ITIF Chapter 68

A Difficult Question to Answer

‘Happy Birthday in advance.’

Kavelaseth’s brow furrowed slightly.

Then Giselle Grante added that they likely wouldn’t see each other again before the Founding Day celebration.

‘How did she know my real birthday?’

By the time Kavelaseth had that thought, she was already far in the distance.

As he watched her board the carriage with her escort knight, Kavelaseth soon found his answer.

‘……It must have been Mikhail.’

There was no one else who came to mind.

As Kavelaseth walked toward his carriage, he focused on the question of how Mikhail knew that his actual birth date was on the Founding Day, apart from the publicly known birthday.

It was when the view of the Cardia ducal estate began appearing beyond the carriage window.

‘It must have been then.’

After mulling it over, Kavelaseth deduced the timing.

His first year after entering the Academy. The butler had visited Kavelaseth’s dormitory on the Founding Day itself.

Saying he couldn’t let his birthday pass without celebration as they had done every year at the ducal estate.

Of course, after that year, the butler never came to the Academy on the Founding Day again.

Because Kavelaseth had repeatedly asked him not to.

Someone might be watching, so they must always be vigilant and careful, he had said.

As the carriage approached the Cardia ducal estate, Kavelaseth spoke.

“Turn the carriage around.”

“Where should we go?”

“To the Amaterasu ducal estate.”

Soon the speed of the rapidly moving carriage gradually slowed. Then it changed course, making a large circle.

It seemed better to meet Mikhail today.

Though Mikhail was usually tight-lipped, he wanted to confirm.

And it would be problematic if anyone other than Mikhail learned that his real birthday was on the Founding Day.

Of course, just being born on the same day of the same year wouldn’t make many people specifically connect him with Princess Trinity.

But it still needed to be certain.

To reclaim the position that should have been his from birth, he needed power.

That power wasn’t limited to just strong military force. He needed to gain the support of influential nobles.

He needed to further expand the power of the vassal families and draw in even the high-ranking nobles who maintained neutrality to solidify his position.

So both then and now, it was still premature. Too early to reveal to the world that he was the Emperor’s true firstborn.

****

Having returned home from an outing, Mikhail watched the carriage rushing toward the Amaterasu estate.

Soon the carriage passed through the massive iron gates and stopped in front of the estate.

Mikhail, who had been about to enter the mansion, happily approached the carriage.

“Kavel? What brings you here?”

Kavelaseth, stepping out of the carriage, wore quite a grim expression. It was immediately clear that he had come about something not particularly pleasant.

“We need to talk.”

“Huh? Uh……”

Mikhail entered the mansion while gauging Kavelaseth’s mood.

Only after entering the thoroughly soundproofed conference room, not the reception room, did Kavelaseth bring up his business.

“You certainly ran your mouth well.”

His voice was calm, but his attitude was clearly accusatory.

“Ran my mouth? Kavel, what do you mean?”

“Giselle Grante knows that the Founding Day is my birthday.”

“Ah…….”

A small gasp escaped through Mikhail’s teeth. Since he had told her to remember it, Mikhail was searching for an excuse when he suddenly focused on another aspect.

‘Kavel…… said Giselle Grante?’

Calling an unmarried woman by her first name—not a wife, not family. And Kavelaseth doing so, no less.

This was truly the first time he had called his sister by her first name.

So Mikhail speculated that their relationship must have progressed at some point.

“I didn’t see the need to hide a fact I knew when I could have claimed ignorance. So I told her.”

At Mikhail’s honest answer, some of the displeasure shadowing Kavelaseth’s face dissipated.

However, he still questioned without fully relaxing his furrowed brow.

“Who else did you tell about this?”

“I didn’t tell anyone besides Giselle. I swear, Kavel! It seemed like you didn’t want your real birthday known.”

“Did you know that?”

“……Know what?”

He had asked if Mikhail knew the truth about ‘that day,’ but Mikhail only tilted his head like a fool.

The Mikhail he had observed until now was terrible at lying.

Unlike his sister Giselle Grante, he wouldn’t have tried any clever behavior to hide his thoughts.

So he concluded there would be no spreading his personal matters to anyone other than Giselle Grante.

“……Kavel?”

As if his business was concluded, Kavelaseth turned away.

Mikhail secretly let out a sigh of relief and left the conference room.

‘That’s right……!’

As he walked, a memory from the past suddenly surfaced.

