“You’ll have to give me a week.”
Said the owner of the carriage repair shop. At this, the middle-aged gentleman who had requested the carriage repair frowned.
“My, why does it take a whole week just to change a carriage wheel?”
“As you can see, we’re a bit backed up with work.”
The owner pointed to the workshop as if to prove his words. There were five old carriages there.
“There’s one with a twisted underframe and one with a broken suspension. The one at the very front has both problems. It’ll take a full three days just to fix that one.”
“I understand that, but we’re in a hurry too. It’s just a matter of replacing the wheel, can’t you do it quickly?”
“Sigh, but there’s an order to things.”
“Are you still talking about order after seeing this?”
The gentleman pointed to the purple maple leaf crest drawn on the carriage.
“Oh my, are you from the Duchy of Rosenberg?”
“That’s right. So, regardless of the order, please take a look at our carriage first.”
At the gentleman’s words, the owner scratched his chin as if in a difficult position.
“Still, I can’t.”
“What? No, how can you say no when the Duchy is asking? Do you have a brain in your head? Or not?”
While the gentleman was glaring at the owner and fiercely pressing him, a girl who had been riding in the carriage poked her face out the window. With a pure white face, blue eyes, and brilliant blonde hair, the girl, whose beauty would make anyone stare in awe, tilted her head.
“Lord Klaus, what is the matter?”
“He’s asking for some waiting time. It’s not a big problem. Please stay inside, my lady. I will handle it well.”
Hearing Klaus’s answer, the young lady of Rosenberg let out a long sigh. She opened the carriage door and came outside. Everyone in the repair shop had their eyes stolen by her graceful movements.
“My name is Adellian von Rosenberg, daughter of Duke Darion von Rosenberg.”
At Adellian’s voice, everyone held their breath. They were at a loss for words at the gentle smile and elegant atmosphere she exuded.
“I know you are busy, but our situation is also not favorable. So, if it’s not a difficult task, would it be possible for you to do it for us first? We are on our way to the opening ceremony of the Saint-Denis Military Academy. But if we are held up here for a week, we won’t be able to get there on time. I would be very grateful if you could help us.”
At Adellian’s words, sounds of sympathy like ‘Hmph!’, ‘Oh my’, and ‘Goodness gracious’ erupted from all sides. The owner of the carriage repair shop, who was in charge of the repairs, also made a sympathetic face. Adellian, reading the atmosphere, smiled to herself. It was because she thought things would go as she wished.
“Ah… that… I would like to do so if it were up to me… but this is truly… it seems it will be difficult.”
That was, until the owner opened his mouth.
“I know I must be fair. Still, I would really appreciate your help.”
Adellian, feeling rushed, asked. The owner bit his lip and scratched his forehead.
“I can do it before the other carriages, but it is difficult to do it before that carriage.”
Adellian looked at the carriage the owner was pointing at. It was an ordinary carriage of average size and shape, with nothing special about its material. It didn't even have a crest. It looked like a post-chaise or the carriage of someone with a low title.
‘Being fair is good, and of course, it should be that way…’
At any other time, she would have agreed with a positive mind and stepped back, but she couldn’t do so this time.
‘The Demonic Moon is unusual.’
The color of the moon was gradually turning red. If she was held up, she felt she would be staying for more than a fortnight, not a week. That was why Adellian was continuing to make unreasonable demands.
“Is there no way? Is it not possible even with the name of the Duchy? No. I will meet the owner of that carriage myself. I will at least go and ask them to give me their turn.”
Adellian said she would set aside the dignity of the ducal family and ask even if they were a commoner, requesting to be told who the other party was.
“That… is the carriage of the 5th Prince.”
“Pardon?”
“Yes, it’s the carriage the 5th Prince arrived in. This is quite a coincidence. The 5th Prince also urged me to hurry, saying he had to get to the military academy. If it were up to me, I would like to do the young lady’s carriage first… but you know how it is. Since you said you would meet him yourself, I don’t think I can stop you. If you meet him and get a letter of permission, I will do as you ask. He said he took lodging near the lake. Please try looking for him there.”
At the owner’s words, Adellian bit her lip.
‘Maxim? He’s coming back to school?’
She glared at the carriage Maxim had arrived in. And she thought it would have been better if the owner of the carriage had been a commoner instead.
***
Michelle grimaced and pressed down on her solar plexus.
“Ugh… Your Highness……”
“You should have eaten in moderation.”
She had been eating non-stop since we arrived here and finally got sick. No, I was the one who had suffered internal injuries and needed to recover my energy, but she was the one who ate all the food. Just how had she lived to be so desperate to fill her stomach?
“It’s just so delicious. Ugh… I need to eat more……”
“Stop it. Stop eating. If you eat more, you’ll die from your stomach bursting.”
“Then I’d be happy……. Ugh… I feel like I’ll die if I talk. Your Highness, please pat my back over there.”
Michelle said, pointing to a long bench placed in front of the lake. If Rodrigo had heard this, he would have been furious. Saying how dare a commoner ask a prince to pat their back.
“You should be glad Rodrigo isn’t here.”
I went and sat on the bench to pat Michelle’s back. Seeing this, Michelle giggled and trotted after me.
“Did Viscount Rodrigo say he’s coming tomorrow?”
“Around tomorrow evening?”
Rodrigo was currently on his way to the Saint-Denis Military Academy. It was to submit Michelle’s admission and my re-enrollment documents. The paperwork had to be completed before the opening ceremony, and we were in a situation where we would be late without a doubt if we waited for the carriage to be fixed.
“Your Highness. You know? Didn’t you say there are things like demerits if you’re late?”
