72 Chapter 4-7 Royal Selfishness, Afternoon Edition

"Tenma, it's time to go."

After lunch and drinking tea, Maria came.

"We don't have much time, so let's go around from close by today"

Make sure you pull me, and Maria walks away.

When I left the front door, there was a single carriage parked there.

There was Mr. Cliff in your seat, Mr. Edgar and Mr. Chris in front of the door and two other female knights.

"Do you have them already?

"Isabella and the others are still here... No, I see you."

Who's Isabella? When I thought so, I heard footsteps from the front door.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, mother-in-law"

It was a woman who looked about the same age as Chris who called Maria her mother-in-law.

There is also Luna beside it.

"I'm sorry, Auntie. If I was choosing clothes with my mother, it would take me a while..."

I doubted Luna's words. If I hadn't heard wrong, Luna would have called this woman 'Mother' now.

That's when I saw Mr. Chris reflexively... I saw him. And I had eyes with Mr. Chris.

"Mr. Tenma... now, why did you see me?

... I saw a ghost behind Mr. Chris's back... I feel...

"Nothing, is it?

Mr. Chris looked at my face as giddy, but he seemed to give up because I wouldn't change his expression.

"Dear Tenma, even if you can see it, Chris is eight years younger."

"Oh, really?! It looks about the same age so strange...... ah!

I leaked the truth to the Devil's (Cliff) whisper from behind.

"Tenmaku... I'm still, uh, 23."

You're approaching me with a smile, Mr. Chris. But that smile scared me.

"Chris? It's time for 23."

Devil whispering around behind Mr. Chris (Cliff)... Around 18-24 is commonly said to be the marriageable age for women in this country, around 16-20 lower than this when it comes to nobility.

Mr. Chris isn't Mr. Cliff, he's stuck with me.

"I'm still okay, right?! You can still go, hey!

You're gonna grab my shoulder and shake it, Mr. Chris, and behind that, Mr. Cliff is laughing.

"Are there any good people in the Kingsguard? For example, Mr. Edgar or Mr. Sigurd..."

Chris looked very disgusted when they came up with their names trying to get out of Mr. Chris' shaking.

I got out of that gap, but Mr. Chris still looked disgusted.

"Don't you two like it that much?

Mr. Chris answered my query without interrupting.

"Absolutely not!

To that answer, Mr. Edgar, who I had heard nearby, seemed hurt. I am a little depressed.

I don't know what it is, but it seems better not to ask anymore about this.

"Tenma, may I have a moment? This is Isabella, Caesar's wife. Would it be easier to say the Crown Princess?"

Maria introduced me so I saw her face trying to say hello, but she still looks young.

Slightly child-faced for his small physique, his breasts are... smaller than Mr. Chris's? Not even Chris...

"Nice to meet you. It's called Tenma. Best regards,"

"Yeah, I'm listening. I'm Isabella von Blue Mail Crustin, Isabella is fine... sorry my kids bothered me"

Nor did Master Isabella feel great for a nobleman.

Wondering about that...

"That sounds strange, Tenma. Is it so rare for a nobleman to apologize? Well, when I was looking for Caesar's daughter-in-law about Isabella, I chose to focus on her personality... even though it was said that my parents were the Duke's house."

Caesar and the others educated him that way in addition to his original personality... Maria herself...

Normally, the queen leaves it to the professional without direct education, but Maria didn't seem to make it any better.

Ask me why...

"'Cause that's the kid! Bad education doesn't mean I know what I'm going to do! Then I'd feel safer raising them myself!

Whoever knew the character of the king would have had enough of that answer. Sure, if there were three heirs to the throne of that character, this country would be in big trouble.

"You seem convinced. Okay, let's get going. It's taking so long! Let's hurry!

That said, Master Maria boarded the carriage. The carriage is just the right size for about six people, so I didn't have a problem with the size, but when I ran out I was going to feel painful about how comfortable my carriage was.

The carriage has quite a bit of vibration throughout the city, so it's pretty hard without a cushion or something in the seat.

