‘My name is Eugene. I’m working as a guard at this country’s royal palace. My specialty is to accomplish my guard duty while standing still for long periods of time and refusing to blink or change my expression..
Well, that’s not important. My current duty is to guard the royal salon, which is the place where Prince Leodore’s future will be decided. In the salon, about fifteen boys from various noble families have been gathered to be His Highness Leodore’s study mates.
Study mates do far more than simply study with the prince.. They are people who stand a chance to be Prince Leodore’s close aides in the future—in other words, becoming a study mate is applying for the close aide position. Prince Leodore is almost certain to become the next king, as he is an excellent man with terrifying abilities and talents.
Becoming one of his close aides means that one will be responsible for the government of the country under the rule of the future king. Although this country is governed by an absolute monarchy, it is basically run by both the king and his close aides. Once someone becomes a close aide, it is like they have the future of the country within their grasp. This is precisely why the children who are recruited as Prince Leodore’s study mates are carrying their parents’ expectations on their shoulders. They’re putting tremendous efforts into their work day and night, vying for the position.
The only people who stand a chance at becoming close aides are either those who get along well with Prince Leodore, or those who win the dogfight—ehem, the competition. There were originally twenty-five candidates overall, but as a result of political battles and power struggles behind the scenes, there are now only about fifteen left.
As a guard, I have to treat them with respect and honor… But when I see the wicked schemes plotted by these nobles… I just can’t come to like them.
I do have to watch them the whole time I’m guarding this salon, but if it’s not because of my duty, I couldn’t stand seeing them at all.
Whenever Prince Leodore achieves excellent results, everyone praises and reveres him; when he is not around, they watch each other vigilantly, looking for ways to kick each other down, sometimes even with violence in mind.
I suppose this is the norm among the nobles…’
One day, the son of a marquis family quit being a study mate. He was pushed down the stairs by another study mate. Fortunately, there were no life-threatening injuries, but he and the Marquis family decided to voluntarily withdraw.
The name of the close aide candidate who pushed him down was Hauser Nyschager—a son of a duke. He was the heir to the Nyschager family, a family widely known for producing distinguished knights. He, himself, aspired to be a knight; his body was large and strong for a child.
At the behest of his father—Duke Nyschager—he aimed to be both Prince Leodore’s close aide and the number one knight in the country. Perhaps due to being ordered to achieve these goals by any means, he did whatever it took to kick the others down.
He was very proud of himself as he believed he deserved these positions; and due to that, his personality was arrogant and violent. To make matters worse, Hauser-sama came from a ducal family. His high status made it very likely for him to be chosen as a close aide—this only caused him to be further carried away.
Only in front of Prince Leodore would he adopt the demeanour of a knight. Behind the latter’s back, he continuously drove other study mates to withdraw, sometimes even using violence, like in the case of the aforementioned son of a marquis.
This time, however, it seemed that nobles other than the Nyschagers felt threatened by Hauser-sama. The nobles, who were normally adversaries, decided to unite and collectively agreed to send in a new study mate in order to kick Hauser-sama out.
That new study mate was Urschel Minusle, the son of the widely respected Duke Minusle, who was an active civil officer in the royal palace.. Just like Hauser-sama, he hailed from a Ducal household, and he was also a blood relative to Prince Leodore. He was two years younger than Prince Leodore; and though he was initially never included in the plan to become a close aide candidate, the noble families persuaded his father to allow his entry for the sake of putting a stop to Hauser’s brutal acts. Certainly, his status and blood relation to Prince Leodore made him a suitable counterpart to Hauser-sama.
But…
“Nice to meet you! I’m Urschel Minusle! By the way, who made today’s tea snacks? They’re so yummy!”
…It seemed that the nobles didn’t take his personality into consideration.
Urschel-sama was a bit… no, kind of… no, he was weirder than anyone could’ve imagined.
After studying, the royal palace would serve sweets to provide sugar to the weary brains. As soon as he had finished his studies, Urschel-sama would run to the sweets instead of to Prince Leodore.
Normally, after studying, the study mates would gather around Prince Leodore. Each and every time, they would enthusiastically praise him for his excellent performance and talk with him while trying to get as close as possible.
But Urschel-sama didn’t.
He praised the pastries first and foremost, and then the patissiers who made the sweets of the day.
“Today’s orangette is delicious! How did you make it? It’s slightly bitter and sweet! Are you a genius? If you ever need a job, come to the Minusle estate and I’ll give you preferential treatment!”
Thanks to this, Urschel-sama was very popular with the patissier section of the royal palace. He gave out compliments like they were candy, sang the chefs’ praises, and ate as many delicious sweets as he could. The level of the pastries served during those days increased dramatically, and there were even fans appreciating the adorable way he enjoyed the treats.
And most confusingly of all, while Urschel-sama was relishing the sweets, he didn’t give Prince Leodore a second glance.
‘Whoa…. what on earth did this kid come here for?’ That was my first impression of him.