Dress na Boku ga Yangotonaki Katagata no Katei Kyoushi-sama na Kudan

Day of the marathon run compet.i.tion.

I had manufactured 3 dozens of "teru teru bozu" butapparently that was not enough. The sky was dark and overcast as if it wasabout to downpour while hot wind blew about the place; it was an undeterminablestate of weather.

The starting point of the race was situated at the entranceof the capital which was filled with partic.i.p.ating runners and on-lookingcheerers on both sides of the track. Guards putting up barrier ropes fought tokeep the onlookers from trespa.s.sing into the runway.

"Sigh, how repulsive! We are Princesses! Princesses shouldjust rest comfortably in a pure-white room, reading romance novels besidesvases of roses! That has been the rule for more than 3000 years! Humph!"

"That"s right! So right! We are so delicate and fragile, wemay even fall sick!"

Those pair of twin Princesses Sarasa and Orie were both cladin cutely embroidered skirt and baggy pants while stomping in displeasure. Theguards around hastily tried to appease them. I secretly thought that, withtheir energy and hyper-activeness, even running 4 rounds should be nothing forthem.

A far cry from Her energetic daughters was the Queen, whostood pale-faced and looking as if she would collapse even before the run hadbegun. She kept rubbing at her chest and breathing deeply.

Was Her Majesty really alright? Fortunately, there were manyguards around her, so should anything really happen, they would definitely takegood care of Her.

There were also guards around Prince Ryuuju who was activelyswinging his arms and stretching his legs in preparation, looking all normal. Iturned towards Princess Seira, who was also surrounded by guards, herexpression as usual.

What did those words that she said yesterday mean?

She said that if I was not Glinda, it was best that I didnot get close to Prince Ryuuju today… It was like the foretelling of a witch,how scary.

No, there was no time to think about such things.

A big bucket of drink was placed before the finishing pointand a mountain of bananas piled high beside it for partic.i.p.ants to help themselvesto.

Within the pockets of my waistcoat I had been carrying thetripod spikes laced with anaesthesia, the highly potent laxative, test-tube oflive wasps as well as the voodoo doll.

The only thing I could do now is to use this… I took out thepacket of laxative from my breast-pocket.

If I just spiked the bucket of drink and bananas, thepartic.i.p.ants would all have running stomachs and be unable to continue therace.

In the end, I still brought over all the illegal stuff thatHelmut pa.s.sed me! Waaaah! I couldn"t just do that~~~

But, if I did not get the top prize, the relationshipbetween Winstoria Empire and Eren Kingdom might become adversely affected…

In my anxiety, I peeled open a banana and sprinkled a littleof the powder on it.

The white powder vanished on the banana without a trace.

Uh… That way it would probably not be detectable. Oh, but itwould definitely be suspicious to peel open an entire pile of bananas, so Iguess spiking the bucket of drink would be better… Ahhhh! What was I turninginto?!?

Let"s just give up; there"s no joy in winning with suchmethods. I was a model citizen, not that venomous Count Ascano of Rubinia wholoved getting rid of his enemies with poison. As an extra, the Count seemed tohave died from choking on an oyster; a fitting death indeed.

 I was just about todestroy the spiked banana…

"Hey! Glinda!"

Jerome from the Knight Company appeared all of a sudden,clad in an eye-catching red cape.

"I would pay you back today for the humiliation you gave meon the training grounds! Have you forgotten our promise? If you lose, you wouldput on a pair of dog"s ears and bark "Arf! Woof! My Master!" Ha!"

"I-I don"t remember making any such promise (That"s justyour own sick interests! You pervert!)… Ah!"

Jerome s.n.a.t.c.hed the banana from my hand.

"You c.o.c.ky little la.s.s that get all conceited from just afew words of flattery! Watch me as I swallow you whole like this banana! Themain actor today would me! Buahahaha!"

Jerome took the banana and strode away with his cape flying suavelybehind him.

Was he really going to run with that cape wrapped around himlike that… Wait, he just ate the banana! That"s the banana with laxatives onit!

Helmut said that the laxative was so potent that its effectwould immediately show…

As I imagined what was going on within Jerome"s stomach,cold sweat began to rise from within.

"P-pretend not to know anything…"

I muttered while shifting my eyes away from the red capemoving away into the distance.

In the end, I ran out of options and the marathon run beganwithout any incidents.

A projectile-less cannon fired into the air, signalling thebeginning of the race, and the male compet.i.tion group began to run.