"Let's go see some clothes at first. Clive, please."

"I'm in awe. Let's take a look around some of the most popular stores these days."

With that said, Mr. Cliff drove a carriage. Mr. Chris, the knights of the escort took up one position at a time, before and after the carriage.

"How do tenmas always choose their clothes?

Master Maria was sitting next to me, talking to me with her face to the side.

"I usually choose with an emphasis on ease of movement. After that, isn't it strange to see that it's well made or something like that..."

With the exception of Kukri Village, I have never worn clothes tailored for myself before.

I basically wore clothes made for me by my neighbors, such as my mother and Aunt Martha in Kukuri Village, and I never tailored them in my previous life, so I don't feel like asking them to give me money to tailor them.

"Huh, you are... then have one tailored today. Of course I'll give you the money."

"Oh, then I'll get it out, mother-in-law. I have to apologize for the inconvenience."

Isabella has joined Maria in her remarks, and the conversation is going on with me.

For once, I shunned, but did Maria raid the King and Lord Lyle? As an apology for the incident, Isabella was told as a personal (...) sign of gratitude for saving the lives of Tida and Luna.

In addition, not even giving something to apologize for first does not show against other nobles, and if you are bad, the royalty is an arrogant clan that does nothing to the benefactor or the victim! and was even told that there was a risk of giving the rebels a pretext for attack.

Therefore, this time, she did not hesitate to receive it, so she asked Maria and the others to tailor their clothes one at a time.

Then I'm going to dress up, and Isabella's going to give me a dress.

They say that Maria and Isabella's gifts are usually the opposite, but in this case Maria apologizes for the kings' pranks and Isabella says thank you to the benefactors of her sons' lives, so Isabella has to make it more expensive.

Most importantly, since everyday clothing is a feeling of royalty, they say that if you do poorly, it will be the price of a uniform worn by a normal nobleman, Mr. Cliff asked.

"Dear Maria, I'll be in the store shortly so I can get ahead of you"

Chris, who was walking alongside the carriage, has reported putting two female knights ahead.

The female knight gently ran the horse, one to the store of interest and the other to secure a place to stop the carriage.

Arriving in a dedicated parking space for the aristocrats of the intended shop and disembarking from the carriage, it was a garment shop of considerable size, and the entrance sign was decorated with a sentence indicating the royal servants and a royal crest.

"Welcome, Queen, Crown Princess, Princess. We welcome you with all our hearts."

Diving into the entrance to the store, there were men and employees who appeared to be the owners of the store, greeting them side by side.

"Yeah, it's been a while. I was wondering if I could show you some new stuff and some recent fashions today."

After listening to Maria, several employees went to the back of the store and immediately brought several clothes and ornaments.

The store owner came to say hello to Isabella while the employee was explaining the item to Maria.

"It's been a long time, Dear Isabella and Luna. Please wait while we have something that suits both of you right now."

"Thank you, but before I do, I'd like to ask for a dress."

When I said that, Master Isabella introduced me behind it.

"Ha, is it this guy's courtesy..."

The shopkeeper looked at me and looked strange. Apparently he thought about me as an escort or something, and he didn't even think he'd ask for my dress.

But the shopkeeper quickly caught his eye and led us to the back of the store.

"Let me measure the dimensions first"

Then I took my dimensions and brought some clothes of the right size based on that.

"This will be a sample, is there anything you like?

Isabella has chosen to hit me with the clothes the store owner brought.

"Could it look better this way... or this way?

"This one looks better on your brother!

The two of us have had a lot of opinions, and they seem obsessed and forget to ask me for my opinion.

"Isabella, Luna. I'm leaving my temper alone."

There, Maria, who had been looking at the items in the store until earlier, rendezvoused and cautioned the two.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm obsessed."

"I'm sorry."

The two people Maria noticed finally realized they weren't listening to me.

"No, I'm not sure how good or bad my clothes are... I just don't like anything very flashy, so I don't mind if you consider that"

The store owner put some samples back into my words, and now added some clothes in a quiet shade of shiatsu.

