628 – It Leaks Even Inside – 4

I looked up at the ceiling blankly, holding the communication port that had lost its light in my hand.

Dizzy. If words had physical power, it would feel like getting hit in the chin three or four times. It’s extremely thrilling from the chin to the brain.

– I contacted you because I heard you went back to your b*stard days 4 years ago. I think I will win completely if we spar now.

“Hot.”

As soon as Erich recalled what she had said, she burst into laughter.

It’s a complicated feeling. A close friend whom I contacted for the first time since graduation, and whom I had no idea would contact me first, started swearing at me. And that too, not in a roundabout way, but honestly and squarely from the front.

The words and actions were so hot that I was shocked but laughed. Since being born into the royal family, have you ever heard someone call you an b*stard? Even His Majesty the King did not use such words to his children.

– You idiot.

Now, I gently wash my face with the sentences that were self-editing in my head.

You idiot. You’re an idiot. I am an idiot.

‘There was a time like that.’

There was a time when I was an b*stard, both objectively and subjectively. No, to be exact, there was a time when we all got along as idiots and idiots.

About 4 years ago, when I fell in love with Louise. Until the five of us were kicked by Louise─ we were braver and more confident b*stards than anyone else.

‘I’m not bragging, though.’

After lowering my head back, I smoothed my chin and organized my thoughts.

Erich is someone who shares the same memories and dark history as me. Erich mentioned to me 4 years ago.

– You know very well that it is painful for those around you when someone acts carelessly. Because we have been someone, and we have been around others.

And that too with irrefutable words.

Erich is right. We have both acted as ‘someone’ who caused pain to those around us, and conversely, we have also been the ‘peripheral’ who suffered from someone else. Both were short periods of time, but it wasn’t a very pleasant feeling.

So I promised myself not to do something like that again, or at least not to let myself be reduced to ‘somebody’. If I, the prince, don’t have any sense, who can stop me? My father, His Majesty, and my brothers are not leisurely enough to get involved in my private life.

However, I seem to have been so twisted that a close friend across the border contacted me after a year.

– Me and Ainter are about to get married, but the prince is going backwards all by himself. Do you dream of becoming an archmage who uses time magic rather than a knight? Then, I think you will inherit the title of Majong.

…No matter how much I think about it, it seems like Erich is just as twisted as I am.

It’s a strange thing. Erich was not a soft-spoken person, but he also did not have the kind of speech that would make listeners sigh. What on earth happened all this time to become a maw from hell?

‘Work ruins people.’

It’s scary, the Imperial Assembly.

I will never go to the Imperial Diet, but I hope I never have to again in my life.

– Still, you’re not the kind of person who makes the same mistake twice. When you come to your senses and look around, you will realize what mistake you made.

And although her mouth became harsh, her heart remained the same and she prayed for her friend’s well-being.

Please do not let your heart be tainted by hell.

After receiving double insults from his friend, he swung his sword like always.

However, while his body his his his was swinging the sword vigorously, his mind his his his was busy recalling events from the past.

‘What have I done?’

If news reaches friends across the border, the situation is serious. You have to think about why you reached it, not how you reached it.

Let’s think back to what I said and did for a while. Specifically, focusing on interpersonal relationships, especially those related to intuition, and ultimately those related to the opposite sex.

‘I don’t think there is anything in particular.’

However, since graduating from the academy, my interpersonal relationships are not very wide.

Among the many siblings, the ones who often appear in the social world are the eldest brother, who is the crown prince, the second brother, who enjoys fashion, and the older sister, who is the flower of the social world. Even before entering the academy, I didn’t put much effort into participating in social circles or cultivating personal connections.

Under such circumstances, I spent three years at the Imperial Academy, which was not an educational institution in Armain. It was enough time for the connections I had to be reset.

‘There are nobles who followed me to the Imperial Academy.’

Such nobles have either just graduated or are still enrolled in the academy. Even if you try to meet them, the chances of meeting them are very small.

In the first place, the only person I met who was focused on training was Lord Perosa—

“If Sir has a child, consider sending him to the Imperial Academy.”

About Sir Perosa…

“I am alone and Kyung is also alone, so people will think that we are lovers.”

Sir Perosa…

“When I think about it, I think the only woman in my life, aside from her her family her and pastry club her her her, is Lord Pero.”

…

‘Hmm.’

There was.

The past that was talked about without notice existed too vividly. So much so that I wonder why I only noticed this now.

‘I’m going to be thrilled.’

It was a sentence I said without much thought at the time, but the thought of those saying sentences to just one person makes me dizzy. Isn’t this sentence full of misunderstanding no matter who hears it?

