Volume 01 Side Story 03 - Side Story 03: Part 01

Volume 01; Side Story 03: Part 01

Side Story 03: The Prince’s Worry

(Prince’s Perspective)

Jeez. I don’t know how many times I’ve clicked my tongue and kept it in my mind.

I had to since the child in my arms would get frightened every time I showed that I was in a bad mood.

Why do I, who was called Prince Christopher and heir to the throne of Southlynd, have to protect these children? To begin with, I had freed both my hands just for Ellie today, but why does it have to be occupied by an unknown child?

I really didn’t understand this at all.

The start went well. Elli used to sadly say, 『I want to go, but father and people in my family said I can’t』about the book market that occurred once every three years. I decided a long time ago to invite her here. I could do this now because our relationship had progressed.

Elli was hesitant to break the order she’d been given, but her eyes shone happily because I had invited her, and she was cute when she couldn’t hide her excitement at the market and showed an innocent smile. If possible, I wanted to lock her up and spend the day off with her alone.

When I tried to deepen our relationship with Elli the other day, her eyes showed confusion ――― and uneasiness.

I thought that she wasn’t used to the touches of a lover yet but the misunderstanding between Miss Irene and I should have been resolved. Therefore, I was going to dispel her anxieties today by letting her feel how lovers act so that she wouldn’t feel uneasy anymore.

“――― Ah, Miss Elianna. Look there. It’s the Rainbow Prelude. It’s difficult to dance to this song.”

“Well. The dress is pretty long. Can you dance to that?”

“Sister, don’t you know about dance? Roma dancers show the rainbow to the audience with this song.”

Her eyes widened in surprise, and her ashy-blue eyes were curiously staring at a corner of the market where a group of dancers were putting on a musical performance.

It was an irritating scene.

By all rights, I should be the one pulling her hand and standing next to her while explaining the market as she looked up at me in respect.

Why does my position have to be taken by Alan and an unknown kid? I couldn’t understand it at all. It was impossible to hold back the urge of wanting to click my tongue.

Earlier, when I held the child with one hand and tried to hold her hand with the other, she refused and put herself between the two guards. I’m sure her attitude is because the boy, Paolo, had said something. Even though she didn’t need to hold back on anything.

Picturing the future by having a boy of the same eye colour as me and Elli by my side… it wasn’t like I was thinking about something trivial like that. Honestly.

However, things that aren’t amusing aren’t amusing. It should have been my role as a knight to protect Elli. Glenn had desperately screamed, “The guys in my squad are all young. They still have a long way to go. Please don’t order their death today!” That has nothing to do with me.

Once the books are set aside, her interest and curiosity knows no bounds. Her eyes sparkled with interest at the foreign tapestries and magic masks. “This is a counterfeit that resembles the one from the Empire era,” she said at the multi-coloured jewellery hanging at the back of the street stall, and the customers, who were negotiating the price with the owner, turned pale. She revealed the sleight of hand trick used by the so-called descendants of a magician and made their legs go weak. When she was asked to sample sweets, she hinted, “Lara Tuta means spider’s tail in old Lacan, right?” and the sales boy was speechless.

… I felt like I’d finally grasped the connection between the Bernsteins and the Roma people.

While eating the spider’s tail, the boy named Rene was entranced by the musical performance, I let out an inner sigh, and a grizzled voice asked, “――― Do you want to switch?”

My childhood friend, who was three years older than me, could guess why I pardoned this child, so he put up with it.

Alan teased me at the meeting before, “I didn’t know that Prince Chris had a hidden child,” but he should stop it with the jokes. Does this child have to be my hidden child just because his blue eyes are similar to mine? When I sullenly said, “Wouldn’t he be uncle’s hidden child because of his age?” and Alan nonchalantly replied, “Eh, Prince Theodore would definitely say 『I won’t make such a blunder』.” It’s really annoying.

“It’s because uncle’s a show-off.”

I wish he would expose this in front of Elli.

Alan and Glenn exchanged glances when I said that. What’s with that? If you have something to say, then say it.

“Blood relatives…” Alan said as if he’d given up, and then he asked about the plan, and I frowned in thought.

