“Ha! Ha! Haa!”
First, allow me to offer an excuse.
“Yo! Ha! Haa!”
I was born into a royal family. The Kingdom of Alphasta enjoyed a notable peace, with my father, the king, at the helm, free from issues regarding succession that often plagued other nations. While our situation was safer in many ways, being the crown prince still posed significant risks, including the threat of attacks.
Even in my sleep, I couldn’t say I was constantly on edge, but I was definitely attuned to the presence of others, rousing easily at the faintest movement.
Click…
“Hm? What’s going on, Kuro? Oh? You’d like to join me? We have to be quiet, though, since Lord Cecil is still sleeping.”
So, this wasn’t deliberate.
“Just like this. You clasp your hand and flex your arm… Then, like this, ha!”
I had just awakened to find that Bertia had gotten up earlier than I did at dawn. I considered pretending to be asleep, curious if she would come back after going to get a drink of water.
I didn’t expect my wife to check if I was awake by looking at my face, then stand up and imitate a cat in front of the mirror.
“That’s all! Great job, Kuro!”
Ah, Bertia had risen to take part in some activity, and even Kuro had come to investigate upon sensing that something was wrong.
The night was ours, belonging to Bertia and me—a cherished time. Kuro was usually kept from entering our room, although she was responsible for waking us and assisting with morning preparations. Thus, it wasn’t unusual for Kuro to come and see what Bertia was up to this morning.
However, it feels like I’ve completely missed the moment to awaken.
Now, what to do? Should I continue to observe my wife’s amusing and adorable actions a bit longer, or should I make it known that I’m awake and watch her surprised reaction?
It was a dilemma.
“Eh? What is it, Kuro? Lord Cecil returned late last night; we should let him sleep a bit longer… Ah…”
Our eyes met.
Kuro, realizing I was awake, looked at me with an expression that seemed to say, “How long will you pretend to be asleep?”
“Good morning.”
“Oh, good morning…! Um, Lord Cecil, since when have you been awake?” Bertia, perhaps embarrassed to have been caught in the act, flushed red and fidgeted with the hem of her nightgown as she asked.
My wife looks wonderful today too.
“Hmm, since you got up, I suppose?”
“You should have said so sooner, from the beginning!”
Bertia, her eyes glistening with unshed tears and staring intensely at me, made me laugh as I joined her at the edge of the bed.
“What made you mimic a cat this morning?”
“Mimicking a cat? No, that’s not it! This is shadowboxing, a real martial arts training technique!”
“Martial arts…”
Despite her attempts to appear proud and boastful, to me, it clearly seemed like she was imitating a playful cat…
Besides, I doubt your cat-like punches will actually take anyone down. In fact, I’m more concerned that you’ll injure your own hand from throwing punches than you would harm someone else.
While Bertia had certainly maintained her fitness for her diet, she hadn’t trained for combat. Being the cherished daughter of the Marquis of Noches, she might have learned some self-defense techniques vital for avoiding an assault, but those would focus mainly on evasion rather than offense.
Given her nature, she would probably hesitate to execute an attack that might harm someone, even if the opponent had acted cruelly. For someone not used to causing harm, attacking with the aim of defeating another would prove challenging.
Oddly, when I began combat training, it was remarked upon how frighteningly little I hesitated.
“Ha! Indeed, I’m not merely a typical marquis’s daughter anymore…”
Were you ever a regular marquis’s daughter to begin with? I suppose as an infant, even you couldn’t have been anything but quiet… though your mother said that wasn’t the case.
Moreover, a “normal” marquis’s daughter wouldn’t have thought of guarding a friend who was engaged to a foreign crown prince. Such ladies were not nonexistent—or rather, there was a similar woman close by who claimed to serve as both a lady-in-waiting to the crown princess and her guard, despite being the daughter of a marquis.
“You should do what you can in your current position. There are surely things you can do beyond physically protecting her.”
You can help her from a safe place. Otherwise, if something were to happen to you, I’d find myself aggressively targeting your friends and their acquaintances.
“I understand. I’ll leave the physical aspects to the professionals. It would be sad if the guards were out of work and unable to receive their salaries.”
Where exactly does your confidence come from, thinking you could eliminate the need for guards with your own abilities?
From what I’ve seen of your cat-like punches, if you tried to guard Princess Lysonna, you’d probably end up making the real guards’ jobs even more difficult.
Far from reducing their workload, you might even necessitate an increase in personnel.
Thankfully, Alphasta had already taken her unrestrained nature into account and had brought along extra guards. The guards of this country were already busy enough with the wedding preparations. Adding to their burden would not have been wise.
“By the way, Lord Cecil, are you certain you’re all right to be up? You came back very late last night…”
Bertia appeared to have abandoned her martial arts training. She approached me while I remained seated on the bed, took a seat beside me, and placed Kuro on her lap.
Honestly, I wished I could enjoy some mornings without Kuro since getting married. However, we had made several concessions for Kuro, so it couldn’t be avoided. On the bright side, Kuro appeared to be enjoying those moments with Zeno, so it was not entirely negative for him.
“Ah, I’ve had enough rest; I’m fine.”
“And… how was last night?”
Bertia gazed at me with worry.
I smiled softly, stroking her head to comfort her.
“Last night, huh? There weren’t any specific problems, but…”
As I reflected on the previous night’s events—spent mostly sipping unpleasant drinks with Prince Ramtak—I wondered if there was something I ought to mention to Bertia.