A Prince Among Students
The Crown Prince arrived at the Academy in the evening, two days before the festival. His very first move was unconventional: he passed over the specially prepared dining hall and headed straight for the student cafeteria. At his sudden appearance, the students mid-meal froze in place.
"Hmm. Did I make a mistake coming here?"
This was supposed to be a place buzzing with chatter, mouths and hands all busy—and instead there was nothing but silence. He had decided to visit precisely so he could get the full Academy experience, and now he found himself worried that he was making the students uncomfortable.
"Your Highness, would you like to move to a private seat now?"
Beside Crown Prince Lindemann sat Bayul and his friends, who had been assigned to handle his protocol. When Bayul asked carefully, the Crown Prince shook his head.
"No. It would be strange to walk all the way here and just leave. For a little while, I'll have to be a selfish man."
The Crown Prince flashed a smile and strode boldly into the cafeteria. The Imperial Knights and the Full Moon Knights followed him in, keeping a respectful distance behind.
The once-quiet students began to murmur. The Crown Prince was one thing—but they had recognized the insignia of the Full Moon Knights.
Anyone who aspired to knighthood dreamed of joining the Full Moon Knights. Agitated Knight Department students could be seen stirring here and there throughout the hall.
Thank goodness Father didn't come.
Bayul had agonized for a while over whether or not to invite his father to the festival. He had heard that everyone else was bringing family and relatives.
But his father was an extremely busy man. More than that, he was surely still troubled by the matter of Derek. And the festival was held every year—there would be three more chances yet.
"So where am I supposed to sit?"
He had marched in full of confidence, but an open seat wasn't easy to find. As the Crown Prince hesitated, Aidan sprang into action.
"This way, please!"
He led the way, shooting pointed glances at the students. It meant move, anyone—and fortunately, the quick-witted ones scrambled up in a hurry, and a seat was made almost instantly. Before anyone knew it, the Crown Prince and his party had commandeered an entire large table to themselves.
"So we carry the food ourselves over there?"
Before taking his seat, Crown Prince Lindemann had been surveying the cafeteria, and he noticed students loading food onto their trays.
"Yes, Your Highness. If you'll sit down, I can bring—"
Bayul couldn't even finish the sentence. The Crown Prince was already walking away. The only ones flustered were Bayul and the students. As for the knights escorting him, their faces betrayed no change of expression whatsoever, as if such spontaneous behavior were routine by now.
"How interesting."
The act of serving his own food was refreshingly novel to the Crown Prince.
"Somehow it'll taste better this way."
The easy curve of his smile said he was genuinely enjoying the moment. Had Bayul been overthinking things, seeing the Crown Prince only through the weight of his rank? Only now did it truly sink in that he was a peer—hardly different from any of them.
"The menu changes every day, I suppose?"
"Yes, Your Highness. There's a separate menu prepared for each day of the week."
"I see. Then everyone must be hungry—let's eat, quickly."
Only after the Crown Prince finished his meal could the knights find time to eat themselves. He would have loved to invite them all to sit and eat together, but he knew better than anyone that the knights wouldn't go along with it—especially not in a place with this many eyes watching.
"Delicious, as expected."
It was an ordinary soup with meat in it. After a single spoonful, the Crown Prince swept his gaze over the whole cafeteria with deeply satisfied eyes.
"I always used to imagine moments like this."
The Crown Prince's old words about wanting to attend Carrington Academy surfaced in Bayul's mind. It wouldn't be a long visit, but Bayul hoped that even for a little while, he could be happy here.
"Oh, right—Bayul. How did your midterm exams go?"
"Fine, well... nothing out of the ordinary, Your Highness."
"Everyone keeps saying you're all top students, don't they? I did some investigating of my own, you know."
Crown Prince Lindemann looked around at Bayul and his friends with a bright smile. They had already been introduced at the imperial party, but this was the first time he'd seen their faces up close like this.
"Thank you, all of you. You must be swamped with festival preparations, and yet you're taking care of my protocol."
"The honor is entirely ours. We may fall short, but we will attend to you with our utmost devotion."
Pretending not to notice the way Eli's lips jutted out in a pout, Bayul answered.
"What are you all doing for the festival? Are you entering the chess tournament?"
"...How did you know that?"
"How did I know? Don't you remember talking about chess at the palace?"
"Ah."
There had been a time—after that scoundrel Jared kidnapped him—when Bayul had drunk and played chess at the Crow's Nest and talked it over with the Crown Prince. Bayul had completely forgotten, and now it came back to him.
"I'm entering the equestrian tournament," Aidan said in answer to the Crown Prince's question, and the Crown Prince let out a delighted "Oho!" before continuing.
"I haven't seen you ride myself, but your face says you ride like the wind! Aidan, was it? You have my full support too."
"Thank you."
Aidan had no idea what a face built for riding horses was supposed to look like, but he was pleased nonetheless. He felt like he might just pull off a glorious defeat of Logan.
