Chapter 59

Thank you for your comments on my impressions and activity reports. I was a bit worried that the story, written in a retrospective manner, might be a little difficult to read, but I'm glad you read it. Thank you for pointing out the typos. I thought I had checked it several times, but there were more corrections needed than I expected... I'll be more careful.

A few days later, in a rickety, uncomfortable carriage, Sais was experiencing an increasingly uncomfortable feeling.

Why am I in this situation?

This is the first time I've ridden in a carriage with such poor suspension, but the pain in my buttocks is still bearable. The problem is the two nobles sitting across from me.

Lord Ruitas Radus and Lord Gruuk Morgann, who are said to be the closest of Prince Alex's closest aides. I know their faces, but I've hardly spoken to them, and they are like clouds above me. Being face-to-face with them in this cramped carriage is the most awkward situation for Sais.

Today, I was asked to accompany Princess Via as a guard and went to the Crystal Palace. While waiting in a lounge for the princess to finish her business, Lord Radus suddenly came in and spoke to me with a smile.

"I remember you were the princess's guard. Come with me."

Sais had no personal acquaintance with Lord Radus, but he knew his face from his time as a squire. His father is a prominent figure in the Round Table Council, and the Radus family itself is of high rank. He can be called a great noble by anyone. Blessed with ample wealth, he is said to have traveled to several countries for study after graduating from the knight academy.

He is a person who can get close to people without arousing suspicion and is deeply trusted by the first prince. When such a person spoke to Sais in a friendly manner, Sais, of course, was elated and followed him eagerly. However, when he was suddenly told to change clothes in the room he was taken to, he could hardly believe his ears.

"Actually, Prince Alex is going to take Princess Via on a secret visit to the lower town. Since you'll be posing as the child of a lower noble, change into these clothes."

The room had a cheap, worn-out suit and a well-used longsword. When he checked the blade, it was well-maintained and well-balanced.

The problem was the clothes. The tailoring was poor, and they looked shabby. The fabric felt so rough that Sais thought, "This is so itchy and unpleasant..."

Sais's family, while not as prestigious as the Radus family, was a well-known house with a history dating back to the founding of Ancheise, and was duly recorded in the noble directory.

Sais, the second son who could not inherit the noble title, is still in the knight corps, but he was the first son born to his father in many years, and was doted on by his family and raised without any worries. Despite living in a distant territory far from the capital, he was specially admitted to one of the three major knight corps because of this.

In Ancheise, the future of a noble's child is determined by which knight corps they graduate from, and being admitted to one of the three major knight corps is a status symbol. The admission process is strict, and it is also famous for the enormous cost involved during the five-year term. It is not uncommon for families to go into debt to send their sons to one of the three major knight corps.

Sais, who was sent to one of the three major knight corps as a matter of course, was a young noble with a fair amount of wealth, and he never dreamed that he would end up wearing such shabby clothes and going to the lower town.

Although he was extremely reluctant, if it was necessary for his guard duties, he had no choice. Sais reluctantly put on a worn-out cotton shirt, changed his pants, and put on a cheap, shiny jacket.

Looking at himself in the mirror, he felt like the clothes were wearing him, and he stood there with a look of discomfort, a young man who seemed out of place. The clothes were completely out of place.

After a while, Lord Radus, who had apparently changed his clothes, came to call Sais and tilted his head.

"Ebeck, can't you lower your dignity a bit more?"

Lord Radus, who should have been born into a better family, wore the shabby clothes naturally.

"Well, it's fine. It'll work out."

Sais was then led through a passage used by servants and brought to this carriage. On the side of the carriage facing the direction of travel, a young man was already seated, and Lord Radus casually got in next to him. When Sais tried to sit across from them, he saw a person sitting in the back and couldn't help but exclaim.

"Lord Gruuk Morgann!"

Lord Morgann, whom Sais had seen during his squire days, is also one of Prince Alex's closest aides. He was wearing shabby clothes (from Sais's perspective) as if it were nothing and nodded at Sais.

Lord Morgann, who is not known for his affability, made no attempt to lighten the atmosphere and stared out the window with a bored look. As Sais was breaking out in a cold sweat, wondering what to do about the atmosphere, Lord Radus explained in a casual tone.

