Another day calmly passed by.

I stared at Romero Palace with a piercing gaze while standing on the balcony of Juliette Palace.

I tried sending code by reflecting the crystal bell a few times but I received no response.

‘Well, that is to be expected knowing the punk’s personality, but……’

“Mm.”

It put me in an awkward position. Everything was similar to when I first got here but different.

At that time, the Imperial Crown Prince swung his sword in the training ground when it was time for my walks.

Thinking about it now, it was probably because he became cognizant of my ether.

He probably wanted to know who possessed such ether.

However, I did my best to avoid the guy and did not come face to face with crown prince Cédric for close to one month while living next door.

Of course, Sadie was an exception. Who the hell could have known that the two of them were the same person?

– Kiiiiiii!

– Squeeeeee!

– Whimper!

The red pandas had Tithé on their backs as they dizzily ran around me.

I chuckled and placed a sweet piece of pear in Demy’s mouth.

Crunch crunch, he ticklishly bit down on the fruit and my finger.

The situation was worse now than when I first entered the palace.

The only thing that was the same was that I was studying hard; I couldn’t use any ether nor could I even go out for walks.

I couldn’t even see anybody from the balcony because none of the guests of the Imperial Palace were allowed into the garden.

‘It is fun watching the soldiers and gardeners, but……’

“It’s a bit much because they all look at me with pitying gazes.”

– Sqoo

Demy slurped the fruit’s juice as he answered.

I wiped his mouth and whiskers with a wet cloth.

‘How can you think it is a good thing to confine a friend to his house because he is suddenly weak, crown prince? This is why some of the readers called you Crapdric.’

Those words lingered on the tip of my tongue. I suddenly recalled an image from that day.

‘Eunseo.’

– Pow!

‘……If you ask me if I felt bitter that the crown prince pushed me down, then, well…’

I was definitely disappointed, but seeing his gaze made me feel more apologetic.

I also never expected to go home in such a way.

My instincts had lifted my body up, and Percy, who had read my mind, flapped his wings, but it was true that I didn’t think about what would happen next.

Could I really have gone back home if I went through that hole in the sky? Then what about Prince Jesse? Would his body remain here while my soul returned?

All sorts of questions filled my mind but there were no answers I could get right now.

“To be completely honest, I can’t do something like that twice.”

– Pipipi

Percy, who was sunbathing on the ledge, agreed.

I was truly a completely average person.

The shock from my body being completely repulsed by the world and coughing up so much blood that it created a puddle followed by being unconscious for two weeks……

I would prefer a less extreme and scary method.

I had nothing to say if it was mentioned that going across dimensions was not an easy feat, but the human mind was always cunning.

I felt wronged since I didn’t transmigrate here by choice.

I came peacefully while sleeping so I wanted to have an easy trip back as well.

“Sorry, Percy. I know we have a deal.”

– Piiriii

I petted the bobbing chimney bird’s little body as I whispered.

“I won’t be able to fulfill that promise for a while. I have no ether so I can’t go anywhere.”

The chimney bird nodded his head as if he understood. I ended up laughing out loud.

There really wasn’t much to my deal with Percy.

It was quite simple for being a deal with an amazing divine item.

I recalled the events of Aightz Village and smiled.

The moment I needed sturdy wings to go to the celebration during the eve of the crown prince’s succession confirmation ceremony…

‘Do you remember saying that I am not your master?’

– Piiiii

‘So, let’s make a deal.’

I placed him on the back of my hand and thought hard.

‘If you let me use your wings when I want, I will help you find a master.’

– Pii?

A cool person for you to follow. A great person who has strong Divine Power and character. I heard that you’ve never chosen a proper master until now. I will help you find one even if I have to search through the entire continent.’

It was possible for me to say such things at that time.

I could go anywhere as long as I informed my teacher in advance and the crown prince did not seem to mind that either.

Furthermore, as the partner of the two main characters, it seemed easy to run into important figures as I followed the two of them around.

That should have made it not that hard to search for a master for Percy.

Basically, I was not bluffing.

However, the chimney bird had attentively observed me without reacting.

‘That is my condition. What do you think?’

I had nervously asked. A moment later…

– Ooooooong!

