Summoned By The Crown Prince

It was three mornings later that I was summoned by my eldest brother Leonias, the crown prince.

I was having breakfast with Shitoen and talking about things like, “By the way, what are your plans for today?” “I plan to exchange information with the medical team,” when the head butler gave a respectful bow and informed us.

“His Highness the Crown Prince calls for you.”

And so I came to my eldest brother’s office together with Shitoen, but…

I had nothing but a bad feeling about this.

“His Highness Prince Saryu and Her Highness Princess Consort Shitoen have arrived.”

When the guard in front of the door lowered his spear and announced our visit, the reply came at once.

“Enter.”

His voice was as flat as ever. From that tone alone, I could not tell at all whether he was in a good mood or a bad one. Well, my eldest brother had always been like that.

“Excuse us.”

With a click, an attendant opened the door from inside, so I entered the room with Shitoen.

“Huh?”

“Oh my.”

Shitoen and I raised our voices at the same time.

That was because Yulia, the crown princess, was sitting on the reception sofa and drinking tea.

I had been sure it would only be my eldest brother, but when our eyes met, Yulia smiled brightly and returned her cup to its saucer.

“Welcome. He seems like he will need a little more time.”

When she said that, I turned my gaze toward the work desk, and my eldest brother was in the middle of writing something on a sheet of paper.

The oak desk was set with its back to the window. It was the one my eldest brother had used ever since he became crown prince. It had no ornamentation at all and was solid and imposing. It closely resembled the personality of its owner. Sturdy and practical. Those words came to mind.

My eldest brother was the same age as Raul.

Raul had features that still retained a little softness, but my eldest brother had always had a face that hid a sharpness like a well-honed blade.

He took after Mother, and he had been a beautiful boy when he was young, and now he was a beautiful young man. When he aged, he would surely become a beautiful old man.

But he did not have the same approachability as my second brother or Raul.

“Sorry, wait a little longer.”

My eldest brother said that bluntly without even turning his face toward us. Yulia was the one who immediately responded to it.

“Now then. Please, have a seat.”

She indicated the sofa in front of her with a smiling face.

She was my sister-in-law, but she was younger than me. Though she was older than Shitoen. I believe she will turn twenty-three this year. I see. She married my eldest brother when she was around nineteen, so it had already been four years since she became crown princess. No wonder I was surprised when I met my nephew the other day and found that he had become a “child.” He had been a baby until just recently.

At first glance, Yulia seemed like a gentle, well-bred young lady of beauty, but she was also a talented woman who could speak all the neighboring languages without exception.

But…

How should I put it?

She had been raised under Mother’s personal guidance since childhood.

That was because she had been the only daughter of the House of Duke Taresian, one of the most powerful noble families in the country, but around the time informal discussions arose about her eventually becoming my eldest brother’s wife, her parents died in an accident.

No one said it publicly, but it was suspected that they had been crushed by an opposing faction.

Normally, she would probably have been taken in and raised by one of her relatives, but Mother forcefully took her in and raised her personally.

By the way, I was raised in a dormitory the whole time.

One day, I came home and was shocked to find a sister-in-law who was like a little sister.

For that reason…

Because she had grown up more involved with Mother than I had…

Sometimes, well…

She was warmly and gently strange.

Shitoen said, “She has been kind enough to treat me like an actual sister,” but I was secretly terrified of what would happen if she were influenced in unnecessary ways.

“I did not know the crown princess would be with us as well. In that case, I should have brought sweets or something.”

After I escorted Shitoen to her seat, she lowered the corners of her brows apologetically.

“Please do not worry about it. Also, please stop calling me ‘crown princess’ so formally. Call me Yulia. All right, Prince Saryu?”

In a gentle tone, Yulia picked up the teapot and served the tea with practiced movements.

As we received the tea with some embarrassment, Yulia glanced at my eldest brother with her blue eyes.

“Oh my. It looks like he will still take a while. In that case…”

Yulia suddenly cleared her throat. When I wondered what this was about, she puffed out her chest with confidence.

“Then allow me to present here a few carefully selected gems from the crown prince’s jokes…”

“I’m finished!! Take these documents to His Majesty! Yulia, I’m finished!”

After slamming the documents into the attendant’s hands, my eldest brother dashed at full speed and sat on the sofa.

“Oh my.”

“Before that, I want to hear the crown prince’s jokes!”

“Yulia, tea for me! There is none for me!”

“Oh, how careless of me. Yes, yes.”

Even though I had desperately leaned forward and pressed Yulia for them, my eldest brother got in the way. Tch.

I thought this might be one of the seven wonders of the world.

Apparently, my eldest brother was a man who told quite a lot of jokes in front of Yulia.

The reason I said “apparently” and “seems” as speculation…

It was because he never showed a hint of that side of himself in front of his family!

I very much wanted to hear what kind of jokes my eldest brother, who spent every day with this sour look and, if anything, even seemed coldhearted and merciless, would tell.

But no matter what, my eldest brother himself got in the way. It was truly frustrating. I wanted to hear them too.

Still, I felt like I could vaguely understand the reason my eldest brother only told jokes to Yulia.

She acted in such a warm and leisurely way, but I heard that Yulia had lost her parents when she was young and had faced danger several times even afterward until she formally became his fiancée.

Enemies were all around her. The parents she loved might have died because of her.

Perhaps he tried to soothe Yulia, even if only a little.

Was I reading too much into it?

“Then please excuse me.”

The attendant left the room with the documents while somehow holding back laughter. Once he had timed that, my eldest brother began.

“Thank you for guarding Mihaela the other day.”

My eldest brother unusually gulped down the tea Yulia had served him in a rather ill-mannered way and moistened his throat. He had a look that seemed to say, good grief.

“A letter came from the crown prince over there as well, asking me to convey his sincere regards.”

“Thank you.”

My second brother’s wife was also a dignified beauty. Since she would be the next monarch, men’s clothing suited her too. Why were royals all full of handsome men and beautiful women?

And then…

Why was I the only bulky bear of a man…?

“After attending the apology ceremony, you immediately had public duties as well… Over these past few days, were the two of you able to relax at least a little?”

Yulia spoke to Shitoen with a smiling face.

“W-Well… Immediately after Prince Saryu returned, I got drunk… and made a terrible disgrace of myself…”

Shitoen shrank into herself and turned bright red.

“Oh my.”

“Shitoen did? Not Saryu?”

Both Yulia and my eldest brother were surprised, but Shitoen became even more apologetic.

“You don’t have to worry about it. Getting drunk and disgracing yourself… That didn’t even count.”

I said that, but from Shitoen’s perspective, her memories were vague here and there, and she apparently felt far too sorry for falling asleep before I did.

“I am sure you felt relieved because Prince Saryu returned.”

Yulia said that gently. My eldest brother glanced at me. He did not say anything, but he looked as if he wanted to say, “A brother like this, huh?” When I gave him a sullen look, he cleared his throat.

“And so, the matter I called you here for today concerns Arios, crown prince of the Kingdom of Luminous.”

“Crown Prince Arios?”

“Prince Arios…?”

Shitoen and I spoke at the same time.

Then we looked at each other.

We had only just met him at the apology ceremony held in the Kingdom of Tania the other day.

To be honest, I did not really want to have anything to do with him.

Especially…

Now that matters related to assassination were involved, I wanted to be careful.