Kays Translations

Chapter 154: Endless Worries

After dinner, I took a bath alone and went to bed alone.

Mira was usually with me, so it felt a little lonely. I’d thought being by myself would give me a wonderful sense of freedom, but apparently that wasn’t how it worked.

As I’d expected, Chloe was going to be used as a political piece. There was nothing I could do about that. I wondered what Chloe herself thought of it.

I just hoped the prince of the neighbouring Kingdom of Lund Al was a good person…

No. Stop, stop.

There was no point thinking endlessly about something I couldn’t change. I wasn’t the ruler of this world. The world wasn’t a story that would move however I wanted just because I wished for it.

So this was aristocratic society.

Political marriages like this appeared all the time in novels, and when I read about them I’d simply thought, That’s how it is. Actually being involved in one made the whole thing feel strangely unsettling.

Maybe I felt it more strongly because Chloe and I had become fairly close. I’d tried to be careful not to become too emotionally involved, but apparently that hadn’t worked as well as I’d thought.

Caro, who was right beside Chloe, might be hurting even more.

“Julius, did you not sleep well? Is the pillow uncomfortable?”

“Good morning, Brother Alex. No, it’s nothing like that. I just couldn’t get to sleep very easily.”

“I see.”

He looked at me with concern.

Brother Alex was perceptive. He probably already knew why I hadn’t slept well.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, Cain.”

“Good morning, Brother Cain.”

The three of us ate breakfast together. That would probably continue until the academy’s new term began. Once classes started, however, both of my brothers would stay in the academy dormitory.

Then I’d be eating breakfast alone.

Lonely.

Maybe I really should have brought Mira after all.

Or I could summon the Spirit of the Lake… No. Absolutely not. The female servants would probably collapse at the sight of that suspicious-looking walking pervert.

“Julius, you haven’t seen all of the royal capital yet, have you? I’ll assign you an escort, so you may go wherever you like today.”

“Understood. Thank you.”

“Cain, you’re going to Viscount Raniemi’s residence, aren’t you? Take some pastries with you. Don’t just show up carrying a sword.”

“…Yes.”

Your voice is awfully quiet, Brother Cain.

So Brother Cain’s crush was probably Viscount Raniemi’s daughter. I would have to find out what sort of person she was later. The information might come in useful.

“I’ll be at the academy again today,” Brother Alex continued. “If anything happens, contact me immediately. And don’t act on your own. Do you understand, Julius?”

“…Yes.”

Ugh. You didn’t have to single me out by name.

I understood why he was worried. Even I wasn’t going to cause the same sort of trouble over and over again in such a short span of time.

After breakfast, all three of us began preparing for the day.

Brother Alex got ready to leave for the academy. Brother Cain, following Alex’s instructions, went to buy pastries before visiting Viscount Raniemi.

And me?

Well, since I was already here, I decided to tour the royal capital. If I learned my way around now, I could show Rosalia the sights the next time she visited.

“I’d like to look around the royal capital today. Please show me some places worth seeing.”

“Understood. We’ll make the arrangements, so please wait a moment.”

At that, the servants assigned to look after me in the capital began hurrying about.

They called it looking after me, but really, this was surveillance, wasn’t it?

Well, if a ten-year-old boy suddenly announced that he wanted to wander around the royal capital, of course the adults would keep a close eye on him.

Before long, everything was ready. A servant asked me to wait by the entrance until the carriage arrived.

Brother Alex was standing beside me, also waiting for his carriage.

“Where are you going?”

He gave me a fresh, effortless smile.

As handsome as ever. If I smiled like that, would I look just as good?

I turned to the servant because I’d never actually asked where they were taking me. The servant bowed.

“Today, we intend to show you the cathedral.”

“The cathedral,” Brother Alex said. “That’s certainly somewhere every noble should visit at least once. Most nobles who come to the royal capital have been there. It could become rather awkward if you’ve never visited at all.”

Really?

I’d barely even visited the church in the territorial capital, never mind the cathedral in the royal capital. Maybe the clergy back home were already glaring at me behind my back.

I would make sure to visit the church when I returned.

Two carriages arrived at the entrance. It seemed Brother Alex and I would be leaving at about the same time.

Just as I was about to board mine, Brother Alex stopped me.

“Julius, about Chloe. Don’t worry too much about it. This is the will of the royal family and of the country. It isn’t something a mere subject should interfere with. Daniela told you because she was worried about Chloe, but afterwards she regretted involving you. She felt she shouldn’t have told you.”

“I see… Then please tell Princess Daniela that I’m all right and she doesn’t need to worry about me.”

Our eyes met.

Brother Alex gave me a firm nod, then headed for his carriage.

Princess Daniela was probably feeling guilty. She was in a position where she could marry the person she loved, while her younger sister couldn’t.

Perhaps she also thought that if her own engagement to Brother Alex hadn’t been all but settled, she might have been the one considered for the Kingdom of Lund Al instead.

If I remembered correctly, Lund Al’s first prince was about sixteen years old. The second prince was around eleven. If the intended match were the first prince, Princess Daniela would have been closer to him in age.

Then which prince was Chloe being considered for?

A marriage to the first prince would create a stronger political bond between the two kingdoms. On the other hand, the second prince was closer to Chloe’s age and might be easier for her to get along with.

But politically, that connection would probably be a little weaker.

No. I really shouldn’t keep thinking about this.

The decision belonged to His Majesty the King.

Whichever prince was chosen, there was no doubt the ties between the two kingdoms would become stronger.

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