OKOBORE HIME TO ENTAKU NO KISHI
The Leftover Princess and the Knights of the Round
Book II: A Queen’s Conditions
Story by: Riine Ishida
Art by: Ichiko Okiya
Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi
iii
Characters:
Duke Barchet
Knight of Sixth Rank of the Royal Chivalric Order
Rumored to have the best skills within the Order
The receiving end of Leti's high-handed invitation
Leticia
“Leftover Princess”
First Princess of Sommevesle, heir to the throne
Already knew that she would be the next queen
Leonhardt
Leti's younger brother
Third Prince of the Kingdom of Sommevesle
An eccentric historian
iv
Friedhelm
First Prince of the Kingdom of Sommevesle
Leti's eldest half brother
A prince of charm and charisma
Astrid Gale
Knight of Tenth Rank of the Royal Chivalric Order
Duke’s junior
Guido
Second Prince of the Kingdom of Sommevesle
Leti’s second oldest half brother
A Prime Minister-type of prince with his detailed
planning and organized executions
Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi
v
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Credits:
Raws: Icarus Bride
Translation: Crystal Hikari
Proofreading: Scylla
Quality Checking: Mizuouji
Translator’s notes:
The Japanese honorifics were kept in the translation of the
dialogues of the characters to show the respect or adoration
shown by the characters. Footnotes were provided upon the
first appearance of the honorific in the chapter to explain it.
Thoughts are signified by italics.
The titles for this volume are all based on chess terms.
vi
CHAPTER I OPENING
Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi: A Queen’s Conditions
- 7 -
The Knight King Christian, the first king of Sommevesle, and
his knights were said to have always congregated at a round table,
symbolizing equality for all the members. This was passed on from
one generation to another and was believed to be the origin of the
Twelve Knights of the Round.
A knight king, Knights of the Round – these were clear
representations of Sommevesle’s particular fascination with
knights. And in a country such as this, a Martial Arts Tournament,
where knights fought against each other under a set of rules, was
not something to be surprised of.
“An invitation to the Martial Arts Tournament?”
“Yes. I know you have never joined it, but at least you do
know about it, do you not?”
Sommevesle’s first princess, Leticia, brashly threw the
invitation at her knight, Duke Barchet, whom she had just recently
succeeded in recruiting after making a scene. Her un-princess-like
action clearly showed her dislike for the invitation.
“To participate in the tournament, one has to be a knight – not
just a simple knight by name but a knight with a rightful master. In
other words, only honorary knights can take part in it.”
Knight has two meanings in Sommevesle.
- 8 -
One is Royal Knight. This refers to the members of the Royal
Chivalric Order. The Order was established to protect the peace
and order of the kingdom. Duke was one of them.
The other meaning is Honorary Knight. This, on the other hand,
is the title given to anyone who has sworn loyalty to their one
chosen master. For this knight, there are several reasons why they
choose to become one. Some choose to be one in order to protect
their master; some are scholars who are knights by name alone and
there are those who simply want to use their master’s name and
connections.
Duke was a Royal Knight and was also Leti's Honorary Knight
and the Knight of the First Seat of the future Knights of the
Round. The invitation for the tournament was sent due to the
second position he currently held.
“They say it is for friendly competition and a chance for
interaction between the knights, but this is actually nothing but a
place for masters to show off their knights. Men,” punctuated Leti.
“But since I already have you as my knight, we have to
participate in it. I am certain that you have wide connections
amongst the knights since you graduated from the Knight
Academy but your connections as a nobleman are limited. Better
use this opportunity to expand them.”
“So you’re saying that that is my main goal and not to win?”
- 9 -
“Seventh Heaven and Valkyrie will also be competing in it. I
do not have any intentions of demanding the impossible from you.”
“Demand the impossible, huh.”
True, first prince Friedhelm’s “Seventh Heaven” and second
prince Guido’s “Valkyrie” were composed of the best knights in
the kingdom. So for Leti to ask Duke to win the competition was
synonymous to her asking him to be the strongest knight in
Sommevesle.
