AFTER GETTING OFF THE CARRIAGE, I took Isaac's hand and looked around.

I walked for a while and searched where Clara's debut would be, but I couldn't tell where it was because the sun was already setting.

Me and Louis held hands tightly and followed only Isaac, who knew the imperial palace like the back of his hand.

"Let's go through the back door so we won't get caught by mother."

Perhaps because he had been in and out of the Imperial Palace while training to be a knight, Isaac took the two of us into the back door of the Rose Hall where the ball was held.

"Wow. Pretty."

"Hold on a second. Louis, you have to keep Ciel in check." Isaac went to the lookout and we stayed in the background and observed the garden.

If the historic Duke of Valentine boasts a mid-to-late look, the imperial palace was up-to-date to the taste of the Emperor.

"Ciel, look at this!"

"What's that?'

Louis, who found something, called me. There were traces of something buried under the soil of the garden.

Oh, did you find something? At any rate, I squatted and dug the dirt, admiring the talent of our youngest brother, who had a brilliant mind and a keen eye.

"Then the worm comes out?" I said sarcastically and Louis pretends to be innocent and steps back.

"I'm not scared at all. Oh, what's this?" I was curious about what was buried, so I searched hard and found a paper bag inside.

This is a bit ominous. Sensing the crisis, Louis quickly took the envelope from my hand.

"Give it to me....Personnel verification file for candidates on behalf of the next Secretary of State. What's this?"

"What?"

I did, but maybe I did get something dangerous. The foreboding grew stronger. Louis has yet to understand the exact meaning of such difficult words even though he can read them aloud.

But I'm different. Because I have adult knowledge as it is.

"Wait, give it to me."

I quickly stole the document with my eyes. Even if you read it roughly, it's not something that's meant to be buried here.

"What are you guys doing there?" Louis and I looked up at the man standing behind us, his hands full of dirt.

Yikes. I think we're screwed.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───

ALEX STEPPED OUT OF THE CROWDED party and into the garden. It has already been three years since he started his official duties, and he has officially continued his career after being ordered by his father, the Emperor.

Negotiations with neighboring Kingdoms were successful. However, despite his excellent results over the years, the Emperor still gave no definite answer.

"You don't have enough justification."

In other words, there is still a lack of justification to make himself the Crown Prince. It was more than possible to guess who was behind it.

Princess Royal, Empress Rote, Mother's enemy and Mistress of the current Imperial palace. As the head of the aristocracy who revered legitimacy and authority, she always regarded Alex's presence as a thorn in her eye.

Like a bug.

The Empress Rote hated Alex's mother. His mother was killed by someone for daring to bear the Emperor's seed. He could tell who the culprit was without having to tell him.

Those who feared the power of the Empress disguised his Mother's death as an accident, even though they clearly saw signs of death from poison.

After his mother's unjust death, Alex decided. He will surely be an emperor and clear his mother's false accusations. He wasn't going to do anything to do that.

If he marries Duchal house Valentine's favorite son there will be enough justification.

There was a time when the Emperor mentioned it as a passing story. It's funny that this is said about a child who is only 10 years old, but the marriage of the royal family requires a proper identity.

If he marries Ciel, Alex gains a strong backing, the Duke of Christopher Valentine, the supreme power of the empire, whom even Princess Rotte cannot carelessly treat.

"It's Valentine."

He is not scared if he marries a boy. Besides in this world, marrying a boy to a boy is normal. Besides Alex sees Ciel is a fragile boy, Alex is confused if Ciel is really a boy, his skin tone is not really for a boy.

In short, he looks like a girl.

But the case is Ciel didn't know that you can marry a boy if you're also a boy. Well basically he was clueless, he thought that it was forbidden but in reality it's not.

According to his research, the Duke of Valentine has five children in total.

Four sons, and Clara the adopted daughter. A woman with no blood-ties to the family whatsoever.

Clara was adopted because the Duchess did not have a daughter, so Clara Valentine is nothing but a scoundrel.

Alex's Mother was an unwelcome scoundrel in this imperial palace.

With the arrival of Empress Rote, who received formal bookkeeping, his mother naturally became a person without even a record.