“Why? Are you worried?”
“No. It doesn’t matter to me at all. I just thought it might be a bad thing for Your Highness.”
“Not particularly.”
Though it might be a different story if the Red Deer Class or whatever it was called got a disadvantage because I was late.
Pat, pat, pat.
I patted Michelle’s back and looked at the street.
‘It’s a village you pass through before going to other big cities, so there are many people. A lot of money circulates too. It’s also like an entrance to Saint-Denis.’
Perhaps because there were many people coming and going as Rodrigo had said, commerce was bustling for a village of its size. There was even a fairly large merchant guild.
“Your Highness. I think there are a lot of guards here.”
Michelle said, looking at the armed soldiers roaming the streets. It was natural to see guards frequently in a place where a lot of money circulated. However, for simple guards, both their armament and their numbers were excessive. Which meant…….
“It’s because of the Demonic Moon.”
“Ah? Ah!”
Michelle looked up at the sky. Even though it was daytime, the shape of the moon was distinct. A reddish aura could also be felt. Just from a glance, it looked like monsters would start appearing in about a week.
“The carriage will be fixed before the Demonic Moon, right?”
“He said it would take three days, so he’ll probably do it within a week at the latest.”
“Hmm. Can’t we just buy a new one?”
“What? A carriage?”
“Yes.”
Michelle looked at me with eyes that asked if a prince couldn’t easily buy a carriage.
“It’s expensive.”
“How much?”
“About the price of a house for a decent baronial family.”
Michelle’s eyes widened. The price must have been beyond her imagination.
“And if you order a new one, it takes several months to receive it.”
“It’s expensive and it takes a long time?”
“Because they make it to order. That’s why it’s more expensive.”
“It’s difficult.”
Yes, everything other than eating must be difficult for her.
“Your Highness! I have a question!”
Michelle made a determined expression. It was an expression she usually made when food was involved.
“What is it? What do you want to eat this time?”
“Pardon? It’s not like that. There is something I want to eat… but my question is about something else.”
“Really? Then what is it?”
“I’m going to school too, right? What do you do after you graduate from school?”
“You have to put what you’ve learned to use.”
“Then… do you get a job in a noble family and stuff? Like a guard soldier?”
“No, you’re going to be with me.”
“With Your Highness? Then am I going to work in the Royal Guard?”
“No, I said you’ll be with me.”
“Your Highness is a prince……”
She was forgetting something.
“Not just a prince, the 5th Prince. A position the royal family doesn’t want to bother with. So what do you think I’ll do?”
“……Live comfortably in the 5th Prince’s palace? While eating delicious food?”
“Is that your wishful thinking?”
Michelle giggled. Yes, even if she had lived a hard life, she was at an age where she would enjoy delicious things.
“We’ll be traveling outside. Freely. While building many sagas.”
Only then could I regain my former power. And I could have my own faction. A faction that had nothing to do with the royal family.
‘Not now, but later they will surely try to keep me in check.’
Whether it was the princes, the queens, or the nobles, to them, I was a being that was better off gone. So I had to build my strength and create a faction. I had to make the nobles contemplate where it would be advantageous to lend their strength.
“If we travel outside… is it something like being a mercenary?”
“Might be similar.”
“Hmm.”
Michelle made a face like a dejected puppy.
“Why?”
“If we travel like that, the delicious……”
Thwack!
“Ugh! Your Highness. Gently. Please be gentle. It hurts.”
Let’s smack her back. Let’s smack it hard and shake out all the thoughts of food in that girl’s head.
“Found him.”
As I was patting Michelle’s back, sweating, I heard a voice from behind my head. It was not the voice of Bethel and Elliot, who had gone to find a new lodging to move to.
“His Highness, Maximilian de Caesar.”
It was a polite voice. But there was a hint of a grating feeling in it. I turned my head to see who was calling me. It was a small and pretty-looking child. And behind the child stood a man with neatly combed-back gray hair.
‘She looks like a rich family’s daughter. Is the person behind her her dad? No, a butler?’
From the clothes she was wearing and the aura she gave off, she was clearly the child of a noble family. If she was from the capital, it wasn't strange for her to recognize me. But why was she looking for me here? It wasn't that she saw me by chance and called out. She had come looking for me on purpose. That's why she must have said, ‘Found him.’
“Who are you?”
I put up my guard. I didn't think they would cause a scene in broad daylight in front of people, but there was no harm in being careful.
“Pardon?”
No, why are you flustered?
“Is it that strange to ask who you are?”
“……”
The child’s face stiffened. I felt like I had misspoken… No, asking who someone is isn't a slip of the tongue, is it?
“I knew you weren’t interested in others, but I didn’t know it was to this extent.”
The child’s gaze was cold. If nothing else, I could tell she hadn’t come looking for me with favorable feelings.
“I am the type to not be interested in others. But when someone asks a question, isn’t it right to answer first? I may not look like it, but I’m a prince.”
“……You don’t know who I am?”
Was I supposed to be known by everyone in the world? It wasn't like she was a princess or something. Tsk tsk. By the way, why was the man standing behind the kid frowning with such displeasure? Anyone would think I was bullying the kid.
“I have some personal issues, so please understand.”
“Ha! Fine. Adellian von Rosenberg. The daughter of Darion von Rosenberg. Is that enough?”
“Your title?”
At the subsequent question, Adellian’s face turned bright red. Not only her, but the face of the man standing behind her also flushed.
“Even if you are His Highness, this is going too far!”
It wasn't Adellian who spoke, but the man standing behind her.
Just who were these people to suddenly appear and get so angry?