7. The Prince's Secret
7. The Prince's Secret
Lucas von Hohenheim.
As his name suggests a noble status, he was the Third Prince of the Empire.
"... Mother."
Lucas muttered as he gazed with bored eyes at the unfamiliar scenery flowing past outside the carriage. It truly felt like a cliché, worn-out story.
Though he might see her again on the day he finally returns to the Empire after his long, long study abroad, would that day ever truly come?
Lucas let out a sigh. In essence, it was no different from being driven out to a foreign land for being a thorn in their side.
A marriage with a princess he'd never seen—rumored to be ugly and ill-tempered—or an indefinite study abroad with no end in sight...
The result of choosing one of these was this very journey.
'Better than dying by a brother's blade...'
Throughout the long journey, Lucas steeled his resolve whenever he had a moment. As a mage, his true path was the pursuit of magical knowledge, not power... He consoled himself, saying this journey was a decent way to rid himself of such foolish greed.
And then,
A voice came from outside the carriage.
"Your Highness. We will soon arrive at the gates of Bellua."
"... Bellua? Did you say we'd be stopping here for a while?"
Lucas's attendant, Veron, continued immediately.
"Yes, that's correct. It should be a suitable city for Your Highness to rest and recover from fatigue. The lord here is a man called Count Lowell, but..."
"Enough. I don't expect anything from the lord anyway. Let's just rest quietly and then leave. Veron, you've been with me long enough to know what I mean."
"I understand. I will act according to Your Highness's wishes."
"Good..."
The walls of Bellua began to appear outside the carriage. Having come this far meant he had traveled so far that turning back was now impossible.
Lucas's reliable knights, who had followed him on this long journey, were escorting and following the carriage.
Naturally, men, men, and more men.
Not a single woman in sight among the prince's entourage, including Veron. Really. It was quite something.
===
"... Noah-nim! A foreign prince has arrived! The nuns said knights with amaaazing swords are swarming around his carriage!"
"Mhm."
"Noah-nim! Noah-nim! A prince must be a reeeally important person, right? Way, waaay more important than the lord, right?"
"Mhm."
As if she had some grand fantasy about princes, Shuri asked me with sparkling eyes. She seemed to expect some kind of reaction from me.
But I had abso-lutely! no intention of getting involved with a bothersome event like a prince.
'... I have a feeling I know how this goes.'
Back when I was the Hero,
[I wish to take a strong elf like you as my companion.]
The prince... Hm. Is it time for the "love at first sight" trope here? Surely not, but either way, it would be equally annoying.
Depending on the prince's personality, worst case scenario, I might even have to leave Bellua...
Therefore, I had no intention whatsoever of meeting this so-called prince.
"Noah-nim... aren't you interested in the prince?"
"Think about it. How many members of royalty do you think I've met in all my years?"
Truthfully, I'd never seen even one, but in cases like this, prejudices about elves are quite useful.
"... I wanted to see the prince just once."
Seeing Shuri's slumped shoulders made me feel a little sorry. Well, for children, there's no better spectacle than this. Come to think of it, do girls in this world also have romantic notions about royalty?
Tapping the table, I threw out a suggestion.
"Why don't you go with Elize?"
"Eh! Really? Yay!"
Priest Irene would be too busy due to her position, but Elize, who had free time, could easily take the children out for a walk and some sightseeing.
I didn't ask for her opinion.
Well, if it's my request, she'll do it.
"Elize is now..."
I lightly flicked my finger.
The wind flowing in through the open window swirled above my palm, coalescing, and then transformed into a glowing butterfly.
[Materialization of a Wind Spirit]
Thanks to recently catching a sucker, I had some spare magic stones. I still had some left from what Marian gave me too.
"This fellow will take you to where Elize is. She's probably inside the church. Go and relay my message."
"... Okay, I'll go with Nel! Ah, I'll bring Anne too! Ah, and Brother Cal...!"
"Do as you please."
Shuri bounced out of the room, following the fluttering butterfly. And... the room immediately fell silent.
"Shuri really understands me. Elize might have a hard time, but... oh well."
I could definitely sense a commotion outside the church, but what's it to me?
Lying down on the temporarily arranged bed in the room, I thought. If I just hole up in this small room, I'm safe. Flags? Events? Encounter events don't happen if you don't run into them.
The answer was in staying in my room.
===
The first day of the prince's visit to Bellua passed very quietly. The second day was the same.
