“Is asking for a title going that far? If I don’t know, can’t I ask?”
I did not hide my annoyance.
“This is the Duchy of Rosenberg, which has striven for Poinus. It makes no sense that a prince would not know this. If you are doing this on purpose, it is an insult to our young lady.”
Well, if it was a duchy, it was strange not to know. Still, I was the 5th Prince, so getting openly angry at me was too much!
“Hey. Are you now in…”
“No! Our Highness really doesn’t know, so he’s asking!”
Just as I was about to say something, Elliot’s voice rang out loudly. Adellian and her butler looked at Elliot. Elliot ran towards where I was with all her might.
“His Highness was very sick. That’s why his memory isn’t intact. So it makes no sense to talk about insults and what not!”
Elliot, standing in front of me, stretched out her hands as if to tell Adellian and her butler not to come any closer. Adellian and her butler seemed quite flustered, their eyes shaking.
“No, I did hear that you were sick……”
“You knew. Then you should have considered His Highness’s position.”
Adellian bit her lip. She seemed to think something was going wrong.
“I told you earlier. I have a personal problem, so please understand. Good grief. You should listen to people. What’s all this without listening? We’re just making each other’s faces red. I have to know something to know if it’s an insult or not. And a prince can ask for a title. To say that and then talk about insults and what not.”
I shook my head and looked at the butler with a displeased face.
“No, that is… I…”
The guy also recognized that a problem had occurred.
“You, mister, who was going on about insults to me, how about you introduce yourself?”
“……I am Dorian Klaus.”
“Your title?”
“A c-count.”
“You were a count and you raised your voice at me? Wow, you have some nerve. A count was arguing with a prince about what makes sense and what doesn’t?”
“Th-that is……”
The butler guy lowered his head. Just then, Adellian stood in front of the butler, shielding him. It was impossible for her to cover him with her small frame, but her stepping up to protect her person was not a bad sight.
“It was because we did not know that Your Highness could not remember. Please do not be too harsh.”
“You two. Don’t you think you’ve got something wrong?”
“……?”
“If you’ve done wrong, you should apologize. What are you doing, just showing up and throwing a tantrum?”
“……!”
The expressions on those two were a sight to behold. From the looks of it, they had surely come looking for me because they needed something. But they had made a mess of the whole situation.
‘Hehehe. Good.’
Shall I see what kind of person the esteemed daughter of the duchy is?
***
“No.”
Hearing Maxim’s answer, Adellian despaired. She regretted not having spoken more diplomatically when she went to find Maxim.
‘No. If I act softly even now, who knows.’
Adellian looked at the cold Maxim and forced a smile.
“It’s not that difficult of a request……”
“Was apologizing so difficult that you held out without doing it?”
The edge of the smile she had painstakingly made cracked slightly.
‘Hang in there! Not yet. You’re the one in need, Adellian!’
She pulled her fading consciousness together.
“I-I did it. I said I was sorry!”
“You did it because I told you to. Because I told you to. Tsk tsk. You’re hopeless.”
Crack.
The smile cracked mercilessly from the edge to the corner of her mouth. Her mind went completely blank.
‘Why is he reacting like this?’
Even after searching through all the reactions Adellian had ever encountered, there was no case like Maxim’s. When she conversed with people, most reactions were favorable. When she asked with a smile, most cases were resolved one way or another. But Maxim was nothing but cold. The way his eyes looked at her smile was no different from how one would look at trash on the street.
‘If he’s like this at school…’
Adellian recalled the Maxim she had encountered at school. She had no memory of ever having a conversation with him. At school, Maxim had rejected the approach of others. He had drawn a line and was extremely wary of anyone crossing it. That was why he ate alone.
He was always absent for group assignments. Many people suffered because of it. Even when asked for a reason, he wouldn't say. It was as if it was none of their business.
‘That’s right. He didn’t even return my greeting.’
That was why Adellian did not think well of Maxim. It was because he seemed to think that he was a prince and others were not, so they couldn't mix. It was because he seemed to want to be treated specially while ignoring the rule that everyone was equal within the school.
