Translator: Blushy
Editor: Sam
Prince Albert was already gone by the time I woke up from my nap. The only impression I had of him was that he was an Onii-san with short hair, but come to think of it, I feel like Ojii-sama said something about Prince Albert.
âLei, did you forget? Well, itâs fine to forget something like that.â
Was it fine to forget it? I tilted my head a little inside the Rug Dragon basket. The next day is a day off, so Iâve been riding the Rug Dragons with Ojii-sama since morning. Of course, Nii-sama is with us.
âOjii-sama came here for, you know, Leiâs debut as well, but I have also been waiting for Prince Albert to come back from Frontier.â
âMawwage intherbiew!â
Isnât it no good to forget that? I only forgot because I was having too much fun.
âSo, you do remember it. Lei is a smart girl.â Ojii-sama smiled happily on the dragon next to mine. However, cold wind blew straight into my chest. Prince Albert being back means...
âOjii-sama, going bacw.â
âLei, Iâm sorry.â
My small mutter didnât ride in the wind and echoed around the pasture. Ojii-sama also looked sad.
âI really want to stay in the Albans mansion and spend time with Lei and Luke, but work is work. I have to go back to my fief soon.â
âLei and I can visit you at your fief.â
âAi.â
Nii-sama suggested for the future and made me feel happy. Thatâs right. We might be able to go to the fief in the north for Nii-samaâs spring or summer holidays.
âLothsh of dragonsh.â
âThatâs right. There are big and small dragons, and thereâs a lot of grassland.â
Iâll ride my Minnie in those grasslands.
âMinnie? Whatâs that?â
âHmm, shmaww one.â
âYouâre calling her Minnie because sheâs small? Lei chose a strange name for her Rug Dragon,â Nii-sama said, but it was troublesome to call my dragon small all the time. The problem is, âMinnie!â
âKyee.â
âKyee.â
âKyee.â
When I call Minnie, a lot of dragons gather like this. They leave when they find out that I only need the small dragon, but I think it was pointless to give her a name.
I thought that the only thing that involved me with that short-haired Prince was Ojii-sama... until the second day of the holidays when His Highnesses visited our house.
âYou should really be aware that youâre a member of the royal family. You shouldnât visit other peopleâs mansions like this.â
âAlbans, I said this before, but donât the royal family and the Four Marquises have a relationship? Donât worry about it.â
Sparks were flying between the adults, but I was overjoyed that Nico had come over to play on a holiday. His Highnesses referred to Prince Lambert, Prince Albert and Prince Nicholas.
âNico!â
âLei! I came to play!â
I also smiled at the smiling Nico.
âWhy do I feel like that baby didnât inherit the cleverness of the Albansâs gold and purple?â Prince Albert blurted out. I donât mind being told that, but Iâm not exaggerating when I say that Prince Albert has turned all the Albans into his enemy. He shouldnât have said it even if he had thought it. Nico looked at Prince Albert in amazement.
âUncle, you shouldnât say this and that about how a person is. What will you do if they get stuck with it? Isnât she cute?â
âHish highneshsh Aw gethsh zero pointhsh, you geth 50 pointhsh, Nico.â (His Highness Al gets zero points, you get 50 points)
âUncle has etiquette, but isnât my 50 points low?â Nico seemed dissatisfied.
âYou awsho shay a woth.â (You also say a lot)
âReally? Sorry about that.â
Nico seems the most royal. Itâs fine if he apologises.
âYour Highness Al, are you talking about me?â
âIâm also called Lam-ojisama. Shall we change you to Al-ojisama?â
âNo, you donât have to. Brother.â
It seemed like they were having fun, but an adult is an adult, and a child is a child. Nii-sama invited us outside without getting in the way of the adults. His face said that he wanted to get away from something annoying.
âThen, Lei and Your Highness Nico, letâs go see the Rug Dragons.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âThat sounds fun!â
âLei wanthsh tho shhow you her minnie!â
âMinnie? Whatâs that?â
I put my hands on my waist and puffed my chest out.
âSheâsh Leiâsh excwushive dragon!â
âWhat?! I have to see her!â
Nii-sama turned around.
âHis Highness Nico wants to ride in Leiâs basket, but what do you think Otou-sama?â
âHmm, Your Highness, are you alright with this?â
âIt doesnât matter what I say.â
Otou-sama was talking to Prince Lambert. Nicoâs Otou-sama smiled wryly.
âIf Leiâs alright with it, then Nico will be fine with it. Iâll get the guards to go with you, so donât overdo it. Take care of them.â
âUnderstood.â
Us, children, happily headed towards the pasture.
ââ¦ââ¦ââ¦â Troublesome (Deanâs Perspective)
My father-in-law honestly wanted to follow Luke and Lei, but he had to entertain the royals who had come to my mansion. Furthermore, he had stayed here so that he could meet Prince Albert, so ignoring him would be mistaking the cause for the end.
I also work at the centre of this kingdom, so I know that the request from Farland is a dangerous one.
The cause of this was Lei being kidnapped, so I canât say that I wasnât involved as an Albans.
However, what would Kingdom have done if Lei hadnât been kidnapped and only the lost child of the Lisburns was in Wester?
I guided them to the room facing the greenhouse at the request of His Highness while thinking over this repeatedly.
I donât think Stan would have gone to pick him up. He might have sent someone to check up on the boy and then provide aid to Wester. However, he wouldnât have tried to bring the boy back to Kingdom.
What about the supervision department? They probably would insist that Stan should go pick up the boy and not let him support Wester. Since they donât understand that the world doesnât move conveniently for Kingdom.
And, how about the royal family?
I think they would have had a round-table conference about this. And just like what happened last time, people will agree, disagree or be neutral on the matter. What stance would I have taken if Lei wasnât involved? I probably would insist that the Lisburns didnât need to pick him up nor provide aid to Wester.
However, the round-table conference isnât a place where majority rules. It is a place where everyone who governs a fief shares their opinions and effects.
The current royal family values our relations with Frontier more than the past monarchs. So, I think they would provide aid to Wester even if a lot of people approved or disapproved of it.
In other words, it didnât matter if Lei was involved in this or not, the result wouldnât have changed.
I thought that much and relaxed.
The problem is Farland isnât the only place who wants to talk about engagements, Wester is too.
Thereâs nothing more annoying than this.