I was initially positioned among the frontline at thestarting point, but was immediately overrun by the flood of people from therear, fighting to even remain upright.

Pretty-boy Sir Jerome was initially positioned far behind mein the rear lines, but with a strange scream "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Stomach!My stomach!!!" he pushed aside the other runners and shot out wildly. Lookedlike the laxatives had taken effect.

"Ms Glinda, I would be going first then."

King Cecello greeted me briskly as he overtook me.

"It"s His Majesty!"

"Long live His Majesty!"

The surrounding crowd cheered.

"His Majesty is so handsome! So charming!"

There were also such fan-girl squeals around.

The King gave everyone a smile, attracting copious amountsof "Ah" and "Wow" among the crowds.

To the people of Eren, King Cecello was an existence on thelevel of a G.o.d. Pretty much hidden in behind the thick walls of the royalpalace at all times, the appearance of the legendary King of beauty runningbefore their very eyes caused some of the commoners among the watchers to grasptheir own hands in thanksgiving.

This race would certainly greatly raise the support for KingCecello and radically deify the descriptions of his beautiful outer appearanceamong the tabloids.

Me, on the other hand…

"Hey, why is there a girl among the men"s group?"

"Heard that Winstoria Empire"s Ms Glinda would also be inthe men"s group, but this girl"s probably someone else."

"Hoho, oh yes, it is said that Ms Glinda is a divine beautywho runs as fast as a deer."

"There"s no way that geniuses would run this slow. That girllooks cute, but doesn"t seem to create even a bit of impression and looks soordinary."

"Yes yes, Ms Glinda must have departed with a speed farbeyond what our commoners" eyes can detect."

"Hoho, that may actually be possible for a genius."

"Ms Glinda is so incredible!"

"Would we be able to see Ms Glinda during the awardceremony?"

"Definitely as beautiful as they say she is."

"Yeah, I mean, even His Majesty is more beautiful than thelegend says."

"But, if that girl isn"t Ms Glinda, who is she?"

"Probably just some confused girl who barged in on the men"sgroup."

"What, is that so, hahaha, Hang in there, Ms Confused Girl!"

Uwuuwuu… the idle chatter surrounding me broke my heart.

All this while, I continued to fall behind.

Even though I should at least try and recover some distance,I just could not gather my strength.

Everyone who pa.s.sed me by displayed a shocked expressionthat seemed to say "Why is Ms Glinda here?" and then outran me further.

The roads and buildings outside the city were all new and ingood conditions, just as the pathways had been cleaned to within the standardof developed civilizations. Every corner was also guarded   by a soldier.

But, I soon lost the interest in appreciating the sceneryaround.

I was panting hard and dizzy. My heart was beating as if itcould burst out of my chest.

Just how much further is the finishing line?

The track apparently extended from the city to the suburbs,going through the hills and returning back to the city and stopping before thecastle.

I panted with all my strength, finally running out of thecity and coming to a quiet plantation where even the breeze was cooler.

Fuu… Fuu… Midpoint at last…

I breathlessly bounced along a narrow path cutting thoughthe plantation.

There was n.o.body else around nearby. Did that mean I was thelast?

The soldiers standing guard watched my slow b.u.mbling stepsand were shocked.

"Ms Glinda is the last?!?"

"Could geniuses be last?"

What, geniuses" couldn"t possibly be last? ~~~ Outrageous!

Even if I were to use the anaesthetic-laced tripods Helmutpa.s.sed to me, there was n.o.body else behind me to step on them.

Not only that, by the time I reached the snaking bends inthe track, even the cheerers and guarding soldiers had disappeared.

Sigh, if only I could get attacked by a bear in the hills,so that I won"t have to run any longer.

That"s right! What the flying hippo was I running for? I wassweaty, dizzy and weary, but all for what? Would my running bring about worldpeace? Would it save all of humanity? Would it decrease tax? Would it makeHelmut uglier? Would I be able to grow at least some facial hair?

While I bemoaned my situation, a clatter of steps closed infrom nearby.

What? It seemed that there was still someone behind me.

But the footsteps seemed to be extraordinarily quick insuccession.

A breeze blew past in a "Wosh!".

A black-haired boy with tightened lips and stiffened faceran past my side.

Prince Ryuuju?

That"s to say, the women and children"s group had startedthe run, and I was even beaten by Prince Ryuuju who was at its head?

Nooooooo! To lose to even children!

I was supposed to be a man!... A man!

