How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 261
Only Noblemtl
Episode 261
“…! Your Majesty, how can you do this to me! Do you really believe the author’s words and not mine?!”
The queen was thrown into a fit of rage at the mention of holding a trial. The nobles also came to her defense, but Sedes simply waited for silence before speaking softly.
“However, the trial will be held by establishing a Statera to determine the truth.”
“……!”
There was a commotion in the room at the word Startera, but Evan didn’t know about that, so he just blinked.
‘By the way, aren’t you going to drag me out now?’
Evan, who had been enjoying watching them being dragged out one by one whenever there was a sound, expected someone to be dragged out this time too, but unfortunately, no one was dragged out anymore, perhaps because there were too many people who had spoken out.
At that moment, a nobleman stepped forward and opened his mouth in a brash manner.
“Your Majesty, I am sorry to say this, but it is currently the period of Quies Mensis and it is difficult to find a priest. Which priest would dare disturb the rest of the gods?”
‘No. Since it can’t use divine powers, it would be useless even if you find a priest.’
Evan muttered to himself, having heard the truth about Quies Mensis from Nihil, but of course no one listened.
“And even if it is not the period of Quies Mensis, the Empire will not easily lend you such a high priest, and even if they do, they will have to pay a high price.”
“If I have to borrow a priest, then so be it.”
“Yes. But the author’s argument is so absurd that it’s not worth wasting our precious tax money on…….”
“But we don’t use priests?”
“……?”
At the mention of not using a priest, the man stopped talking and looked around the room. The nobles who met his eyes looked away as if they were embarrassed.
“Count Kendall, in this country we do not appoint priests as Libras.”
At that moment, the prime minister came in quietly and stood next to His Majesty.
“It’s a little different from the Empire’s Statera. More than that……”
“…….”
“Your Majesty, who crammed so many people into the audience room? And why is the door open?”
Is the audience room a market? The Prime Minister said so and glared at His Majesty, but His Majesty opened his mouth while looking straight ahead.
“…Your Majesty, please report first.”
“Haha, that’s right. I should see it first.”
How dare I question Your Majesty? The Prime Minister smiled gently, but the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. It seemed that he was not pleased with this sight.
“I have two things to report.”
“The good news first.”
“…where is the good news and the bad news in the report?”
“Is this bad news for both of you?”
“…If we really have to make a distinction, we can…, but let me start with something that everyone here is probably curious about. There is a high possibility that the body of the child found this morning is not that of the First Prince.”
“That’s nonsense. Are you saying that Your Majesty was mistaken?!”
“Then who the hell is that kid!”
“…….”
Abel frowned as he looked at the nobles who were immediately raising their voices. The atmosphere was a total mess because His Majesty the shit cat had interrupted the meeting and turned the audience into a marketplace.
Abel chose the loudest one as an example and recited a soft spell. And at that moment, the guy sparkled and became quiet.
“—, —-! …?”
‘magic?’
Evan looked at the nobleman with his eyes wide open and his mouth wide open in curiosity. The magic he knew was a little different from the one the lynx used.
The caster recites the spell, and the target sparkles… isn’t that a very sincere performance? As expected, the lynx lacks sincerity.
His Majesty asked with satisfaction whether he was pleased that the mouth of the loudest one was shut.
“This is fine. Prime Minister, what kind of magic is it? Is it different from soundproofing magic?”
“It’s a silencing spell. It blocks only the voice of a designated target. Soundproofing spells are used to separate spaces and block the flow of air, so their purpose is a little different.”
Some nobles who were shocked by those words froze and raised their voices again, saying that this could not be happening and that it was not right to abuse magic without consulting them, but the prime minister just laughed and refuted them.
“I am reporting to His Majesty, so you must not interfere. Be polite.”
“Come on, try walking to them too. It’s amazing.”
“…….”
“…….”
“Huh? You already walked?”
What kind of magic is this? Sedes looked at the silent noble with a curious expression, then turned his gaze to the queen who was lost in thought.
“Your Majesty, I am so glad that you are not the prince. I guess I am better at recognizing children.
“I see.”
“…….”
Suddenly, a small gnashing sound was heard at His Majesty’s sarcasm. It seemed that the queen was very angry, but in this situation, it would no longer be possible to claim that the prince was dead or alive.
“Ah, the trial. Very well, Your Majesty. As you wish. But first, the prince comes first.”
“…….”
“I will stand before the judge without complaint if only the prince returns safely. But before that, I will not cooperate with anything.”
After saying that, the queen left first without any reason.
Abel opened his mouth in a trembling manner as he looked at the queen.
“There’s one more thing left to report…….”
“…? Is this news the Queen should hear?”
“Well, you’ll hear the news anyway when you return to the palace.”
“anything.”
