Chapter 63 : Chapter 63
Chapter 63
—Knock, knock.
—Your Highness, may I come in?
Elly’s knock was heard again from outside.
But I couldn't answer readily. I was not just a little, but quite confused about the fact that I was about to faint.
I didn't know if it was just my imagination, but I also felt dazed.
‘……I’m going to faint soon?’
Like most people, I had never fainted before. Let alone a ‘scheduled fainting,’ which probably no one in the world had ever experienced.
‘The only fortunate thing is that it doesn’t seem like anything major will happen just because I faint.’
As stated in the <Future Diary>, I would be going to Misty Port city in 'about five months.' I was going to meet the ‘Ingrid Island Pirates’ in person, just as I planned.
If my health had become a major issue because I had fainted, I probably wouldn’t have been able to go to Misty Port. I would have sent Jereuth or another knight to meet the pirates.
In other words, fainting today was highly likely not a big deal.
‘Tsk, but according to the <Future Diary>, I faint at the recruit completion ceremony. So what happens if I don't go to the recruit completion ceremony?’
Maybe I wouldn't faint. Since my destined future was ‘fainting at the recruit completion ceremony,’ if I didn’t go to the ceremony in the first place, I might not faint—
Thud.
Suddenly, all strength left my body, and I collapsed to the floor. Like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
It happened in a moment shorter than a snap of the fingers, but in that instant, a thought flashed through my mind.
‘I thought if I didn't go to the recruit completion ceremony, I wouldn't faint, since it happens at the ceremony…… but it seems I can't change the future with such wishful thinking.’
To faint as soon as I thought, ‘Wouldn’t I not faint if I don’t go to the recruit completion ceremony?’
It was as if the ‘future’ was getting angry at me for ignoring its authority.
***
Elly, Leonardo’s personal maid and unofficial Head Maid.
She found it a little strange that Leonardo didn't answer even after she knocked on the door three times.
‘Is he sleeping?’
Leonardo was someone who always stayed up late into the night, devising various concerns and policies for the people. He barely ate a little, and only when she brought him meals.
Leonardo's rest time was only occasionally, really ‘very occasionally,’ taking a walk, and Elly knew that even then, his mind was filled with all sorts of worries and concerns.
—Knock, knock.
She knocked again, but there was no answer from Leonardo. In the end, Elly entered the room without permission.
“Your Highness, I’m coming in.”
Elly opened the door, entered, and looked around. Leonardo was not there.
‘……Where could he be?’
Wondering if he was in the bathroom, she put her ear to the bathroom door, but she heard no sound.
It was then.
Something she never wanted to see was reflected in the mirror hanging on the wall.
Leonardo was collapsed behind the desk.
“……Your Highness?”
“……”
“Your Highness!!”
***
The royal castle of the Plank Kingdom.
Originally, a rather grand event was prepared at the royal castle today. It was the ‘recruit completion ceremony,’ the result of the new soldier recruitment ordered by the absolute ruler, Leonardo.
Unlike a typical recruit completion ceremony, Leonardo was scheduled to attend today’s ceremony, so not only the knights and soldiers but also all the officials and servants working at the royal castle had made thorough preparations for the event.
However, the event was canceled before it began for 'certain reasons.'
Those 'certain reasons' were a serious incident known only to the kingdom's core figures.
***
Jereuth. The commander of the 3rd Knight Order and de facto commander-in-chief of the kingdom's army, he gave an order to the knights.
“……Declare a travel ban throughout the entire royal castle. Raise the security level of the royal capital to the highest, and station all knights in the Central Palace where His Highness is. Prohibit a single rat from entering or leaving. Cut down and kill anyone who tries to disobey. Triple the soldiers' patrols as well.”
—Yes.
“Also, ensure that no one finds out His Highness has collapsed. This matter must only be known to the knights, Seria, and the elders of the Mage Tower. Not only the officials and servants, but also the soldiers must not know. Understood?”
—Understood.
