CH 58

“I feel…somewhat tired. He didn’t do anything to you, right?”

“Yeah. He was a strange man. Speaking of which…I wonder which one he was.”

“What? Wasn’t he the son?”

I was taking a break while sitting on a bench placed in a hallway that looked like a fairyland with Mika.

I leaned back against the wall as we both looked at the beautiful white flowers blooming before us. Judging from Mika’s reaction, it seems that the raven man was not someone ordinary either.

“His voice is… No, it’s just a voice, so I can’t say for sure. He even said that he could be neither of them.”

“What the hell is that? I don’t think he’s that old, wasn’t he the son?”

“No, he spoke in a calm tone when I talked to him properly. He might not reach his thirties… or forties yet.”

“Louis Marcotte’s age is unknown in the royal castle records, was it?”

That’s right. Before attending this evening party, I had been searching in the records of the royal castle with Mika regarding the Dukes of Marcotte.

Duke Marcotte is not married. He adopted a child when he was approaching his mid-thirties. A person in the castle’s library also said that there was a rumor that it might be a memento of his brother who died at the same time.

Thus, for example, if the son had been adopted at age 20, he would be around 35 years old now. But if the son had been adopted at age 0, he would be around 15 years old, not so different from me and Mika.

However, for some reason, the only thing missing was a reference to Louis Marcotte’s age no matter where I looked. Of course, I also looked up information on Duke Marcotte’s brother, but there was no mention of a son there either.

Putting aside what the man was saying, I was curious about his calm manner of speaking as if he were in his thirties.

No matter how I look at it, that man was full of mystery.

“Do you think it’s possible for someone to erase the records in the royal castle?”

“Dunno, well, I can only say it’s only possible because he’s Marcotte. Why don’t you ask His Majesty when you get a chance?”

“You mean there might have been some kind of deal.”

Is such a thing even possible?

Rather, why did they have to go to such lengths to keep his existence a secret? If they wanted to hide something in the first place, they should have hidden even the fact that he was adopted. I couldn’t help but wonder why he was acting in a way that only hid his age.

As I groaned in confusion, Mika asked.

“Did he seem like an enemy or an ally?”

“It feels like neither. But he said something about if you look at history, you can see that this country is facing a crisis.”

“Oh? Then it was like he was giving you advice, huh.”

“No, he also told me that I’m the third prince who is clueless, incompetent, foolish, and only beautiful…”

“What?!”

After the Night King who was like a storm had left, my head slowly cooled down, and then…to be honest, I was feeling dejected.

Along with the realization that what he told me was probably not wrong.

Mika seemed irritated and said, “That was too rude,” and put his arm on his leg then put his cheek on his palm. I was relieved to see that Mika got angry for my sake like that, but what the man said earlier about me being “spoiled” by Mika was still on my mind.

(Certainly, since I started to be together with Mika more often, I may have thought that it was discouraging without him around…)

When someone looks at it from the side, does it seem like I was being spoiled?

It’s a difficult thing. I tried doing my hardest, but I haven’t produced any results in the end.

If I was able to accomplish anything, it was to negotiate with Tillois, and that was only possible because of Mika and Vivienne.

(He said that I’m only beautiful…)

The word “beautiful” seemed like a compliment, but it was nothing more than being called a decorative prince.

That man even mentioned Rashed Rubrum. He doesn’t know the future as I and Vivienne do. This country is also currently at peace on the surface. But instead of saying that Rashed’s presence is dangerous, he said that the country is facing a crisis.

I think of the emperor of the neighboring country I have yet to meet.

(He must also hate people who only have beautiful looks, with more people like that around him. On top of that, I’m also clueless and incompetent…This is all really…)

Makes me hate myself.

But I was told that I was an unknown, for better or worse. I’m not just beautiful…I also want to be a free pawn who can cross paths with nobility and royalty.

When I thought of this, Antoine’s book came to mind.

That was the story of the rise of a noble’s daughter. That is, until she was being called the siren.

(I should read it again…)

I was almost disgusted with myself for repeatedly trying to peruse the kind of book that Marie preferred to read. However, I wanted to rise to the top even though I was born a prince, so a small sacrifice may be necessary to achieve it.

Come to think of it, I thought and asked Mika.

“How was the raven man?”

“He was an off-putting man. How to put it, he’s smirking like he’s mocking and ridiculing you.”

“Hmm. So even you have someone you struggle putting up with, Mika.”

“I wonder what it was. It was like he was hitting my weakness, or that he could see right through me.”

As I listened, it made me wonder if a knight would also end up being similar to his master.

Because I had the same impression of the Night King. Mika, perhaps remembering something that had been said to him, tilted his head while thinking and then said to me.

“But, I don’t think that the Night King is neither Duke Marcotte nor his son.”

“Why is that?”

“The raven man kept fooling around, but he did verbalize from time to time something like loyalty to the Dukes of Marcotte.”

I was a little relieved to hear Mika say that. I thought that it couldn’t be anyone else but them, but I was curious if he was the son with the unknown age.

