Unnecessary Proposal: Why Are the Prince and Princess Here?
I didn't need any proposals like this. Why the hell were the prince and princess here? Damn it. What was I supposed to do? And it wasn't just the two of them—they'd brought five escort knights along too. While I stood there hesitating, the door shook again under a thunderous series of blows. Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Kailon! Kailon Bladehart! Are you in there?" One of the knights was pounding on the door and shouting my name like he was trying to wake the dead.
There was no avoiding this. The other side was the prince and princess of the empire. I quickly threw on some decent clothes and hurried downstairs.
"S-sorry about that. I was asleep for a moment..." I rubbed my eyes, pretending I'd just woken up, and opened the door.
The instant it swung open, my gaze locked with Prince Cassian's and Princess Mage's. Ugh. They really did have unfairly perfect faces. No surprise there—they were royalty, after all.
"You insolent peasant! How dare you make His Highness and Her Highness wait this long?" the knight behind them bellowed in a voice that could rattle windows.
"It's all right, Sir David. Wait outside, please. And ensure no one eavesdrops."
Princess Mage's clear, refined voice calmed the knight.
"Yes, Your Highness." The door closed again, and only the prince and princess stepped into the teahouse that wasn't open for business.
The moment they entered, the siblings bowed their heads in unison.
"We're sorry for troubling you so late at night, Mr. Kailon." The prince spoke first.
Huh? These two were surprisingly polite for royalty.
"N-not at all. If anything, it's my fault... Haha. I sleep pretty heavily..."
Princess Mage, who had bowed and then straightened with perfect posture, spoke up.
"We came because we have quite a bit to discuss. It might be an unreasonable request. We also wanted to thank Miss Charlene personally for what happened today."
"Charlene? Ah... yes. She's upstairs right now."
I scratched the back of my head and smiled awkwardly while giving the princess a quick once-over. She was beautiful. No—more than that. There was an elegant grace about her that elevated everything around her. Was this the signature beauty of the Saint Clare imperial family? Her figure was more modest than Charlene's, but she possessed a dignity that could transform the very atmosphere of a room.
Ahem. No. I couldn't let myself get distracted by Princess Mage. We had important guests, so I needed to prepare proper hospitality. I quickly lit some candles and pulled out chairs around the table. My room upstairs was a mess since I hadn't cleaned it, so entertaining them down here seemed wiser.
"Master? Did we have guests? I thought you said we weren't opening today?"
Charlene came down from her bath, towel-drying her hair. The moment she saw the prince and princess, she let out a startled yelp and stumbled backward. She was wearing an oversized, worn-out t-shirt that barely covered anything.
"Oh my? Actual customers? I just finished bathing?"
"Charlene!" I rushed over to her.
"This is Prince Cassian and Princess Mage. They're the highest authorities in the empire after His Majesty the Emperor himself. Show some respect."
"Oh? Is that so?" Charlene, still barefoot, gave a light bow.
"Hello, Your Highnesses. However, we aren't open for business right now. I'm only a professional maid during operating hours."
God, this was going to drive me insane.
"It's quite all right, Miss Charlene. Let's talk for a moment." Prince Cassian gestured toward the table, clearly inviting us to sit.
Ahem. Fine. I'd join the conversation too...
Once the tea was served and everyone was seated, Princess Mage took a sip and began.
"Miss Charlene, first I want to say thank y—"
-Clap!!
Suddenly Charlene clapped her hands loudly.
What the—? She casually wiped her hands on a dishcloth that had been lying nearby and spoke.
"There's still a fly in the teahouse. I just caught one."
......Was she seriously ignoring the princess?
After wiping her hands, Charlene blinked her crimson eyes and added, "Princess? I'm listening, so please continue."
What was this overwhelming pressure? This wasn't the usual Charlene. She felt sharper, like an unstoppable force was radiating from her.
Princess Mage cleared her throat lightly and continued.
"...On behalf of the imperial family, I wish to express our deepest gratitude. If not for you today, Miss Charlene, our empire might have been destroyed."
"There's no need to thank me, Princess. I didn't defeat that man Sephirot to protect the empire."
"Pardon?"
"I did it to protect my master and this teahouse. I'm the maid here, after all."
Princess Mage looked like she'd completely lost control of the conversation. Even I had no idea what Charlene was thinking.
Prince Cassian, seated beside her, stared at Charlene with a mixture of surprise and dazed fascination. What was with that lovestruck look on the prince's face? Had he fallen for her?
Prince Cassian took a quick sip of tea, as if trying to regain his composure, and spoke next.
"As my father—His Majesty the Emperor—requested earlier, we would greatly appreciate it if Miss Charlene could lend us her strength to completely defeat the Demon King Apocryon and the wicked mage Sephirot. The empire is in desperate need of skilled mages right now. There are very few among us who could even stand against Sephirot."
Charlene blinked her red eyes and replied, "You came all this way just to say something so obvious? Prince? Princess?"
At those words, the Saint Clare imperial siblings flinched and exchanged quick glances.
Charlene looked down at her teacup with a thoughtful expression and added, "Tell us your real purpose. We have to open for business tomorrow, so we need to sleep early tonight."
After checking her brother's reaction, Princess Mage spoke carefully.
"Miss Charlene. Could you... eliminate one human for us?"
Oho. Where was the princess going with this?
As I watched with keen interest, Charlene trimmed her fingernails indifferently and answered, "A human? Who?"
"Duke Lucas Eisenvelt."
