Both men knew, of course, that that was wishful thinking. It didn't seem likely that the present situation would resolve itself anytime soon.
After that, Arn continued to halt the ship for every sighting of a survivor in the water, leaving not a single man or woman behind. They rescued over eighty people, then set sail for Albatro's largest port city and capital on his command.
5
While Arn was playing the part of Leo, Leo was making his own attempt at being Arn.
"Prince Arnold. The captain is asking if you are certain we don't need to be searching for Prince Leonard's ship."
"Again? This is Leo we're talking about. He can manage. Keep to our original course. Also, I'm really not feeling well. Stop asking me random questions. It's annoying me."
"Y-yes, Your Highness. Understood."
After dismissing the knight from his room, Leo let out a long, deep sigh.
There was someone else in the room ready to critique him.
"I'd give that fifty points of a hundred. Arn would've said to let the captain decide for himself."
"This is so hard..."
Leo grumbled as he looked over at Elna. Unlike Arn's ship, which had been completely swept up by the storm, Leo's ship had managed to escape before being dragged off course.
Even so, the great amount of turbulence had kept Elna in a constant state of panic. She hadn't even noticed that Leo and Arn had switched places until the seas calmed down again. But once she did realize, she became a useful adviser. The fact that Arn's barrier was still isolating her from much of the wave motion was a big help.
"Whatever happens, we have to get through this without you being found out. It's going to be a huge scandal if you're exposed."
"Yeah. I've just got to keep it together... I wonder if Arn's doing okay."
"He'll be just fine. He's very quick-witted in situations like this, and Marc's with him. Our biggest problem is you."
"I know. I'm so bad at acting."
"Fortunately, there aren't too many people on board who are familiar with Arn. You should be okay as long as you don't do anything too obviously unlike him."
"What would I have to do to act unlike him? And Elna, I know you're wearing tights, but I'm not sure you should be sitting like that in front of me."
Leo cautioned Elna, who had her legs propped on the bed. From where he was seated, he could see straight up her skirt. Her tights hid her underwear from view, so it didn't seem to bother her, but still.
"That's exactly what I'm talking about. Arn would never say something like that to me."
"But you're being too careless about how you're sitting. You really should stop."
"Okay, okay, I get the picture. But Arn really wouldn't ever say things like that. People are going to notice something's not right if you let your guard down around me."
"Okay, but...what would Arn say, then?"
"Hm, let me think... He'd say something funny to get a reaction out of me, like, 'You forgot to wear tights today,' or, 'You went with white today, huh?' Something like that. Then he'd just laugh."
"I can't say things like that." Leo looked away in embarrassment. Apparently even the thought of it was too much for him.
Elna realized this was a serious problem. Arn was used to joking around; Leo wasn't. And the definitive difference was their degree of familiarity when interacting with women. Arn could adjust his behavior depending on who he was around, but Leo perpetually kept himself at a distance and behaved with respect and decorum. That was a big obstacle when trying to act like Arn.
"It's easy enough for Arn to act like you, but it seems the reverse is much more difficult. How can two princes grow up to be so completely different?"
"My brother's always been so carefree, and he was constantly leaving the castle to go out and have fun. There was one period where he was going outside every day, all day, and he would come home crying each time, for some reason."
"I-I was just trying to help him not get beat up all the time!"
"I know that. You've always been looking out for him."
"But I'm nothing but a nuisance, according to him."
Elna sighed. She had recently grown frustrated with how little she seemed to be accomplishing with her efforts.
When Arn and her had finally been reunited after all those years, she'd tried to help boost his reputation through the Knight's Festival of the Hunt, but he'd disqualified himself. Out on the streets, word was that he'd squandered Elna's military prowess and gotten disqualified out of carelessness. It had had precisely the opposite effect she'd been hoping for.
This trip was no different. She'd come along with the envoy hoping to be of some help, but in the end, she'd been no help at all. Even in the middle of this crisis, she was sitting below deck, failing again. At this point, she'd have no argument if someone were to claim she was only dragging everyone down.
Arn was working hard to get Leo on the throne. That was a good thing, Elna though. But she also wished that Arn would get the same acknowledgment and respect that Leo did.
That deviated from what Arn wanted, creating the gap that was derailing her efforts. Elna understood that. Even so, she hated seeing Arn with a reputation he didn't deserve.
Although recently, she'd begun to think that maybe that was just selfishness on her part.
Arn wasn't concerned about his own reputation. In fact, he seemed to deliberately try to make it worse in order to make Leo look even better. From his standpoint, Elna's attempts at helping him were only getting in the way.
That was what she meant by calling herself a nuisance, but Leo just laughed.
"Well, I can see that."
"Hey..."
"But I don't think he does see you as a nuisance. Ever since you showed up, he's seemed happier and more at ease. I bet he's secretly glad he can rely on you."
"Really?"
"I guarantee it."
"But..."
"But what?"
"...He employed that new adventurer, didn't he? When he could have just asked me."
Elna finally answered with a pout. She had hesitated to bring her complaint up but decided this was as good an opportunity as any. Leo immediately realized she was referring to Lynphia and responded with a smile.
"She's agreed to work with us in return for us helping her village. Arn didn't hire her because she sold him on her merits."
"I know that...but couldn't he have at least discussed it with me first? I was ready to do everything I could to help."
As a member of the supreme archduke's household, Elna could not directly get involved in political disputes. That had been a source of frustration to her. Therefore, guarding Finne had been a rare chance for her to be of assistance to Leo and Arn. If Finne were in danger, that was a good enough excuse to give the emperor for her involvement. It also would have let her explain away any attacks she made in retaliation.
Or so Elna had thought, until Arn ended up being the one in danger and got saved by that adventurer. Then Elna's role as Finne's bodyguard had been taken away and handed to her.
Elna was not amused by this. Even if it had been done in consideration of her going somewhere else on a mission, she still didn't like it.
"Are you sulking?"
"No, I am not sulking! I'm mad!"
"Oh. But you know, don't you think Arn might've assumed you'd come with him? If you think of it that way, it makes sense he would hire Lynphia, right? Since Finne would be in danger. Of course, he did leave Sebas behind too, just in case."
"Why do you always try to interpret things in such a positive light? I know exactly what Arn was thinking. He thought a smart, independently employed adventurer would be a better bodyguard than someone like me, who's impulsive and has official constraints. He told me all about her, you know. About how smart she is."
Leo nearly responded by arguing that Elna was smart too, before changing his mind.
She was extremely brilliant when it came to memorizing knowledge. Ever since she was a kid, she'd been a head above all her peers. But Elna was talking about a different kind of smart. It was the ability to read and deceive one's opponents, the kind of smarts necessary in political conflicts. And Elna knew that she was lacking in that area. She didn't have the natural inclination for such things, nor the motivation to learn them.