‘How could this be possible? Is this okay? Is someone messing with me?’

“Hey Arm. How does this make any sense?”

– Neeeeeeigh

I was still blanking out despite it being the next day. I clearly remembered giving Ganael his present, consoling the young boy who finally ended up crying, and telling him that I looked forward to his continued help. But I couldn’t really remember how I spent the next day after that rowdy party.

‘Everything other than the Imperial Crown Prince’s handsome face or the bright smile on Christelle’s face, no wait, that’s not important. Snap out of it.’

I quickly shook my head.

“Why is the world so absurd and irrational? Why do difficult things always come at once?”

– Hnnnng……

Armgard, the most beautiful white horse in the Imperial Palace, snorted at my words. This horse was the friend I made thanks to Benjamin’s gift last year. The Venetiaan-styled name that suited her beautiful appearance was given by Sir Johann. I came by whenever I had time so she could see my face, and this hard-to-please lady seemed to finally start to somewhat treat me as her master. I petted Arm’s neck as I held back a sigh. The horse, who was wearing warm winter clothes, wagged her tail like a flag. She seemed to be happy based on how her head was relaxed and down. At least, if the horse’s body language book I studied was correct.

“This is such a headache……” I couldn’t calm down despite petting Arm’s neck.

Benjamin had left so that we could chat while the little troublemakers were playing hide and seek with Ganael in the play room. I was standing like a snowman in the stable as I clenched my eyes for a moment. ‘Now what do I do?’

“……What else can you do? This is reality. Incidents never come one at a time,” I solemnly mumbled. People always had moments where they had nothing to do and wondered if that was okay before they got busy and it got so chaotic that they couldn’t even tell what day of the week it was. As someone who had lived a life like that, I knew how it was.

That was why, ‘1. Meet Elise in the neutral region and chat’ and ‘2. Mess up crown prince Cédric’s matchmaking’ were things that needed to be resolved at the same time. A war may break out or the official couple may be broken up if I blanked out for a while. In the worse case scenario, both things would happen.

“I’ll first ask my teacher about going to the neutral region. I’ll discuss the crown prince’s matchmaking with my friends. I can’t do much on my own.”

I knew that I was obsessing a bit too much with the official story. I relied on the original novel quite a bit mentally, so I had to accept that it was difficult for me to easily give up on the two of their relationship. However, I couldn’t just give up and say, ‘QNW is ruined, they won’t end up together.’ Nobody would be able to say something like that if they knew how beautiful the two of them looked together on the cover.

I also didn’t want to put my guard down as I had during the incident with ‘Emille de Haas’ and be dealt a blow. I needed to be active from the beginning to cut anything off before it could begin. Most importantly, the two of them were definitely closer than they had been last spring. They even ended up hugging and rolling on the ground last week while sparring! Some buttons even fell off!

“Huu…… This mister will be back again. I’ll come with some good news soon.”

My face flushed red again. I must have firmed my resolve quite a bit as golden ether orbs started to rise from the tip of my fingers.

“Oh, right. I was told that I can go out of the Imperial Palace with you in March.”

– Hnnnng……

“They said that the atmosphere would have calmed down quite a bit.” I whispered and Arm flapped her ears while responding calmly. I couldn’t help but smile as I had never seen such a large and mature animal before. I patted her shoulders and chest before leaving her pen.

No, I tried to do that.

“Charlemagne seems to be in pain, your Royal Highness.”

It was the stablekeeper, Audrée’s voice. I flinched and got on my tippy-toes. I could see a tall guy with black hair through the staff coming in from a distance.

‘Wow, he’s such a punk.’

“I guess our black horse friend’s name is Charlemagne, huh? How grandiose.” I looked at Arm and whispered. I had never heard the crown prince call his black horse by name.

I debated going out to greet him and head to the Empress Palace for my lesson when…

“I heard that you will be having many noble young ladies as guests, your Royal Highness. Would you like to walk around the greenhouse with them?”

“……”

I heard multiple voices continue to chat. ‘Young ladies? Ladiiiiiies, plural? It’s not just one?’

“We will get it prepared. Lord David.”

I couldn’t hear the answer properly. David must have answered with a gaze or quietly said something.

Some footsteps quickly got closer. ‘Mmph!’ I changed plans and quickly gasped. Then I imagined stopping an ether faucet as much as possible. I closed the door and windows in this mental room and even put on some black out curtains. My teacher told me that I could completely stop the subconscious flow of ether out of my body if I had a thought like this. This was the best thing to do when I wanted to hide completely. Arm looked at me and pursed her lips.

‘You didn’t just sigh at me, did you?’

