Volume 6 - CH 4

Chapter 4 – The Prince’s Exhaustion and the Prince’s Decision

It has been ten days since Alessia-san delivered the letter.

I have delivered the letter many times since then, but I silence all of them due to the opinion of the girls. When Alessia-san and the others go to the castle, they are asked by the exhausted prince with a desperate look on his face if they have received a reply.

The prince’s bad position has made Viscount Jacopo less energetic, and Alessia-san is smiling. But since there is a possibility that their families could be targeted, they are being very vigilant.

Commander Clement had come to the ship several times to receive a reply, but his loud and pompous voice had become quieter and quieter, and recently he had stopped coming.

The pitiable one is the marquis, with a letter to the prince saying that they must choose between dying alone or perishing with Lucca. He is in trouble because he is suspected of betraying the prince for the sake of the possibility of Lucca’s destruction.

It seems that this part was also anticipated in the letter, so I’m a little freaked out by Ines’s terror.

Rumors are spreading in the castle and in the city that the mage who came to help Lucca was angered by the prince’s attempt to make him his servant, and the people who followed the prince are feeling a little awkward.

Incidentally, Girasole is said to be highly regarded for running around desperately trying to repair the relationship between the angry mage and the castle.

Suspecting a possible match pump, I asked them about it, but everyone except Ines and Ilma-san seemed to be in a daze. Ines and Ilma-san looked away, so my suspicions were confirmed. They were even manipulating information.

Also, the Imperial Army seemed to have caught on to the tussle between the prince and me. They approached the Stronghold with great pride and started soliciting me in a loud voice.

They were offering me titles, territories, gold, silver, treasures, and lots of beautiful women. I was seriously asked not to be recruited by the imperial army because I reacted to the many beautiful women.

The members of Girasole also tried hard to stop me, so I guess they all know that I have a weakness for beautiful women. I have mixed feelings.

The castle has heard that I am also being recruited by the imperial army, and the prince is said to be half in a frenzy. However, the girls say they still have plenty of food in Lucca, so they are going to hurt him a little more.

By the way, the letter from the prince changed like this.

Trying to fish with profit => Trying to fish with bigger profit => Giving up on making me his subordinate and starting to make excuses => Starting to apologize => Asking for forgiveness as he is going out of Lucca. It’s changing like this.

I suggested to him that it’s okay now that he is apologizing, but the girls say it’s no good because he still seems to have a lot of time to spare. They seem to be planning to push him all the way.

The women are on guard 24 hours a day to watch for any escape from Lucca. When they find them, Ines and Felicia approach them with the Galette and make a small hole. The surveillance was undertaken by Girasole.

By the way, I was the only one who was allowed to stop acting. I decided to stay indoors completely, so there was no need for me to do so. I’m sorry to the women, but they are just continuing to do what they are doing.

I’m having a pretty good time with Ines and Felicia, taking a bath, having a lovey-dovey time, watching movies, and playing with Rimu on the ship. Sorry, but the prince’s letters are also a source of amusement.

Five more days have passed since then.

There is still food in the castle, but I hear that the atmosphere is getting worse as people are getting anxious about the dwindling food supply. The letter from the prince is almost like a plea.

“Hey, Ines, I don’t think it would be good to go any further. If it goes out of control and people get hurt, I won’t be able to sleep well.”

“I think we can go a little further. Well, if Master says so, I guess we should stop now.”

“Yes, so what are we going to do now? You seemed to have an idea.”

“Yes, I have an idea. Read this.”

I read through the letter she handed me and found that it said some pretty terrible things. If it were me, I would just say I’m sorry, but I think there are a lot of problems for a prince to do that. Is he going to be okay?

“Isn’t this a problem for a prince to do in his position? I don’t want to be resented for the rest of my life, you know?”

“Master, it’s the same because he already resents you for the rest of your life. And with this, Master’s horror will roar throughout the continent. And it’s a good deal because it’s harder for them to mess with you, right?”

It’s already been confirmed that he’s going to hate me for the rest of my life… Well, you never know. If this is the extent of the horror that will be felt all over the continent, is it a good deal?

