After a few hours of travel, the carriage finally arrived at the Garnes Chalet. Compared to the summer palace of Itidian, where the royal family always stayed, Garnes was slightly rundown. However, since it was a place where the royal family stayed, it was equipped with facilities similar to the mansions where most of the aristocrats of the capital lived.
“It would have been nice if we went to the sea instead.”
“Mother doesn’t like the sea.”
“I like the sea.”
“Next time when you grow up, Brother, let’s go on a trip to the sea.”
Unless they were going to the sea, there was not much to do even on vacation. Arthur and Jerald began playing with the toys they had brought from their room. The emperor and the empress enjoyed their leisure time in their respective rooms.
The vacation was passing calmly.
– Knock knock knock
Until they heard the door knock.
“Your Royal Highness, are you there?”
“Huh? Who is it?”
“It’s Uncle’s voice.”
“Uncle?”
“Come in, Uncle.”
Albert came in with Arthur’s permission. He looked for Arthur with a kind smile, then paused for a moment when he unexpectedly saw Jerald as well.
But soon he opened his mouth casually.
“Oh, Prince Jerald was here, too.”
“Greetings, Uncle.”
“Long time no see, Uncle.”
“Yes. Both of you seem to be enjoying playing.”
“But it’s a bit boring.”
Arthur complained, putting down the toy in his hand.
“I want to go out. We’ve come this far…”
“There are mythic creatures in the Garnes Forest, right?”
Albert asked without missing a good opportunity.
“Do you want to see that?”
“Yes, exactly. A mystical creature!”
“There’s no such thing, Uncle.”
Jerald, who was still listening, stepped up.
“It’s just fiction.”
“Whether it’s fiction or not, you can know it by checking with your own eyes.”
“It’s fiction in the first place. How can I check it out?”
“Stop it, Jerald. Wouldn’t you know if you go there?”
“Brother, the forest is dangerous.”
“But wouldn’t it be okay if I went with you?”
Albert smiled and looked at Jerald. And Jerald strangely thought the smile was terrifying.
“Good idea, Uncle! Let’s go together!”
“Yes, very well, Your Royal Highness.”
“No, Brother. The forest is too dangerous…”
“I’m going with my uncle, so it’ll be fine, Jerald.”
Arthur looked at Jerald with a twinkle in his eye.
“Let’s go together, huh?”
“…”
Jerald had already realized that he couldn’t stop Arthur. Arthur originally had a desire for adventures and the exploration of the unknown world, and Albert stimulated this well.
“Okay, Brother. Let’s go together.”
Jerald opened his mouth as if he had no choice.
“But we have to return before sunset.”
“Of course.”
“Your Highness, you really don’t have to come with us.”
Then Albert interjected in a slow voice.
“I will be going anyway.”
“No. I’m curious, too.”
Somehow, Jerald felt like he had to join them and deliberately lied.
“I was reluctant because it was dangerous, but I’m relieved if my uncle goes with me.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“…”
Albert made a thoughtful expression for a moment, then smiled as if everything was okay.
“Then since it’s late today, let’s promise for tomorrow. After all, we have a few more days until we have to go back.”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
And by the next day, Jerald had gone with Arthur to the nearby forest.
The thickly wooded forest with trees and grass certainly had a mysterious atmosphere, as Arthur had expected, but Jerald somehow felt frightened in the forest. If he got lost, he felt like he would get lost in that forest and wander forever.
Jerald, with an unpleasant expression, asked Arthur.
“Do you like this forest?”
“Yes!”
Arthur nodded with a twinkle in his eye.
“Don’t you think a mysterious animal could appear at any moment, Jerald?”
“…I’m a little scared, Brother.”
Jerald asked, looking anxiously around him.
“Can we just look around a little and go back?”
“Why is the prince so scared?”
Arthur patted Jerald on the shoulder and relieved him.
“Don’t worry too much, Jerald. I’ll protect you if anything happens.”
“But, Brother…”
“Don’t worry.”
“It’s all right, Your Highness.”
Albert also chimed in from the side. Jerald lifted his head. He saw Albert, who was smiling. However, his smile, rather than alleviating Jerald’s anxiety, only made him feel that his smile was as repellent as this forest.
Yet, without voicing out these thoughts, Jerald stared squarely at Albert.
“I am here, and my subordinates are also with us. I don’t know why you are worried.”
“…”
“Nothing will happen, Your Highness. Don’t worry.”
“…Yes, Uncle.”
Jerald barely nodded. Albert smiled deeper at the sight.
“Shall we go then?”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
The process of finding mysterious creatures in the forest was very boring. No, it was only boring for Jerald, to be exact. Arthur seemed to find this very interesting. He was exploring the unknown world by taking the lead through the grass.
Jerald couldn’t understand Arthur, but he was pleased to see him happy. So while he didn’t believe in a mysterious creature, he looked around eagerly, relying on the possibility that he might not know.
Then it was at some point.
– Woof woof!