Recalling Helmut"s smiling face saying "This is a shame tothe Winstoria Empire", I truly just wanted to run into some disaster in thehills.

His Highness did not even turn to look at me, but ran aroundthe bend in the forest path in a breath.

There should have been bodyguards beside him, but he hadprobably outrun them all.

Hey! What"s the meaning of that? How could they just leavethe Prince alone unprotected? These irresponsible slowcoach tax thieves!

I ignored my own current situation while criticised others.

At that moment…

Masked men came out on both sides of the Prince.

These men did not seem to be friendly common folks no matterhow you looked at it. Could they be disguised guards? But no, the dangerous airabout them was chilling.

Those men covered Prince Ryuuju"s mouth and carried hissmall body into the thick woods.

Ruffles in plantation and struggles of the Prince vanishedinto the forest without a trace.

Huuuuuuuuuuuuuh?!?

Kidnapping?

I turned but could see no trace of the bodyguards.

Wwwwwwwhat should I do?

Should I run backwards for help?

But by the time I returned those people would have been gonefor long.

Gritting my teeth in the face of danger, I ran after PrinceRyuuju.

"Prince Ryuuju! Prince Ryuuju! Heeeeelp~~~ Prince Ryuuju hasbeen kidnapped~~~"

I screamed with all my strength while running through theforest.

Booohooo, please hear my cries, bodyguards who were on theirway! There was no way I could handle the kidnappers alone! Absolutely never!

As I fervently prayed, someone grabbed my mouth and draggedme from the rear.

"Uuuuu!"

I was captured and immobilized. Before me was Prince Ryuujuwho had been caught in the same situation by the group of masked men.

My body was frozen in fear.

Waaaaaah! Kidnappers~~~~ I"d been caught!~~~~

Prince Ryuuju had his mouth gagged and one arm restrained,but continued to struggle. He winced in angry surprise when he saw me, as if tosay "why are you here?". What choice did I have?

Noooooo! What would happen now?

As if to answer this question, the masked men started todiscuss among themselves.

"What should we do with this girl?"

"It would be trouble if she caused a ruckus. Take her withus?"

"No, that"s too troublesome, just rid of her."

W-wait! What were you saying!

As I almost dirtied my undies from fear, the man holdingonto Prince Ryuuju suddenly screamed.

"Ouch!"

His Highness had bitten the man"s hand.

The one restraining me was also stunned and loosened hisgrip somewhat, or maybe because he had thought me a woman, was careless.

I elbowed him in the guts with all my strength.

"Uuuoo!"

The man completely released me.

Now!

I had begun to rush forward, reaching within my breastpocket for the test-tube of wasps, opening it before the man in front.

The wasps flew forth from the opening of the test-tube,buzzing all over.

"Huah! What are these!"

Prince Ryuuju also stomped on the feet of the manrestraining him and escaped his grip.

"Hey! Wait!"

The men chased in a hurry, but I threw out the packet oflaxative powder.

The powder dispersed into a cloud of dust and we ran whilethe men fell into a coughing fit.

"Prince Ryuuju! Please run before me! Your legs are morenimble, please go run for help!"

"B-but!"

"Quick! Or we would both be caught!"

I sternly cried to the apprehensive Prince Ryuuju, thenturned and threw the tripods towards the pursuers.

"Whoa! What is it this time!?!"

The tripods struck the face and hands of the men, but maybedue to the cloth wrapped around their face and gloves, the anaesthetic laced onthe spikes was not effective.

"This b****! How dare you use such toys against us!"

Oh no! That seemed to have infuriated them!

A man unsheathed his sword and sliced at me from above.

I immediately took out the voodoo doll to block it, but thedoll was just sliced into half in one blow.

"Kyaaaaa!"

A shameless scream escaped my mouth.

The slice just now had sliced through my clothes in frontfrom my shoulder to just above my chest.

The cut on chest area was particularly deep. But for thethick layers of pads, I feared I had already suffered a mortal blow. Whenconsidering that, I felt cold even from the tips of my toes.

"Glinda!"

"Don"t come here!"

I had already told you to escape, so why were you runningback!

You were a prince! How could you not first look to your ownsafety!

"I"m alright! Please run!"

As if I could be alright! … I was being driven to death"sdoor by this group of men…

The sword sliced again.

If I were to die here, people would probably discover that Iwas male when they buried me, then everyone would probably say that Ms Glindawas a cross-dressing pervert…

As I thought about such things with unnatural calm…

 "Whoa!"

