[The Bard (1)]
Meanwhile, in the 2nd Prince’s palace, located at the exact opposite end of the 1st Prince’s, a letter from the North had arrived.
Bang!
“What? The Prince’s horses were stolen? Do they not know which battlefield those horses are destined for!”
A certain Viscount among the 2nd Prince’s retainers—a man with no particular talent but a booming voice—went berserk after receiving the report.
“Those were reserve horses meant to be supplied to the Prince’s personal guard! How on earth did they manage them to let this—I could chew them up and it wouldn’t be enough!”
“Enough.”
The 2nd Prince, who had been sitting in the seat of honor with disheveled attire, waved his hand irritably. The Viscount immediately read the room and sat down.
“My head is already throbbing. Stop with the loud noises.”
“My apologies, Your Highness.”
The 2nd Prince’s face was a mess from a hangover.
However, no one dared to blame him for it.
Everyone knew that he wasn’t some good-for-nothing drunkard who guzzled alcohol in the middle of a succession struggle; he was doing it for a reason.
‘He’s suffering to appease the knights.’
‘Even if they are the personal guard, he treats them without airs, which is why they offer him their loyalty.’
The 2nd Prince’s hangover was, in the end, the result of his efforts to firmly grasp the military, his base of support. As he expanded the front lines and brought back news of victory, his stock rose, leaving him with no choice but to drown in alcohol every day to soothe the knights and soldiers, including his personal guard.
“I have maintained this military force by filling the generals’ cups every night, not even shying away from playing the part of a whore, yet they lost a few horses because they couldn’t manage them properly.”
The 2nd Prince rose to his feet and glared at the one who had brought the letter. The conference room froze in an instant.
The anger of a man who has stained his hands with blood countless times on the battlefield always carries a metallic stench.
“Reserve horses, fine, maybe the distribution could be delayed. Maybe the reserve horses received late aren’t as impressive as the ones in the past.”
Shing—
As the 2nd Prince dragged his sword, which he had carelessly tossed aside, across the floor toward the servant, the servant prostrated himself on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, unable to even beg for his life.
“But complaints will pile up. ‘This never happened before.’ ‘The quality isn’t as good as it used to be.’ They’ll say things like that.”
“Please, kill me!”
The retainers also quickly scrambled off their chairs and knelt.
“If such complaints gather one by one, eventually words like this will circulate. ‘Ah, that’s just what you’d expect from a two-bit Prince.’”
Bang!
Finishing his sentence, the 2nd Prince plunged his sword straight into the floor. Not only was the carpet, which boasted a beautiful pattern, ruined, but the fine wood grain of the floor beneath it was shattered as well.
Thud—
The servant who had brought the letter finally lost consciousness and collapsed. Fortunately, no blood was shed. The sword had been plunged into the letter from the horse merchant that the servant had been holding.
“Clear him out.”
At that single word, the servant was dragged away. He would likely be stripped of his right to work in the Imperial Palace for delivering a letter that displeased the 2nd Prince, but it was fortunate that he had at least kept his life.
“Shall we summon the horse merchant?”
“It is true that he is detestable, but must I concern myself with such trivial matters?”
“Then, we could demand compensation from the merchant and—”
At the Viscount’s words, the 2nd Prince’s brow furrowed deeply.
‘How is it that such a man has decent knights under him? Tsk!’
He was a man who couldn’t think straight and didn’t know his place, but the only reason he had been given a seat in this room was because the knights under his command were quite exceptional.
Still, he didn’t like it.
‘I’ll have to pull them out soon.’
Deciding that it was a waste for such knights to be under a man like that and that he should find them a new master, the 2nd Prince signaled the other retainers. A quick-witted man with red hair immediately stood up, bowed, and opened his mouth.
“We cannot continue to waste Your Highness’s time over a mere two hundred horses. However, even if it is a trivial matter, we cannot simply overlook those who dared to lay hands on Your Highness’s property.”
“Hmm.”
The 2nd Prince, satisfied that someone had finally said something to his liking, smiled contentedly and returned to his seat, burying himself in it.
“According to the letter, those who stole the horses are the ones who rebelled against the Viscount of Lontes. Since Lontes is a central force in the North that supports Your Highness, if we help punish these traitors, those who trust and follow Your Highness will be moved to tears.”
Not a word was spoken about the disposal of the rebels who had stolen the horses, but there was no one in the room who couldn’t imagine their end.
Back in the North.
Contrary to expectations, the North was peaceful to a fault.
The horse merchant had washed his hands of the matter, saying he had no more business in the North, and there was still quite some time left before any contact from the capital would arrive.
“I guess we really are the boonies. It takes so long to get a reply even after sending word, geez.”
“I certainly thought it was an important matter...”
“It’s our top priority, but from the capital’s perspective, it’s not exactly an emergency.”
Jamie and Roland chatted away while leisurely drinking tea. Aiden, too, looked out the window for the first time in a while, enjoying the lush green scenery outside.
“Let’s head home early today.”
It wasn’t even lunchtime yet, but the documents that needed processing were already gone. Recently, as the officials in each department had gained experience, their work speed had picked up, and now, thanks to that, most matters didn’t even need to be escalated to the Lord’s castle.
“Heading home, you say.”
Watching Jamie and Roland excitedly packing their bags, Aiden sighed as he spoke.
