A loud rumbling interrupted my reminiscence .
Past the gallery of corpses, to the opening in which I had entered from stood an orc with armor clearly too small for himself. He stood tall and proud, his eyes barely catching me. Unlike all the orcs left, he didn't have a single shred of fear in him.
He cast his gaze to the surroundings, taking in the carnage that permeated the cavern. As the tension in the atmosphere rose just from the orc's presence, finally his gaze landed on the most conspicuous person here.
"I didn't know I was so popular."
He locked eyes with her, his gaze as sharp as tempered steel. The mage sighed, glancing in my direction and giving me a meaningful look as if to say 'watch me'.
I sheeted my sword, staying stoic. It would seem that the mage wanted to prove something. Probably to gain my trust or show off her abilities. Either way, it would be beneficial for me to know what she's capable of. I leaned at the back of the wall, making sure to avoid the smelly orcs.
Let's see what you can do
◇◆◇◆◇
My footsteps echoed in the otherwise silent halls of the Flügelheim Royal Castle. Beside me was my personal maid and mentor, Mary. I asked her once again.
"Are you sure we should have made him wait that long?"
After waking up and getting out of bed, I had expected myself to be dragged across the castle just to meet Marquis Lockhart. Instead, Mary told me to attend to my usual routine. This meant that I would have to make the Marquis wait at least an hour and a half while I did sword practice. An in actuality, my swordsmanship instructor made me double my usual training for the oh-so-reasonable excuse of 'You're face irritates me'. Because of this, Mary had to practically fight to the death with my instructor just to let me attend a simple meeting. I expected Mary to be defeated easily based on the sheer amount of difference in power and experience. I thought wrong.
Just like usual, my mentor never ceases to surprise me. With nothing but a little whisper, my instructor relented. It was a fascinating. Like one of those circus shows where people would tame lions. Though, in their case, it was more like a dog being told off by it's master. Mary responded.
"Hah~, What's with that blockhead? Arbitrarily deciding to extend your training like that! Does she even know much trouble that causes me?! I even had to use my only card against her. What a waste! …Did she plan this? Nah, couldn't be. If she were that smart, my trump card wouldn't have worked against her as well as it did… still, though. What suddenly came over her? I knew she was stressed out, but I didn't think it would be this bad."
She didn't even answer my question
I tried casting a cold gaze in her direction to get her attention, it didn't work. Despite my attempt to act like a cold prince, she only waved her hands at me and pessimistically said:
"You look like a cat with allergies"
Caught off-guard, I almost tripped over myself. I caught myself instantly, regaining my balance. It would have been embarrassing – not to mention disgraceful – if a prince were to be bested by her own personal maid's insults.
"Well you're–"
"We're here."
Just as I was about to voice out my comeback, Mary stopped. With practiced steps, she stood by the door where our visitor lay in waiting. I fixed my posture, adjusted my appearance, and crafted my smile. I spoke to Mary in a low whisper as she opened the door for me.
(We'll save this for later)
When the door opened, I was met with luxuriously decorated room. The room was just big enough to fit 20 people or so. It had two couches facing each–each one for each party. An ornamented table stood in between.
As I stepped into the room, a middle-aged man lifted his head. He looked better than his age suggested. For somebody with a child around the same age as me, he was certainly doing well in terms of appearance. Mary stood in a corner, preparing tea like a proper maid. I took a seat on the opposite couch.
"Marquis Lockhart, what a pleasant surprise to see you here."
The man's brow twitched, irritated. He was about to say something, only to stop himself. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He smile caused goosebumps.
"It would have been much more pleasant had you come earlier, Prince Morgen."
The Marquis said through a cracked mask. It looks like staying here for such a long time has really gotten on his nerves. I responded with a smile of my own.
"…? Oh! Do you mean that? Sorry, sorry. I had something urgent to take care of so I couldn't attend so I couldn't attend earlier than I wished. Hahaha."
Laughing, I acted like a haughty, self-centered prince. If he's here for what I think he is, then this should be enough to drive him off. The Marquis' response caught me off guard.
"Hahaha! I know how much the second prince can be a bit rebellious when it comes this royal duties. I completely understand. Has the castle walls really affected you that much? I get it, I get it. You wish to spread your wings. To prove to others that you're more than just the 'Second Prince' or the 'Sword Saint's Disciple' that people have branded you with. You wish to be something more than that. To be your own person. Ah! Forgive this old man's ramblings. It would seem that age comes with it's own disadvantages. I am deeply sorry for my rude utterance."
"…!!"
Marquis Lockhart bowed as he sat. I could see the old man smirk as he lowered his head.
Did he think I wouldn't notice?
What a stupid question. Of course I would notice. From this angle, it would be harder not to. The man had read me like a book, read every page of me. More than that, it would seem he had detailed information of me.
This is bad
What he said was barely scratching the surface, things anyone could find out about as long as they had the proper resources. And yet, I felt my skin crawl just from being in the same room as him. He was clearly different from all the nobles I had met. The man looked up, his mask all fixed. He had fooled me, predicted how I would act and use that to lower my guard.
"About that matter I wanted to talk with you about…"
The man continued, either feigning ignorance or just plainly ignoring of my discourse.
Damn it! Now I've lost all reason to leave
I sat down once again, this time intent on listening to the man's words. He smiled.
"That's more like it."