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“GOD damn it, why won’t Father drive out that lascivious priestess and that damn prince at once?! The knights won’t act either because of the old man’s weakness!”
His Royal Highness Prince Medaikonar kicked over a heavy chair and clicked his tongue as he raged. Accompanying him as part of his entourage was Keunt, his gray hair parted to the side. The latter tried to pacify the aggravated former even as he rubbed his hands together gleefully in the private parlor.
“P-Perhaps it might help to think of it like this, Your Highness: His Majesty must have deemed that dealing directly with the wanton saint and the emperor’s younger brother would put the Kingdom of Kophe’s authority at stake.”
“Hm… Well, I suppose you may have a point.”
Keunt smiled ingratiatingly at Medaikonar, who sat down on the sofa and folded his arms in annoyance. Then he turned around and glared at the maid, silently commanding her to serve tea quickly. Before long, the rich aroma of rose tea permeated the room as she poured. It was the prince’s favorite. Gold leaf floated in the clear red tea.
“Mmm…there is nothing better than tea imported from Ezeleya.”
While enjoying a cup of the tea, Medaikonar pushed his fingers through hair the same color as the gold leaf. Though he maintained his solicitous air on the surface, Keunt gleefully puffed up on the inside with conceit. A new chapter had been etched in the memoir he privately titled The Epic Tale of Keunt Strelizzi. He’d been mentally writing it for as long as he could remember.
“Keunt, the third son of Duke Strelizzi, who had fallen so low in the world that he’d been sent to Mayga Cieux. But he achieved great success even in the face of adversity. His accomplishments earned him the favor of the royal family’s heir, who elevated him to the position of his personal valet—”
“Still, that unholy woman unsettles me.”
Medaikonar’s words interrupted Keunt’s internal composition of his epic novel. The crown prince’s gaze dropped to the rose tea in his cup as he cocked his thoughtfully.
“I know she often visited the palace on official business during her time working as a priestess, not to mention her being in residence while she undertook training as the future queen. Even considering all that though, there’s no way she should have been able to become acquainted with anyone in the Belktrius imperial family… So of all the people in the world, how could she have possibly curried favor with that Ferocious Crown Prince?”
“An excellent question…”
Keunt frowned in thought too. The arousing priestess he knew was dedicated zealously to her work. She showed no interest in men, nor did she care for her appearance or pretension. The Monica he had known was a kind, considerate woman who talked to everyone in a friendly manner.
Which was exactly why he had deigned to bestow his attention upon her! Except the impudent baggage had rejected him and irritation seethed in him once more when he recalled her face. But then he remembered the savage way her engagement had been annulled and the sadness cloaking her as she left the hall that day, and exhilaration surged through him at the just deserts she’d received for trampling a person’s sincere affection. The scene of her exiting the hall with her tail tucked between her legs would prove to be a fantastic highlight in the opening chapters of his epic.
“What’s more, Prince Richard’s whereabouts should have been unknown. Is it possible then…that he entered our country in absolute secrecy?” Medaikonar asked.
“I highly doubt that, Your Highness. There is nowhere an emperor’s younger brother has the chance to meet a country bumpkin such as her.”
“Right, of course, considering the unholy woman lived in Mayga Cieux of all places. As if a prince would hide himself in such an uncivilized remote location. An absurd notion from a logical perspective.”
“Indeed, indeed. Every day, those people sang obscene songs and plied themselves with cheap, watered-down spirits while they danced without a thought in their plebeian heads.”
“Then perhaps the lustful priestess seduced him using vulgar sexual techniques she learned in those outskirts. Damned woman,” Medaikonar cursed her.
“Yes, yes, that must be it. So it stands to reason that a prince twisted around a lewd saint’s finger isn’t someone worth fearing.”
Keunt sifted through his memories of the frontlines he had never been able to adapt to and then his mind pictured the unholy woman’s smiling face. She had smiled and enjoyed herself even in such an unseemly, filthy place. No one in their right mind should have been able to do so.
Which reminds me, there was a man who acted overly friendly with her… That detestable redhead…
Keunt, who used to watch Saint Monica obsessively back then, recalled the redheaded man who shadowed her at every opportunity. The excessively tall man with the disheveled hair who was always ready with a cutting remark and a glib smile. The man’s skill in battle and amiable nature had vexed Keunt to no end. His existence had been a troublesome one because everyone had liked him. But he was probably lying dead by the roadside in some godforsaken place, just like so many others. Served him right.
“Your Highness, the high priest has arrived,” a servant announced.
“Show him in,” Medaikonar said.
The servant lowered his head deferentially and stepped back, and Keunt retreated to stand by the wall.
The high priest, Pisciozze, entered the parlor with his priests in tow. He smelled of the unique incense used exclusively by the priests. The man bowed to Medaikonar.
“State your business,” Medaikonar said.
“Allow me to be frank then. Please help me kill the arousing priestess.”
Medaikonar grunted in shock. Next to him, Keunt felt the same.
“We must use every means at our disposal to rid our country of her very existence. At the risk of giving offense, I believe His Majesty’s cautious approach will get us nowhere.”
“As much as I’d like to say, yes, I’m not sure it would be a good idea.”
When Medaikonar hesitated to agree, Pisciozze pressed his appeal rather strongly.
“Are you not the crown prince of the Kingdom of Kophe? Will you not become its king should His Majesty abdicate?!”
“Kophe’s k-king…”
“Your Highness, if you find a solution to this country’s problem and protect it, His Majesty will have no choice but to abdicate. Both the aristocracy and the proletariat are waiting for you to take the throne and guide their willing hearts. They wait for you to accomplish great feats your father never could. By executing the unholy woman who humiliated you, you will become this Kingdom’s hero, allowing you to proudly wear the crown that is rightfully yours.”
“Me, the hero…”
“The emperor’s younger brother, the one known as the Ferocious Crown Prince. He leads his own order of knights and has eliminated enemies within and without the Empire for years, making him an incredibly influential man despite only being in his twenties. If he is underestimated like His Majesty has been, at worst, the Kingdom of Kophe will be destroyed like the Principality of Arjentia, or at best, be annexed by the Empire.”
“……”
“Your Royal Highness Medaikonar, you are the only one who can save our kingdom from this threat.”
Although Medaikonar had initially been opposed to agreeing to Pisciozze, the indecision on his face seeped away the longer he listened. The high priest possessed just as much influence as the royal family. So the prince’s eyes began to sparkle at the man’s entreaty and honeyed words.
“I see… What you’re saying then, high priest, is that I must act, that you have faith in me.”
Medaikonar was a naive prince who could be easily swayed. From a young age, he had no merit aside from his good looks. Coupled with his status as the crown prince, he had unconsciously lived his life doing the bidding of those around him, swept along by their desires. So if the powerful people around him praised him and urged him to take action, it was only natural that he’d do exactly what they wanted, incited as he always was by them.
Next to him, with his thirst to climb the social ladder, Keunt was another man easily roused by honeyed words. The epic novel in his mind had taken a completely new turn.
This could work! If he succeeds, I’ll become the new king’s most trusted confidante and…achieve success the likes of which the House of Strelizzi has never seen!
In his mounting excitement, Keunt completely forgot about the detestable redhead.
Little did Keunt know that he would be reminded of him later, under the worst circumstances.