“It is said that a crack opened in the Duke’s territory at around 8:00 this morning. The Grand Duke arrived about 30 minutes after the crack opened……”
“Hmm…….”
Sedes swallowed with a strange sense of anxiety. Now that he thought about it, his son’s friend had already warned him that a crack would open in the dukedom.
I told the deputy commander who was dispatched that if he used too much force, it might cause a big conflict, because I thought the Duke wanted to break it a little, so I told him to do the bare minimum if something happened.
‘Is the damage greater than expected?’
“They say the peacock’s arm flew off.”
“Eighty percent of my peacock’s fortune has flown away?”
… I think it’s broken too much?
“No, Your Majesty. The Duke’s arm was blown off. I heard it was torn off all the way to his right shoulder. Of course, half of me was blown away as well.”
“???”
“A powerful demonic force emerged from the crack, and it appears the Duke was seriously injured while trying to stop it.”
“Why are you telling me that now?”
“You asked me to start with the good news.”
Abel shrugged and replied, If we were to distinguish between good news and bad news, isn’t this objectively worse news?
“The internal injuries are so severe that I think I’ll need to recuperate for a while.”
* * *
The Kingdom’s only Sword Master has been seriously injured, losing an arm!
It was a topic worthy of discussion, but it didn’t end with simply drawing attention among the knights. The only sword master in a small country was the knights’ hope and symbol.
“…Can’t we just paste it? There’s a potion.”
“They said it was completely eaten.”
“If you use the elixir….”
“Can an arm without it regenerate?”
“Arthur. If the prince himself were to give it to me, then that would be different… ”
“Quiet! What kind of idle chatter is this while performing your duties!”
Walter couldn’t contain his curiosity and scolded his whispering subordinates.
Although I was secretly relieved that the attention was focused on the Duke and not Evan, I was currently on my way to the Palace of Wernus to secure evidence and investigate further crimes, so I couldn’t seem too light-hearted.
I was afraid that if I was not careful, it could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings, such as people saying that I was being considerate.
At that moment, a tongue-clicking sound was heard from behind.
“Tsk, a knight serving two masters. You don’t even know your place…”
“Sir Martin, watch your mouth.”
“Sir, how long are you going to protect that guy! He’s a criminal!”
“Enough. There is no evidence other than the Vision and his claims right now. Don’t pass judgment until the trial.”
“…….”
Martin frowned at Walter’s firm words. No matter how much they had a past relationship, he couldn’t understand why the chief would take the side of a criminal who had gone too far.
‘That kind of trash… … .’
Moreover, when it comes to criminals, stories about accomplices are never mentioned.
‘I guess a criminal has some sense of duty.’
At that moment, another fellow reporter tapped the criminal guy. He was the one who had some compassion for the kid.
“Hey, wouldn’t it be better to blow it all so that the punishment is a little lighter?”
“…What are you talking about?”
“You said you had an accomplice. Since you turned yourself in, wouldn’t the punishment be lowered if you helped catch the accomplice?”
“No matter how much you tell, you’ll never catch him. He only appears in front of the kids.”
“What are you talking about?”
The faces of the knights who had been pretending not to hear those words became suspicious. What kind of nonsense is this?
“He likes small, cute, and young things, but you guys are neither small nor cute. You’re even old.”
“…….”
At the mention of old age, Walter, who was the oldest, became a little sullen, but Evan, who was walking with his eyes on the ground, did not notice and continued talking.
“That guy is strong enough to rival the Grand Duke in the first place. I’m grateful that he’s been captured and put in prison.”
“Speak sense. And why would someone like that help you kidnap the prince?”
“I guess you wanted to do it.”
“……?”
“From his point of view, the prince is small, cute, and young.”
“…Are you kidding me right now?”
“Do you think I’m joking?”
Evan raised his head and glared at the knights who didn’t believe him with a blank expression. Then, thinking that he wouldn’t have believed it either, he sighed deeply and muttered something.
“He’s a, um, fairy-like thing that takes children.”
“…fairy?”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
Martin, who had been listening, cut off their conversation in annoyance. He was getting angry as he saw his fellow knights curiously listening to this nonsense.
It was unpleasant enough for a commoner to join the Knights Templar just to wield a sword, but it was even more unpleasant to catch the eye of the High Priest and become a shadow knight.
His pride was even more hurt because he had previously applied to be the Prince’s bodyguard but was rejected.
Moreover, while other knights of noble birth were trying their best to catch the eye of the Highness, this commoner even rebelled against the Highness as if he were something… … .
‘No, this is an opportunity.’
Martin decided to change his thinking. It was not an easy task, so he would definitely get credit if he succeeded this time.
But that thought was fleeting, and Martin’s face hardened again when he arrived at Evan’s door. He kept climbing the stairs, thinking he was going to use the attic, but he stopped in front of the luxurious door on the fourth floor.
