Chapter Five: The King’s Brother and the Prince
I woke with a start the next morning. It was much earlier than usual. The shock of sprouting fennec ears must have prevented me from sleeping well. Mary still hadn’t even come to wake me. Even so, I took Squishy on a walk since I was wide awake.
While strolling around aimlessly, I spotted Mary in the distance. Lord Gaetano walked beside her. Both were returning to the castle, holding concealed weapons and a sword, respectively. Apparently, the two had been training since early morning.
Wait, did Mary train with Lord Gaetano yesterday, too?
Anyone with eyes could see how close together they were walking. I couldn’t help but grin at the romance in the air. Not wanting to interrupt, I tiptoed away, making myself as invisible as possible. After continuing to walk for a while, a goofy grin still on my face, I reached the greenhouse. Of course, that brought back memories of being a fennec fox.
“I definitely won’t feel compelled to dive into the sand anymore, right?” I asked Squishy. “Right?!”
“Squishy…” the slime replied anxiously.
And I won’t sprout ears again due to excitement, right? Definitely not!
A quick scan of the area revealed no prying eyes. Thus, I slipped into the greenhouse, anxiety spurring me onwards. I headed towards my destination by relying on my vulpine memories. As I approached the middle of the greenhouse, I found the sandy area with abundant cacti. My heart raced as I stopped right in front of the miniature desert. Thankfully, I felt no urge to dive in the sand, no matter how much I stared at it.
Phew, talk about having a weight off my shoulders. Perfectly normal human confirmed. Well, except for my tendency to grow animal ears and a tail, I guess.
As I breathed a sigh of relief, I sensed someone behind me.
“Those plants are called cacti,” a familiar voice said. “Are you interested in them, by any chance?”
Turning around, I found Giusto smiling at me. Several knights stood behind him as well. My eyes widened slightly at their imposing aura.
“Good morning,” Giusto said, his smile faltering. “I apologize if my guards startled you.”
Thinking back, an inordinate number of knights had been at yesterday’s tea party as well. That said, he was the King of Bragioga’s only son. Perhaps it was natural for him to have tight security.
“Good morning to you, too,” I responded with a smile. “Please don’t worry. It’s only natural for a prince to be well guarded.”
Giusto hung his head, expression still glum. “If only I had a personal retainer as strong as Janus. Well, Prince Embert is incredibly strong himself. I truly envy them.”
I shook my head. “I wouldn’t compare myself to those two. Both are abnormally strong.”
While Embert and Janus were exceptional fighters, the King of Gandolfin wasn’t particularly strong. That said, he did have my father—another abnormality—as his personal retainer.
Yeah, best not to think of them as the norm.
“It’s reassuring to hear that from you,” Giusto said. “I’m going to be declared crown prince during the Founding Festival. Tensions are running high, and my freedom has been restricted. Truth be told, it’s a bit stifling.”
“You’re being declared crown prince so soon?” I asked.
“Indeed. I’ve already graduated from our royal academy.”
I had assumed Giusto was young, but he was actually three years older than me.
“Congratulations, Your Highness,” I said.
Giusto chuckled. “Thank you very much.”
Something nagged at me during this conversation.
“Hm, what was it?” I wondered aloud.
“Is something wrong?” Giusto asked.
“Umm…”
I heard something related to the royal family, didn’t I? What was it again?
After mulling it over, I suddenly shouted, “That’s it!”
Giusto reacted with a puzzled expression similar to Julietta’s.
“Pardon my rudeness, but…” I trailed off.
“Yes?” Giusto asked.
“The day before yesterday, I met Lady Damiana by happenstance. She mentioned her father being first in line for the throne.”
“You heard that, did you?” Giusto responded with a smile. “Currently, Damiana’s father—in other words, my uncle—is first in line for the throne. The order of inheritance will only shift when I become crown prince.”
“Oh, I see.”
Oftentimes, the order of inheritance changed as soon as the king had a son. Other times, the order of inheritance didn’t change until the king’s son became crown prince. From what I understood, this differed depending on the country.
“You must be very busy preparing for the ascension ceremony,” I said, trying to be considerate. “Please don’t overexert yourself too much.”
Giusto’s lapis lazuli eyes momentarily widened before he smiled at me again. “Thank you very much. It warms my heart to know you’re concerned about me, Holy Woman.”
