Episode 119 — The Weight of Inheritance and a Midnight Secret

In the Lord’s study of the Felsen manor.

Gustav was scrutinizing the distribution plans for the Social Security Fund piled on his desk when he noticed the window behind him open soundlessly. Without putting down his pen, he spoke.

"I didn't receive a report that you’d passed the back gate checkpoint. I take it you managed to slip past them this time, Léonard?"

"Haha, their movements have a certain pattern. Exploiting gaps like that happens to be my specialty."

His blonde hair swaying casually, Léonard flashed a friendly smile as he sank deep into the sofa.

"And? Did you come all this way in the middle of the night to disturb my rest because you brought fresh orders from the Royal Capital?"

"Hardly. But come on, isn't it time you revealed the identity of the mastermind? I’m well aware you’ve been making frequent trips to that manor in the forest."

Léonard tapped the table with his fingertip. His eyes were no longer those of a friendly youth; they pierced Gustav with the sharp intensity of a bird of prey cornering its target.

"I have no idea what you’re talking about."

"Oh, don't play innocent. What’s happening in Felsen right now clearly exceeds the processing capacity of a single lord. Fundamentally restructuring a city, standardizing entire industries, putting Magic Races in charge of teaching arithmetic... If played the wrong way, this looks enough like a sign of rebellion to justify sending in the army."

Léonard stood up and gazed out the window at the night view of the burgeoning new city.

"Do you have any idea how much effort I put into pretending to support you at the capital? I’ve been tossing every petition to confiscate your territory straight into the trash. To the conservatives in the capital, what you’re doing is pure poison—it's a threat to the existing order. While I’m still able to suppress a full-scale royal investigation, why don't you introduce me to the source of all this wisdom?"

Gustav set his pen down and rotated his chair to face Léonard directly.

Their gazes locked. They shared the same deep, clear blue eyes.

"Father is quite curious about Felsen as well... isn't he, my brother?"

The quiet words from Léonard’s lips caused the air in the room to freeze instantly. A slight tremor ran through Gustav’s clenched fist.

"I believe I told you never to call me that. Right now, I am merely the Lord of Felsen. The moment I was removed from the palace, I ceased to be royalty."

"You were born the first child of the Third Queen. For the ten years until the First Queen gave birth to me, you were undeniably the First Prince of this country. Everyone praised your brilliance; no one doubted a future where you sat upon the throne."

Léonard shrugged self-deprecatingly and leaned back into the sofa again.

"But the moment I was born to the First Queen, you became an impurity that threatened the throne. On my tenth birthday, you were sent away to be adopted by the Felsen family like a piece of unwanted surplus. Do you have any idea how I felt watching you leave that winter day? The elder brother I had admired for a decade was erased from history simply for the convenience of the state."

Léonard lowered his eyes as if unearthing distant memories.

"I remember it well. Your room was converted into my study by the very next morning. The attendants were forbidden from speaking your name, and your existence was deleted from the palace records, line by line."

A flash of the once-magnificent royal palace crossed Gustav’s mind. Education, etiquette, swordsmanship. He had been required to be perfect in everything, and he had lived those days meeting every expectation. Then, with the birth of the legitimate heir, Léonard, that life had been discarded overnight like meaningless data.

"That was decided the moment you were born. That is simply how the palace functions."

"I don't believe for a second that you’ve truly vanished, my brother. That’s why I want to protect this new logic you’re trying to build. But if I’m going to stop the Kingdom, I need to know the true nature of that logic for myself. Who is behind you, rewriting the very systems of this world?"

Gustav remained silent. Léonard’s argument was driven by pure curiosity, but it was also the cold, calculated situational judgment of a Crown Prince. Léonard was acting as a younger brother, but also as the future king trying to get a handle on the wildcard that was Felsen.

"Whether or not I let you meet him is for me to decide. If you try to use your privilege to force open the doors to that forest, I will reject you—as the Lord of this land, and as your brother. Are we clear, Léonard?"

"Understood. But I’ll be looking forward to it. I want to see the true wisdom that managed to change you this much."

Léonard stood up and took his leave.

Left alone, Gustav stared out the dark window. He thought of the name he was supposed to have abandoned, and of the master of the forest he had to protect now. He let out a deep, long sigh.

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