Chapter 78
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ED: LonelyMatter
Chapter 78 – Telling Tale
Leonard-kun! Let’s play! I’m sure it would be fun.
That night, Ain thought about such a thing while taking a bath. As expected, it was too ridiculous to put into practice, so it would probably not be done. But if he only wanted to imagine it, he was free to do so.
Come to think of it, this was the first time Ain had been to a friend’s house. He had visited August Trading Company several times. But was Krone a friend? In this respect, he couldn’t help but feel that it’s different from the framework of a friend.
——Well, when Ain thought about such a thing in a casual way. Leonard… There was a small commotion in the Forss’ mansion.
“Say that again. I hope I heard it wrong.”
Albert Forss, the current head of the Forss family and father of Leonard. He was also the head of the legal department. He returned home today as usual after finishing his work at the legal department. …It was supposed to be that way, but as soon as he got home, that normality ended immediately.
“Father. I have informed you that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will be visiting our mansion… on the next holiday.”
For a moment, Albert wanted to reprimand his son, feeling that this was too rude to be a joke. But looking at his son’s face, he understood that there was a situation.
“Tell me more about what’s going on. It’s so sudden, I don’t understand.”
The father calmly handled such a sudden situation. To Leonard, he was the ideal adult figure.
From the inside, however, Albert felt more of a sense of abandonment. That was why he revealed his seemingly calm demeanor in this manner.
“Have you heard about the school’s social studies field trip?”
“I know about it. It’s to be held next month… What about it?”
“The Prime Minister has kindly allowed us to visit the facilities within the castle gates.”
Albert heard this and guessed many things. Finally, a big crack appeared in his mentality.
“…I didn’t know that even the Prime Minister was involved… Leonard, what did you do?”
“I-I haven’t done anything…! It’s just a token of appreciation for the monster training.”
“I-I see… If that were the case, there would be no way for you to refuse. Besides, it would be a great experience.”
Albert mumbled to himself. …He felt like he was dreaming for a moment.
“I’m sorry about that. You look like how I felt during the day, Father.”
They both sipped the tea that had been prepared for them and took a deep breath.
“I decided to lend Roland some of my clothes for the visit. At first, Roland was only coming to our mansion, but then everyone decided that we should deepen our friendship.”
“So why this house… it is not a suitable place to invite His Royal Highness the Crown Prince…”
“But if I tell you that, you will not be able to back out, Father, will you?”
Seeing his son’s eyes that could do nothing but give up, Albert sighed heavily and then asked.
“Tell me.”
“Actually… in the end, it is also the wish of His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Ah, I see. You cannot refuse.” Seeing his father nod so sincerely, Leonard also agreed.
“What about Marl?”
“Mother left the mansion a few hours ago, saying she would make arrangements for the cook and other necessary matters.”
“As expected. This is something the d.u.c.h.ess should see for herself… Marl’s judgment is correct.”
Normally, even if they invited a n.o.bleman, it was always the last thing they would check with their own eyes. But this time was different. After all, the Crown Prince was coming.
Even if it was an informal friendship between children, he was not a person to be treated with disrespect.
“His Highness said something like, ‘Let’s play casually in Leonard’s room."”
“In other words, His Highness the Crown Prince wants you to be his host. Really… it’s the first time our family has had the pleasure of hosting the Crown Prince. You have surpa.s.sed your father, haven’t you?”
“I-I knew it; I’m going to be the host after all.”
For Ain, who was now sitting in the bathtub, he was really in the spirit of “Don’t mind me,” but it doesn’t work that way. In the end, no matter how hard he tried, the fact that Ain was the Crown Prince followed him everywhere he went, no matter what he did.
Ain would learn that from this case… He should.
＊＊＊
Ain was on his way to the Forss mansion with two of his friends. The weather was just right today, not too hot. Dill was not with him today as an escort, but some secret agents would be following him at a distance. That’s what Warren told him.
“Butz. What kind of meat is that?”
“White bison, my father hunted it himself.”
“Oh, that. That’s delicious, isn’t it?”
Butz brought some meat as a souvenir, just as he had explained. Roland, by the way, brought Leonard’s magic tool, which he had repaired, as a souvenir.
