Crowning My Feral Prince

“Greatness! What’s for breakfast this morning?”

 

She turned her head and asked cheerfully. A chuckle was heard from behind.

 

“I didn’t have time, so I did it normally. Scrambled eggs, butter-toasted bread, and bacon. Potato soup and pickles, which Trixie loved.”

 

“It looks delicious.”

 

Managing a house like this wasn’t her job. Adding Leone’s hand to it made cleaning and laundry a breeze. Since the two of them were going to need things to do when they were alone anyway, there were no complaints. As for the food, she was a little worried. She could do the basics, but she didn’t know how to make different and delicious recipes. And she didn’t have the confidence to cook three meals a day. Maybe it’s just once. Even if she told Leone… Wasn’t cooking an area of talent? Although it was said to have adapted to human food, it was such a complicated task that she was deeply concerned about whether she should hire a chef. However, she still taught it just in case. And Leone was much better at cooking than expected. Thanks to this, he was able to make food on duty. He was on duty, and thanks to his sincerity in waking up first in the morning and starting his day, he made breakfast for himself every time. And she did the simple cooking, and Leone did the complicated and delicious cooking… In the end, it was like living off of Leone’s cooking skills. Of course, she bought a lot of cheese, smoked meat, and pickles that could be stored for a long time and eaten briefly, so they didn’t really cook three meals a day.

 

“Here, take it.”

 

She sat in front of the square wooden table where she could sit side by side with Leone, and took the food he brought her.

 

“Thank you. I will enjoy the meal prepared by His Majesty the Emperor himself with great honor.”

 

She looked at the neatly prepared table and bowed politely before savoring her appetite. Leone smiled while looking at her.

 

“Okay, enjoy your meal.”

 

Then, wasn’t the rhythm also matched? She liked that, so she laughed out loud and picked up the spoon.

 

“But why weren’t you free in the morning?”

 

“First of all, a letter from Marquis Levi arrived.”

 

“…ah. He said he had to reply. I was so busy talking that I completely forgot.”

 

She remembered that she had forgotten her main purpose because of the embarrassing story in the morning.

 

“That’s because Leone said that!”

 

Her face heated up again.

 

“Is it?”

 

Leone just shrugged his shoulders with a shameless look on his face.

 

“And why again?”

 

In times like this, it was best to talk back. She finished asking the question.

 

“We have to go to the capital today. I checked and packed my belongings before leaving the house.”

 

“That’s today…?”

 

“Huh. Trixie seemed to have forgotten.”

 

Leone stroked her hair in a friendly voice. He liked to keep her hair down, so she didn’t tie it up properly, so it tends to fall out here and there. Surprisingly, she didn’t feel any discomfort. Because Leone was always by her side, handing her hair and holding it.

 

“The capital…”

 

It’s already been three months since they came down to this country house. Letters from acquaintances who had left us alone until now were slowly pouring in. Melody and Adler’s letters were full of requests to come visit or at least invite them. Not only these two people, but also Gurden and the upright Benjamin sent letters. In addition, the same was true for Lou, who she saw often because she was part of Leone’s costume team, and Zen, the butler who occasionally accompanied Adler into the palace and chatted. Since the house was small, it was difficult to invite everyone, so they just answered that they were going and kept putting off their plans to go to the capital. The reason was a little complicated.

 

“I said we would go, but I’m still worried about us going to the capital…”

 

“Trixie.”

 

If they went to the capital, there would definitely be someone who would recognize Leone. 

In this era of dissolution of the imperial family and abolition of titles, if there was anyone who recognized the former Emperor, he would be overturned no matter where he went. She wouldn’t know until some time passes. No, in fact, as long as Leone’s beauty did not fade, someone would definitely recognize him. It was a noisy world. The majority of the people were impressed by Leone’s radical reforms, but the insides of the nobles who lost their titles overnight were quite twisted. It was natural and expected. Since they were people who had lived their whole lives chasing a title, they couldn’t help but feel angry that the things they worked hard to do to rise to the top turned out to be nonsense overnight. The problem was that she was worried that they would come after me and cause trouble. Immediately after the abolition of the imperial family, he suffered through six months of monastic life. At that time, she once again thought that Leone was amazing. Could those who pointed at him, calling him a beast and a monster, did the same? Learn and practice how to respect those who have bothered you. In the meantime, the humans came to harass him again, but he persevered and continued to do his job. It was respectable and cool.

 

“When I left the imperial palace and started living as a monk. I clearly remember the old aristocrats sitting in the drawing room all day, drinking and even playing poker, as if to protest the anonymous curse letters that came in.”

 

Respect was respect, and the bad feelings from back then remained so deep that she gritted her teeth and muttered. At that time, Leone had enemies in the Assembly, so he did not touch them for fear of harming the Assembly. He politely sent them away or sometimes called the guards, but he was very tired every time he did it.

 

“That also gradually decreased. It was harsh at first.”

 

“But there were persistent crazy people who harassed you until the end, with their eyes set on the title.”

 

“Don’t worry. Now even the old nobles have to manage their image. Quite a bit of property must have disappeared.”

 

“…That’s true, though.”

