Published: January 4, 2026
"...Phew."
I secretly let out a small sigh as I received the golden plate from the soldier.
The plate was roughly divided into two parts, an upper and a lower section.
The upper part recorded the place and time of birth, and the names of the people present.
The lower half displayed the status.
Of course, the status section had a name, and there it was: "Chester Noof."
"This feeling..."
I swallowed the words "Is this real?" that were on the tip of my tongue.
I glanced around; the soldiers were watching me closely.
If I said that out loud in this situation, it would finally become "confirmed."
This golden plate was like a "birth certificate" for those connected to the royal family.
When a member of the royal family is born, their birth date and place, the names of those present, and their status at the time are all recorded and carefully preserved.
Nowadays, the plate is treated with magical enchantment to prove its authenticity, but in ancient times, simply having the wealth to process gold was proof of an exalted status, and this was a holdover from that.
By the way, the current standard is to apply magic so that no one except the bearer can remove it from its original storage place.
It makes no sense for the bearer to hand it over to someone else in this situation, so this boy holding it must be the real person.
As a side note, I have one too, of course, kept in the palace.
That said, I have never seen mine myself.
Things like this, just like the umbilical cord at birth, people generally don't want to see them unless they have a strong interest.
Back to the matter at hand. The plate appeared.
And the name of the owner was "Chester Noof."
The name Chester sounded familiar.
It should be the name of Eiler Noof's eldest son.
I sighed lightly once again.
Meanwhile, the soldiers began to stir.
"That's it, right?"
"So this guy's the fake emperor's son?"
"It's common to let the heir escape, right?"
It seemed some of the soldiers knew what the golden plate was, and the information quickly spread.
Then, the mood shifted.
"I see! Your Majesty saw right through that!"
"You personally came out to nip the next rebellion in the bud."
"Amazing! As expected of Your Majesty!"
Catching Chester was just a coincidence, but to the soldiers, it did not seem so.
"My concealment has backfired..."
Humans are creatures prone to strong assumptions.
And when those assumptions are "reversed," they generate even stronger new assumptions.
This time, my concealment made the soldiers see me as a "useless emperor who only picks on the weak."
That was exactly the effect I wanted; in fact, it was the best result.
However, by capturing Chester, the heir of the rebel army leader and a potential future threat if he survived, my concealment gave rise to the interpretation that "to deceive the enemy, one must also deceive one's allies."
At the same time, probably also came the idea that "for the sake of achieving the goal, one is willing to take the blame—even as emperor."
Proof that this was no misunderstanding was that the soldiers who brought him now invariably looked at me with respect.
☆
"Truly as expected of Your Majesty," Henry said as we were alone inside the tent.
"Stop it. You're the one who should know best that this was a mere coincidence," I said, sitting down in my chair located in the deep center of the tent.
Against expectations, on a proper desk that would not look out of place even inside the palace, I placed the golden plate.
"Luck on one's side is a quality of a wise ruler, especially when it counts the most."
"If that happens repeatedly, one may unconsciously become reliant on it. I don't want to become like that."
"If you think that way, then you won't."
"..."
"What will you do about Chester Noof?"
"Execution is the only option."
I answered immediately. Henry showed no change in emotion upon hearing this.
Yes, there is no other choice.
"A close relative of the ringleader, and the eldest son at that. Though from a collateral branch, the Noof family is linked to the royal family. If a royal is involved in rebellion, whether as principal or accomplice, the penalty is dismemberment."