#4
“The first banquet will be held by His Highness Reginald, the second by His Highness Hiore, the third by His Highness Asil, and the fourth by His Highness Judith. If anyone has an objection, speak now.”
Perhaps thinking he had drawn an inconvenient date, Hiore did not look pleased. However, he did not object to the Emperor, who had appeared in an official setting for the first time in a long while.
When the princes remained silent for a long time, the servant turned around to check the Emperor’s wishes. When the Emperor nodded, the servant continued.
“Then I will explain the rules. First, you are forbidden from using more resources than what has been provided. If it is discovered that additional resources were used, you will receive a disadvantage in future competitions. Second, you may not use the provided resources for personal purposes. You must submit your accounts within one week after the banquet ends. That is all.”
After finishing, the servant looked toward the Emperor.
The Emperor lowered the handkerchief he had been holding and solemnly declared,
“I hope you will hold banquets that demonstrate the dignity of the Adennawar Empire.”
With the Emperor’s words, the audience came to an end.
The guards gathered in groups of three and opened the heavy iron doors.
The princes leaving the audience chamber each had a completely different expression.
Reginald looked confident.
Hiore was frowning.
Judith looked deep in thought.
Asil was clutching his slip of paper tightly.
The Emperor watched the backs of those leaving for a long time.
“Oh my! With this much money, there would even be enough left over to repair the Prince’s Palace!”
The nanny made a fuss when she saw the money Judith had brought back.
It was understandable that she would be excited.
This was the first time Judith had ever brought back additional funds beyond the regular budget allocated to his palace.
“We can’t repair anything. We have to record every single expense in the accounts.”
At Judith’s words, the nanny looked deeply disappointed.
“I thought we might finally be able to make some repairs this time. The servants’ rooms are freezing because the wind comes straight through the walls.”
“I’m sorry. Let’s discuss it as soon as the next budget comes in. This amount also includes the cost of hiring additional servants and their meals, so we should be able to find some kind of compromise.”
“Oh, that’s a relief at least.”
Only after Judith offered a solution did the nanny relax.
She also knew that Judith’s room had been practically freezing for years.
But while Judith was young, the servants, including the nanny, were getting older.
No one wanted to come work at the crumbling Prince’s Palace, so it was difficult to manage the household with such a small number of people.
The nanny thought they deserved at least that much.
“So what exactly is the assignment? You’re holding a banquet?”
“The delegation from the Kingdom of Herut is coming. The princes will each hold a banquet for them on one of the four days.”
“Herut? You mean those people who live in the desert? Aren’t they barbarians?”
The nanny shuddered as if she were frightened.
“That country has its own culture and way of life. They’re coming here as guests, so you should refrain from making comments like that.”
Judith rarely spoke sharply to her, so the nanny pouted.
“But it’s just us here.”
“Even so, you should be careful. You know there are many ears listening throughout the Imperial Palace.”
“Fine, fine. I understand. I should go clean now. You have no idea how difficult it is to clean with so few servants. Oh, my aching bones.”
The nanny turned around sharply while rubbing her shoulders.
Judith sighed quietly as he watched her angry back.
Whenever she was scolded, the nanny had a long-standing habit of changing the subject to one of her own weaknesses and running away.
Judith had known from an early age that she was not exactly an adult worth imitating.
He also knew that her current attitude was not appropriate behavior toward a prince.
But she had been the person who raised him after his mother died, so it was difficult for him to say anything to her.
Perhaps he should simply be grateful that she had stayed by his side instead of abandoning him.
In any case, that was not what mattered right now.
There was only a month and a half left until the banquet.
He had to do something.
Sitting down at his desk, Judith wrote neatly:
“A banquet that demonstrates the dignity of the Empire.”
Those were the Emperor’s own words.
There was no way they were unimportant.
A banquet that demonstrated dignity could be interpreted in many ways.
Reginald would probably hold a banquet that overwhelmed the delegation with the Empire’s culture and food.
Then what could Judith do?
After thinking for a while, Judith stood up.
