364 - Side Story - Leonardo's Perspective - At the End of Childhood 1
I could hardly bear to leave Tina, who said she would wait quietly like a doll. I was aware that recently I had been feeling uneasy taking my eyes off her, but it felt like that condition was growing more severe. Still, I also knew I was not in a position to act on such personal feelings, so I pushed the anxiety down into the pit of my stomach. Tina had guards and watchdogs around her. Unless spirits were involved, they would not fall behind so easily. Besides, today I had already retrieved Tina quickly, and the kidnapping had ended in failure.
I left Tina at the Sedovara Church and went to deal with the situation. Slipping between the Black Knights rushing about transporting the injured and securing those involved, I moved to the tent prepared for the Harvest Festival's security. I was informed during the move that the men thrown from the runaway carriage had been captured and held in the tent. The two men captured by Giselle had been taken over by the Black Knights early on, so the citizens did not lay hands on them, but the man who fell from the carriage last was different. Because word had begun spreading among the citizens who overheard the Black Knights' messengers that "a carriage that kidnapped a little girl is running wild," when they saw the man Tina had thrown from the carriage, the citizens immediately realized he was the kidnapper. And since several people had been injured by the runaway carriage, their anger and hatred apparently turned toward the man thrown from the carriage. By the time the Black Knights rushed to capture him, the kidnapper seemed to have been beaten to a pulp by the city residents. The injuries he sustained from falling from the carriage, fractures in his leg and arm, were not trivial but not life-threatening, but being mobbed by panicked citizens must have been a terrifying experience.
...Well, I do not sympathize with someone who would kidnap Tina.
Rather, I wanted to beat the kidnapper for every bit of fear Tina had felt. Though I could not do so because one punch from me would probably stop his breath, I felt that much anger.
"Commander, this is the mastermind of this kidnapping incident, but..."
I looked at the Black Knight who seemed reluctant to speak, then turned my gaze to the mastermind, who did not seem to have the energy to lift his face. His dirty blonde hair looked familiar, and I furrowed my brow slightly.
"He claims to be Second Prince Chadwick. What kind of world has a prince who runs a carriage wild and kidnaps a little girl on a festival day..."
He was the man who had caused an incident that injured several city residents. No one would want to believe that such a man was a prince of their own country. I almost agreed with the Black Knight, who continued that even if he was the notoriously ill-reputed Second Prince, it was a pity to have one's name used by a kidnapper who would commit such a foolish crime, but then I came to my senses. It was not a matter of pity. The dirty blonde-haired man before me was Second Prince Chadwick himself.
"How dare you be so rude while I have been listening silently! My name is Chadwick. Do you lot actually think such violent outrage against me will be tolerated?!"
To the kidnapper Chadwick who puffed out his chest even while dirty, claiming to be misunderstood, I informed him that since only Black Knights were present here, it was impossible to win him over with authority like the White Knights could. I had no obligation to be kind to him, but if it would shut his annoying mouth, it was a cheap price to pay. If I might add, the one Chadwick was trying to stand up to was the brother of the girl who had nearly been kidnapped.
"I heard that Tina was kidnapped and that the kidnapper claims to be the Second Prince..."
"Tina is safe. The kidnapper has already been captured, as you can see."
Word seemed to have reached the fortress as well. As Alf entered the tent, I told him it looked like the kidnapper had already received punishment from the city residents, then moved aside from in front of Chadwick. Alf sat down and confirmed Chadwick's face.
"...It really is the Second Prince. I knew he was an idiot, an idiot, but I did not think he was this much of an idiot."
"How dare you insolent Black Knights! Who do you think I am?!"
"Chadwick Christoph Gloriana Angela Ivisia, the Second Prince, right? I would not want to think there are two faces like this in the world. ...Let me tell you in advance, the Black Knights are different from the White Knights. We can tell the difference between a Royal Peerage and royalty. Since you were caught in the act, do not think you can escape like you have before."
At Alf's anger-laden voice, I wondered if I should separate him from Chadwick. Alf was not the type to let personal feelings interfere, but his personal feelings toward Chadwick were clearly visible. If personal feelings were allowed, I would be the first to want to punch Chadwick.
"Did you not know that when Christina returned to Grenore, an agreement was made that 'to contact Christina, permission from the three Royal Peerages and Prince Alfred is required, and even royalty will be charged with a crime without it'?"
