🐎 🐎 🐎
BECAUSE the emperor had ordered me to stay obediently ensconced within the imperial palace, from that day forward, I became a homebody with no plans to go out other than the upcoming trip to the elemental palace.
It wasn’t as if I could just spend all day every day playing with Daux and Marie, either. The two of them were frightfully busy with studies and lessons. Inspired by their dedication to learning and self-improvement, I sometimes went to the palace library to read.
It was on one such occasion when…
“Oh, if it isn’t Lady Nefertima. Where are you going to play today?”
…I encountered the playboy by complete coincidence!
Perhaps because Karna had asked her not to let him get close to me, Spica blatantly stepped in front of me, covering my body with hers protectively, not even bothering to try and be subtle about it.
“Good Day, Prince Aisent.”
“You don’t need to be so uptight. You call Daux and my older brothers by their nicknames, don’t you?”
I didn’t trust his expression for a second when he told me he wanted me to be on equally friendly terms with him as well.
Playboy, have you forgotten the ominous warning you gave me before?
“Don’t you think it’s a bit cruel that I’m the only imperial prince whose nickname you refuse to use?”
Why is he so caught up on being called by his nickname? We just aren’t that close!
“…Does this mean you’re officially giving me permission to call you by your nickname?”
He’s complaining that I don’t call him by his nickname, but as a member of the imperial family, it would be unthinkably rude if I did without first receiving permission!
“That’s right. Can I call you ‘Neema’ too?”
“…If I agree, in exchange, will you please stop acting so shifty?”
I know this is also unthinkably rude of me to say, but I’ve already come up with the perfect excuse: that it’s necessary to improve our relationship!
“What do you mean ‘acting shifty’? I don’t see how my manner is in any way unfitting for my position as an imperial prince…”
His incredibly thick fake-polite front, every bit as impressive as Will’s, was appropriate and even commendable for an imperial prince. But that didn’t change the fact that it gave me the creeps! I couldn’t relax around him!
“When you’re putting on a front like that, Prince Aisent, I don’t feel as if we can become truly close because I have to be on guard at all times, making sure I’m behaving appropriately as an aristocrat.”
“You aren’t charmed by the idea of a fairytale prince like other young ladies?”
“My experience with princes tends toward the perverted, black-hearted demon prince variety, so no, not really…” I responded honestly with a certain person in mind before thinking the better of it, causing the playboy to bend over, clutching his stomach as he howled with laughter.
“You’re the first person I’ve ever heard describe Will so accurately!”
Hey! I didn’t say I was talking about Will! Shut up, will you?! What if the elemental spirits rat me out to Will for talking crap about him?!
“I didn’t say I was talking about Will! You’re mistaken!”
“Oh, no. The only person who fits your description of a prince is, without a doubt, Will!”
Will, your reputation proceeds you all the way to a foreign country!
“In any case, if you feel that strongly, then I will attempt to tone it down a bit. But don’t expect miracles—I won’t show my belly to anyone.”
“Why is that?”
“You never know where enemies might be hiding. You should be careful, too, Neema. This is the heart of the monsters’ nest, you know.”
Umm… I think I get the gist of what he’s trying to say, but I’ve never encountered anything that terrible, so I can’t really grasp it.
“In the Kingdom of Gaché, your king and crown prince seem to have a firm grasp on the nobility, so things may be different there, but here, we still don’t know who will be the next emperor, so the internal power struggles are vicious and fierce.”
I see…
In our country, succession was by the laws of primogeniture, and each family’s heir needed the approval of the current king. So long as there was no unfortunate tragedy or the heir-apparent didn’t have some kind of flaw so grave it prevented them from succeeding the title, there was all but no possibility of changing the order of succession.
“Are you fighting with the people who want to see your siblings become the next emperor?”
“I suppose you could say that. In reality, my enemies are anyone I feel is an enemy, regardless of who they support as the next emperor. For this reason, depending on your behavior, even you might become an enemy of mine, Neema.”
That sounds troublesome. I just want to keep living in peace! My only goal is to spend all my time playing with fluffy animals!
“Then what should I do to avoid becoming your enemy?”
“If I told you not to get too close to someone, would you listen to me? Personally, I’d be happy if you’d just stayed close to His Majesty and the others where you’re safely out of trouble.”
Basically, what he’s saying is he wants me to mind my own business and stop sticking my neck into everything?
“Nope, I don’t think I can do that!”
“…I thought not. Well, just know I won’t show any mercy when you make yourself my enemy; you can count on that.”
Don’t just decide by yourself that we’re definitely going to end up as enemies! Didn’t you skip over even trying to avoid becoming enemies?! What about my peaceful life of animal-petting?!
“Come to think of it, are you on friendly terms with Will?”
Aise chuckled at the sudden change in topic but answered, “As someone else in the position of having the weight of the country on his shoulders, I respect him deeply. More than I respect my own older brothers, certainly.”
I don’t see how Theo and Clay are particularly inferior to Will…
“I’m sure you’ll understand how incredible Will is when you’re older, Neema. Even more so once he takes the throne.”
I’m most impressed that Will’s made such an impression on Aise!