“Anyway, the real problem for this is that knights are the only
ones allowed within the tournament grounds so there will be no
one there to stand as my guard during your matches. If it were for
me, I do not mind that at all, but I have my position as a princess
to consider.”
Leti was perfectly capable of protecting herself from any form
of danger but since she was known to the world as a defenceless,
sweet princess, it would not be acceptable for her to not have a
knight by her side for the duration of the tournament.
“I was planning to borrow one knight from Father’s Round,
but truthfully, I do not want to show people that I rely on him.
However, that was the only way I could think of without worrying
about the political balance between the factions.”
The political balance had been a long-standing problem for the
current king, Leti's father. In order to keep this balance, he
selected his First Queen from the royal family. This action would
- 10 -
serve as a restraint for the Three Grand Marquises. But time
passed and they did not have children so he decided to take two
more queen consorts at the same time. The Second Queen was
from Eulenberg and the Third Queen was from Lauenstein, in
order to show that he was impartial. Leti inferred this notion had
been made to keep the balance even before she was chosen as the
crown princess.
“…I think I know someone who can be your temporary
knight for the tournament,” said Duke.
“Someone?”
“Yeah. Someone willing to be your knight and you still get to
keep the political balance.”
Duke knew the perfect person who was unaffiliated and would
be glad to be Leti's knight. But Duke himself was not really fond
of the idea of asking that person. Ask him why he felt that way and
he would probably answer with, “I don’t know”.
The Knight King’s Space was where the consciousness of the
reincarnations of Sommevesle’s first king, The Knight King
Christian, could gather together. The room was decorated with a
grand wooden chandelier and the floor was lined with lush carpet
- 11 -
embroidered with tales of the gods framed in golden ears of grain.
In the middle of the room was a beautiful patina table made of
evergreen oak and around it were ornate chairs made out of the
same wood. The reincarnations of the Knight King come to this
place during their dreams.
Leti had no plans to visit the Knight King’s Space tonight but
she soon found herself seated in one of the chairs. Tonight it was
particularly crowded and she decided to start the conversation with
the other four kings.
“Martial Arts Tournament? Juli prohibited having it during my
time,” said the twelfth king, The Lion King Alexander who was
surprised to hear that the tournament was being held again.
“What did you do that forced King Julius to prohibit it?” asked
Leti.
“I challenged the winner to fight me. Every time. So I guess he
got fed up with me and decided to stop it all together.”
Just as expected of the hot-headed king, Leti thought.
“The tournament is a lively affair in my time. I remember
secretly betting with my knights on who would be the winner.”
“If the historians of the future learned that the celebrated,
incorruptible, and clean Administrative King Karlheinz did such a
thing, I am certain they might be shocked out of their minds.
- 12 -
Please do them a favour and not write it in your diary. Bring it
with you to your grave,” commented Leti.
Leti’s great-grandfather, the seventeenth king, The
Administrative King Karlheinz, smiled gently and told his greatgranddaughter
to overlook the deed. The bet was only over a
bottle of wine.
“…I do not have it in mine…we do not have the time nor the
resources anyway…” said The One-Armed King Oswald, a
reincarnation after Leti's time. He was currently in the middle of a
dire war, which in a sense, was like having a tournament every day.
“…Yes, of course…Anyway, try to think about it as
entertainment for the future,” Leti said to cheer him up.
“Is that so? Challenges are already banned in my time. Or
rather the notion of a knight itself is unclear,” said the
Heartbroken King Ludgar.
“Do the Knights of the Round still exist?” asked Leti.
“Well, that is the collective term for the military generals.”
Ludgar was a reincarnation from a later future than Oswald.
He was called the ‘Heartbroken King’ because he was famous for
the number of heartbreaks he had to endure, but he had a proper
title and the word did not exist yet in Leti's time.
- 13 -
“…A peaceful time, is it not? Queen Leticia’s time,” Oswald
said. He was living in a time of endless war and was probably
envious of Leti’s era.
“Indeed. I sometimes find it strange why a reincarnation of the
Knight King is needed. There is not even a chance to use the
Knight King’s power at all,” agreed Leti.
