āAnd? What did you want to talk about, Freed?ā
I arranged my clothes and invited Freed to sit on the sofa. I donāt quite understand why heād waste time, but certainly Freed should have something to talk to me about. Thinking so, I called for a maid to have tea prepared and broached the subject.
āAh, yeahā¦ā
He seemed hesitant to say. With an unwilling expression he sighed.
Freed, who sat next to me rather than in front, picked up his cup and tasted it. With a single sip, his mouth slackened with an oh .
āIs this apple tea I wonder? It has nice aromaā
āYou can tell? Itās new tea I got from Count Lambertās daughter at the tea party the other day. Their tea plantation is wonderfulā
Glad to be understood, I smiled cheerfully. Freed narrowed his eyes and spoke as if recalling something.
ā⦠That reminds me of what reached the castle. Lidi is close with Count Lambertās daughtersā
āI happened to acquaint myself with them by chance. Or what, did you perhaps think I had no friends of the same sex?ā
As I gave him a glance, he returned light laughter.
āBy no means. Iāve heard about it recently, however Lidiās salon appears famous. Plenty novel tea confectioneries are served there, for such thingsā
ā⦠For such a reasonā
Certainly, I use tea parties to unveil my news works, but I never would have thought theyād receive such recognition.
āThe number of those wishing to participate in Duke Vivoirās daughterās salon seems to be increasing. Arenāt they coming to Lidi directly?ā
āWhen I occasionally attended evening parties, I was surrounded by unfamiliar young ladiesā¦ā
I was under the impression that they swarmed due to my position as āDuke Vivoirās daughterā.
āIād never have expected they were after tea snacksā¦ā
Perhaps itās obvious considering they are young ladies of marriageable age. Being told what I havenāt considered until now, I blinked in surprise.
āFreed, where did you hear of that story?ā
āThis time it was Clara. Whenever she hears rumors about Lidi, I get to hear them, so I believe Iām rather well-informed?ā
āClara didā¦?ā
I thought it surprising that he was informed by this serious Head Court Lady Grimm.
She didnāt look like that type.
āShe said court ladies are to not be trifled with when it comes to rumors, I can only agreeā
āAh, I can understandā
Rumors from court ladies. Itās very likely.
Plenty convinced, I urged Freed to continue the talk.
After a little hesitation, he began speaking with resignation.
ā⦠As a matter of fact, Sahajaās Crown Prince is comingā
ā He ?ā
Told something unexpected, I asked back.
āSahajaās?⦠Thereās a truce, so itās not like theyāre a hostile state. Still, is it okay for the Crown Prince of such a country to come?ā
āAccording to common sense itās unthinkable, but diplomatically thereās no problemā
Freed frowned. From his way of speaking I could at least understand he doesnāt welcome it.
Naturally, the visit of the Crown Prince from the country we have truce with is the height of trouble.
āWhy is he coming?ā
As I turned towards him to listen, his expression became even gloomier.
He kept his gaze fixed at me.
ā⦠Itās under the pretext of congratulating me on my engagement. I donāt know how true it isā
āHmmā
As I threw an interjection, I recalled what I know about Sahaja.
Itās a country Iāve been hearing often recently. Itās where Cain came from. A military country, half covered in desert.
The country where Assassin Guilds developed⦠The country which internal conditions keep producing dark rumors.
Surely, itās been two years since the war with them ended. Since then, thereās been a truce.
āThey have four princes and two princesses. The Crown Prince doesnāt appear much, however heās a subject of talksā
Freed muttered while searching his memory, then with a no he shook his head.
āThe Fourth Prince was executed the other day. He was held responsible for the failure of the campaign to the northā
ā⦠I seeā
Itās rare for that country to not be at war.
The king who reigns on top of that country is after all famous for being quite a warmonger.
There are also many quarrels caused by few tribes along the national border.
There are considerable restrictions regarding information about their military affairs. The same goes for their royalty.
Dad and Brother sent many members of the agency there, even so I recall them complaining about the information they could obtain being limited.
āThe Crown Prince is⦠28 years old⦠if Iām right. He still doesnāt have Princess Consort, right? Or is that information out-of-date?ā
āNo, itās correct. I also havenāt received information about him taking Princess Consort as a wife. But the number of Side Consorts seem to have increased. Iāve heard there are seven nowā
āSevenā¦ā
Has it changed within a week⦠Please forgive me for reflexively grimacing.
Since heās royalty unrelated to myself, itās fine if he does whatever he wants to, but even so Side Consorts are side dish, I canāt have a good impression of a man who keeps seven Side Consorts.
Seeing me frown Freed smiled wryly.
āDonāt make such a disgusted face. Not every royalty is like that, above all Iām devoted to Lidi?ā
āI know. Else, I wouldnāt marry youā
He nodded with a serious look.
