When I alighted from the carriage, it was an open space in the middle of the woods. Around me, there was no one from that fleet of those carriages, only the single carriage I just alighted from. With the hood on, I swept my gaze around the area.
I heard rushing footsteps in the grass. From the woods, quite a number of men appeared. Maybe more than ten overall. All of them were armed.
âJust for me alone, youâre surely overdoing it. Prince Alfred is not even here. Well, he must be swamped in the Royal Palace I guess.â As I talked by myself, a middle-aged man came out from the middle.
Iâve seen this man before. If Iâm not mistaken⌠he is Marquess Meissit1? To say heâs a marquess, he already retired; so, a former marquess.
âNever thought youâd just get out brazenly.â
âWhat do you want to do by calling me out here?â
âOf course, to let you go to where you canât meet Prince Alfred.â
âI was on the way to go travelling, is this something you must do to even hinder that?â
âEven if you go travelling, itâll be troubling if you return. To avoid all troubles, itâs better to have you go somewhere far away where you can never return from.â Meissit sneered.
He was not a bad person actually, so I felt a bit regretful.
âDonât you think itâs enough already? Just acknowledge Fania as Prince Alfredâs spouse, wonât you? You do know that more people in the Second Prince are leaning towards accepting Fania, right? If you just see how obsessive Prince Alfred is towards Fania, thereâs no other way.â
âShut up! How can we ever accept a male spouse! Finally Prince Alfredâs investiture2 as the crown prince has been decided. If he has a male spouse, how will there be descendants then? Do you want to end the royal blood?â
âHow come? thereâs Prince Andrew, or even the third prince, Prince Ernest, or the fourth prince, Prince Ailly. Royal blood wonât end that easily, you know.â
His Majesty who had his princess consort along with other side consorts was blessed with many childrenâfour princes and six princesses. Among them, the first prince, Prince Andrew and the second Prince, Prince Alfred both had mothers with strong political influences. But still, other than them, His Majesty still had many blood-related children.
âTheyâre different!! Only Prince Alfred is the proper royal family. No one other than the children of Prince Alfred can continue the royal family!â Meissitâs eyes opened wide, his face was akin to being possessed.
These people claimed that it was all for Prince Alfredâs sake, yet in the end, they were retainers who idolised His Majesty way too much. Prince Alfred was a living copy of His Majesty after all. They sided with Prince Alfred just because he totally resembled His Majestyâs younger self. They were under their own illusions that Prince Alfred was His Majesty when he was young. Therefore, they only acknowledged Prince Alfredâs (read: His Majestyâs) children as the next king. Therefore, in their belief, it was imperative for Prince Alfred to have children, so a male spouse was a total no.
These people among the second prince faction who were referred to as exponent to Faniaâs elimination could not care less about promotions or their own positions. They simply adored His Majesty too much; they were loyal retainers who would never betray His Majesty. For a king to lead his country, it was a must to possess some sort of charisma. However, His Majesty was way too magnetic. It led to his followers being so heavily infatuated with him that they turned twisted.
Well, his looks are good, but just which part of him is so great? If my thoughts here were discovered by Meissit, surely I would be strangled.
I took off my hood. Even after seeing my face, Meissit was not startled.
âMarquess Meissit, do you know? Because there are people like youâthe exponent to Faniaâs eliminationâPrince Alfred never let people in the second prince faction be involved with Fania. Moreover, he hid Fania deep in the Royal Palace like a treasure, so only a few actually know Fania.â
Meissit still showed no change. I felt sick at this Meissit who didnât seem to notice anything and I continued, âFania and Prince Alfred are now apart from each other, but itâs not like they parted on bad terms. Even now, theyâre lovers. So lovey-dovey it makes others sick. Fania had once said that no matter how rushed Prince Alfred is, heâll definitely start the letter with âTo my dearest Faniaâ. On top of that, he bragged that he would recognize Prince Alfredâs writing no matter how scribbled or illegible it is. Just how much he wanted me to hear him going on about his love affairs. Well, it was through his letters though.â
Gradually Meissit seemed to understand what my words were implying.
Fania had sent letters to Prince Alfred several times, but there were no replies. It was practically impossible that Prince Alfred wouldnât write back to Fania. He was one who would swiftly write back even by sacrificing his sleep or setting aside his duties.
