When I crossed the warp gate with the coachman’s words, which should have been bluffs, I knew as soon as I saw what he said wasn’t a lie.

As soon as I crossed the warp gate, the fields and fields that caught my eye were the very peaceful scenery of my hometown itself.

My little wish to reach the estate of another nobleman with the same name was completely frustrated.

“ha… .”

Besides, seeing that even faceless workers were building all sorts of buildings around the gate, it was obvious that they were going to use this gate for some kind of business.

Unable to guess what my sister was thinking, a spontaneous sigh came out of my mouth.

“What are you thinking… .”

Could it be that the problem I needed was the installation of this warp gate?

Permission from the imperial family is essential to install a warp gate in a vassal territory that is not a Margrave or Duke, so you want to install a warp gate through Prince Antonio, who owes my life?

It was an assumption that made no sense in many ways, but it was the number of cases that were most likely.

Otherwise, I thought there was no reason to call me so urgently by letter.

The problem was that no matter how much Prince Antonio owed me his life, it wasn’t a debt enough to grant such ridiculous permission.

Could it be that he already used it to recover the material for the coil mouse he owed his life to?

Delphina had a long history of running the estate alone in her own way, and was the representative of the Perdalos family at various aristocratic events.

Of course, I thought he would have a much more realistic sense than me.

I couldn’t have imagined that I was making an absurd plan to set up a gate in the territory without my knowledge.

I guess I should say something about this as soon as I meet Delphina.

It’s a questionable situation even if it’s a warp gate that was approved in the first place.

First of all, I used this gate to return to Perdalos, but the warp gate that was built without royal permission would be demolished within a few days.

If that were the case, the entire business he had started would be completely bankrupt.

While thinking so, the carriage led by the coachman arrived in front of the Perdalos mansion.

After giving him the carriage pay and a small tip, he entered the mansion.

“Are you back, Bocchan?”

“Yes, I have been.”

As if he knew I would arrive today. I briefly said hello to Jack, who was waiting to greet me at the entrance of the mansion.

He also asked questions about the current situation.

“A very special means of transportation has been added to the manor.”

“Yes, I was really surprised too.”

“Could it be Delphina’s judgment? Or is it that your mother or father pushed for it?”

“… … .”

“Why are you not talking?”

At my question, Jack put on a worried expression for a moment as if he was hiding something, then carefully opened his mouth and delivered an answer with difficulty.

“It was not promoted by Viscount Dmitri, nor by Lady Tanasia, nor by Lady Delphina, of course.”

“Then who are you?”

“… It is the result promoted by a person in such a position that the masters cannot easily refuse.”

“… … What?”

“He’s inside at the moment, so let’s talk about it yourself, youngster.”

After being led into the mansion by Jack’s hand in a situation where only questions still remained, I was able to figure out who he said was ‘a person in a position that could not be easily rejected’.

“Oh, brother… .”

Delfina, who was dealing with someone with a very tired look in the parlor that followed Jack.

“It’s been a while, Prince Conrad. Have you finished your training in the north and returned?”

Because there was Prince Antonio who greeted me with a shameless face.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Why the hell is he now in the Perdalos mansion and not in the imperial palace?

And why did he visit Perdalos so brazenly without hiding his true identity?

What was that warp gate that was built in the estate without consulting.

There were a lot of things I wanted to ask, but the moment I mixed up my feelings right now, it would surely be a crime of blasphemy.

Somehow, I calmly organized my expressions and organized the most gentlemanly expressions I could convey to him.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

It’s just that I wasn’t good at talking, so I couldn’t explain it properly.

Still, if he had restrained himself, it was an expression of self-restraint.

If someone else had done the stupid thing of installing a gate in the Perdalos estate, he would have already poured out dozens of words with just swear words.

At least I had a little friendship with him, he was a member of the royal family, and at least he was an acquaintance of Delphina, so I restrained myself a lot.

“… … .”

The prince, who greeted me with a happy expression, stiffened in his seat with that expression.

“Oh, brother?!”

My sister, with a tired face, reacted in bewilderment as soon as she heard what I said.

“What the hell did you just say, brother?!”

“… … .”

“Daddy, apologize to the prince quickly! No matter how close your brother is to the prince, if he said such a thing right after seeing you for the first time in a long time, it would be a crime of disrespect… !”

“Yes, Delphina.”

After I properly pushed aside my little sister who had flown towards me as if she was bouncing off a chair in the drawing room.

I approached Prince Antonio, who was still looking at me with a stiff expression.

“I apologize for spitting out swear words as soon as I saw you after a long time, Prince Antonio.”

“Yes, yes, Prince Conrad… .”

“But it’s nothing compared to the gags that the prince has made in Viscount Perdalos’s estate, isn’t it?”