The little bird started glowing with a light purple light around its body. After that…

– Flap!

It turned into a large wing on my back. The deal had been made.

That was already more than two months ago. Well, there hadn’t been much progress in finding a master for Percy until now.

“Thank you for your understanding, oh great and mighty Lord Ark of the Wind Deity.”

– Pipo

I bowed and showed my respect, making the little guy open his wings and bow back.

He looked super cute.

– Knock knock.

“Your highness.”

I heard Ganael’s voice behind me at that moment.

I turned around to see the young boy with an extremely odd look on his face.

He seemed a bit anxious while also a bit amused.

“Ganael, what is it?”

“That, umm…… I think a rumor has spread that you are not eating well, your highness.”

“That’s random. How did that happen?”

‘I don’t think I’m eating much less.’

I tilted my head and his golden eyes roamed around.

“There are stories of how you come out to the terrace with a grief-stricken look on your face and are suffering from loneliness because your only conversational buddies are the divine beasts.”

“That is quite a distortion of the truth.”

I knew that the Imperial Palace staff enjoyed gossiping but they were quite active at coming up with rumors.

That was all I said because I knew saying anything against it wouldn’t change anything.

I was curious about how my friends were doing and wanted to see them to share a meal and chat, but I was not struggling.

I had Benjamin and Ganael in Juliette Palace and the staff were all still nice to me despite my lack of ether.

They were all good people.

“Yes, your highness. Anyway, such a complaint seems to have been brought up to Romero Palace as well.”

“Complaint?”

‘My rumor turned into a complaint? Is the Romero Palace the HOA or something?’

“I’ve heard that Vice Commander Moutet, Dame Sarnez, and young Duchess Blanquer have all voiced their disagreement to his Royal Highness. They’ve told him that he cannot continue to confine you in the palace like this. Because of that…… His Royal Highness has called some clowns over to Juliette Palace.”

“He did what?”

I stopped cleaning the table and my eyes opened wide.

My voice must have subconsciously become louder as Ganael became flustered.

“Apparently we can send them back if you don’t like it, y, your highness! They are the most famous clowns in the Imperial Capital and have entered the palace this morning after going through a thorough body and belongings inspection with the Imperial Guard. Pierre is so excited that he is jumping very high that his head might hit the ceiling. Laurence seems to be looking forward to it as well.”

‘My goodness……’

I realized that the look on Ganael’s face was not one of nervousness and amusement but awkwardness and excitement.

He seemed excited to see all sorts of acrobatics and puppetry.

He probably felt awkward about it because he would have no choice but to send them back if I said no.

I chuckled as I could clearly see what was going through the young attendant’s mind.

“Furthermore, they will be severely punished if they cannot make you laugh, so I’ve been told that the clowns will definitely give it their all.”

“……”

My mouth became dry. I was certain that the crown prince of the Empire was a crazy bastard.

‘You can just receive my apology and we can let things go. Why are you scaring innocent people?

Is it really okay for Christelle to date and marry a guy like this?’

I became concerned about the couple from the original novel.

My face must have looked upset as Ganael’s eyebrows sank down.

“Should I send them away, your highness?”

“No, you can let them in. It sounds fun.”

I quickly answered.

I had no idea what kind of harm the innocent clowns would go through if I rejected them, so accepting them was for the best.

Ganael’s face lit up as he bowed and left.

I then heard cheering from the other side of the door.

That must have been nice to hear as the divine beasts and Percy started jumping up and down as well.

“Totally unbelievable.”

I sighed and shook my head. I couldn’t leave the twenty five month old little kid like this.

*

Night was calm at Romero. The palace was also quiet during the day, but it was even quieter at night.

Cédric nonchalantly skimmed through the magazine on his office table.

He loathed both the < Biweekly Riester > and its Managing Editor, but he did not look down on the impact of mass media and their information network.

He then confirmed the report from the Imperial Guard he received.

He looked to see if there was a difference in the information, but the only difference was that the official document was more detailed.

It made sense because he didn’t even care for interviews full of the nobles’ exaggerations.

Flip, he turned the page.

‘Results of interrogating young master Robert Blanquer.’

The overview of the case was as follows.

After his duel with Cédric, Robert Blanquer received an injury that could not be healed and has been residing in a villa at the corner of the territory.

