The imperial troops who had been driving James to the border began to rustle when they noticed the crest.
"Marquis Berkeley, welcome back!"
The captain of the Imperial Guard called out to James.
James did not answer, but opened the door of the carriage and stepped down to the ground.
"I see that these are the Royal Guards... The crown prince's personal Kingsguard, what on earth do you want from me?"
The banner had a red border indicating the crown prince's Kingsguard.
James had expected some sort of movement from the kingdom upon his return, but he had not expected the crown prince's Kingsguard to arrive.
The thought of whether his wife and son in the estate would be all right came to James' mind.
Both of them were genuine aristocrats. One could only hope they are doing well.
James hid his heart and gave a nobleman's smile.
"I would like to ask you a few questions about your daughter, Miss Mariabelle, Marquis de Berkeley."
"Hmmm. Is it voluntary or compulsory?"
James' question was answered by the Kingsguard, who remained erect and unmoving.
"If possible, we would like to avoid forcing you to do so."
"If they resist, they will be taken away even if they are captured."
He thought it was a very violent thing for the king to do, but when you think about it, they are the crown prince's personal guards.
If so, the crown prince might have gone out of control again.
The king had given his written permission for Mariabelle's marriage.
They probably did not think she would marry the crown prince of the Gallerian empire, but now that they have given their permission, there is no reason for them to interfere.
It is true that there is a possibility that she might be suspected of having a secret connection with the Empire, but there is no proof.
Since there was no such thing as a secret connection to begin with, there was no evidence, and since the Empire was a friendly nation, not an enemy, there should be no charges to be brought against James.
He must avoid any cracks between the kingdom and the empire by making a poor attempt to resist.
If the two countries were to fight, the Republic would immediately intervene.
If this is the case, it would be best to keep quiet and wait and see what the crown prince's side would do.
Sighing inwardly, James waved his hand to the imperial soldiers to show that he was fine, and got into the carriage prepared by the royal army.
The news was immediately delivered to Renato and Mariabelle, who were practicing their dance.
"Your father has been taken by the Royal Army!"
"Report the details."
With a wave of his hand, Renate stopped playing and supported Mariabelle, whose complexion had lost its blood, and pulled her trembling shoulders.
"It appears that the Marquis de Berkeley was taken by the Royal Army as soon as he crossed the border."
"And the Imperial Army just let it slide with their fingers crossed?"
"It appears that the Marquis de Berkeley instructed them to stay out of it."
"The Imperial Army did not do anything about it because it could have been taken as a military suggestion, but it could have been a way to create an opening for the Marquis de Berkeley to return to the Imperial side... No, did they consider the possibility that this would lead to accusations of rebellion against the Marquis de Berkeley?"
The soldiers Renato put on James were some of the best in the imperial army.
"The father of the imperial prince's fiancée, I had feared that he might be targeted by the nobility in the empire, but I did not think that there would be a problem on the kingdom's side."
"Moreover, they are not just the Royal Army, but the crown prince's personal guard."
"They were surely trying to challenge Renato's engagement to Mariabelle."
"Mariabelle?"
"Yes?"
"What kind of person is Crown Prince Edward?"
Renato's question reminded Mariabelle of her former fiancé, who had drifted away from her not only in distance but also in feeling.
"He is serious and diligent, a man of both literary and military skills, but a little lenient with people."
"In other words, he's the perfect personality for a puppet."
Edward is not a hard worker, perhaps because he does everything so quickly. And rather than trying to master something, he was often intrigued by new things.
There was an aide who admonished him for this, but Edward, who did not like to be nagged, kept him away.
Neither the king nor the queen particularly blamed him for this personnel change.
During her education as a queen in the kingdom, Mariabelle never paid particular attention to the factions within the kingdom.
The plague of ten years ago had reduced the number of nobles, and there was no time for power struggles among those who remained.
So she had assumed that her father had proposed her as Edward's fiancée only to enhance the Berkeley family's prestige.
But what if there was a secret power struggle going on behind the scenes?
It was at that moment that the distortions of the kingdom, which she had never questioned before, became clear to her eyes.