The night of the soiree arrived in the blink of an eye.
After finishing our morning practice, I headed to the school cafeteria with Rogue, only to find it more chaotic than usual. I thought there might have been a fight or something, but that wasn’t the case. It was just that Lily and Lecty, who were eating, were attracting a lot of attention.
“The rumors seem to have spread quite a bit,” I said.
“Yeah…” Rogue replied.
It was the day before yesterday that the nobles were informed that a soiree would be held to celebrate His Majesty the King’s recovery. Two days had passed since then, and the rumor that Lecty and the Holy Maiden had cured His Majesty the King’s illness had spread throughout the Royal Academy. Lily continued to eat with her usual composed expression, but Lecty looked uncomfortable.
I felt bad for them, but we decided to have breakfast separately today. Even if we ate together, the attention wouldn’t disappear, and considering Rogue’s circumstances, I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. I had predicted this to some extent, so the two of them had agreed yesterday.
We ate separately and headed to the classroom separately. When we entered the classroom, Lecty was being bombarded with questions from her classmates.
“Lecty-san, is it true that you cured His Majesty’s illness!?”
“So the
“As expected of our Holy Maiden!”
“Lec-ty! Lec-ty!”
Nobles and commoners alike gathered around Lecty, and the atmosphere was lively. It was hard to believe that just recently, they had been divided into Prince Slay’s faction and Prince Brute’s faction, and the atmosphere had been tense.
“U-um, um! There are still many things I can’t talk about yet! Please everyone, calm down!”
Lecty in the eye of the storm looked like she was having a hard time…
After that, after finishing our morning classes, we left early to prepare for the soiree and headed to the Royal Castle in Alissa-san’s carriage.
I had thought that we would stop by Marquis Puridi’s Mansion to change before heading to the castle, but it seemed that the dresses and tailcoats for the soiree had been delivered to the Royal Castle by a merchant arranged by Lily.
When we arrived at the Royal Castle, Roan-san and Merry, who was dressed as a maid, greeted us. Lily and Lecty went to the dressing room with Merry and Alissa-san to change into their dresses, while Rogue and I were led to a separate room by Roan-san.
I had switched to
…That Royal Knights Order Vice-Commander,
I had a really bad feeling about this.
“Ah… Hugh. You might want to brace yourself a little. There’s someone who really wants to meet you guys. They told me to bring you before you change.”
“Roan-san, I suddenly have a terrible stomach ache and feel like I’m going to shit my pants, can I go home?”
“No, you can’t! I’ll take you even if you shit your pants! I’ll shit my pants too if it comes to that, so give up!”
“Aaaah! But, I’m not mentally prepared yet!”
Roan-san wouldn’t be nervous or tell me to brace myself if it was just to take me to Prince Lucas. That meant that it was someone of higher rank than Prince Lucas… in other words, His Majesty the King had summoned us!
Rogue must have realized the possibility as well. He didn’t seem nervous, but he kept glancing at me. What was Rogue planning to do…? Would he act as Rogue even in front of His Majesty the King? Or would he…?
Roan-san stopped not at the audience chamber or the King’s bedroom, but at one of the many reception rooms in the Royal Castle. When Roan-san knocked on the door with a certain rhythm, Prince Lucas’s voice could be heard from inside, saying, “Enter.”
I hoped that Prince Lucas was the only one in the room. As Roan-san opened the door, I saw two men sitting on the sofa. One was Prince Lucas, and the other was… ah, I knew it.
“I’ve been waiting for you two,” he said.
Urged by Roan-san, we entered the room and knelt down. The man spoke to us in a friendly manner.
He was a handsome man with smooth, silk-like golden hair and deep blue eyes. It was His Majesty King Rhinos Reese of the Kingdom of Reese himself.
“Thank you for coming, Rogue Vect, and Hugh Pnosis. This is a private place. Please, make yourselves comfortable.”