He then hurried toward the library.
“…Your Highness.”
“…”
“Prince Judith.”
“…Ah.”
Judith was startled by the quiet voice beside him and sat upright.
Bashur, wearing a monocle, was looking at him with a gentle smile.
“What book has you so engrossed?”
“Ah… It’s a book about the Kingdom of Herut. I was given an assignment this time.”
“I heard about the competition. You’re already working hard.”
Bashur looked at Judith with an approving expression, but his face soon darkened.
“Why are you…? Ah.”
Judith became flustered when he saw Bashur’s expression and quickly covered his neck.
There were blue bruises in the shape of fingerprints on his pale neck.
They were the marks left by the Duke the previous night.
Judith had deliberately wrapped a scarf around his neck because the bruises were so noticeable, but he seemed to have become so absorbed in his reading that he had not noticed the scarf had come loose.
“I know a good medicine for bruises. I’ll bring it to you.”
“You don’t have to…”
“I do.”
Bashur said it firmly and left the Imperial Library.
Judith watched him go with a complicated expression.
“It’s already this late.”
Judith rubbed the corners of her eyes and looked out the window.
The sun was slowly setting behind the garden.
He had been so absorbed in his books that he had not even noticed it getting dark.
The Kingdom of Herut was fascinating.
The legends and folktales surrounding the desert, warriors and dancers, and oases.
Judith had studied the language and way of life of the Kingdom of Herut before, but he had never read stories like these.
His heart was filled with excitement.
Just as he was thinking that he should borrow a few of the books, Bashur came running back.
He had not even noticed that his hair had fallen loose.
“Who was it that said you shouldn’t run in the library?”
At Judith’s words, Bashur smiled awkwardly.
It was something he had repeatedly told the young Judith whenever the boy became excited and hopped around whenever he went to the library.
In Bashur’s palm was a small medicine container about the size of two fingers.
“Please let it slide just this once.”
As he said that, Bashur popped open the medicine container.
The pale green ointment inside had a soft yet refreshing scent.
Bashur scooped up a generous amount of the ointment and approached Judith.
Only then did Judith realize what he intended to do.
Looking flustered, Judith pulled his neck away.
“I-I can apply it myself.”
“You can’t see the wounds on your neck very well, can you? I’ll do it for you.”
As Bashur’s hand gradually approached, Judith’s heart began pounding.
Feeling ticklish and nervous, Judith tightly closed his eyes.
Then a low voice came from behind them.
“You two seem quite close.”
At those words, Bashur’s hand suddenly stopped.
The voice sounded unfamiliar, yet strangely familiar.
Judith turned his head.
The Duke, Kalid, was approaching them while looking at the two of them with interest.
The atmosphere instantly froze as if someone had poured cold water over it.
With Judith and Bashur standing stiffly before him, Kalid formally greeted him.
“I pay my respects to His Highness the Prince.”
“It’s good to see you, Duke.”
“I pay my respects to Your Grace.”
“I’ve wanted to meet you at least once. It’s a pleasure to finally do so.”
At the Duke’s words, the Imperial Library, which had already been quiet, became even more chillingly silent.
It was fortunate that there were only three of them here, but what exactly was he plotting?
“…I’ve also always wanted to talk to the Duke.”
“That’s wonderful to hear. But… what is that mark on your neck?”
“…”
Judith silently looked at Kalid.
Kalid gave him a sly smile, pretending that he knew nothing.
“…It’s nothing. I have a rather restless sleeping habit.”
“A sleeping habit, you say… It seems Your Highness has some rather unusual tastes. If you ever need a gathering for that sort of thing, I can arrange one for you.”
“Thank you for your kindness. I’ll let you know if I ever need it.”
What an awful sense of humor.
The person who had actually left those marks had the nerve to say something like that.
Even though Judith knew the words Kalid whispered at the end were meant to provoke him, Judith deliberately accepted the provocation.
At Judith’s reaction, Kalid let out a low laugh.
He seemed to be enjoying this situation quite a lot.
