Chapter 74

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"Please rest assured, Lady Ein. In terms of the review, there has been no favoritism at all. Any kind of cheating is absolutely out of the question."

The kindly old man smiled gently. Warren smiled as if his mischief had succeeded.

"…When did the examination take place?"

"It was two days after Lord Bara and Lady Mei arrived at the castle, so it was really recent."

"Bara's case was a great help. It is being evaluated as a significant achievement, following the sea dragon incident."

Bara had already completed several examination-like investigations. Ein was looking forward to seeing how much healing ability she possessed.

Given that Silvado praised her so sincerely, it must have been a good thing for Ishtalika as well.

"That's why, since the timing wasn't bad, we decided to conduct the appointment examination. It might seem sudden, but royal family examinations are always sudden. Besides, many others besides Miss Krone took the exam, so it's not as if only Miss Krone took it."

It measures the effort put in on a daily basis. In that sense, it is held suddenly without a preparation period. Of course, there are times when no one passes, so it's a really difficult exam.

"By the way, what was the exam content…?"

"Written test, aptitude test, interview with the marshal, and then my interview after the second written test."

"Wasn't Chris supposed to be absent?"

That's right. After all, Chris was with Ein in Isto, so there was no way she could have conducted the interview.

"Lord Lloyd, who was the marshal until last year, took over for her."

"…Rather, I think Lord Lloyd would have been more suitable than me. I'm not good at interviews."

Ein was surprised that such a major examination had taken place while he was away from the capital. A five-stage exam could take several months, after all.

"This exam schedule is completed in a total of five days. So, it progresses one subject at a time."

"That's quite a rushed schedule."

"By the way, Miss Krone got 90% correct on the first written test. She scored a perfect score on the second written test, which was a significant factor in the decision."

You've got to be kidding me, are you some kind of monster? Ein thought, looking at Krone, who smiled gently as if to say, "What's the matter?"

"That's why, under fair review, Miss Krone has passed. So, please rest assured."

"Yeah, I don't really understand, but I get that Krone will be a retainer."

It's too sudden and confusing, but it's a good thing that Krone will be a retainer.

"From today onwards, Miss Krone… no, Lord Krone will serve as Lady Ein's attendant. The job responsibilities include all kinds of miscellaneous tasks and all the arrangements Lady Ein needs… in simpler terms, everything Lady Ein needs."

This is Warren's way of acknowledging her. By addressing her as "Lord" instead of "Miss," he recognized Krone as a full-fledged attendant.

"…Isn't that going to be quite a lot of work?"

Ein, as the crown prince, has been involved in various things. There were several inspections and matters related to the academy. If Krone were to be involved in all of that, he would be worried about her burden.

"That's right, Ein. Before Warren became the prime minister, he used to take care of me and Lalarua. So, it's just one person."

Ein had forgotten about the other monster. Warren is always working, to the point where one wonders when he sleeps.

Ein is worried that the castle is gradually becoming a monster's lair. …Krone spoke to Ein, who was thinking this.

"Please rest assured, Lady Ein. I have everything prepared for the duel the day after tomorrow."

"Krone, are you sure? You're not overworking yourself?"

"Yes, of course. Lady Ein, you just need to get in the carriage I've prepared for you, as you are."

Krone, now in a subordinate position, spoke to Ein with honorifics, addressing him as "Lady."

"Wait a minute. Did you complete all the preparations in just a few days?"

"…? Yes, that's right… Do you have any requests?"

Krone looked at Ein as if to say, "What's the problem with that?" For her, it wasn't a big deal.

"…No, it's nothing. I was just impressed by how capable the retainer is."

"Oh, I'm honored to receive your praise, Lady Ein."

So, Ein got a retainer. When he was told he would suddenly get a retainer, he thought, "Huh?" But he was genuinely happy that the retainer was Krone.

* * *

Chris was still giving her report, but since Ein's part was done, he and Krone left the meeting room together.

The two walked through the castle and headed to Bara's location.

"…For a while now. Were you thinking about the exam you mentioned earlier?"

"Exam…? Oh, about being Lady Ein's retainer?"

"Yeah, that one."

"Hmm… I don't know. If I tell you, will you get mad?"

She didn't want to admit that she had been aiming for it all along, so Krone tried to dodge the question.

"I won't get mad, but I might get a little disappointed."

But Ein had known Krone for a long time. He understood her well and immediately realized she was a bit embarrassed.

"Hehe… then I won't tell you."

"Yeah, I thought you'd say that."

Even after leaving the room, Krone continued to use honorifics. To clarify their positions, but when they were alone, Ein asked her to speak normally, and Krone reluctantly agreed.

"By the way, what position will Krone be in?"

