CH 157

Characters in this chapter:

Sapphiras Perfectio, former 2nd son of the Earl of Aldridge

Percival Belisario, 3rd son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier, Knight of the Sun

Adeline, Margravine of Vanderwall, Percival’s mother

Jacob, butler of the Belisario household

Susanna, servant in the Belisario household

Caleb Blanchette, 2nd son of the Duke of DeGeneres

“Sapphiras-kun,”

Uwah. I turned around thinking I’ve been approached by a troublesome guy, it seems that my feelings were fully reflected on my face.

“If you show me that blatantly disgusted look, it really hurts me too.”

Don’t lie. You probable don’t think so in the slightest.

“What on earth can I do for you?”

As you can see, I’m enjoying a cup of tea with my fiancé.

These days, Percival and I have been together without hesitation. Up until now, I haven’t had to be afraid. Despite being in our way, Caleb doesn’t seem to mind at all, and on the contrary, he doesn’t even look at Percival, who is sitting with me.

“I visited Sapphiras’s room a few times, but you weren’t in.”

Well. It’s Crawler that’s using my room now. Even the prettiest and best Crawlers can’t manipulate human speech. Sorry.

“I received this from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I was told to give it directly to Sapphiras-kun.”

Saying that, Caleb took something out of his pocket. The envelope is somewhat flashy and exaggerated, but what is this? As I was wary and did not touch the envelope, Caleb finally turned his attention to Percival.

“It’s a tea party invitation from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Belisario-dono is also invited to come. This invitation also serves as an apology for what happened the other day. I would be delighted if you would attend.”

Since his sloppy plan went awry, he has now fired a second arrow, I suppose.

This is an invitation I’d really rather not go to. How can I refuse?

“I’ll arrange for a carriage from our ducal house to pick you up. On the day of the visit, please ride in it.”

Caleb forced the invitation on Percival, and surprisingly, he left easily. I thought I would be forced to RSVP here, but it seems that participation is absolutely necessary based on the current situation.

Percival inserted his thumb into the gap in the sealing wax and opened the envelope rather casually. Normally, a fancy envelope like this would be opened respectfully using something like a paper knife, right? I saw the rough side of Percival, who always tries to be a polite knight.

The contents of the invitation Percival took out were as magnificent as the envelope. Percival’s brow wrinkles deeply as he quickly looks it over.

“We haven’t come of age yet. Normally, if you go up to the royal castle of another country, you would be accompanied by the ambassador of your home country or a nobleman who has your back in the country where you are staying……but it seems that we are the only ones invited.”

The royal family of Solmontana is not that close to the royal family of Sternkurst. Moreover, was there ever a nobleman in this country who had our back? No, there isn’t.

In such a situation, only we, who are only students, are invited to the royal castle? Moreover, the tea party will be held in just three days. In such a short period of time, it is impossible to contact our home country or birthplace, and it is also difficult to be absent when the person who sent the invitation is the Crown Prince. If it were an ordinary foreign student, they probably wouldn’t be able to handle it.

And if it had been the usual me, I would have just accepted the invitation without thinking, and if anything happened, I would have thought that I could do something about it with magic. But now I’m not the same as I was before.

“Hey, Percival.”

“That’s right. Let’s go back to Vanderwall once before the tea party.”

That’s what I thought!

We nodded at each other and got up from our seats.

“Well! Sapphy! Welcome back! Glad to see you’re well!”

When we transferred to Belisario’s castle, I was greeted by Madam Adeline. I was hugged so tightly that I wondered where she got such strength from her slender arms.

“Fugyu……!”

“Madam, Sapphiras-sama is suffocating!”

I was almost suffocated, but thanks to Susanna-san, I managed to escape. I’m happy to be welcomed, but I’d like to ask you to be a little more gentle with me. I thought every bone in my body was going to break. ……

“Oh, dear……I’m so sorry. I’m so glad you’re back, and I’m just……Percy too, thank you for coming back.”

“Mother. I need to speak to your father right now.”

When Percival greeted her, Madam Adeline’s smiling face suddenly changed.

“I understand. I’ll have him come back immediately. Jacob.”

“Yes, Madam.”

Jacob, who had been standing by her side, quickly walks out of the entrance. He must have gone to fetch Vanderwall-kyou.

We are shown into Vanderwall-kyou’s office by Madam Adeline. Susanna-san prepares tea for us, but we didn’t have to wait long before Vanderwall-kyou returned. He must have been at the training ground, seeing that he was wearing a squad uniform.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. So, what’s going on? Is it something related to the incident the other day?”

“Here.”