Urged by His Majesty, I slowly raised my head and suddenly made eye contact. His eyes, which seemed to be appraising me, were staring intently at me. Damn, my heart was about to jump out of my mouth from nervousness.
“Please forgive him, Father. Hugh looks like he’s about to die from nervousness.”
“Oops, I’m sorry. You two, come over here and sit down. Let’s have some tea together.”
T-tea, you say…? I was stunned by the unexpected invitation, and Rogue pulled on the hem of my uniform as if to urge me on. For now, it seemed that I had no choice but to obey.
Rogue sat next to His Majesty, and I sat down next to Prince Lucas. Then, I noticed that Marquis Prime, who had been standing by the wall, had prepared tea for Rogue and me.
T-to have the Prime Minister pour tea for me… I looked around for help, but there was only His Majesty the King, Prince Lucas, Rogue, and the Prime Minister in the room. Roan-san, who had led me here, didn’t seem to have entered the room.
That guy, he said he’d shit his pants with me… !
“It’s been a while, Rogue. Have you been well?”
“Yes, Your… His Majesty the King! Are you feeling better, Your Majesty?”
“Yes, thanks to your friend, Miss Lecty, I’m as good as new.”
His Majesty’s complexion, as he said this, was indeed much better. A week ago, he had been pale and looked like he was on the verge of death… He still looked haggard, but I could tell that he was in good health.
Also, I guess he’s going to act as Rogue here. I was a little relieved.
“It’s nice to meet you, Hugh Pnosis-kun. As you may know, my name is Rhinos Reese. I am the King of this country.”
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty. I am Hugh, the son of Mike Pnosis, the lord of the Pnosis Territory.”
“Hmm. I’ve heard about you from Lucas. I heard that you want something in return for making Lucas the King.”
“—!?”
Why did His Majesty the King know about that…!? I looked at Prince Lucas next to me, and he winked at me with a sidelong glance. T-that damn stepbrother…!
“Is that so, Hugh Pnosis?”
“…Yes! There is something I desperately want… no, a wish I want to fulfill!”
Well, whatever! At this point, it didn’t matter if the other party was His Majesty the King or anyone else. If I was going to be cornered, I might as well face it head-on…!
“Hmm. If Lucas becomes King, that wish will be fulfilled?”
“I don’t know. Prince Lucas is suspicious, so I’m honestly half-doubtful.”
“Pfft!?”
Rogue, who was sitting in front of me, covered his mouth and leaned forward as if he couldn’t help it. His shoulders were trembling slightly, but I didn’t care about that now.
“Hahaha! Suspicious, you say! You’ve been told, Lucas.”
“I’m aware of it. But Hugh, even if you say it so many times, I’ll be hurt. I hope you’ll take my allowing you to be present here as a sign of trust, you know?”
“I apologize, Your Highness. I’m just a very suspicious person. …That’s why I’d like to take this opportunity to ask you to swear. That when you become the next King, you will definitely fulfill your promise to me. If you do, I will do everything in my power to make you the next King.”
“…I see, so that’s how it is. What do you think, Father? From your perspective, what do you think of him?”
“Hmm, he has quite a bit of courage. No wonder you two like him. There are times when people should act recklessly. It seems he knows that. Swear it, Lucas. I give you permission.”
“There you have it. Isn’t that great? You have the King’s approval?”
“Your Highness, if you’re going to swear, please do it in writing.”
“You really don’t trust me, do you?”
“Alright,” Prince Lucas said, shrugging his shoulders as he took a sip of his tea.
Did I manage to get through it somehow…? I had said things that could have been considered disrespectful if I had made one wrong move, but thanks to my momentum, I managed to pull it off. What would have happened if I had tried to deceive them…?
After that, His Majesty the King asked Rogue about his school life, and a peaceful time passed—
“Speaking of which, you had insomnia, didn’t you? Are you sleeping well?”
“Yes! When I hug Hugh and sleep, I sleep soundly… ah.”
I take back what I said.
My battle (the critical moment) is just beginning!
To be continued.