“Hmm, I’m kind of nervous about it, so let’s get everyone together to discuss it. Ines, Felicia, go tell everyone to gather in the cafeteria. I’ll go to the cafeteria first.”

“”Yes.””

When I went to the cafeteria, I found Carla-san, Marina-san, and Fuu-chan eating snacks. Rimu also wanted a snack, so I ordered one and placed it next to Fuu-chan’s. The two slimes were engrossed in their snacks. They were so cute.

Now that everyone is here, I ask them to read the letter and discuss it thoroughly.

“I’ll be merciful to you.

Tomorrow at noon, come out to the port, get down on your knees, and loudly beg for forgiveness.

I will not tolerate any pretense that you are doing this for the sake of your people. Put into it your desire to survive.

If you can do it well, I will lift the blockade on the port.

If you are a fool and lie, we will start over.

Also, put out a big announcement in the city about what you’re going to do.

Invite the people to the top of the city walls overlooking the port tomorrow at noon.

If the crowd is small, we’ll have to start over.”

“The prince is going to get down on his knees, and his name will go down in history, won’t it? I think it’s indeed a tough call.”

“I think it’s a matter of pride, but if he gets down on his knees, he can save his own life and Lucca’s, so I think it’s a small price to pay. Well, the Imperial soldiers will see it, and the story will spread all over the continent, and it will be a lifetime of embarrassment.”

“Ilma-san, you don’t think it will be a problem? What about the rest of you?”

The girls discussed the matter willy-nilly, but it was decided that the letter would be sent to Lucca, as the girls were unrelenting as they were outraged by the prince’s behavior, which they could only think was an attempt to interfere with Lucca.

What about it? I honestly don’t mind getting down on my knees and being embarrassed, but I don’t think the prince would get down on his knees… If this doesn’t work out, how will we settle this?

I wonder if the prince will do something to deserve this much? However, he wanted to use me as a pawn, take away my ship, and subjugate me… He’s an enemy, a total enemy if you think about it calmly. He’s also coming to Lucca to interfere, and I’m starting to feel like it can’t be helped.

I ask Ines to take Girasole to the port.

~Alessia’s point of view~

It’s going to be rough this time. I’m getting nervous now.

“How was it today?”

Yeah, the look in his eyes is dangerous. He’s a prince, and I’m sure he’s never experienced a situation like this… I’ve never experienced a situation like this, either.

Emotionally, almost all of them may be enemies, and it’s hard; I don’t feel sorry for them.

“Yes, I got the reply.”

“What! Give it to me.”

With bloodshot eyes, he received the letter and read it.

“What is this? What is this?”

“What did it say, Your Highness?”

“Look.”

“T-this is so outrageous. You don’t have to accept this. Alessia, are you sure the mage is not insane?”

“I do not know.”

If there is anyone who is crazy, it is not Mage-sama. Especially her, since Ines is at the center.

“What will happen if I refuse this?”

“I have only received a letter from him, Your Highness, so I cannot answer your question.”

“Your Highness, perhaps, but the blockade of Lucca will only continue. There will be no problem if you refuse.”

“You say so, Clement, but the Marquis is disturbed by my presence, for if I stay, Lucca will perish with me. There is also the possibility of assassination. And if the blockade continues, there will be riots. Even though there is still food, there is unrest spreading. Even if there is no riot, we will starve to death without food. No, before that, if we are attacked by the imperial army, we won’t stand a chance if we are starving.”

“Your Highness, it’s alright. The house of Girasole…”

“Shut up, I listened to your opinion, and here we are now. Viscount Jacopo, do not offend me any further. Is that clear?”

“Y-yes.”

Viscount Jacopo seems to have been neglected in a good way. But, Prince, you don’t blame yourself for not taking my opinion into consideration. But Viscount Jacopo, wasn’t he trying to mention the Girasole family? If so, it would be troublesome.

“Your Highness, it is important to reject this proposal and to negotiate persistently. Alessia, you must be very close to the mages. Is there anything you can tell us?”

…This is my chance to spread the word about what Mage-sama has asked me to do.

