Chapter 90: We Are Already Accomplices
Delphione felt relieved.
The Third Prince, Edward, seemed fine. At first glance, he didn’t look like he was hurt or in any trouble.
However一
“Your Highness. Do you know how worried I was?”
He had to say what must be said. Even though he was a prince, Delphione couldn’t help but question him, considering all the thoughts that came to his mind while searching.
“I’m sorry. I got carried away.”
“Your Highness…”
But that was it. The anger that had been building up in Delphione subsided and was replaced with pity at those words.
“Nothing happened. I was just searching and ended up walking aimlessly until I came here and met these people.”
At the prince’s introduction, Delphione looked at the three academy students who were with him.
The stocky student with silver hair caught his eye first. He looked to be at least eighteen in height and build.
Hold on.
Silver hair?
“Dane Sogres, the youngest child of a family you know well.”
“Ah!” Delphione nodded at the mention of House Sogres. “I am Delphione Ornette, the commander of the 4th Imperial Knights.”
“Dane Sogres. The son of Count Sogres and a first-year student in the Imperial Academy’s Autonomous Department.”
At Dane’s introduction, Delphione recalled the rumors that had reached the imperial family.
What were they again? They said he had a lot of talent, and that each and every one of those talents were outstanding.
At first, Delphione thought that was nonsense, but when he thought about it, the professors at the academy weren’t stupid.
“How is the count?”
There was one more thing. Count Sogres was one of the people whom Delphione greatly respected.
“He has been living a peaceful life in the South.”
“Hmm. I remember when I was on the battlefield with the count. It seems like only yesterday that I was dispatched to the battlefield and was moved by the count’s bravery.” Delphione smiled happily and looked to the side.
“Ah.”
That was a face he knew.
“Are you, by any chance, Lady Leila Thermion?”
“That’s right. I am the daughter of Duke Thermion and a first-year student of the Academy’s Swordsmanship Department. It is an honor to meet you, the renowned Commander of the Imperial Knights.”
Like Edward, Delphione knew her well, as she had won the Dantère Cup with impressive swordsmanship.
There was one more person here.
“Uh, Ernest Dylan… I am the eldest son of Baron Dylan and a first-year student in the Exploration Department of the Imperial Academy…!”
There was also a boy named Ernest, who was trembling with fear. The Dylan Barony was a family that was famous for exploration. Although it did not have much prestige or scale, it was famous among scholars.
“Today, Your Highness has met children from noble and wonderful families.”
“Yes, that’s right. Even though I was rude, they welcomed me very warmly and talked to me a lot,” Prince Edward said.
Delphione was finally able to put all of his worries aside after hearing Prince Edward’s words.
“I wish I could go to the academy, wouldn’t it be great?”
Delphione couldn’t bring himself to bring up rules and history as he looked at Edward’s regretful face.
“Still, since I met such great people, I guess today is a precious day.”
“It seems so, Your Highness.”
Apart from the regret, he seemed to be in a better mood than usual. It didn’t seem like it was just from meeting friends of the same age but the why of it all was a question for later.
“Your Highness, I am sorry, but it is time to move again.”
“Oh, I see. So that’s why we came here.”
Delphione added cautiously, “If you feel ‘uncomfortable’, you may finish up for the day and return to your prepared accommodations.”
At those words, Edward shook his head firmly and stated, “No. I’m fine. Let’s continue searching. That’s what we came here for in the first place.” Edward turned his head to the three others. “Thanks to you, I had an enjoyable time.”
“No, Your Highness. It was a pleasure for us too. Above all… it was a great pleasure for me to meet you.” Dane smiled meaningfully, and Edward smiled back.
“Dane Sogres. It was my great fortune to meet you,” the prince stated.
Great fortune? At those words, Delphione tilted his head inwardly. However, he dismissed the thought after only a moment, assuming it was from meeting friends of the same age, which was hard while living in the imperial palace.
“Please allow me to escort you, Your Highness.”
Delphione then brought the horse that one of the knights had led over to Edward.
‘…Hmm.’
That was when he saw it.
Prince Edward’s hands were usually so weak that he could barely get on a horse, but now he was riding the horse without any problems at all.
‘Is he feeling less pain today?’
It was not a question that should be asked there, much less one that should be uttered. After all, it was an open secret of the imperial family.
“Let us return, Your Highness.”
“Alright. Oh, wait a minute.” Prince Edward, who had mounted his horse without showing any sign of difficulty, turned his head towards the three students. “See you soon, Dane Sogres, Leila Thermion, Ernest Dylan. I hope to talk to you more deeply soon.”
“Yes. It would be nice to meet you again before you return to the palace.”
Edward asked Delphione, “Would that be alright, Sir Ornette?”
“Of course, sire.”
“Well. I’m sure His Majesty will understand this much.”
Leila and Ernest laughed awkwardly, and Dane smiled meaningfully.
“Alright then.”
Prince Edward rode off, and when they had gained some distance, Delphione, who was riding beside him, asked cautiously, “Is everything really alright?”
“Well, I suppose. It was just a fun, amazing time.”
“Is that so?”
“Did your investigation find anything?”
“…To be honest, we hardly searched because we were looking for you, Your Highness.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“No. In fact, I don’t think anything will come out of it.”
As Delphione had said, it seemed like there wasn’t much to be found in this search. After all, there was no traces or evidence.
However, it seemed that there was not a complete lack of harvest.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Your Highness smile like that.”
“Is that so?”
Prince Edward had smiled as he made friends. That alone seemed strangely fruitful.
“Hmm. I met a noble person. It would be nice to see him again.”
Of course, there was another reason Edward was smiling like that.
‘Hmm?’
Delphione then suddenly looked at Edward’s hands, which were holding the reins.