"I have obtained that permission, of course. I came to see Christina with the permission of the three Royal Peerages and the Third Prince."
I could not imagine Alfred giving permission to Chadwick. I furrowed my brow, sensing a slight discrepancy in Chadwick's story. Whether encouraged by my reaction or wanting to claim that justice was on his side, Chadwick kindly explained the mechanism by which he had obtained permission from Alfred.
"When Anselm said he wanted to see Christina, permission came through easily."
"Prince Anselm is the Fourth Prince. The Second Prince is not Prince Anselm."
"There is no way the young Anselm could travel to Grenore alone, is there?"
To summarize Chadwick's story, it went like this. Anselm, who usually clung to him, had been lonely after Tina left, so Chadwick apparently gave him some advice. Tina had returned to the city of Grenore, and to see her, permission from the Royal Peerages was needed. The rest was simple. Anselm was manipulated into obtaining permission from the three Royal Peerages and also from Alfred. None of the four likely thought that Anselm, a child, would actually travel to Grenore, so they casually gave permission. Then Chadwick, pretending to be kind, offered to accompany Anselm to Grenore as his guardian. Anselm, who had been anxious about traveling alone, would have naively accepted this without realizing Chadwick's scheme, and been delighted.
"...Send word to the inn. Confirm whether Prince Anselm is really there and have him protected at the fortress."
As confirmation before protecting him at the fortress, I instructed a Black Knight to head to the inn to verify Prince Anselm's identity and whether permission had been granted for him to meet Tina. If Anselm truly had come to Grenore, I could not leave him staying at an inn without proper guards.
"Feel free to confirm with Anselm to your satisfaction. But in exchange, once confirmation is made, I will have your head for disrespect toward royalty."
"I do not know what you are misunderstanding, but according to that story, the one permitted to see Christina is Prince Anselm. The Second Prince's guilt for kidnapping Christina will not be overturned. To add to that, I do not recall giving Anselm permission to meet Christina either."
Since I was in Grenore, there was no way I could have given such permission, Alf said, curling the corner of his mouth. Just whose permission had Prince Anselm obtained, then?
Even Chadwick fell silent at this. Whether or not there was permission to meet Tina greatly changed how Chadwick would be treated. In this case, the person who had given permission became important. If he had intended to get permission from Alfred but had actually gotten it from Alf, then he had broken the agreement between royalty and contacted Tina.
...No, the 'Alf' here is Alf, after all.
He was Alf, not Alfred, but I could tell he had something in mind, so I left it to Alf. In fact, Alf and Alfred did sometimes swap places and act as each other. It was not an impossible misunderstanding.
"Did you think you would increase Christina's guards before that happened? Too bad. That Alfred over there probably gave Anselm permission anticipating as much."
"I finally caught you in the act," Alf said with a dark smile. "You fell for Alf and Alfred's scheme. There is no tail left to cut off like before. Prepare yourself."
"How is Christina?"
"She was thrown into the carriage, so her knees were scraped. She also had severe bruising, and it seemed to hurt her just to lift her arms a little."
Since Alf was acting as Prince Alfred, I adjusted my speech a little as well. Even I could play along.
"Oh... Christina was injured. Well, that is... another charge added to the list."
On a busy road during the Harvest Festival, he ran a carriage wild, causing injuries, kidnapped a reincarnator who could read Japanese, a treasure of the country, and injured her, and the perpetrator of such foolish acts was a prince of this kingdom. Even with just today's charges, there was no doubt his status would be stripped. A princess who paid five thousand gold coins for a single embroidered painting was one thing, but this was a different kind of bad quality.
"We cannot have the citizens learning that there is an idiot among the royalty who would commit such foolish acts. We will remove him from the royal registry immediately and try him."
The handling of Tina had been left to Alfred within the royal family. The response to royalty who broke the agreement was also entirely up to Alfred.
"Well, now. A carriage rampage causing multiple injuries by a jobless man who is not even royalty, a carriage falsely claiming royal status, attempted kidnapping of a minor... there is plenty more I need you to tell me about. There is no Gloriana-sama here to ultimately protect you, nor your father swayed by his wife. Prepare yourself."
I watched as Chadwick was transferred to the fortress prison, then returned to the tent and spoke. I had no complaints about how Chadwick was being handled, but there was something I had to say.
"Swapping places with each other's knowledge is one thing, but claiming to be a prince yourself is problematic, is it not?"
