Back in the North, a meeting had been underway for quite some time.
What would ordinarily have concluded quickly was dragging on.
A meeting held without the Grand Duke's presence carried a strong sense of futility, as a rule —
but this particular gathering concerned matters that could be discussed perfectly well without him.
Not a demand, precisely,
yet something that could not be put off.
"So then, how should we go about setting the date for the wedding?"
"I would think sooner is better, if at all possible."
"We all know that."
The North's administrative ministers were present, along with every notable noble whose name carried any weight in the North.
The one presiding over the meeting was not a bureaucrat like Hexon or Berdo.
It was Alfredo — the majordomo who oversaw every aspect of Winter Castle.
The fact that Alfredo served as a household steward at Winter Castle did not mean he lacked standing.
On the contrary, if one were to compare the years each person in this room had spent in service to the Wintergards,
Alfredo either surpassed them all by a wide margin, or edged them out by a narrow one.
"Since they are already sharing a room, one might argue there is no great need to rush."
"Oh, come now, Alfredo! That simply won't do. It simply won't."
"I suppose you're right. All things considered."
If a child were to come before the wedding had been held, that too could give rise to its own complications.
Most people in the North would celebrate, of course —
but there were always a few with twisted hearts, and those few were the problem.
After the Wintergard Rebellion, the Wintergard bloodline had all but run dry, and what remained of it was of the utmost importance.
And with only a handful of exceptions, there was now precisely one Wintergard left.
"The Grand Duke's age is now..."
"He has passed thirty, so next year he will be thirty-one."
"This is a serious matter. Truly serious."
The more one thought about it, the more it made one's head ache.
The young lords of other houses had already fathered children and were watching those children grow into adults.
Leor and James de Wintergard were no different.
They already had children, or their sons were coming of age —
yet the sole Wintergard still seemed to have no particular interest in the matter.
"Let us review the situation. What is your view, Hexon?"
"I consider it a matter of considerable urgency. As I always have!"
"What if we made a strong appeal on precisely these grounds and pressed the issue while we have the chance?"
"That strikes me as a sound idea."
Alfredo listened as the other ministers offered their opinions.
The nobles and ministers alike shared much the same view.
The most forceful opinions came, in particular,
from the older nobles and those who had served the Wintergards in years past.
House de Wintergard was especially emphatic.
"Everyone in this room will know what I am referring to. The Wintergards of old."
"Ahem. When it comes to House Wintergard..."
"Of course, everyone here knows these are words one would never dare speak before the Grand Duke himself — which is precisely why I will say them now."
There had been a time when men fought to the death over the title of Grand Duke.
The rebellion most forbidden to speak of when recounting the history of the North.
The Wintergard Rebellion.
Before the current Grand Duke Theodor had taken the seat —
the war between his father, Ardrno Wintergard, and Ardrno's brother, Valter Wintergard.
And was that all? Valter Wintergard had turned on his other brothers, his uncles, his nephews, every last one of them —
"P-please, that is enough. Lord de Wintergard."
"It was a tragedy. Hexon and Alfredo here were present at the time, so they know it all too well."
"It was a scene of such cruelty that one could scarcely bear to look upon it."
"Not a soul was spared — from young children to ordinary women."
It was not that no Wintergards remained alive.
But to call them sound of mind and standing was a stretch,
and the mere fact of their association with Valter Wintergard
had rendered them unfit to be called true Wintergards.
And then there was the hatred. The deep, abiding hatred — how could anyone overcome that?
"Countless people died, and countless cities were destroyed. I call that period the age of darkness."
"Everyone calls it that."
"When the late Duke Ardrno sought to restore the North, there were sorrows along the way as well."
"Ahem. Perhaps we might spare ourselves the details of the past."
The other ministers were uncomfortable.
It was not that they found it tedious, or that it felt like the nagging of old men.
It was closer to a wound that had never fully healed.
The war between Valter and Ardrno had been a time when people died every other day.
When Valter Wintergard was at last defeated and executed —
Ardrno Wintergard had also departed from this world. And after that,
the Grand Duke's first edict had come down: never again speak of the Wintergard family, never again speak of the Wintergard Rebellion.
He had been ten years old at the time. It was the day after the day after Theodor Wintergard's accession.
"Since then, the North has achieved remarkable progress. Even at that young age, the Grand Duke took personal command and crushed the remnants of Valter Wintergard's forces. And was that all?"
"Let us skip what came after. We all know it."