“Shall I prepare some horses for the ladies as well?”

“Yes. Please prepare some that are calm and not shy around strangers.”

“What about the carriage with the warmth magic…… The extra one is currently with Prince Jesse.”

‘Like hell I’d let them use it. Maria told me that was basically mine!’ I had an evil thought and scowled. I was apologetic toward the ladies who would have their dates with the crown prince, but why would a man and a woman get into a carriage by themselves? I was completely against it even if it wasn’t just the two of them and was a whole group. I absolutely could not accept it unless the girl was Christelle.

“Would you like to prepare an extra one now that there is a need?”

“I don’t think there is a need to do so. We will use his Royal Highness’s carriage this time……”

– Creeeeeak

‘Ahh!’ I heard the spot right next to me opening. I silently gasped and my mouth opened and closed without any noise getting out.

It was only then that I realized that Charlemagne and Armgard’s rooms were right next to each other. I kept my breathing down as much as possible and stood very close to Arm.

I couldn’t hear much because of different noises, but the plan was obvious. Noble young ladies would start entering the palace this week to meet with the crown prince, and that punk would spend some quality time with each of them before choosing a decent person. ‘Damn it.’

“Charle.”

I then heard the familiar low voice. The black horse quietly made a noise after seeing his master.

I had seen him a few times already, but even the horse of the male lead seemed to be serious. In comparison, Arm seemed to slightly scorn me.

“I will bring his feed and nutritional supplements, your Royal Highness.”

“Hand me his brush.”

– Neeeeeeigh

Rustle, rustle. The next room was rowdy for a bit.

The crown prince wasn’t one to speak much and the conversation about the meetings disappeared as they were taking care of Charlemagne. Hearing the white noise made me grudgingly wonder ‘why now of all times’ once again.

However, Empress Frédérique was different from a commoner like me. She was the ruler of the Empire who received dozens of reports a day and handled just as many things on a daily basis. As such, she could naturally proceed with her son’s potential marriage while dealing with other things. It was sudden to me but I’m sure she had been thinking about it for a while. It wouldn’t even be that hard if he was still just at the stage of meeting lots of people.

‘He’s probably cooperating because he thinks this is his duty!’

“Please cheer me on.”

Arm didn’t respond much despite my desperate whisper. At least she pretended to lean her head toward me.

I poked my head out and confirmed that there was nobody out there and……

– Tatap!

I hugged my robe like a blanket and ran out of the stable at full speed. “Haaaa.” The wind that was as cold and clear as ice instantly filled my lungs.

I left in the opposite direction of the crown prince, so I didn’t think that he would have noticed me. Thankfully, nobody called out to me either.

“Your highness, why did you rush out like that?”

“Benjamin. Gasp, cough.”

The middle-aged man, who had been waiting for me in the carriage, urgently opened the door and greeted me. I felt some regret after looking into his deep and calm eyes.

‘Maybe I should have asked him to chat. I promised him that I wouldn’t avoid him.’

My breath was visible like the fog because of the cold weather.

“That, ahem. I thought I might be late for my lesson. Let’s head over.”

……But I was not worried for the time being. I could chat with him in the afternoon.

I decided to treat these past few minutes as if I had filmed a scene in a spy movie. If the ‘one person’ he wants is Christelle, I will make sure they end up together. If not, I will do my best to break him and whichever girl apart.

*

My teacher’s lesson did not take place in her office but in the Empress Palace’s living room that was the size of a sports field. The reason was simple. It was to make it easier for the completion of my new skill.

[Come out, omnipotent arm!]

– Paaaaat……!

After saying this embarrassing incantation for who knows however many times, a bright golden circle appeared at my fingertips.

The Cardinal slowly walked on the circle and observed, similar to a professor grading a graduation thesis. This design, which was much more complicated than a Holy Domain, was something she was familiar with, but the little dolphins jumping up and down seemed to bring her joy. Her eye underneath the monocle was sparkling like that of a child. Even the corners of her lips were curled up.

This was the visual disturbance skill I had discovered after being enlightened by her Holy Ground. It was the cheap trick I had used on Madame Victoire in the dark alley.

“The form is quite clear now. People who don’t know about it might believe that this is a divine beast.”

“Thank you for the exaggerated compliment, your Eminence.” I smiled with embarrassment.

– Splash! A whale, which shot up after getting through the overflowing ether, kissed her fingertip and turned into golden pebbles. The middle-aged woman’s voice echoed out.

“The streamlined shapes definitely seem easier.”

“Yes, your Eminence. It is easier to form when the silhouette is simple. I can even imitate Tithé. But Demy’s tail and ears are difficult while Percy is surprisingly hard as well.”