Percival holds out the invitation Caleb gave him. Vanderwall-kyou’s eyes widened slightly at the pretentiousness of the envelope, but when he saw the invitation inside, his eyebrows were deeply furrowed. They are father and son after all. He had the same reaction as Percival.

“This is…….”

“What on earth is this?”

Vanderwall-kyou silently hands the invitation in his hand to Madam Adeline. She looks it over quickly, her eyes flashing, and her eyes jump up in an understandable manner.

“……This is quite an insulting invitation to us.”

“Umu…..I understand the situation well. I’ll do everything I can, but in the event of an emergency, Percival, you are the only one who can assess the situation and take action. The other party is a member of the royal family of another country, and moreover, the Crown Prince. There is a possibility that you will be forced to make difficult decisions.”

“Yes.”

Percival nodded humbly.

It’s really troublesome when people in power are stupid. I don’t think it’s necessary to accept an invitation from such a troublesome person, but right now I’m not a free-spirited adventurer, but a student who receives support from an influential noble in Solmontana, and I’m also connected to the Margrave family that protects the border. I owe both families a great debt of gratitude, so I can’t cause any trouble. So even if something does happen, I have to make sure I don’t suddenly use brute force. At the very least, I’ll be careful to keep it to a level that can be covered up.

We arrived at the castle of Sternkust in the splendid carriage of the Dukes of DeGeneres, and were guided to the tea party venue by a waiting servant. It seems like we’ve come a long way into the castle, but is it my imagination that I sense something intentional about it?

“Sapphiras, whatever happens, don’t leave my side.”

Percival also senses something, and whispers quietly while looking straight ahead.

“Of course.”

I have no intention of leaving Percival’s side either. If the enemy were to try something, the first thing they would think about would be to split Percival and I. But I’ll protect Percival no matter what.

Vanderwall-kyou sent two knights to accompany us as liaisons. They are currently waiting in Kelsas. I was wondering where on earth Percival flew the Wind Falcon from, but I learned that there was a liaison officer for the Margrave among the people of this country in the city. Although it is a peaceful country on the surface, it is unclear what they will do. It is natural to be wary.

“Come in, this way, please.”

The hall we were shown into was fairly spacious, with light streaming in from the skylight, giving it a bright and open feeling. The guests seemed to have already arrived, and at a table decorated with flowers, nobles of high family status were enjoying friendly conversation, but when we entered the room, they gave us indescribable glances, as if they were scornful or judging us.

Today’s outfits were well put together by Madam Adeline. It’s not as flashy as the one at the Yor party, but it’s still a pair of outfits. She said she had prepared the outfits because she didn’t know what kind of invitations we would receive when we got engaged. Madam Adeline sighed deeply, saying she never thought that the preparation would come in handy in this way.

That’s why, although it was a sudden invitation from a noble troublesome person, our preparations were not lacking.

As we are attracting the gazes of the impudent nobles, Caleb comes to us with a suspicious smile on his face.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Sapphiras-kun. Now, come this way. Let me introduce you to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

Come to think of it, I don’t know what the Crown Prince of this country looks like. I don’t even know his name, but that’s okay. I’m going to greet him anyway.

“Your Highness, Sapphiras-kun and Belisario-kyou, son of the Margrave of Vanderwall, are here. Sapphiras-kun, this is His Royal Highness Adrian Aeternitas Sternkurst, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Sternkurst.”

“Sapphiras-dono, and Belisario-kyou, thank you for coming. I am Adrian.”

The man seated at the far end of the room had the fiery red hair and golden eyes that tend to appear in the direct royalty of this country. He was well built, as if he had worked out to a certain extent. His age is around twenty or so.

“Thank you for inviting me here today.”

“Sapphiras-dono. I would have liked to have a long talk with you at least once, but first, it seems that one of my subjects was very rude to you. I have given him a stern warning, so I hope you will forgive him.”

Perhaps there was some sort of protest from Solmontana. So they are just trying to round things off formally here.

“……In the end, it seems that the goddess’s will was on my side, so there is no problem.”

There was no problem for me. However, I put it in words that says that I have no intention of discussing whether or not I will forgive it. My answer caused a stir around me. ‘The lowly brat from another country is disrespectful!’ something like that? However, I think I have the right to say that much because I was being harassed so plainly.

“Well, well, that’s harsh!”

However, Adrian didn’t seem to care about the reactions of those around him and just laughed and ignored them. I see, it seems like he doesn’t have an impulsive personality.

“I heard that Sapphiras-dono likes sweets. I hope you can enjoy the tea and sweets of our country to the fullest today, as an apology at the very least.”

……Hehhh, you’ve done a lot of research on me. I don’t know a single thing about Adrian. Well, I don’t need to know!

melon: Late update today because I just realised my stockpile has ran out