‘But he’s somehow a little different from how I saw him at school…’
The atmosphere was somehow different from the Maxim who didn't want to exchange words at all. Back then, he felt like a moody adolescent boy with his guard up, but now…….
“Tsk tsk tsk, kids these days are hopeless.”
He was like an old man.
‘That’s not something you should be saying.’
Adellian and Maxim were the same age.
“It seems there’s nothing more to say, so I’ll be on my way.”
Maxim left a blunt remark and was about to leave.
“W-wait a moment. Just a moment.”
“Hmm? Why? You still have something to say?”
“Please help me. If you don’t help me, I’ll be late! If I stay here any longer, I won’t be able to avoid the Demonic Moon either.”
“Hmm.”
Maxim scratched his chin and looked at the moon.
“I suppose so.”
“Exactly. So please, help me.”
“No.”
“Why? Don’t you feel like helping me at all when I’m asking like this?”
“Nope.”
“If we stay here, we’ll be inside a monster den. Then I’ll be late.”
“Hey, what den. You have to be reasonable with your exaggerations. And it’s not me who’s going to be late, is it? Right?”
At Maxim’s words, Adellian let out a sharp breath and blinked her eyes. She wracked her brains to come up with a way to get him to yield.
“Th-this is unfair!”
Maxim, who heard the result of her wracking, picked his ear and made a blank expression.
“Is unfair… the right word?”
“Yes! It’s unfair! If I’m late, I get demerits. I wouldn’t have to get them if you just helped a little. And monsters might come, you know. You must help a fellow student in danger! Have you forgotten the school rules?”
“You just had to not be late. You should have left earlier.”
“I-I did leave early! It’s because the wheel got damaged by something like a broken carriage on the road.”
“Yeah, right. We also had an accident and are under repair.”
Maxim nodded as if to say he understood. And he was about to turn his feet. Just then, Klaus urgently blocked Maxim’s path and knelt.
“Your Highness! I was wrong. I have committed a great discourtesy to Your Highness. So please, just this once, release your anger.”
“What’s with this person all of a sudden? A moment ago, he was all high and mighty, going on about insults.”
“Your Highness! Please forgive us. Please give our young lady a fair chance!”
Maxim stared at Klaus blankly. He let out a long sigh. And wrinkling his nose, he looked back and forth between Adellian and Klaus. It felt like he was about to say something from within, something different from what he had said so far.
‘Did it work? Did my sincerity get through?’
The word ‘relief’ began to creep into the mind of Adellian as she looked at Maxim.
“Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”
“Yes! I’m a good listener by nature.”
Adellian looked at Maxim with sparkling eyes.
“The world is originally unfair.”
Huh? That was the only word that filled Adellian’s mind.
“If the world were fair, one person wouldn’t be born the daughter of a duke and another the daughter of a wanderer. If it were truly fair, one person wouldn’t be going to a safe place to avoid the Demonic Moon while another is trembling here because of monsters. If it were really fair, everyone could become a noble, and everyone could become a commoner. Isn’t that right? Young lady of the duchy.”
Adellian’s breathing became rough. Klaus had a blank face. Michelle, Elliot, and Bethel, who were in the same place, looked at Maxim with wide-open eyes. Because it was not something a prince would likely say.
“Th-that and this are different!”
Adellian reacted vehemently.
“What’s different?”
“I was told that nobility is something our ancestors earned by accumulating good deeds. And commoners are that way because they couldn’t accumulate good deeds. So being born a noble is something earned through effort.”
“Did you accumulate them?”
“Pardon? No, that is……”
“Why? Are you going to say that was the teaching of the gods? Learning something that doesn’t even make sense as the truth. Why doesn’t it change even after hundreds of years? After rolling around for so long, you should know better. Tsk tsk.”
Adellian’s brow furrowed.
‘It’s not like you’ve lived for hundreds of years! You’ve only lived for 15 years!’
She wanted to argue right away. But arguing like that seemed classless.
“The words of the gods must be followed to maintain the balance of the world. And it’s not like Your Highness has lived for hundreds of years, is it?”
She thought she had refuted him quite plausibly, and had appropriately included the bit about his age.
