“Episode 13”
“Hero Luca Delric! Your Highness Lucas!”
“All thanks to their own efforts.” Today, Lucas had a schedule as the fabricated hero “Luca Delric,” touring the slums and comforting young knights. Unlike events at the palace, it was natural for reporters to follow closely, and everyone showed great interest in every word and expression of the prince.
So, yesterday, as I parted ways with Lucas, I earnestly advised him, “Lucas, you need to be as humble as possible tomorrow.”
“Humble? Alicia, I’m already a prince of the Medlerike royal family.”
“That’s exactly why you need to be more so. Lucas, as you know, the support of the nobles here is practically the same as supporting Prince Joshua and the current Empress.”
In short, this capital was thoroughly away for Lucas.
Though driven out of the palace, he had the support of emerging nobles, wealthy individuals, and many commoners.
A hundred years ago, the nobles had their own world, but with the development of the press and industry, the dynamics had changed.
Yet Lucas, having spent his teenage years away from the capital, hadn’t shed his arrogance.
“So now, it’s crucial to win favor with those who support the hero’s name, Lucas.”
“Ugh, it’s just…”
“Lucas! You know I’m saying this for your own good.”
Perhaps it was due to fatigue from the incident with Prince Joshua that I spoke to him so pointedly.
I had advised him, and though Lucas reluctantly agreed, he didn’t use any of the prepared responses I gave him.
I clenched the newspaper tightly in my hand.
Every word Lucas spoke was aristocratic and arrogant.
Born a prince, his efforts were also considered innate talent…
What nonsense!
“Speaking like this… it only breeds resentment, Lucas Medlerike!”
Especially when it wasn’t even his talent…
I stifled the sigh that threatened to escape and swallowed it down.
“No, it’s just once. I can cover it up later depending on his future actions.”
At least the achievements made as the hero “Luca Delric” wouldn’t collapse because of a few words.
Thinking so, I folded the newspaper.
“Yes, yes, Miss. Oh dear, please enjoy your meal!”
Then I aggressively tackled the meal.
Judging by the newspaper, it seemed Lucas would be quite stubborn.
“…I need to eat properly to gather strength.”
If I wanted to persuade his unreasonable stubbornness somehow, I’d lose even more energy.
*
However, contrary to my expectations, Lucas responded with an indifferent attitude.
“Fine, I’ll do that next time.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah, why would I lie to you?”
Leisurely crossing his legs, Lucas smiled at me.
Resting his elbows on the table, tilting his head slightly to the side, his usual beautiful face looked even more charming.
“And about that day…”
Lucas spoke with a hint of resentment.
“I was scolded for a couple of mistakes. Alicia, you’ve done that many times. Reporters are naturally the ones to pick on every little mistake.”
Lucas spoke as if reporters were truly pathetic beings.
Of course, I had told him that. Even in my past life, my beloved in my favorite drama became a frequent target of theirs.
“Now that I’ve realized it, I won’t make the same mistake twice. You know that, right?”
Lucas’s eyes softened.
A sense of relief seemed to wash over me as I glimpsed Lucas’s rarely displayed beautiful smile.
“I won’t make the same mistake twice.”
And that was also true.
*
“…What’s this, Lucas!”
It hadn’t even been a week since I had spoken with Lucas about this.
Now, as the festivities for Luca Delric in the capital quieted down and he gradually adjusted to life at the palace, Lucas received his first command as a prince from the emperor.
“…The emperor gave you this task because you’ve gained the people’s favor,” I had explained diligently.
No, it was actually through the help of the wind spirit that I gathered information to get Lucas assigned to this task, as the organizer of the upcoming April Founding Day conference to seek cooperation from the People’s Assembly.
Though nobles and royals held significant power and wealth, the support of the common people during national events couldn’t be ignored.
Moreover, as the image of “Luca Delric” was favorable, the emperor intended to use Lucas to persuade the Assembly to allocate a large budget.
[Prince Lucas emphasized that all imperial subjects should be loyal to the royal family, and demonstrating that loyalty during such times would greatly influence the People’s Assembly. …Omitted… While the words of a hero, who has always been on the side of the people, might hold significance, can they really be considered different from the ‘words of others’?
In such a situation, it was only natural for someone loyal to the royal family to incur additional costs for the Founding Day celebration without any compensation, saying, “Lucas, this is to address the distrust and disappointment that would arise if things didn’t turn out as expected.”
I felt like a cloud had settled in my heart.
Despite providing him with the correct response, he couldn’t even deliver it properly!
This time, I was determined to firmly persuade Lucas.
*
But it was all in vain.
As I gazed at the beautifully flowing river, I let out a deep sigh.
It had been nearly six months since I arrived in the capital, and summer was approaching.
The flowers were beautiful, and the laughter of children playing was delightful, but only my heart felt gloomy.
“…I won’t meet him again, even if he doesn’t want to.”
In the past six months, there had been many conflicts between Lucas and me.
Yes, just a couple of months ago, he had repeatedly said he would.
But he never followed through even once.
“…Ah, really, Lucas.”
And recently, he even avoided my visits.
He used to at least engage in conversation at social gatherings.
But now…
“Alicia, I’m grateful to you, of course. I even consider you a special childhood friend and still plan to ask you to dance for the third… no, the fifth time.”
He spoke with a more arrogant expression than when we first met.
“But, Alicia, even if I didn’t do as you said, I’m doing just fine. Isn’t it evidence that I know more about the palace and the capital than you do?”
That’s only because of the reputation of “Luca Delric”!
People tend to praise you when you’re popular.
Even my favorite once acted arrogantly, treated fans poorly, and hesitated on stage before escaping by enlisting in the military…
Lucas’s annoying attitude, and the fact that he only used me as a shield against noble heirs when he needed to, made everything difficult for me, so I decided to take a short break.
I needed to sort out my feelings by now.
At this point, it almost seemed more peaceful to let go of my affection for him, but I was still clinging to it, caught up in lingering feelings.
Honestly, it felt foolish, even to myself.
What good were the time and affection I had invested?
“…But what should I do from now on?”
Even if I found ways to make amends, the person I wanted to accept them was rejecting everything…
And to make matters worse, Prince Joshua was a formidable rival.
The shelf life of Lucas Delric, built up over several years, was at best a few months long.
“Well, I did manage to gain the support of a few nobles, but…”
They weren’t substantial supporters. They were just trying to get a share by sticking by Lucas’s side, knowing he had weak support.
While Lucas had spent the past six months tarnishing his image, Prince Joshua had been steadily building his reputation as the “perfect prince.”
Even in tasks like suppressing rebellions or handling border disputes that the emperor assigned to him like a puppet, he had achieved remarkable success.
“And his favor towards Princess Anita is still strong.”
The real power in the palace wasn’t held by the childless empress but by Princess Anita.
As I let out a deep sigh, I suddenly remembered something Prince Joshua had said in the past.
“I am exactly as I am known to be.”
His confident demeanor.
The thought of him, who had confidently walked away after causing so much trouble between me and Lucas, made me resentful.
“I had decided not to directly confront the nobles to avoid trouble, but now I’m starting to feel annoyed and want to confront them.”
But now that things had turned out this way, I felt a bit annoyed and wanted to confront them.
Anyway, even if I used the power of the spirits, I probably wouldn’t know the extent of it.
*
On a night when the wind was blowing gently, I took a deep breath and summoned the power of the wind spirit.
With a hum and a vibration, soon…
The sound of clinking teacups echoed in my ears.
Along with it,
“Why did you come so late? I’ve been waiting for so long.”
Suddenly, Prince Joshua’s overly sweet voice reached my ears.
“Huh? What?”