“And Hagen, you will select eight knights and guard His Highness' room 24 hours a day. In two shifts, two will guard outside the room, and two will guard inside. Ray, you will bring the Mage Tower elder ‘Dante.’ He is a mage who specializes in healing magic.”
—It will be done.
—Yes, understood.
As Jereuth gave his instructions in a heavy voice, the fully armed knights nodded in response. Then they dispersed to their respective tasks.
Watching the knights, Jereuth forced himself to maintain a calm expression and thought.
‘……For His Highness to collapse, what kind of absurd thing is this.’
With Leonardo's existence, the Plank Kingdom was finally heading in the right direction. All the nobles who had been gnawing at the kingdom had been eliminated, the army, the core of the nation's power, was being reorganized, and they were moving towards improving the lives of the people.
That was truly something possible only because of Leonardo.
But for that important Crown Prince to suddenly collapse.
‘How…… could this happen.’
Jereuth, who had experienced all sorts of situations on the battlefield, had not anticipated this kind of situation. Not in the slightest.
—Caw! Caw!
The sound of crows was heard from outside the royal castle. It was Seria's crows. Seria was guarding the vicinity of the royal castle with her crows, wary of any possible mishaps.
—Caw!!
So those crows were definitely ‘allies.’ However, since it was the sound of crows, it wasn't a very pleasant sound to hear.
‘Why is the weather so nice…….’
Jereuth, who had been staring out the corridor window, let out a sigh and opened the door to Leonardo's room and entered.
Inside the room, his lord was sleeping so peacefully in bed—fainted. As if completely unaware of the atmosphere in the royal castle, it seemed he had fallen into a truly comfortable and happy sleep.
Next to Leonardo, Elly was kneeling on the floor beside the bed, her face buried in the bedsheets.
“Sob……”
Elly was sobbing, and her shoulders were shaking. She must be crying out of worry for Leonardo.
But Jereuth found Elly truly unsightly.
‘……A personal maid lets her master collapse and then cries nearby. This is a capital offense.’
Jereuth had never been fond of Elly. He thought she was below standard to be the personal maid of the Crown Prince who would become a great king. Her loyalty to Leonardo was somewhat acceptable, but mere loyalty was not enough to be by the side of a great man.
‘Until now, I've kept quiet because His Highness protected her, but this time, I can't stand it.’
Jereuth lightly but firmly gripped the arm of Elly, who was prostrated and crying. Elly’s thin forearm was easily held in Jereuth’s thick hand.
Slightly surprised by this, Elly looked up at Jereuth. Her eyes were swollen from crying so much, and her pupils were bloodshot.
“……Commander?”
“Do you think it's okay for you, His Highness' personal maid, to let His Highness collapse and then cry next to him?”
“……”
“Get out immediately, Elly Heinem. I will guard His Highness' side. I will personally suggest your punishment when His Highness awakens.”
Jereuth spoke coldly and half-forcibly made Elly stand up. Laying a hand on his lord's maid was something a knight should not do, but Jereuth did not have the mental state to care about such useless etiquette.
Drk—.
Jereuth roughly pushed Elly aside, brought a chair, and sat down next to Leonardo's bed.
Leonardo was still sleeping soundly in bed, oblivious to the world.
He was sleeping with such a comfortable face that it seemed he might stretch wide and wake up at any moment.
“Why aren't you leaving?”
Jereuth asked Elly, who was not leaving, with a frown. Since he, the Knight Commander, had given a direct order, it made no sense for a mere maid like Elly to disobey.
Despite him saying so, Elly did not leave and looked at Jereuth with an expression full of things to say. Jereuth barely suppressed his anger in front of Leonardo and asked again.
“Did you not hear me? I believe I asked why you are not leaving.”
“I, I heard you. But Commander, you……”
Elly’s voice trembled, feeling the anger in Jereuth’s voice.
But as if she couldn't back down, she clenched her fists tightly and spoke bravely and confidently.
Squeeze—.
“I will not leave. Commander, you do not have the authority to tell me to leave.”
