✶✶✶
“WHAT an impeccable tea. I’ve never tasted anything like it before.”
“It’s ‘kelp tea’…”
We gathered around the low table once we’d put aside our confusion. I was worried the others wouldn’t agree to sit on floor cushions around the low table, but Siraiya and the prince both took to it with ease. I sat down on a zabuton with my legs out to the side.
“Could you please explain how this happened?” I inquired.
Prince Adelberd set his cup of kelp tea on the table before responding. “I don’t have much to explain. Estellise and I were spending time together in the palace library when my body suddenly started to glow. Next thing I knew, I’d sprouted ears.”
“So Lady Estellise knows about this, too?”
“As do my servants who were there, the king and queen, and Viscount Rhuddlan, whom I informed upon requesting the use of his resort.”
Father knows, too? He must have left out the details to make sure the information didn’t leak.
“Their Majesties know as well…” Our country’s king and queen were Prince Adelberd’s parents. “I’m sure that comes as a relief, Your Royal Highness.”
Those words were a natural response from me. But the prince squinted and chuckled slightly.
“I see. So you interpret that to be a relief, Lady Cynthia. Yes, I hear the Rhuddlan family gets along well. I can see how true that is.”
“…Was I mistaken to believe so?”
“The king informed me he would have to select a different crown prince.”
“That can’t be…!” I cried out in surprise, and Siraiya stiffened in his seat beside me.
Siraiya’s concern was understandable. After all, the two of us—a duke and a viscount’s daughter—could only get engaged without any obstacles thanks to the crown prince’s support. But if he lost his position, we had no way of knowing how outside parties might interfere with our marriage.
“Well, it’s just talk for now. It won’t happen right away, but unless my problem resolves, it will come to that eventually. This kingdom’s people will never accept a ruler with the ears of a beast.” Despite his predicament, Prince Adelberd’s smile and elegant demeanor never faltered. He had been thoroughly trained in all manners of etiquette, after all.
Siraiya kept his hand on his chin as he thought. “The ears of a beast… Our neighboring kingdom of Sanctoria would probably make quite a fuss about that.”
Sanctoria. Despite being our neighbor, one had to cross the ocean to reach them—an ocean with violent weather fluctuations. However, they were physically quite close to us.
They were a kingdom with a deep faith in God, led by their religious leader, the sovereign pontiff.
Many Sanctorian churches existed in our kingdom of Elzeria as well. I’d heard that their teachings taught that there were three different realms—the realm of God and angels, the human realm where we dwelled, and a realm between the others that was home to wicked demons.
How would Sanctoria react to the sudden appearance of cat ears on Prince Adelberd’s head? It was feasible that they would go as far as to accuse him of being a demon.
“That country is the homeland of my father’s second queen consort, who gave birth to my younger brother. We can’t let our guard down there.”
Prince Adelberd was the son of the Elzerian king and queen. However, the second-born prince of Elzeria was born to the former princess of Sanctoria, His Majesty’s second queen consort.
Because of the close relationship between our countries, it would be difficult to ignore them if they made a formal accusation against Prince Adelberd.
“And if you really were removed from the line of succession, would your brother automatically become the crown prince…?” I asked.
Prince Adelberd’s brother was his ultimate political foe. I’d heard rumors of the second-born prince’s antics, getting even the people of Sanctoria involved in his attempts to form his own faction and take the crown prince’s title. I could only imagine Prince Adelberd’s shame if he lost his status as successor to his younger brother now.
I’d asked him out of pity, but Prince Adelberd wore the same unconcerned look as ever.
“You’re in line for the throne, too, Siraiya,” he teased. “Why don’t you see if you can add ‘crown prince’ to your list of titles, hmm?”
“Please don’t tell such jokes. There’s no chance of that happening, and I’m not going to join your succession dispute either.”
“Yes, I recall that the Brooke family bloodline is quite distant from the royal family’s. Indeed, it was only a joke.”
Is this really the time for humor? It was always so hard to read His Royal Highness’ true intentions. I sighed, exhausted, when I suddenly remembered something from the original dating sim game.
I think there was a scene where the prince looked just like this in one of the limited-time events.
The love interest characters would open various items like books and suddenly sprout cat or dog ears. It was a popular event because it was so adorable. But was that what had happened to Prince Adelberd now?