He heard a dog cry from somewhere. Both Arthur and Jerald were surprised by the sudden loud sound and solidified themselves. Albert slightly furrowed his brow and turned to ask.
“What’s that noise?”
“It sounds like a wild dog’s cry.”
“Wild dog?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s send a scout to check just in case.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Uncle, are there wild dogs here?”
When Jerald asked with a worried look, Albert turned his head and looked at Jerald. Then he pulled up the tail of his mouth and laughed.
“Don’t worry, Your Royal Highness. It’s just a dog, we can kill it if necessary.”
“…”
“But just in case, we’ll escort you both from a distance. We never know if dangerous wild animals like wild dogs might suddenly attack you.”
At that time, Jerald thought Albert’s expression seemed a bit off. Despite Albert’s clear smile, Jerald felt an inexplicable creepiness.
When Albert saw Jerald like that, he asked gently.
“What’s wrong, Your Highness?”
“…Nothing, Uncle.”
Jerald tried to sound unbothered as he spoke to Arthur.
“Let’s go further, Brother.”
“Good!”
Arthur didn’t seem too scared, even though he heard the cry of a wild dog. Some of Albert’s men disappeared to chase the wild dog, and Arthur and Jerald continued to advance.
Albert and his men silently followed behind the two boys.
At some point, Jerald realized that the sounds from behind were unusually quiet and he turned around.
“Huh…?”
And behind him, there was no one.
“Uh…?”
Jerald opened his mouth with a look of bewilderment.
“Uncle…?”
“What’s wrong, Jerald?”
“There’s no one…”
Jerald murmured in a surprised voice.
“Why isn’t anyone there?”
“What do you mean by that?”
At Arthur’s question, Jerald exclaimed in shock.
“Uncle has disappeared!”
“What?”
“No one is following us, Brother. We’re lost.”
“C, calm down, Jerald.”
“How can I stay calm, Brother? We’re lost in this deep forest!”
Actually, Arthur was just as confused about the situation. But if he also panicked, his younger brother would be more frightened, so Arthur tried hard to seem unflustered.
“Uncle must have lost us. Don’t worry. He will return safely.”
“Brother, who are you worried about right now? We should be worried about us!”
Jerald thumped his chest with a frustrated voice.
“We have to go back right now, Brother. If the sun sets here, we’re all going to die!”
“Calm down, Jerald.”
Arthur smiled at Jerald in a completely unruffled voice.
“We can go back. Trust me, okay?”
It was absurd. He should not have trusted the words of a child who was only one year older. However, at that moment, Jerald felt exceedingly reassured by Arthur’s single sentence.
The young boy who seemed ready to cry at any moment nodded his head with difficulty. Arthur hugged Jerald tight and comforted him.
“Don’t worry too much, Jerald. It is still a long way before sunset.”
“…Yeah.”
“Let’s try heading back the way we came, slowly. Uncle might be looking for us because he’s lost us.”
Then, Arthur clasped Jerald’s hand.
“You must never let go of this hand, Jerald, all right? If we get separated here, it will really be a big problem.”
“I understand, Brother.”
“Come on, let’s go.”
The two brothers began to walk through the thicket where no sound could be heard. The noise of stepping on blades of grass echoed quietly through the forest.
Jerald was scared of this situation where he only relied on Arthur without anyone, but the thought of being with Arthur relieved him.
The brothers walked, walked, and walked. But no one showed up, and the way back home seemed a long way off.
Before he knew it, Jerald started to get tired and hungry. He was annoyed, and he wanted to see his parents’ faces.
“I can’t go any further.”
Jerald eventually sank to the spot. Frustrated Arthur said to Jerald.
“Get up, Jerald. We can’t stop here.”
“I don’t know. I’m hungry and tired.”
“Jerald.”
“It’s all because of you!”
Jerald snapped back at his brother with resentment. Arthur was taken aback as he looked at Jerald.
“If you hadn’t rambled about mystical creatures, we could have been resting comfortably in the chalet!”
“It’s because of me?”
“Yes, it’s because of you!”
An angry Jerald screamed, and Arthur quickly shrank. Tears formed in his eyes as if he were about to cry. Only then did Jerald realize that he had gone too far. However, it was not easy to say sorry first because of his pride.
“I’m sorry, Jerald.”
Arthur opened his mouth in a defeated voice. Jerald looked at Arthur with an uncomfortable expression.
“When we get home, I won’t bring up the topic of mystical creatures again.”
“…”
“If you’re tired, should we take a break?”
“…No, let’s just go.”
Inexplicably, Jerald’s voice also got softer as he felt awkward.
“I want to go home soon.”
“Yes, let’s go.”
Arthur smiled wearily and reached out to Jerald again.
“Hold my hand, Jerald.”
Jerald stared at the hand that Arthur extended to him and soon grabbed it, standing up quickly.
How are they allowed to go around without any escorts if their mother is so overly dramatic, I wonder… I would have thought she had put a secret guard for her beloved first son at least.