Jereuth thought he had misheard.
“……What did you say? What authority do I not have?”
“I am the Head Maid of the royal palace, personally appointed by His Highness. Therefore, now that His Highness has collapsed, I have more right than anyone to be by his side. Also…… by kingdom law, within the royal castle, my authority as Head Maid is higher than the Commander's.”
Elly is the Head Maid?
Jereuth thought he had misheard this as well. ‘Head Maid’ was no ordinary position, so how could that incompetent maid have been given it.
“……You are the Head Maid?”
Jereuth asked Elly calmly, yet quietly enough not to be heard by Leonardo.
But just because his voice was quiet didn't mean he was speaking friendly. Jereuth was glaring at Elly as if she were his mortal enemy.
“I do not believe that His Highness appointed you as Head Maid. And even if that were true, do you think you are qualified for that position? Until His Highness became like that—.”
“Whether I am qualified for the position of Head Maid or not is for His Highness Leonardo alone to judge.”
“……”
It was a valid point, so Jereuth had nothing to say.
Perhaps because her tongue was loosened, Elly continued to speak to Jereuth more confidently.
“Right now, Commander, you are speaking as if the reason His Highness collapsed is entirely my fault. Of course, as the Head Maid, my responsibility is the greatest. But you, Commander, will not be able to avoid blaming yourself either.”
“Are you saying I am responsible for His Highness' collapse? My role is to eliminate His Highness' enemies and protect him—.”
“Does ‘protecting’ not include his health?”
“……”
“It is a fact known to everyone that His Highness is frail. Commander, you must have known that as well. But you, Commander, have worked with His Highness more than anyone else. Until His Highness collapsed from exhaustion like that. Are you going to say that such a person has no responsibility?”
At Elly's point-by-point retorts, Jereuth was more flustered than angry. Because until now, not only Elly but no one had ever dared to talk back to him like this.
It wasn't in Jereuth's nature to assert his authority, but his position and achievements naturally prevented anyone from opposing him.
‘……How long has it been since someone talked back to me like this? Wasn’t the last time before Victoria became queen?’
Queen Victoria. Jereuth’s first and last love, but an unfulfilled one.
And Victoria, Leonardo’s mother, was the most recent person to have 'talked back' to Jereuth.
Jereuth liked Elly’s confidence, at least. Just the confidence.
Elly continued to speak.
“I repeat, the greatest responsibility for His Highness' collapse lies with me. I have no intention of avoiding that responsibility. But that responsibility also clearly lies with you, Commander. It can also be said to lie with Sir Heinshtangl, and with Lady Seria.”
“……”
“However, now is not the time to blame anyone. What is important is to help His Highness recover as quickly as possible.”
“……So?”
“So I would appreciate it if we didn't have such meaningless arguments in front of His Highness. He might be listening. Instead, my request—.”
In the middle of Elly’s words.
—Knock, knock.
Someone knocked and entered. It was Hagen and two other knights.
“Commander, as you instructed, I have brought two knights to guard His Highness' room…… but.”
Hagen observed the unusual atmosphere between Jereuth and Elly and spoke cautiously.
“Is there a problem?”
“It’s nothing. Have all the other measures been taken?”
“Yes. Everything has been done as instructed.”
“Alright. Then guard His Highness here. And remove the flowers in that vase over there. Cut flowers are dying things—.”
Just as Jereuth was giving instructions to the knights, Elly interrupted.
“Do not touch the flowers. Those flowers were a favorite of His Highness' mother, Queen Victoria, and His Highness also likes their fragrance. No, please just don't touch anything in this room. This room has been arranged by me, who has served His Highness the longest in the royal castle, after careful consideration so that he may rest most comfortably.”
“Ah…… I understand.”
The knight who was about to remove the vase hesitated and stepped back. Unconsciously, he had followed Elly's words over his commander's order. Although it was the word of Elly, who was much younger than him, the knight somehow felt authority in her voice.
