Yes, He Really Is the Crown Prince (1)
The moment Maru revealed his true identity, the King could barely contain his excitement for a long while.
He stared at him as though he couldn't believe his eyes, and then abruptly began quizzing him on court terminology and etiquette that only those within the palace would ever know.
It was as if he intended to verify everything with the utmost care, leaving nothing to chance.
Only after some time did he manage to calm the racing of his heart.
"When that letter arrived from the Empress, something about you caught my eye before anyone else. I've had my suspicions since then."
"I apologize for the worry I've caused you."
"So you're the Crown Prince—what a relief!" the King boomed with laughter.
That hearty laughter carried the spirit of the bold man he must have been in his youth.
"Well, since you already know our circumstances, there's no need for any tiresome pageantry or pretense—quite convenient, that. But tell me, how does a man of your exalted standing come to be traveling alone like this?"
"The circumstances are too complicated to explain here."
"Yes, yes, keep it to yourself for now. If you feel like telling me later, I'll listen. The breeze is pleasant—let's just enjoy some conversation."
The King called over the maids standing around the carriage.
Soon a table was set up, with two chairs placed beside it.
He had only meant to stop by briefly, but it looked like this visit would run long.
The maids kindled a fire on the spot, brewed tea, and brought it out. There were pastries prepared in advance as well, and they set those out alongside.
"Drink up."
"Thank you, I will."
"To think, in my lifetime, I'd get to see the Crown Prince with my own eyes."
The King's face beamed as he raised his teacup.
"We've received word again that the Empire is sending a delegation to push forward marriage negotiations. And yet we haven't made a single decision on our end."
"W-what, really?"
"I'll show you the letter shortly—take a look yourself. They haven't even asked what we think. It feels rather one-sided, doesn't it? And the pace of things is quick, too. Do you know why?"
Maru narrowed his brow and sank into thought.
A delegation? All of a sudden?
A faint unease began to bloom in the corner of his chest.
What scheme was his mother cooking up this time?
He worried whether it truly was an innocent diplomatic delegation.
Because his location had been discovered, things were getting complicated in every way.
"It's because of me."
Maru took a slow breath, then continued quietly.
"The reason is that I fell in love with Princess Audrite."
For an instant, ripples spread across the King's blue eyes.
And then they settled again.
He burst into a great laugh.
"Hahaha. Now everything makes sense. So that's why the Empress is pushing the marriage—she meant to drive the two of you apart."
Maru was inwardly impressed.
"How did you know?"
"If she'd left you out and sent portraits of other men instead, the answer would be obvious."
"But even I don't know exactly what my mother is thinking. Whether she means to drive us apart, or to test the Princess. I'd have to ask her directly to know for sure."
The King gave a thoughtful hmph, mulling something over for a moment.
"And how does Audrite feel about all this?"
"When I confessed to her, the Princess was happy. She gladly accepted my heart."
"Heheh."
The King took a composed sip of his tea, then set the cup back down.
"I'd heard the two of you were meeting often, but never in my dreams did I imagine things had progressed that far already. Astonishing. Simply astonishing…"
Letting the words trail off, the King gazed up at the cloudless blue sky before lowering his eyes and asking again.
"But didn't you say from the start you'd only stay until things went well for Edward, and then leave? Do you intend to keep wandering from place to place, living the life of a nomad?"
It sounded like an accusation: are you planning to drag Audrite around on a vagabond's life and put her through nothing but hardship?
In truth, this very problem had kept him wrestling deep into the night.
Their two lives were riding on this decision, and he'd thrashed about in the swamp of his own deliberations until sleep abandoned him entirely.
And the conclusion he reached—he could now declare it here with certainty.
"If you grant me permission to marry the Princess, my wandering ends here."
The talk of marriage was sudden, but having taken the Princess's innocence, he intended to take responsibility to the very end.
If he didn't, she wouldn't even be able to enter an arranged marriage with another noble.
It was an era when noblewomen were expected to preserve their purity until marriage.
And in the same vein—Kiera had not been nobility, but he had taken her purity as well.
Back then, he had meant to propose after defeating the Demon King.
It never came to pass, but still…
Maru went on with a lighter heart.
"Defeating the Demon King was originally my purpose."
Frankly, he'd only planned to tag along with a party of strangers and be present at the moment of the kill, but with the King before him, he dressed it up a little.
"But meeting the Princess changed my mind. When I thought of her spending that long journey alone, lonely and waiting while I was off slaying the Demon King, it hurt too much to bear. And so I've decided. I will hold the wedding here, and then return to my homeland. I'll formally introduce her to my mother there, and we'll hold another ceremony in the Empire as well."
