How to Live Comfortably as an Abandoned Prince
Chapter 296 : Chapter 296
Chapter 296. Have You Forgotten What Kind of Spirit I Am?
“How did you……?”
Arteo groaned.
Seeing his reaction, the Spirit of the Library cackled.
“Heh heh heh. Have you forgotten what kind of spirit I am?”
Speechless, Arteo stared at the Spirit of the Library.
The oldest spirit in the academy.
The only spirit with the ability to teach the academy’s students.
Bound by the academy’s taboo, no one could speak its name aloud, yet everyone surmised that it was a Grand Spirit.
Arteo was no exception.
‘If that is the case…… it might truly be able to give me a proper answer.’
Arteo swallowed hard.
Still, something weighed on his mind.
Radel’s presence.
Sensing Arteo’s unease, Radel spoke quickly.
“I do not know who the customer is.”
“…….”
When Arteo gave him a suspicious look, Radel added,
“I only know that you are a high-ranking member of the Imperial Court Magicians. At the counseling booth, our policy is to strictly protect our customers’ privacy.”
Radel’s expression was serious.
It was the look of a merchant ready to shut down the tent if his words proved false.
Strangely, there was an odd sense of trust in that expression.
Arteo glared at Radel and spoke.
“If anything said here leaks outside, remember that your life will not be spared.”
He had never shared this worry with anyone.
Not with close subordinates, nor even with his family.
Radel nodded.
“Of course.”
“Hoo…….”
Arteo let out a long sigh and rubbed his face.
“I do not even know how I ended up here…… Time is short, so I will be brief.”
His gaze grew deep.
“I want to change my maternal grandfather’s heart. What should I do?”
***
The northern reaches of the Cretian Empire.
The Kudente Mountain Range, the highest in the empire.
Even though winter had not yet arrived, the northern edges of the mountains were already blanketed in white snow.
Where mountains were high and deep, magical beasts abounded.
They often descended in packs, harming livestock and people alike.
If left unchecked, the northern territories of the empire would be devastated by constant beast attacks.
Such assaults were that frequent.
Fortunately, the empire was prepared.
Bwooooo!
The blare of a horn echoed.
It was the signal of a magical beast attack.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
A massive movement was detected within the Kudente Mountain Range.
A knight who had been surveying the mountains through a spyglass turned and shouted,
“Count! It is the twenty-third assault!”
On the ramparts, the count standing with his arms crossed twitched his white eyebrows.
It was not only his eyebrows that were white.
His hair and beard were entirely white as well.
Yet his body was as solid as if time had passed him by, his arms and thighs bulging with strength.
Even the greatsword strapped to his back was no ordinary blade.
Its luster had faded with age, but it had shared nearly his entire life with its master.
That master was a man who had defended the empire’s north for his entire life.
Alexius Kudente, the Border Count of the Kudente region.
The maternal grandfather of the 3rd Princess Shartea and the 2nd Prince Arteo, and the commander of the Gale Knights guarding the northern frontier.
He sniffed the air.
“I smell magical beasts.”
Saliva dripping in anticipation, muscles tensed to their limits, fangs sharp enough to tear out throats at any moment.
Though distant, it was clear that the beasts had finished preparing to hunt.
There was little time left.
Alexius raised his hand toward the sky and roared,
“Gale Knights!”
Clatter.
Click.
Clang.
At the count’s command, every knight under him adjusted their armor and drew their swords.
They were preparing to charge the moment the signal was given.
Their captain thrust his hand forward and shouted,
“Deploy!”
The knights echoed him.
“Deploy!”
The battle between knights and magical beasts began.
Alexius drew his greatsword.
Schwing.
He surveyed the wide battlefield.
As always, the Gale Knights were locked in fierce combat with the beasts.
But there was no room for complacency.
Though the knights were skilled, the front line sometimes collapsed.
“Gah!”
“Orc shamans!”
That was the situation now.
When intelligent magical beasts appeared, the beasts’ coordination changed entirely.
Alexius’s eyes hardened.
Gripping his greatsword, he leapt down from the ramparts.
Boom!
In an instant, he dashed toward the beasts and lowered his stance.
‘Kudente Sword Art!’
- Grooo!
- Kieeek!
A low murmur escaped his lips.
“There is a path within the sword.”
Whoosh!
With a powerful swing of his arm, he traced a straight line through the air with his massive blade.
- Kyaaah!
- Kieeek!
Rumble!
The orc shamans were torn apart in a single stroke.
Straightening his posture after scattering the beasts, he shouted,
“Mages!”
“Yes, Count!”
Boom!
Esteban, the Gale Knights’ mage, chanted a spell and finished off the rest.
The front line regained its balance.
Alexius stepped back and grumbled,
“Ah, perhaps it is time to retire. I am not as good as I used to be.”
“What are you saying? Please stop joking like that.”
As Esteban shook his head with a laugh, Alexius waved it off.
“I am serious. My shoulders ache, and my body does not feel the same. Today, my hands were even trembling when I held my sword.”
Just as he moved to sheath the greatsword—
Tap.
Something fell from the blade.
It was a small animal-shaped ornament, the sort a child might make.
Esteban knew exactly what it was.
“Is that not the puppy the 3rd Princess made for you? It was always hanging from your sword…….”
