Chapter 127: Chapter 24. Conversation behind the partition wall

It had been some time since Philip had been in a fight with Baron Holmes' son. The wounds on his face had healed enough that at one of the dinners the master of the house had a proper conversation.

At first all went well, until Mr. Ridley brought up the subject of their impending plans.

— Tomorrow you and Serge are going back to the market.

Mr. Ridley made the announcement at the dinner table quite casually, while the crown prince absolutely disliked it.

— What did you say? — He indignantly interjected.

— I said that you would continue to help Serge again. Searᴄh the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

— Why do I have to do that?!

Despite the boy's raised voice, the landlord tried to remain neutral.

— Our sales are going better with your participation,» said Uncle Serge reasonably, «It will be better for everyone if you continue to work together.

But this explanation did not satisfy Philip at all. It seemed to him that he was simply being used.

This cunning commoner was just waiting for the moment when his face would look «marketable» again. And now he was going to send him back to embarrass himself in front of the capital… The crown prince would not tolerate such humiliation twice.

The boy rattled the cutlery, making everyone present shudder.

— I refuse! — You can make it your own way.

Mr. Ridley frowned.

— You do not understand, boy,» he began more seriously, «You are our guest and you must obey the rules of this house!

Philip burst into a temper. How dare that tramp put conditions on him!

— I did not come here by myself! — «Your girl brought me here,» exclaimed the prince.

— Exactly,» the man also slammed his fist on the table, «Serge was kind enough to ask for shelter for someone like you. Shouldn't you now repay her as well?

— «Someone like me…?!»

Serge and Mrs. Ridley sat at the same table in silence: for this at first usual conversation was taking a very dangerous turn. The last thing we need is another brawl here…

But there was no stopping Philip and Mr. Ridley. The latter finally decided to say what he was thinking.

— You are a lout who can't even thank his elders for their help,» he said sharply, «Lazy and rude… I've never met such a smug young man as you!

They both got up from the table.

— What did you just say? — Philip shouted.

— You heard it all too well.

The crown prince was literally shaking with anger. He could not believe that right now he was allowing himself to be humiliated by some commoner. Every day in this house was now turning into torture for him.

This was the final limit of his patience.

— Very well, then! — I won't spend another second in this hellhole!

— …

Mr. Ridley didn't have time to say anything before he had made up his mind.

Throwing these loud words, Philip immediately rushed out of the house, slamming the door behind him. It was pouring heavily outside, but he didn't care.

In a matter of seconds the boy was wet to the skin, but he didn't pay any attention to it. He just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

There were shouts behind Philip:

— Your Highness!

Serge ran out after him and tried to catch up with him.

Finally, she was even able to grab his arm, but the guy roughly pushed her away. Serge fell to the muddy ground from the rain.

— Piss off!

— Y-Your Highness, please wait! — she whimpered.

But the crown prince remained unwavering.

— Don't you dare follow me! — He shouted angrily, «I don't want to see any more of your damned family!

Philip continued walking forward, and the girl could no longer stop him. Honestly, he didn't quite know where he was going now. What was going to do and where to live? All of these questions had become relevant again since the prince had left this house.

But at any rate, he certainly didn't regret his decision. Even going back to his old way of life was better than continuing to serve these vile commoners.

Still under the incessant downpour, Philip clenched his fists in anger. This miserable life… It was getting on his nerves!

Wet hair clung to his face, while wet clothes seemed even more disgusting. Until recently, the empire's finest tailors had been making expensive suits for him. And now… He found himself forced to lug around some filthy rags.

Philip spat, for right now, absolutely everything pissed him off.

Not yet wondering exactly where he was going to spend the night, the boy walked further and further.

Until he accidentally almost ran into some kind of carriage. Because of the downpour, the crown prince couldn't see his surroundings well, and didn't immediately notice the carriage standing right in front of him on the roadway.

