Chapter 60
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Chapter 60
"How is that a reason, Rochefort?"
Prince Frederick asked sharply.
"I only learned today that you are my brother's secret knight, and that this young lady is his lover. Are you asking me to trust you both and continue an investigation with no end in sight?"
Prince Frederick paced back and forth before Armand, his deep green cloak billowing behind him. Kneeling, Armand responded urgently.
"It has only been three months, Your Highness. His Majesty Leopold must be alive somewhere. Once he returns—"
But Prince Frederick cut him off without hesitation.
"Everyone says the same thing. That all this chaos will be resolved once my brother Leopold returns. Which means that right now, without him here, we are all drowning in confusion!"
As Armand and Prince Frederick exchanged sharp words, Charlotte, standing between them, gradually began to grasp the situation.
'So Prince Frederick did not come to London to help with the investigation into His Majesty Leopold or to hope for his return...'
Charlotte's expression slowly filled with shock.
'He came to stop the investigation because he believes His Majesty Leopold is already dead?'
In that moment, Armand cried out loudly.
"Then are you saying Prince Frederick wishes to abandon His Majesty Leopold? Do you truly hope, as the rumors suggest, that your brother—who might threaten the throne—is not alive?"
"Ha!"
At Armand's disrespectful outburst, Prince Frederick stopped and laughed loudly. Yet his youthful laughter was filled with cold anguish. He turned to face Armand and spoke.
"Rochefort, as you know, my accomplished brother was magnanimous enough to embrace even his inferior younger brother, consumed by inferiority. So I could never freely hate the brother who cast his shadow over me."
Prince Frederick continued, his expression etched with pain.
"Impressive, isn't it? My brother even handed over the throne that was given to him when I expressed my desire for it. He dressed it up with talk of seeking freedom and living his own life, but... who in their right mind would willingly abandon a crown for the life of a mere nobleman?"
Prince Frederick shook his head, as if to say he wasn't foolish enough to believe such nonsense. As the Queen's son, he desperately desired the throne, but he could never dare challenge Leopold, who possessed far superior qualities as a sovereign in anyone's eyes.
Perhaps it was pity for such a younger brother that moved Leopold to hand over the throne—one that someone had shed blood and sacrificed their life to protect—to Prince Frederick. He left behind words befitting his philosophical nature: "True royal qualification belongs to the one who chooses the throne."
Prince Frederick shook his head with a bitter smile. There would be no precedent in history for a crown prince who received the throne in such a degrading manner from another prince.
"...So everyone will say that I, foolish Prince Frederick, tainted by jealousy, have stopped searching for my magnanimous brother's whereabouts. Some will even whisper that I am the culprit who eliminated him."
Prince Frederick spoke with a gloomy tone.
"Rochefort, and Miss Augusta—do you think the same? Do I really seem foolish enough to risk such danger and halt the investigation merely out of jealousy toward my brother?"
Prince Frederick prided himself on understanding better than anyone how to survive in the shadow of an exceptional sibling. Leopold was not merely someone to compete against and overcome. He was an insurmountable presence, yet simultaneously the closest one to him. Prince Frederick looked slowly between Armand and Charlotte, offering a bitter smile as if to say that no one could ever truly understand him.
"Then... why...?"
Armand asked hesitantly, and Prince Frederick replied with a solemn expression.
"You must not have known, having been occupied with assisting my brother in England, but the situation in Holland is dire. International conferences keep being postponed, and Zeeland and other duchies, which sought to form a unified kingdom with Holland, are growing anxious and attempting to withdraw."
Prince Frederick gripped both ends of the Bishop's office desk and spoke with force.
"At this rate, everything my brother Leopold has barely accomplished—Holland's independence and the establishment of the unified kingdom—may crumble to nothing. This endeavor that perhaps cost my brother his very life..."
Leopold must have understood as well. Instead, he knew that it would take considerable time for Prince Frederick, now seated upon the throne, to gain the respect of the people and nobility, and to achieve Holland Kingdom's independence and the unified kingdom. Yet rather than boasting about this to Prince Frederick, Leopold extended a humble helping hand to him as befitted "a nobleman of the kingdom."
Prince Frederick felt a pulling sensation at his scalp and a stinging in his eyes.
"So I am not halting the investigation into my brother out of such childish jealousy... Whatever rumors circulate about me, I have simply made this decision to ensure Holland's stability by any means necessary."
Prince Frederick finished speaking as if reminding himself. Then Charlotte, who had remained silent until now, slowly opened her mouth.
