The Goal (1)
"Forcing a decrepit old man to do such backbreaking manual labor..."
"Weren't you just boasting that you're still in the prime of your youth?"
"Even if I am in my prime, does that make it right to work me like a mule? Such rigid, narrow thinking from someone so young—I weep for the future of this empire, truly."
Sage ground his teeth and shoved his spade violently into the dirt. Mid-transplant, he paused and whipped his head around to glare at me.
"This is elder abuse, you brat!"
"A moment ago, you called it employment fraud."
"It's both! It's both, damn it!"
"Is that so?" Lounging comfortably in the shade, I offered Sage an indifferent shrug as he yelled his lungs out. "Strictly speaking, it isn't employment fraud. Undercover employment, perhaps."
If anyone was defrauded into a job, it was me.
Sage arched both eyebrows high.
"Oh, look at you, so quick with that tongue! Birds of a feather really do flock together—she's got a nasty temper on her, too."
Yet despite his endless grumbling, his hands tended to the garden far more diligently than usual.
"Grampa, what's dis?"
"Ack! You little rascal! Don't touch that! That's a poisonous weed!"
"Ooh, what's a poison weed? Can Ria eat it?"
Sage quickly scooped up Emilia, who was squatting beside him. Snatching the tiny sprout from her hand, he tossed it onto the ground.
"Hey! What kind of nanny just leaves a child to wander off like this? You should be holding her or carrying her on your back!"
"What do you mean, 'leaves her'? My eyes haven't left her once."
Besides, it wasn't as if I wanted to let Emilia roam wild. But what was I supposed to do when the imperial princess herself threw a tantrum, insisting she wanted to play by the eccentric old man's side?
"Her Imperial Highness seems to prefer your company over mine, so my hands are regrettably tied."
"What? Ha! The sheer nerve!"
Sage scoffed in disbelief, but ultimately hoisted Emilia onto his back.
"Tsk, tsk. People who don't know the first thing about raising children pretending to be caretakers... Listen here, you little rascal. I'm carrying you, so don't you go picking up random things off the ground and shoving them into your mouth. Got it?"
"Mm-hmm! Ria loves Cloud Grandpa!"
"...Good grief. What did I do in my old age to deserve this torment? My back's going to snap in two."
Supporting Emilia's bottom with one arm, Sage began tidying up the scattered seedlings with his free hand.
"Prince Edwin's lesson starts in thirty minutes, so please finish up before then."
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you! You don't lift a finger, yet all you do is nag!"
Watching Sage grumble, I tilted my head back and gazed up at the sky. Four days had already slipped by since our return from Luxen Village. On the surface, life seemed as monotonous as ever, but quite a few developments had unfolded beneath the quiet routine.
The most unexpected of all was the King of Adamant sending an envoy.
Just yesterday, the King of Adamant and his order of knights had departed the Ventrum Empire after concluding their state visit. And two days prior to that, the king had dispatched an envoy to the 3rd Prince's Palace.
His name was Oliver, wasn't it?
I recalled the knight's rather plain, guileless face. Arriving without prior notice, he had scratched his head with an awkward smile.
"We heard the Third Prince took ill for a couple of days. Is His Highness feeling better now?"
What concern was the health of a foreign prince to him? Edwin wasn't the First or Second Prince; he wasn't even a recognized contender in the war for the throne.
"His Majesty asked me to convey his apologies for being unable to pay a visit in person."
Passing along his sovereign's apologies, Oliver had presented a large wooden case as a get-well gift before taking his leave. To my surprise, inside that box rested a bow and a quiver of arrows.
Adamant is renowned as a kingdom of knights, so I expected a sword at best.
A bow and arrows were the last thing I anticipated.
Wait... did he send them deliberately knowing the situation?
Edwin had never received training in swordsmanship. Perhaps the King of Adamant had realized this and thoughtfully selected archery equipment instead. Not that Edwin had learned archery either, mind you.
An odd man.
I remembered those golden eyes that crinkled into an easy grin, carrying that faintly familiar scent of clean soap. He had felt far more like a mercenary king than the monarch of an entire nation.
Shaking off my thoughts of Adamant's king, I shifted my gaze toward the perimeter.
Hmm. Strange. Have their numbers increased?
The watchful eyes lingering beyond the compound wall had grown from one presence to several.
One is the original tail. But who sent the other?
Every instinct urged me to seize them immediately and pry loose the identity of their master, but circumstances forbade it. At present, I was merely the prince's nanny, not the master of an assassination syndicate.
They haven't caused any trouble yet, so I'll let them be for now.