"Position? As I said before, I'm Lady Ein's attendant."

"Um, like, what kind of rank would that be?"

"Oh, that. Well, to put it simply…"

Ein was curious about Krone's authority. He predicted it wouldn't be low, given that she was the crown prince's retainer.

"Welcome back, Your Highness, Crown Prince! …Oh, and Assistant Krone, you're here too. Thank you for your hard work!"

"Yes, thank you for your patrol."

As Krone was about to explain, they encountered a member of the royal guard. Of course, he greeted Ein, but he also bowed to Krone.

After bowing, he left the scene.

"Assistant…?"

"I'm not an attendant. My position is 'Crown Prince Assistant.'"

"I see. That sounds like a position with considerable authority."

"Hehe… actually, I have the authority to command the royal guards."

It was more authoritative than Ein had expected. After all, there are probably only a handful of people in the castle who can command the royal guards. This means Krone has been given considerable authority within the castle.

"Still, I'm on the lower end. In terms of authority, for example, Lady Chris and the others are far above me."

"Lady Chris is the marshal, so that's to be expected."

"But actually, I have one authority that surpasses Lady Chris and the others. Do you want to know, Ein?"

She really enjoys teasing Ein and likes to make him say things. It's a frequent, light-hearted exchange, but Ein doesn't mind it.

"Really, a retainer who talks to their lord like that. …I want to know, please."

But… "Just tell me honestly," that's what Ein would say.

"Management of Lady Ein's schedule and such is my responsibility. In fact, the only people with more authority than me are the royal family and Lord Warren."

"Okay… please be gentle, then?"

"That depends on Lady Ein. If you push it too far, I might just confine you to your room."

I'm glad to have such a capable assistant. Ein's voice, of course, reached Krone, who covered her mouth and giggled.

"By the way, how did you manage to arrange the carriage so quickly, given the sudden decision?"

"Yes, I negotiated a bit with my family."

"My family? That means the August Trading Company?"

"Yes."

She replied casually and, in a good mood, began to explain the negotiation.

"You made them study a lot, didn't you?"

"How much did you bargain?"

"Well, how much? But even the royal family shouldn't waste money, right?"

"That's true, but was Graf okay with it?"

Ein asked, and Krone glanced around before leaning close to him. She leaned in close to his ear and whispered the result.

"It ended with teary eyes, so I could have probably bargained a bit more…?"

I wish you wouldn't do these surprise moves. When she speaks so close that her lips almost touch his ear, he almost loses his composure from her scent and breath.

But it's probably intentional, given that she checked around before leaning in.

I remember Krone's line during the sea dragon incident: "Even if I said I would let you do whatever you want with me now?"

"I'm impressed that you don't show mercy even to family."

"Oh? I'm the retainer of Crown Prince Ein… or, to put it more accurately, the future king. So, it's only natural to do so."

"You're not wrong, but… please be a bit gentler?"

"If they were more conscientious, I might have smiled from the start."

In other words, if there was no need to bargain from the start, she would have smiled and signed the deal. Ugh, she must have received better training from Warren than I did.

"But my grandfather was testing me too."

"Graf was?"

"Yes. He estimated higher than usual, I think to see if I would notice. So, I had no choice but to step up."

I see, she must have outsmarted her grandfather… Even without the granddaughter bonus, Krone must be a formidable opponent for the trading company. She's very reliable.

"So, please rest assured, Your Highness. Our family's trading company prides itself on the quality and safety of our carriages and ships."

"Got it… I'll go as you said, just as I am."

I'll take care of it. Krone looked more reliable than usual.

—While they were talking, they arrived at the room where Bara and the others were, and Krone stopped.

She knocked on the door and waited for a response.

"Come in!"

From inside, they heard Bara's energetic voice, which they hadn't heard in a while. Hearing this, Krone opened the door and let Ein enter the room first.

"Long time no see. How have you been?"

"Y-Your Highness!?"

"It's my brother!?"

The sisters, who were close, both looked surprised. They had heard that Ein had returned, but they hadn't expected him to come to their room.

"Hey, Mei! It's the prince! I've told you many times…"

"Ah, ah… I'm sorry, Your Highness."

Seeing the two, who were much cleaner and prettier than before, Ein finally felt relieved.

They were simple but cute.

"You can call me by my name. But I can't let you call me without a title, so you'll have to use 'sama.'"

"Ein-sama?"

"That's right, Mei. How have you been?"

"Good! The food is delicious! And no cold wind comes in from outside! It's amazing how big it is!"

Hearing Mei's criteria for judgment made Ein a bit sad, but it was inevitable. He had to think about measures for the slums with Warren.

"Is that so? By the way… Bara, are you living in the castle now?"

