"Erik is at the castle...?"
"Yes, Lea-nee-san."
"I see..."
In Erik's private residence in the imperial capital, his wife, Lea, laid in bed. Despite her recuperation, she had come to the capital, being summoned by none other than Erik himself.
"He must be busy, but could you tell him that I'd like to see him, Conrad?"
"Sure, I'll let him know."
While answering from beside her bed, Conrad peeled some fruit and placed it on a plate before her. After eating a little of the fruit Conrad had prepared, Lea smiled weakly.
"It would be nice if we could all have a meal together again..."
"Yes, that would be something to look forward to."
Conrad covered Lea with a blanket while smiling. Lately, just talking seemed to tire her out so to avoid overburdening her, Conrad left the room as staying there would only encourage Lea to keep talking. After entrusting her care to some carefully selected and trustworthy maids, he left Erik's residence. His destination was the Imperial Castle where Erik awaited. Despite the fact that the imperial capital's consort palace having been burned to the ground, the city was eerily calm."How are things in the north and south?"
After reaching the castle, Conrad murmured to seemingly no one. In response, Xiaomei appeared out of nowhere.
"The opposition forces are steadily forming."
"Continue the monitoring and gathering of information."
With that, Conrad walked through the castle alone. Being alone was natural for him as Conrad had not been born out of desire. His mother Sofia had not wanted another child after Gordon and Conrad was simply an unexpected consequence. Consequently, Sofia had no interest in him and was focusing instead on raising Gordon as a warrior. Thus Conrad was raised by maids until Erik's birth mother, Camilla, took him in. But Camilla's motives were merely for appearances, as she wanted to impress the emperor so there was no love, only formality. In the emperor's presence, she played the role of a good mother to him, but that was not always the case.
Thus, Conrad remained alone where eating meals alone in a large room with maids in attendance was his norm. This continued until he was about seven or eight years old. Shared meals were rare and were only reserved for family gatherings during formal events, where attention was divided and decorum had to be observed.
But one evening, things changed. Dinner was served in Conrad's room, but this time it was for three.
"We're staying at the castle tonight. So, let's have dinner together," Lea had said, her laughter bright whereas Erik looked sheepish. Conrad later learned that Lea had scolded Erik for not noticing that his brother was always eating alone.
From that day, Conrad's life gained color. He no longer drifted through the days that were filled only with lessons from the tutors, enduring solitary meals, and sleep. Erik started joining the lessons with him and when Lea was at the castle, they both attended the classes together. Conrad was finally praised for his intelligence, something he had never experienced and this praise motivated him to excel in his studies. When Erik noticed that the tutor couldn't keep up with Conrad, he promptly arranged for a new one. By his early teens, Conrad had completed all necessary education. Camilla claimed credit for his swift progress while acting as though she had guided his education. But this meant nothing to Conrad. His only drive was to earn praise from Erik and Lea during their meals together.
Before departing for battle, Erik had asked Conrad to stay by Lea's side while knowing that it would please them more than any military achievement. Thus, Conrad had never sought glory. His fulfillment came from living for Erik and Lea rather than being in the royal spotlight. The only exception was his father, Emperor Johannes, who had provided a sense of fatherly affection during their limited interactions.
As Conrad walked, two voices called from behind.
"Good work, Your Highness."
"Welcome back, Your Highness."
He frowned at the two knights in white mantles which were symbols of the Imperial Guard. One was the former captain of the Tenth Guard Squadron, Raphael Berent, and the other was the current captain, Burkhardt von Altenburg.
Addressing them, Conrad spoke.
"Drop the 'Your Highness' stuff."
"What should we call you then?"
"Anything's fine. Just drop the insincere 'Your Highness.' A knight who betrayed the emperor and one who abandoned him, both of you are far from loyal. Your fake loyalty disgusts me."
Raphael had betrayed the Imperial Guard during the coup in the capital, and Burkhardt had feigned death to avoid the battle in the Perlan royal capital. Both of them now served Wilhelm while taking actions unbecoming of Imperial Guard captains. Being addressed as 'Your Highness' by such men was revolting to Conrad.
"We've certainly made enemies."
Raphael smiled wryly.
"But you too are quite something, deceiving both your biological and foster mothers. Shouldn't we, as fellow traitors, get along?"
"You don't understand. Even among traitors, there's a difference in class."
"There's class in betrayal?"
Conrad nodded silently while walking away without looking back.
"A betrayal born of conviction, even if unjust, is not disloyal," he murmured.
It's a matter of where one's loyalty lies. Everyone fights for what they believe in and that's all there is to it. Raphael shrugged, but it didn't concern Conrad. For him, the others' opinions had never mattered.
TL's Notes:
Holy crud finally we get some Conrad backstory.... If you guys forgot, he is the 5th (or 6th) eldest brother and Gordan's biological younger brother. Also the guy who stabbed his real mom in the back.
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