They went to places together and ate dinner together while talking about, for example, what had happened at school. If they ever had a problem, he was always there to give them advice, and he always did everything in his power to help them. In contrast, Count O’Brian hardly ever ate with them or talked to them, and if he did, their conversations ended after only a few words—their real father was completely indifferent to his children, so it wasn’t clear who was actually their real father. Cecil’s and Carlo’s respect for Layce was hard for Bernard to comprehend—he usually only ever saw the Prince of Darkness—but he had no choice but to lay his doubts to rest. The twins had shown just how sincere they were.
“Very well,” Bernard said. “If Layce mentions anything to me, I’ll do what I can to aid your family.”
“Apologies for the trouble, Your Majesty.”
Bernard smiled. “Oh, it’s no trouble at all. Not when it’s for Filiel’s future brothers-in-law.”
Everyone was taken aback by this. Carlo instantly understood what Bernard meant, and he turned to Filiel, spread his arms wide, and joked, “I don’t mind if you call me ‘big brother,’ little bro!”
“Never!” Filiel exclaimed.
“I think it’s a lot easier than calling him ‘father,’ though,” Cecil said.
“Gah. You’re right...” A thought flitted across Filiel’s imagination: Layce bursting into flames of rage the moment Filiel called him “father.”
“We’ll try to convince the Prince of Darkness ourselves,” Cecil assured Filiel. “Considering that we were the ones who told him to become prime minister, we do feel responsible.”
“Yeah, I regret it a little. We meddled, and he ended up getting lots of power that he absolutely doesn’t have the temperament for,” Carlo added.
If Layce hadn’t been prime minister, both Filiel and the king might’ve been able to assert themselves a bit more strongly. But actually, that concern might’ve been unfounded. Layce would’ve still been a big obstacle, even if he hadn’t been prime minister.
Bernard tilted his head, puzzled. “You told him to become prime minister? What do you mean?”
“To tell you the truth, we told him that it was a condition of marrying our mother,” Cecil explained. “We said that if he became prime minister, we’d assist him and act as go-betweens for him and our mother.”
“Why that condition?”
“It was to protect Yui. As I believe Your Majesty is already aware, Yui is remarkably talented.”
Bernard couldn’t deny it. He nodded.
“We believed that someone would eventually notice Yui’s ability, show up, and try to exploit her. And in fact, the general, the grandmaster, and the cardinal did notice—they were desperate to get her to work for them. Luckily, they were honest and approached her in good faith, so they never forced anything. But there was no guarantee that everyone would behave that way. It was necessary that there be someone by Yui’s side who could protect her, in case anyone tried to use force or their authority to get her to do what they wanted.”
They’re right, Bernard thought. A powerless girl like her wouldn’t be able to do anything against someone with authority.
“As we wondered what to do, someone caught our eye: the Prince of Darkness. Even then, he was infamous for that moniker. His abilities were one thing, but even more well-known was the inhuman cruelty he showed to anyone who defied him.”
The three royals, Luca, Zeke, and Gaius were reminded of all sorts of past incidents involving Layce. They all looked like they were trying to keep their internal feelings from showing.
“When we learned that he liked our mother to an almost abnormal degree, we believed that he would be good to her, but also that he would be able to protect Yui. Layce had absolutely no interest in power, but because he was completely devoted to marrying our mother, he fulfilled his promise and rose all the way to the rank of prime minister. To be honest, we were surprised the most by how quickly he actually became prime minister after we gave him that condition...” Cecil smiled awkwardly. He and Carlo had thought that it’d be a stroke of good fortune if Layce managed to become prime minister by the time Yui was an adult, but he had exceeded their expectations and done it in only a few years. It was even more surprising that, in his free time between diligently performing the duties necessary to become prime minister, Layce had also properly and proactively worked to curry Sherina’s favor.
“I-I see,” Bernard said. “I thought it was odd that Layce became prime minister when he’d never had any interest in power, but now I finally get it.”
He remembered considering Layce for the position of prime minister—the man hadn’t been especially ambitious. Bernard had considered the possibility that Layce might refuse, so it had been anticlimactic when Layce had so unexpectedly accepted the appointment instantly.
Layce always said that his wife and daughter were more important to him than his job, and he often complained about not seeing them enough. Bernard had constantly wondered why, despite these protests, Layce still devoted himself to the busy position of prime minister. Now that Bernard knew it was all for his dearly beloved wife and daughter, he could understand why.
