WuxiaWorldEU

Chapter 33

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Chapter 33: The Crown Prince’s Secret

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“Fufu… It wounds me to get rejected so plainly like that. Hey~, Britney.”

Losing the mental battle to the pressure from Ryuze’s smile, I floated a stiff smile.

“Gu, Gufufu… It’s a joke, Ryuze-oniisama. I’m proud of my cousin so there’s no way I’d so thoroughly reject him.”

“That’s right, isn’t it? My cute Britney could never do such a thing. By the way, the crown prince Marlow was searching for you. He wanted me to tell you to come to his room.”

“… I, I understand. Where should I go in order to meet His Highness the crown prince?”

“Aa, it’s alright. A guide is coming to assist you. See?”

Looking in the direction Ryuze points I see two chamberlains standing.

“Right away, I’ll be off. Nora, see you later.”

I escaped as soon as I was able to get away from my scary smiling cousin.

I’m nervous to go to the crown prince’s place, but it’s much better than staying next to Ryuze right now.

I progressed down a beautifully polished, wide corridor, and stood before a remarkably large door.

The chamberlain left me for a moment in front of the door, and a short while later I received permission to enter.

It seems this room was made to entertain guests of the crown prince.

“Britney! I’ve been waiting!”

Elegantly standing up from a couch in the innermost part and walking over here was none other than the dazzlingly blond-haired crown prince Marlow himself.

“It seems you were caught by Angela before meeting me. Did anything happen?”

“Ee, nothing in particular… she just wanted to ask about her dress.”

“That’s good. She’s a woman that doesn’t go easy on people she doesn’t like.” (TLN: Heh… about that…)

He nonchalantly said that, but sweat started to form on my back.

(What do I do… I uttered unspeakable things to Angela. I’m afraid of her retaliation…)

Without noticing my change, the crown prince Marlow continued the conversation at his own pace.

“That’s right, I brought along my collection. In the royal castle, I don’t have many friends I can talk about my hobbies with. I’m so glad that Britney is here.”

“Ano, what is your collection?”

“It’s this. I’ve picked and dried herbs from the west garden.”

With a slender finger like an icefish (Salangidae), the prince pointed at a few tall tables from the direction he came. (TLN: Britney, that’s creepy.)\n<h6>Salangidae Sashimi (Raw Japanese Icefish)</h6>

Rising up, the crown prince urged me to follow him to the tables.

Over there was a splendid collection of herbs from around the country.

The herbs were classified with attention to detail and were preserved in an excellent state.

“With Britney’s expertise, are you able to put any of these to use?”

“Ee, of course. Nevertheless, I’m surprised Your Highness the crown prince is rearing herbs… what kind of thing did you want to use them for?”

“My primary concern is improving the population’s health. Recently I have also been interested in using them for herbal teas and have an interest in soaps and face lotions… although since this is unusual for a man, my surroundings aren’t too receptive to my hobbies.”

“I don’t think it’s odd at all. Regardless of sex, I think it’s a good thing your sense of beauty is high.”

In modern Japan, there are soaps and face lotions meant for men. There are even male beauty salons.

I think almost everyone prefers those who take care of their outward appearance rather than those who don’t care about their appearance at all.

“I’m happy you say so. I’ve only been able to confide this hobby to people I’m close with but… as I thought, you are an oddball character as well. To further explain myself, I prefer knitting to sword training, and herb cultivation and beauty product research to hunting.”

“You’re also able to knit?”

“It’s not at the level of a professional, but I think it’s reasonable to call me relatively skilled?”

I see, the crown prince Marlow seems to be a somewhat unique prince-sama.

(… The so-called, maiden character?) [TLN: YES! Okay Britney, I’ve decided. Go after the prince.]

Although he doesn’t cook since he’s royalty, he is skilled at embroidery and has talent in music, painting and poetry.

That reminds me. Even in the shoujo manga, he was a skilled pianist, and was seen playing stringed instruments as well.

“I’m envious. Although recently I’ve become somewhat proficient at embroidery, I’m not great at those kinds of things. Despite my attempts I’m still poor with poetry and music…”

“You should continue practicing poetry. In this country, you see poetry frequently used in love letters.”

“Is that so? That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

“It might still be too early for Britney. Well, as practice, why not write something here?”

As he said that, one of the crown prince Marlow’s servants offered me a pen and paper.

The paper technology of this world is still developing. Nevertheless, the quality still isn’t that great…

Since the level of civilization is somewhat irregular, I was a bit confused when my memory first returned.

With the pen in my hand, I recalled a lesson from my tutor and wrote a thank you poem for this party.

(After all, I still don’t have a partner to send a love letter to…)

My private tutor’s evaluation was quite severe, but I think it’s more a question of feelings.

I should write it from my heart… probably.

(There aren’t many chances to get evaluated by the crown prince who specializes in poetry after all.)

Once I finished my poem and handed it to the crown prince Marlow, his eyes lit up and began to sparkle.

Although it was a thank you poem, it’s a little embarrassing to see it read before my eyes.

“Fumu, this is splendid!”

“Ehh-?”

“What an original choice of words! What novel assembly! This is the first time I’ve seen this poetry!” (TLN: Is he praising her or not? Lol)

“I, is that so?”

“This… I absolutely want to show it to Ryuze and Ricardo as well.”

“No way, that’s too embarrassing.”

I was praised by the crown prince who’s good at the arts, so I’m in a good mood.

“Britney. Please call me familiarly as Marlow. You are a kindred soul.”

“… Haa, it’s an honor. Marlow-sama.”

However, this crown prince-sama… he is truly unusual.

The older brother-like character he was in the shoujo manga was probably only his public face.

After that for a short while, we talked together about our mutual hobby.

“Marlow-sama, I think it’s wonderful that you are researching medicinal plants on your own.”

“I’m glad you think so. The castle’s doctors too have been amazed by the assortment of products I’ve developed.”

“However, for the sake of keeping yourself healthy and protected, aren’t there any safety precautions you could take?”

In the shoujo manga, his cause of death was a stab wound from an assassin. No matter how many herbs he assembles, he won’t be able to prevent his death with them.

The incident occurs several years in the future, but I think it’d be better to start being cautious now.

“Hahaha, Britney is kind. As you request, after this, I will take special care with my guard.”

It’s a mystery to how seriously he received my words, but the crown prince consented with a smile.