The siblings swallowed nervously, watching me and Charlene with tense expressions.
After a brief silence, Charlene suddenly turned to me.
"What does Master think? Would you like me to eliminate that Eisenvelt man?"
Ugh. Why was she asking me again? Should I just be honest?
"I think it's best not to get involved in this kind of thing."
"I feel the same. Princess? Let's pretend we never heard that request."
Princess Mage's face flushed bright red. She probably wasn't used to being rejected so bluntly. She was royalty, after all.
I tried to soothe her. "Um... Princess. Listen. Right now, isn't the more urgent problem the Demon King Apocryon and Sephirot? If we're not careful, those two could destroy the Arcadia Empire."
"If the imperial family continues to crawl beneath Duke Eisenvelt's feet like this, what meaning is there in the Arcadia Empire's continued existence?"
At Princess Mage's bitter lament, Prince Cassian chided her sharply.
"Mage. You mustn't say such things. You are a princess of this empire."
Even after her brother's rebuke, Princess Mage remained silent, looking downcast.
Prince Cassian lowered his head slightly and said, "In any case, thank you for hearing out our unreasonable request. Um... if I may ask one question?"
"Yes?"
The prince looked at Charlene and asked respectfully, "Miss Charlene, you are not human, are you?"
Charlene glanced at me before answering. "For now, I am human. I am the maid of the Petal of Marenost."
"Miss Charlene." Prince Cassian fiddled with the edge of the table, choosing his words with difficulty. "Would you consider serving as a court mage for the imperial family? The chief court mage perished in the recent battle. With your abilities, there would be no need for further discussion. What do you think? We would compensate you generously... Wouldn't that be far better than wasting your talents in this small teahouse?"
Ugh. "This small teahouse," he says.
Charlene glanced at my face, then answered firmly.
"I am a maid employed by my master here. He is the one who brought me into this world. Even if I died and came back to life, that would never happen."
I never expected to hear such embarrassingly direct words out loud. At least she had the sense not to mention she was a Grim Reaper.
But now Prince Cassian's face had turned bright red. The siblings really did blush the exact same way. It looked like a mix of anger and humiliation.
In that moment, Prince Cassian shot me a sharp glare, unable to fully conceal his emotions.
W-what? Why was he glaring at me?
Princess Mage seemed to notice and spoke up. "Brother. Let's act like adults, shall we?"
Whew. Thank goodness the princess had diffused the tension.
"We'll take our leave now. Until next time." Princess Mage rose from her seat.
Charlene smiled brightly, as if she'd thoroughly enjoyed the conversation.
On the way back to the mansion they were using as temporary quarters, Prince Cassian spoke in a clearly displeased tone.
"Why would such a beautiful and powerful woman cling to a worthless commoner teahouse owner? Just what is the reason?"
"Oh my. Brother, are you jealous?"
At Princess Mage's teasing, Prince Cassian bristled but clamped his mouth shut, unwilling to bicker with his sister.
"Wake up from that dream, Brother. From what I can see, Miss Charlene is completely obsessed with that man named Kailon. I don't know the full story, but she seems to trust him to make all her important decisions."
"What kind of person do you think this Kailon is?"
Princess Mage, riding her horse, gazed up at the moon floating in the night sky before answering.
"He doesn't seem like a bad person."
"Really? No matter how I look at it, he doesn't seem like a vessel capable of containing someone like Miss Charlene."
"Don't be jealous, Brother. Miss Charlene must have her reasons for relying on Mr. Kailon."
"Are you actually defending that commoner bastard?"
"Why are you being so childish?"
The siblings bickered lightly for the first time in a while.
After gathering her thoughts, Princess Mage gripped the reins tightly and spoke.
"If we want Miss Charlene on our side, we'll need to bring Mr. Kailon over first."
At that same moment, inside a deep cave in a secluded valley.
The Demon King Apocryon sat on a massive chair with his legs crossed, reacting with sharp irritation.
"Sephirot. What do you mean by that? A human who repelled you?"
Sephirot, seated before him and treating wounds from the previous battle, answered bitterly.
"It's embarrassing, so I didn't want to mention it. Damn it. There was a young girl in this empire capable of suppressing me. I let my guard down too much."
Apocryon burst into loud laughter. "Kuhahaha. You're a human skilled enough to summon me into the human realm. And there's a girl who gave even you such trouble?"
"Yes, Apocryon. I lost. To a human I'd never seen before."
Apocryon rose from his chair. True to his title as the Black Dragon King, his skin had a dark, obsidian sheen. Though he wore a human form through magic, the overwhelming demonic energy of a Demon King radiated from his eyes.
"Very well. If she's too much for you, then I'll handle her myself."
Apocryon rolled his shoulders lightly, pretending to loosen up his muscles.
"Will you bring an army?"
At Sephirot's question, Apocryon replied, "No. I alone will be enough. I need to see what kind of human she is with my own eyes."
Sephirot flinched at the surge of Apocryon's power. It was intense enough to raise goosebumps across his skin.
Yes. If it was Apocryon, he could defeat that girl and destroy this empire. Only then would Sephirot's revenge be complete.
Thinking that, Sephirot rose carefully to his feet.
"When will you leave?" he asked again.
Apocryon picked up the massive sword lying nearby and answered.
"Tomorrow."
"As expected, you have plenty of confidence, Apocryon."
"Shouldn't you know my personality by now?"
The Black Dragon King Apocryon laughed again. "Kuhahaha."