Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: 42. Dragon Slayer (1)
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Adelia had more worries than she could count these days.
Recently, His Highness the Prince's behavior had been strange.
The prince, who had been constantly on the move as if afflicted with a disease that would kill him if he stopped, suddenly ceased all activity from one day and secluded himself in his chambers.
He met no one and spoke to no one.
He simply devoted himself to meditation with his eyes closed all day long.
Worried that he might harm his health, she carefully selected his favorite foods and brought them at every mealtime, but he didn't touch even those.
Four days passed like that.
During that time, many people visited the 1st Prince Palace.
Everyone was concerned about the prince's sudden seclusion.
But the prince, oblivious to their visits, continued to immerse himself in meditation.
Another four days passed.
As always, Adelia visited the prince's bedroom at dawn, and her eyes widened in surprise.
The prince, who had kept his eyes closed without moving for nearly ten days, was somehow up and about.
"Your Highness!"
She blinked, then rushed to him belatedly, pouring out her words.
She had been terribly worried since he had skipped meals and sat motionless in his room.
At her words, the prince smiled quietly.
His face looked a bit gaunt, but his eyes were clearer than ever before.
Relieved, she was on the verge of tears when the prince asked her to help him prepare.
She assisted with his ablutions and helped him dress.
Once he was fully dressed, the prince then requested his armor.
She tilted her head in puzzlement but fetched the armor he usually favored and helped him don it.
It was the northern knights' armor, made primarily of leather with iron plates in key areas for good mobility.
The prince checked the straps more meticulously than usual, then smiled in satisfaction and praised her efforts.
She bowed her head slightly and stepped back to look at him.
His hair had grown long during his wanderings through the empire, as he hadn't tended to it.
She rummaged through the bedroom drawer for a comb and tie, then neatly tidied his shaggy hair with practiced motions.
"Much better," the prince praised her again.
At the repeated compliments, she unwittingly broke into a wide smile.
It felt like the worries that had plagued her for nearly ten days were melting away.
Once dressed and armored, the prince stood before the two swords enshrined on the table. He pondered for a moment, then picked up one of them.
It wasn't his usual favored sword, but the Leonberger royal family's treasured blade in his hand.
Seeing that, Adelia's heart sank.
It had been quite some time since they escaped the brutal empire's territory,
and this was the royal palace, the most heavily guarded place even in the peaceful capital.
Yet the prince seemed poised for battle alone.
Unthinkingly, she clutched his sleeve.
The prince, who would normally tease her with a playful "What's wrong?", simply stroked her head silently today.
That only heightened her unease, and she gripped his sleeve tighter.
Whoosh.
The prince gently pried her hand away.
And he said that if he didn't return by sunset the day after tomorrow, she should deliver this letter to the Old Marquis.
While she stood dazed, the prince opened the door and left the bedroom.
Snapping to her senses too late, she chased after him, but he had already vanished somewhere.
She asked the knights guarding the palace about his whereabouts.
They replied nonchalantly that the prince had gone for a short walk and ordered no one to follow.
Adelia clutched the letter in her hand tightly.
She desperately wanted to break the seal and read it, but the prince's command was absolute.
Suppressing her anxiety, she waited for his return.
But even as the day ended, the prince did not come back.
**
Kals Yulihi knocked on the bedroom door.
Knock knock.
"Your Highness. It's Kals."
No answer came, despite repeated announcements.
"I'm coming in."
Kals cautiously opened the door.
The neatly made bed showed no sign that anyone had lain there.
"I came just in case."
The prince had ended his seclusion the previous day and gone for a walk, but hadn't returned overnight.
Though unlikely, he checked if the prince had slipped back into the chambers unbeknownst to the court knights.
But as expected, the prince was nowhere to be seen.
The room was empty.
"Hm?"
As he scanned the room, he frowned.
In one corner of the bedroom, the most secluded spot, there was a huddled shadow.
A woman with her knees drawn to her chest, head buried between them.
"Lady Adelia?"
She was Adelia Bayern, the prince's closest confidante.
It seemed she had crouched there all night waiting for the prince, and Kals clicked his tongue softly.
Suddenly thinking she might know something about the prince's whereabouts, he approached quietly and asked.
"Do you know where His Highness went?"
Still buried between her knees, she shook her head.
"Hah. Maybe he went for a ride to shake off cabin fever."
He wasn't overly worried about the prince.
The prince was capricious by nature, and a swordmaster like him wouldn't run into trouble in his own kingdom.
After nearly ten days of seclusion, he must have gone out for some fresh air. He'd return soon enough. That's what he thought.
But as sunset came and the moon rose high without the prince's return, worry began to creep in.
"Just how far did he go for this 'walk'?"
Still, he figured the sword fairies were with him, so nothing serious would happen.
"Hm."
When he visited the prince's bedroom again as the sun dipped low, the prince was still absent.
Only Adelia Bayern remained, huddled in the exact same position as the day before.
As he sighed and turned to leave, a choked voice stopped him.
"Um, Your Highness..."
It was Adelia Bayern.
He turned to see the woman lifting her head from between her knees, looking at him.
