Kays Translations

Chapter 161: Children of Nobility

The dining room was still empty.

I felt a little relieved. Brother Alex led me to a seat. He looked slightly stiff, as though he had never eaten here before.

Well, that was understandable. This dining room was inside the royal family’s private quarters.

We didn’t have to wait long before Princess Daniela and Princess Chloe arrived. His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen apparently wouldn’t be joining us.

A weight lifted from my chest.

My stomach wouldn’t have survived eating lunch with His Majesty.

The meal was brought in, and from there Brother Alex and Princess Daniela led the conversation. The atmosphere remained friendly from beginning to end.

I spoke with Princess Chloe as well, but she never mentioned her prospective engagement. Naturally, I didn’t bring it up either.

She must have been thoroughly instructed beforehand. Princess Chloe seemed to understand exactly what was expected of her. She knew that she was a member of the royal family and had properly studied the duties that came with that position.

It was admirable.

Even so, every now and then a shadow passed over her face.

Towards the end of lunch, the subject of the stuffed doll Lady Carolina owned – the one made to look like me – came up.

Princess Chloe said that she wanted one too.

I politely but firmly refused.

If she kept something like that as a memento, thoughts of me might follow her into whatever relationship she eventually had with the prince chosen for her. I thought it was better to make a clean break here.

Once I refused clearly, Princess Chloe didn’t ask again.

“Ahh… I’m tired.”

“You did well today. It’s unusual to hear you speak so casually in front of me, Julius.”

“Please excuse me.”

“I’m not angry.”

Brother Alex shook his head.

After lunch, we returned to the guest room. Brother Alex was supposed to show me around the royal castle that afternoon, but my legs felt terribly heavy.

Brother Alex gently stroked my head.

“You handled yourself well, Julius. It must have been hard.”

“It was.”

“I never imagined that my engagement to Daniela would lead to consequences like this.”

Brother Alex lowered his gaze to the floor. His eyes seemed to be looking somewhere far beyond it.

Did he feel responsible?

He didn’t need to. Nobody could have known how things would turn out.

“Brother Alex, please take good care of Princess Daniela.”

“Of course. I’ll treasure her enough for both of you.”

We both left the room with heavy steps.

Brother Alex had visited the royal castle many times, so he moved through it without hesitation. We left the royal family’s private quarters and headed towards an annex within the castle grounds.

“This building is used by the Royal Mage Corps. Their training ground is protected by special defensive magic, so even powerful spells have difficulty damaging it. They use stronger magic here than we do at our training ground, so I think you’ll be able to practise without holding back.”

“Magic practice? I don’t think that has anything to do with me.”

“I think it has everything to do with you. You need to practise magic regularly.”

Hmm.

Was that a roundabout way of saying I wasn’t allowed to use staying at the townhouse as an excuse to skip my daily training?

“All right. I’ll try to come here as often as I can.”

Brother Alex nodded, apparently satisfied.

Maybe he was worried that I wouldn’t get enough exercise while living in the royal capital.

That sounded like him.

“Next, I’ll take you to the Royal Knight Order’s training ground.”

“All right.”

So that was how it was going to be.

It looked as though I’d have to visit one training ground or the other every day. The Royal Mage Corps and the knights might even be expected to report my progress to Brother Alex.

Their training grounds were very close together. Ahead of us, knights were sweating as they repeatedly swung their swords.

“This is the Royal Knight Order’s training ground. The only people permitted to train inside the royal castle are members of the Royal Guard and other highly trusted, skilled knights, so you shouldn’t encounter anyone rude. I think it’ll be good experience for you. If anything unpleasant happens, tell me immediately.”

“Yes. Have you ever used the training grounds inside the royal castle, Brother Alex?”

“No, not yet. I’m using the academy’s training grounds at the moment.”

“I see.”

So even Brother Alex didn’t know the detailed atmosphere here.

In other words, he wanted me to visit and judge it for myself.

Attend the Royal Magic Pharmacists’ Corps, then visit the training grounds as well.

I was going to have much less free time than I’d expected.

Well, I supposed it couldn’t be helped.

“By the way, who am I supposed to speak to when I come here?”

“That part wasn’t explained very clearly. Princess Daniela was extremely eager to make arrangements for you. I think she still feels guilty. She wanted to introduce you to the best people she could find.”

“She doesn’t need to worry that much. Would you please tell her that again?”

“I will.”

Princess Daniela was worrying far too much.

Did she think I was secretly angry with her?

I wasn’t.

If this continued, the people around us might start thinking she owed me some kind of debt or that I had something over her.

That would be troublesome.

After finishing our tour of the training grounds, we returned to the palace proper. This time Brother Alex showed me the facilities available to nobles invited to the royal castle: dining rooms, waiting rooms, the chapel, lounges, a first-aid room, and several other places.

As expected, there didn’t seem to be any bath that visitors could freely use.

The royal castle was so enormous that simply walking from place to place was tiring. Whenever possible, I would need to plan things so I didn’t waste time crossing the same distances over and over.

Brother Alex and I entered a fairly large lounge.

There were many other nobles there too. Apparently this room served as a place where nobles visiting the castle could rest. Even now, servants were moving around carrying drinks and sweets.

“Would you like something to drink, Julius?”

“Yes, please.”

The moment I answered, our servants moved briskly as though they already knew exactly what to do.

So the servants knew how everything worked here.

There must be some kind of established procedure for townhouse staff serving their masters at the royal castle.

“If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask the servants,” Brother Alex said. “The servants assigned to noble townhouses know a great deal about both the royal castle and the capital.”

“Understood. I’ll do that.”

While we were talking, tea and sweets appeared before us almost immediately.

What about the money?

Was all of this billed later?

Brother Alex showed absolutely no sign of paying for anything on the spot.

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