I frowned as Ian grinned widely, feeling far from pleased about this sudden fieldwork.

That smile was clearly the one he used when looking disapprovingly at nobles who spouted nonsense during state council meetings, so why was he showing me that expression?

I boarded the carriage with Ian’s escort—not the Crown Prince’s brilliant and luxurious carriage, but an ordinary one without any family insignia. Looking at Ian who sat across from me, I bowed my head and said:

“……I apologize if my words seemed disrespectful, Your Highness.”

“You’re not completely oblivious.”

Watching Ian immediately wipe away that unsettling bright smile after saying that, I tightly clenched my hands hidden behind my back. His comment about my awareness meant he had deliberately made that expression.

“Well, it’s fine coming from you, Ilena. You are my only aide after all.”

“……”

“So I permit you to be less formal than usual today.”

“What? Why suddenly……”

“Let’s speak casually to each other.”

“What?”

“May I ask why you’re suddenly giving such an absurd order, Your Highness?”

“If you understood it was an order, you should just follow it. Why ask?”

“Because as your aide, I need to carefully consider the impact of all your orders and offer my honest counsel.”

“Well then, my loyal aide Ilena. Where are we headed today?”

“To the casino that transforms into an illegal gambling den at night.”

“And why are we specifically going on this fieldwork now?”

“Isn’t it to check the situation before conducting a full-scale seizure and search?”

We had postponed this due to being too busy with year-end accounting and first quarter budget planning for national projects.

However, we already had secured evidence along with information that not only illegal gambling but also prohibited drugs were circulating. Still, a direct visual confirmation was essential.

While illegal gambling was a serious issue, the distribution of prohibited drugs was an even more severe problem.

Though Ian already had informants in every casino in the capital’s center, nothing was as certain as confirming in person just how many nobles were participating in these illegal activities.

“No, we’re conducting the seizure, search, and arrests today.”

“What?”

“We’ve been too busy, haven’t we? I deceived the nobles a bit at today’s state council meeting.”

“Don’t tell me you used the ‘we’re too busy to pay attention to anything else, so do as you please’ strategy?”

Imperial faction, Noble faction, Neutral faction.

The nobles, divided into these three groups, constantly slandered other factions at every opportunity. Yet despite fighting desperately for their own faction’s interests, they never dared to show hostility toward Empress Violet or Ian.

While the Empress was the power holder who had seized control of the Imperial family, Crown Prince Ian had complete authority over not only auditing the business rights that noble families used to fatten their purses, but also all budget-related matters.

In the original story, after Ian fled, budget and audit authority were precisely what Callian seized and never relinquished.

This was because it allowed him to control not only the nobles’ finances but even the purse strings of the formidable Empress.

Of course, this was naturally the Emperor’s authority, but for some reason, the Emperor had delegated this power to the Crown Prince.

As a result, Ian and I, his aide, were the ones being ground down by what was said to be the world’s most difficult task—budget planning and allocation.

“Yes, exactly. So I’m trying to infiltrate and catch all those nobles who’ve let their guard down, but if you call me ‘Your Highness,’ the sharp ones will escape before we even begin our infiltration, won’t they?”

“……”

“Why do you think I sent you home early this morning without having you assist me at the state council meeting? Rumors have already spread throughout the Imperial Palace that you’ve gone home after a long time and are sleeping like you’ve passed out.”

If such rumors were spreading, it would have been better to make them a reality. Hiding my true feelings that I couldn’t dare speak aloud, I could only smile wryly.

“So, speak casually. Today we’re going with the concept of a newly-wed nouveau riche couple visiting the capital for the year-end festival.”

“……Yes.”

“Not ‘yes.'”

“Okay.”

“……”

“What? You told me to speak casually.”

Ian closed his mouth at my shortened speech pattern, apparently having expected me to refuse a few times despite his own order. I’ve always learned that it’s a virtue not to refuse a superior’s orders, you fool.

“Ha, right. I momentarily forgot your character—never missing an opportunity. Do as you please. Be comfortable.”

“Yeah. Got it. So how many nobles do you think we can catch today?”

“……Let’s clarify that we start once we enter the casino.”

I glanced sideways at Ian with a clicking of my tongue as he quickly changed his stance after just telling me to do as I pleased and be comfortable.

Seeing my expression, Ian chuckled and continued:

“I plan to catch as many as possible and recover funds for the treasury. We’ll also secure their ledgers through the search and squeeze every noble who has ever set foot there at tomorrow morning’s state council meeting.”

“Right. We do need a lot of money.”

The Imperial family always needed money. Of course, the Imperial family of the Empire, the continent’s strongest nation, was not poor, but Ian was pouring out money that was not just abundant but practically overflowing into national projects.

During his 10 years as Crown Prince, by far the most tax money had gone into poverty relief projects that nobles found difficult to understand.