An arrow shot from nowhere and pierced the hand of the manabout to slice me through.

Soldiers who had been invisible thus far somehow surroundedus without our notice.

Sword-wielding bodyguards were also standing at guard infront of Prince Ryuuju.

"Ms Glinda! Are you alright?"

"Uuuoh… I-i guess…"

The soldiers beat back the kidnappers in an instant, andcaptured them.

Could this be the effect of the voodoo doll? I glanced atthe beheaded voodoo doll with a complicated expression.

M-maybe I should go get exorcised afterwards… L-Let"s get upfirst.

"Our utmost apologies for arriving this late, YourHighness!"

"Am I the only one being attacked? Is Lord Father alright?How about Queen Mother? And my little sisters?"

Prince Ryuuju asked in worry.

"Please ease your worries. Their Majesties and Highnessesare all safe. Apparently this group here have been targeting Your Highnessright from the beginning. But even though we have already caught wind of it, westill let Your Highness fall into danger. It is completely our responsibility."

Prince Ryuuju finally relaxed his shoulders.

"That… Lord Father and the others are alright…"

He mumbled in relief - then, jumped in hindsight.

"Right! I have not reached the finishing line yet! I mustcontinue the run!"

Having just encountered such a fearsome experience, he wasready to immediately return to the compet.i.tion.

What a strong willpower, even I was collapsed on the ground,my legs so weakened that I could hardly stand.

But, maybe it was due to his twisting his ankle in theescape, Prince Ryuuju suddenly scrunched up his face and grabbed at his ownfoot.

"Your Highness is in no state to continue the run."

The bodyguards tried to persuade him.

"No! Members of the royalty should be examples for thecommon-folks! If I were to give up half-way there is no way I would be fit torepresent the country! Everyone would also worry about having such a weak futureruler!"

Prince Ryuuju stood up, determined to continue the race.

But he twisted his expression immediately.

Even so, he gritted his teeth, and sweating profusely,dragged his feet onwards.

Sigh, so frustrating, what a stubborn child.

The soldiers looked at each other helplessly.

If the duty of royalty was to reach the goal no matter howdifficult it was, and to smile waving at the common citizen no matter howpainful it was, a spineless guy like me could probably never be a king ever.

If he did not have any support right now, he might not evenbe able to stand up.

Even if I was just a weak commoner and a lazy b.u.m whose onlyforte was to flip newspaper or history stories while criticising famous people,there was no way I could just at the side while watching someone else hard atwork.

How troublesome.

I walked towards Prince Ryuuju, barring his way.

His Higness glared at me.

"Glinda… You can"t stop me, let me pa.s.s."

"Don"t look down on a little foot injury. What if you can nolonger walk for the rest of your life?"

"H-how could that be…"

"Could you say that it will never happen?"

Maybe due to my fierce tone, Prince Ryuuju could not utterany word.

Perhaps due to just having escaped from a near-deathsituation, my words were free of fear or apprehension, be it in the face ofkings or princes.

"Earlier Your Highness ignored my warning and came back. Ifthe soldiers had not shown up on time, you might even have been sold to foreigncountries before you can succeed the throne, or even died! So you have to obeyme this time!"

Prince Ryuuju widened his eyes as I grabbed his hands andpulled them around my neck.

"W-what the… are you doing, Glinda."

"I will piggy-back you and run."

"What did you say!"

I gave a little "Heeve-Hoo" and supported his small b.u.m.

"Hey! Let me go! Glinda! This is so embarra.s.sing! To bepiggy-backed to the finishing line by a woman is so shameful! I would ratherbite my tongue and die!"

I scolded loudly at the struggling Prince Ryuuju.

"As the heir-to-the-throne, how can you say you would giveup your life so easily!"

His Highness gave a little jump on my back, and even thesurrounding bodyguards nearby stopped.

"Stop throwing tantrums, you little kid who has no idea ofthe dangers in this big wide world! A really great man would fight to live onno matter how great the pain or the shame! That"s called responsibility to thepeople! Besides, even the king does not rule the country alone! As a king youmust know how to use the help of other people! n.o.body ever said that kings areomnipotent! So stop trying to do every single thing on your own!"

Prince Ryuuju stopped struggling.

He slowly gripped my neck, hugging my back so that I couldfeel the body warmth of the little child.

"Good! You just sit tight like an heir-to-the-throne andride on my back at leisure!"

I began to run.

