After explaining everything to Alicia, Sir Albert burst into tears. Alicia was speechless. She lost everything that once belonged to her, her family, her best friend who was also like a big sister to her, more than anything, her happiness, which she treasured the most; everything was gone in the blink of an eye, and just because of some Emperor's jealousy and inferiority.
Alicia refused to believe that her father was this naive. Her father, who was a great war hero, who was said to be only next to the Sixth Emperor (expanded the kingdom into an Empire) in terms of strength, someone with great knowledge and a strategic mind, a Prince who put an end to the 20-year-old war with Delnet and emerged victorious from it in just one year, couldn't have succumbed to the false love and lies of the Emperor. She argued with Albert that her father couldn't have trusted the envious Emperor this much.
Sir Albert replied, " Well, he had a reason to do so. You see, Princess, the Emperor wasn't always envious of his younger brother. If anything, when the Second Prince was born, he was the first to announce it to the Empire, though it should have been the previous Emperor's duty. The previous Emperor hated the Second Prince for taking his lovely wife from him, as the previous Empress died during childbirth due to heavy blood loss. But unlike his father, the First Prince loved his younger brother and became a parent-like figure to him, though he himself was only five years old. Hence, both brothers were in a peaceful and loving life until the Second Prince turned fifteen. When the Second Prince was fifteen, the previous Emperor ordered him to go to war with Delnet as a commander. Many, including the first prince, who was a Crown Prince at that time, opposed his decisions as the Second Prince had no prior education regarding wars, but the Emperor did not even flinch because he thought he was avenging his beloved late Empress. But the Archduke not only emerged victorious but was also cheered as a "War God" by the citizens. But at that time, the previous Emperor's health was declining, and he took his last breath weeks after the Second Prince's return. During that time, the Crown Prince handled the victory celebrations and came across a nasty rumor. A rumor that the majority of the Nobles, who once supported the Crown Prince to ascend the throne, were now trying to change their votes. Though the Crown Prince neglected that rumor as a stupid gossip of nobles. During the Victory Celebration's Banquet, when the Crown Prince awarded the Second Prince the title of Archduke of Rayvine, the Archduke accepted the title and announced that he supported the Crown Prince to ascend the throne. While the crowd cheered, the Crown Prince was fuming. He thought of the Archduke's consideration as a mockery of his accomplishments and started to loathe his younger brother while pretending to be considerate. The Archduke, who was completely oblivious to all these, trusted his brother very much and got deceived by him in the end."
Little Alicia asked, "Then, is this not the first time the Emperor has tried to betray father?"
Sir Albert answered, " Yes, my Princess. The Emperor used his vassals several times before to accuse the Archduke of treason, but every time, the nobles supporting your Father found some loophole or lack of evidence. I guess the Emperor became frustrated and more envious enough to resort to cheap methods like this."