Ch. 6: Chapter 6 — What Lies Beneath a Title

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

Hearing the voice, Yuma opened the door to his palace office.

Behind a large desk covered with documents, a middle-aged man was still moving his quill between sheets of paper. Only after several seconds of silence did he finally raise his head.

“… Yuma?”

“Uncle. Sorry to trouble you.”

“No—”

Flint immediately stood up. His chair scraped slightly backward as he hurried over to Yuma.

“How are you feeling? Does it still hurt? Why are you out of bed? Did that brat Rue let you leave your room?”

Yuma only smiled faintly.

Flint was already guiding him toward the sofa.

Yuma smiled faintly as Flint led him to the sofa.

“No.”

He shook his head gently.

“I’ve been absent for eight days. If I remember correctly, there was a meeting of the nobles yesterday. How did it go?”

Flint frowned.

“We’ll talk about that later. Your recovery is more important.”

“I’m fine now, Uncle.”

Flint still didn’t look convinced.

His gaze swept over Yuma from head to toe, as if making sure for himself that his nephew really was all right.

He even looked as though he was about to pick Yuma up and carry him back to his room.

Flint opened his mouth.

But Yuma shook his head gently first.

“What was the result of the meeting?”

“Haaaaaah…”

Flint let out a long sigh, loud enough for Yuma to hear clearly.

Yuma simply kept his faint smile.

He wasn’t giving in.

In the end, Flint surrendered.

He walked toward the desk with painfully slow steps.

Far too slow.

Yuma watched him from the sofa.

Flint picked up a stack of documents.

He arranged them.

Then straightened them again, deliberately taking his time.

“… Uncle.”

Flint stopped.

“… One more day of rest?”

Yuma shook his head.

“Isn’t the school registration a week from now? I have a few important things to take care of first.”

At the mention of school, Flint’s previously sluggish movements suddenly became quick.

He picked up the documents from the desk, arranged them neatly, then approached Yuma with a serious expression.

“Here are the documents, Your Highness.”

Yuma only let out a quiet sigh.

“The important documents. About the investigation into the school. Are you sure they aren’t forged, Uncle?”

“Impossible, Your Highness. There must not be any forged documents. They’re all genuine, according to the results of the investigation.”

Yuma stared at him for a few moments.

Flint still wore a serious expression, looking straight at Yuma.

If one ignored the palms that were beginning to sweat, Flint looked completely sincere.

Yuma then took the documents Flint had placed on the table.

Out of all the papers there, his hand stopped on four particular sheets.

He picked them up without hesitation.

Too precisely.

As if he already knew which ones he was looking for.

But Flint said nothing.

Yuma turned over the first sheet.

A noble’s name was written there.

“What was the result?”

“Two nobles were added,” Flint replied. “Both achieved accomplishments significant enough to be considered for a noble title.”

“Jazer and…”

Yuma blinked slowly.

He tried to dig through a memory that felt incredibly distant, as though the event had happened long ago.

His brow furrowed slightly.

Then he raised his face and looked at Flint, who was still sitting calmly on the sofa across from him.

“… Gavra?”

Flint looked slightly surprised.

“Were you informed beforehand, Your Highness?”

Yuma shook his head.

“Archduke.”

“Ehem.”

Flint cleared his throat softly.

“Yuma.”

The corner of Yuma’s lips lifted slightly.

His uncle had a habit of becoming extremely formal whenever he was lying.

Just now—

he had been far too formal.

But Flint would never agree to falsifying documents. He hated lies more than anything.

So the documents Rue had given him earlier…… Should indeed be genuine.

Yuma lowered his gaze back to the papers in his hand.

So… This is just a coincidence?

He continued looking down at the documents.

“What Jazer did was falsified. Check its authenticity again. He manipulated the information.”

Yuma lowered his gaze to the document in his hand.

“The orphanage that was supposedly rescued… Had a hidden basement. Many of them were sold as slaves overseas, or even starved to death.”

Yuma wore a faint smile.

It’s a shame I only remembered this now.

The sheer number of events and regressions meant he could not always remember every important incident. Sometimes, he only remembered something when he came into contact with something related to it.

If only I had remembered sooner…

Yuma pressed his lips together.

… How many of them could have survived?

Seeing Yuma’s face begin to pale as his hand clenched the paper hard enough to nearly crumple it, Flint raised a hand and covered Yuma’s eyes.

“…”

“Calmer now?”

“… Hm.”

Flint’s hand remained there for a few moments.

“Don’t think about it too much.”

His voice was calm.

“Even though you’re a prince, that doesn’t mean you can keep watch over the entire Empire yourself. That is what the nobility is for. They are entrusted with protecting and overseeing the people under them, while the people support them through taxes. If anyone is at fault, it is the nobles who dared to break their oaths.”

… But I already knew something bad would happen, and I did nothing. Isn’t that my fault?

Yuma wanted to open his mouth and ask.

But he couldn’t tell Uncle Flint or Rue about the regressions.

Because they were family.

And because they would worry.

Yet as quickly as the thought appeared, Yuma calmed down again.

He gave Flint a small smile, as if reassuring him that he was fine, before settling back into his usual calm expression.

Flint lowered his hand.

Yuma let out a quiet breath.

“All right.”

He looked back down at the documents in his hands.

“Let’s continue.”