So he had a prejudice without realizing it. Like the Empress who bullied his mother because she was lower than herself, however-

Ciel is a different person.

"Let go of me!"

The child's voice, which couldn't be heard at the party, sounded very similar to that of Ciel of the day. Ladies and gentlemen who are about to make their first social debut will enter soon, so there should be no one in the garden right now.

He can't just let the fuss slip away. Alex pulled the sword straight out and headed for the garden.

There were two well-dressed children, and one of the imperialists, Count Reuben.

"Give me my brother!"

"I won't until you give me that envelope!"

"No. You can't do this!"

Alex was speechless by the absurd scenery in front of him. It's definitely Valentine's third son, Louis Valentine, who's pulling the man's pants hard on the floor.

And the boy, caught in Count Reuben's hands, is holding the envelope tightly against his chest.

"What brings you here, Valentine's young masters?"

"Your Highness!" Fortunately, Ciel Valentine remembered Alex's face.

In the meantime, Louis, standing next to the captor, attacked Count Reuben's family jewels with all his might.

"I told you to let my brother go!"

"Woo!"

When Count Reuben's body, which had been hit by his baby maker, collapsed, Ciel jumped off, grabbed his brother's hand, and immediately hid behind Alex.

"Your Highness, help me."

"Huh? Your highness? You mean, Your Highness Alex?"

"Count Reuben, What happened?"

Count Reuben fell to the floor and was in agony, unable to say a word.

Alex looked after the two children behind him in the meantime. He doesn't know why these kids are here.

However, if anything happened to the child of the Duke of Valentine, the youngest son Ciel, who is also famous for always getting pampered by the Duke, a big problem would surely arise.

"Both of you, all right?"

"Your highness, please look at this document."

Ciel Valentine readily came before him with a document that he had not given away despite Count Ruben's threat. Leaning against the dim light shining through the window, he read down the document.

"The personnel verification file for the next nominee on behalf of the State Department?"

"What's that?'"

The young master Louis may not know, but Ciel Valentine seems to have already noticed how important the document is.

He put the document back in the envelope and asked Ciel.

"Where the hell did you get this?"

"It was buried there. He's here to get this." Ciel pointed to Count Reuben in a clear voice.

"I-I don't know anything."

Count Reuben's response, who is trembling while talking, is suspicious. Alex went straight into the blame.

"You say you don't know, when this thing out here is your father-in-law's corruption?"

Marquis Romford, Count Ruben's father-in-law, is one of the most prominent ministers of state and one of the nobles who backs Emperor Lautte.

Judging from the original documentation, he decided to steal evidence of the Marquis Romford's corruption from the imperial court and hand it over to the Marquis, Alex shook off the soil and put it in an envelope.

"I'll take this. If you don't go away right now, your neck will no longer be intact on your shoulders, not your master."

That was the maximum generosity Alex could show. Count Reuben ran away and Alex looked at the muddy children.

Ciel's behavior was somewhat dubious. Not like the youngest son who grew up with only love, he even brushed off the dirt from his grunting brother's clothes.

"My brother Louise, that's great. If it weren't for my brother, I would have died."

"That's why you should've just given it away or why didn't you give it to me instead?" Even at the words of Lewis, Ciel didn't even bat an eye.

"But this was a really important piece of data. Isn't it, Your Highness?"

That's true, but how the hell did this little boy find out?

It must have been quite difficult for a child to understand and contained many words he didn't know.

In fact, his Brother Louis doesn't seem to know what it is yet.

"Do you know what this is about?"

"Yes, it's proof of corruption of the newly elected State Department Minister. I'm glad for you, because now Marquis Romford is going to drop out of office as the next Secretary of State."

"Is it good for me? Why did you think so?"

"Because it is the greatest danger that will threaten your Majesty's power in the future."

Unlike when he was acting cute with a short tongue in front of his sister, Ciel Valentine seemed to know not only about Alex but also the fact that there was an imperial daughter behind the Marquis of Romford.

Considering that this involves the Valentine as witness is a coincidence, now they can't just not go unnoticed. He concluded that and set a good example.

"I think I should thank you very much, Valentine's prince."

For whatever reason, this kid is worth using. With that thought, Alex willingly knelt in front of Ciel.