Furthermore, the prince wasn't even a devout follower of the church. If he were, he might have come to the church to pray, but what a fortunate thing that was!
I walked through the corridor of the church's main building with light steps.
"Bishop. Good morning."
"......"
"You don't look well, is something the matter?"
"Don't mind me..."
The weather was good, it was a peaceful, lovely morning, yet. Bishop Valerius, whom I ran into first thing in the morning, had a face that looked utterly dead.
The face that was glossy with oil just a few days ago was gone; his cheeks were hollow, and even his belly seemed a bit thinner.
I watched Valerius's receding, staggering figure for a moment.
"... Someone might think he's on drugs."
Jingle, jingle.
With every step I took, a pleasant sound rang from the pouch I kept in my sleeve. They were all gold coins I had extracted from Valerius... no, rightfully earned through legitimate labor.
According to Irene,
Lately, he can't seem to keep his mind straight during services or meetings? Thanks to that, I heard the atmosphere has become such that Irene's opinions pass easily. All's well that ends well. Mhm.
Thus arrived the evening of the third day.
In the room assigned to me in 'that place'. Leaning against the sofa, I was rolling three gold coins between my fingers, twitching my lips.
The three gold coins Valerius had just presented to me.
It took less than three minutes to make that pig... no, Bishop Valerius, yield.
"And he'll probably come again tomorrow. What a diligent human."
Even if hiding in my room is comfortable, one must do what one must. Three gold coins for such light labor—why would I refuse?
The most respectable Bishop guarantees my sleep and showers me with pocket money—truly a remarkable sucker.
It's utterly inappropriate to insult such a grateful person by calling him a pig or saying he stinks.
Whistling, I rolled around happily on the leather sofa. The reason I didn't leave the room immediately was... to cool down my slightly heated body.
The leather touching my bare skin felt subtly pleasant.
Knock, knock—
Then, someone knocked on the door.
"......"
"......"
Only the knock sounded, no words. If it were Jane, she would have stated her business along with the knock. That meant it was someone who couldn't easily reveal their name in 'this place'.
I got up from the sofa, wrapped myself in a robe, and approached the door.
"... Marian?"
"Yes, it's me."
For Marian to come here in person at this hour...
Normally, this would be the time he'd be peeping pervertedly through the crystal ball. For him to come in person meant he had business more important than that.
Somehow... I had a bad feeling.
I opened the door.
Marian pushed back his hood as he entered the room. The expression revealed under the hood was, thankfully? the usual relaxed, smiling one.
"Fufu. It's quite a pleasure to see Noah-nim right after finishing work. Are your ears red because of the bishop?"
"... Did you come at this hour to say such pointless things?"
Were my ears red? I didn't know.
It was a minor flaw, not quite a side effect of magic. There was a slight discrepancy between what I felt through my senses and what my body actually experienced.
Even if I used the [Clean] spell to thoroughly wipe away a man's essence, the reason fluids would still flow until my body completely cooled down lay here.
I tightened my robe and sat on the sofa.
"Hm. It's a bit subtle to call it business. Rather, I think enjoying the sight of Noah-nim as you are now would be more pleasurable."
"......"
If that's the case, then as part of the employer-employee relationship, I could keep my mouth shut and just be a spectacle. But I absolutely won't open my mouth, just like a doll.
As I sat there without saying a word, just crossing my arms, Marian chuckled and opened his mouth.
"... To get to the point, it's about Prince Lucas."
Cancel staying silent.
"I don't want to hear it, but is it okay if I leave now?"
"Don't worry. There was no talk of him wanting to meet you, Noah-nim. However, it seems a certain young lady has incidentally become interested in Prince Lucas."
"......"
Interested?
I looked at Marian with disinterest.
"To put it simply, a consultation, perhaps?"
"If you, Marian, have finally discovered love, I can at least congratulate you, but consultation is out of the question."
"Surely not. Prince Lucas is not this young lady's type."
Somehow, it felt like playing twenty questions. Perhaps sensing my displeasure, Marian immediately spoke up.
"This crystal ball you made for me, Noah-nim. These are placed here and there around the mansion like decorations."
"......"
Hm? Placing them around the mansion like decorations?
"So I 'accidentally' overheard."
"What are you talking about...?"
"The prince, it seems, can't perform as a man. I heard it from the prince's own mouth. Just seeing a woman's genitals makes him nauseous..."
"Marian! Are you insane?!"
Forgetting the speech mannerisms I'd maintained as an elf, I shot up from the sofa and shouted with horrified eyes.