That’s why I felt guilty, even if it was belated. How embarrassed Sir Perosa must have been in front of me during this time. What did Sir Villar think as he watched his daughter grow thinner day by day?

I think I understand now. Perhaps Sir Villar told his advisor, and the advisor told Erich about this terrible situation.

‘I need to apologize first.’

Now that you know the problem, the solution is easy. All I have to do is promise Sir Perosa, who I unknowingly bullied, that something like this will never happen again, and comfort Sir Villar, who couldn’t bear it anymore and asked for help from a foreigner.

The royal family should refrain from carelessly thanking or apologizing to their subjects, but this is my fault.

With that promise, I waited for Lord Perosa to come,

“It’s okay, sir! There’s nothing wrong with me!”

I could see Sir Perosa with a clearly brightened complexion.

“There is no one in Armain who doesn’t know that you are merciful and cheerful to your subordinates! You made a joke out of consideration for me, my sparring partner, so how could I feel uncomfortable about that!”

It felt strange to hear someone who must have been uncomfortable up until now say that.

“So you don’t have to take it to heart either!”

“Thank you for saying that.”

However, asking the person who has accepted the apology, ‘Are you really okay?’ Is a burdensome action. At best, Sir Perosa, who has become brighter, may become harder again.

So let’s stop here. All you have to do is end your apology to Lord Perosa with this and prevent something like this from happening in the future.

Yeah, that’s enough…

‘I like it so much.’

Sir Perosa said he was sorry for saying something that could have been misleading and set a clear line that it would never happen again.

It seems natural and fortunate. The so-called royal family had a bad influence on the knight who would lead the future of Armain. Since I said I won’t do that anymore, Sir Perosa will be happy.

But why? When I saw Lord Perosa’s face full of joy and peace, I felt uneasy.

‘You don’t regret it?’

It’s crazy to think like this in this atmosphere. I know that too.

But I am royalty. He is the prince of Armaine, a powerful country next to the Empire, a warrior who has easily surpassed the level of a decent knight, and honestly, he also has a nice appearance. Since I have no intention of getting married and am staying alone, I am more than just good as a husband.

Nevertheless, as soon as Sir Perosa realized that what I had said was a misunderstanding, he looked refreshed. Even considering that it must have been burdensome due to the disparity in his situation, he did not feel any regrets.

Why? If the possibility of becoming a lover flashed before your eyes, even if just for a moment, wouldn’t you be interested? This is Lyutis’ lover? Maybe he could even go to her wife?

‘It’s a complicated feeling.’

For some reason, I felt humiliated and ashamed. At the same time, interest in Sir Perosa also deepened.

This is the first time since Louise that I have felt such strong feelings for someone.

“Lord Perosa.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Like I said before, from now on I won’t say anything that will misunderstand you.”

When he repeated what he had insisted on saying, Sir Perosa blinked his eyes in confusion but agreed.

Okay. I won’t say anything that will be misunderstood. I won’t do that in the future.

‘There won’t be misunderstandings in the future.’

From now on, everything I say and do to Lord Perosa will be completely my will.

***

Although he had visited the Imperial Diet a few times, he rarely entered the ‘offices.’ First of all, it is definitely the first time since he was dispatched to the academy.

Anyway, as I sat in my office and looked around, I had a different feeling. Maybe it’s because the first office I visited was her younger brother’s office.

“The body goes down.”

“Ugh…”

Or maybe it’s because I’m craving my younger brother in his office

‘Damn b*stard.’

She sighed as she looked at Erich with his head pressed against the floor.

One day after selling Erich to Villar. Just one day has passed. After just one day, Villar contacted me again and received a thank you note that thanks to his brother, His Excellency Liu Tis had come to his senses.

The speed was surprising to me, so I went straight to Erich. Solving a difficult problem in one goes deserves encouragement and praise. Moreover, I was curious as to what method was used to eradicate rheumatism in the 1977 season.

“Oh, that?”

And as soon as I heard the next words, I pinned Erich to her floor.

‘No matter how much of a friend we are, fuck…’

She washed her face roughly and sighed for an unknown number of times.

Erich prescribed extreme medication for Lyutis. If you make even the slightest mistake, it is a poison that can turn into a very poisonous drug.

No, what kind of noble would curse the royal family by calling them idiots? Otherwise, it would have turned into a diplomatic issue rather than a fight between her friends. Fortunately, Ryutis passed over it and it ended up being a friend issue.

‘I couldn’t do it either.’

If it was shocking in public, it was embarrassing in private. I would have suffered more from Lyutis, but Erich was not particularly a victim. On that topic, Erich, not me, threw double insults to my face.

He was displeased because his younger brother seemed to have taken away the rights that his older brother should have enjoyed.