“… … .”

“Oh, father, uh, father… .”

As soon as I spat out swear words in his face once again as if to confirm death, I heard my sister’s embarrassing reaction from behind.

The two butlers, who seemed to be Prince Antonio’s servants, also began to show signs of being more wary of me.

“This ideal will be regarded as an insult to the prince… .”

“It’s okay, Dale. Just be still.”

“Yeah?”

“Prince Conrad is someone you can trust enough, so you don’t have to be so vigilant.”

“… … .”

At Prince Antonio’s words, the servant called Dale withdrew to the back.

“You’re the first noble to swear at a prince you haven’t seen in a while, Prince Conrad.”

“Then why don’t you do something bad?”

“Well, I don’t think I’ve done anything to insult you, but you must have your own reasons for thinking that way.”

He still didn’t seem to know what he had done wrong, but at least he responded that he would talk about what he had done.

“… … .”

“… I will wait outside, Prince Antonio.”

The prince sent his servants out of the parlor with a single glance.

“Delphina, you are out too.”

“You’re not trying to be disrespectful to the prince while I’m gone, brother?”

“I also have basic etiquette.”

“My older brother, who has basic etiquette, met Prince Antonio with swear words as the first thing he said… .”

“Delphina.”

“… I’ll vacate my seat. Let the two of you talk.”

After sending Delfina out of the drawing room, they set up a place to talk with Prince Antonio in earnest.

“I will ask you first, Prince Antonio.”

“Yes, tell me.”

“Is it true that the Warp Gate currently being built in the Perdalos Mansion was built by Prince Antonio?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Whoa… .”

How can I explain that attitude that is so proud and does not hide it?

It was the moment when the premonition that it would already be frustrating passed through my head.

“Are you insane?”

“I am always sane, Prince Conrad.”

“Why would such a man install a warp gate in such a country estate with no vision or prospects? Yeah?”

“Calm down and listen, I didn’t install the warp gate without thinking.”

If it wasn’t for the royal family, he would have put his fist into that shameless-looking snout.

“Let’s talk about it.”

Prince Antonio, who listened quietly to my story, began to explain why he had installed the Warp Gate in Perdalos.

“First of all, to say the conclusion, I am planning to make this Perdalos Territory into a comprehensive terminal for the Empire.”

“Yeah?”

“As you know, the imperial capital is now too complicated due to people using warp gates, making it difficult to maintain the original administrative capital function.

You know better than anyone else, because you always stand in a long line to go through the warp gate every time you return to your hometown.”

“… Yes, it is.”

“In addition, because of the warp gate, it became a place where many people gather, so it is also a place where all kinds of merchants and mercenaries gather. There’s even an academy, so it’s really chaos.

In order to disperse the population density that is too concentrated in one place, we had to create a planned city where people gather rather than the administrative capital. It had to be done someday, Prince Conrad.”

When viewed objectively, there was nothing wrong with Prince Antonio’s logic itself.

The question is, why do you say that you will do it in Perdalos territory and not elsewhere?

“For that reason, it doesn’t have to be the Perdalos territory.”

“Most of the Imperial Household Territories already have a large population, and with the exception of the Imperial Capital, not a single piece of land is very large. Most of them are remnants of land left over from the ancestral dynasties handing out territories to nobles.”

“If there are many territories with extra land or unexplored areas, there are many even if it is not Perdalos territory.”

Countess of Alias or Earl of Asimov.

Any aristocrat with a suitable position and wide unexplored land would have existed without Perdalos.

“Actually, from there, I can only say that it was my personal greed.”

“Yeah?”

“Because it was my personal desire to develop this Perdalos estate run by your sister, Lady Delphina’s family.”

“… … .”

“Didn’t you tell me that Lady Delphina likes receiving ‘opportunity’ as a gift the most.

Wouldn’t there be a rarer opportunity than having a warp gate appearing in a territory overnight?”

I couldn’t help but be speechless at Prince Antonio’s reaction when he said so calmly that he made the gate ‘for Delfina’.

Dividing the role of the administrative capital or creating a planned city were just excuses to add later.

In fact, what if all these actions were just an act by Prince Antonio to earn the favor of my sister, Delphina?

It was at that moment that such an absurd thought passed through my head.

“Prince Antonio, I will apologize later if the question is rude, but may I ask you one question?”

“Yes, tell me.”

“Does Prince Antonio have special feelings of affection for my sister, Delfina?

It’s a special kind of feeling that’s different from when you meet an ordinary person like me or another noble lady.”

“Hmm… .”

Hearing my words, Prince Antonio avoided my gaze and stroked his chin.

“… Could it be that you didn’t know until now?”

He calmly let out a shocking statement from his own mouth.