Frowning, I rose to my feet.
"Thirty minutes have passed!"
"Alright, alright! I'm coming!"
Sage snapped irritably, ripping off his gardening gloves and hurling them aside. Taking Emilia from him as he shuffled past, I saw him off toward the study. Another brisk day was passing at the 3rd Prince's Palace.
Thwack.
Sage shut the Imperial grammar and composition manual with a crisp snap.
It was a rudimentary primer that other imperial princes mastered when they were barely five or six, but Edwin had lagged far behind. His previous tutors had lacked any dedication, and Edwin himself had possessed little will to learn.
Yet in just one week as his tutor, Sage had succeeded in imparting what years of neglect had failed to teach. It was an achievement truly worthy of a Great Sage.
"Edwin. What do you want to become?"
Edwin looked up at his master's question, the small hand holding his quill frozen in place.
"...What do I want to become?"
It was a question he had never been asked in his entire life. Bewilderment flickered in Edwin's eyes.
"Why the face?"
"...Because I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"I've never thought about it."
Though it seemed like the simplest of inquiries, the young prince could not answer easily. And when he finally offered a reply after long hesitation, it was hardly satisfactory to his tutor.
"You've never thought about it? Why?"
"Emma... that is, my former nanny, hoped I would leave for the Holy Kingdom as soon as my coming-of-age ceremony was over. She said it would be better for me to become a priest than to stay here..."
This time, surprise flashed across Sage's eyes.
He was well aware of Third Prince Edwin's precarious position within the imperial palace. Rachel had warned him beforehand, and one only had to observe the contemptuous glances and attitudes of the outside servants walking in and out of the palace to grasp the reality.
Not that I can't understand her logic.
Imperial precedent dictated that once a crown prince was designated, the remaining princes either inherited titles through their maternal families or met untimely, quiet deaths. For an impoverished third prince with neither a maternal clan nor political backing, forsaking his noble rank and wealth to take vows as a priest in the Holy Kingdom was his only path to survival.
Still, I expected him to say he wanted to become the Emperor, a Grand Duke, or at the very least a knight.
Penniless scruff though he was, one would have expected a prince of the blood to possess some measure of ambition.
Hmph. This is rather dull.
Tutoring a student devoid of purpose offered neither fun nor fulfillment. Sage pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Is that truly what you wish to become?"
He lifted the Holy Canon resting at the edge of the desk.
"To become a priest of the Holy Kingdom, you must renounce your status and your very name. You cannot make friends, take a lover, let alone keep a family. Is that the kind of life you desire?"
The path of a holy ascetic was noble, yet intensely lonely. Few ever persevered to the end.
Moreover, even after his coming-of-age, Edwin would still be a mere youth of fifteen. Forcing a boy who had not even lived half his life onto such an ascetic path was, by any measure, excessively cruel.
"You would remain alone until the day you die. Do you still wish to become a priest?"
Though Sage had spoken purely of facts rather than issuing a threat, the prince's face drained of color.
"N-No... I wouldn't want that."
Sage let out an amused chuckle at Edwin's immediate refusal.
"Right. Don't look down on the priesthood. It's not a calling just anyone can bear."
At his master's words, Edwin mumbled in a subdued, sullen tone.
"...Then what can I do?"
Resting his chin on his palm, Sage replied to the innocent query.
"That depends entirely on your mindset. You can be born a beggar and live as a wealthy man, or be born into riches and die in the gutter. That is life."
Depends on my mindset?
Edwin frowned at his master's assertion.
Does he mean everything just comes true if you think hard enough?
Instantly, memories he wished to forget rushed back into his mind.
A father who had turned a cold shoulder to his existence. Brothers who were consumed with tormenting him.
And his former nanny, Emma, whom he had desperately wanted to save, only to watch her slip away.
In his brief twelve years of life, not once had things turned out the way he wished.
And yet he says life depends on how I think?
A surge of resentment and frustration welled in his chest, but Edwin reined it in. A single memory flashed through his mind—the very first time something had truly happened just as he had wished.
"Rachel!"
The moment he had called her name, desperate for her to appear, she had arrived like magic. Her back as she brought down that colossal demonic beast all on her own had appeared grander than anyone else in the world.
After a long pause, Edwin finally spoke.
"Even so... I have thought about what kind of person I want to be."
Sage raised an eyebrow, mildly surprised.
"Oh? And what kind of person is that?"
"The strongest person in the world—someone who can protect and help others."
Yes. Just like my nanny.
Edwin answered in a remarkably resolute voice. His clear blue eyes shone brighter than they ever had before.