Tensei Oujo – Chapter 104

The Second Prince’s Inspection (4)

 

 

 

“Well then, please take care.”

“Thank you. It’s truly a shame that your father couldn’t see us off himself, but please give him my regards nonetheless.”

   Prince Licht boarded the carriage after a short farewell.
   In the end, we never got to see Sir Heinz before we had to leave. I requested a meeting multiple times but was denied on every occasion. “He probably doesn’t want you to see him in such a weakened state,” was what I was told. I’ve got to hand it to him, it was quite the smart cover, but that didn’t make me any happier.

“It’s a fact that I do miss the capital, but when it’s finally time to return, why do I always feel so frustrated?”

   Prince Licht grumbled as he watched Grenze disappear in the distance.
   He was about to jump on a horse when Nacht caught him by the collar and shoved him inside the carriage. He’s not the type to listen to others except when Nacht steps in, huh. But even then, the probability of actually following his little brother’s orders wasn’t all that high.

“We’re gonna stay overnight in the upcoming town, aren’t we? Can I ask for a little trip around town? I’d still like to get some more souvenirs, you see.”

“I’m afraid not. After we have breakfast, we leave first thing in the morning.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I want Brother to attract Philipp’s attention.”

“Philipp’s…? Nacht, I’m not sure I follow.”

   Nacht explained the rest to the confused Prince.
   That being said, there’s not much to actually explain. As Nacht rambled on, however, visible confusion could be seen on the prince’s face.
   There was a possibility that the epidemic had not blown over and the infected were being isolated elsewhere instead. I suspected Philipp to be the mastermind behind all of this. Additionally, it was likely that we were all being observed on our stay at the mansion.

   After our explanations ended, Prince Licht was fraught with silence while wearing a difficult expression.
   He knitted his brows together and crossed his arms, something he rarely did. Then he opened his mouth after a short silence.

“So… Is Nacht saying that Philipp is doing something bad?”

“Well, ignoring some minute details, that’s the gist of it.”

“And because the infected are probably somewhere out there, you want to go find them?”

   He understood! Nacht and I breathed a sigh of relief. Although all he could manage was something that a child would say, we shall not indulge into those little details for now. Let’s rejoice the fact that he understood at all!

“Nacht will be investigating too?”

“Yes.”

   After Nacht nodded, Prince Licht’s visible headache got worse. He roughly shook his head with a never-before-seen seriousness presented on his face.

“That’s not happening.”

   My eyes were wide open while Nacht scrunched up his face. To some extent, we had expected him to show some resistance towards our plan so we were prepared for this.

“Why would you do that when you could just ask Philipp himself? Just say the time and place and it shall be investigated. We have authority over these lands, don’t we?”

“Brother, all we have so far are mere assumptions. What would the people think if we exact our authority and question the innocence of others over some superficial speculation? It won’t do us any good if we confront the Geisster family, who has heavy influence across the west, without a valid reason. It is only acceptable to use our power if the people allow it. If we tread without heeding their opinion, all that awaits us is the worst-case scenario.”

“…Worst-case…?”

   Nacht silenced Prince Licht with a slew of blunt and pessimistic words.
   Was it the right thing to say to someone so simple-minded? The thought that Philipp would hide the sick to cover his tracks must have been something unthinkable for him.

“…Anyway, we should refrain from taking any direct actions against Philipp for the time being.”

“Even so! There’s no need for Nacht to go too!”

   Licht was right. In these situations, there was no need for a royal prince himself to dirty his hands. That would be the job of the knight order. However, we were running out of time to come up with an elaborate plan. Plus, our knights were placed under heavy restrictions of their own. An exception had to be made in order to promptly respond to the situation at hand.

“Let’s say we sent in a small group of knights to gather evidence. If they were to be caught, it would spell doom for all of them. In the worst case, they would be silenced. On the other hand, there’s a lesser chance of any repercussions if I were the one caught.”

“But you can’t guarantee that there’s no danger, right!?”

“That chance is certainly not zero. However, considering my status, my survival rate is much higher than that of a knight’s.”

“What if you contract the disease!?”

“I’ll look for a cure when that happens. Originally, the plan was to help those ill people in the first place.”

“Nacht!”

   Prince Licht yelled in frustration because he couldn’t convince Nacht otherwise. He desperately tried to stop him, but Nacht had already made up his mind. Their positions were complete opposites as usual. I couldn’t help but be stunned at the sight of these two siblings.
   I didn’t think of him as a bad man, but I didn’t expect Prince Licht to worry for Nacht to this extent.

“Then I shall go with you.”

“That’s an obvious no. You’re first in line for the throne of this country.”

   Nacht dismissed Prince Licht’s painful demands with a shaky voice.
   But Prince Licht did not withdraw.