When Prince Alfred told Fania about the annulment of their engagement, he had it so rough. He hugged Fania tight and kicked up a fuss insisting that he would never let go of Fania. Weâthe close aidesâhad to grapple him from his back to separate them. So it made no sense that Prince Alfred would turn cold towards Fania after only a few months of separation. Regardless of what reason it might be.
When there was no reply even after he sent letters to Prince Alfred, Fania figured out something: there was a foe inside the hideaway. The only people he could trust were the former princess consort Jane and her confidantsâMatilda and Abel. Even if he attempted to make contact with the outside, the former princess consort Jane couldnât go out; and if Fania went out, his movement would certainly be known by the foe.
So Fania entrusted Abel with the letters. Abel would make some trips outside to buy sweet treats for the former princess consort Jane. Abel had insisted on personally going since she was the one who knew the former princess consort Janeâs favourites the best, so nobody else could do it. Fania asked for Abelâs help; she passed the letter to the dessert shop owner, and then they would deliver it to the royal palace. Then, Prince Alfredâs reply would return from the same route in reverse order until it reached Faniaâs hand.
As for the hidden foe, it was immediately discoveredâthe house steward, Igni. Igni was originally His Majestyâs chamberlain. He was a completely fanatic follower of His Majesty. It should be no mistake to think of him as part of the exponent to Faniaâs elimination in the second prince faction.
Anyhow, luckily Igni was someone who valued his own life. He wanted to avoid being caught as the murderer should he personally kill Fania. So after Fania departed the house for the trip, he⌠entrusted the job to someone else.
Fania and Prince Alfred decided to settle this once and for all. Until then, they had hesitated to punish those loyal retainers. However, in order to allow Fania to appear in public with no qualms, it was a necessary action. The exponent to Faniaâs elimination had to be cut off from the second prince faction. As for what Prince Alfred personally thought, he wouldnât let those who harmed Fania get off scot-free.
âWhat I want to say the most is, Fania and I have more than ten centimetres difference in heights. Iâm not that small, okay. Just why canât you recognize me the moment I got off the carriage?â
âYouâŚâ
âIâve met you several times, Marquess Meissit. Did I leave so little impression on you? It has been a while. Iâm Jade, the first child of Duke Rowlight.â I courteously greeted Meissit.
âNo, no wayâŚâ
âIt was a hard task, you know. To change carriages with Fania without being discovered by the house steward, Igni. We had former princess consort Jane put on an act, but her lines sounded so monotonous; we were so anxious whether weâd be found out. I was so relieved when Igni noticed nothing and obediently returned to the house to retrieve the hat.â Jade laughed.
When we were asking for Janeâs help for this, she agreed with full support. We were so thankful. We truly were, but no one had imagined Janeâs acting could be that bad.
âWell, now letâs settle this. By now, Igni shouldâve been apprehended by another unit. As of today, the exponent to Faniaâs elimination has ceased to exist. If only you people also quit when your leader, Duke Arginia, quit, things would not turn out like this. So unfortunate.â
âWhat are babbling about? Donât you know, it is a must to continue the true royal family. We have the life mission of protecting the true bloodline of the King!â
Meissit signaled the ones around him to dispose of Jade. After they got rid of Jade, they had to chase Fania and dispose of Fania. They knew where he was heading after allâthe border. They could still make it if they rushed there.
He stared at Jade in front of him. Jade held back his laugh and stood still.
Strange. Why arenât they detaining Jade? Why arenât they slashing him with their swords?
Meissit swept his gaze around, and then his eyes opened in surprise. The people he brought together with him were all detained instead. Just when� He could not even voice out a word as he was then gagged and both his arms bound. Dozens of knights were circling around Meissit.
âYou know, I was handed the task to ensure that Fania would never encounter even the tiniest danger. Although you see me like this now, Iâm actually a busy man. If I donât make it quick, the event will start without me.â
Jade swiftly turned his back towards Meissit. Then he reboarded the carriage he got off from.
Meissit was detained by several knights. The knight was garbed in white uniform with blue embroideries. Meissit realised that they were Prince Alfredâs bodyguards and powerlessly fell down on his knees.
authorâs note: Jade is in his growth period. His height shoots up. As for Fania⌠no change?