We’d already graduated from the academy. A limited-time event within the game shouldn’t be occurring now, of all times.
Don’t tell me the plot has become unpredictable now because I messed up the flow of the game… The thought chilled me.
“You mentioned how you were in the palace library. Did those animal ears appear as soon as you opened a book?” I asked.
“Lady Cynthia, do you know something about this, too?”
“N-No, I merely wondered if this could be some sort of curse, perhaps from a book in the library…”
“A cursed book? Now that you mention it, I did pick up a book I’d never seen before.”
Yes, this is definitely the limited-time event. That meant the ears would probably disappear after the event, which took three months according to the game’s timeline. But we would be in trouble if that timeline had grown unpredictable. My peaceful marriage to Siraiya was hanging in the balance, after all.
“Did you come here as soon as the ears appeared?”
“No, I spent about a month in the castle first. But too many eyes are there, so I came to the Rhuddlan territory when I realized I wouldn’t be able to keep my secret in court.”
Siraiya and I had spent over a month traveling to this resort by carriage. The road from the capital to the Rhuddlan territory was paved, but we’d spent extra time visiting sightseeing spots and inns along the route.
But Prince Adelberd had come here as quickly as possible, and if he swapped carriages frequently, he probably arrived in about three weeks. In other words, Prince Adelberd had a bit over a month left before he would lose the cat ears. Thinking of it that way, it seemed more likely that he could keep his secret so long as he stayed at our resort.
“Where is the book now?” I asked.
In response, Prince Adelberd brought his hand up and snapped his fingers. I’d witnessed the gesture often at school—he was calling for his personal bodyguard.
The man entered our room carrying a book.
“Here you go.”
Surprised, I asked him why he was carrying the suspicious object around with him.
“Because I thought the book seemed suspicious as well. But I didn’t want the evidence being destroyed, so I took it out of the library with me.”
“The evidence would be destroyed? Is that a common occurrence in the palace?” I couldn’t hide the surprise in my voice.
“Our palace is a place of constant conflicts. My own family would readily pounce on me if I ever let my guard down. Right now, I have to be extremely cautious until I know who I can trust.”
The royal castle was Prince Adelberd’s childhood home, yet it wasn’t somewhere he could truly be at ease. The crown prince lived under constant stress, despite his charismatic, tenacious personality leading many to believe otherwise.
“…We’re on your side, Your Royal Highness.”
For a moment, I feared I’d overstepped by saying so. But Prince Adelberd’s expression softened.
“I see… Yes, I suppose that’s probably true. You two need the crown prince’s support to marry, since you’re not of equal status. We’ll have to work to help each other get what we want.”
I frowned, realizing the concern I’d just felt was perhaps wasted on the ever-calculating prince. But then I watched him smile sadly. Even his cat ears drooped.
“No, that was rude, wasn’t it? …I have faith in you, my friends.”
He can never just be honest. But such a trait was a necessary skill for royalty. Smiling at my facetious friend, Siraiya and I answered him with a unanimous, “We’re here to help.”
“Well? What are your plans for this book, Lady Cynthia?” he asked.
“I was only curious where it had ended up. There’s nothing in particular I’m eager to try. However, I think it’s best to keep it somewhere secure without opening it again.”
“Of course. For now, I’m going to confirm who my enemies and allies are. I know for certain that the two of you and Estellise are on my side. That also includes Duke Gridimore, who spent years raising Estellise to someday become my queen. I don’t believe the king and queen themselves are my enemies either. They would have no motive to do something like this to me.”
When Prince Adelberd said that, I couldn’t stop myself from asking the question that was nagging at me.
“If Their Majesties aren’t your enemies, then why hide all the way in the Rhuddlan territory? Couldn’t you have stayed at one of the royal family’s health resorts instead?”
“If our theory about the cursed book is correct, then it would’ve had to be orchestrated by someone who could get such a book into the hands of the royal family. That points to it being someone on the inside. I couldn’t risk hiding in a place owned by the royal family if my enemy is already that close.”
“I see… So that’s why you chose to come here. Indeed, the Rhuddlans have almost no ties to the royal family,” I said.
“Exactly. I wanted to come here, where there’s no threat, and get back on my feet surrounded by people I can trust. I’ll be counting on the two of you.”
Siraiya and I nodded, though on the inside, we silently grieved the relaxing vacation we were saying goodbye to.