Today, more than usual… His hands didn’t seem to shake.
“Sir Ornette.”
“Yes, sire.”
“I feel good, but what gift should I give to those friends?”
“By gift, you mean…”
“Sogres County, Thermion Duchy. One of them is from the Dylan Barony. I guess they won’t be happy with just anything.” Edward thought deeply about this. “I’d like to give them something valuable, but I’m not sure what would be appropriate. Well, something does come to mind, but…”
“Can I ask what it is?”
Edward grinned.
“Yes. How about ‘that’?”
As Delphione tilted his head, Edward whispered in a voice too small for the other knights accompanying him to hear.
Delphione’s expression turned to one of shock.
“Y-your Highness.”
“Hmm. Judging from your reaction, it would be a pretty good gift.”
“But, no matter what…”
Delphione had no choice but to swallow the words he wanted to say: ‘I don’t know if it’s worth it.’
Because Edward looked very happy.
‘I can’t believe he’s so happy to have met friends.’
On the one hand, it was sad. It was a natural reaction for Delphione, who didn’t know what had happened to Edward’s hands.
“That will have to do. Well, Sir Ornette. Contact the imperial family and tell them to bring the items.”
“…Yes, Your Highness.”
It might seem excessive, but what could he do? Delphione decided to think positively.
Also, wasn’t it the children of Count Sogres and Duke Thermion?
‘Perhaps, thanks to His Highness, the relationship between the two families and the Imperial Family will improve.’
It might just be a pipe dream, though.
* * *
Reaper Scans
[Translator – Rainypup]
[Proofreader – Harley]
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* * *
As the prince and his party moved away, Leila and Ernest sat down without a word and muttered with blank expressions.
“We must be out of our minds…”
“Dane is crazy…”
“We, who were there until the end, must have gone crazy, too…”
Well, it was an insane thing to do. Not only did I touch an heir of the imperial family, but I even manipulated his mana as I pleased.
“Club… Should I quit?”
“We are already accomplices…”
The two of them seemed to have given up resisting. Seeing those two, who hadn’t even been like that at St. Aimar’s Hall, react in such a way… it truly was a terrifying situation.
However一
“It turned out well though.”
Everything was successful.
I was a bit lost at first, but that only lasted for a moment. As I gradually widened the narrowed passages, keeping the flow of mana steady, mana began to flow and finally…
The prince’s mana started to turn.
“What on earth did you do, Dane…?”
“I just widened the passage in his wrists and channeled magical power there.”
The passages existed already. However, they were very narrow, and the flow toward them was weak, so mana barely flowed through them. I just expanded on them, and the mana was released little by little.
Should I say that this opened the floodgates?
However, during the process, the prince’s moans grew louder and eventually turned into screams, which was a bit creepy.
“That’s not possi—never mind. Those words are meaningless to you.” Leila shook her head as if she wasn’t surprised anymore.
“Leila, maybe Dane has a talent for medicine, too.”
“Hmm. Right. I guess so? I haven’t tried it, but I’m sure of it.”
Leila muttered in disbelief and asked me, “Is that ancient magic, too?”
“Yes. I gained another circle.”
“Ancient magic is incredible…”
Honestly, I didn’t think it would be this easy. Of course, there was also the benefit of ancient magic, but the important thing was that I had been practicing feeling, handling, and arranging magic since I was young. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have even thought of changing the mana flow even though I possessed Ancient Magic. Even if I had known, I wouldn’t have tried.
Anyway, I never thought I would end up getting to know a prince, and the imperial family, like this. No, in this case…
Did I pay off the debt?
“…My father told me not to get involved with the imperial family,” Leila muttered blankly.
That was true. After all, they said that if you got too involved with the imperial family, it wouldn’t turn out well. Unless it was unavoidable, it was better to not get involved with them.
“Well, shouldn’t someone like the Third Prince be alright?”
“Yeah, well… You’ll figure it out somehow, Dane. I don’t know anymore.”
While Leila shook her head, Ernest muttered with a still blank expression on his face, “I didn’t know that academy life would be this dynamic…”
Actually, I thought so, too. How many things had happened since we started school?
“But will we really be alright? I figured it was fine, but seeing the investigation team coming, it’s making me nervous…”
I shook my head at Ernest’s concern and said, “No. They won’t find anything.”
If there were any traces, we would have been figured out long ago. Also, I fixed the prince’s hands. Of course, I wasn’t sure if they were completely fixed yet, but at least I was the only one who noticed the cause and helped alleviate it. There was no way they would doubt me.
I thought we could put those worries aside.
“…They said they would conduct more investigations before returning, right?”
I nodded to Ernest’s question and said, “It seems so.”
The investigation might not be over yet. Of course, it wouldn’t end in one day. However, we wouldn’t get caught.
“We should be fine, right…?”
“Dane said so…”
The two seemed somewhat relieved.
Well, nothing would happen. I might meet the prince once more before that, but I didn’t think it would be because I was a suspect.
“Let’s just practice first.”
“…Isn’t your heart pounding even a little bit?”
“I feel like I’m dying…”
I chuckled at the sight of the two groaning. Then, we continued practicing as if nothing had happened.
“Kikreuk!”
At that moment, Karnas woke up and popped his head out of my clothes. However, it was a little different than usual.
He was trying to escape as if he was feeling suffocated.
“Huh?”
“H-he’s falling!”
It really was just an instant.
Karnas escaped from my arms. In a completely subconscious reaction, I lowered my body to catch Karnas.
Flap.
Karnas was falling.
To be exact—
“F-flying?”
“H-his wings!”
He fell very slowly, flapping his wings. Then, he landed lightly on the ground.
“Kikreuk!”
He stretched his neck and lifted his chin toward the sky with a very proud expression on his little face.