That he had told someone other than Giselle Grante about Kavelaseth’s birthday.

‘I think I mentioned it to Father too?’

After the Founding Day break, Mikhail had returned to the Amaterasu duchy and had accumulated conversations with Duke Amaterasu.

Since they shared the same dormitory room, Kavelaseth’s name frequently came up in conversation.

This was especially true because he thought Duke Amaterasu had been interested in matters related to Duke Cardia from before.

Then the conversation topic jumped to Giselle Grante’s upcoming birthday.

That’s when Mikhail had mentioned that Kavelaseth’s actual birthday seemed to be on the Founding Day, unlike what was publicly known.

He had hoped Duke Amaterasu would look after Kavelaseth secretly from other nobles.

Duke Amaterasu, who had remained silent as if lost in thought for a while, had asked the exact same question Kavelaseth had just asked.

Who else had he told this to?

“…….”

Though unintentional, Mikhail, who belatedly realized he had lied to Kavelaseth, glanced nervously at Kavelaseth with an anxious heart.

“What’s wrong?”

Sure enough, Kavelaseth looked at Mikhail with a sharp gaze. Under those eyes that seemed to see through him, Mikhail hurriedly shook his head and said.

“Kavel…… won’t you stay for dinner?”

****

It was when Kavelaseth and Mikhail were well into their dinner.

“The young lady has returned home.”

At the butler’s words, Mikhail casually broached the subject.

“Kavel, some rare tea leaves came in recently—won’t you have a cup of tea?”

And before Kavelaseth could answer, Giselle Grante walked into the dining room.

Without showing any surprise, she greeted Kavelaseth.

“We meet again. I heard you were here, so I came to say hello.”

It seemed the butler had given Giselle Grante a hint that Kavelaseth was present.

As Giselle Grante exchanged nods and tried to leave the dining room, Mikhail hurriedly stopped her.

“Giselle!”

“……?”

When Giselle Grante turned around, Mikhail urgently spoke.

“That tea I mentioned before. We’re about to try it now—would you like to join us?”

When Giselle Grante didn’t answer immediately, appearing to be pondering, the butler interjected.

“Since we’re opening it anyway, why don’t you taste it together, my lady?”

Giselle Grante’s gaze, which had been alternating between Mikhail and the butler, stopped on Kavelaseth.

“Would you mind? If I join you?”

Everyone’s attention in the dining room turned to Kavelaseth.

Kavelaseth put down his utensils, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and nodded.

While Mikhail and the butler exchanged glances, Kavelaseth and Giselle Grante were also gazing at each other.

Shortly after, the three—Mikhail and Kavelaseth, who had finished their meal, and Giselle Grante—moved to the reception room and sat around a round table.

Only the sound of tea pouring from the teapot into cups echoed through the quiet reception room.

“Please have a taste.”

The butler placed teacups before each of the three people.

The reception room was filled with the fragrant aroma of tea, and the three drank the tea the butler had poured.

It was while the three were savoring their tea in the quiet atmosphere.

As if just remembering, the butler spoke.

“Ah, come to think of it, young master. Do you have a moment? I almost forgot I had something to tell you…….”

Mikhail, who had glanced back and forth between Kavelaseth and Giselle Grante, soon stood up from his seat.

“…….”

“…….”

The reception room was quiet after Mikhail and the butler left.

Of the two who had been quietly sipping their tea as originally planned, Kavelaseth was the first to speak.

“Since the trial ended inconclusively, I expect someone who doesn’t want that will come up with a new scheme…….”

When Giselle Grante nodded, Kavelaseth continued.

“……I’m curious what the young lady’s countermeasure will be.”

“I thought you rather enjoyed unexpected situations. Was I wrong?”

Giselle Grante, who took a sip of tea, smiled slightly. Kavelaseth’s gaze on her face was quite intense.

Giselle Grante blinked with her eyes slightly lowered. Wondering if there was something on her face.

And before the atmosphere could become awkward, she hurriedly spoke.

“How did you change the judges’ minds, Your Grace?”

Instead of answering, Kavelaseth quietly sipped his tea. And just silently watched her.

She immediately spoke again.

“There were five judges. If they had wanted to deliver a verdict quickly, they could have handled it by majority vote. But they didn’t.”

“…….”

“And you briefly left your seat to coincide with the judges’ emergency meeting.”

At her gaze asking how he had manipulated the judges to his liking, Kavelaseth finally spoke.

“Were you watching me that day too?”