Just picturing that day brought a smile to his lips unbidden.
"The Heroes will deal with the Demon King on their own, I'm sure. I'll support them from my homeland while the Princess and I live out our own sweet, quiet life together, just the two of us. And so, Your Majesty—"
Maru took the King's wrinkled hand and gently wrapped it in both of his own.
"Please grant us your blessing for marriage. I will never put the Princess in danger. I will never leave her lonely. I will stay by her side always and make her happy. Besides, it's about time you saw your grandchildren, isn't it?"
When he spoke with his whole heart, the King met his eyes and broke into a wide grin.
"Well, if you're giving up the wanderer's life, I can hardly find fault with you now, can I? In my heart, you're already my son-in-law."
The answer had come with surprising warmth.
"Thank you!"
Maru's heart had hung heavy as a thousand pounds, terrified he might not receive permission, and only now did he feel it lift.
He smiled brightly and clasped the King's hand firmly in both of his.
"Thank you so much for granting us your blessing!"
"The Crown Prince rolled right up to our doorstep of his own accord—unless someone were a fool, who would turn him away? We could throw him in a net, haul him off, knock him senseless, and toss him into the Princess's chamber with the door locked, and it would still be too few. Heheh. But you'll have to do the work of persuading the Empress. Ah, one more thing. If you hold the formal ceremony here, the Empire will lodge a formal objection. It wouldn't look proper by convention—so hold the engagement ceremony here in our kingdom, and conduct the official marriage in the Empire."
"Understood. I'll keep that in mind. And please leave the matter of the delegation to me. I'll handle it."
"I have every confidence it will go smoothly if you take charge. Watching how you've handled things until now, you're sharp and clever—this will be well within your abilities."
The King nodded and placed his hand atop both of Maru's.
"Though I have a favor to ask of you as well."
A shadow of loneliness crept into his eyes.
With his daughter suddenly announcing her marriage, all manner of emotions seemed to be warring within him.
"Once the Princess goes to the Empire—the distance is so vast, she'll be bearing children, tending to her husband—there'll be no telling when I'll see her again. Ten years, perhaps? Or a lifetime? I may never see that child again for a long, long time. So I beg you. Give me time in the days remaining to build a few memories with her. Don't depart the moment the ceremony ends. Stay here with us a few more months."
There was nothing to consider.
Maru agreed wholeheartedly.
"Of course. We'll stay another year before we go."
"Thank you."
Delighted, the King drained his teacup clean.
Then, with a pleasant expression, he rose from his seat at once.
"In two months, a place called Nalundra will host the Western Continent Multi-Species Conference. Elves, dwarves, fairies, beastfolk—every race standing against the Demon King will gather to hear speeches from two Heroes delivering a message of hope in this dark age. Let's go there together—our Princess, you, Edward, the Queen, and I—and make some memories. It's nothing more than attending as spectators, but I'm certain it will be a valuable experience for you as well."
"Sounds fun."
"It should be quite the delight. And besides—it's an elven kingdom. I imagine there will be wonders aplenty."
The King gestured as he walked toward the carriage.
"There's much to be done starting now, so get in. When we arrive at the palace, I intend to hold a welcoming ceremony befitting a state guest. From today onward, our kingdom will treat you not as some mere wandering knight and guest, but as the Crown Prince—guest above all guests."
At those words, Maru's footsteps came to a sudden halt.
A Crown Prince again, was it?
Was he truly returning, in the end, to the privileged life of a prince?
'The Prince doesn't seem to have half the talent of the Queen.'
'The Queen was remarkable at that age, they say.'
'See? What did I tell you? There's no child more brilliant than brilliant parents. Family glory always dies with the second generation. The children either turn out dull or go squandering everything.'
Those had been anxious years—crushed beneath his mother's towering achievements, feeling he had to accomplish something just to deserve the name of prince.
Following Kiera around for four years had been how he'd set down that weight.
If this were the past, he would have refused and run. But now that his mind was made up, he felt nothing but relief.
He would spend his life eating well and living well with Audrite, doing a little trade on the side.
No matter how hard he swung a sword, he could never catch up to his mother's standing anyway.
Might as well set the blade down and become a merchant king of a married couple.
Maru strode forward with vigor.
As the sun sank toward dusk, the palace buzzed with commotion.
"They've found the Crown Prince! There's to be a welcome ceremony tonight!"
"What? Well, that's wonderful news! Where is he now? No, wait—where on earth has he been all this time?"
"I don't know the details! We'll find out at the ceremony later!"
Audrite was walking calmly down the corridor.
Everyone she passed was blooming with bright smiles, chattering about the Crown Prince.
"Good thing I came early."