“He is unusually attached to our mother,” Cecil said. “I don’t know how many times I’ve second-guessed entrusting her to him.” But still, whenever he and Carlo saw how happy and content she looked now that she was with Layce—a stark contrast to how she’d been in the O’Brian house—they knew that they hadn’t been wrong.
“This just makes me even more interested in meeting her. I want to ask how she reins him in...”
“That may prove difficult. However, I believe Your Majesty will have opportunities once we take the Curtis name.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll look forward to it.”
One reason Layce didn’t take Sherina to any social events was because he didn’t want to make her face Count O’Brian. But more than anything, Layce worried for her safety, because he had many enemies. He was also widely feared, so nearly no one was openly hostile, but he was concerned that they might turn their animosity against him toward Sherina. He couldn’t always be by her side, and she didn’t usually attend parties, so she had no acquaintances to help her. For these reasons, he never wanted to bring her to events.
However, if Cecil and Carlo were there with her, any hostility toward Sherina would mean making enemies of the leaders of the largest noble faction with the most influence. Considering the drawbacks of harming her, who would dare to do anything careless? Up until then, Layce had been taking his secretary to parties in Sherina’s place, but once the twins’ official adoption process was over, he’d probably start bringing Sherina with him. Cecil and Carlo hoped to see progress in Yui and Filiel’s relationship by then.
After chatting about various things for a while, they were satisfied with the time they had been able to spend meeting each other. However, the party still showed no signs of ending. Their surroundings were abuzz with conversation.
“Father, Alexis, I think I’ll get going,” Filiel said.
“You’re leaving already?” Alexis said.
“Yes. Places with this many people are tiring.”
Filiel had to concentrate more than usual in crowded places to suppress his powerful magic. Staying in that tense state for so long was bound to lead to exhaustion. That was why he sometimes spent time alone at the academy without bringing Luca and Zeke with him. With so many students at the academy, he often wanted to make some time for himself without having to worry about his surroundings.
Most were understanding of this. As royalty, Filiel would normally be expected to be a model student, but even when he cut class, the teachers said nothing and looked the other way. If this event were being hosted by the royal family, he might’ve had to stay, but today’s party was for the students. And since Filiel didn’t need to find a job, he could leave early without any problem. He had already shown his face at the party, so no one would complain.
“All right, I guess that’s fine. Rest up, Filiel,” said Alexis.
“Thank you, Alexis. Goodbye.” Luca and Zeke tried to follow Filiel when they saw him start to leave, but he held out his hand and stopped them. “Stay with my father and my brother. The other guards can’t come into the venue.”
The two had no other choice but to obey an order from their master.
The other guards were stationed outside the venue, and Gaius was the only person next to Bernard and Alexis right now. Only those whose identities could be confirmed were inside the fortress, so there was not even a slim chance of anything bad happening. Still, it gave Filiel peace of mind to know that Luca and Zeke were guarding his father and his brother—just in case.
Cecil and Carlo then tried to tag along with Filiel in his bodyguards’ place, but Filiel rejected them too. “I’m fine. I don’t think anyone suspicious is inside the fortress, and I’m strong enough to protect myself anyway.”
“You say that, but you really just don’t want to be interrupted, right?” Carlo asked with a grin. That cue made Filiel’s intentions obvious—the prince wasn’t planning to return to his own quarters. Bernard looked at him proudly.
“Now that’s what being a man’s all about!” Bernard exclaimed. “Now’s the time to win her over while he isn’t here!”
“I’ll make sure that His Excellency doesn’t find out about it, so good luck!” Alexis said.
Filiel knew he should be glad that his family accepted Yui, but there was nothing more embarrassing than them cheering him on like this. They were so ready to help out, and if things continued without any progress, they were liable to move beyond encouragement and start making him take lectures on how to court women.
Just as Filiel left the venue and was about to head to Yui’s quarters, someone stopped him.
“Please wait, Your Highness.”
Filiel stopped walking and turned around to look at the person who had called his name. It was a girl he had met once before as a prospective candidate for marriage—Lady Charlotte Chamberly.
“My deepest apologies for suddenly stopping you, Your Highness,” Charlotte said.
Filiel immediately put on his princely mask and smiled. “Not at all—I don’t mind. More importantly, you seem to be in a hurry. Is something the matter? Can I help you?” Contrary to the way he casually acted and spoke around those he was close with, he used a practiced smile and a formal tone of voice when speaking with strangers. Inside, his mind was occupied by thoughts of Yui.
“Ah... Well, it’s difficult to discuss here, so do you mind if we go someplace else?” Charlotte asked.
Filiel wanted to go see Yui as soon as possible, but he was unable to flatly refuse a lady’s request. They went elsewhere.