The Old Man in the Back Room

Helena glared at me with a demure posture, her knees pressed tightly together.

“…Please state your business briefly.”

She didn’t seem pleased at all. She drained the coffee I had kindly ordered for her at my own expense in one go, emptying the cup, and her demeanor clearly showed she wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

After all, she had been dragged here against her will.

The more time I spent with Lina, the more inevitable it became to encounter her attendant. We were in the same team, and even participating in the Sevirpol expedition education together, so it was a natural course of events.

Moreover, with Erika challenging Lina to duels and increasing the time we spent together, I was able to face the head maid whose range of movement had been narrowed.

As expected of Erika.

She’s being helpful in so many ways.

“Lina! Let’s spar again!”

“Y-Yes?”

To boldly request a rematch with an opponent who had defeated her dozens, no, hundreds of times – since the Sevirpol expedition education, her attitude towards training had completely changed.

In the past, she had blindly followed my advice and trained, but now she was proactively seeking growth to the point of devising changes in her education method herself. Her continuous challenging attitude towards Lina was an example of this.

Right now, at this time, she would usually be in the midst of sparring with Erika, but didn’t she leave saying she would build up her stamina first?

“Lady Lina, it’s chilly, so I brought you a coat…”

“Oh, Helena?”

Thanks to that, I not only encountered Helena who came to look after Lina, but also ended up enjoying a romantic break looking out at the peaceful noon square from the cafe window, which was extremely satisfying.

“It’s been a while since we met, yet such a cold response makes me a bit sad.”

I wiped the bread crumbs stuck thickly around my mouth with a tissue, and slightly tilted my head towards Helena, who was showing eyes like those of a hungry wildcat.

“The third favor I promised in Sevirpol.”

Flinch.

“It’s still remaining, right?”

Well, we weren’t exactly on chatting terms, and I preferred not to beat around the bush in our conversation style, so I brought up the topic directly.

“Proposals beyond my ability are impossible…”

“Don’t worry. It’s something you can definitely accomplish.”

With a declaration close to a command.

“Forget about faded glory, and help Lina live a new life. That is my final request.”

“What?”

“Don’t do anything foolish, and carry out Lina’s will. That’s what I’m saying.”

At first, indifference.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about…”

Second, doubt.

“C-Could it be?”

Finally, shock.

“No, how…!”

Even though she had shown excellent emotional control by hiding her expressions when I caught her from behind in Sevirpol, this time she couldn’t maintain her stoicism and displayed numerous emotions on her face.

Clunk!

Starting with a slight frown, she opened her sleepy eyes and tightly closed lips wide, and finally stood up abruptly as if her muscles had stiffened, freezing in place without any movement.

“If you don’t want to turn the imperial family’s sordid family history into gossip at the military academy, it would be in your best interest to remain quiet, Head Maid Helena.”

Thud!

Only after hearing my threat-laced warning did Helena sit back down, conscious of the gazes around her.

“W-What on earth is your identity? How did you… when we managed it in utmost secrecy…”

From her perspective, it was an understandable reaction.

No matter how much she had guessed that I was no ordinary person, she couldn’t have imagined that I could even eavesdrop on their letters.

Helena wasn’t a fool, so she must have treated it as a confidential document when sending it to the imperial family. But now, faced with a girl who was grinning right in front of her, clearly having leaked the information, her head must be pounding, wondering if there was an informant.

Moreover, if I were to open my mouth, it would have more than enough negative impact on Lina, whom she would protect even at the cost of her own life, so of course she would be restless.

“…How much do you know?”

“Everything.”

“Hah…”

Sensing from my straightforward gaze that it wasn’t a lie, she let out a sigh close to lamentation. Then, as if guessing my thoughts and trying to make excuses, she continued speaking rapidly, filled with indignation.

“The interests of a family are not something that can be carelessly concluded by one person’s declaration. Yena Freud, you might not understand as a common imperial citizen, but we are different…!”

Bang─

The head maid leaned away from the backrest and supported herself on the table with both arms, bringing her upper body closer to me. Trembling lips, shaking pupils, rough breathing – she narrowed the distance to a level where I could closely observe her blatant physical reactions, and chewed each word one by one.

“It’s not that I’m opposing the severance with the imperial family out of some petty sympathy, I cherish Lina more than anyone…”

What Helena was trying to mention was none other than the Emperor’s reply. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the cause of her overreaction and Lina’s despair from the other day was all due to the reply to the letter.

Did they use Ernst, who had cut ties with them long ago, as an excuse to threaten?

When I first requested him to investigate the entire story of the entangled letter incident between the imperial family and Lina, it was nothing short of a comedy.

Ernst would have long since severed ties with Lina’s family, considering Prime Minister Erdoff’s tendency to despise nobility, yet the Emperor used what is called bluffing to threaten Lina.

If she betrayed the family, Ernst would use his power to order her expulsion from the military academy for failing to properly support Wolf in time, and Helena, her only loyal servant, would be sent back to the Kingdom of Holland.

“…I need to send a letter of protest. If it weren’t for your request, I wouldn’t have known. Thank you, Yena. I’ll send someone later to deliver the materials.”

“Yes, thank you. Could you perhaps send a letter directly to Lina as well? As her friend, it pains my heart to see her suffering.”

“Well… I suppose I could.”

When I first received the news from Ernst’s telegram, I was so perplexed. For a family ruled by the Emperor, it’s too sordid a behavior.