Unlike the nobles’ one-time charitable activities like providing a meal or fabrics, Ian had constructed residential complexes in the name of the Imperial family not only in the capital but throughout the provinces, offering minimum-interest loans so that citizens could move in.

Of course, in the process, he thoroughly filtered out vagrants and criminals who had no will to engage in economic activities and tried to avoid their tax obligations.

He showed thoroughness by obtaining pledges from those without jobs to engage in economic activities at provided workplaces, or in any case, providing housing only to those qualified to pay for housing costs.

The belief that vague welfare alone could not achieve development was a very sophisticated thought for a 13-year-old Crown Prince to have conceived.

The nobles who had unanimously criticized the Crown Prince for personally launching money-consuming national projects, thinking it was their opportunity, now had to shut their mouths seeing the even more solid budget scale of the Imperial family after 10 years.

“What policy are you trying to push through this time?”

“Reduction of nobles’ private armies, strengthening national defense.”

Watching Ian examining documents even while traveling in the carriage, I thought:

Perhaps the reason neither I nor even Ian could go home and had to stay in the office almost permanently due to excessive work was all because this work-obsessed guy had brought it upon himself.

And after observing for half a year, I still couldn’t understand why Ian, who cared so much about Imperial affairs and possessed the qualities of an exemplary Crown Prince and a great sage king, had abandoned all responsibility and fled in the original story.

As the carriage gradually slowed down, apparently having arrived at our destination—the largest casino in the capital—Ian closed the document folder with a loud thud and said:

“By the way, the Weiana family wasn’t involved in this matter.”

“What?”

As I hesitated at the sudden mention of my family, Ian opened the carriage door and stepped out, saying:

“So…… you’re free to go wild.”

I stared blankly at Ian who extended his hand to escort me out of the carriage, and finally smiled faintly as I took his hand and said while stepping down:

“I turned my back on my Noble faction family to become Your Highness’s aide in the first place.”

“……”

“So you can always consider me separate from my family.”

“Well, that’s a pleasing statement full of loyalty. Oh, and this is also overtime and extended work.”

“Is overtime calculated based on 6 PM?”

“Of course. I’m a benevolent boss who can turn a blind eye to that level of embezzlement for my loyal aide.”

“That’s a pleasing statement indeed, Your Highness.”

***

「Casinos at Night: Sanctuaries for Illegal Gambling and Drug Distribution?」

「The Crown Prince’s Relentless Action: Major Crackdown Eliminates Noble Families and Merchant Houses Involved in One Sweep!」

Ian, who had not only mobilized the Imperial Knight Order to search and seize all casinos throughout the capital last night, arresting nobles who were enjoying debauchery while using illegal drugs, but also demonstrated thoroughness by bringing journalists along in advance, was now looking with satisfaction at the empty seats of nobles attending the state council meeting.

“There are many empty seats.”

“……”

“It seems our hard work late into the night has paid off.”

Though he was smiling, Ian’s words were ice-cold, forcing the nobles to awkwardly clear their throats and carefully read the room. This was because the majority of those arrested were the children of high-ranking families who attended the state council.

The heads of families who were strung together like sausages regardless of whether they belonged to the Imperial faction, Noble faction, or Neutral faction, were absent from the state council meeting under the pretext of sudden illness, moving quickly in all directions to salvage the situation as best they could.

“The Crown Prince has properly established the Empire’s wavering discipline.”

The Empress’s gaze as she said this while glaring at Ian was utterly cold. This was because the most heavily implicated in this major crackdown was the Violet ducal family—the Empress’s natal family—which held the operating rights for casinos in the capital.

Though aware that touching an inexhaustible source of funds like casino operating rights would greatly displease the Empress, Ian was not one to care about such things.

“I will handle it fairly and justly so that Mother need not worry.”

While it might sound like he would take care of things to ensure no harm came to his maternal family, Ian was absolutely not the type to show leniency just because it was his maternal family.

Rather, it was clear he was deliberately targeting his maternal family’s businesses to cut down his in-laws. Because of this, though they were smiling at each other, murderous intent swirled between the Empress and Ian.

‘The atmosphere is brutal.’

And standing behind Ian, sharing in the Empress’s gaze, I was absolutely miserable.

I had learned well enough during my half year working as an aide in the Imperial Palace that theirs was not a normal mother-son relationship. The relationship between the two was bizarre no matter how I looked at it.

Whether it was the Empress, desperate to break the spirit of Ian, her only legitimate son, or Ian, who could ascend to the Emperor’s throne with the solid background of his maternal family even if he did nothing, yet constantly antagonized the Empress—I truly couldn’t understand.

As I naturally shifted my gaze while thinking this, my eyes met those of Count Weiana—my father—who was staring intently at me.

“……”

Since it was my father who first averted his gaze while showing an unreadable expression, I inwardly felt grateful that he had the sense not to make it appear as though we were directly attacking our family.

Although according to the original story, he would have unhesitatingly assigned me as Callian’s aide to act as a spy, that hadn’t happened because I had made the first move.