“No. A day will come when you will have to use it. You will…”
A loud crash cut Oswald’s words. Alexander, who was seated
beside Leti, kicked the table where he had been resting his feet a
while ago.
“Oi, King Oswald! Telling the future to someone who doesn’t
wanna hear it is against the rules! Do you want me to shut your
mouth, huh?”
“But some things will be better if she knew about it…I know.
I wanted to.”
“So you’re saying that’s how it is for others because that’s how
it was for you? You kept on yapping on things like that so your
arm got chopped off by your cousin, stupid king!” called out
Alexander.
The atmosphere had turned dark and intense. Leti stood up to
control the situation.
“Stop that, you two! ‘A slip of the tongue’ exists in both times,
does it not? If this becomes more than a verbal argument, I shall
- 14 -
take things into my own hands and force you both to calm down.
If you think you can win against me who has eleven of the Swords
of Promise, then step up!”
The reincarnations of The Knight King had the “Knight
Sword” and the “Twelve Swords of Promise”, a total of thirteen
swords created to protect the Knight King, sealed inside their
bodies.
Leti recently granted the Sword of White Light, one of the
Twelve Swords of Promise, to save a particular lad so she now
only had a total of twelve swords in her.
“…I will go now. I doubt I can win with only three swords
left,” said Oswald. He probably chose to go either because he
decided he would be the one to leave or because he was truly
offended by what Alexander said.
“I shall go back as well. I cannot stand more of this
atmosphere,” Leti said and left.
Leti woke up in a foul mood due to what had happened in the
Knight King’s Space.
- 15 -
Leti declared before to the other Kings that she had no desire
to know the future. However, The One-Armed King slipped his
tongue some days ago regarding Leti's informal title,
“Heartbreaker Queen”.
“No. Definitely not. That will absolutely not happen.”
I am only surrounded by knights near my age so I gained such a title and
not because I have many lovers. No. Definitely not. I want to believe that of
my future self. Leti convinced herself.
“I have ignored the rumours going around about Duke being
my lover, but maybe it is about time I do something about it…But
if I or Duke deny it, it would just backfire on us making us even
more suspicious.”
Leti continued pondering on how to deal with this particular
problem as her maid helped her get dressed. Afterwards, another
maid came, informing her that Duke had come together with the
temporary knight he had prepared for her for the Martial Arts
Tournament.
“Your highness! I’ll work hard today!” greeted the rookie
knight of the Royal Chivalric Order with his head bowing down to
Leti.
Astrid Gale was considered a top-class knight due to his
unusual skills despite being a newbie. He was a commoner but he
was already rumoured to have the potential to be the next
Commander of the Royal Chivalric Order.
- 16 -
“So you were the person Duke had in mind for my temporary
knight. Well, you are indeed unaffiliated,” but wholly unexpected,
finished Leti in her mind.
Further consideration of the idea made Leti realize that he was
indeed a likely candidate and simply became unexpected because
she was the one who consciously removed him from the likely
candidates Duke would have in mind. It seemed like she and
Astrid were strangely connected.
Astrid – one of Duke’s juniors – actually had a dark past
despite his seemingly innocent and harmless face. But this young
man was elated when Duke asked him to be Leti's knight and was
jumping with joy when he said, “Yes. Yes sir! I will, I will, I will! I
will give my best to protect her highness!”
Whether his joy was because he could gaze up close to the
beautiful Princess Leticia or because this was the perfect chance
for him to promote himself to be Leti's knight, Duke did not
know.
Duke had previously tried covertly asking Astrid who was his
desired master but he skilfully dodged the topic every time,
intentionally or not.
Leti who was the most likely candidate for Astrid’s chosen
master, agreed to have him as her temporary knight.
“You do not have to do much. All you have to do is to stand
behind me all throughout the tournament. Let us go then.”
- 17 -
- 18 -
So Leti, together with Astrid acting as her knight in place of
Duke, went to the Royal Chivalric Order’s training grounds where
the tournament would be held.