To Chadwick, Alf had said "impersonating royalty," but Alf himself was doing the same thing. He might be able to coordinate with Alfred later, but it was hardly commendable.
"Then there is no problem. Because I am Alfred Christoph Everina Angela Ivisia, the Third Prince."
"Huh?"
"When do you think we first swapped? The servants and attendants in the capital... none of them noticed that Alf and I had swapped, but by the time I met you, we had already swapped."
Since he was truly Prince Alfred, there was no problem at all, Alf said. He was Prince Alfred, and by the time he met me, they had already swapped.
The first time Alf and Alfred swapped was apparently just for fun. Unlike now, the two who looked alike and were always together thought of the idea of swapping and carried it out. And because of that, Alfred, who had been acting as Alf, ended up receiving poison. Alfred, who had been raised from the start with the intention of being a body double, was apparently happy to have received the poison, saying he could be of use to Alf. Even after that, poison continued to be put in Alf's food, and after consulting with his parents and Alfred, Alf and Alfred were unofficially swapped.
"Having me come to Grenore as your attendant was partly to assist you, who are weak against underhanded tactics, but also probably to physically distance me from things."
If we were talking about what to distance from, it would be Chadwick. That former prince had a terrible reputation, to say the least.
...Still, so Alf was Prince Alfred, and Prince Alfred was the body double.
I had thought their relationship was strange, but if I considered that Alfred was the object of Alf's protection, I could understand it somewhat. Even the fact that Alf himself went to the border where war with the Kingdom of Saenard was about to begin, sending Alf to the capital as a 'prince'... well, it was strange if you thought about it. Once you knew the truth, it was nothing special. He had simply moved his country's prince from the dangerous border to the safe capital.
"I do not understand all the ins and outs of royalty, but if Alf is actually a prince and it does not mean he is impersonating royalty, that is fine by me."
"...You really do cut cleanly when you decide to, don't you."
"It would be strange to change how I treat you now, and Alf is Alf."
If Alf was actually a prince, then the permission given by Alfred in the capital would be invalid. And if Alf claimed in Grenore that "I myself am the prince," if that was the truth, there was no problem. That was all.
"So what will you do now?"
"Since the thorn in my side can be dealt with this time, once everything is settled, I will probably return to the capital and go pick up the childhood friend who has been waiting."
"......Hmm?"
The words "childhood friend who has been waiting" struck me as odd, and I furrowed my brow. When it came to Alf's childhood friend, there was a story that she had been engaged to Alf, but her father had unilaterally broken off that engagement and arranged one with Alfred instead. However, if Alf was actually Prince Alfred, then the story of swapping fiancées would also be a different story.
"Alf's fiancée became Alfred-sama's fiancée, and that Alf was originally Prince Alfred...?"
"The irresponsible rumors among the public were quite interesting. You remember some of them too, don't you?"
"I do not want to remember the public rumors at all."
The stories surrounding my own marriage spread amusingly through the capital at the time. Some of them were close to the truth, but most were selfish speculation. There was even one claiming I was the father of a certain princess's unborn child.
But if Alf and Alfred had originally swapped, and then the fiancée was swapped, the story surrounding Alf's engagement took on a different impression.
"Your fiancée was your fiancée from beginning to end, then."
"I feel bad for my father-in-law. He has shouldered the bad reputation of a man who changed his daughter's fiancé because he was dazzled by power, believing that someday I would return to the capital."
The childhood friend who was said by the public to have changed her heart from Alf to Alfred... well, it was nothing special. She had simply never stopped loving Alf from the start.
"Leo, a woman's heart is surprisingly trustworthy."
I could not help but straighten my back at the way he called me for the first time in years. The last time Alf had called me 'Leo' was the day before I officially became a Silver-White Knight.
Alf's fiancée had waited faithfully for Alf to come for her, even while being slandered as a girl abandoned by her fiancé. I felt a little envious of that, but then shook my head and chased away such thoughts. Her treatment of me had certainly been... well, various things, but even if her heart had not changed, I did not feel I could have made things work with her. I had just been ready to accept it, thinking that was how marriage was. Now that I had a family in Tina, I thought. The family I sought could not have been built with that woman.
This is a good stopping point, so I will end here for today. As Tina had sensed somewhere, it was not that they had swapped for the first time. They had swapped from the very beginning.
I will fix any typos or errors another day.