"If I were an Academy student, I'd have entered the swordsmanship tournament. Honestly, I want to sign up even now—no chance of that, though, right?"
"Have you already forgotten the imperial party?"
It was Eli. At his prickly reply, Bayul and the others flinched and turned to stare at him.
"No, I haven't forgotten—not for a second."
Fortunately, the Crown Prince seemed entirely oblivious to the thorns buried in the boy's words.
"I asked Duke Randert for a sparring match without knowing my place, and got shot down on the spot. Thanks to that, though, I did witness something incredible."
Crown Prince Lindemann's gaze lingered, just for the briefest moment, on Hayes. She had come here as the leader of the Full Moon Knights detachment assigned to the Crown Prince's escort.
"You're Eli of the Magic Department, was it?"
"I am."
"What you're saying is that if I entered the tournament, no one would actually fight at their full strength against me?"
"......"
"If I've understood you correctly, I know that too. It might be different if I competed incognito, but who would ever take me on properly? I'm the Crown Prince of this empire. You know it's true."
He was smiling, but a trace of bitterness shadowed Crown Prince Lindemann's eyes.
"If there's anyone in this world who wouldn't cut me any slack, I'd wager there's exactly one such person."
"......?"
"Someone who threatens my position. Someone whose goal is to kill me. Naturally, they wouldn't, would they?"
"Your Highness—!"
"Haha, no need to be alarmed. Just a joke."
Had Professor Rothius been present, he would have scolded his nephew about making jokes that fit the time and place. Unfortunately, there was no one here who could say such a thing.
"Oh dear—did I go and say something unnecessary again? I didn't expect the mood to sink like this."
Crown Prince Lindemann scratched his head in embarrassment.
"...Was there anything in particular you wanted to do at the Academy?"
Bayul asked, hoping to change the subject.
"Well. It's not just one or two things, so I hardly know where to start."
He meant it. No one could know just how many expectations he had brought with him on this trip to the Academy. For a man who had spent his whole life in a splendid palace, what he longed for was, in a way, remarkably humble.
"This is all I need."
The Crown Prince lifted his own tray once, then set it back down.
"To be an ordinary student, like all of you. That should be plenty."
"We heard you'll be observing classes. Have you chosen a subject?"
"Of course I have."
A sudden vitality lit up the Crown Prince's face.
"History class."
As expected.
It was just as Bayul had suspected. History class was first period tomorrow.
Please let it pass without incident...
Professor Rothius held his position as a professor while concealing his imperial lineage. Bayul couldn't help but wonder—what if Crown Prince Lindemann intended to play some mischievous prank on that uncle of his? Useless worry welled up unbidden.
"But sitting in on classes doesn't make you a true student, does it?"
Suddenly, Crown Prince Lindemann put on the expression of a mischievous troublemaker.
"Which brings me to this... I'm thinking of trying dormitory life. What do you all think?"
"Absolutely not, Your Highness."
He had asked Bayul and the others, who were handling his protocol—but the answer came from the knights guarding him.
"The dormitories are unsuitable for hosting His Highness the Crown Prince. Please reconsider."
"Walker."
"Yes, Your Highness. Speak."
"The true romance of the Academy is the dormitory. The dormitory experience is the thing I've wanted to try most of all."
"And yet, Your Highness, separate lodgings have already been prepared for you. The dormitories are entirely unprepared. They are not safe."
"It's only a few days. And how many times do I have to say it—I can look after my own body, so stop worrying."
The personnel assigned to escort the Crown Prince numbered over a hundred. What conceivable danger could there be in a place packed full of students?
Bayul and the others could understand the knights' feelings perfectly, but Crown Prince Lindemann could not let this opportunity slip away. There was no guarantee such a day would ever come again. You had to enjoy what you could, while you could.
"Besides, Sir Hayes is here—what's there to worry about? Isn't that right, Sir Hayes?"
Crown Prince Lindemann's eyes turned to Hayes once more. At his sudden question, she seemed briefly taken aback, but she answered with composure.
"I have no authority to make such a decision. I will simply ensure Your Highness's safety wherever you go and whatever you do."
That was the order Hayes had received directly from Duke Randert.
"You heard her."
Where Crown Prince Lindemann looked satisfied, Commander Walker's expression grew graver. He was the commander of the Imperial Knights with overall responsibility for this visit. If anything went wrong, everything would be his fault.
"If Father flies into a rage, I'll take the blame for all of it. So just look the other way this once."
"Your Highness..."
"Everything else, I'll do exactly as you say, Walker. Otherwise, I'll just go and hide again, won't I?"
Half persuasion, half threat. In the end, Commander Walker heaved a sigh and nodded, conceding defeat. It had been an unwinnable fight from the start.
"Whew—thank you!"
Crown Prince Lindemann was the only one smiling. The knights had their hands full agonizing over how they were possibly going to arrange his escort, while Bayul and his friends exchanged glances, deep in deliberation over which dormitory they should house the Crown Prince in.