"Ahem. And so — I wonder whether it might be fitting for those of us elders who have lived through such things to take the lead here."
They were already prepared to lay down their lives.
Hold the wedding. Build a family.
But was this truly something that called for such resolve?
There were parts of this that the newer ministers who had come to the North more recently could not quite understand.
Larry, a new minister who had been watching the room carefully, was one of them.
"But there are still so many pressing matters concerning the North — is it truly necessary to prioritize the Grand Duke's marriage above all else?"
It was a naive-sounding question, but Larry had felt compelled to ask it.
The dealings with House Barth were only just beginning, and people were traveling back and forth all the way to the South.
On top of that, there was the ongoing strain of expanding the military,
and the vigilance against the nomadic tribes could not be allowed to lapse.
But —
Larry flinched — he found himself on the receiving end of a barrage of sharp glares.
"Would you look at this fool?"
"Everything else can wait! Those other problems are the kind that are always there!"
"This young upstart is trying to ruin everything. What dreadful timing!"
P-please, don't come any closer.
Because Larry had spoken, the older ministers had no choice but to hold themselves back.
Don't you understand what actually matters here?
But since Larry's question had resonated with at least a few people in the room,
it required an answer. The one to provide it was Alfredo.
The man who served at the Grand Duke's side more closely than anyone.
"Then allow me to pose a question — to our very young... colleague in the ministry."
"Yes, please go ahead."
"If the Grand Duke were to die suddenly, right now — whom would we serve?"
"W-well, that..."
Who is there? No one.
Who among the new Wintergards was there?
Those who carried the blood of the rebels? Those who had acted alongside them?
Their claim would be desperately thin. One might as well bring in some new house from the South.
And if it came to that, the domains within the North would splinter off and declare independence one after another.
That was how heavy the Wintergard name weighed upon the North.
"The Grand Duke has no brothers, no collateral relatives of different blood, and certainly no man among them who has kept his full wits about him."
"And the entire system we have built is designed to function around a single person."
A single focal point.
Whether it was the ministry overseeing domestic affairs, the newly established central bank, or the conduct of diplomacy —
the one holding the center of it all was the Grand Duke.
The older ministers and the younger ministers alike held the same view.
The Grand Duke had never once made a wrong decision.
And even when a decision might have been wrong, it had always been made after consulting the opinions of his ministers.
That was how the North ran.
"I wonder if you understand now, at least somewhat."
"Y-yes, I believe I do."
"In particular, if the Grand Duke were to die suddenly right now —"
The ministers were converging on the same conclusion.
But the possibility of the most terrifying outcome.
What would actually happen if the Grand Duke died suddenly?
"If that were to happen, what would become of us?"
"Winds of blood would blow. I expect several of the people in this room would not survive. There might well be another Wintergard Rebellion."
"..."
"Nothing else matters right now. The realm is on the verge of ruin."
The greatest virtue of a pre-modern monarch:
to establish a clear successor and make that succession unassailable.
Even the flawless Grand Duke Theodor had one unmistakable weakness.
There was, at present, no legitimate and unambiguous heir to the North.
In that case —
"Should I fetch an axe?"
"Why — are you thinking of begging him to cut you down on the spot?"
"If that would see the matter resolved?"
"Hmm..."
The conclusion they had ultimately reached:
House Wintergard currently had no legitimate heir.
For the sake of producing that heir, Theodor Wintergard needed to apply himself with every effort at his disposal.
The heir would need to be educated,
and would need to learn the character of the ministers who would serve him.
In that case —
"I will take up the axe."
"A-Alfredo?"
"I have served the Wintergards for a long time. Even if what comes after must be left to the rest of you, I have no choice but to step forward myself."
"A-Alfredo. You!"
"My mind is made up!"
Larry watched this unfold with some bewilderment —
but when he imagined what would follow if the Grand Duke were to die suddenly, it made his head swim.
War where blood washed away blood. Rebellion. Or the resurgence of the nomadic tribes.
Hexon brought out a large sheet of paper and began writing something on it, then pressed his handprint to it.
"What on earth is all this?"
"Please accept our solemn resolution. Grand Duke!"
He had returned from the South after a most satisfying meeting.
The dealings with House Kadla appeared to be proceeding smoothly,
and he had managed to put the Crown Prince firmly in his place.
Admittedly, things with Daniela had not progressed as much as he might have hoped.
Still, he had been moving forward steadily enough, all things considered.
"Please, an heir, as soon as possible...!"