Her face a mess of tears and snot, utterly pitiful.
"H-he said that if he doesn't return in two days, to deliver this letter to Marquis Billefeld."
Sniffling, she stood and pulled an envelope from her bosom.
Kals froze on the spot.
"What did you say?"
He scowled and demanded, and the woman whimpered in response.
"His Highness seemed like he was definitely going off to fight someone."
At that, Kals shouted unwittingly.
"Why didn't you say so sooner?!"
Realizing he had barked at her, he checked her expression and fell silent.
It wouldn't help to press someone who looked so fragile.
"Enough. Get up. We're going to His Majesty the King right now."
She staggered to her feet, clutching the prince's letter tightly.
**
"Perhaps he left for Dotrin without a word."
Shiorin Kirguyen, who had finally arrived at the capital today after being left behind because she couldn't keep up with the knights riding day and night, speculated about the prince's whereabouts.
"I already permitted the prince's trip to Dotrin. There's no reason for him to leave without saying anything."
The king refuted Shiorin's words.
"Maybe he's whiling away time in the capital's pleasure districts out of boredom. He hasn't shown such tendencies recently, but I heard he did so occasionally in the past."
Maximilian shook his head at Shiorin's words.
"We've already sent people to check every pleasure district in the capital. No one has seen my brother."
"Hah. Then where on earth did he go..."
As if by prior agreement, everyone glanced toward one corner of the throne room.
Adelia Bayern was there.
As all eyes turned to her at once, she shrank back, clutching a letter envelope tightly with both hands pressed to her chest.
"We have the answer right there, yet no one sees it. How frustrating."
The king sighed.
He had questioned and cajoled her several times already. But the stubborn woman insisted it was the prince's order to deliver to the Old Marquis and wouldn't yield even to a royal command.
He had considered ordering the knights to seize it by force, but since Marquis Billefeld would resolve it upon arrival, they decided to wait.
But today the marquis was late entering the palace, making everyone increasingly impatient.
As they suppressed their anxiety, a court knight's voice came from outside the door.
"Marquis Billefeld has arrived."
Everyone, who had been eagerly awaiting the marquis, turned to the throne room doors.
The Old Marquis, looking disheveled unlike his usual self—perhaps having rushed upon hearing the news—strode in and bowed before the king.
"I came at once upon Your Majesty's command, but my old legs were slow, causing this delay. My apologies, Your Majesty."
"Enough. The letter first."
At the king's unusually urgent words, the Old Marquis bowed once more and extended his hand to Adelia Bayern.
"Hand it over."
She, who had resisted steadfastly, finally relinquished the letter upon seeing the marquis's face.
The marquis immediately broke the seal.
And began reading the contents aloud.
"Just in case, I'm leaving this letter, but I hope the marquis never has to read it..."
His recitation halted before even finishing the preamble.
His face had hardened like stone.
The marquis's eyes rapidly scanned the letter. Finally, having read it through, he handed it to Kals. While Kals in turn passed it to the king on the dais, the marquis asked Adelia.
"How was His Highness when he gave you this letter?"
"His complexion was calm, but he seemed like he was facing a major battle."
At her words, the marquis squeezed his eyes shut.
Meanwhile, the king read the letter and passed it to Maximilian. The king's expression was much the same as the marquis's.
Maximilian, his face similarly grim, read it aloud.
「Just in case, I'm leaving this letter, but I hope the marquis never has to read it. Better safe than sorry, though.」
「... (omitted)」
「I've prepared my own solutions and believe that with my best effort, it'll work out somehow.」
「But you know how the world doesn't always go as planned.」
「... (omitted)」
「In the past, I'd only worry about myself, but lately I've started feeling a sense of responsibility. I've stirred up quite a bit, after all. So I'm asking the marquis to handle things in my absence.」
The fact that his always confident brother had written such a letter contemplating failure itself unnerved Maximilian.
But he pushed down the anxiety and read to the end.
The letter's main content detailed where he had made arrangements and urged them to use those properly.
Only then did Maximilian understand why his father and the Old Marquis looked so grave.
It read like a last will and testament.
But it wasn't a true will.
「I'll return as soon as possible. No matter what, I'll be back before things truly begin.」
There was a promise at the end that he would return.
Maximilian believed it.
His brother would definitely come back. Just as he had appeared at the defensive line leading the northern reinforcements, he would keep his word this time too.
Kals Yulihi, who had belatedly checked the letter's contents, said he believed the same.
But the mood remained heavy.
"Your Majesty!"
It was then that an urgent voice came from outside the throne room.
"Some of the knights dispatched for the search have returned!"
"Let them in!"
The knights burst through the throne room doors and knelt before the dais.
"Two hours' ride from the capital, there were traces of a massive battle!"
At the knight's words, the king staggered and slumped onto his throne.
"The ground was torn up everywhere, covered in claw marks. I swear I've never seen anything like it in my life."
"What on earth was it like?"
In place of the dazed king and Marquis Billefeld, Shiorin Kirguyen asked.
"It was as if some enormous creature..."
The knight replied in a trembling voice.
"Had passed through—like a dragon had swept by."