"But if you halt the investigation into His Majesty Leopold, then who will search for him?"
"..."
Prince Frederick looked at Charlotte with somewhat sorrowful eyes.
"Miss, it has been three months since your brother disappeared."
Frederick turned toward Charlotte and spoke.
"Your brother is a knight and statesman superior to any other. If such a man has remained hidden for three months while the kingdom has fallen into this state...."
"Your Majesty has not been killed!"
Charlotte dared to interrupt Prince Frederick's words.
"The threads of this case are only now beginning to unravel. The sedative, the identity of the fifth porter—all of it may soon be revealed...."
"Perhaps it is inevitable that you cling to hope, Miss, but I can wait no longer."
Frederick replied to Charlotte in a cold voice once more.
"For months before my brother vanished, I have endured countless assassination attempts. Among them were members of the Reform Faction seeking to kill me so that Leopold could become sovereign of Holland, and those who valued legitimacy and sought to kill me to frame my brother."
Frederick walked toward Charlotte and spoke with composure.
"I believe Leopold's situation was no different. It is absurd. Both my faction and Leopold's were so desperate to crush one another that they would kill even those they supported."
Frederick let out a small, cynical laugh. Only then did Charlotte recall the conversation she had shared with Leopold at the midnight concert in Romford.
'I traded my freedom and the position of crown prince with Frederick. Yet some believe I had to relinquish the crown prince's seat because Frederick is the queen's son and I am not.'
Charlotte had questioned Leopold's confession.
'Even though Your Majesty chose this willingly, even though you say so, there are those who believe it was a choice forced upon you?'
Leopold had let out a soft laugh at her words—a low, rich voice befitting the night.
'Charlotte, when most people discover a world they did not know, or witness intentions of another they cannot comprehend, they feel fear rather than joy and curiosity. The things they have missed, the fact that they lived in ignorance of their own blindness—these unsettle them.'
Leopold had gazed at Charlotte quietly for a moment, then whispered softly.
'That is why I believe you possess wisdom above all others. To know that you do not know. To find joy in the countless wonders of the world because of it. Is that not true wisdom?'
Charlotte recalled Leopold's gentle smile. The bright lights of the Romford concert hall in the distance had faintly illuminated his curved lips.
Coming out of her reverie, Charlotte lifted her head once more and gazed upon Prince Frederick.
"I believe that Your Highness did not make this decision lightly. Given how steadfastly you have maintained your position as Crown Prince despite countless assassination attempts, I can see that your devotion to the realm runs equally deep."
Charlotte continued, her expression resolute.
"But if this were truly the work of Holland's Reform Faction or Conservative Faction, wouldn't they have announced His Majesty Leopold's death long ago? The more loudly they proclaimed such a fact, the more it would serve them politically—whether to solidify Your Highness's claim to the throne or to cast suspicion upon you."
A spark of vitality flickered across Prince Frederick's eyes as he regarded Charlotte.
"You're right, Miss Charlotte Augusta. But the Conservative and Reform Factions I speak of are not merely rival powers contending over Holland's political landscape. In fact, one might say they care little for Holland's affairs at all."
Prince Frederick's gaze traced slowly across Charlotte's face and her clear brown eyes as he continued.
"Consider only that my brother Leopold vanished in England. His policies and convictions are precisely those that ignite the passion of Europe's young reformers. Having achieved greater success than any reform-minded nobleman before him, expectations were equally high for his contributions at this gathering of European leaders."
Charlotte faltered, as though understanding dawned upon her. Prince Frederick nodded slowly in response. Soft sorrow passed across his face, which had remained sharp throughout their discourse.
"From the Conservative Faction's perspective, removing my brother would be akin to ridding themselves of a thorn in their side. If they were responsible, they would likely have simply eliminated him quietly—there would be no need to frame me."
"...."
Charlotte found herself at a loss for words. Through her own unique ability, she believed Leopold still lived somewhere. Yet beyond that conviction, she possessed no further logic sufficient to sway Prince Frederick.
"...My brother no longer exists in this world."
Perceiving Charlotte's despondent expression as surrender, sympathy kindled in Prince Frederick's eyes.
"And as a king who must place the realm and its people first, I cannot allow personal sentiment to take precedence while I await my brother Leopold's return.... Forgive me, Miss Charlotte, and Rochefort as well."
Charlotte recognized the sincerity in Prince Frederick's apology. In his voice—tinged with jealousy, self-reproach, and anguish—she could discern the unmistakable weight of his responsibility as Crown Prince.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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