There were tents put up to serve as a place for the audience to
stay. An elaborate tent stood out amongst the simple ones and
inside it where three equally elaborate chairs. Friedhelm claimed
one chair on the side and Guido filled up the other one on the
opposite side and the middle seat was open. The two princes
would never sit beside each other on friendly terms. This was their
public stance; this was what was expected of them.
“Well, well, well. A pleasant day to you, your royal highness.”
“Good day.” Leti curtly returned Friedhelm’s sarcastic greeting
with a perfect princess smile.
“Oh, Astrid? Since when did you become Leti's knight?”
Friedhelm was surprised to find the baby-faced Astrid standing
behind Leti instead of the tall Duke.
“Duke prepared him as my temporary knight for the
tournament. Duke will be busy with his own matches and he will
also be assisting the Knights of the Round for the management of
the tournament so he cannot stay by my side at all. You may use
this time to recruit Astrid to your Seventh Heaven,” explained Leti.
“Then I’ll do just that. Hey, Astrid, be my knight!”
- 19 -
“I will think about it, your highness,” replied Astrid. This had
been his usual answer for a while but Friedhelm noticed that his
eyes were now different.
Temporary knight? Those are the eyes of a loyal guard dog already. I let
another good one slip out of my hands, thought Friedhelm. He did not
know when Astrid had come to his decision but he knew that
those eyes would not even look back at him no matter how much
he invited him. Leti took Duke first, and sooner or later, she
would be taking in Astrid.
I guess, just as expected of my sister, mused Friedhelm.
“Knights are weak against beautiful princesses, right?”
Friedhelm asked for agreement from his knights who gave him a
yes, saying that ladies were creatures naturally to be protected.
Friedhelm slouched deeper in his chair, sulking like a child when
he heard them say this.
Leti acted coolly and disregarded Friedhelm’s sarcastic remarks,
but she was truly fuming inside
A knight-charmer has no right to tell me that! Leti fumed.
“Astrid, why don’t we make a bet on who’ll win this
tournament?” Friedhelm asked.
“Bet?” Astrid asked curiously with his head tilted to one side.
- 20 -
“Yeah. Who do you think it will be? If you win, I’ll give you
the best wine in my cellar. If I win, you become my knight. What d’
you say?”
“I’m sorry, your highness, but I don’t drink.”
“Humph. You’re no fun at all. Darn it. I lost because I do not
have any sweet treats to lure a kid.” Friedhelm grumbled in his seat,
complaining at Astrid’s refusal.
Astrid clearly said that he does not drink rather than he cannot
drink. This clearly showed that he did not even want to bet his
knighthood with Friedhelm. And no one knew if Astrid did it
intentionally or if he was just naturally clueless.
While Friedhelm was thinking about Astrid, Astrid himself had
a big question inside him and he finally found the courage to ask it.
“Uhm…Please pardon me, but what is this tournament in the
first place?”
Astrid’s question was truly out of place. Leti unintentionally
slipped out of her facade and Friedhelm unknowingly let out an
exasperated, “Eh?”
It seemed like Duke only told Astrid that he wanted him to be
a temporary knight, nothing more, nothing less.
“The tournament, or officially, the Martial Arts Tournament is
a competition between the honorary knights in the kingdom.
Though it is called a tournament, the only prize they will get is
- 21 -
honour and being branded as the strongest knight in Sommevesle,”
explained Leti.
“Are they going to fight?”
“Yes. They will fight as knights – meaning they will be fighting
using the same sword within a time limit as shown by the
hourglass over there. The judges are the present Knights of the
Round as they are not participating in the tournament.”
“A fight between knights, using the same sword…then…”
Astrid said glancing at the busy Duke who was helping in the
preparations for the tournament.
“…it shall be Duke-senpai1
.”
Leti's reaction was delayed due to her surprise at Astrid’s
answer. Before Leti could even ask Astrid for an explanation,
Friedhelm glared at Astrid.
“A-S-T-R-I-D! You bloke! You said the one thing no one
dared to utter despite knowing it!”
“E-h!? Is that so? Please forgive me,” Astrid apologized
despite not understanding what he did wrong.