After saying such audacious lines of words, I couldn"tpossibly run slower than a tortoise now, could I?

Thankfully, in my adrenaline rush, I had forgotten thetiredness.

I galloped madly like a race horse.

Maybe we had been delayed so much by the kidnappingincident, there were few runners left in sight.

Panting deeply, I strode right on the centre of the runningtrack.

"Huh? Glinda! What are you doing?"

Among the race-watching crowds, a voice that sounded likeAnneth called.

The other watchers looked too in our direction andexclaimed.

"Isn"t that His Highness, Prince Ryuuju?"

"That"s right! It"s His Highness who has been running at thefront just earlier! What happened?"

"Who is that girl giving him a piggy-back? What marvellousstrength!"

"Whoa! Those eyes are blazing! Even her nostrils are fuming!Even if she is obviously just a girl, her hair is unkempt, clothes torn, andflames seem to be bursting forth from her rear!"

"It"s Ms Glinda! That omnipotent genius!"

"What did you say? That"s Ms Glinda?"

"No wonder she looks so different from normal! Those eyesare just like she"s been possessed!"

"I heard from someone that Prince Ryuuju had been attackedby bandits in the middle of the race just now!"

"No way! I heard it was kidnappers, not bandits!"

"Huh? Huh? What"s going on?"

"I heard that Ms Glinda suddenly showed up in the nick oftime and defeated a large band of sword-wielding kidnappers bare-handed!"

"Terrific! As expected of a genius!"

Everyone began to clap vigorously to cheer.

I focused on prancing towards the finishing line.

Where was it? Where was the finishing line?

My legs and heart could no longer take it. Due to the tearin my clothes, the situation on my chest was deplorable. The voodoo doll peekedits head out, and several layers of pads had fallen down onto my waist.

Sigh! Were we there yet?

"Glinda!"

"Big Bro Ryuuju!"

The frames of twin princesses stood in the front.

The pair of them each gripped an end of a rose-colouredribbon, probably tied together from the ribbons on their own hair.

They waved vigorously towards us.

"Just a little longer! Glinda! Big Bro Ryuuju!"

"Fight!"

At the side of Princess Sarasa was the blissful lookingQueen. So too was the gently-smiling King, with the toddler Princess Suzuna. YoungPrince Shin and even the mature-eyed Princess Seira awaited us at the endingpoint.

The rose-coloured ribbon touched my hips and flew into theair.

Princess Seira widened her eyes, quietly watching.

Thunderous applause and cheering filled the air as thecrowds wildly called the names of Glinda and Prince Ryuuju.

The royal family surrounded me who had just run past thefinishing line.

"Ohhhhhh! Teacher Glinda, thank you so much for rescuingRyuuju! Ryuuju, I am so glad that you are alright!"

Her Majesty hugged His Highness tightly with tears in Hereyes.

"Sorry, Queen Mother, for causing You so much worry."

Prince Ryuuju also fell into his Mother"s chest.

"Lady Glinda, you have rescued the heir-to-the-throne, andis a benefactor to the Kingdom of Eren."

King Cecello"s line drove the crowd frantic with excitement.

"Lady Glinda has known all along that His Highness would bekidnapped, so slowed down on purpose!"

"As expected of the omnipotent Genius!"

 "Lady Glinda is thetrue winner of the marathon race!"

"That"s right! Only Lady Glinda has the right to the goldcup top prize!"

Someone carried over the glittering gold cup prize, but Ibecame embarra.s.sed and humbly said.

"No way, that"s too unfair to the top runner. Right, whohappened to be the top runner?"

As I looked from side to side, a breeze blew past.

And tragedy fell that instant.

I had kept running while piggy-backing someone even thoughmy clothes had been sliced open, and now this wind was all it took to open upthe torn clothes like a double-door!

As if that was not enough, the entire set of clothes felloff from shoulders downwards.

Cha…

A falling sound, and the things covering the upper-half ofmy body as well as the voodoo doll fell at my feet. Before the staring eyes ofthe present crowd, my half-naked body stood frozen.

I stood mystified, still not realising what had justhappened.

Huh? Feels… Strange? What was this cooling sensation?...

Everyone stared at me in shock with expressions screaming"Unbelievable! How could it be so!"

The courtyard was deadly silent, and after a glancedownwards, I let out a "KYAAAAAAAAAAAA" piercing scream, hugging my bare upperbody with both arms.

