"Luis Phillip Berthold! Do not test my patience!" I glared at him.
"Whew. Relax. I had an informant of mine work in your shop." He placed his chin on the palm of his hand in an amused manner. "But still... to call a prince by his given name.... are you not afraid of being punished?"
I tilted my head coquettishly. "But aren't I your friend? Who's allowed to call you by name if not me?"
He froze. Suddenly a smile blooms on his face. "Sure! Call me by my name. You have to call me by my name whenever we meet. If you do not, then I will not respond." He looked at me with eyes narrowed in delight.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because you are the only one who acts unreservedly with me. We're both fourteen years old. Since we're the same age, isn't it natural to call each other by name? I won't help you when you come looking for me if you treat me like a stranger...."
'I can't call a prince by his name in public!!!!'
...
I don't remember what happened after that or how I got him to leave, but the peace in my Manor has been restored.
Well, I'm glad he won't talk to me unless I call him by name. Doesn't that mean that he won't bother me again? I'm sure I don't need any help from him. So I won't talk to him and I won't be bothered!
Life has never been so peaceful and happy (other than when I'm eating osmanthus cake).
.
.
.
Little did I know that I'd end up asking for his help the very next week.
It all started when I put on my disguise and dragged a disguised Cassandra together to go to my store 'Der Rosengarten'.
There was nothing unusual, nothing to hint that something like this would happen.
I walked into the store like usual and my employees all came forward to greet me. "Good morning, Master Edmund."
'Edmund' is my alias, as I dress up like a man to manage the store.
"Good Morning." I greet them with a smile.
One of them steps forward and says, "Master Edmund, could you step aside for a minute?"
I followed him outside and he stepped close to whisper, "Master Edmund, the lavender cream that you showed us last time when are you going to introduce it to the market?"
I frowned. "Something like this, you could have asked me inside. Why did you pull me outside to ask?"
"Because Master Edmund does not listen."
"Huh?" I... what?
His expression twisted into that of malice. "Because Master Edmund does not listen when Madam Lila tells you for your own good. Now suffer for it." Swiftly, he took out a dagger that sank into my abdomen before I could realize.
... The Madam Lila that he referred to was the owner of a cosmetic store that was slowly sinking into debts. She came to me with a few offers that I refused immediately. 'I see, he's here to take my life...'
The streets were empty, so no one witnessed the assault as I staggered and placed my hand on the wall to maintain my balance.