“And Commander, His Highness did not like it when there were many people and it was bustling. Especially when he was resting alone or reading a book. So please dismiss the other knights. So that His Highness, who can only rest when he has collapsed like this, can rest comfortably.”
“……”
“Even in this state, he is probably worrying about the future of the kingdom and pondering what to do for the people in his mind.”
Jereuth silently looked at Elly. On the outside, she was a young girl, but her gaze was resolute.
It was surprising that a girl who wasn't even an adult could have such a gaze. Of course, it wasn't the same as Leonardo's gaze, but it felt a little similar.
‘……Has His Highness' energy rubbed off on her?’
Elly’s gaze was so alive that such an absurd thought came to mind.
‘For some reason, I feel a sense of Victoria…… that can’t be.’
After silently looking at Elly for a while, Jereuth took a deep breath and ordered the knights.
Fwooh—.
“Hagen, do not place any knights inside His Highness' room. And those flowers, they are flowers growing in the royal palace garden. Tell the gardeners to bring fresh flowers every three hours and replace them.”
“Uh…… Yes, I understand.”
Hagen was bewildered that Jereuth was listening to a mere maid, but since it was also an order, Hagen obeyed without a word.
“Then we will take our leave.”
“Mm.”
Click—.
As Hagen and the other two knights left, Jereuth also stood up from his chair. He then approached Elly, looked down at her—but asked as an equal.
“What were you trying to say earlier?”
“Pardon?”
“You said you had a request for me. Speak, ‘Head Maid’.”
“!”
Calling her ‘Head Maid’ meant he acknowledged it. At that, Elly’s eyes widened slightly, then she calmly replied.
“As far as I know, among the elders of the Mage Tower, there is one named ‘Dante’ who specializes in healing magic. I would like you to call for him. It would have been good if I could have called him myself, but—.”
“I already called for him earlier.”
“Ah…… you did.”
“But how did you know Elder Dante specializes in healing magic? It’s not widely known.”
“That is……”
Elly trailed off, then glanced at Leonardo, who was sleeping with such a peaceful face, and replied.
“Because I am the Head Maid of the royal palace. I investigated everyone who comes and goes in the palace.”
“You investigated?”
“Yes. I thought that anyone who could enter the royal palace was a potential threat who could harm His Highness. So I investigated personally, and in the process, I came to know about Elder Dante.”
“Even if you investigated, it wouldn't have been easy to find that out?”
“Um…… It’s difficult to explain in detail, but a maid comes across various information in many ways. Both inside and outside the royal castle.”
It goes without saying that investigating someone's background isn't a very good thing to do.
But if it was for the sake of Leonardo’s safety as Head Maid, Jereuth was all for it.
“I see.”
Jereuth replied briefly and turned his back. He added a word in a passing tone.
“I told you before. That you were not qualified to be by His Highness' side, so you should leave on your own when the time comes.”
“……Yes.”
“I retract that statement.”
“Pardon?”
“I retract that statement. You are qualified to be by His Highness' side.”
At Jereuth’s completely unexpected words, Elly blinked blankly.
“Th, thank—.”
Just as Elly was about to offer her thanks.
Bang!
Someone opened Leonardo's door with a complete lack of courtesy.
“Who dares—!”
Wondering who it was, Jereuth whipped his head around, but upon recognizing the person who entered the room, he said nothing.
Why, because it was ‘Dante,’ one of the stubborn elders of the Mage Tower, as was widely rumored.
“……Elder Dante, what kind of manners is that. This is His Highness' room.”
“Stop with the useless talk and step aside. And what's with all the soldiers and knights you've deployed outside? Seria's crows are watching everything. That child's magic range isn't wide, but in a small space, she's the most excellent. To the point that I, an elder, acknowledge it.”
“……”
“More importantly, I came because I heard the Crown Prince had fainted, but isn't he just sleeping? I think I hear him snoring too.”
Despite speaking so discourteously, Dante didn't even wipe the sweat from his brow from rushing over and went to Leonardo's side to begin examining him. His expressions were clumsy, but it was clear that Dante was also worried about the Crown Prince.
