Characters in this chapter:
- Sapphiras Perfectio, former 2nd son of the Earl of Aldridge
- Percival Belisario, 3rd son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier
- Aurora Steinfeld, daughter of the Duke of Bloomfield
- Erich, Second Prince of Sternkurst (son of the King’s concubine)
“It appears they have crossed the border.”
While Percival was reading the writing, I rewarded the wind falcon that had flown all the way from Vanderwall with a piece of meat. Even so, Vanderwall’s wind falcon is big and sturdy. Its feathers are neat and well-groomed. When I stroked its beak with my fingertips, it tilted its head and pressed its head against me as if to say, ‘do it more.’ What a cute guy.
To get from Sternkurst to the royal capital of Solmontana, you have to pass through the border in our Vanderwall territory. Vanderwall-kyou, who knows about the inexcusable Crown Prince’s antics……ummm, father was on the alert and took the effort to inform us that His Highness Prince Erich and his party had crossed the border.
“They have to go around the mountains, so it will take some time.”
“That’s right, it could take ten days or more.”
The only way to travel by carriage is to go around the mountains. Moreover, if there are several carriages in a row, it will take a considerable amount of time.
Ten days after our conversation.
The second prince and his party arrived in Laetus earlier than we had expected. Even though he is the second prince, he is still a prince. I thought they would be accompanied by many entourages and many carriages, but they were very modest.
Surprisingly, there were only three carriages and six escorting knights. Solmontana is generally a safe country, and as long as you don’t travel over mountains or on roads at night, you are unlikely to be attacked by bandits. You do have to be careful of magical beasts, but the roads are generally safe so there may not be any need to be so ostentatious.
But still, he is royalty, isn’t he? If he were a nobleman with a bit of money, he would have more guards than that prince.
Maybe the guards are excellent, but that’s also a place to show off the power of the country. If the guards surround him in a tight circle, it will reveal his status and act as a deterrent to those around him.
With only six knights, do they trust our country, or is the second prince underestimated in his own country?
Perhaps, like the former “me” I once was, he was treated as a non-existent person in his own country. And then the injury of the Crown Prince suddenly thrust him into the spotlight. With that in mind, it’s not hard to understand why there are so few guards.
“Does it bother you?”
“Eh? Wh-what?”
“I’m talking about Prince Erich.”
Has he noticed I was nervous? I really can’t keep secrets from Percival, can I?
“Ahaha……actually.”
There’s no point in trying to hide it, so I’ll confess honestly.
That’s right. I’m actually curious about this guy called Erich. I was hoping to stay out of it, but he’s the half-brother of that outrageous man. What’s more, Aurora is in charge of looking after him during his stay, so I guess it’s only natural to be curious about what kind of person he is.
“Apparently His Highness Erich is a quiet and reserved man.”
“As expected of Percival. You already know that much.”
“Yeah, His Excellency sent me a report. But I thought that if Sapphiras wasn’t interested, I wouldn’t have bothered to tell you.”
I guess he was being considerate when I said I didn’t want to get involved. Of course, I have no intention of getting involved now either, but he is the younger brother of that Crown Prince.
“ ……Quiet and reserved, ne.”
Well, compared to the outrageous and arrogant Crown Prince, most of them are probably modest and quiet people. It’s possible that Prince Erich is putting on an act, and we won’t know how much of him is really his true self until we meet him in person.
Even if it’s an act, His Highness the Crown Prince or His Excellency would easily see through it, so even if he’s come to this country with some kind of plot, they won’t let him do anything careless.
I’ve been through a lot in that country, so maybe I’m thinking too much.
There are more soldiers and knights than usual in the royal capital, where a prince from another country is being welcomed, and the streets are decorated with flowers, creating a welcoming atmosphere.
Prince Erich’s inspection seems to be going on as planned without incident.
“Eh? A tour of the academy.”
“Apparently it was Prince Erich’s wish.”
“But that wasn’t part of the plan, was it?”
The schedule for Prince Erich and his party had reached me as well. This was to make sure I didn’t do anything careless in an inconvenient place just in case. Doesn’t it seem like they have no trust in me at all?
“Why all of a sudden?”
“It seems he was interested in the academy where the next crown princess, Aurora-jyou, attends.”
“I see? In that case, I’ll try not to wander around the school as much as possible tomorrow.”
Even so, that’s quite sudden. The academy must be busy preparing for security.
The principal and teachers are there to welcome the prince, not showing any sign of yesterday’s hustle and bustle. In any case, the Second Prince’s visit was completely unexpected. Knights dispatched from the castle came in droves and searched the academy for any danger.
The first thing to do is to make sure that you have a good time. Anyway, it’s the second prince’s visit, which was not planned at all. The knights dispatched from the castle came in their droves and went around the academy to check for any danger.
It would be difficult to welcome a guest of such high status if he suddenly changed his plans. The fact that he hadn’t thought of such a thing showed that he was that man’s younger brother.
The students should have been there as well, but they had requested to see academy life as usual, so it was a very quiet inspection scene.
Together with Percival, I peeked out of the third-floor window at the Second Prince as he exchanged greetings with the principal.
As I had heard beforehand, Prince Erich is a small, thin and gentle-looking man. And although he barely maintains the appearance of royalty, he is, to put it mildly, lacking in spirits. Even from a distance, he appears somewhat timid. He is completely outshone by the radiance of Aurora, who is standing next to him as a guide.
Moreover, Prince Erich’s guards are two knights and one magician. Isn’t that too few no matter how you look at it? Where did the other four escort knights go?
“Does it still bother you?”
“Yeah, I suppose so. He’s the Second Prince, but he has far too few guards. He doesn’t seem used to diplomacy, and there are no civil servants or diplomats to guide him. I wonder what on earth he came to this country for.”
“……If His Highness Adrian intends to return to the public eye, he probably doesn’t want Prince Erich to be in the spotlight too much. However, Prince Adrian has had a gap of over a year. Even though the king is still alive, he may need to assert his own existence as the Crown Prince who will lead the next generation, even if it means using his younger brother’s name……”
Having said this, Percival made a gesture as if he was thinking a little.
“What’s the matter?”
“If you have a lot of guards, your defenses will be strong, but your movements will inevitably be slower. But if you have fewer guards, your defenses will be weaker, but you can move on to the next action quickly.”
That means he’s assuming that he has to act quickly even if it means sacrificing his defenses? What on earth is this situation?
“His Highness Adrian is missing an arm. What could he be thinking……?”
“It can’t be……no.”
It’s that man. He probably wants his arm back. However, even on a vast continent, holy magicians are rare. Meanwhile, the Crown Prince of Solmontana has announced his engagement to a saintess. What if you didn’t have to go out of your way to find one, but found out there was a holy magician nearby?
This discomfort can be explained if you consider that, in order to quickly get his arm back, he sent someone to Solmontana who had enough status to contact the fiancée of another country’s Crown Prince, and someone whom they would be happy to discard if necessary.
“I think we should speak to Your Excellency immediately.”
“Yes, it would seem so.”
“Cait Sith!”
In response to my call, Cait Sith jumped out of the magic circle.
“Nyan! Did you call nya?”
“Yes, I want you to go to his Excellency and tell him that I want to see him right away.”
“Leave it to me nya!”
This is an errand to his beloved Duke’s mansion. I didn’t think he’d hesitate, but Cait Sith jumped out of the window with gusto, did a somersault, and ran off in a flash.
……He’ll get a proper reply and come back, right?