Freed promising to not take other wives was decisive in me agreeing to the marriage.Ā Otherwise, even with the matter of the āKingās Flowerā I donāt think Iād easily agree.
Marriage is one-to-one. I wonāt yield on that no matter what.
Thatās why, for granting my wish, I fundamentally intend to satisfy his requests, I think itās natural as I didnāt permit concubines.
⦠I just truly wish the number of times was a little lower.
āAnd? Is that Crown Prince coming somehow related to me?ā
He specifically came to talk. I guess thereās something.
When I asked him thinking so, Freed made a disheartened face and unwillingly said.
āHeās coming to congratulate me on my engagement, so the person in question should be present, is his excuseā
āThatās unreasonableā¦ā
āUnreasonable or whatever, since itās an official request I canāt refuse. Thatās why Iām sorry, but I wonder if Lidi could come to the audience of the Crown Princeā
ā⦠Of course, if Iām told to come I willā
If rather than asking informally he went through the proper procedures I have no right to refuse.
I donāt want to go through such a trouble, but I understand that wonāt be allowed.
ā⦠May I ask for the schedule?ā
āSorry that itās sudden, but itās at the day of the evening party organized by the Royal Palace. It seems that the Crown Prince will attend itā
āWow, isnāt it short. Another troubleā¦ā
Unconsciously my true opinion leaked out, but Freed nodded good grief .
āI donāt understand what the other party is thinking. Iām coming to congratulate on the engagement, so let me see Lidi . If itās about the request itās simple, but I donāt think that man is such a simple personā
From his way of speaking I predicted theyāve met, so I asked boldly.
āHey, have you ever met Sahajaās Crown Prince?ā
āA couple of times so far. As Lidi knows, that man doesnāt show himself muchā
āCrown Prince Maximilian⦠was itā
As I asked for confirmation, Freed affirmed saying thatās right .
With it, I took the opportunity to list what Iāve learned about him
āErr, according to official information, heās got silver hair and dark grey eyes. He excels at swordsmanship and been declared the Crown Prince ten years ago, heās got no major achievements. Sahajaās Crown Prince is average⦠Thatās the evaluation of great number of people⦠How do you actually see him, Freed?ā
ā⦠Detailedā
As I roughly stated, Freed opened his eyes wide like he was astonished.
āThis much is common knowledge. I could get it from my surroundings. But after all I donāt know anything beyond whatās written in official documents. They couldāve been tampered with as convenient and I would be none the wiser. In practice, according to my information he had 6, not 7, Side Consortsā
āEven so, itās plenty enough. Letās see, speaking of my impression, heās a man you canāt be careless around, something like this. Heās a type that prioritizes reason above everything. He seems to act inconspicuously in front of his countryās King, but I think itāll be worse for our country when he becomes the Kingā
āHmmā¦ā
The present King is a person who wields his power for war.
He seems like the type who even if he needs a successor, would find an excellent successor unnecessary and drive him away.
So heās acting inconspicuously in front of that King.
āDoes this mean Crown Prince Maximilian conceals his ability on purpose to not be erased by his own Father?ā
āRightā
Iām convinced by Freedās affirmation.
Itās common in militaristic countries like Sahaja. If the heir is too excellent, heāll be shunned by his father the King. That said, incompetence is out of question.
Judging from Freedās story, Crown Prince Maximilian seems like an excellent character. To not be shunned or discarded for incompetence, heās controlling himself, waiting for the right moment.
ā⦠What a cold countryā¦ā
I absolutely couldnāt stand it there.
Iām truly glad I was reborn in this country. Truly , Freed agreed, exasperated.
āThatās why Lidi, please be plenty careful. Heās a man from a country that could truly use any trickā
āYup, got itā
I wish to avoid being involved in trouble, so I obediently nodded. Even if I say that, I guess thereāll be little opportunity to talk. Iāll just behave as inconspicuously as possible
āThe evening party will be in three days if memory serves me rightā
āThatās right. So please. Because Crown Prince Maximilian is coming, could you perhaps return to the castle with me today? There are things I want you to remember, and thereāll be dress coordination on the very dayā
āI seeā¦ā
I recalled Freed saying earlier that he came to pick me up.
It wasnāt a joke or whatever, he really came to pick me up.
āGot it, Iāll get readyā
As expected, with the Crown Prince of a foreign country coming, we canāt meet up on the very day.
Especially since I have to participate itās natural to enter the castle few days in advance. I can understand this much, aside from the very day of the evening party, there are only two days.
Even now is too late to prepare.
As I easily agreed, Freed showed a surprised face.
āI thought youād resist more, but youāre surprisingly obedientā
āI wouldnāt refuse knowing the situation⦠Thatās why Freed, you could have explained it to me first?ā
āGuess so, Iād thought that method would be effective on Lidiā
His judgment is correct. As long as I can be convinced, I have no objection to going to the castle. I understand Iād return to the castle in three days anyway. Going there few days earlier is no problem.