I understand the importance of Alan searching for me to report. They might be sabotaging the policy that had just started. They were only minor characters, and it was easy to drive them into a corner. They used Roma children on purpose so that people would doubt the credibility even if they were pulled out to testify, and to make the Roma people distrustful and suspicious.

“We can’t trust nobles after all,” ――― The Romas would say.

And, this might succeed if the mastermind is a noble. In the first place, Roma people weren’t popular with royalty and titled nobles. But, this opinion was like nothing because this is the Bernstein family.

Alan said that the Roma people don’t need to see to believe that the Bernstein would do something foolish as to steal books. They were even famous here for their reputation for loving books. However, when asked about their connection, the Roma people would shut their mouth and look disgusted.

We were currently heading towards Thistle Star to find the connection between the Bernstein family and the Roma people―――.

I noticed the blue-eyed child staring at me anxiously when he heard what Glenn had said, and I was brought back from my thoughts. I wonder if I always made this face when I was his age too.

“――― I’ll tell you an old story.”

It’s cute when children tilt their head in confusion. There’s no need to say this if Elli was the one in my arms.

“… Once upon a time, there was a little boy with blue eyes. The little boy was uneasy every day because his mother was seriously ill, and they couldn’t see each other.”

The child blinked his eyes. He was interested in a story that sounded as if it was about him but wasn’t. Looking at his blue eyes, it felt as if it was about himself.

“The boy’s mother was moved to a distant place to cure her disease, and the boy was separated from his mother. And they couldn’t meet each other for a long time. The boy wrote many letters to his mother and prayed every day. Mother… I hope that mother will get better soon, he prayed. When the boy was 12, his mother beat her disease and returned to the boy. But…”

I made a serious face at the boy, Rene, who was listening carefully.

“His mother had turned into a completely different person. She wasn’t the gentle mother she was before she got sick. She had turned strict and cold, and she didn’t smile at the boy anymore. The boy was very hurt and he might have cried a little. Then, the boy thought, I’m sure mother was cursed by a bad magician.”

“Roma shamans won’t do that,” the boy said, and I nodded and laughed. I could tell that even such a small child seemed sensitive to prejudice.

“The boy studied hard every day to dispel his mother’s curse. But, he didn’t know how to dispel it and was a little annoyed. Then, a Princess, who dispelled the curse, appeared.”

“Princess?”

I laughed at his sparkling blue eyes as if to convey my excitement at that time. Nearby, Glenn muttered, “That’s a really abridged version.” Shut up.

“The Princess was a library fairy. She knew a lot of things from books. But that wasn’t all. The Princess read a lot of books and tried to understand the feelings of the people who wrote them. Then, she taught the boy how to dispel his mother’s curse.”

I continued as the boy stared at me. I tried to imitate her at that time.

“The important things are invisible… She’d said.”

“It’s from『Star Travellers』.” I nodded at his excited voice.

At that time, I was able to see a lot of things when I calmly observed. Mother had been ill. I was the only direct descendant of the royal family. The pressure my mother was facing probably wasn’t normal. She had to be strict on me. Don’t be inferior as the son of the King, who will lead the kingdom in the future. ――― Don’t let anyone attack you as if it’s your fault.

“The boy also realised that he had overlooked important things like in 『Star Traveller』. He learnt that the letters he’d sent to his strict mother were important to her, and she treated them like treasure… So, the boy was fine with it even when his mother was strict on him. And he was very grateful to the Princess.”

I laughed at the sparkling blue eyes. “However,” I continued in a whisper.

“There is a hindrance which is trying to hide the Princess now.”

“Eh…”

“You might have seen it since you’re Roma. In a kingdom to the far east, there are two-legged animal figurines made of pottery. They look very gentle… and don’t really seem like they could be bad, they look like nonchalant clowns. But like pottery, they’re tough to deal with, and are very troublesome.”

“… You.”

I told you to shut up, Glenn.

“What happened to the boy and the Princess?”

I smiled gently when he showed me an uneasy look.

“The boy desperately tried to go meet the Princess. But, annoying people always get in his way. Moreover, the Princess had been subjected to magic that made her forget about the boy.”

“That’s a very convenient interpretation.”

Glenn, I’ll forcefully shut your mouth.

I smiled widely at the boy who looked like he was going to cry.