I pointed out the things I had tested out as my homework until now.

“I see. I’m so proud of you,” my teacher warmly praised me. “This skill is good but why don’t you take a step further?”

“A step further……”

She put on her unique mysterious smile and walked over to the large table on one side of the living room. Natalie and the attendants had placed a long wooden box there earlier. I watched her not say anything for a while before opening my mouth. This seemed to be my chance.

“……Your Eminence.”

“Hmm?”

“Umm… I heard that priest Sand was heading to the neutral region to meet his father. I don’t know if it was confirmed, but that’s what I heard.”

“Yeah. We received a report about it this morning. My identity confirmation was quite thorough. Of course, we already knew that,” my teacher answered almost in a song.

I didn’t know what she was doing, but she was moving quickly. I felt nervous because I could not see her face. My palms got sweaty thinking that it was possible she would not let me leave. I looked down at the Holy Land slowly revolving under me and chose my words wisely.

“That is why… If Sand can go to the neutral region, maybe my friends and I……”

“Will you try using this?”

“Excuse me?” I automatically looked up. My teacher, who was now looking at me, was holding a large staff in her hands. It seemed to be the item that had been in that wooden box. ‘That is……’

“A Holy Staff. This is the one I used until my Archbishop days.”

“Ah.”

I let out a stupid sounding gasp. The Cardinal gently motioned to me.

“Come here.”

I got up and headed over since an adult was calling me. My teacher gently led my hand to grab the center of the staff.

“……”

I blinked my eyes. I did not feel any special ether or anything. The staff was as thick as a pull up bar and as tall as the Cardinal, while being bumpy from being rusty. I could see beige-colored metal here and there, but that was all. There seemed to be something at the end but it had turned black so I couldn’t really tell what it was.

At the top……

“Is this a scythe?”

“Oh my.”

She covered her mouth with her sleeve at my question.

‘It really looks like the scythe on the old Soviet flag though.’

“It’s a crescent moon.”

“Ah. I’m sorry, your Eminence.”

That was round two of stupid things I said today. Taking another look at it, it did look like a moon! Well, an extremely rusty one though.

“I had been confirmed as the Imperial Crown Princess’s soulmate very early, so there was a suggestion to sculpt a moon as I was to be by the side of the little sun. It was created in the Temple of Boundaries.”

My eyes opened wide. “They make such things there, your Eminence?”

“Of course. Holy Staffs can even be folded with origami, but this is very precious as it was formed from a root in the temple.”

“Eek.”

I gasped and tried to get my hand off but she was much faster. My teacher put her hand over mine and gently smiled.

“This is yours now, my little prince.”

“Excuse me?” My mind did not move quickly from the shock. It looked old and ugly on the outside, but this was extremely precious as it belonged to my teacher. It would definitely be left behind as a holy artifact in the distant future. And to be created from a root in the temple (what the heck is that?!…) That made it seem unspeakably amazing.

‘Why would she give me such a treasure……’

“My little prince, you are my first ever and my last student, and someone my godson owes a lot to all the time. This is because I feel so thankful to you.” She read the chaos in my eyes and warmly answered.

I felt choked up and could not say anything. Maybe it was because my birthday was in a week but…

‘I thought I completely gave up on the thought of having seaweed soup here…’

“……”

“This is me showing my sincerity. I want to look good to you.”

“You are already an extremely important person to me, your Eminence.”

I smiled brightly and answered, leading to the Cardinal gently placing her hand on my cheek and kissing my forehead.

“I wanted to hear things like that too.”

“Hahaha. Thank you very much.” My nose twitched and I barely managed to thank her.

She looked up at me with an extremely affectionate gaze and tilted her head a bit.

“Then you can get even stronger, right?”

“Will this help me?”

I asked back. She gently explained.

“Yeah. The moment the staff accepts you, you will gain a surprising amount of ether control, my little prince. You are already good at controlling it, so it will become even easier. You could erase traces of your plate as if you did not exist in this world and your new skill will become much more sophisticated.”

“Wow.”

I stared at the staff in my hand. This item looked like something that should immediately be sent to a museum, but I guess it was still in its prime. The middle-aged woman must have found my reaction to be funny as she chuckled.

“If you can become the new master of this Holy Staff, I will consider sending you to the neutral region.”

I jerked my head up! At first, I was relieved that she did not ignore what I said earlier. Next, I felt scared, wondering if this was good news or not.

‘Does it take 30 years to become the new master of this staff or something……?’

—
Translator’s Comments

Seems like a trap…

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