The royal service was nothing short of a burden for someone like me, a mere commoner.
To be honest, the people working in the royal court may be servants, but outside, they’re all nobles who hold some kind of status. No matter how you look at it, they must at least be counts, right?
Moreover, since they all seemed fond of Seria, I thought they wouldn’t look kindly on an unknown commoner like me.
But whether it was because of Seria’s influence or something else, everyone started being extremely attentive to me.
It got to the point where, when I said I wasn’t eating breakfast, I was bombarded with all sorts of questions.
They asked if I was uncomfortable from sleeping, if I was feeling unwell, and if I would at least have some light soup… Anyway, the questions kept coming, one after another.
I just said I wasn’t eating. There’s no particular reason.
In the end, I ate. I figured if I didn’t, it would only become more bothersome.
I never imagined that something as simple as breakfast would cause such a fuss.
Thanks to that, though, after eating, I was fully awake.
Since I couldn’t go back to bed, I decided to read the book I had fallen asleep reading yesterday for a bit.
Let’s see… Since I barely made it past the beginning before I fell asleep, I was still in the early part of the book. I figured it was just some unnecessary world-building, so I skipped ahead to the later chapters.
The stars, distributed over such a vast range, cannot be proven to be finite from an observational standpoint…
If this fact is applied to the recently discovered theory of fluid dynamics magical field distribution, revealed by recent research from the academic society…
In other words, the intangible energy in question is similar to the components of magical power, and it can also be confirmed to be free from the shape bifurcation transformation problem, which had been presented as a limitation of magic.
…Is this really a novel? Did I accidentally pick up a paper or something?
The only part that was even somewhat readable was this, and the rest, even after reading, made no sense at all.
How did Seria find this interesting enough to read multiple times?
I flipped a few more pages, and it seemed like the protagonist was finally appearing, and the story was about to start. But after just seeing that one page, my focus completely drifted away.
Thud.
So, I closed the book and quickly washed up in the small washroom prepared in the guest room.
Since the clothes I had worn yesterday were torn, I changed into the garments that were laid out for guests.
Hmm… So this is what a royal guest wears. It looks a bit too fancy to just walk around in.
Honestly, it’s only because of my current appearance that the outfit looks somewhat decent. If I were even slightly off, it would probably look ridiculous.
Well, considering that I was invited as a guest to the royal palace, I guess this level of extravagance must be common here.
Since I had no other choice, I left the room wearing the clothes.
I had originally planned to stay in until the afternoon, but just now, a servant came by and said the Crown Prince wanted to see me.
The outside of the guest room was just the first-floor hall.
So, right after stepping out, I’d have to face a lot of people, which was quite a daunting thought.
“Lord Rudion, good morning.”
“You really don’t have to be so formal with me.”
“It’s by Her Highness’s orders…”
“What kind of orders have been given that they’re all acting like this?”
Seeing them follow through like that even when Seria isn’t watching, I guess you could say they’re definitely professionals… Well, to maintain a position like that, their social skills must be something else.
It’s not a good look for an adult to just take revenge on a whim because they don’t like something.
For now, I’m trying to slip away from the situation… when someone approached and spoke to me.
“It was noisy, so I came out… and here I find someone of great importance on their way.”
The crown prince, the first son of the royal family, was making his way here in person.
“We can’t let guests walk alone. Please follow me.”
“…Yes.”
He walked out with a composed demeanor, as if nothing had happened between us. Since following his lead seemed like the best way to avoid the servants and leave the place, I decided to follow him naturally.
However… maybe because of the incident from last night, there was definitely some awkwardness in the air.
The place we arrived at, following the crown prince, was the reception room used to greet guests.
After sitting down, he casually pointed to the seat across from him, so I went and sat there. Oh, this sofa is incredibly soft.
As I admired the quality of the sofa, he spoke up.
“I acknowledge your skills. I may not possess great strength, but I was among the top in the academy. This is quite embarrassing. I suppose that’s why you’re still in one piece after sparring with Duke Lux.”
“I’m truly sorry about what happened yesterday. I… didn’t manage to control myself properly.”
“No, it’s fine. That happened because I acted recklessly.”
Despite everything that had happened, there was no trace of resentment or inferiority directed at me.
Anyway, these people might be obsessed with Seria, but their character is solid enough that it’s hard to hate them.
“Still, Seria is ours.”
“…What?”
“Yesterday, I discussed it with my younger brothers, but we couldn’t accept it. I’ll admit you’re skilled, but we can’t forgive you for taking Seria. She’s part of our family.”
As the crown prince said this, the door to the reception room suddenly swung open, and two men walked in confidently.
I didn’t even need to see them to know who they were. The second and third sons.
“That’s right! You’re absolutely right, hyung!”
“No matter how strong you are, you’re still just a commoner. Let’s show you that strength isn’t everything!”
Just when I thought their character was decent, this is what they say.
Suddenly, I remembered something Seria had told me on the carriage when she was on her way to the royal family.
-“If my brothers start bothering you… just run away. If you try to put up with them, it’ll never end.”
At the time, I thought, “Could they really be like that?” And even if they were, how could anyone act that way toward royalty? But now, facing it in person, all I wanted to do was run away.
Still, I held myself back. I decided to listen to what they had to say first.