“But it’s okay. The boy never gave up on the Princess and took her back from the annoying people. The Princess also loved the boy more than she did in the past, and decided to stay by his side.”

*CHEW* Glenn turned sideways and pressed his lips together, so I casually stepped on his foot. I stared back at the boy named Rene.

This child probably realises that I’m not his father. He might have thought so at first, but I gradually realised that his eyes were shining with wisdom.

“――― Rene. Important things are always invisible. You must not lose sight of your important things.”

The small boy was sincerely trying to perceive something from my eyes. Then a shy voice spoke to me, “You… Prince Chris.”

It was the Princess with a small bag of sweets.

“I got it again even though I didn’t pay… Mm, I thought Rene would like same.”

Elli is often recommended sweets because of her appearance even though she doesn’t like them, and she would often hear about struggles at tea parties. The boy, Paolo, reached for the sweets without reservation, and Elli and Rene looked at me questioningly. I smiled and nodded.

I felt anxious as Elli’s eyes softened when Rene reached out to her. She didn’t need to ask me permission for anything concerning Rene… I really hope she doesn’t believe that he’s my son. I broke out in cold sweat behind my smile.

Since this is Elli, she just looked surprised because a lot of things had happened, but sometimes her thoughts piece together in an unexpected way.

She nonchalantly said, “Is Your Highness his father?” and I couldn’t regain my footing. I pressed her to deny her bad idea.

“Elli.”

Her dreamy ashy eyes looked up. I felt impressed every time I saw how clear they are. She turned back when I called her long ago, but it took a great deal of effort.

“Can I get one?”

“Eh? Ah, yes.”

Elli presented me the bag, and I showed her that both my hands were occupied. Her ashy-blue eyes shone in confusion. I urged her with my eyes, and her cheeks turned red as if she had guessed what I wanted her to do. This reaction is also something that she has only recently started to show me and is precious.

Elli was hesitant, and her eyes loitered around, but she timidly picked up a baked sweet and gave it to me.

I put her fingers along with the sweet in my mouth. I tasted her fingers more than the sweet, and she became flustered like I had expected her to.

“M-m-m-my fingers aren’t food!” She protested. I licked her thin fingers and bit it playfully before letting go. Elli became red and stiff, and I teased her, “Really? It’s so sweet and delicious.”

I was satisfied that she had become speechless. With this, she probably wouldn’t think anything strange, and actually say it out loud.

Nearby, Glenn and the boy, Paolo, said, “I… don’t feel like eating sweets anymore.” “Don’t say it. This is an everyday occurrence for us.” “Ah, the saltiness from your meals is doing its work lately, Glenn.” But, I’ll repeat this.

That has nothing to do with me.

We left, gradually moved away from the market and entered the residential area for the Roma people. They had strict regulations against strangers, and men were blocking our way. Rene and Paolo are Roma children, but they were excluded as foreign people since they were evidently with Southlynd people.

“What do you want?” The man said threateningly, and I said a name I wasn’t willing to state, “――― Could you tell Dr Nicola Lezzi that I’m here to get him to return the favour from six years ago?”

The man repeated suspiciously, “A favour from six years ago?” but he seemed to realise that it wouldn’t be a good idea to quarrel with us after he’d glanced at our outfits. “You’re not lying, right?” he had said even though he caved in. Then, he pulled an old man out from behind a covered wagon.

“――― A blonde knight, you say? What? I don’t remember getting acquainted with someone like that in my life. If it’s a debt from them buying me alcohol, then I owe as many people as there are stars.”

“Gahaha,” appearing with a thick, vulgar laugh was a thin man who looked to be in his 60s. Just like his remarks, he stunk of alcohol, his face was red, and he was swinging an alcohol bottle in one hand. He stared at me with intense eyes, and Elli’s eyes widened furtherer in surprise.

It was hard not to sigh.

“You’re the same as always. Old Drunkard Lezzi.”

His eyes looked at me suspiciously, and then he said in amusement, “Oh, what?”

“It’s the naïve boy from a while ago. Did you come to study life again? And when did you produce a Roma child? Was it the time when you were a naïve boy?”

I felt my temples twitch. This is why I tried my best to avoid meeting this old man.

And Elli. Why are you distancing yourself from me while looking at me with such cold eyes?