The Crown Prince Desires a Reunion!

Episode 61

Due to the nature of their work, the Imperial Intelligence Department collects a wealth of information regarding the scandals of celebrities.

Of course, they don’t gather it purely for entertainment.

It’s stored away, ready for when a major issue arises.

For example, if something occurs that threatens to expose the Empire’s shame, the Intelligence Department releases some of the scandalous information they’ve been holding onto, diverting the eyes of the Imperial citizens.

Scandals involving famous theater members or singers are frequently utilized.

These individuals are constantly embroiled in tales of romance, and the Imperial citizens are greatly interested in them, making them perfect for burying sensitive issues.

However, this method cannot always fool the Empire’s citizens.

Especially when the person involved in the scandal is royalty, causing a severe headache for the Intelligence Department.

Just like now.

“Say it again.”

Sergei scratched his cheek before answering my question.

“Well… it seems His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince may have fallen for me.”

“From whence and who?”

“…His Imperial Highness, Crown Prince David Archerus of the Grand Empire.”

“To whom?”

“…To me.”

“But why in blazes?”

“…Because he mistakenly believes I’m a woman.”

I’m currently swallowing three pills together, every day.

One is a contraceptive. The women I’m intimate with have no concern for contraception whatsoever, so I personally purchase and ingest male birth control pills.

The other two are headache medicine and antipyretics, to mitigate the chronic headaches and fevers I suffer from due to the Sky Eye’s side effects.

I need the latter two right now.

“Ah, Director, not again…!”

Before Celine could say anything more, I hastily tossed the pills into my mouth and swallowed them with a gulp of water.

*Haa.*

Alright, where were we?

“Let’s start with a detailed explanation of how things came to this.”

—

Sergei Azar, a member of Owl, the assassination organization directly under the Information Minister, possesses an appearance that makes it difficult to discern gender at first glance.

He appears male in some lights, but utterly female in others—an extremely androgynous look.

Sergei usually leverages this trait to the fullest when carrying out missions.

On the day the incident occurred, he was disguised as a woman, attending a party hosted by a certain noble.

“Oh, Miss Karlen has arrived as well.”

“You look absolutely radiant this evening.”

“If you wouldn’t mind, would you grant me a dance during the upcoming dance time?”

Karlen Baker.

Sergei’s fabricated identity, created by the Imperial Information Bureau.

Established in society as the daughter of a wealthy merchant from a foreign land, he warded off the advances of men with a smile while quietly observing his target for the day.

‘Hmm. There was intelligence that Baron Sokius was engaged in shady dealings with the Regalis family, and it seems to be true, after all.’

There was no way the Baron Sokius household, perpetually plagued by poverty, could host a party of this magnitude otherwise.

At the very least, they’ve definitely found some suspicious source of income.

The Baron Sokius household itself wasn’t the issue, actually.

The problem lies with the Regalis family.

‘The Regalis family is the late Empress’s family. Since her passing, the relationship between them and His Imperial Majesty has soured, so it wouldn’t be strange if they were plotting something.’

Sergei, deciding he needed to approach Baron Socius himself to dig deeper, was about to move when a great clamor arose from the entrance.

“Oh my, isn’t that His Imperial Highness, the Crown Prince?”

“It is! It’s true what Baron Socius boasted, that his son is friends with His Imperial Highness!”

Seeing David, Sergei’s steps faltered.

The fact that the Crown Prince was friends with Socius’s heir was already known information.

He just hadn’t expected him to be here today.

‘What to do? It’s not like my face is known, so it shouldn’t matter, but…’

Frankly, David’s presence didn’t make the mission impossible, but in the worst-case scenario, he’d have to kill Baron Socius, and assassinating the father of the Crown Prince’s friend presented a psychological barrier.

‘…No choice. I’ll retreat for today, report to the Minister, and receive new instructions.’

It was at that very moment that the attempted assassination of Baron Socius occurred.

Sergei, who was about to slip away from the banquet hall, was simultaneously stunned and perplexed by the sight of a masked assassin appearing behind Baron Socius, brazenly brandishing a sword, and he threw himself forward.

Just before Baron Socius’s head was about to be lopped off, completely oblivious, Sergei swiftly closed the distance and kicked the assassin.