“What if I have?”
“Pardon? Your Highness has?”
“Why? You don’t think so? Then say I haven’t.”
“Are you playing with words right now? I’m talking about something important.”
Maxim gave a strange smile and looked at Adellian. Adellian met his gaze straight on. It was because she felt like she would lose if she avoided it, and she didn’t want to lose.
“Well, do as you please. I’m not changing the order, so go back.”
“No, no! I’m saying the Demonic Moon might overlap with this! Your Highness!”
“Good for you. Contact the duchy and ask them to send some reinforcements. To protect the precious daughter of the duchy. The townspeople can benefit from that too.”
Adellian was about to reach out her hand toward Maxim. Klaus stopped her. He let Adellian know that nothing she said would work right now.
“Really! You’re the worst!”
Adellian bit her lip. It was a face that looked as though she would burst into tears if someone poked her.
***
I found a restaurant. Arguing with a kid made me hungry. But I think I did it for nothing.
“She’s the top student?”
According to Elliot’s explanation, Adellian was a genius recognized not just in the school but throughout Poinus. She was said to have outstanding looks, a brilliant mind, and decent swordsmanship. That was why not only Poinus but also princes from neighboring countries wanted her.
“Should I have treated her a little more kindly?”
With that level of ability, I could gently entice her and……. No. Listening to her talk, her way of thinking was too different from mine. If I asked her to join me, she would obviously look at me like I was a madman. By the way, she seemed to be a cherished daughter, so why send her to a military academy?
“What are the children of the Rosenberg family like?”
“There is Isaac von Rosenberg, Miss Adellian’s older brother.”
“One son and one daughter, just the two of them?”
“Yes.”
“Then the next head of the family will be the older brother.”
Elliot shook her head.
“The rumor is that his health is seriously poor… though it’s not a confirmed fact.”
“Hmm, if that’s the case… it’s probably true.”
It was said that there were a total of 28 ducal families in Poinus. Among them, 20 families were involved in the issue of royal succession, with the representative families being the Lebrong family, who supported the 1st Prince, and the Spilvan family, who supported the 3rd Prince.
‘You said there were three families that showed no movement in this matter.’
I hadn’t asked about the three families. Because the important ones were the families that were moving, not the ones that weren’t. That was why I hadn’t known about the Rosenberg family.
‘Since the next head of the family hasn't been decided, they couldn't have done anything.’
Although they had enrolled their brilliant daughter in the military academy, they probably weren't sure if she was a figure capable of leading the family. If they thought Adellian was lacking, they would probably have a plan to adopt a son. Even if she was an outstanding daughter, she would have to use a different surname upon marriage. Then the family would be passed on to a different bloodline.
‘Unless she is overwhelmingly outstanding, they won’t pass the family down to her.’
I could see why she was concerned about a trivial demerit.
“By the way, Your Highness.”
Michelle, who had been tearing at her meat without rest, spoke up.
“Why? Are you asking if you can order more? Go ahead and order more.”
She wouldn’t be able to eat to her heart’s content once she entered the school, so she should eat enough now.
“Ah! Thank you for that!”
“You’re welcome.”
“By the way. That monster, you know. The Demonic Moon.”
“So it wasn’t a question about food. Yeah, right. It exists.”
“Will a lot of dangerous monsters come out? Will the townspeople be okay?”
“Well. There are guards to protect them…”
It would depend on the number of them that swarm, but if it wasn't more than 100, there shouldn't be a big problem. That is if they were type 4 or type 5 monsters. But if a type 3 or higher appeared, it would likely be quite a problem.
“What? Did you just say Owlbear?”
And if a type 2 Owlbear appeared, the situation would be hopeless. Huh? Owlbear?
“You’re saying you saw an Owlbear?”
A serious atmosphere billowed up from the next table. It seemed they had seen an Owlbear near the village.
“An Owlbear would be a big problem… Your Highness, we must move quickly.”
Bethel said we should leave the village as soon as possible. So I nodded my head.
“Rodrigo is coming soon, right? Let’s extend our stay for a week!”
While saying that we would face the Demonic Moon head-on.