“No, I have little contact with Mage-sama. I was in trouble when I heard that Lucca was besieged by the imperial army, and a merchant who is a good friend of mine in the southern city introduced me to him.”

“Is that merchant not here? He might be able to appease the mage?”

“No, he said he was going to Palermo to do business. And since the merchant said he did not know the identity of the mage, it is doubtful that there is enough trust between them to appease him.”

“Kuh, what should we do?”

Really, these people are losing their heads. Don’t they think that with our family still in Lucca, we might be okay?

Well, I’ve been told to get out if they think so. We’ve been preparing for a long time, and no one has said anything, so I wonder if we’re going to be able to get out of here undetected.

But I’m curious about what Viscount Jacopo was going to say earlier. From now on, let’s have at least two people stay by the side of our families.

“Enough, I’ll think about it for a while; now stand back.”

We returned to the house that Marquis-sama had rented for us, discussed what Viscount Jacopo was about to say, and decided on the order in which we would wait by the family.

We decided that Ilma and I would stay here, Dorothea and Carla would report to Mage-sama, and Marina and Claretta would wait by our families, and then each of us would take our own turn.

“What do you think the prince will do, Ilma?”

“Well, I don’t know. He seems to be in a very tight corner, and I doubt if he will be able to make a calm decision.”

“That’s what I wonder. I have heard that the second prince is very military-minded, but isn’t he too fragile for that?”

“Right, he may have been military-minded but not brilliant, or he may have been brilliant but weak because of his status as a prince and the way he was treated by those around him.”

“Ah, that may be so. The battalion commander also seems to be the prince loyalist.”

“Well, we will know the result tomorrow at noon. If there is an announcement, we might know by the end of the day.”

“I guess so.”

While chatting, I would occasionally go to the plaza to see if they had announced anything about tomorrow. In the evening, when I go to the square, I find that it has been announced that the second prince will apologize to the mage tomorrow at 12:00 noon…

It’s unusual for royalty to apologize to a mage, but for it to be proclaimed in the plaza is unprecedented. Rumors were circulating, and the people, who knew about the feud between the prince and the mage, were happy that the blockade of the port might end tomorrow while Ilma and I returned to the Stronghold.

~End of Alessia’s point of view~

“Wataru-san, the prince has announced that he will apologize tomorrow at noon.”

“…I see… he really is going to do that. I thought it was impossible for a prince to get down on his knees. But he does, doesn’t he? Alessia-san, do you think he would really do it?”

“I was surprised too. He seemed to have been cornered, so maybe he couldn’t stand the current situation.”

…It’s only been 15 days since I sent the letter. People can be so cornered in that amount of time.

Fear of assassination, being ignored by a mage, not being able to trust anyone in Lucca, food crisis, attacks by imperial soldiers, riots, and incidentally, the crisis of the Kingdom of Brescia itself… Yeah, I would give up that day. I would get down on my knees as many times as I could if I could escape that.

“That’s right. It was a difficult situation, so perhaps it was not unreasonable. Once the apology is done tomorrow, the royal family’s problems will be settled for the time being.”

“I agree. But nothing has been resolved about the problems of the empire, right?”

“Yes, and they won’t give up their solicitation of me at all. Every day, they come up with a little different reward for me.”

“Fufu, thanks to you, there was no attack on Lucca, who was struggling at the moment, so I am grateful to you.”

“Thanks to me?”

“Yes, I think they were waiting for a definite breakdown of the relationship with Lucca. If they attacked Lucca now, there is a possibility that reconciliation would occur, so they refrained from attacking Lucca.”

“Heh, I guess there are things that are useful in places we don’t know about. Well, you never know what will happen tomorrow. Let’s have a good dinner and get a good rest.”

“Yes.”

At 12:00 noon the next day, the port side city walls were filled to capacity with people, and in front of me, all of Girasole, the people of Lucca, and the imperial army, His Highness Arnolf kneeled down on his knees and performed a magnificent prostration before the Stronghold.

“I don’t want to die. I really apologize.”

Along with the story of his splendid prostration, I became known throughout the continent as the mysterious mage who made the prince get down on his knees.

I can never reveal my identity again, can I?