He then received information about the masquerade.

The sense of crisis and anger from the thought of losing his young Duke position to his younger sister made him get help from his wet nurse to escape from the villa.

He then infiltrated the Lord’s Castle, disguised himself in an armor, and snuck into the ballroom.

He planned on harassing his sister, but seeing her being thoroughly protected by her friends made him think against it.

He then decided to escape from the place.

However, the prince and his people noticed his suspicious actions, making it difficult for him to escape using normal methods. As a result, he was trying to run through the balcony when he got caught.

‘……He confessed that he didn’t properly talk to anybody since entering the ballroom and does not even remember which balcony he jumped off of. He claimed that the question regarding the tulips’ roots was to scare his dance partners to hide his identity.’

His orange eyes sharply read through the report.

‘Duchess Cecil Blanquer and her husband have decreased their son’s stipend to a third of what it used to be and has received a contract stating that he will never approach the Lord’s Castle or young Duchess Eva Blanquer for the rest of his life. They have publicly declared that he will be forever banished and disowned should he break this promise. Currently, young master Blanquer is residing in his villa.’

“……”

Cédric scowled. Things had been taken care of well but it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Christelle de Sarnez’s voice suddenly echoed in his ears.

‘Something must have happened that day, didn’t it, your Royal Highness?’

He had not answered her question in the end.

The incident that day and the masquerade all had numerous things that annoyed him.

Chhhhh, the crown prince suppressed the flame at his fingertip and calmed himself.

It was at that moment.

– Rooooooooll……

He nimbly looked up. It was the sound of something small and round rolling across the carpet.

It was so quiet that a normal person would not be able to hear it. However, he was not a commoner.

Cédric grabbed his Sword of Wisdom and stood up without making any noises.

The uninvited guest was in the room connected to his bedroom and the crown prince’s sharp instincts as a swordsman let him know that it was not his attendant.

He quickly approached the door and pulled it open-

– R, rooooooooooooooll……

He saw the most unbelievable scene.

“Eek.”

The person let out a surprised noise. Something else was rolling on the floor.

This guest of the night looked extremely flustered as he picked up the fallen holy stones.

Cédric had placed them on the table in this room.

This person’s blonde hair was sparkling radiantly under the fall moonlight.

His waist and ankles were covered by vines and tulips.

– Screech!

“Shh, Demy. We’ll get caught.”

– Squeeeee

“I told you, nobody knows we are here yet.

Big bro’s hearing is sharp.” The person whispered. Apparently this person’s hearing was sharp but he was quite dull at noticing a person’s presence.

Cédric held back his anger and a sigh as he approached behind the prince.

Based on this, this person was quite dull when it came to sensing a sword hidden in the darkness as well.

It made him feel that it was almost extraordinary that this person managed to slip through Prince Consort Werner’s grasp until now.

“All done. Let’s barge into the bedroom now. I know where it is because I was here last time.”

– Pruuuu

“Over there.”

The prince confidently pointed toward the office. Cédric gave up on being patient.

– Clang!

“Eek!”

The crown prince pulled out the Sword of Wisdom and pointed it at the man’s white neck. The prince’s purple eyes immediately looked up at him.

The clouds shifted just at that moment and Cédric’s animal-like silhouette revealed itself.

The prince gulped. The crown prince growled in a voice that seemed to be boiling.

“The Diplomatic hostage of a hostile nation has infiltrated the crown prince’s palace.”

“Umm.”

“How should I interpret this?”

“Your Royal Highness.”

“Do you want to die?”

“Hey.”

The prince scowled. He became upset and his eyes started sparkling.

Jesse Venetiaan was the only person who would greet him so disrespectfully like this.

“The clowns you sent were so great at walking on the tightrope that I decided to copy them, your Royal Highness. I had no choice because I wanted to apologize to you but you had no intention of hearing me out. What else could I do?”

“……”

“Let’s talk it out, talk it out yo. There is nothing you can’t resolve by talking it out, your Royal Highness.”

The three earth attribute divine beasts all poured out of his arms. Cédric clenched his teeth.

His sword moved down against his wishes.

—
Translator’s Comments

Jesse acting a fool to get to Cedric.

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