“The Kingdom of Wind needs you, Nacht, not me.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Even Father wishes for you to take the throne. I dream of being by your side when I become the captain of the knight order someday. But alas, you didn’t want any of it. You said you weren’t suited for the throne, that I would be a better candidate instead, and pushed it all onto me.”

   Should I be listening to this?
   My face was running a cold sweat. I carefully observed the two. Prince Licht was about to cry, and Nacht was holding a grim expression of his own.

“It’s the truth. The king of a country is supposed to be a symbol for all the citizens to admire and look up to. You are more than suitable for this role, especially when compared to my grim self.”

“You can tell at a glance that I’m useless in political affairs. The Kingdom of Wind will probably perish during my reign.”

   This prince might not be as stupid as I first made him out to be. After all, he objectively knew of his own abilities and limitations.
   This time, if I had to pick, I’d say Nacht was the illogical one. You don’t need a cheerful or bright personality to become a king. Actually, you could say that Nacht had the necessary qualities to rule as a king. In my opinion, Nacht just didn’t want to do it. He hated being in the spotlight, and thus shoved all of the responsibilities onto his brother to carry.

   I had been sympathetic to Nacht all this time because of his brother’s reckless actions, but perhaps it was time to change my viewpoint a bit.
   Nacht’s selfishness left a bad taste in my mouth.

   Together, Prince Licht and I looked at Nacht with slight scorn.

“What’s with those eyes?”

“Nothing. I didn’t know you two had such history. I feel sorry for Prince Licht now.”

“I-It couldn’t be helped! There’s this cheery first prince standing right here! If you suddenly favour me, the second prince, it’ll only stir up a commotion. Everything will be divided into two factions, and the whole country will break apart from the inside!”

“You’re being a pain at this point.”

   Following my jab, Nacht immediately stopped his torrent of words. It was clear I dealt lots of mental damage with that blow.

“Nacht…”

   Prince Licht lowered his brows as he gazed towards Nacht. And Nacht, who was reduced to an abandoned puppy at this point, had guilty tears welling up in his eyes.
   He let out a long sigh, gently grabbed Prince Licht’s hand, and lightly held onto it.

“I will definitely come back alive. I promise.”

   Prince Licht gave a slight nod after a long pause as Nacht’s firm gaze was met with his own.

   In the town where we stayed, we substituted ourselves with younger servants. Prince Licht, who was down like a wilted leaf, didn’t want to let go of Nacht during our departure, but Princess Julia had quickly guided him to the horse carriage.

   Once the royal carriage was out of sight, Nacht and I faced each other.

“Alright, what’s next?”

“Food and horses were already prepared for us… What’s left are the escorts, I believe.”

   We walked the streets while pulling on the horses’ reins.
   Before we left Grenze, I was fortunate to be able to prepare some goods and horses but didn’t have enough time to arrange for any escorts. If I had left a single knight here, it would arouse unwanted suspicion. But on the flip side, it was probably for the best because I didn’t know how much I could trust the locals either.

“I definitely want someone to protect me. I’m too weak alone and would probably be done for if a blow ever landed on me… But is a bodyguard something so easy to find?”

“If we check around the bars, there is bound to be one or two mercenaries lurking around…”

   I stopped talking as I gazed up at the rusty sign above.

“However, finding someone that meets the criteria is another matter entirely.”

   He must be able to keep his lips sealed and carry secrets.
   Definitely not someone associated with the Geisster family; they have to be an outsider.
   Someone who hadn’t caught wind of our situation and would only do as they’re told.
   Someone who didn’t care about the epidemic and would be willing to lend us a hand.

   Could we ever find someone like that overnight?

“Something that convenient, it’s impossible after all, huh…”

“It is rare to see you so helpless.”

“!?”

   I reflexively distanced myself to the man that whispered in my ear, causing me to strangle the reins.
   He was tall… and had a voice that belonged to a young man. His face couldn’t be seen due to the cloak he was wearing. I stroked my spooked horse along its belly to calm it down.

   At first, I thought it was one of Philipp’s men, though that wouldn’t make much sense.
   But if they recognised me as Johan von Wervard and had no less initiated a conversation, that meant they must have trailed after us all this time.
What are they after?

   As I stood confused, the man gently grabbed the mantle that covered his face and lifted it up. A part of his face unveiled.

“…!?”

   My suspicion was cleared in an instant.
   I instantly recognised who the man in front of me was, and my eyes widened in surprise.

 

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TN: Late Christmas present… Anyway, here’s a chapter. Our princess will come back in the next one.

EN: Nacht best boy!!! Even if he speaks alien half the fucking time! Join the discord today, we have a casino. Also, during the middle of the chapter, I couldn’t help but imagine this:

Discord: https://discord.gg/YzPvxqe