Wwwwwwwwwwwwhat should I do? I"d been seen… completelyuncovered~~~~~

And it had to be before so many people! Ahhhhhhhhh!Uwuuuwuuu…. I was finished, my male ident.i.ty exposed. Gone, I would soon bedragged off and executed!

I felt dizzy and my entire face; cheeks, temple and evenneck blew, up in a fiery colour.

It was this instant that a cool quiet voice broke the silence.

"Teacher, your important breast pads had fallen off."

Princess Seira picked up the pad that had fallen on theground and handed it to me calmly.

"The other pads had probably fallen off while you wereprotecting Elder Brother Ryuuju. There should be at least 5 pieces of them."

The monotonous voice steadily continued.

"Urg… T-that..."

The surrounding crowd blew up in commotion.

"5 layers of breast pads! So that is the reason! Ms Glindais a completely flat chested lady who needs a huge pile of padding!"

"It is true that the size is ridiculously small. At thatlevel, she really needs 5 pairs."

"Muah, it"s almost as flat as a man"s."

"Ohoohoohoo! So that"s what a super washing board lookslike!"

"I see, so 5 pairs of breast pads, huh. Ahahahaha."

T-these fellows! How dared they to laugh so loudly afterseeing another"s chest!

Princesses Sarasa and Orie also said with tears in theireyes.

"Poor Glinda."

"To be this flat even after p.u.b.erty."

Her Majesty quickly took off her own overcoat and covered mybody in it, consoling.

"Ara, ara, don"t take it to heart, Glinda. Nowadays, manymen also prefer them flatter."

Even His Majesty vigorously added.

"Even if Ms Glinda does not have full-rounded b.r.e.a.s.t.s, shepossesses an intelligent head."

But, the corners of His lips seemed to be twitching as if tokeep from laughing.

Afterwards, due to His Highness Prince Ryuuju fainting froma rush of blood from his bleeding nose, a huge commotion ensued…

As the situation settled down, I accepted the gold cup awardfrom the hands of King Cecello under the warm claps and cheers of everyone.

Everyone snickered at me who was hugging the huge trophy.

"I see, so that"s a washing board."

"So that"s a runway."

"Hoo! I can totally see it clearly! Really completely flat!"

"So even geniuses have weaknesses!"

Hearing such whispered gossips, I could only lower myflushed head.

For the record, the first one who reached the finishing linewas Sir Jerome of the knight company, who had beaten everyone else by a farmargin.

All while screaming "It"s coming ouuuuuut~~~", he ran out ofsight and vanished without a trace even until the closing ceremony. He wasdisqualified as relinquishing the top place, and it was granted to me due tothe special occasion.

"Humph! d.a.m.ned flat-chested girl!"

Chief Minister Gaston angrily murmured… how scary.

Hoho, at least n.o.body had discovered that I was male.

The day after, tabloids all over the world flashed theheadlines: " Genius Ms Glinda an astonishing flat-chest!", "Ms Glinda"s chestwas in fact two little red peas!".

Being able to rub some blemish upon Glinda"s utterly perfectrecord, I was actually a little pleased with myself. But once I considered thepossibility of Glinda knowing about my being stripped half-naked in full viewof crowds right in the centre of the capital, causing her to be reported aslittle chick-peas, I flinch to imagine her fury.

Besides that, even though the masterminds behind thekidnapping incident had been caught, there was still something that continuedto bug me.

To verify my doubts, one afternoon after lessons were over,I went to seek an audience with His Majesty, King Cecello.

Epilogue: Glinda Dolye"s deductions

"You said that you have something you would like to discusswith me in private, so what is it about, Ms Glinda?"

After dismissing the people around, the beautiful kingshined me a sparklingly lovely smile and asked.

The mere sight of it was enough to drive my weak heartracing non-stop, but I must clarify this no matter what happened, so I lookedstraight into the eyes of His Majesty.

"Your Majesty, were You the one who was responsible for thekidnapping incident of His Highness Prince Ryuuju?"

I actually said it!

Even though my heart was beating like a drum from thenerves, I had burned my bridges.

King Cecello gently narrowed his eyes.

"Oh?"

He murmured.

"Why would you think so?"

King Cecello stared straight into me, enquiring gently, butI could feel an immense sense of pressure from it, and the tense air almostimpaled my skin.

"Eren Kingdom discarded her policy of isolation not morethan a decade ago, and the capital is apparently at peace right now, but I haveheard that outside of it, there remained some pockets of resistance supportingthe previous king belonging to the faction of isolation. It is still toodangerous for royalty to casually partic.i.p.ate in a marathon race open to publicat this time, and in fact, many top officials are of the same opinion.