“What am I supposed to do when I get home?”
Was his monologue too loud? Realizing it after he’d said it, Aiden felt a bit awkward and scratched his temple.
“Ah... I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
He didn’t have a hobby of keeping his subordinates around when there was nothing to do. It was only natural to let them leave early when there was no work, as it was much better for morale.
“Ugh.”
However, Jamie, who had been listing off things to do after work just a moment ago, put his bag back down.
“Honestly, Administrative Officer, what would you do without me?”
“...?”
“You don’t have any hobbies, do you?”
“Hobbies...”
Aiden blinked. Come to think of it, from his past life until now, whenever someone asked about his hobbies, he had always hedged.
By saying things like reading books or watching movies.
He did read books and watch movies, but when he thought about it calmly, it was hard to call those his hobbies. On days when he got home early or on holidays with nothing to do, he would turn on Netflix to kill time or glance at a book on the shelf, but it wasn’t something he did because he particularly enjoyed it.
Aiden was a man who had plenty of specialties but no hobbies.
“I knew it. A person shouldn’t be without hobbies.”
At his superior’s reaction, Jamie beat his chest as if it were his own problem.
“Since it’s come to this, I’ll have to find a hobby for our Administrative Officer today!”
Then, as if making a strange resolution to himself, he clenched his fists, beat his chest, stretched them toward the sky, and did all sorts of bizarre things.
Usually, Aiden would have said immediately, “Forget it. I’m going to go sleep.” But for some reason, today, he nodded readily. He figured he must have been bewitched by the fresh green light he had seen outside the window.
As he followed Jamie outside, the other two adjutants followed along.
“...?”
“Well, Jamie’s hobbies are obvious, aren’t they?”
“Isn’t it our job to serve the Administrative Officer?”
They answered with rather solemn expressions.
“You two don’t have anything to do either, right?”
“...”
“...”
They were truly a pitiful leadership group of the North. Jamie led his superior and colleagues, taking the lead with confidence.
Unlike the three who were busy resting in their bedrooms once work was done because they didn’t have any local ties, Jamie, contrary to his appearance, was quite sociable and would wander everywhere if he had even a moment of free time.
“If I had to pick the hobby most enjoyed by the most people in our North, it would definitely be hunting.”
“Rejected.”
“Ah, why?”
He had wondered why they were heading to the stables instead of outside the Lord’s castle, and it seemed his hands had been itching.
“You know how to ride a horse now, too.”
“Riding a horse and hunting on horseback are completely different matters. Besides, I don’t want to go far. And I especially refuse to do anything where I might get hurt.”
He had been so stifled stuck in his bedroom last time just because he had a hairline fracture in his leg.
‘If I were to fall off a horse or get gored by a bison, I’d have to recuperate for at least a few months.’
Absolutely not. Who would do the work in the meantime?
“You disappear every holiday, and the only thing you can suggest is hunting?”
At Aiden’s disappointed expression, Jamie puffed out his nose, trying to make up for it.
“Ayy, it can’t be helped. Then let’s go to the inn!”
“An inn?”
“Bards come to the inn quite often these days. I heard there are musicians who have been here for a few days, and they say their skills are quite good. They perform during lunch and dinner, so if you go now, the timing will be perfect.”
“A bard and musicians, huh.”
“Once you get hooked on a bard, our Administrative Officer might go watch the performance every evening, so I was trying not to introduce you on purpose. Heh heh.”
“Hooked, my foot.”
Still, curiosity flickered on Aiden’s face, which had been listless compared to when they were talking about hunting. He had never been particularly obsessed with music, but he hadn’t had much experience listening to the music of this world properly, so his interest was piqued.
“I heard that even bards don’t visit our North often.”
“Heh heh. That’s a thing of the past. As the trading post has become more active, haven’t more people been spending money at the inn? Besides, since Lontes has locked its doors, I heard that the bards and theater troupes of the North have scattered everywhere.”
“And some of them came to the North?”
“Yes.”
Imagining himself listening to a bard’s songs and stories at an inn, Aiden’s dry heart felt a little ticklish for some reason.
What is romance, anyway? He thought that this was romance.
“Aigoo, Lord!”
“I’ve only come to eat, so please don’t make a fuss.”
Aiden, who still hadn’t fixed the habit of using formal language even while accepting the title of Lord without denial. The table was set in an instant in front of the four people who had been guided to a seat where they were hidden from the gaze of other guests.
Well-grilled sausages the size of forearms, warm bread topped with rich cheese, butter with a few herbs mixed in, stew boiled down with tomatoes, radishes, and potatoes, rabbit meat grilled with vegetables with all the grease drained out, and even beer filled to the brim in a pewter mug the size of a child’s head.
“...The inn food has gotten quite good.”
“Well, haven’t there been more outsiders? Heh heh.”
Aiden burst into a satisfied laugh, looking at the table situation, which was impossible to compare to last year.
“Ah, it’s starting!”
As he was tearing off a piece of bread to eat, the curtain covering the small stage was pulled back, and the audience began to cheer.
— Waaaaaaaah!
Glancing at the audience, he saw that not only the first-floor dining area but also the second-floor railings and stairs were packed with onlookers.
Soon, someone wearing a rag-like robe opened their mouth quietly on the stage.
“The youngest starved to death.”
At the trembling voice, silence flowed through the inn.