Even in my previous life, it wasn’t this miserable…

In the past, they had lived quietly, resigned to their misery with no escape from their downfall, but today, they had been relying solely on Wolf as a lifeline, only to have that rope cut entirely, which seemed to have driven them mad.

“I don’t want to see Lady Lina suffering either. But if we don’t follow the imperial family…”

“It’s because of Ernst von Stresemann, that man, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“Isn’t that the reason you fear the family? Afraid of retaliation from a man who served as a minister? If he assures your safety, then follow my suggestion. This is the maximum concession I can offer you.”

“That’s just optimistic talk…”

“I’ll be the judge of whether it’s possible or not. Just swear that if this issue is resolved without much harm to Lina, you will absolutely…”

Anyway, judging from Ernst’s statements, I could foresee that the conflict would soon come to an end, and I used this as a pretext to propose a deal to Helena.

“Don’t even think about investigating my background, and agree not to question any words or actions I give you from now on. Also, all conversations between us will be kept as a secret between just the two of us.”

Even for a head maid, there was a limit to my patience if she became a hindrance. She had been trying to taboo every decisive moment when I tried to get closer to Lina, and there was no guarantee she wouldn’t do it again later.

Shouldn’t I clear things up now? It was necessary to negotiate, even if I had to use Lina, whom she cherishes dearly, as a condition.

“That’s…”

“I’m telling you to keep your mouth shut. It would be nice if you could also withdraw that harsh gaze.”

On the surface, it was a very unfair exchange. Even though similar situations could occur in the future, it was close to a demand for unconditional compliance.

“I understand. If Lady Lina’s safety is guaranteed, I will accept.”

But the other party was the head maid, a woman who cared for Lina more than anyone else, so regardless of the conditions, she nodded as long as the imperial princess was okay.

“Haha, good.”

The deal was made. I stood up abruptly from my chair and offered a handshake to Helena. I also returned to my polite speech that I had momentarily lost.

Swish, swish!

Helena, seemingly half in doubt, formed long wrinkles on her forehead as she clasped my hand. Perhaps because she was a woman of sturdy build, the sight of our arms tilting diagonally due to the height difference was somewhat comical.

“I’ll take care of the bill. If there’s anything else you’d like to order, feel free to tell the waiter my name, Yena Freud, and order as much as you want.”

Having achieved my goal, I didn’t linger in the cafe any longer.

By now, Lina and Erika’s sparring should be underway after finishing their physical training, and I was curious about how the situation was unfolding.

Having emptied my cup neatly, I moved my feet without any lingering attachment.

Thud─

“…Lastly, could I know a bit about your identity?”

To Helena’s final question as she grabbed my wrist,

“Just someone who luckily rode the winds of the times, that’s all.”

That was all I answered.

---

The greed of the elderly can degrade humans to shabby beings. There was no man who fit this maxim better than the wrinkled old man of the Kingdom of Holland, who wasted his life in delusions, unable to forget his prime.

Bang, crash!

“H-H-Have you ever seen such an ungrateful breed!”

He smashed chairs worth millions of dena, which would have been processed with the blood and tears of the people. Still not satisfied, he tore apart a carpet worth the price of a house in Bern, venting his anger.

“Y-Your Majesty. Please calm yourself…”

“Aaaargh─!”

Wilhelm, once called Emperor and commanded the world, trembled his chin, unable to accept reality.

[The Last Warning to Emperor Wilhelm]

All his nerves were focused on a single letter that had suddenly arrived at the mansion.

‘D-Dare to betray me?’

It was a letter comprehensively expressing protest regarding the expulsion of the few remaining members of the Stresemann family, the official declaration of severing ties, and the letter sent to Lina Victoria Wilhelm Hohenzollern, my daughter.

Crunch!

Wilhelm, given the sender of the letter, didn’t dare to burn it, but just stared at it with his eyebrows raised high.

Wasn’t it just yesterday that he prided himself on working together for the revival of the imperial family? Even if there was a ‘slight’ trouble with Wolf causing a slight setback, to unilaterally break an agreement formally made between families?

“Ugh, ugh…”

“Your Majesty!”

“Y-Your Majesty, I’ll call for the doctor!”

Wilhelm, in his anemic state, couldn’t support his legs and finally collapsed on the floor.

‘Is this truly how I fade and disappear?’

It was miserable to realize his position where he couldn’t even dream of protesting, even when looking down from the thoroughly superior position of the Stresemann family. To think that the countermeasure devised after Lina, the only useful relative, notified her severance, resulted in receiving a threat filled with lies…

He couldn’t bear to open his eyes. If that threat had worked, it would have been a different story, but wasn’t he in the midst of losing face after being discovered by Ernst?

He has to take the position of an observer despite being the person concerned.

There’s nothing he can do.

“It’s fine. I’m okay, so call off the doctors.”

Wilhelm straightened his back, supporting himself on the edge of the desk with staggering movements. With a dejected heart, he looked out the window at the unnecessarily beautiful reed fields of Holland and muttered quietly to himself.

“…It’s all over.”

Although Wilhelm regretted his past days tainted with greed, it was too late. The karmic retribution for oppressing Lina while only considering his own safety finally came back as the family’s downfall, and Wilhelm had all his limbs cut off.

The fall of the Emperor, who always wore a red coat and enjoyed the pleasures bestowed by the Champs-Élysées, put a period to the old system of feudalism.