 

As Leone said, the old nobles were increasingly unable to behave as they pleased. Taxes commensurate with the size of their property began to be levied on nobles who were exempt from taxation. In addition, if there was any property that had been acquired unfairly, members of the National Assembly would search for it like ghosts and recover it, and punishment appropriate to the crime was also given. It had changed from the time when peasants were exempt from taxes and made money even if they stayed still. Now, when workers are hired, the wages paid to them have also increased significantly. Rich people could gather together and increase their wealth, but even that had its limits. Eventually, the era in which nobles could indulge in extravagance was over. So in the end, they had to do business with the commoners whom they looked down on so much. The cancers that had been collecting money from people to maintain their dignity disappeared, and commoners were also able to earn much more money than before. Now it was time to spend that money and become their customer. The world where the caste system was destroyed was moving towards the logic of capital. Therefore, in order to maintain their honor, nobles had to pay attention to the commoners and manage their reputation. So, even if he tried to mess with the former emperor, the bold hero who cut out the empire’s festering institutions, his image would only be tarnished no matter what business he did. Naturally, the old nobles had no choice but to be quiet. Assholes with indifferent eyes exist everywhere. So, she was worried about that noise. She was afraid someone would do something to it.

 

“What can they do? And since I’m not really connected to the council anymore and I’m not the emperor, I won’t stay quiet if you come after me and make a fuss.”

 

Leone’s smiling face was very refreshing, but I could feel the old resentment seething inside it. But… He just endured it all this time because he was managing his image as an Emperor and a member of the National Assembly. She nodded at him, thinking of Leone at night. Maybe he really didn’t need to worry anymore…

 

“Umm… okay…”

 

It seemed really good, so she couldn’t refute it any further.

 

“Ugh. I’m already tired just thinking about riding a carriage for half a day.”

 

“Me too.”

 

Leone and she both dislike stuffy things. In the past, when someone asked her to ride, she would obediently accept it, but the thought of having to ride on her own felt like her whole body was already aching.

 

“Then I have to hurry and wash up.”

 

“Huh.”

 

In the end, she ended up going to the capital. Yeah, she was going to have to go anyway. She needed to stop putting it off. Actually, today’s trip to the capital was like going for our wedding. Two and a half years since Leone’s proposal. Frankly, it was a short period of time to accomplish this great reform. Nevertheless, Leone did it for me because she didn’t want to wait too long. So what was left for them was a wedding where they shared the promise of eternity. According to Leone and her personality, they would just float in this house, exchange rings, kiss to make an oath, and then go to the council instead of the temple to submit the documents according to the newly created marriage system, and that would be marriage. The opposition from people around her was extreme. They were sad to leave the capital and go down to the capital, but why would they leave them out until the wedding? Leone listened to their persuasion for a while, and then he came to her and said:

 

‘You don’t have to if you don’t like Trixie, but I want to do what’s best for Trixie. So, just for the wedding… Why not?’

 

How could she spit rejection on that lovely face of hers? In the end, they ordered dresses, accessories, and most of the things for the wedding before coming down. Melody decided to take charge of it. She said that everything was ready now, and all that was needed was to decorate the mansion where Leone and I stayed in the capital as a wedding hall. So, this time, she planned to skip the ceremony and come down. Maybe that’s why she was more hesitant about going to the capital. It should be a fun wedding as it only happens once, but she was afraid that something strange would happen when she returned to the capital, where Leone had not yet been forgotten. In the hope that if they go a little later, people would forget about Leone.

 

* * *

 

The carriage Adler sent was similar to the carriage she rode when she first went to the Meto Mountains. The exterior was as shabby as a hired wagon, but the interior was incredibly luxurious. Thanks to that, her butt didn’t hurt as much, but her whole body still hurts from driving down the country road to the capital. Late at night, with not much left to reach the capital, they eventually had to stop for a rest in a halfway town.

 

“I need to recommend paving the road to the council.”

 

Leone let out a sigh and hugged her as she was just leaving the door of the carriage.

 

“Leone, I have two feet.”

 

“Let’s pretend we don’t have today. It was difficult.”

 

“So you are.”

 

“The beast prince is okay.”

 

“You don’t like that nickname. You actually liked it, right? Is that why you keep using it?”

 

“Well?”

 

When Leone tried to enter the inn while holding her, she hit him hard on the chest and urged him to put her down. She was too embarrassed to enter like this.

 

“Welcome!”

 

When she opened the door and entered, she saw an old man with fair hair and a long beard… Was it Mr…. A man who was difficult to tell greeted me cheerfully. He seemed to be the owner of the inn.

 

“Please give me a room. Are there any separate accommodations for the coachman to stay? I also need a bath and dinner.”

 

She approached the owner and poured out the main point. The owner answered quickly and said that he would show us around soon, so please wait, and then he disappeared behind the counter.

 

“…Trixie.”

 

But wasn’t Leone calling her with a voice that he only used when he felt ‘something is wrong’?

 

“Leone?”

 

When she turned around, she saw him standing outside. He was quiet the entire time he was talking to the owner. When did it go out?

 

“There was something strange…”

 

“What’s the matter, Leone?”

 

“Something was watching us.”

 

“…what?”

 

“I don’t know. Gone too quickly. The presence was so small. This is my first time doing something like this. Have I become too dull?”

 

Leone muttered with a puzzled face. She walked towards where he was looking. There was no one on the empty road. When she stood in the middle of the street and turned her head, a narrow alley came into view. Likewise, there was no one there either. The worry about the ‘riot of the old nobles’ that had been barely calmed rose again in her mind.

 

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Translator Note: