Chapter 98
That morning, Arden woke up and thought:
“The magical saint Sena. I’ll catch her.”
Whether she’s the real one or a fake, he would catch them all.
He would prove his abilities.
He would show off his masculine charm.
And then…
To Seraphina… to his senior… he would confess his feelings.
If he wanted to confess, why not just confess? Why did he have to catch a magical saint first?
He didn’t know.
It might seem like a strange obsession, but he had a peculiar sense that he had to deal with the magical saint first.
He felt like he couldn’t move to the next step without catching her.
“A man’s intuition, maybe.”
He didn’t want to boast, but his instincts were rather sharp.
Or maybe it was because some expressions or tones the magical saint occasionally showed reminded him of his senior.
Even though they weren’t alike at all. How did that make sense?
“Besides, that person is still a saint. I’ve never seen my senior praying.”
Praying wasn’t all; he hadn’t even seen her donate a single gold coin, Arden thought.
Of course, there were worries about this plan.
Namely:
“My senior still doesn’t know my identity.”
If he had known it would come to this, he would have revealed it earlier.
Now, saying “I like you. But actually, I’m the crown prince…”
That was just too much.
“Ta-da! I’m actually the crown prince. Isn’t it lucky that someone of my high status likes you? Your troubles are over. I’ll raise you to a high position.”
Wouldn’t that feel like he was forcing it on her?
He should have revealed it earlier.
He didn’t know it would turn out this way, and now he had to keep it a secret.
“This is serious.”
Anyway, Arden was burning with motivation.
Glowing.
Even when the royal knights gathered at dawn to run a hundred laps on the training field.
Glowing.
Even when the temperature dropped below freezing and everyone’s body heat rose after more than twenty laps, and they threw off their shirts.
Glowing.
Even when sweat streamed down, making Arden’s firm neck and shoulders glisten.
Glowing.
Even after finishing push-ups shirtless, wiping sweat with a towel.
Glowing.
“Don’t come near me.”
Even though he had sweated enough, when a companion approached, he stepped back.
“Covered in sweat. Get lost.”
A disdainful glare at his companion.
Glowing.
“No, Arden…”
His aggrieved companion raised both arms to protest, but it was useless.
Thanks to Arden’s disdainful eyes, all the knights took a cold-water bath in the middle of winter and then had breakfast.
“Anyway, we’ll ride in ten minutes. Do we really need to wash now?”
“Look at Arden’s eyes.”
“Yeah. Wash up a little.”
As the knights stuffed chicken breast and egg whites into their mouths with wet hair, someone approached Arden, quietly eating a salad by himself.
It was the crown prince’s aide.
“I…!”
The aide, unable to exclaim “Your Highness!” in front of others, stomped his feet nervously.
“Hurry, hurry…!”
“Arden, who’s this?”
“…….”
As usual, Arden ignored his companion’s question and followed the aide out of the dining hall.
And then…
“…A bomb?”
“I don’t know the details either.”
Arden said.
In the knights’ corridor, the three of us—me, Arden, and Sir Chase—gathered in a circle to listen.
…To be exact, we weren’t exactly in a circle.
Arden was blocking the nosy Sir Chase with his body.
So I could only see half of Sir Chase’s body.
Arden, are you really okay with social life like this?
“Right now, the capital guard is conducting searches and investigations simultaneously in major locations in Luare.”
“Do you think that threat is real, Arden?”
“I don’t know yet. But even if it’s a child’s prank, we can’t ignore it.”
At least he didn’t ignore Sir Chase’s words.
Arden maintained just the minimum level of social interaction.
“Have you narrowed down the possible locations for the bomb?”
“We have, but there are too many.”
“Miss Seraphina, could you show us the threatening note the culprit left again?”
“Yes.”
Arden gestured to Sir Chase behind him, showing his palm. Sir Chase brought his eyes close to Arden’s palm, and Arden scolded him.
“Step back.”
“It’s too small to see from far away.”
“How are you a knight with that eyesight?”
“…Understood.”
They bickered like that.
While they argued, I thought carefully.
“We can’t cancel the festival, right?”
“That’s not an option.”
“Nope.”
Both Arden and Sir Chase answered simultaneously.
“If we let the whole country be swayed by an anonymous, unconfirmed threat and cancel a major event, even petty criminals will try to manipulate things in the future. We can’t set that precedent.”
“True. That’s right.”
Then what should we do?
Time to think.
“Prince…!”
A man running from the entrance saw us and immediately closed his mouth.
And that man…
‘The coachman?’
The same coachman who had taken Arden and me to the royal palace at the last royal ball.
He had left an impression because he kept glancing at me.
Arden had thought of him more as an aide than a coachman. The coachman stiffened when he saw me.
“What’s the matter?”
Arden asked.
The now-alert coachman addressed Arden.
“Sir Arden. A witness has appeared who saw the culprit posting the threat notes.”
“A witness?”
“Yes. They’re at the capital guard’s main office right now.”
“I’ll go there immediately.”
“Yes.”
The coachman bowed and hesitated to bow to me as well, then left.
“…….”
“…….”
Is it normal for a coachman to report key investigation details?
Or did he transfer to the royal office in the meantime?
‘Probably a career change.’
Second life, good luck.
Anyway.
I looked at Arden.
Sensing my gaze, Arden raised one eyebrow as if to ask what I was looking at.
“Arden.”
“Yes.”
“That coachman looks at least in his forties. Why is he speaking casually to you?”
“He’s in his twenties.”
“…….”
Is it okay for a young man to look so old?
“Better to go to the safest place in the empire—the emperor’s office.”
“Arden.”
“Yes.”
“I’d rather stand in the street than sit face-to-face with His Majesty.”
“…Do you dislike royalty?”
“Not dislike.”
“Then?”
“It’s… burdensome.”
“….”
Arden looked somewhat dejected.
“No need to return to the tailor’s. Go straight home.”
“Home?”
“Yes. The tailor said it’s too risky, so they’re closing from today. Your senior colleagues told me to tell you to go straight home if we meet you. Our dorm should be… safe by now.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
I left the knights’ building with Sir Chase and Arden.
Arden wanted to escort me, but…
“You should go to the capital guard. That coachman… young man is waiting for you.”
Even knowing he was in his twenties, seeing him stomp his feet with that face made me uneasy.
I nudged her to hurry.
“Miss Seraphina, this way.”
“I’m fine. I’ll walk.”
I stopped Sir Chase from getting a carriage for me.
“Thank you for escorting me.”
“No problem. Goodbye.”
I bowed, Sir Chase bowed back.
I bent lower, Sir Chase bent lower.
I bent almost to the ground, and Sir Chase nearly prostrated himself.
We finally straightened up after seeing who could be more polite.
“Tofu!”
I picked up Tofu, who had been hanging around because I couldn’t enter the palace, and put him back in my pocket.
I fiddled with his now-dirty paws and whispered:
“There’s a witness.”
“A witness?”
“Yeah. I wonder what they saw.”
Did they see the posting of the threat notes? Did they see the culprit’s face? Did they remember every detail?
“…I want to confirm it.”
If you want to confirm, then let’s go.
Let’s go.