But from another point of view, this is also a goodopportunity to investigate suspicious people from outside the capital, teardown old buildings, repair the roads and bridges, and demonstrate to thecitizens as well as foreign countries that the Eren Kingdom is both peacefuland culturally advanced - Your Majesty"s wisdom obviously saw through all that?"

While I ran outside of the capital, I could see that theroads and buildings all around were new and in excellent conditions, and thecommoners were also joyfully cheering for the racers.

"Through this race, the citizens would definitely improvetheir opinion of the royal family. But among them, there would definitely be peoplewho do not feel that way and may even pose a danger. These are all things thatYour Majesty would have already foreseen."

Of course, if investigations were made in the name of publicsecurity for the sake of the race, a portion of suspicious elements woulddefinitely be uncovered, for example, the remnants of the isolation faction whoopposed King Cecello"s policy.

What would happen if they were to be forced into a corner?What actions would they take?

"To steal into the palace and attempt to kidnap ora.s.sa.s.sinate royalty is an extremely difficult task, but in a marathon race opento public, the chance of success would definitely be much higher.

Who would they have their sights on?

Laying hands on the legendary and experienced king woulddefinitely be hard, so the target has to be weaker than His Majesty, but also aprominent member of the royal family… that is the representative of the policyof opening up the country, Her Majesty who is Herself a foreigner, and theheir-apparent His Highness Prince Ryuuju.

These two are the obvious targets."

His Majesty"s lips maintained its smile.

His beautiful face of national treasure fame betrayed nohint of any shadow, looking serenely at me.

~~If you are not Ms Glinda, in tomorrow"s race, don"t getclose to Elder Brother Ryuuju.

Princess Seira had told me indifferently before.

Did that child realise the truth even beforehand?

I added strongly.

"Your Majesty knew right from the start, and so arranged fora wall of armed guards to surround Her Majesty, even the Princesses wereheavily guarded.

But, the one who ought to be protected the most, HisHighness Prince Ryuuju, was all alone.

There is no way that adults cannot catch up to a child, andthis is almost an obvious ploy to tempt the enemies into kidnapping him at theabandoned paths… And also, the appearance of the rescuers was too coincidental,I deduce that Your Majesty have ordered them to observe from afar right fromthe beginning."

King Cecello said as if nothing had happened.

"As expected, there"s no way I can escape the sharp eyes ofMs Glinda."

His tone held even a trace of elation.

I angrily yelled.

"Stop joking around! How could you have used your own son asbait!"

At this moment, I could care less about the opposite beingthe king of an allied country.

This was not something that a father should be doing withhis child, not to mention that there was hardly a trace of regret in him.

At this, King Cecello"s expression altered.

The original gentle smile tightened, and His eyes let out apiercing light.

"I have no intention of letting Ryuuju become a useless king."

His manner of speech suddenly turned very serious.

"I wish that Ryuuju will sooner turn into a good king thatcan succeed me and not one that can only rely on the protection of others. Iwant him to be capable of thinking for himself, choosing and acting, to becomea real king that has the power to protect others, and for this, he must beallowed to encounter all kinds of experiences. Merely staying sheltered in thenursery is not going to develop any strong heart in him."

"But, His Higness Prince Ryuuju is merely eleven! What ifsomething unexpected is to …"

"Nothing unexpected will happen."

King Cecello displayed a proud and confident look and a.s.serted.

He did not holler, nor had he waved his sword around.

Just one short sentence was sufficient to send trembles upmy spine and render me speechless.

"A kingdom must not lose its heir or I too will be troubled.Besides I love my children very much, but most importantly, if Ryuuju were torun into some problems, the Queen would definitely become saddened, and I willabsolutely not do anything that may cause Her to cry. So, unexpected will happen."

An incomparable confidence.

Unshakable willpower.

Nothing like the behaviour of a typical father of thisworld.

His Laws; only the things that He believed could be thetruth.

My hands were covered in cold sweat.

Even though His words were illogical, I had no means of reb.u.t.ting.

What was there to rebut against someone with completelydifferent sense of morals and values? King Cecello might be of the same speciesas Glinda.

"That"s right, Ms Glinda, someone as intelligent as youshould also understand, that these words should not get out of this place, and especiallynot enter the ears of Her Majesty. If you were to tell Her…"

Cold eyes stared into me, and I was completely frozen overby it.