"Right... how about this?

The clothes chosen by Master Isabella were based on blue and were likely to be moveable, so I decided to let them try on.

"Yeah, that sounds good"

When you see what you actually wear, it looks like you have a good reputation.

"I was wondering if you could tailor something like this."

When Isabella placed the order with the store owner, she took me straight around and looked around the store.

Then I looked around for about an hour and left the store behind.

"Next time you wear it everyday. Clive, head to the next store."

The next move was a little smaller than the earlier store, but there were more clothes lined up in the store than the earlier store.

"Come on, I'll choose, Tenma!

Isabella and Luna were also strained for some reason by Maria who strained, giving various opinions.

I repeatedly tried some on at the store and still looked around at the store's products for about an hour.

"We've chosen Tenma's clothes, and now ours!

Master Maria is tenacious and giving instructions to Mr. Cliff.

The third house on its way there was a shop specializing in women's clothing, which also housed underwear and other items in the store.

I was awkward to go inside the boulder, so I said I was waiting outside, but Maria and Isabella forced me into the store.

I entered the store without being able to shake off the boulder, but unexpectedly, there were several other male customers in the store.

Most of all, except for some, male customers seemed to be forced by the woman with them, and I could see a slight sense of reassurance about the increase in company, along with sympathy in my eyes.

It should be noted that some male customers seemed to have a gender that seemed angry when judged to be male...... I was watching other male customers dyeing their cheeks, so I would almost certainly.

"Tenma, does this look good on you?

"Mr. Tenma, what do you think of this combination?

"Brother, isn't this cute?

"Tenma, are these clothes a little too young?

"That's not true, mother-in-law. You look great."

"Auntie, you're adorable!

"Mr. Tenma, is this a little plain?

"Right... I think a little more flashy would suit Isabella?

"It doesn't look good on you."

"Brother, how's this?

"Luna! That's too soon for you!

"Well... wait another six years"

................................. Me, don't you want it? So much so that those thoughts make me think, the three of them are choosing clothes without worrying about me. All three of them ask me for once, but someone's got their mouth pinched before I can answer.

So I'm only able to say, yes, or yes, or no.

Besides, is Luna still shameless, or is she stopped by the two of us every time she tries to come to my place with flashy underwear and ask for my opinion?

Well, I don't think they can give me a decent opinion if they bring it, and I don't want to.

All three of them are disguised as royalty to the extent that they do not know the boulder, but no matter what they look like from anywhere noble and conspicuous, all three of them have an extra attention in the store because their faces fall into the category of beauty, and some customers enjoyed watching me swing by the three of them.

"Ma'am, young lady, it's time"

Mr. Cliff appeared from nowhere to the three obsessed with shopping.

"Oh, is that already the time?

Maria's words are given to the clerk, such as the clothes that Isabella kept.

Mr. Cliff went straight to finish his accounting, followed by a female knight.

We were led by Mr. Chris to the carriage that Mr. Edgar was waiting for.

This is how shopping with Maria and the others came to an end, but I'm really tired.

I'm more tired than my morning training... and Maria and the others are fine with me like that.

Luna also talks to Isabella about what happened in the store without showing a tired bareback.

"You had a great day! Let's come back! Hey, brother!

I couldn't snort at Luna's words instantly.

The women looked at me like that smiling, and only Mr. Edgar had a gaze of sympathy.

There was another man on this occasion, but the man was obviously enjoying my reaction.

On his way into the carriage and towards the royal castle, Maria, who had been quiet until then, accidentally opened her mouth.

"Don't we hate tenma?

I had no idea what I was talking about when I heard the words.

"I'm talking about the Kukri Village case. I can tell you that the responsibility for that incident is also borne by Uncle Haust Borderline, who had hired the soldiers who caused the tragedy, and even more so by His Majesty, who ordered Uncle Borderline. I'll ask you again on that. Do you resent His Majesty... our royalty?

