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Upon seeing him, Philod Ahen hurriedly knocked over the basin, spilling the water.
With a crashing sound, the basin rolled across the floor.
“P-Prince, when did you...”
But it was already too late. Prince Elio wiped the smile from his face in an instant and spoke.
“You've gone mad, haven't you?”
Those short words were steeped in clear murderous intent.
To think you would deal with mages in this Foldenbach Empire; you've lost your mind.
Though he was only a twenty-four-year-old youth, his presence was overwhelming. Philod Ahen instinctively fell to his knees.
“Prince!”
Tears streamed down his face. His hands trembled violently.
It was only natural. Simply researching mages out of curiosity would result in both hands being severed, and if contact with a mage was discovered, one's eyes were gouged out.
Those who dealt with mages had their eyes gouged out and all four limbs severed before being hung from the city walls until they died. Their families, of course, became slaves.
Even if the person was a noble, they could not escape this. They would be excommunicated from the Church of Eridrahan, their titles confiscated, and they would be beheaded and displayed on the city walls just the same.
Philod groaned. Prince Elio interrogated him expressionlessly.
“Since when?”
“N-no, no. Really, it's not. I didn't deal with...”
“Philod Ahen. If you don't answer properly, I'll start by cutting out that tongue.”
“M-my father, a month ago...”
Prince Elio clicked his tongue.
“And your father?”
“...”
This time, Philod tried to read the room. Prince Elio drew the sword from his waist.
At the sound of the blade sliding, Philod let out a loud scream.
“Since twenty years ago!”
“...Ha.”
Prince Elio laughed.
“They said Licht Ahen was frail, but not someone who would pass away so suddenly. So that was it.”
Since it happened when the Prince was a child, he had only thought of the Achen family's history as 'something like that happened.'
However, those who remembered Duke Licht Ahen had suspected his death was murder, wondering, 'Even so, why so suddenly?' But since no poison was detected and there were no external injuries, the death was forgotten.
And yet, they had been commanding mages.
While Prince Elio was lost in thought, Philod Ahen fidgeted, glancing at him.
Without even turning his gaze, Prince Elio spoke.
“I'll tell you something interesting. Members of the Imperial family receive a Holy Relic as soon as they are born. Those with the blood of Foldenbach cannot be harmed by mages.”
Philod, who had been fiddling with the Mage's Token his father had given him for emergencies, jumped in surprise.
The Prince had seen right through his intention to kill him if necessary.
“I-I didn't do anything...”
“Yes. You shouldn't.”
The Prince gave a smirk and gestured with his chin, and the guard knight standing behind him kicked Philod's hand.
“Urgh!”
A small piece of metal clattered to the floor from Philod's hand.
Prince Elio leaned down and picked it up. There was no mistake. It was the token of the mages who served demons.
He had thought it was suspicious that Philod had locked himself in his room since early evening.
And having the servants bring water. If he were bathing, there was no way he would use cold water as it was.
Thus, Prince Elio had taken advantage of the knights' break, accompanied only by one guard, and pressed his ear against Philod's door.
Normally, Prince Elio would have heard nothing. However, magical acts fail to function properly if there is even a tiny bit of impurity.
The mages had not warned Philod to do everything himself for no reason.
The basin, having been touched by the hands of others, failed to protect the conversation between the mage and Philod.
'How is the removal of Iris Achen progressing?'
When he heard those words, Prince Elio had chuckled to the guard knight, saying, 'I knew it.'
He had also expected that House Achen might try to deal with Iris Achen first.
Prince Elio had intended to tell Iris how to divorce Rahan Norwich and, in exchange, receive a territory as a dowry.
But for House Achen, it was a much more profitable deal to simply kill Iris beforehand.
They wouldn't lose the title, and they could keep the territory intact.
However, his face hardened at the next part of the conversation.
'What? Rahan Norwich is also commanding a demon?!'
'But the demon you lot serve must be stronger, right?'
Fury surged to the top of his head.
'These vermin, whose life are they trying to ruin?'
Since birth, he had never doubted that the throne was meant for him. And the Achen Ducal House, which supported him, was dealing with mages.
If Herbert Achen had been before him, he might have strangled him. That was how angry the Prince was.
How much effort had he put in to become the Emperor of the Foldenbach Empire?
And yet, mages?
Demons?
Even after he ascended the throne, it was certain that the Prince would fall if it were revealed that he had dealt with demons.
The same applied even if it wasn't him, but the Achen Ducal House. At the very least, countless questions would follow regarding whether 'the Prince truly didn't know.'
Furthermore, it would be a handle for the Church of Eridrahan to interfere with the Imperial family.
Unlike his sister, he had no intention of letting the Church of Eridrahan meddle in the governance of the Empire.
And yet, demons. It was no different from handing over a weakness with his own hands.
Philod Ahen was a foolish idiot and claimed to have found out only a month ago.
Of course, he didn't believe all of that, but at least there was room for consideration.
But twenty years.
If he had let Philod's nonsense slide today, Prince Elio might have created a situation he would deeply regret.
At the same time, however, he felt a sense of amusement.
'Rahan Norwich is also commanding a demon?'
If that were true, Prince Elio had essentially seized a very definitive advantage.
Rahan Norwich.
The confidant of the Grand Duke of Lacheize and the 'child of a demon.' Prince Elio recalled from a vague memory that he had even been suspected of summoning a demon during an expedition a few years ago.
'Does my sister know this?'
A smile spread across his lips.
“Philod Ahen. If you honestly tell me everything you know, I will forgive you.”
“I-I will!”
“How were you planning to kill Iris Achen?”
Philod was flustered.
“T-that, they were handling that on their own...”
Prince Elio's handsome brow furrowed sharply.
“House Achen is remarkably generous to its subordinates. Do you trust them to handle it well on their own?”
“T-that is not it.”
Philod hurriedly made an excuse.
“As you know, mages are insidious and do not tell us everything they can do. They only tell us to what extent they can...”
“To what extent can they?”
Philod flinched at the blunt question. He seemed to be hesitating. Elio snorted and added.
“For your information, I don't have much patience. My older brother died exactly ten days after he touched what was mine.”
Having seen with his own eyes his wife and older brother fooling around, there was no reason to just sit back and watch.
But occasionally, he did feel a sense of regret. Because he had acted too quickly, the Emperor had discovered that the death of the first prince was his fault.
“You’d better answer quickly.”
The threat worked effectively.
“I-I believe that…”
Philod confessed, trembling violently.
“That he can… summon a demon to the surface.”
“My goodness. How terrifying.”
Prince Elio replied with an expression that wasn't scared at all, then gave a smirk.
“Are you sure?”
“Pardon? I-I mean…”
“Shall we check if you're sure?”
As he spoke, Elio flipped over a basin that was rolling on the floor and placed it in front of Philod.
Philod looked at him with a bewildered face. Elio smiled.
“Tell him to call the demon.”
“Your Highness.”
The panicked escort knight instinctively tried to stop Elio. Elio looked back at the knight with cold eyes.
The knight hurriedly bowed his head. Elio beamed again and patted him on the shoulder.
“It’s alright. A loyal subordinate who worries about me is someone to be cherished. Thank you.”
“…Y-yes…”
The escort knight flinched as he accepted the thanks. Elio spoke, still smiling.
“You go to Archbishop Victor and tell him. Tell him that evidence has been found of Rahan Norwich commanding a demon, so he should come to Arnsberg.”
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