1 Senpai – a Japanese honorific used in addressing one’s senior
- 22 -
Then Friedhelm smiled at Leti, who was still at a lost on what
Astrid had meant.
“I won’t be recruiting Duke to Seventh Heaven just because
he is my friend. I have my reasons, and of course, he does as well.”
Friedhelm said as he pointed his head towards Guido’s direction.
Leti knew that Guido had recruited Duke before but Duke
never mentioned it to her. The only reason she could think of was
that Guido wanted to prevent Duke, someone from his faction,
from becoming Friedhelm’s knight, but based on Friedhelm’s
words, it was not the only reason.
“Well then, why don’t we take a seat and enjoy the
performance of the future First Seat Knight of the Knights of the
Round.”
And then the tournament commenced.
The matches proceeded one by one. Some were close and
entertaining fights and some finished quickly. Leti kept watching
Duke from the corner of her eye while she was watching the
matches. Looking at him was enough to know he was busy helping
out as a future Knight of the Round and learning from the
incumbent ones.
After a long wait, it was now Duke’s turn.
- 23 -
“Your highness, please watch carefully. Duke-senpai’s match
will be over in three moves.” Astrid said to Leti, his voice was
oozing with pride for his respected senior.
“Three moves?” asked Leti.
“What? Did he get even better? Unbelievable…” said a
surprised Friedhelm.
“They say that it is the most efficient fighting move for knights
but Senpai is the only one I know who can do it.”
Leti determined before that Duke was weaker than the geniusassassin
Astrid, so if this genius was so sure that Duke would win,
maybe he really would.
I have heard that his skills were one of if not the best in the Order but…,
thought Leti.
Leti decided to focus on watching the match of her own
knight and measure his true abilities.
An incumbent Knight of the Round stood and gave the signal
to start the battle. As soon as the sign was given, Duke quickly
made his move.
The best fighting move for a knight is composed of these three
moves.
One, cross swords with the opponent and charge forcefully to
break the opponent’s stance.
- 24 -
Two, strongly wield the sword, forcing the opponent to lose
his grip on his own sword, making him defenceless.
And three, thrust the sword and point it towards the
opponent’s neck to signal his defeat and the end of the match with
a lot of sand still left in the hourglass.
Everyone was in awe with Duke’s skilful, precise, and wellexecuted
three-move attack. Even the referee was rendered
speechless for a moment before he announced Duke’s win.
He is…He really is strong, thought an amazed Leti. That
demonstration alone was enough for her to know that Duke’s
skills were far beyond the skills than that of a regular first-rate
knight.
“So, how was it?” Friedhelm asked with a smug face to Leti
and he gave a detailed commentary about the fight.
“For a knight battle fought fair and square, there are only three
factors to consider: technique, power and speed. And as you’ve
seen, Duke is way above the others for all of those factors. No one
comes close.”
“But I remember someone bragging that he was on par with
Duke during their Academy days. Who was that again?”
“Duke was a flimsy lad at the time and I had more height.”
“So you want to say that he lacked the power before,”
confirmed Leti.
- 25 -
What Leti saw in this tournament was a far more polished
fighting style than the one she witnessed before when Duke
fought some street thugs during one of her incognito walks.
So why does he prefer using that practical fighting style? He is already
strong as it is, wondered Leti. Then she remembered Duke’s
excessively strong junior.
Astrid seemed to be the source of Duke’s complex and he
wanted to prove that he was not only strong as a knight.
Duke always acted as the understanding, mature adult to Leti
but he was a just a childish man when it came to Astrid.
This is why you are just a youngster. You should be more assertive,
thought Leti. Being strong as a knight was a valuable asset,
especially in this peaceful time. She decided to compliment Duke
later and moved on to ask Astrid.
“But I heard that you and Duke had equal records in the
Order? Why is that?”
Duke himself told Leti before that he and Astrid were equals,
but Friedhelm said a while ago that no one came near to Duke so
Leti wanted an explanation.
“Yes, we do have equal records because I collect points from
other battles. But if it’s a straight swordfight, I hate to admit it, but
it’ll be my complete loss. But if it’s over something else and there
aren’t be any rules, I am certain I can win.”