“Forgive me, Your Highness, but I would prefer you didn’t call me by that title. I don’t think of myself as a holy woman, after all.” Being extolled as a holy woman made me uncomfortable. That’s not how I viewed myself. “Please feel free to call me Alexandra,” I said. “Or even Ally if you prefer.”
“Are you sure?” Giusto asked, his expression brightening. “That sounds wonderful. Please allow me to call you Ally then.”
I nodded, the prince’s genuine joy bringing a smile to my lips. I found him rather adorable, perhaps due to his resemblance to Julietta.
Afterward, Giusto asked me several questions. For instance, had I found anything about staying in the castle inconvenient? How was I spending my time? When I mentioned exploring the dungeon, he couldn’t contain his excitement.
“I’m envious,” he said. “Despite being native to this land, I’ve never explored the dungeon due to my position. In all likelihood, I’ll never be able to set foot there.”
That made sense. If the future king went dungeon diving, and the unthinkable happened to him, the country would be in a tight spot. Embert was just a weirdo.
I need to help him somehow, I thought while observing Giusto’s disappointed expression.
“Well then, why don’t you hang out with me and my friends when you have time?” I asked. “Dungeon diving might be out of the question, but there might be enjoyable places to visit around the castle. Just having a picnic would be plenty of fun.”
Giusto’s lapis lazuli eyes sparkled. “Indeed. That sounds delightful.”
Based on his expression, inviting him had been the right call.
“All right, I’ll talk to everyone else as soon as possible,” I said. “We’ll decide what to do specifically then.”
“Yes, that sounds wonderful. Thank you very much.”
Giusto and I left the greenhouse together. He needed to return to the castle, and I wanted to meet up with my friends right away. As we headed back to the castle, discussing our potential plans, I sensed bloodlust from somewhere nearby. At that moment, the sound of something streaking through the air reached my ears.
It’s an arrow!
Immediately, my mana formed a golden shield that covered everyone present. However, Squishy acted faster and even more magnificently. After jumping off my shoulder, he swallowed all three arrows, which had been loosed from different directions. At the same time, a few knights dashed off in pursuit of the assailants.
“Way to go, Squishy!” I exclaimed.
“Squishy!” he cheeped before expelling the slimy arrows from his body.
Um, what do you expect me to do with that gooey mess, exactly?
“You’re amazing, Squishy,” I praised him.
The slime bounced up and down happily. What an adorable little fella.
Meanwhile, Giusto stared into the distance with a blank expression. With a deep sigh, he turned in our direction. The arrows had probably been targeting him, but judging from his trancelike state, I couldn’t be sure.
They weren’t targeting me, right? What have I done to warrant assassination? I was a fennec fox until yesterday morning, for crying out loud!
“Are you okay, Your Highness?” I asked.
Giusto grabbed my hand, seeming to have woken from his trance. “Lady Alexandra,” he said, overcome with emotion. “No, Ally. You truly are an incredible person.”
I cocked my head. “Uh, thanks?”
Squishy’s the one you should be praising.
Nevertheless, the exuberant prince stared at me with impassioned eyes, his grip on my hand tightening. “I’ve never seen such beautiful golden mana before. It took my breath away. Moreover, you used voiceless incantation. I’ll say it again: You truly are an incredible person.”
This prince is a lot more impressive than I gave him credit for. Those assassins were definitely targeting him, but he seems unflappable.
“More importantly, are you injured, Your Highness?” I asked. I spoke in a slightly raised voice to snap Giusto out of his daze again.
“I’m perfectly fine,” he responded in a jovial tone.
Something seemed off here.
“If I’m not mistaken, someone just tried to assassinate you, right?” I asked.
The next words out of his mouth stunned me more than a little.
“It happens all the time,” he said. “Oh, but that was the first time they targeted me outside the castle.”
“All the time…?” I repeated.
Assassins targeted him that frequently? As shock rendered me speechless, Giusto grinned at me.
“Some people would prefer I didn’t become the crown prince,” he explained. “Much less the future king. My time at the royal academy was relatively peaceful. However, when I graduated and returned to the castle, the assassins began targeting me again.”
“Do you have any leads on the culprit?” I asked.
“Good question. I have my suspicions, but I can’t say anything for certain right now. The culprit probably isn’t acting alone. That complicates matters a great deal.”
How did Giusto maintain his smile while assassins continuously targeted him? Perhaps he had no choice but to keep smiling. He couldn’t show fear when the culprit could be watching him from anywhere. Even so, he’d been living with the threat of death looming over him since childhood. That thought caused my chest to tighten.