The fake princess hides her scheme

Episode 11

The rat looked a little frightened, took a deep breath, and answered, choosing his words carefully.

“Oh, that’s great. But I can’t say anything about you, Master.”

… … I guess so.

But if you take advantage of the opportunity, there will certainly be questions that Rat’s Bell can answer.

“I will be going to the Crown Prince’s Palace in a few days.”

The guy’s eyes widened at my incredible achievement.

“What, already?”

“If I just complete request number 2, I’ll be able to find out what request number 3 is about, right?”

This is the conclusion I reached after talking things through with Raphael before entering the palace.

If I had to complete request number 2 to find out the contents of request number 3, I had to complete request number 2 as quickly as possible to buy time.

Even though I was a bit uneasy about the second request, there was a good chance that the third request would be ridiculously difficult.

But for some reason, the rat looked embarrassed.

“Well, that… that’s true, but, that, hiding a pouch in the Crown Prince’s bedroom… would that be possible in just one day?”

What kind of disheartening talk is this to someone who is living only for that work?

“Hey, do you want me to fail?”

For some reason, the rat shook its head from side to side with a pale face.

“No, I, honestly…….”

The guy rolled his precious emerald eyes and said,

“I hope you succeed.”

Then suddenly, ugh, I started vomiting.

Oh my god, again… … .

“Hey!”

No, is even wishing me success taboo and a breach of contract?

What the! At this point, doesn’t your master actually just want to kill me?!

***

At the same time, the Emperor’s bedchamber.

Calrissian was telling the story of the past few days in front of the Emperor, who was lying there weakly, blinking his eyes.

“Oh, by the way, the Princess of Bristol came to the banquet two days ago. She had suffered from illness as a child, just like me, and her Imperial language skills were quite poor, making her a delight to the society.”

“Cool, son.”

Then, the king, who had been listening the whole time, finally opened his mouth.

“Yes, father.”

“You are not healthy……, the Crown Princess must have a healthy child…….”

It was obvious who he had in mind as the crown princess and whose influence it was, but Calrissian couldn’t help but smile.

“I will do so.”

“You must be very busy for the past month, huh?!”

“It was something I had to go through at some point. I’ll make sure I don’t make you worry.”

The emperor’s purple eyes were clouded as he looked at his only son.

Considering that in his younger days he had been the overlord who had newly absorbed Bristol and Leicester into his empire, time had no equal.

The Emperor’s illness, which had started a long time ago, had worsened significantly over the past few years, to the point where at one point he had difficulty even leaving his bedroom.

Since he was too drowsy in the morning, Calrissian had been greeting him in the evening this year.

Even that only happened three or four times a week.

The palace doctor advised that the emperor’s physical strength had seriously declined and that he should reduce his official schedule as much as possible.

Although he was not a perfect shield for his only son, the living emperor was still the center of this empire.

Because he endured until his son came of age, Calrissian was able to survive and maintain his crown prince status.

To be honest, Calrissian’s feelings towards his father were complicated.

He loved his father and respected him in some ways, but there were many moments when he resented him.

“You look tired. I’ll take my leave now.”

As the Emperor nodded slowly, the chamberlain who had been watching prepared to bring the medicine.

Calrissian only stepped away from him after seeing his attendant half-raise the Emperor’s body to administer medicine.

But just as I was about to leave the Emperor’s quarters and head towards the Crown Princess’ Palace, I heard the sound of footsteps.

If they dared to swarm the Emperor while he was sick, it would be easy to tell who they were.

But Calrissian slowed his pace until the group came very close, and then greeted them as if he had just spotted them.

“Uncle, you’re here. What should I do, I just saw my father go to bed and am on my way out?”

A smile suddenly appeared on his face, which had previously looked somewhat gloomy.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

The Emperor’s only brother, Archduke Artsen, bowed his head before Calrissian.

Behind him followed his personal guard, the one he had been assigned since he assumed the role of Acting Emperor, even though he was no longer Acting Emperor.

The Archduke said with regret.

“Your Majesty seems to have fallen asleep earlier than usual today. I was just about to pay a quick greeting, so it would be okay if I stopped by later.”

No, the Archduke knew better than anyone that Calrissian would be greeting the Emperor at this hour.

Calrissian lowered his eyebrows, pretending not to know the truth even though he was fully aware of it.

“Oh, my, if your father knew, he would be disappointed. Please come back again next time.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will do so.”

“Then, I’ll take my leave now…….”

Calrissian naturally lowered his head and tried to step back, but before he could take a single step, he was interrupted by the Archduke’s voice.

“I hear you’ve had a hard time entertaining our distinguished guests from Bristol these past few days.”

“Oh, well, that’s something I have to do.”

Calrissian looked at his uncle with innocent eyes, empty of intention.

The Archduke smiled slightly awkwardly at his nephew, who had grown old enough to look down on him.

“It seems that there has been discontent among the nobles, as they are sending a daughter from Bristol who is not even good at speaking the language of her master to seek the position of crown princess.”

Calrissian tilted his head as if he had no idea.

“Is that so? The young people in high society seem to find even such awkwardness charming, so I didn’t notice it.”

“Haha, does Your Majesty feel that way too?”

Calrissian’s smile slightly disappeared from his face at his uncle’s direct question. He knew full well that he was pushing Hylais, but he had not expected that he would reveal his true feelings and try to pressure him like this.

“I have no intention of putting selfish interests first in choosing a Crown Princess. However, Bristol has many advantages, and I do not intend to exclude her simply because of her poor language skills.”

“It is indeed a wise decision. This timid uncle was worried that Your Majesty had become blind because he had missed the golden eyes of the late Empress.”

How dare you bring up your mother?

The moment Calrissian’s eyebrows twitched slightly, the Archduke bowed his head deeply.

“The old man’s curiosity has caught Your Majesty in a hurry. It is late, so please go in and get some rest.”

Calrissian responded with a bright smile, hiding his displeasure.

“It was nice to see you again, Uncle. Please come by often. Then.”

The corners of his mouth slightly twisted as he turned around, but then returned to their original curve as he became aware of the gazes of those around him.

The strength drained from my tense fingertips.

The Crown Prince’s Palace felt very far away.

***

That same night, at an inn in the city center.

Raphael was able to hear news of April, which he had been waiting for, from Jane, his assistant at the lace workshop.

“You mean he looked fine? Healthy.”

“She wasn’t just healthy. She was so beautiful. Well, she was a bit too striking for a rural Bayswater village…….”

Because he couldn’t reveal the whole truth to Jane, he lied and told her that April turned out to be the daughter of the king of a neighboring country.

At first, Jane asked what nonsense that was, but after receiving a handful of gold coins, she corrected her attitude.

“April was the hidden princess. This secret will be buried with Jane when she dies.”

The lovely and convenient golden omnipotence.

After that, of course, his eyes lit up and he decided to join the plan.

“You look so good standing next to His Highness the Crown Prince!”

Raphael’s mind was slightly distorted by Jane’s subsequent words, but he held it in and asked again.

“His Highness the Crown Prince… seemed to be treating April well?”