The effects of Violet’s web had reached the castle as well. When Juana was bound, her magic was cut off, meaning the spell cast upon the firstborn prince Maximilian had dissipated. The shock from having his mind free after so long was so great that he was unable to stay conscious.
“Your Majesty, it’s an emergency! The prince! Prince Maximilian has fainted!” Given the firstborn prince was as brawny as his father and had never once gotten sick, while everyone in the castle was panicking over his collapse, the queen was quick to act. She had the prime minister and the captain of the knights carry Maximilian, called for the king’s concubine, and drove everyone else away so nobody would even come close to him.
“Nngh...” When Maximilian came to, he was lying on his bed.
“Max!” He could hear his mother’s voice.
“Your Highness!” And the prime minister’s.
“Huh...?” Maximilian realized the change immediately. All sounds around him had been muffled ever since the incident, but everything sounded clear to him now. When he opened his eyes, he saw his vision was no longer obscured by what felt like a veil separating him from the world. “What... Huh?” His cry of surprise actually escaped his mouth and reached his ears. That absolutely normal thing, something that was so natural, had his whole body shaking.
“Max, are you hurt? Does it hurt anywhere?” the queen asked, her face scrunched up with worry.
“Huh? Mo—Your Majesty?” His mother was always so calm. It might have been the first time he’d ever seen her make such an expression.
“Your Highness, you fainted out of nowhere.” The prime minister, who was standing behind the queen, explained what had happened.
“What? I fainted? Wait! Is my body... Can it...?” Maximilian had been spacing out and rubbing his head since he’d woken up. His eyes widened and he squeezed his hand shut, then opened it again. “Ah... Aaah... It moved... My hand moved!” Maximilian’s body moved exactly as he wanted it to without any resistance. His mind and body, which had been separated until now, had finally been put back together. Ever since he’d met that mage in the Western Empire, no matter how much he’d begged and screamed and cried, his voice would never be heard. He hadn’t even been able to move a single finger freely. But now...
“Ha... Ha ha... It moved! I can move again! I’m... I’m finally free!” Now, everything moved exactly as he wanted it to. He couldn’t even express how happy it made him to be able to show his emotions on his face exactly as he wanted.
“Your Highness, is everything all right?” Next to his mother was the king’s concubine, Rose Alicia Royale. It was rare to see her sitting next to his mother. It might have been the first time since his father had insisted on making her his concubine.
The king had been quick to act back then. While he’d said it was because it was love at first sight, no matter how many times the prime minister told him that there was no precedent for a concubine and tried to convince him to just take her as a lover, he wouldn’t hear it. Maximilian now understood exactly why his father had been so pressed about the matter.
Ever since Maximilian had gone to study in the Western Empire and been put under that mage’s spell, he’d seen so many horrible things he wished he hadn’t. Maximilian now knew just what happened to the poor “saints” the Western Empire gathered from all the other countries. Someone as extraordinarily beautiful as Rose would have been a candidate for such “sainthood” without a doubt. The reason this woman was able to smile next to his mother now was because his father had protected her, not yielding to any criticism he faced for it.
Now that he understood his father’s true intentions, he was truly touched. But at the same time, he realized his own foolishness. Not only had he failed to protect them, but he had fallen right into the Western Empire’s trap, having his body used to aid in the Empire’s schemes. All that his father had protected, all that his father tried to protect, would be brought to ruin because of the charm magic that had been placed on him.
Seeing the concubine up close, she really was beautiful. How was it that even after decades, she still maintained such dazzling beauty? In fact, it was as though she’d gotten even more stunning in his absence. Maybe it was the new dresses giving her a different air, but she had both a cute and elegant aura about her, and an undeniable sexiness to her as well.
Suddenly, Maximilian felt gazes upon him. Very odd gazes. As the firstborn prince, he was used to people staring at him, but these were very strange. A kind he’d never felt before.
“I-Is something...the matter?”
His mother, the prime minister, and even the captain of the knights were all gawking at him. They weren’t even trying to hide their rudeness either. In fact, his mother, who was always a stickler for etiquette, was staring at him the hardest out of all of them.
“He looked, didn’t he?” Queen Victoria quietly confirmed with the concubine sitting next to her.
“Y-Yes,” Rose responded, her face slightly red.
“He did! I saw him look!” the prime minister agreed wholeheartedly.
“Yes, without a doubt! I saw it with my own eyes!” the captain of the knights, who was standing behind them, leaned forward with enthusiasm as he answered.
“Huh? What are you...?” Maximilian was completely confused. For some reason, his mother looked overjoyed and the prime minister and captain of the knights were putting their hands to their chests in relief. What was more, Rose seemed slightly embarrassed.
Then, his mother finally cried out in joy, “Maximilian looked at Rose’s breasts!”
“Wha?! Moth—Y-Your Majesty, what are you saying?! I never would have—” Maximilian raised his voice at his mother’s completely unexpected outburst. Why in the world would his own mother call him out like this?!