- 26 -
“Do you also have other battles aside from swords in the
Order?” asked a curious Leti.
“Yes, we do your highness. We may be called knights, but
most of our tasks now are stopping disputes in town or catching
pickpockets. Fighting with swords would be difficult because we
might accidentally wound innocent people in the area so we also
train in different fighting styles,” explained Astrid.
Examples of these different fighting styles were hand-to-hand
combat, knives, and other items that could be considered more
practical. Out of all of those styles being taught in the Order,
Astrid’s favourite was “The correct way to stop a drunkard with a
pitcher ~Pub version~”.
“Senpai’s so great.” Astrid said, as if voicing out Leti's
thoughts.
Leti did not openly agree with Astrid but she was forced to
admit to herself that she was elated with Duke’s performance.
Duke, on the other hand, was being praised by his seniors in
the Knights of the Round and was told him to keep this
momentum for the rest of the tournament.
I see. So the rumours about him being the next Commander for the Order
were not rumours at all, realized Leti as she saw how Duke was
surrounded by his colleagues.
- 27 -
A knight with the best swordsmanship, a calm and decisive
attitude, and being fully trusted by the other knights, add to that
his noble blood, were the conditions for the ideal Commander and
Duke satisfied all of these. Leti took away from the Royal Chivalric
Order their future perfect Commander.
While Leti was feeling a little sorry for the Order for what she
did, something dripped onto her from above. Leti felt something
cold touch her cheek and her surroundings suddenly turned frantic
even before she could react.
“Leticia!” said an alarmed Guido.
“No! Look up!” shouted Friedhelm and Astrid.
Leti followed their words and looked up, and then something
dripped down again, falling onto her hair. She touched it, dirtying
her sleeve in the process – dirtying it with blood.
“What the…Quick! Call the Knights of the Round! This is
gonna get really complicated…” Friedhelm was the first one to
snap out of shock and gave instructions to Seventh Heaven and
then Guido brought Leti to his side. The blood dripping from the
tent’s roof did not look like it would stop at any moment and
everybody just looked up at the bloody sight.
“What’s wrong!?” Duke’s voice cut through the heavy
atmosphere and what he saw was his bloodied master – her
beautiful blonde hair and white cheeks were stained scarlet.
- 28 -
Duke was already dreading the worst when Leti calmly shook
her head and told him to look up. “Calm down. This is not mine.
Look up.”
Duke followed what Leti said and saw where the blood was
coming from.
“A lamp…with blood inside?”
The position of the lamp was not unnatural so probably no
one noticed it until blood started leaking out of it.
“I’ll bring it down.” Astrid said. He stood up on the backrest
of Leti's chair and used it as a springboard to jump up. He took
the lamp and landed perfectly on his feet.
“Ah! Blood is still leaking out.” Astrid’s hand was smeared
with the blood dripping out of the lamp and when he opened it,
the bloody scent filled the training grounds that Leti had to cover
her nose with her clean sleeve.
“…a bird’s corpse? Who’d do something like this?” said Astrid.
Leti thought this was too much for a simple prank.
Sealed inside the lamp was a beheaded bird. The lamp was
hanging from the tent and blood had slowly leaked out of the gaps
in the lamp and dripped down so its existence could be discovered.
Or maybe it was meant to be found.
- 29 -
“Astrid, go and wash your hands. Then bring one wet and one
dry cloth for her highness,” ordered Duke.
“Yes Sir! One wet and one dry!” Astrid confirmed the order
and swiftly moved out.
“Your highness, are you feeling all right? Do you feel dizzy or
nauseated?”
“No. I am all right,” Leti calmly answered Duke’s worried
question.
Leti, fortunately or unfortunately, was not delicate enough to
faint upon the sight and scent of blood. She was rather busy
thinking about who would do such a thing and why.
This was prepared beforehand and not that difficult to do. Is this just a
simple prank or something else…Leti pondered. But sadly, she did not
have the time to think about it calmly. The news about the
incident was already spreading out and people were starting to
gather around their tent. Guido went out to disperse the people
and Friedhelm examined the lamp and the bird.