ā⦠Could you wait downstairs? Iāll quickly get ready and come downā
āOkay. Iām happy youāre coming⦠Letās sleep together from tonight?ā
As the continuation of before, he pulled my waist to him and sweetly whispered into my ear.
ā⦠I wish for another bedroomā
Thereāll be lots of preparations.
I thought thereād be no point in going to the castle early if I couldnāt sleep so I insisted a guest room is enough, but Freed rejected my plea with a smile.
āDid you think Iād grant that wish?ā
ā⦠Isnāt that rightā
Crestfallen I hung my head, on which Freed dropped a kiss, and saying laters he left the room.
Damn it. I knew resistance would be futile.
I became anxious whether I could get enough sleep in the next three days.
āāā
āPrincessā
A while after Freed left Cain jumped down from above the ceiling.
Although it was an action that fit the shuta sound effect, he made no noise.
He stood there in silence making an extremely strict face.
āWhat is it? Cainā
āSahajaās Crown Prince is comingā
With those words I realized he had listened to Freedās story.
At the same moment I recalled that I did it with Freed. My face dyed red in the twinkle of an eye.
āCa⦠Cain⦠Perhaps youāve seen it?ā
As I turned bright red and asked that, in the blink of an eye Cainās expression broke into easy-to-understand discomposure.
āI⦠I didnāt do that! I understand that the Crown Prince is unreasonably strong, so I escaped when the atmosphere became like that⦠I have no such hobbies!ā
āI, I see⦠Then itās fineā
āNot that!!ā
So said Cain to bring the talk that derailed back on track.
āWeāre talking about Sahajaās Crown Prince!ā
āAh⦠Aahā
As I nodded, Cain began pacing around the room with an irritated appearance.
I felt him biting his nails strengthened the impression. Then he quickly muttered a monologue to himself.
āWhy is that shut-in Crown Prince coming? He had no such plans, did he? What in the world is his intention⦠Damn it, I donāt get it! ⦠Hey Princess, please be careful of that man. Honestly speaking, I donāt want you to go!ā
āNot going is impossible⦠Do you know him?ā
Suddenly he turned to me and warned me in a strong voice.
When I asked Cain, whose behavior was unusual, a question, he suddenly stopped walking.
ā⦠Iāve never met him, but Iāve often heard about him. In the country heās called Silent Crown Prince. He hardly appears before the citizens, many say heās locked himself in the Royal Palaceā
āFreed however said heās an excellent princeā
While saying so I returned to the sofa. I told Cain who was talking while standing to sit down, but he gently refused.
āPrincessās husband impression aināt wrong. Heās pretending to be ordinary to his father, but behind the scenes heās corralling people one by one to his advantage. Now under that Crown Prince talented people of his country are gathered. I wouldnāt be surprised to hear that their King was overthrown any timeā
āThat means after all Crown Prince Maximillian is like his father?ā
As I understood what Can was trying to say, he gravely nodded.
āHe wonāt dirty his hands directly. The story that heās waiting for an opportunity is famous in the underground, actually the time heās come make a request to a guild has become quite a rumor. In that sense the parent and child are similar. From the parentās side too, if the son showed even a little strange behavior heād be mercilessly brought downā
āWowā¦ā
Itās as I heard from Freed. Or perhaps the real situation is even worse.
While looking at the ceiling, Cain told me as if he remembered.
āBut I donāt think thereās been a story of him coming to my guild. Because our guild master was in the Kingās factionā
āSuch stories donāt often leak outside the country, do theyā¦ā
āThatās how the information control is like for us. Besides, I only know this story because I was immersed in the underworldā
Certainly, heād obtain such information belonging to an assassin guild.
Perhaps their work revolved around that. It wouldnāt be unrelated.
While watching intently Cain who calmly exposed Sahajaās internal circumstances that had been covered in veil I thought.
I might soon have to confess about Cainās existence.
It might still be alright for now, but if I obtained information thatād be a trump card in warfare or diplomacy, Iād have to tell Father.
When that happens, I wonāt be able to stay silent about Cain.
If I can save lives by reporting about it to Father, I shouldnāt hesitate.
āBe that as it may, I think Wilhelm did a good job investigating, okay? In particular the Crown Princeās impression is spot on. That man looks down at people with harsh eyes. Naturally, I intend to guard you on the very day, but Princess, really take careā
āYupā
As Cain warned me with a serious face, I also earnestly nodded.
As to not create an opportunity, we have to finish it peacefully without a hitch.
As I persuaded myself once again, Cain continued with the word and .
As if he thought it was some important information Cain raised his face and meaningfully smiled.
āOne correction. The number of Side Consorts is not seven, itās eight. Recently Iāve heard heās elevated a tribeās daughter to Side Consort, you see?ā