It was white and completely unremarkable, which made it doubtful that it belonged to a nobleman. As a rule the vehicles of noble families always bore their coat of arms. This one was unmarked.

The boy frowned and was about to just walk around it.

But at that moment a voice came to him from the cabin:

— Your Highness, may I have a few minutes of your time?

Philip fell sharply into a stupor of surprise. He didn't just hear it, did he? Was someone really addressing him as «Your Highness»?

Meanwhile, the same voice came to him again:

— Your Highness, I would be grateful if we could talk inside.

Convinced that the man in the carriage was addressing him, Philip slowly took a few steps back. He hesitated for a few moments, but since he had nothing to lose, he decided to check.

Opening the door, the boy climbed into the warm interior of the carriage. Dirt and water drops were dripping off him and obviously must have stained the velvet seat. But the owner apparently didn't care.

Almost immediately Philip noticed another strange feature of this carriage: there was a partition between the two seats that prevented the passengers on either side from seeing each other.

This seemed suspicious to the prince. But for the time being, he did not say a word, simply observing what was happening.

— Your Highness,» the interlocutor on the other side of the partition said, «you will not believe how relieved I was to hear you were alive!

Philip was confused. Why did this voice seemed strangely familiar to him…?

— Who are you? — the crown prince dared to ask.

— You should only know that I am your most loyal servant.

The man frowned.

— How did you find me?

— When I heard the good news, my men searched all over the capital for you. At last they found you.

Philip crossed his arms suspiciously across his chest. The man spoke very vaguely and clearly did not want to give away his identity.

And that was not the only thing that interested him.

— What was the object of your search for me? — The boy asked him with a challenge.

— I wanted to help you, Your Highness,» the voice replied casually.

— What do you mean?

— With your permission… I would like to make every effort to help you restore your former power.

Philip froze in astonishment.

Some man showed up out of nowhere and suddenly makes him such an offer… He really couldn't understand what was going on. This isn't a joke, is it?

— What do you mean? — The crown prince immediately asked again.

— I consider it my duty to help the Blanche family to return to their former glory» he said, «you are the Crown Prince and the only worthy descendant of your clan.

— …

The offer sounded so tempting that he couldn't even believe it. In a way, it seemed to him to be a rather dubious offer. What if this was his way of being lured into a trap?

— I don't even know you,» Philip said bluntly, «Why should I believe you? Much less participate in something like this?

— Your Highness, I can prove by my actions my sincere intentions towards you.

— You can talk as much as you like. But I'm not such a fool as to believe everything!

Philip remained firmly convinced that this was a divorce. How could it not be, when all the aristocrats of the empire had long since turned their backs on him, and only this weirdo was left? Despite his desperate situation, the prince was not about to rush into a pool and accept offers of help from just anyone.

— I understand your fears,» the owner of the carriage remained as calm as ever, «But I can guarantee with my life that in addition to restoring power, you will also return everything you lost. Your former position, your palace, your status… Including your wife.

— What?! — Philip's mouth is wide open in astonishment.

— When you are King, I swear that Lady Ashford will also be your Queen.

The crown prince even stopped breathing for a few seconds at that last sentence.

— Is that… really possible? — he asked again.

— Of course it is. You can rest assured that this marriage will take place.

The man behind the wall spoke very convincingly, and the boy couldn't understand: why was he so sure? Who the hell is that?!

— I refuse to cooperate until you show me your face! — Philip firmly objected.

— Your Highness, but…

— I don't care! I'm not going to participate in anything with a stranger. Either you show my face now, or I'm leaving.

Philip was really ready to do that.

Thoth sighed.

— As you command, Your Highness.

After a couple of seconds there was a faint creaking sound in the cabin as the partition began to go up. And the more this man showed himself, the more Philip's possible hunches blurred.

Finally, when the crown prince was able to see his face in full — he was almost speechless.

— Th-This…! — exhaled in disbelief, — Is-is that really you?!