She murmured it as though it were of no particular interest, and pushed open the door to the dining hall.
Maru had arrived first and was waiting for her.
At the sight of him seated at the table, a smile spread across Audrite's lips.
"Where did you go with His Highness?"
"To my territory. I have a territory now."
"Ah~ so they granted you land. That's good."
Audrite didn't sit across the long table from him. Instead, she pulled out the chair right beside Maru and settled in close, at a diagonal.
Maru glanced at her sideways and spoke.
"If you sit that close, people will notice."
"That's the point of sitting here. I sat here so they'd gossip."
Her cheerful retort drew a small laugh out of him.
Soon the maids emerged from the kitchen carrying dishes, and a spread of delicious food was laid across the table.
Like someone at a buffet, Maru transferred whatever caught his fancy onto his plate, one dish at a time.
"Care for a drink?"
"No, I can't drink alcohol."
"Why not? Have some with me."
Audrite set the bottle she'd picked up back down.
"Is it because of the Crown Prince's welcome ceremony?" she asked, lifting her fork.
"Yes."
Audrite reached naturally across toward Maru's plate, speared a piece of meat, and brought it to her mouth.
"What does it matter anyway? We just have to sit there and show up. The Crown Prince and His Highness will do all the talking."
Chewing the meat, she reached out again—this time stabbing a piece of roasted asparagus from his plate with her fork and popping it into her mouth.
"Strange. Is there a ghost in this dining hall? Why does my food keep disappearing?"
Maru murmured it just loud enough for Audrite to hear as she savored her stolen bite.
Utterly unrepentant, she helped herself to his plate once more.
"Mmm, this is good."
"Eat your own. Stop eating mine."
"Somehow yours tastes better."
"Then go get some from over there. There's plenty of the same thing."
"I don't want to. Even when the dish is the same, the taste is different, I tell you."
Audrite grinned slyly and pushed her own plate toward him.
"Let's swap plates. The things I picked out are delicious too. Here, look—if you add the sauce like this…"
She lifted a morsel from her own plate and fed it to Maru, then watched his reaction closely.
"Well? Good, right?"
"Mmm."
Maru chewed and gave her a thumbs-up.
"Not bad."
"See? You eat mine, and I'll eat yours. Deal?"
Watching her smile so prettily, Maru nodded as if conceding defeat.
And so they began eating from each other's plates.
"Eat up properly before we go. If the Crown Prince turns out to be a chatterbox, we might be stuck sitting there for hours."
At her words, Maru swallowed what was in his mouth and dabbed his lips with a napkin. Then he looked at her, serious now.
"Audrite."
"Odie."
"Odie, there's something I need to tell you."
"What is it?"
Another bite of food went into her innocently upturned mouth.
Watching her eat, Maru confessed quietly.
"I'm the Crown Prince. I need you to believe me."
"Hahaha! Koff! Koff!"
She laughed so hard she choked.
She hurriedly spat out her food, her face scrunching up.
"Are you going to keep doing this? Koff! It's getting revealed in a few hours anyway—is lying to me that fun? I don't fall for it anymore, you know. Koff! Koff!"
Apparently, ever since his little lie about leaving, he had become the boy who cried wolf.
Maru smiled and kept rubbing her back as she coughed on.
"Fine. I won't say it again."
What else could he do?
If words wouldn't convince her, he'd simply have to show her.
Maru put the matter aside, chatting idly with her as he devoted himself entirely to the meal.
Night had fallen, but the vast, cavernous hall blazed as bright as midday.
Word that the Crown Prince had appeared drew an even greater crowd of nobles than when the Hero had once visited.
At the center of it all, a long crimson carpet stretched out, waiting for the Crown Prince to make his entrance.
"You actually saw the Crown Prince's face?"
"Indeed I did. A remarkably handsome fellow, he was."
"Who is he? Someone we know?"
"You'll find out soon enough. Heheh."
While the King and Queen, seated in the place of honor at the far end, exchanged pleasantries, Audrite—sitting beside them—was busily scanning the rows where the key ministers stood.
Where is he…?
She had planned to smile fondly at the sight of Maru standing among the crowd, but no matter how she searched, he was nowhere to be seen.
For him to be absent from an occasion he absolutely had to attend made her strangely uneasy.
The welcome ceremony hadn't begun yet, so he might appear at the very last moment.
Even so, her heart kept churning for no good reason.
Part of it, surely, was that this was her first time courting a man, and it had made her sensitive to every tremor.
Could he be sneaking off with another woman… no, stop it. Maybe he just went to the washroom?
She let out a short sigh and bit her lip.
Did all that food I fed him give him a stomachache? He's not used to the things I like…