"But His Majesty is not your enemy!"
Gilbert was aghast in the palace corridor.
"He is your father! You cannot oppose him! You absolutely cannot..."
Tales gave a derisive hum with a smile.
"Cannot?"
Gilbert composed himself and did his best to calm down.
"Listen, Your Highness. I truly have always looked forward to your arrival, trusted you, and pledged my allegiance to you, but that was never my intention!"
"Then what else could it be?"
Tales said sarcastically:
"Making me a prince so I could serve as a mascot in Mindis Hall?"
Gilbert furrowed his brow, growing increasingly anxious.
"No, Your Highness. You were supposed to be the future everyone looked forward to—everyone! And that was how you had always acted. Everything should have happened naturally, like water flowing into a channel!"
But Tales merely stared silently at the hand resting on his shoulder.
Wasn't everything happening now natural, like water flowing into a channel?
Teacher?
"You are the heir to the throne. Of course I understand that you feel suffocated and oppressed, and that you are dissatisfied with the status quo. But at the very least, you should have waited until... until..."
"Until the day I was successfully crowned?" Tales asked flatly.
Gilbert hesitated for an instant before gritting his teeth and nodding.
"Of course. When that time came, I would have supported you with all my strength, no matter how difficult it was or how many sacrifices were needed. I swear!"
"Morat, Qiu Ke, Connie, Guy, and I, along with many capable people in the Kingdom—we would all have helped you. But before that—"
"Help me?"
Tales interrupted him coldly.
"Like you 'helped me' in the past?"
Gilbert paused.
Tales raised his right hand and slowly, but with undeniable resolve, pushed Gilbert's palm away.
"Six years ago,