The King Cecello now might be known as a G.o.d-like Hero, theBlue Sky-Drake King, but when he was still the previous king"s younger brother fromdifferent mothers and living in exile in an isolated dilapidated castle far fromthe capital, he had another name…

That"s right, I had read of it in an edition of the "Privatestories of World"s Royalty".

While he was still a prince, due to his icy-cold beauty, andcruel, unpredictable nature, everyone had called him the "Sky Blue Demon" infear…

Wwwwwwwhat should I do? How could I have tried to challengethis kind of man?

I was suddenly paralysed in fear.

"Ho. What is it, Ms Glinda?"

King Cecello walked over with an elegant smile.

T-this smile was sooo scaaarrry!

"Taking this opportunity, Ms Glinda, would you mind teachingme as well?"

Uwwwaaaahhhh~~~~~~

Just as the King"s face closed in and my heart beganscreaming in fear…

"Is Teacher Glinda here?"

A clear voice came in, and Princess Seira appeared.

The Princess slowly approached towards me, and lookingtowards her Father, said

"Lord Father, I would like to discuss with Teacher Glinda a mathematicalthesis of Professor Muden from the Winstoria Empire, may I borrow Teacher for awhile?"

Her words were calm, but were also longer than usual.

King Cecello gave a surprised smile.

"Ho? It looks as if Seira likes Ms Glinda a lot."

"That"s right. Teacher Glinda has taught me many helpfulthings."

"Is that so. Then, Ms Glinda, please go accompany Seira."

"W-w-w-w-with pleasure!"

Princess Seira slowly walked back towards the entrance,while I hastily followed.

"Fuuee… saved!"

Past the corridors and coming into the courtyard, I couldfinally let out a breath.

"Oh, that, regarding that professor something"s thesis, I amreally sorry, but I had no…"

"… I know."

Princess Seira said in a flat voice.

"Huh?"

I was struck by surprise.

"Did you pull me out on purpose?"

Did she just rescue me from the scene earlier?

Her Highness was silent.

When she entered the room, I was unable to hear any sound ofthe door opening, so maybe she had been eavesdropping on King Cecello and I frombehind the door all along.

She had warned me too, not to get too close to Prince Ryuujuon the day of the race.

When my clothes fell apart, the one who helped me pick upthe pads and distract the topic was also her.

"That, you said earlier that if I am "not Glinda", I shouldavoid getting to close to Prince Ryuuju, what was that supposed to mean?"

"… Because you seemed to have no means of responding toemergencies then, but I seemed to have underestimated you, sorry."

Her voice was as emotionless as usual.

"Uh, no, there"s no reason for your Highness to apologise. Ishould be the one thanking you instead. But for your aid in picking up my pads,everyone may have already discovered that I am male. But, about His Majesty"splans, did you also…"

I was about to say "did you also know about them?", whencold little hand stretched out and covered my mouth like white snow fallingonto my lips, giving a soft sensation.

The 9 year old girl"s small fingers were soft and her facewhich was looking at me was small and delicate with smooth glistening pallor. Beneathher long lashes, a pair of translucent amethyst eyes appraised me quietly.

Cherry-coloured lips gently parted.

 "…If you value yourlife, say no further. Lord Father may love His wife and care for his children,but is cold and ruthless man."

These words that sounded nothing like a child"s frightenedme. Ohoh, she had really been coming to my rescue earlier.

Even during the race earlier, or when I was facing off SirJerome…

My heartbeat sped up, and said hopefully.

"I understand, I won"t say anything… Would… Would you also helpme keep my secret?"

Princess Seira should probably say "Yes" right?

Despite her cold emotionless appearance, she was actuallypretty friendly.

But…

"I might consider it…"

She said nonchalantly.

Uh… Wha?

The pair of purple crystal eyes silently looked at me whowas frozen by surprise.

"You , you are ."

The words that came forth from those delicate lips sentchills down my back.

"But…"

A trace of conflict floated in her cold eyes.

"Even though you it, you still rescuedElder Brother Ryuuju, and even interrogated Lord Father. n.o.body has ever donethose things before, so I would give you a chance."

Give me a chance?

I held back my breath, my neck and temple covered in coldsweat as I listened to this 9 year old girl p.r.o.nounced her judgement like theG.o.ddess of fate.

"If you can guess what I desire, I will not tell anyone elsethat Glinda is an imposter."