One day, several months prior to Reiner and Nanalie’s marriage meeting, Arwin, Reiner, and Dynus were out visiting the aristocratic quarter. Arwin had been wanting to see what life in the quarter was like, so the three had donned some basic disguises and set out for town.
Reiner stared at Arwin, who was walking in front of him and seemed to be enjoying himself, and felt a bit exasperated.
“I understand that proper surveys like this can lead to important discoveries and points of improvement, but is it really necessary for you to disguise yourself just so that you can survey the area?”
Arwin heard his adviser’s complaint and stopped in his tracks. He then turned around with a grin on his face. “Don’t be like that, Reiner. That outfit and those glasses look quite good on you. You always look more like a knight, but today you seem more like a civil servant.”
“You look completely different yourself, since you’ve changed your hair color and style with that wig,” Reiner replied. “Your clothes are much simpler than usual as well, so you look like you would at most be the son of a baron, or a profligate son of a businessman.”
They gave each other’s disguises another look and couldn’t help but chuckle. Just then, the man with the shaved head walking behind them jumped into the conversation.
“How do I look, young master?” Dynus asked.
Reiner looked visibly displeased to be referred to as “young master,” as that was usually a snooty-sounding title for young children of nobles, but he nonetheless turned around to face his guard. Dynus wasn’t in his usual knight’s armor but was dressed more casually like an adventurer might be with a sword hanging from his belt. Arwin seemed to find his adviser being called “young master” incredibly funny, and he was desperately holding his laughter back.
“Don’t call me that,” Reiner said. “Also, you look like either a hoodlum or some sort of rowdy adventurer.”
“So I’m a ruffian either way? I wonder what about me gives off that impression...” Dynus tilted his head and seemed to be deep in thought.
It’s your shaved head, along with your unnecessary and intimidating amount of muscle!!! Reiner nearly shouted, but he kept that thought to himself.
Arwin had been watching this exchange, and he now had tears welling up in his eyes, perhaps because he’d been holding in his laughter for so long.
“You two make a great pair,” he commented between stifled chuckles.
“Wow, what an honor it is for you to say that,” Reiner sarcastically replied.
Arwin paid no mind to his annoyance and resumed walking. “Come on, there’s no need to be so grumpy. I have real reasons for wanting to visit the town. The first one is what you pointed out: Seeing things for yourself is the ultimate way to learn. The second reason is that I want to buy a gift for my wife.”
“That second point is something you should most definitely have sent out a servant to handle. You could have even invited a merchant to the palace.”
Reiner understood the first reason, but the second perplexed him. He was visibly confused, which amused Arwin and made him chuckle.
“You’re not married, so you don’t understand. There’s something special when you secretly buy a gift for your wife—something that you’ve thought of, searched for, and picked out yourself. If you don’t understand the importance of doing all of that, then your future wife is going to suffer.”
“Well, I do agree that it is important to care for your significant other,” Reiner replied. “However, given your position, it seems a bit careless to take on such a task yourself.”
Reiner understood the prince’s point, but even with their disguises, it was risky for them to be visiting the town like this. Reiner was clearly displeased, which perhaps Arwin picked up on. He stopped and turned around, then spoke quietly so that only Reiner could hear him.
“The truth is, my father’s health isn’t in great condition,” Arwin revealed. “According to the doctor, it will be incredibly difficult for him to recover enough to get back to work.”
Reiner gasped. “I’d heard some ramblings about His Majesty feeling unwell, but I didn’t realize things had gotten so dire...” He maintained a composed expression so as to not arouse suspicion from anyone passing by, but internally, he was truly shocked by this news. Arwin’s father was the current emperor of Magnolia, which meant that his health deteriorating to the point that he was unable to work was highly classified information that could greatly sway the future of the empire.
Arwin somberly nodded in response. “Even at the latest, it will only be a few years before I succeed the throne. When that happens, I won’t be able to go out like this. Before that happens, I want to get a good look at the land I’m going to be protecting. That’s why I wanted to do this, even knowing I was asking for a lot.”
“I see... I’m sorry I didn’t realize sooner,” Reiner replied with an apologetic look.
Arwin shook his head, then smiled at his friend. “Don’t worry about it. This is my own issue. I’m just grateful that you came with me today.”
The two had been whispering to each other, but that quiet was disturbed by the distressed voice of a young woman.
“Please, let me go!!!” she yelled.
Reiner and Dynus were immediately on alert upon hearing the young woman’s voice. They both guarded Arwin while scanning their surroundings and found an isolated area where a young woman with red hair had been encircled by a group of men. The men all seemed to be well-off from the way they were dressed, and they’d grabbed the young woman’s arms and were dragging her off. The men were likely nobles, which was why no one who’d noticed the young woman’s cries had stepped in to help.
Reiner ordered Dynus to guard the prince, whom he then turned to and asked, “May I go?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Arwin replied. “Just don’t cause too much trouble, okay?”
Now that he had Arwin’s permission, Reiner looked at Dynus and said, “I’m counting on you to guard him.”
“Understood. I won’t let you down.”
With that, Reiner rushed over to the young woman being accosted by noblemen.