However, at that moment, Mika, who was still placing his cheek on his palm, reacted with a twitch. Then he pursed his lips and said.

“Nagi, let’s take our leave for the day. I have a feeling something bad is about to start.”

“Huh?”

“…This banquet may not just be a masquerade party.”

What did Mika react to, I wonder? As I thought so, I tried to listen carefully as well.

I think I heard something that sounded like a scream.

It was different from the laughter and the elephants’ cries that echoed through the mad banquet from earlier. It was something more like…human excitement? Something that sounds like a cheer. While wondering what it was, I quickly stood up. I heard Mika say, “Hold on, Nagi. You shouldn’t look at it,” while standing still. But I was still bothered about what the man said to me earlier.

――”He does not realize that sometimes being kind and protective can sometimes ruin a person.”――

There was nothing wrong with Mika’s action. But right now, I had the feeling that Mika was trying to protect me from something and was telling me to return back home. While feeling Mika’s footsteps chasing after me to stop me from behind, I still ran.

With each step, the screams become louder.

A lustrous, resonant voice. Then, as if some sort of settlement had been reached, a cheer erupted.

I didn’t hear any noise in the corridor with the black door I had just passed through, but the corridor I was running down had normal echoes of voices.

Thump, thump, thump, thump. My heart beats fast, in time with the sound of my footsteps. Then it beats even faster.

“Hey!”

He was probably hesitant to call me by name. I could hear Mika’s voice just right behind me. But I slowly pushed the door leading to the hall I had just reached. Loud cheers echoed through the room.

“…” “…”

The room was even dimmer than before.

There were no more elephants, fairies, or fountains from earlier. However, only the theater in the center of the building was lit by a strong, shimmering magic light.

The stage is surrounded by what looks like a giant birdcage. Inside, I saw naked men fighting with each other.

The cheeks of the man pinned down on the floor were swollen, and it was clear that there had been a fight.

However…

Sweat ran down the men’s skin as their glistening skin was illuminated. Rather than a fight, what happened in front of me was…more like intercourse, and I gulped.

――”I just like to have fun.”――

The man’s words from earlier came back to my mind and sent a shiver down my spine.

Gently, the front of my eyes was covered with something warm.

I could hear Mika’s voice in my ear.

“I told you, it’s better not to look.”

“No way…could it be, they’re slaves?”

“No, that’s forbidden in this country, so we can’t call them that in general. That’s… No, let’s just leave for now. It’s not good to be here in your position. There’s also a nasty guy behind us.”

I was surprised after he told me that. I looked back quickly.

I heard the door slam shut as I took my hand away. Mika’s hand released me and there stood the raven man from earlier.

“Your way home is this way. The climax is about to start, though.”

“Shut your mouth and get away from there.”

Mika said that in a scary voice.

Then, he grabbed my hand and led me onward to the entrance of the Historie Palace.

As if they knew we were leaving, there was one black carriage there. Then we left the palace.

I glanced back through the window and saw the raven man standing there, waving his hand with a smile on his face.

Then, once the carriage entered the city, as if they had once again estimated the time, several black carriages drove alongside us and scattered in various directions.

(Even on the way home, they’re manipulating it so no one knows who we are…)

My heart, thumping and beating faster than usual, didn’t stop until we reached the royal castle.

I wonder who in the world that man was. What on earth was that evening party supposed to be about? Should I really have participated until the end? Various questions were swirling around in my head.

The shocking scenes I saw for a brief moment in the end also made this night a nightmare.

I got out of the carriage, removed my mask on the way, and made my way to my room in the royal castle.

As soon as the door closed behind me, I felt exhausted. Then, I was supported by a strong arm.

“Mika…”

“I think to put it nicely, they were gladiators. But it’s a grotesque event with a nasty rule: the loser gets eaten.”

“But everyone was so happy about it…”

“I think it’s just like what you said. Everyone wants to enjoy a one-night dream that takes them out of their daily routine…”

Mika said that as if spitting it out.

What have we gotten ourselves into? For a while, both Mika and I stood in front of the door in silence. Then we went back to each other’s bedrooms.

There were so many things about this night that I didn’t understand, I really felt like I was lost in the “Labyrinth of Night” with Mika.

(It was truly a nightmarish night…)

I was so tired that I passed out to sleep. When I wake up in the morning, I’m sure Marie will scream when she sees me sleeping in these clothes. But for now, I gently let go of my consciousness, as if I wanted to hear Marie’s scream.

We don’t know what the Night King and the raven man whispered to each other as they looked out at our carriage from the upstairs window.

“Those two are so cute, aren’t they? They even discussed things with each other side by side on the bench. Master sure is a mean one.”

“…”

“Are you planning to pluck it just when it’s delicious enough for harvesting? Powerful nobles sure think about dirty things, I see. When you think of their fate from now on, will it wither? or will it get fired up?”

“You seem to be having a lot of fun.”

The raven man hummed in a strange way as he put his hand on the window.

“After all, isn’t it funny? If you think about whether their fate will be better than Rashed Rubrum’s or not. His Highness Nagi has a lot of enemies.”