Alexius narrowed his eyes.
“Perhaps I really am getting old.”
“Pardon?”
“I suddenly want to see my granddaughter’s face.”
Alexius picked up the ornament from the ground and slipped it into his pocket.
Then he spoke casually,
“I will be heading to Marcellant for a few days. You handle things here.”
“Marcellant?”
“Yes. I hear there is a festival at the academy. Since Thea is in her fourth year, it might be her last one. This old man should go and see.”
Esteban stared, dumbfounded.
“You are leaving right now?”
“That is right.”
Ignoring Esteban’s shock, Alexius walked toward the ramparts.
Then, as if something had just occurred to him, he added,
“Oh, and it is not a puppy.”
“……Pardon?”
“It is a cat.”
Esteban recalled the animal-shaped ornament the 3rd Princess had made.
……That was a cat?
More than the count’s sudden trip to Marcellant, the revelation that the ornament was a cat came as the greater shock to him…….
***
“I will be going. It seems the next customer is waiting.”
Having finished his conversation with the Spirit of the Library, Arteo stood up.
Radel smiled as he watched him, noting how much more at ease he seemed compared to when he first arrived.
To ease a customer’s heart, a friendly smile was essential.
That way, the heart opened— and so did the wallet.
“Were you satisfied with the consultation?”
Seeing Radel remain courteous to the end, Arteo scowled.
“Stop making that face. If you are a prince, then act with some dignity.”
“Was my dignity lacking? I can adjust it to your preference.”
“That servile attitude of yours— hoo, never mind.”
Arteo sighed, then frowned deeply.
He fixed Radel with a sharp stare.
“In any case…… do not misunderstand. I do not trust you.”
“I did not misunderstand. That is understandable.”
“Understandable?”
“Yes. This is merely a counseling booth.”
Radel looked at Arteo calmly.
“Who the customer is, or what worries they share, does not matter. Everyone who comes here is simply a customer to me.”
That was only natural.
Here, to Radel, Arteo was not the 2nd Prince, but merely a customer.
Yet his words seemed to strike Arteo more deeply than expected.
“……I see. Just a customer.”
Arteo murmured.
“That is correct. The only thing I know about you is that you belong to the Imperial Court Magicians.”
Only then did Arteo become conscious of the robe he wore.
In truth, there had been a reason he deliberately chose a robe bearing the Imperial Court Magicians’ emblem, even while disguised.
Perhaps his younger sister might see it in passing and think of him.
‘I still have not met Thea, but…….’
Though he had come to the festival as part of a regular booth, once here, he found himself lacking the courage to go see Shartea.
The thought that she might not welcome him weighed heavily.
Recalling his suddenly distant sister left him feeling a little down.
Perhaps because he had unburdened his heart at the counseling booth, Arteo spoke words he normally would never say to Radel.
“Tell me, when you saw this robe, what did you think?”
“That you must belong to the Imperial Court Magicians.”
“That is all?”
“Should I have thought something else?”
Arteo felt his irritation boil over.
Was it not natural to think of him upon seeing the Imperial Court Magicians?
He was the empire’s 2nd Prince.
He had graduated from the academy with excellent results and had proudly joined the Imperial Court Magicians, serving the imperial family ever since.
By his logic, the Imperial Court Magicians should naturally call the 2nd Prince to mind.
After thinking for a moment, Radel clapped his fist into his palm as if something had just occurred to him.
“Ah, now that you mention it, I heard it is unusual for the Imperial Court Magicians to participate in the academy festival.”
“Of course. There is no need for the Imperial Court Magicians to move over something as trivial as an academy festival.”
Arteo smiled faintly at Radel’s words.
That was largely thanks to him, after all.
The one who had submitted the booth operation permit to the captain of the Imperial Court Magicians and secured approval was Arteo himself.
Without him, the Imperial Court Magicians would not have appeared at the academy festival as they had in the past.
With a hint of pride, he asked,
“Do you know who made all of this possible?”
It was a question with an obvious answer.
Radel considered it briefly, then nodded.
“Yes.”
“And who would that be?”
“Myself.”
Arteo stared at Radel in disbelief.
“……Why?”
“Who do you think approved the Imperial Court Magicians’ booth?”
Radel looked thoroughly pleased.
“It may not be appropriate to say this here, but I am the first-year representative of the academy. That means I had the authority to select booth applications.”
Nodding to himself, Radel added,
“Oh, no need for thanks. I chose it because I thought it was competitive.”
At that brazen attitude, Arteo felt his temper flare to the top of his head.
‘What did he just say?’
There was no benefit in continuing the conversation.
As expected, he was the sort of cunning man who had ensnared Shartea.
“There is no reason to stay here any longer. I am leaving.”
Just as he turned to exit the tent, Radel stepped in front of him.
“Wait.”
“What is it?”
Radel held out the box that had been set aside behind him.
“No matter how illustrious the Imperial Court Magicians may be, it would be troublesome if you forgot the consultation fee.”
“Hoo…… How much?”
Arteo asked, barely suppressing his anger.
Radel rubbed his hands together and broke into a wide grin, as if he had been waiting for those words.
“The more, the better, sir.”
Arteo was left speechless.
A money-grubbing royal like this was a first for him…….
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