Not only in the carriage but also the knights on guard outside to Maria's words quieted and waited for my words.

I opened my mouth after organizing the meaning of Maria's words in my head.

"I don't resent you"

"Why! Your parents are dead because of us!

Maria seemed uncomfortable with my answer.

"Then I resent you quite a bit. The more you want to kill all the clan royalists too... are you convinced?

"If that's the heart of the tenma..."

I said half-jokingly, but Master Maria nodded with a serious look.

"It wouldn't be weird if Tenma thought so. I can't just keep quiet about getting killed, but I still don't think I can help it."

Lady Isabella was also nodding at Maria's words.

"If me and Tenma were in the opposite position and Tida and Luna died because of Tenma, I would have hated Tenma as much as I wanted to kill her, whoever she was"

"Even so, it wasn't the Kings who killed my parents, it was the soldiers and dragon zombies hired by the Houst Border Uncle. I'm sorry I couldn't kill the soldiers with my own hands, but the dragon zombies killed with my own hands, and even if I did, I chose those soldiers, even Uncle Haust Border."

"Yes..."

Master Maria tried to say something, but I blocked it.

"Certainly, for a time, I hated all of the nobles, knights, and soldiers, even if I hated them. But I've had the opportunity to interact with some nobles on the road so far. So what I found out is that even if you say that you have noble blood, there are scraps in there that you can't help, and there are good people. That's the same for civilians. So you can't help but resent the king. And of course you..."

Maria and the others listened quietly to my words.

"Besides, if you really hated the Kings, you'd be slashed during that bow-and-arrow incident."

I made a joke and said, but this is true. Even if I cut off the king's head at that time, I killed him reflexively because he was about to be killed... well, if I did that, I'd be called a felon for whatever reason.

For now, I (...) have no grudges against royalty, and just because I'm noble doesn't mean I hate you furiously.

I think I've sort out my feelings over time or I've grown up spiritually... but sometimes I still feel unwittingly sad...

Master Maria and Master Isabella had thought to bite my words.

"Yes... well, you don't resent us... good... my best friend's son doesn't hate me..."

When Maria said that, she was keeping her eyes handcuffed.

For some time there was silence around the carriage, and all I could hear was the horse's footsteps and the sound of the wheels.

Maria stared me straight in the eye as she put the handkerchief out of her sight.

"Tenma, you won't be my adopted son. Your Majesty will be persuaded by me."

In response to Maria's sudden offer, I was surprised at Isabella's neglect and Cliff's quiet questioning of what was going on inside.

"What are you suddenly saying!

"It's not sudden, I've been thinking about it for a long time. I want to help Sealia and her sons... I can't give the boulders the right to inherit the throne, but I promise you a life of nobility."

Maria's eyes were serious. I know it also contains feelings of pity and sympathy, but more than that, it conveys the desire to protect me on behalf of my mothers.

"Thank you...... but I refuse"

From around my words, the gaze that I said was incredible, but only Maria was calm.

"Can I ask why?

"I'm very happy to talk about Maria, but I've decided that I'm not going to be adopted by anyone else from this point forward. I'm the son of Ricardo and Shelia from Kukri Village, and I'm not going to be the son of anyone else."

In my words, Maria looked dismayed and horribly complicated, but seemed to change her mind immediately.

"Okay... but that's all I remember that I want to take care of you. And if you have any problems, please talk to me. We'll do everything we can to help."

"Thank you......"

Since then, the air in the carriage has become subtle, and the air has never been restored until it returns to the royal castle.

Even in that air, only Luna slept easily.

We arrived at the royal castle about an hour later and the sun would set.

When Mr. Cliff stopped the carriage in front of the front door, Aina, who was waiting, greeted me.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back"

To Aina, who greets her with a token of gratitude, Maria and the others pass by with words of impatience, but Aina suddenly raised her head as I tried to pass by.

"Master Tenma has something to ask you about Jeanne and the others!

Aina's voice had a strange force, and we were supposed to stop.