
"......"
"......"
His words carried weight.
So heavy that both the king and the crown prince were rendered speechless.
"I will speak to my daughter and reach an understanding with her. However, I must ask that you not use a royal decree to force her hand."
Even so... Duke Crocus, too, understood.
My daughter... Celestine Crocus has a stronger sense of responsibility than anyone.
He was certain that if he spoke to her, she would willingly agree to the political marriage.
That was why this was Crocus Duke's selfish wish. It was the extent of his ego as a father who only wanted to be there for his daughter.
"...Don't you go laughing at Rosemary and Cattleya either. You're a father yourself."
"............"
At the king's words—bitter, yet tinged with something almost fond—Duke Crocus's grimace deepened.
"Ahem... Now then, the matter of Viscount Clover aside, there are other issues we must deliberate on as well."
Richard cleared his throat before shifting the topic.
What he was about to discuss was equally unpleasant for Richard himself. It was a problem he had been putting off for as long as he could, though it had dragged on long enough.
Richard clapped his hands to signal, and a knight waiting outside the room dragged 'it' in.
"Rodele Aiwood... shall we now deliberate on the punishment of my foolish younger brother?"
"............"
The man brought in, gripped by both arms by the knight, was covered in injuries from head to toe and wrapped in bandages—Rodele Aiwood, the Third Prince.