“Uh, Karus?”
“Uh, Evan……”
Moreover, the commoner seemed to know the Marquis. He even called him by his name without hesitation, and you could tell they were quite close just by the fact that he had entered the room without the owner’s permission.
‘How can a commoner…?’
It is not easy for children of noble families to become friends with a high-ranking noble like a Marquis. No, if the families were not friendly to begin with, they would often be ignored.
“…Carus, why are you here….”
“Ah, that’s…….”
“Explore!”
“Ka, Kara…….”
The Marquis looked very flustered at the sudden rush of knights, but his sister ran around without paying attention to the knights.
“Brother!”
Reply.
Then another girl was hugged by a commoner knight.
“…!? Aryl?”
“Oh, bro, what is this?”
Then, when he saw the ropes that were binding him, he looked shocked and soon began to sob.
“…Did you do something bad?”
“Aryl, that’s……”
“Is it because of me? Are you doing this to pay for my medicine?”
“Hey, what are you talking about! I have a lot of money!”
“But there were only the same clothes in the closet! You couldn’t buy them because you didn’t have money because of me!”
“When on earth did you see a closet…, Ariel, it’s not like that. It’s just that I don’t have any occasion to wear casual clothes….”
The commoner looked embarrassed and made excuses, looking at the captain and the knights. However, the girl held onto the captain’s clothes and begged.
“Ugh! Don’t take me, oppa. You did something wrong. When I grow up, I’ll pay you back….”
“…! Aril, I told you I have money! I’m sorry, Captain. I haven’t learned it properly yet….”
The common knight quickly lowered his head, but his fellow knights began to glance at each other, embarrassed by the child’s tearful cries.
‘It’s pathetic.’
Martin clicked his tongue. It was quite a sight to behold, unable to do anything because of one brat.
“Kid, unless you want to be tied up and dragged away like that criminal, get out.”
“…! Sir Martin, why are you doing this to the child!”
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No matter what……!”
‘Those disgusting little bastards.’
Martin grabbed the child by the scruff of the neck in annoyance. No, he tried to turn it off.
“Don’t touch the child.”
I would have done so, if it weren’t for the Marquis grabbing my hand with his blue eyes shining.
Martin was a little taken aback by the fact that his opponent was an ordinary person who had never been familiar with martial arts. The young Marquis had a light and playful image, but when he was serious, he had a very cold impression.
Martin felt a hurt pride and ripped his arm off forcefully.
“…Your Majesty, we are currently on duty. Please keep your public and private affairs separate.”
“Then don’t grab me by the scruff of the neck and chase me out.”
“…….”
“Why, you don’t have the courage to grab the Marquis by the scruff of the neck?”
Martin ground his teeth internally. It really annoyed him that someone younger than him was lucky enough to be born into a good family and inherit the position and then act all proud.
Then the criminal bastard intervened and said.
“Carus, could you please take care of Ariel? I’ll explain later.”
“Of course. Kara, come here.”
“Huh? I’m not done exploring yet!”
“Let’s explore later. Evan, I’m sorry I had to use your room as a playroom for the kids.”
“it’s okay.”
The Marquis took the children out like that.
And then immediately I heard a sound of someone hitting me.
“Is it really necessary to say that to a child who doesn’t know anything?”
“Stop being hypocritical and get to work.”
Martin turned around and immediately searched the room. He heard some of his fellow knights muttering, but he was only doing it by the book, so he had nothing to worry about.
‘Whether the accomplice is a fairy or a monster, there must be traces of contact somewhere.’
I couldn’t tell if it was a messenger ship or some kind of magic tool, but if I could just find it, I’d definitely…
“……?”
At that moment, something was stepped on. I lifted my foot slightly and saw a neatly folded note.
Martin had a gut feeling that this might be a huge clue, so he calmly stepped on it and moved away. The other knights were all focused on some letter, so no one was looking at him.
-Write down the desired time and place on a piece of paper and breathe mana into it. I will go there with the young snake.
The corners of my mouth went up on their own.
* * *
Karus hurriedly carried Kara and grabbed Aril’s hand and left the room. If it had been normal, it would have been suspicious enough to warrant an immediate investigation, but it seems like they just let it slide because the kids were there.
“Your Majesty, is my brother being taken away?”
“Ahhhh, no way.”
Karus quickly comforted the sobbing Ariel.
“Miss Ariel, stop. Don’t worry. I’ll help you.”
“Really…?”
“Of course. I’m Evan’s one and only secret friend. Oh, and shall we have a snack?”
“Yeah, okay! Kara wants to eat a macaron.”
“Okay, Kara, let’s eat macarons.”
Karus glanced at Aril’s eyes and held the child’s hand tightly.
“Okay, shall we go?”
‘… It should be discovered quickly.’
Karus walked away, hoping someone would find the note he had left behind.