They pulled out a scroll and spread it out in front of me.
“First, take a look at this list of tests we’ve created.”
A test? Is this something like the “Conditions for a Man Fit for the Princess” that the Knights’ Order has?
Reading through the list, I couldn’t help but be shocked.
Daily schedule of tests required to be with our Seria
-10:00 AM: Poison resistance training
-11:00 AM: Knights’ hellish training
-12:00 PM: Listen to and memorize the Seria anthem, then sing along
-1:00 PM: Lunch
-2:00 PM: Endure one hour of fire magic
-3:00 PM: Spar with the Commander of the Royal Guard
-4:00 PM: Endure one hour of water magic
-5:00 PM – 7:00 PM: Spar with the Commander of the Knights
-7:00 PM: Dinner
-8:00 PM – 12:00 AM: 5 sets of Knights’ hellish training
-12:00 AM: Sleep
“What is this, some elementary school-level military schedule? You’re all adults now, isn’t this a bit childish?”
But what’s with this Seria anthem? Why does such a thing even exist?
I was curious and kind of wanted to learn it, but to do that, I’d have to endure poison resistance training and the Knights’ hellish training, so I decided to just live without knowing.
That’s right. I chose to escape.
Bang!
I quickly opened the window and jumped out. It was a bit high for the first floor, but my stats weren’t too low, so I managed fine.
“Hyung! He’s escaping!”
“You brat! Where do you think you’re going? Brothers, chase after him!”
The second and third sons threw themselves out of the window after me, and they started chasing me like crazy.
The crown prince didn’t jump out of the window. He just stood there, like some dark figure, watching me. What is he doing? What’s his plan?
For now, I decided to focus on escaping.
My specs may be a bit lacking compared to the world’s standards, but these guys graduated from the academy with excellent grades. I don’t know their agility stats, but they were pretty fast.
At the moment, I was using dash cancels to escape however I could, but if things continued like this, it was clear I wouldn’t last long before being caught.
So, I decided to change direction… toward where Seria would be.
The current time was late morning. Breakfast would have been finished by now.
After Seria finished breakfast with her parents, there was only one place she would go.
“Where is he suddenly going?”
“From the direction, it looks like he’s heading toward the greenhouse!”
“That’s where Seria is right now!”
Having confirmed the answer from their own mouths, all that was left was to run toward that place.
They seemed to be puzzled by my sudden change of direction, but soon realized that I was holding the scroll they had brought with me in one hand.
Once they understood, they seemed to panic, as if they realized everything.
“I’m taking the schedule to Seria!”
“We can’t forgive that!”
From their reaction, it seemed they knew that this schedule wasn’t sane.
As I kept running, the scent of flowers became stronger.
Considering that the area outside the greenhouse was filled with flowering plants, I knew I had almost reached my destination.
Sure enough, the well-kept greenhouse appeared ahead of me.
I was almost caught, but having made it this far, it was a victory for me.
I opened the greenhouse door and threw myself inside. The emperor, the empress, and Seria, who were having tea inside, all looked up in surprise.
“Rudion? What are you doing all the way here…?”
I handed Seria the scroll in her hand, then immediately dashed back out of the greenhouse.
As I ran past the two men chasing me, they stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing the scroll pass into Seria’s hands, their faces filled with despair.
“This can’t be.”
“We’re finished.”
Don’t act like the world is ending just because you’ve been found out.
And if they didn’t want to look so foolish, they shouldn’t have created something like this in the first place.
“…What is this?”
“Seria, that’s…”
“What’s this ‘Seria anthem’ written here?”
“…”
“Judging by the handwriting, it’s definitely the second brother’s. Why can’t you answer?”
“To think you recognize my handwriting… I’m touched, little sister.”
“Stop dodging the question and answer me quickly.”
It seemed like they were talking, but I couldn’t hear a single word as it drifted further away from my ears in real-time.
But whatever they were talking about, it probably wasn’t anything good.
‘It’s all their own fault.’
With that thought, I completely left the area.
Just when I thought I was finally alone, the crown prince reappeared and blocked my way.
“Heh, I knew this would happen, so I didn’t chase after you.”
Isn’t this guy completely insane? Did he just sell out his own brothers?
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s a misunderstanding. I had no involvement with that schedule.”
“You did say it earlier, like you were in on it… didn’t you?”
I almost responded casually, but the crown prince didn’t seem to care and replied nonchalantly.
“I said that because I thought you’d fall into the trap if I spoke that way. And, well… you did.”
So he didn’t sell them out, he trapped them.
What on earth was he doing all this for? The crown prince began to explain the reason.
“The reason I called you, Rudion, is simple. It’s… well, hmm, how should I put this…”
He seemed a bit awkward, taking a moment before cautiously continuing.
“Could you teach me the technique you used on me yesterday?”
Uh, well… I’m sorry, but that might be a bit difficult.
I don’t even understand how it works myself, so I don’t know the principle behind it.
“Please, I beg you! Could you at least try? Just give it a shot!”
“Really, this will be a waste of time. Fine, let’s go somewhere with no people around.”
I figured he wouldn’t give up until he experienced firsthand that it wasn’t possible, so in the end, I decided to bend a little.
What a tiresome person…