"Yes! They deduct a portion from my salary, but they provide me with meals and a room in the castle!"

"I see. …Krone, about that…"

"Don't worry. Of course, it's a good deal."

Ein asked Krone, who was in assistant mode, and she immediately understood his intention. He didn't think her allowance was unfairly low, but he asked just to be sure.

As a valuable healer, of course, her treatment was well-prepared.

"I'll receive the report later, but it seems Bara has been properly evaluated, and I'm happy about that."

"To be honest, I still think it might be a dream… But I'm really happy to be able to feed Mei properly."

"That's good. Mei, are you eating well every day?"

"Yes! I get to eat three times a day! It's amazing!"

Talking to Mei made Ein feel like tears might well up. He reaffirmed his resolve to implement measures for the slums as soon as possible.

"Mei, you'll work hard too, right?"

"Right, right. What kind of work will Mei do?"

"Mei will be Martha's apprentice!"

She chose a rather strict master. Ein thought this silently but didn't say it out loud. Seeing Ein's slightly worried face, Krone smiled slightly from the side.

"It's tough, but you'll do your best, right?"

"Yes! I'll become the best server in the castle!"

…She chose a thorny path. It's hard to imagine surpassing Martha.

Ein really wanted to know how much healing magic she could use, but decided to enjoy the conversation for now. He would check her abilities after the duel.

After that, they enjoyed a conversation for a while, and Ein had a meal with everyone. In the evening, he enjoyed a conversation with Olivia and savored his return to the capital.

* * *

The area where the duel would take place was apparently rarely sunny. There were several conditions, such as the surrounding mountains and the elevation of the land, but to be honest, Ein didn't understand. He just accepted it as it was.

They arrived at the large river on time. The ship and carriage arranged by the August Trading Company brought Ein there.

As Krone said, he boarded as he was, and everything went smoothly. In fact, the attention to detail made his heart skip a beat, but he kept that to himself.

The sky was overcast, but there was no sign of rain. In the water, the Sage Viscount's kraken and the twin sea dragons Ein had brought were facing off.

The signal to start the duel hadn't been given yet, so both were keeping their distance and waiting.

"That's smaller than I thought."

"Kraken?"

"Yeah. They said it was medium-sized, but I thought it would be bigger."

"The difference between medium and large is significant. A large one would be several times bigger than that…"

Chris, the beautiful blonde who was the prize this time… the one the Sage Viscount wanted to possess, replied.

On the other side of Chris, Krone was waiting as an assistant.

"But, Lady Chris… aren't you too calm?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know, since you're being treated like a prize…"

Krone was worried about Chris. In case of an emergency… but even if they lost, the Sage would be restrained, so there was no problem. But emotionally, it wasn't easy to accept.

"I told Lady Ein the same. I'm not worried at all about this matter."

"I understand your thoughts, Lady Chris. The sea dragons are strong, but the twins are still children…"

"Yes, Lady Ein had the same concern. But… well, let's cheer for the twins. You'll understand quickly why I'm not worried."

Since Chris said it, Ein trusted her, but he couldn't stop worrying. As Chris and Krone were having this conversation, Ein, who was between them, joined in.

"But, both of you, I want you to look closely."

"What's the matter, Ein? Look closely… at what?"

'When it's just you and Chris, you can speak normally,' Ein had requested of Krone. Chris didn't mind Krone, so there was no problem.

"It's El and Al."

Ein pointed to the twin sea dragons. By the way, El is the older sister, and Al is the younger brother.

—When Ein said this and they looked at the twins, Krone and Chris had the same reaction and ended up holding their heads.

"…Do they resemble their parents? I never thought sea dragons would resemble their parents."

"I'm sorry, Lady Ein… I have the same opinion as Lord Krone."

"Hey, don't you think you're both being too harsh? Can't you show a bit more concern for me?"

It was understandable why they thought that.

The twins probably spotted the kraken. To explain the current situation, the signal to start the duel hasn't been given yet, and the twins are in a 'stay' position.

Let me repeat, they are in a 'stay' position.

"Quu… Quuruu…"

"Quuquu… Quuquu…!"

The twins, drooling from their mouths, looked nothing like the 'kings of the sea,' the sea dragons. They looked pitiful.

Is El reaching her limit? While nibbling on Al's tail, she kept her eyes on the kraken. Al, even with his tail being nibbled, didn't take his eyes off the kraken.

In short, they looked like hungry children. The twins looked like they were just excited in front of their favorite food.

'There are two! Two!'

'One each!? One each!'

El noticed there were two krakens. The twins were delighted at this 'lavish feast.'

'Gift from Dad!'

'Amazing, amazing! I love Dad!'

I added a bit of extra dialogue, but it didn't quite fit, so I'll just mention it here…