“……In the name of mana, grasp the pain of God's creation, 「Inspecta—Vitalis」!”
Saaa—.
As Dante began to examine Leonardo, a cool blue light enveloped Leonardo’s body. A similar light shimmered in Dante’s eyes.
After a moment, as if the examination was over, Dante withdrew the magic and muttered.
“……It’s the ‘Half-Elf’s Curse.’ And a very nasty one at that.”
“……!”
“……!”
At the rather dangerous-sounding diagnosis of ‘Half-Elf’s Curse,’ Jereuth and Elly’s eyes widened in surprise.
“‘I, is it treatable?”
Jereuth rarely used honorifics with mages. As a knight who wielded a sword, he had his pride.
But despite being that Jereuth, he unknowingly asked with honorifics. That was how worried he was about Leonardo.
“You must be quite worried about the Crown Prince. For a high-nosed knight like you to speak so politely to me.”
“……Just answer quickly. Can it be treated or not?”
To the displeased Jereuth, Dante gave a light snort and spoke.
“The ‘Half-Elf’s Curse’ cannot be fundamentally treated with magic. Instead, you might be able to treat him.”
“What do you mean by that? That I can treat him?”
“You’re slow to understand, just like a knight whose brain is filled with muscle. Do I have to explain everything one by one? How do you command soldiers with a head like that?”
“……”
“Don’t glare at me like that, I’ll explain.”
Jereuth and Elly’s insides burned with anxiety at Dante’s overly relaxed attitude for a situation where the Crown Prince had fainted. They were also angry.
But on the other hand, since Dante was so relaxed, they also held onto the hope that it might not be a serious illness.
Dante pointed at Leonardo and spoke.
“Elves usually live for over 1,000 years. But an elf who gives birth to a child of a human or another race has their lifespan drastically reduced. Like Queen Victoria.”
“……Yes.”
“The priests say it’s the price for having a child between different races through a love not permitted by God. But I don't believe in such a nonsensical reason. I fundamentally don't think God is so harsh yet so meticulous. Research is difficult because the elves who can have children of other races are an extremely small number of noble beings called 'Elder Elves,' but anyway, I believe the reason for the reduction in an elf's lifespan lies elsewhere. There must be! another reason.”
At Dante mentioning the death of the woman he had loved, Jereuth’s expression darkened.
However, Dante continued to say his piece.
“One born between an elf and another race, a ‘Half-Elf,’ is born with various congenital problems. Problems like being unable to feel emotions, being unable to see, or being unable to hear. That is called the ‘Half-Elf’s Curse.’ In return, they receive the tremendous blessing of inheriting their parents’ talents…… but that is also inheriting random talents.”
“……”
“Anyway, among them, Crown Prince Leonardo was born with the curse of a ‘weak body.’ And on top of that, he has gone through all sorts of hardships, so it’s only natural he would faint.”
“Then are you saying His Highness collapsed simply because he has a weak body? And because of overwork?”
“That’s right. He’s overworked. It’s nothing special.”
If it was simply overwork, that was a relief.
Though the matter of the ‘Half-Elf’s Curse’ still remained.
“So, to prevent the Crown Prince from fainting in the future, you must do two things well. First, don't let him overwork. And second, train his body.”
“Don’t overwork and train his body…… I see.”
“Yes. Now that I’ve explained this much, you know what you have to do, right?”
“Yes.”
Jereuth nodded his head at Dante’s question.
‘When His Highness wakes up…… I must start with physical training.’
Just as Leonardo was laying the foundation of the kingdom and devising various plans to make it prosperous.
Jereuth began to come up with various training schedules to make Leonardo himself strong.
To change Leonardo from a ‘frail but terrifyingly wise Crown Prince’ to a ‘terrifyingly wise and strong Crown Prince.’
Not to the level of the knights, but at least to the point where he could go out onto the battlefield with the soldiers.