Kays Translations

Chapter 158: Going to the Royal Castle

Lunch preparations were proceeding at a frantic pace. The three of us sat in chairs and waited for everything to be ready.

“I’d heard stories about you, but Julius really is active, isn’t he?”

Princess Daniela giggled.

Apparently my status as a “possibly mischievous little boy” had just been upgraded to confirmed fact.

Oh, come on.

“I think that’s normal for someone my age… Isn’t it, Brother Alex?”

“Hm? Well…”

Apparently not.

Were noble children expected to remain perfectly composed even at ten years old?

But Brother Cain was active too. Rosalia was even more energetic. Mother sometimes held her head in her hands just watching Rosalia charge around.

“Donating to the church is a very good deed,” Princess Daniela said. “I’m sure the Goddess of Creation is pleased.”

The Goddess of Creation…

I should have a fair amount of free time while I stayed in the royal capital. I would learn about the goddess properly once I entered the academy, but perhaps I ought to study more about her before then.

It had only just occurred to me how little I knew about the goddess.

I’d been enjoying this life so much that I’d practically forgotten about her.

Sorry, Goddess.

“That’s all right.”

That’s all right?!

Wait—no, that’s not the point!

She’s watching me?!

Lunch was brought in. Since Princess Daniela was our guest, the table was naturally covered with luxurious dishes.

Personally, I’d have preferred something casual like sandwiches.

Eating while constantly worrying about table manners was exhausting. It made my shoulders stiff.

“Julius, your face says you wanted sandwiches.”

“Ah. You could tell?”

“I would have liked to try them too.”

Brother Alex froze at Princess Daniela’s words.

His face clearly said, I messed up!

He’d probably ordered a lavish meal because he didn’t want to be disrespectful to a princess, only for that consideration to backfire.

“Princess Daniela, once you marry Brother Alex, you can have sandwiches whenever you want. Brother Alex loves them too. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, that’s true. I doubt we can have sandwiches every single day, but I’ll do my best to accommodate your wishes.”

“Hee hee. Now I have something else to look forward to.”

Princess Daniela smiled brightly.

Apparently she’d only been teasing him.

Brother Alex gave a strained smile in return.

Marrying a member of the royal family looked exhausting. There were so many things to worry about.

Come to think of it, had Princess Daniela come here today partly to see how I was doing?

She still seemed concerned about having told me about Princess Chloe.

I should tell her directly that she didn’t need to worry.

“Princess Daniela, as I told Brother Alex, please don’t concern yourself over me. Of course, I have a lot of feelings about the situation, but they’re something I’ll eventually have to overcome on my own.”

“I see. I’m sorry for what I did. To you, and to Chloe as well…”

She lowered her eyes.

There was no point in Princess Daniela blaming herself. None of us could simply defy national policy.

All right. Time to change the subject.

“When I visited the orphanage, I met an incredibly fast boy. I chased him at full speed and still couldn’t catch him.”

“Oh? Then you’ll have to learn to run even faster,” Brother Alex said.

Yes, that was true, but I’d been confident in my speed.

I was probably much faster than Brother Alex imagined.

Princess Daniela seemed to realise that the previous topic had been deliberately closed and joined in, though a faint sadness remained on her face.

Maybe she was worrying about it even more than I was.

“I’ve never seen Julius run. How fast are you?”

“Now that you mention it, neither have I. How fast are you, Julius?”

Brother Alex glanced at the servant who had accompanied me.

The servant very obviously made a troubled face.

Brother Alex understood everything from that expression alone.

He turned his eyes towards me.

“Julius…”

“What is it?”

Princess Daniela, who had no idea what was happening, tilted her head slightly.

That was a cute gesture.

Once Princess Daniela became a member of House Heine, perhaps she’d start understanding these exchanges too.

…Wait.

Didn’t that mean I was admitting that I was always the one causing some sort of problem?

That’s a misunderstanding.

A complete misunderstanding.

“My speed is ordinary. Completely ordinary. Brother Alex, please stop casting strange suspicions on me. You’re making Princess Daniela uncomfortable. Really, honestly…”

I laughed lightly.

Brother Alex’s eyes narrowed to half-lidded slits.

Yes. This was definitely the pattern where he called the servant aside later and demanded the full details.

Another mark against me.

Two outs—no, one strike.

A few days later, the day of my first proper visit to the royal castle arrived. Brother Alex would accompany me today because it was my first day.

“Listen carefully, Julius. Today is only for introductions. First we’ll greet His Majesty the King, and then you’ll greet the Royal Magic Pharmacists. Understood?”

“Understood.”

“After that, we may also meet Her Majesty the Queen and Princess Chloe.”

“Yes.”

Well, there was no avoiding it.

I couldn’t exactly enter the royal castle and refuse to greet the royal family.

Still, even if it couldn’t be helped, I’d somehow become the kind of noble who casually went to greet royalty. Other nobles might start glaring at me for that alone.

Today I was dressed in perfectly formal noble attire.

There was no way I could compound magic potions in clothes like these. I probably wouldn’t actually start using the compounding room until tomorrow or later anyway. Even that schedule was still fluid.

Princess Chloe’s prospective engagement was making the royal castle feel harder and harder to visit.

After I taught the Royal Magic Pharmacists the crucial points of making the Panacea, perhaps I could simply stop coming to the castle.

If so, I could visit the orphanage instead.

My donations would increase, and the orphanage would surely be happy to welcome me.

Yes.

That idea was starting to sound better and better.

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