"The prince and princess are in the carriage in front, with Amon as their guard. We are the only four who will be guarding the prince and princess closely in the lower town. Ebeck, keep that in mind."

Sais was taken aback. Being told that he would be one of only four guards accompanying the prince and princess in the dangerous lower town, his knight's blood could not help but stir. Sais, his heart racing, tried to salute, but he hit his head on the ceiling and sank back into his seat with a thud. The carriage jolted, and Lord Morgann, who had been staring at Sais in surprise, suddenly turned his head away, stifling a laugh.

Holding his head in his hands and looking at Lord Radus with tears in his eyes, Lord Radus asked with a wry smile, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

As a knight, he could not show weakness over such a trivial matter. Although it hurt so much that he wanted to cry, he removed his hands from his head with determination and declared with a stern expression.

"I will protect both the prince and princess with my life!"

"…Well, don't overdo it, okay?"

Lord Radus, nudging his friend, who was shaking with suppressed laughter, said with a playful tone. Sais thought he heard him mutter, "It's good to be young…" but Lord Radus and Sais were only a year apart.

---

When they arrived in the lower town, Sais finally met Princess Via, his guard target.

Princess Via was dressed as the daughter of a wealthy merchant, and it suited her well. Despite being a person of such refined bearing, she had completely blended into the scenery of the town, without a trace of her usual elegance. She was not at all stiff and even asked Prince Alex, "Is this meeting place okay?" Lord Morgann, who was standing behind her, was staring in shock. Sais, watching this as if it were someone else's affair, thought, "Even Lord Morgann can make such an expression…" but when the princess was asked if she intended to walk around alone, she casually replied, "I'll bring Ebeck," and Sais pretended not to hear.

Straightening the wrinkles in his clothes as if he didn't know what was going on, Sais muttered to himself, "The princess has never been outside the Crystal Palace since her birth, so is she not afraid of the outside world?" Perhaps, having been raised in such a sheltered environment, she had never considered the outside world to be frightening, and her pure curiosity had won out.

Just as Sais was trying to understand this, the princess suddenly made an unreasonable request. She took out a necklace from her dress and, turning to Sais, ordered, "Go exchange this for money."

…It was a request from another dimension. Sais, of course, knew the existence of money changers, but exchanging jewelry for cash was something only people in financial trouble did.

"Me!?" he managed to ask in return.

While Sais was breaking out in a cold sweat, the princess smiled and Sais was at a loss. He looked to Lord Radus for help, but the usually unflappable Lord Radus was unusually grimacing and offered no support. The reliable Deputy Amon had a frozen expression, and when Sais looked at the necklace reluctantly handed to him and then at the deputy, the deputy nodded, indicating that he should go. Sais took the necklace resentfully, knowing that his excuse of not having learned how to exchange money in the knight corps would not be accepted.

Without understanding what was happening, Sais entered a money changer and asked the shopkeeper to exchange the necklace, but he had no idea of the market value in such a place. He could tell that the gem was of the highest quality from its clarity and color, but without knowing how to negotiate, he was quickly taken advantage of.

Just as Sais was about to accept the price offered, the princess, who was supposed to be sheltered, unexpectedly intervened.

"Are you off by a digit?"

What followed was a torrent of events. The princess, who seemed to be familiar with the process, negotiated with the shopkeeper and quickly got 550 capes from him. It was an unexpected shrewdness from a princess who was thought to be only beautifully smiling.

At this point, Sais finally realized that the princess might have visited the lower town before.

Such negotiation skills are not acquired overnight. She knew the market value and how to negotiate. The princess must have visited such money changers several times before, and that's why she had hidden the necklace in her dress for this trip.

Prince Alex, who must have thought the same, asked in a low voice, "Do you do this often?" The princess nodded happily and replied that expensive ornaments were actually difficult to dispose of and were a problem.

Watching their intimate interaction, Sais suddenly thought that the two might have met in the city.

Prince Alex had said that he had never stepped outside the Crystal Palace, but the princess had been silent at that time. Without the right to succeed to the throne, the royal family's surveillance of her was relatively lax, and she probably visited the city frequently, where she was noticed by the prince.

---