…And Ain, the big shot, took the souvenir out of his chest pocket.
“I’m bringing this. I was wondering what to do for my souvenir, and this is what they gave me.”
“A-a souvenir…? It’s just an envelope, right?”
“Ain-sama. What is it? It looks like just an envelope to me, too…”
By the way, it was Warren who gave it to him. Warren told him that he could not have brought a better souvenir for Albert, the head of the house, so he brought this one.
“Duke Albert is investigating the fraudulent records of a certain n.o.bleman. Warren-san gave it to him as a special gift for this one time.”
“You shouldn’t bring such a dangerous thing as a souvenir…”
“I don’t know, but it’s on a different scale…”
When did he really start dealing with all this stuff? Perhaps the person in this country who should not be offended the most is Warren.
“Honestly, I was wondering if this was a good idea for a souvenir. But if it makes the head of the house, Duke Albert, happy, then I guess it’s okay.”
It just happened to be something Warren had found in the matter he was investigating. He decided to use it as a souvenir because he thought it would be a good opportunity.
“Well, that’s fine. Now… I see it; that’s Leonard’s mansion.”
They met at the White Rose and walked about 10 minutes from there. Finally, they arrived at the Duke of Forss’ mansion. The exterior of the mansion was made of solid stone, with beige as the base color. The symmetrical, immaculate, and stately structure gave the impression of the Forss family, which was part of the legal department.
As a ducal family, they naturally had a large estate in the royal capital, and the mansion was both austere and artistic. There was still some distance to the main gate, but even so, the quality of the mansion could be seen from here.
“Hey? Isn’t it an amazing mansion? Even though Ain is coming, why doesn’t he be a little more imposing?”
“Bu-Butz… I think Leonard is probably referring to ‘status.’ It is difficult unless you are a n.o.bleman from a royal family, like the occasional Grand Duke.”
For example, when a woman from a royal family becomes a bride or a man leaves as a spouse… The existence of Grand Dukes was created in such cases. If that was the case, it would not be a big problem as far as rank was concerned.
“Let’s go inside instead of talking about the problem.”
Ain wanted to go inside as soon as possible after arriving at the place.
“No, you are the cause… You are the problem here, Ain…”
“Being free is nothing new… Sigh. Let’s go then.”
Following the carefree Ain, the two headed for the main gate of the Forss mansion.
——Leonard was there, looking a bit tired already. Next to him, a woman who seemed to be his mother and the servants were lined up, waiting for Ain’s arrival.
＊＊＊
“I wish they didn’t make such a big deal.”
He knew that. After all, it was for his sake that they had such a welcome. But when he thought about the people around him, he also thought that it didn’t have to be such a big deal…
“Your Highness… As expected, no welcome is not a good idea.”
“Leonard alone is enough…”
“That’s impossible.”
Leonard sighed deeply. Roland and Butz also smiled bitterly when they saw Leonard.
“Leonard. There is no point in telling Ain any more about it.”
“That’s right, why don’t you just give up?”
“…..”
Butz and Roland, their follow-ups must have reached Leonard’s ears. But Leonard was silent, holding his head. He was torn between giving up trying to convince Ain or not.
“But it’s a nice room, Leonard.”
Ain looked around the room he was in. The interior was wooden, with brown furniture. The red and gold threaded carpet was inviting and quite comfortable to walk on. In a word, it was a relaxing room.
Hearing these words, Leonard finally raised his head and looked at Ain.
“I’m glad to hear that, Your Highness…. I was actually worried.”
Yesterday, a meticulous cleaning was done from morning to night. It was cleaned so meticulously that it was difficult to find any trash. The room was clean to begin with, but today, it was even more so.
“Speaking of which… Oh, I’m sorry to keep changing the subject, but… I thought Leonard’s mother was really impressive earlier.”
“Hmm? Roland, what exactly do you mean by that?”
Relaxing on the sofa, Roland began to talk about what he thought when they were greeted by the Forss family. Leonard was also curious about the sudden mention of his mother.
