“Everyone raise your heads.”
His Highness’s command fell. I still had my gaze turned elsewhere, unable to bear watching His Highness escort the young lady. But Aila’s hearing was so excellent that even at this distance, it didn’t miss even the sound of His Highness’s breathing. For once, I resented his few advantages.
“I greet Your Highness on this day blessed by the sun.”
“You seemed quite sad over your brother’s death, yet it appears you had the leisure to host a tea party.”
His Highness’s voice, not even returning the formal greeting, was utterly cold.
“Your Highness’s mourning period isn’t very long either. Since you are always a busy person, I consider it natural.”
When Jane noona answered with a smile, His Highness also let out a low laugh.
‘No, this isn’t something that should end with laughter! Isn’t this practically announcing that the two of them have fallen out?’
As if I wasn’t the only one thinking this, the garden instantly became as quiet as if ice had been scattered. Even though the conversation couldn’t be heard clearly, most were quick-witted people, so they seemed to have sensed the atmosphere.
‘I hope they’re not in conflict because of me.’
I was anxiously clenching my fists when suddenly gazes converged on me. When I reflexively looked at His Highness, our eyes met.
“But was that person invited by the Duchess?”
Jane noona turned her body slightly and came out defensively.
“I simply invited those who frequently show their faces at banquets.”
“I was just asking, but if you react so sensitively, it naturally arouses suspicion. Someone I know well shouldn’t act foolishly.”
His Highness asked the young lady’s understanding, then entered the garden. If my eyes weren’t mistaken, he was approaching toward me. Momentarily I looked at Jane noona as if seeking help, but someone who hadn’t helped me even when I was Tienas wouldn’t save Aila. Rather, her eyes were sharp as if observing something interesting.
“We meet often.”
“Yes, Your Highness. It’s an honor to meet you on this day blessed by the sun.”
When I greeted him once more and raised my head, His Highness’s red eyes were staring through me. Though he hadn’t spoken expecting an answer, as the silence continued, my palms were drenched with sweat. Even facing a beast or meeting dozens of enemies, I wouldn’t have been this nervous.
“You still act ambiguously.”
He’d evaluated Aila as ‘ambiguous’ last time too, and it seemed that evaluation continued this time as well. I didn’t know what about Aila was so unclear. The most likely possibility was that though it didn’t seem like he was receiving anyone’s orders, he was continuously performing suspicious actions, but then I thought it would be better to interrogate rather than leave me loose like this.
“I apologize. I will strive harder to be without deficiency as Your Highness’s sword.”
Though it didn’t make sense for Aila to dare mention being His Highness’s sword, it was something any knight of the imperial palace would typically say.
‘It’s also an emotion without a speck of falsehood.’
Since I planned to become a sword in a place beyond this person’s sight, the words flowed out even more naturally. His Highness’s gaze left me and headed toward the table. I wanted to hide the half-eaten éclair with my body out of embarrassment.
As if to point out such idle thoughts, His Highness approached closer. Since I couldn’t flee before such a noble person, I stood still as if taxidermied. His Highness willingly lowered his head and whispered as if breathing life into me.
“If you’re imitating Tiel, it would be better to stop.”
After entering Aila’s body, the pet name I thought I’d never be able to hear bored into my ears. His Highness had already straightened his body as if that was all he had to say secretly. However, his cold gaze, as if telling me never to forget this warning, remained unchanged and menacing. Fortunately or unfortunately, those who had been nearby had been startled and left long ago.
“Why, why would I imitate that person and make Your Highness uncomfortable? Please withdraw your misunderstanding.”
“Right. You’re similar in not being able to distinguish between honesty and rudeness in your speech, just like that knight. But you should know that I don’t indulgently look upon everyone who uses such speech.”
I had always spoken with propriety, but it seemed to His Highness’s ears it sounded somewhat rude. Also, learning in this way that he had been indulgently looking upon that was somewhat shocking.
“I had few occasions to meet noble persons, so I acted rudely. Since it happened due to my inadequacy, I will gladly accept punishment for it. However, I hope you’ll know that I have no connection with that person, so even if I wanted to imitate them, I’m in no position to do so.”
His Highness would already know such things. Tienas’s human relationships were narrow, and there were no acquaintances His Highness didn’t know. Yet it seemed he’d found something in Aila that reminded him of me.
‘What is it? What was the problem? Swordsmanship? No, that couldn’t even be called swordsmanship. Speech? This is the most plausible, but I haven’t had many conversations with His Highness in Aila’s body.’
I couldn’t grasp it at all and my head was dizzy. His Highness mercifully stepped back one pace from me.
“Then, are you claiming you’re not imitating that child?”
“Yes, Your Highness. There will be no such thing in the future. I swear on my life.”
“I don’t know how valuable your life is, but I’ll be fooled just one more time.”
His Highness spoke in a light tone as if releasing prey already caught.
“I hope you don’t miss your last chance. These days my sword has become impatient.”
Of course, he didn’t forget to warn. Having finished what he had to say, His Highness gestured to the young lady sitting at a table some distance away drinking tea, then left the garden. A moment later, I saw the carriage stamped with the imperial seal that he’d boarded moving away.
“What did His Highness say?”
Jane noona, who had approached close at some point, spoke to me. At first I tried to make up a story, but I was too exhausted and decided to just tell it as it was.
“It’s not something I can say aloud.”
“In the time I haven’t seen you, you’ve become very knight-like. A good look.”
Fatigue washed over me. I wanted to swing a sword and blow away all these idle thoughts.
‘Still, I have to maintain my position.’
Fortunately, the tea party didn’t continue long, and before evening I was able to board the carriage while receiving Ian’s infinite interrogation.
To him asking like a parrot what on earth had happened with His Highness, I repeated words like “I can’t answer,” “I won’t cause harm to the family,” “How can I relay a noble person’s words?” Ian agonized saying “Just lie and say nothing happened!”, but my position didn’t change.
* * *
The day after the tempestuous tea party, I devoted myself to training while dripping with sweat as I’d wished yesterday. Thanks to the other knights gradually avoiding me, I could actually train more comfortably. Though not to my heart’s content, still, perhaps because I moved my body diligently, what I needed to do going forward was calmly organized.
‘I need to see Kevin once more.’
Looking at my hands that were starting to develop calluses, I recalled the information I needed to obtain.
‘First, I need to find out why I entered this body. Since I suspect it might be related to the Caesius family’s power, I need to investigate that part. And next, I need to find out about the Sayus family’s movements and gather clues about why His Highness came to have such suspicions. After that, since I’m short on money, I’ll have to ask him to buy some information.’
Like the past two failures, I mustn’t recklessly roam around the imperial palace and encounter His Highness again. Especially if he suspected I was imitating Tiel. Instead, I planned to gather useful things from the prophecies I’d seen recently and leak them to Kevin. Waiting for that to reach the Crown Prince’s palace was the best thing I could do for him.
‘Kevin has many connections to the Crown Prince’s side, so he won’t leak information to enemy camps and will convey useful things in some way.’
If he were someone who sold information to just anyone, he wouldn’t have grown large enough to have connections with the imperial palace from the start. I was confident he was shrewd enough not to make stupid mistakes. For the first time in a while, it felt like my head was clearing.
However, this decision that seemed to have fallen cleanly at first glance ended up catching my ankle.
