Royal Palace Party (2)
Apologize? To whom?
"Prince Gilbert, what do you mean by apologize?"
"You must be Raphael, yes? Of course, I mean to Reinhardt and the rest of Westland. Your parents forgave me, but I don’t want to anger Lord White Dragon or Lord Fenrir and the others. Ask your parents for the details. Also, I give you my word that our nation will never move against Westland—upon my honor."
That was all he said before leaving.
"Hey, Atre, Lucas—did you two do something to the people who came to greet us?"
"We didn’t do anything. I just gave off the feeling of ‘don’t come near’." Atre said this while eating the meat I had cut for him.
"I merely said, ‘don’t approach’, as well," Lucas added before picking up a slice of cake from his plate and eating it.
"No, that is doing something. Were you threatening them? When did you even do that?"
"So that’s why they all left so quickly," Raphael said, looking at Atre and Lucas.
"Seems like it. But they won’t tell me exactly what they did."
"Well, depending on how you look at it, fewer countries will try to meddle with us now. Maybe that’s for the best."
That’s true… I guess.
Not sure if that’s really okay, but what’s done is done. I’ll just report it to Father and Mother later.
When I asked Raphael who Prince Gilbert was, he told me he’s the First Prince and Crown Prince of the Soleil Empire.
The Soleil Empire—strongest nation on the continent, sharing a border with Northtrad.
For our kingdom, it’s a country we can never be careless with, and one we must keep friendly relations with.
They say the Emperor hasn’t abdicated only because he intends to pass the throne directly to Prince Gilbert. He’s known as a very shrewd man.
"So, the apology was probably about those intruders at the Varshe Farm?"
"Most likely. It must have been imperial royalty other than Prince Gilbert who sent those spies."
"Then… can we consider it settled?"
"Probably… sorry, I wasn’t much help."
"Not true. You told me about another country’s royalty—that helped a lot."
After that, no one else came near us, so I enjoyed talking with Raphael until the party ended.
---
When we returned to the mansion, Father and Mother praised me with, "See? You can behave properly when you try."
But when I told them Atre and Lucas had done something to scare away the people approaching me, and that Prince Gilbert of Soleil had come to apologize and promised, on his honor, that his country wouldn’t lay a hand on Westland—they both turned pale.
"So it really is that whenever we bring Hardt along, something happens…"
"And Atre, Lucas—what were you thinking? It’s fine only because they backed off, but that could’ve escalated to an international incident!"
Even when Mother scolded them, both Atre and Lucas pretended not to hear.
"If you won’t reflect on it, then no dinner for you tonight." Mother’s words made them freeze.
"I’m sorry," Atre said, bowing his head to her. Since Mother can’t hear his voice, I translated for him.
"My bad," Lucas added, so both were forgiven.
Truth is, their real food is mana.
But still—those two love eating meals together with everyone. For them to apologize so quickly just at the threat of “no dinner”…
Do they really hate missing even a single meal that much?
Father sighed and said he would report to the royal family via Duke Clondale, but I should also make my own report tomorrow.
When I mentioned that Prince Gilbert told me to ask my parents for details, Father explained that an unofficial apology had already been made yesterday. They had also asked to reclaim the spies’ corpses.
So Father had sent a letter to Grandfather, and the Prince’s attendants had gone to collect the bodies.
"Prince Gilbert went in person because it benefits him, right?"
"Most likely. Still, we couldn’t just leave the corpses lying around, so it worked out. And I’m sure he’ll gain plenty in return for making us owe him a favor."
---
"Well, that was exhausting. Hard to believe someone can sit there so calm, with those two terrifying beings at his side," Gilbert muttered as he sank into the sofa in his assigned guest room.
"Was it really that overwhelming, Your Highness?"
"Oh yes. They hit me with crushing pressure—both of them at once—and a clear warning not to meddle. Just staying composed nearly broke me. Now I understand why the Aranfes royal family lets him act freely. Best keep away from Westland."
"We’re deeply grateful for recovering our comrades’ remains and freeing our families who’d been taken hostage. As promised, our unit is yours, my Prince."
"And I finally got the proof I needed to deal with my biggest headaches—Father, his concubine, and my troublesome little sister. Once I present the Emperor with evidence that Father schemed to steal high-ranking monsters, use them to win nobles over to his side, force abdication, pressure Aranfes into either war or marrying my sister, and even arranged the assassination of my uncle’s daughter to look like an accident—His Majesty will have no choice but to act."
"What of Westland going forward?"
"As for their new products, we’ll get them through Northtrad. Limit operations there to gathering information, and pull back our people. By the way, did you find out the name of those monsters in the fortress?"
"Yes, they are Varshe, legendary high-ranking monsters. We’ll examine the retrieved bodies, then give our comrades a proper burial."
"So aside from his familiars, there are other high-ranking monsters in Westland’s territory… For now, though, securing our own country takes priority over foreign ventures."
What do you think about this chapter?