“No. As expected of the madam of a ducal family, while Leonard was a bit fidgety, Madam Forss was so calm and collected.”
“F-fidgety… I see. So I’m fidgety, huh…”
He must have been nervous and worried. When they met him, he was not only a little nervous but also very uncomfortable. The only thing was that besides Leonard, there was Marl, the madam of the Forss family, and his mother. It was impressive that she calmly said, “Welcome, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“O-oh. Come to think of it, you were really fidgety, weren’t you?”
“S-shut up! It can’t be helped! It’s just for today… Good grief.”
Seeing Leonard finally becoming more natural brought a smile to Ain’s face. There was no denying that he played a little too much, but there was also no denying that he had fun.
“(Hmm. I think a lot of women in Ishtalika are strong women.)”
He thought of all the women in Ishtalika, including his own family.
For example, Laralua and Olivia. Both were smart and determined and could be considered outstanding women. And Chris was also one of the strongest with a sword.
…Well, it’s a fine line, but let’s add Katima to the list. Katima was an intelligent and hardworking woman. Just a few screws and foundations in her head that got blown off somewhere. Yeah, that’s all there was to it.
——Krone, who served as his a.s.sistant, was excluded because she was born in Heim.
“Your Highness, as soon as the tea and other preparations are finished, I will show you a little fashion show.”
“Fashion show…?”
Leonard opened his mouth and began to speak as if he had just realized something. What kind of fashion show are they going to put on here? The question kept popping into Ain’s head.
“Yes. We could do something like that with Roland as a model.”
“W-wait a minute, Leonard! Why? Why all of a sudden?”
“In return for lending you my clothes! Roland should taste what I’m going through! How dare you call me ‘fidgety’?”
“Fidgety.” It was not necessary to hear the entire story to understand that these words were the trigger. As for Leonard, he had already begun to use Roland to amuse himself in various ways.
In a word, he was “blown away.”
“Roland…”
“A-Ain-sama? As expected, you don’t want to see it, do you?”
Roland approached Ain, who mumbled as if asking for help. But the result was ruthless.
“I think that’s a good idea.”
“Alright, Roland, do your best because Ain and I will be guests here!”
In this way, the four of them seemed to be nothing more than a couple of students having some fun together. The Crown Prince’s appearance like this could only be seen between close friends.
——It was often said that the mouth was the source of misfortune, and Roland would have been able to borrow the clothes honestly if he had not said ‘Fidgety.’ The fun and games at Leonard’s mansion ended with a ruckus.
＊＊＊
“Krone-dono. Here is the breakdown of next month’s social studies field trip for Ain-sama.”
“Thank you. Warren-sama.”
Krone’s office was set up in the castle. It was unusual for someone of her age to have a private office, but considering her position as the Crown Prince’s a.s.sistant, it was not at all unusual.
While Ain was amusing himself with his foolishness, she quietly went about her business in the castle.
Warren was in the middle of a small meeting with Krone with a few of his men in tow.
“…Then they will tour all the outdoor facilities, including the training grounds?”
“That would be the case. By the way, even though it is outdoors, please keep the courtyard and other areas off limits, as you will be going through the door once.”
“Understood.”
Speaking of authority, Warren’s signature alone would be enough to complete all business.
But the goal was to reduce errors by going through other heavyweights and, as in this case, Krone.
In essence, he makes sure that important projects always go through several people.
“It may be a ha.s.sle, but His Highness will be going to the Academy that day, won’t he?”
“Indeed. It’s a rule, so I must ask for your cooperation on this occasion.”
“There is no need to make special exceptions for something like this. …So as soon as the tour is over, we’ll disperse there?”
Krone went through the confirmation process as she looked over the doc.u.ments handed to her. Her signature was filled in where she completed the confirmation.
“The tour is scheduled to end in the afternoon, and after that, there will be other plans for Ain-sama as well.”
“I didn’t hear that; what in the world is the schedule?”
“It has just been decided. Majolica-dono is coming to the castle, and we want him to take a look at the matter of the magic stone.”
The simplest sealing work had already been done, but this time, it was a matter concerning a lot of other things, so a strict sealing device would be set up. This was the reason why Ain should be present.