“Take out the lamp and then the chair and carpet stained with
blood. Leticia, don’t come out yet, it’ll make things worse. Not
until you’ve wiped the blood that can be seen.”
The knights immediately followed Friedhelm’s orders and took
out the lamp, the bloodstained chair, and finally the carpet,
revealing the ground.
- 30 -
“Wait a minute, this is…” murmured Friedhelm.
Everyone inside the tent gasped because beneath the carpet
was a geometrical pattern drawn on the ground where Leti's chair
had been.
“Oi! Someone call Leonhardt! Sir Scholar is familiar with this,
isn’t he? I know what this is for, but I don’t know that much,” said
Friedhelm.
2 Ane'ue: A Japanese honorific for calling one’s older sister. (More formal and
old-fashioned than the normal Onee-san)
- 52 -
Leti’s thoughts were interrupted by Leonhardt’s obviously
irritated voice.
“Is that so?” asked Leti, looking at Guido for confirmation. He
nodded and Leti left them alone.
As soon as Leti’s footsteps could no longer be heard,
Leonhardt directly asked Guido what his purpose was.
“I came to ask you about the magic circle.”
“Could you not wait for the report from the Order tomorrow?
I’m surprised Valkyrie even allowed you to come here alone.
Ahaha.”
Leonhardt brought out a copy of the report for Guido to read.
Guido scanned the report and asked if they had any particular
suspects.
“Someone who hates the royal family? I mean the three eldest
royal children were targeted so I am thinking it’s somewhere along
that line. Besides, Ane’ue also thinks some foolish noble is behind
it.”
“…Royal family,” whispered Guido.
Leonhardt thought Guido would agree with him so he waited
for his agreement but the pause made him think Guido might have
- 53 -
another idea. He was about to ask him about it when Guido
handed back the report to him.
“Sorry for disturbing you this late. I shall excuse myself.”
“Why, thank you. And please don’t come here ever again,”
Leonhardt said that with a perfect smile, complete with a waving
hand. He was about to return to his own room when he saw a
black figure…no, a black hand over Guido’s shoulders caressing
his back. Leonhardt took off his glasses to check if it was not his
imagination and hurriedly ran after Guido.
“Wait! Ani’ue3
! On your…shoulder!?” Leonhardt said, panting
for breath despite running only for a short distance.
“What?”
“There was a black hand…huh?”
The black hand disappeared at that moment when Leonhardt
had bent down a little to catch his breath.
“Huh? There was a black hand on your shoulder a while ago…”
Leonhardt repeated.
“A black hand?” Guido asked, completely clueless as to what
Leonhardt was saying.
3 Ani’ue. A Japanese honorific referring to one’s older brother (More formal and
old fashioned than the normal Onii-san)
- 54 -
Leonhardt tilted his head to the side, wanting to ask Guido
what the hand was when,
“…ahaha?”
“What’s with that reaction?”
Guido paused and then laughed. Leonhardt forgot his normal
manner of speaking and asked Guido with a plain “What?” in a
low voice.
“I thought it was a joke so I laughed. Leticia taught me in our
previous tea party that jokes are fundamental in smoothing out
communication with other people so I should at least respond
with a smile or laugh,” explained Guido.
“Oh. I. See. But unfortunately I cannot even feint and be like
your fiancée who finds your eccentricity cute,” said Leonhardt,
trying to suppress the worst annoyance he had ever felt in his life.
This prime-minister-type of a prince could easily pick up satiric
and sarcastic remarks and could even return those with twice or
thrice the damage, but he never understood the workings of a joke.
“Ani’ue, you benefit a lot from your face, do you not?”
Yes, this was all because of his extremely handsome cool face.
No doubt it was because of this that everyone ended up
interpreting his words with a meaningful sentiment when in fact he
did mean it to be that way. If he could just act a little bit like the
- 55 -
carefree and foolish junior of Duke, his image would be a little
different.
“But do we not look the same?”
“Yes, we do, but the impressions we give are different.” That’s
why I hate you, whispered a fed up Leonhardt.
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