Chapter 207: The Princess’s Demand
"Are you close?"
"Not at all. Although we live in the same castle, but we only saw each other once or twice a year. And even when we did meet, she would only make sarcastic comments, so I mostly ignored her."
He really didn’t seem to care.
He simply shook his head with a calm expression.
Then why was it like this?
"...But recently, it’s feels like I keeps seeing her around me more often... or rather, she keeps catching my attention. I sees her so much that I tried to ask her why, but she suddenly got angry and ran away."
He hoped it wasn’t something like stalking.
Even if they were siblings, that would be strange.
"More importantly, isn’t saying Qiong Xing clinging to you is pretty rude? It’s actually the other way around."
That was true.
Qiong Xing was only taking on requests because Brat had asked him to.
It wasn’t like Qiong Xing was the one following him around or asking him to give him work.
But it would be harsh to say that to Brat who didn’t know anything about it.
"Well, it’s fine. She didn’t do anything serious. More importantly, you’ve grown a lot since the last time he saw you. You’ve gotten taller, and your build is much stronger too."
His attitude toward Qiong Xing had not changed at all, but his build looked much more mature than the last time they met.
When Qiong Xing praised him and said it was impressive, Brat smiled happily and began talking about what he had been doing.
"Um... I thought carefully about what you told me before, in my own way. And I decided to do what I can for now and try my best. I’ve improved with the sword compared to before, and even though I’m still bad at studying, I’ve been working on it little by little. Recently, I even received rare praise from the prime minister."
It seemed that the king of this country was not very involved and most things were handled by the prime minister.
If he was that capable, Qiong Xing thought he might not be liked by others, but apparently, he was extremely skilled.
Anyone he judged as useless would be quickly removed and even if someone tried to find a weakness, he left no openings.
Those foolish enough to try would mysteriously disappear and becoming the subject of eerie rumors.
That was scary.
"That’s great. It means someone was watching your efforts. You’ve also been taking requests at the guild, right? I heard your rank went up."
"It’s only E rank. Um... even if our ranks are different, can I still go with you on requests again?"
It didn’t seem like there was any real benefit for Brat, but Qiong Xing understood that he simply wanted to stay with him, so there was no problem letting him come along.
"Of course. What would you like to do today? We can take a request, but since it’s been a while, maybe we can just talk for a bit?"
"Yes! I’d love that!"
It didn’t feel right to just sit and talk inside the guild without taking a request, so they decided to go outside for some tea instead.
"Ah, um, before that, actually I wanted to give you—"
"Waaait a second!!"
"Wait!!"
Just as that loud shout echoed through the guild, two familiar faces and the girl he had seen earlier came running toward Qiong Xing and the others.
"...For now, everyone is surprised, so let’s apologize."
"We’re sorry!"
When Qiong Xing said that with a gentle smile, for some reason Sarin and Katarina bowed their heads deeply toward him with great force.
They were apologizing to the wrong person.
He found it a bit impressive how much people could talk.
"My dear brother will one day inherit our father’s place and become king. If strange rumors spread about him being with a commoner like you, it would be a serious problem."
"......."
I see.
"More importantly, just because my brother is kind, don’t get carried away. Who would willingly want to be with someone like you, a thin and shabby man like that?"
I see, I see.
While Qiong Xing listened calmly, the atmosphere around them grew colder and heavier with every word the girl spoke.
Albe, in particular, was glaring at her as if he might curse her on the spot.
"I understand most of what you’re trying to say. So, what exactly do you want from me?"
For about thirty minutes, he had been made to listen to a long speech about how wonderful her brother was and how Qiong Xing was not worthy of him.
But in the end, he still didn’t understand what she actually wanted.
To him, it just sounded like someone proudly declaring how much she loved her brother.
"Huh? Um, well, that’s right! It means you should leave here right now!"
"You don’t mean this guild, right? So you want me to leave not just this town, but this entire country?"
"That’s right! You understand well."
...Hmm.
The way she proudly puffed out her chest looked very cute, but what she was saying was not cute at all.
Her arrogant attitude only made everyone around her more angry.
"B— no, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Please forgive all my past disrespect. Since the princess has spoken like this, I will follow her command and leave this country immediately. Albe, let’s go."
It made him sad to leave this town where he had met so many kind people, but it didn’t mean he would never see them again.
As for Brat, that time had happened outside the town, and although Qiong Xing had gotten angry and scolded him, right now they were inside a town ruled by the royal family.
It would not be wise to go against them.
It would be more troublesome if he caused resentment and brought trouble to the people around him.
He took Albe’s hand who clearly looked dissatisfied and tried to leave—
"Wait."
"Please wait!"