He’d restrained his strength since he needed to keep the man alive to interrogate him, but it should have been enough to knock him unconscious. Yet the assassin gracefully leaped backward to cushion the blow and launched a counterattack instead.

‘Oh? Not bad.’

This put Sergei in a difficult spot.

He could pass off what he’d just done as self-defense, but if he revealed his true abilities, that wouldn’t be possible.

Pretending to narrowly and clumsily evade the attacks, Sergei resolved to just hold out until the knights arrived, but soon a situation arose that made it impossible to continue his charade.

David drew his sword and joined the fray.

‘His Imperial Highness?!’

David, making Sergei startle for the second time today, stepped in front of him, raised his sword, and shouted.

“To wield a weapon against a defenseless woman is a cowardly act! Try your blade against me, David Acherus, instead!”

In his defense, from a third-party perspective, David’s actions were worthy of applause for their courage.

Sergei, not showing his true skills and still acting, was visibly struggling against the assassin.

While most of those present were paralyzed by fear, screaming or fleeing, David had drawn his sword and stepped forward for the sake of a (in his own view) defenseless woman.

The fact that he’d disregarded his position as Crown Prince might be somewhat reprehensible, but the action itself was undeniably admirable.

At that point, even the assassin was flustered.

Even with the nerve to attempt an assassination in the presence of the Crown Prince, he didn’t have the courage to swing his sword at him. He tried to flee, but in doing so, he made a mistake.

It would have been better to just flee, but no, he had to try and take Sergei hostage.

Then, Sergei made a mistake, too.

Startled by the Crown Prince’s intervention, he instinctively reacted to the assassin reaching for him, unleashing his hidden skill to strike the man’s jaw, knocking him unconscious in one blow.

David approached Sergei, who was holding the limp assassin with one hand, and asked,

“Are you alright?”

“Pardon? Ah, yes. I’m, I’m alright. Thank you for helping…”

David shook his head from side to side in response.

“No, frankly, I did nothing. That was an excellent strike. I almost thought my intervention was unnecessary.”

“N-no, not at all! It was thanks to Your Highness drawing attention that I accidentally, yes, accidentally managed to land a good hit…”

At that, the Crown Prince gave a bright smile.

“I am glad you say so. If it’s not too presumptuous, may I ask your name?”

“K-Karlen Baker, sir…”

– Such was the full account of the attempted assassination of Baron Sokius, which had caused such a stir in the capital a few days prior.

—

I see.

I heard the incident report that day, but the emotions of those involved were omitted, it seems.

So, that’s why David came to me, asking to meet Karlen Baker but not knowing where to find him. He wanted me to locate him.

I agreed for the time being, but the name felt familiar. After calling Sergei to confirm, I reconfirmed that the Karlen Baker David was so desperately seeking was, in fact, him.

Hmm.

It seems I need to take more medicine.

“No! You’ve already taken today’s dose!”

Let go, Celine. I won’t be able to manage without at least this.

My head already feels like it’s about to explode.

“Um, Minister. What should I do…?”

“What should you do? Of course, you should—”

“………”

“………”

That’s right. What should we do about this?

While Sergei and I stared blankly at each other, Celine, who had gone out to greet a visitor, returned to the Minister’s office and announced,

“Minister. His Majesty is looking for you…?”

Why of all times, now?

First, I ordered Sergei to stay put at the intelligence bureau and not venture out for a while. Then, I made my way to the Imperial Palace, heading directly to the audience chamber.

As soon as I arrived, His Imperial Majesty cut straight to the chase.

“David mentioned a girl named Carlen Baker, and I’d like to formally invite her to the Imperial Palace. It’s the first time the lad has ever been so smitten, and it has piqued my interest… hmm? What’s with that look on your face?”

“It’s the look of someone who just sensed utter doom.”

“?”

I requested His Majesty dismiss the attendants, and then told him the unvarnished truth.

The Emperor’s face went blank, mirroring my own earlier shock. He pondered for a moment before inquiring,

“So, David believes this Sergei Azar fellow *is* Carlen Baker, is that right?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“He’s not… attracted to a man. He’s simply mistaken him for a woman?”

“That would seem to be the case.”

“… Are we certain Sergei *possesses* the… necessary equipment?”

“… Should we perhaps… remove it?”

For a while, His Majesty and I engaged in a serious debate.