Taking a page out of a certain Hero's book, I opened my mouth, forcing out words I had never even imagined speaking aloud.
"Oi. Aren't you barking a little too loudly? Little prince."
Just like that, azure eyes turned bloodshot as the prince glared up at me, his teeth clenched so hard they looked as if they might break.
Before he could start mouth-foaming and cursing at me, I lightly tapped his red-dyed cheek.
"Hey. Chill out. You're what, sixteen, right? You're a big boy now. Gotta be mature about things at your age and not let small, silly remarks get under your skin. Yeah? I was only joking. Are you gonna get so mad over a joke like that?"
To be honest, I wasn't giving proper thought to any of my current actions.
Simply, I couldn't take just standing there and watching him go off like that, so even if it was a bad idea, I acted.
Without a single care as to what consequences may arise out of this, I just let my body do as it wanted, letting foreign words flow freely.
"As a big, strong prince, don't you have quite the big shoes to fill? Oh, well, you're actually this small, so maybe you might have some trouble with that. Anyway, let's not disappoint all the future nobles of the empire right here by making such an embarrassing scene, hm? As the heir to the throne, don't you want to show your good face to the people?"
Leaning right beside his face, I whispered low so that only he could hear.
"And, ah, you know it, don't you? If you continue acting like such a little shit, life will end up being a real hell for you, won't it? In three months' time."
Watching his eyes expand to their fullest following my words, I took a few steps back, more or less satisfied.
'It's not quite enough, but it'll have to do.'
I may not know anything about the rules or laws by which the Drakon-Rasa Empire runs... however, it was obvious at a glance that the empress was the one expected to govern the empire, rather than the emperor who probably only acted as its front-facing leader.
Well, or perhaps the emperor was the one to make the final decision, but the empress was the one who gave counsel and who guided said decisions in the right direction.
Considering everything Lucretia had told me, that seemed to make the most sense.
Even if that's not how it was, that's definitely how it would be after this brat ascended the throne, and that's all that mattered.
Turning my head, I put on a smile.
"Miss Ayla. I'm sorry, but your friend here is troubling the Lady. This is not the first time today this has happened. Uh, if it isn't too impolite of me, I suggest you reconsider who you decide to spend your time with. Frankly, I'm quite disappointed. I expected better of you."
"Eh...? Ah! S-sir Enki, no, wait...! I didn't--...!"
Ignoring the cries of the Protagonist whom I immediately turned my back to, I finally addressed the person whose life I was assigned to protect.
"My Lady. Were we on our way?"
"..."
In the end, Lucretia was the only person I had to bother caring about. After all, if something happened to her, the whole world might collapse, so her being my priority was only natural.
Unfortunately, because the word 'protect' was vague, I had to go to great lengths and take measures completely unlike myself such as this, even if it meant putting my own life at great risk by confronting someone powerful like the crown prince, just to make sure her young maiden's heart was all nice and sound, too.
―――After all, if she got depressed and ended up killing herself because her fiancé-to-be was stolen from her, the world would also end, wouldn't it?
'Seriously, what fucking shit...'
A maddening little girl like that seducing your future partner, who just so happens to be the crown prince. If that bullshit happened to me I would become a villain, too, no doubt. The thought alone made me furious.
'Hm? What, is she okay?'
Lucretia, whose rounded, ruby-like eyes kept staring at me strangely, remained silent even a few seconds after my call.
I somewhat expected her to go off on me without mercy just like she did a few times to the Protagonist earlier in the day. Since I was directly confronting the crown prince, I can't say I wouldn't have deserved it, and I did prepare myself for such an eventuality before I stepped up, but...
For some reason, let alone admonish me, she wasn't even responding at all.
"We were on our way, isn't that right?"
"...Ah."
Only after I called her a second time did she blankly mutter such a response.
"Indeed... we were. Then... let us return."
'Oh, good. That murderous glint is gone. Looks like she's fine... though, I might need to stay with her for a bit to soothe her heart some more... I really can't afford her having any dangerous thoughts, just in case.'
Just as I thought, we really were a mobile helpline for these people.
As we walked away, the intense music, a tempestuous mix of such elements as strings and percussion, slowly faded out, signalling the end of the 「scene」.
Having successfully fended off another spontaneous encounter and identifying Love Interest #3, we of the Archducal house could finally return to our lodge at the end of the school day, where no more disruptions or Protagonist-induced nonsense would or could possibly arise.
Thereafter, taking a short break from it all whilst the maids of the residence took to taking care of Lucretia properly in their own way, I collapsed into the large, incomparably soft and plush bed in the guest room that had been made my own.
And I sighed.
[Fret not! No opponent can beat you, Enki, no matter what! Even if it's a prince, he's a suuuper bad one!]
'Yeah. It's still unfair, though.'
All I could hope for was that I wouldn't get called for execution or something after that display. Well, Lucretia was practically royalty herself, so I'm sure I'd be fine if she defended me.
'I wouldn't be surprised if she held more authority than the prince himself, actually.'
In any case, at least until the time for dinner arrived, I could take a short while to rest my mind... or not. The cogs of my brain, for whatever reason, refused to retire, relax or even take just a moment of respite.
Facing three love interests in a single day, two of them being so obnoxious and competitively charged, as well as the Protagonist herself, was quite a lot for my weak heart to handle.
In the end, the only consolidation I had was the utterance of a single prayer.
"...Just... please don't let there be any more..."
Such a wish would doubtless come true, I'm sure.