This had only been decided a few days ago, and Krone had never heard of it before.
“Is there a problem with the danger? And I don’t understand the necessity of His Highness’ presence…”
“The danger is almost nonexistent. We have carried it with him from Ist once in the past along with Chris-dono. We wanted to give him a chance to see what it is like to be there.”
“Then there is no need for him to be present. His Highness can experience it on another occasion with another magic stone. I think it’s better if we don’t bother to create an opportunity for him to come in contact with this thing. If there is still some danger, so much the better.”
Warren’s subordinates were dazzled by the way Krone expressed her opinions without backing down, even though she was dealing with Warren. She was so open with her thoughts and would correct any problems, even if they were her bosses.
Krone’s reputation had always been high, but seeing her show this side of her, her rating went even higher.
“…Fufu. I’m sure you’re right, Krone-dono.”
“Good heavens… Warren-sama? It’s not good if you try it like that.”
“It’s one of the small pleasures of old age… No, I’m sorry.”
He was a competent mentor, but you could never be too careful with him because sometimes he messed with you like this. That’s Warren.
“So, what are your plans?”
“Let me explain. So… you people can leave the room.”
When Warren answered with the real plan, he asked his men to leave the room. Krone, seeing this, also tightened her grip on the situation.
“Some things have been decided, and I wanted to talk to you about the Baltic investigation. I would like to ask for your time.”
“I understand. Then we will arrange our schedule that way.”
“I apologize for the inconvenience.”
Since he said several things, it was probably not final yet. …But Krone was aware of it. As an a.s.sistant, she had been at Ain’s side and understood how difficult it was for him.
Especially recently, there have been a lot of problems, including the one with Heim.
“I have included it in our schedule. Is this all for this request?”
After signing the doc.u.ment, she handed it to Warren. Warren also checked the contents of the doc.u.ment, smiled, and replied.
“Yes, that’s fine. I apologize for taking up so much of your time.”
“No, no. It’s only natural, it’s for His Highness.”
Warren stroked his beard and began to think.
“Warren-sama?”
“We’re going to take a short break now. I have an interesting story to tell you, Krone-dono.”
My goodness, something has started again. Krone thought so. When Warren says something like that, it’s either something interesting or something serious.
She had learned that the hard way when she had begged him to teach her.
“Uh, what is it…?”
“No, nothing. Ain-sama seems to be having a hard time. Did you hear about it?”
“Y-yes, of course… Ain told me about it.”
After being told to take a break, Krone started calling him Ain since Warren’s subordinates were not present.
“Something interesting happened back then. I wonder if you would be interested?”
In other words, he must be talking about Ain. Thinking about it, there was no way that Krone had not heard about it…
“Sounds like fun. I would like to hear about it, Warren-sama.”
She smiled and looked at Warren.
“Ain-sama must have been at his limit… to the point of saying ‘my Krone’ in response to Prince Tigre asking for Krone-dono…”
Warren’s words, spoken in a deliberate whisper, naturally reached Krone’s ears. After that, he coughed again deliberately and straightened his posture.
“Oh, no, I shouldn’t have mentioned that. Sorry, I almost wasted your time talking… I’ll leave you with this then.”
“Yes. Thank you, Warren-sama.”
After seeing Warren leave the room, Krone thought about the words he just said. As a woman, she had fantasized a little about it. She exercised her imagination while twisting her body slightly.
A few minutes later, she regained her composure and began to think.
My Krone. She thought about how she could use that line to have fun with Ain.
Fun with Ain, not fun with Ain. She apologized to the emptiness even though there was no one there.
“‘Yes, yes. It’s your Krone!’ … Is that it? Yes, let’s do this for a while. I’m looking forward to it.”
When Ain called her, she would use that answer for a while. That’s what she decided. But of course, it wasn’t easy for him to be teased by her.
And tonight. When Ain returned to the castle, he would hear Krone’s answer.
“Sigh… Ain, I can’t wait for your return.”
With a s.e.xy sigh, Krone looks forward to his return.
——Ain’s embarra.s.sed cry of “aaaaahhhhh” echoed through the castle that night.