Chapter 73

Currently, I was visiting the guest room, wearing Lord Nazel’s coat over my swimsuit.

As we sat side-by-side on the sofa across from Bell, Kelly stood behind us as expressionless as ever.

All the front buttons of the coat were fastened tight, which made it quite hot. However, whenever I tried to undo them, Lord Nazel would turn beet-red and tell me, “No.”

Bell the merchant gave a sleazy grin and asked, “Did it strike your fancy?” but I was sure a swimsuit on someone like me wouldn’t move Lord Nazel at all.

After all, he was once the fiancé of the voluptuous Princess Mia.

By comparison, I’m just the “Potato Lady.” It was plain to see I was lacking in many departments compared to Her Highness.

Lord Nazel looked at Bell and cleared his throat with a “Ahem,” then addressed him in a formal tone.

“Could you perhaps put an end to these games, Your Highness Bertrand?”

“Hm?”

In an instant, the guest room was swallowed by silence.

“Prince Bertrand” was the name of the first prince of this country, but I had heard he was in poor health and bedridden in his chambers at the castle.

I had certainly thought Bell had the same golden hair as the royal family and an atmosphere that was far too flamboyant, but what on earth was going on?

After a short pause, the frivolous air surrounding the grinning Bell shifted, transforming into something sharp and dignified.

Bell straightened his posture and addressed Lord Nazel in a commanding voice.

“So you’ve already figured it out. You’re an unamusing man, Nazelbert.”

Lord Nazel stared back at Prince Bertrand with a look of dissatisfaction.

I could only watch the Prince’s transformation in utter blank amazement.

Perhaps sensing my gaze, Prince Bertrand began to observe me.

“My apologies. I am indeed the bedridden First Prince. Surprised?”

Of course I was surprised, but more than that, it didn’t make any sense.

Why is a prince working as a merchant? Why would someone so sickly come to the frontier? Does nobody stop him?

Questions swirled around my head in a dizzying loop.

Lord Nazel also asked Prince Bertrand a question, looking bewildered.

“Um… is your physical health alright?”

“Hahaha, you’re a kind soul, making that your first question. Don’t worry about my ‘poor health’; it’s a sham. The bedridden act is just a performance. In the past, the Queen tried to poison me numerous times, you see. I decided it was too much trouble having people aim for my life, so I chose to be ‘bedridden.’ Thanks to that, no one comes to check on me now, and it’s quite relaxing.”

If I recalled correctly, the First Prince’s mother was not the Queen but a concubine… and rumor had it she was the one the King loved most. However, she had passed away while Prince Bertrand was still a young child.

“Is it really possible to sneak out of the castle without anyone finding out?”

“It’s no problem; my wife uses illusion magic to deceive them. She can only produce two people at most, and complex movements are difficult, but since my ‘setting’ is being bedridden, it works out fine. We can fool anyone who occasionally comes to check. Besides, no one is actually interested in me anyway.”

Then, Prince Bertrand told us the story of everything that had happened up until now.

The Queen and the Princess held immense power, and His Majesty the King was wavering.

Meanwhile, the First and Second Princes were overwhelmingly lacking in strength.

To bridge that gap, it seemed Prince Bertrand had been moving steadily for a long time, gathering evidence of the Queen’s faction’s wrongdoings and increasing his number of allies.

It was in the midst of this that Lord Nazelbert’s engagement annulment scandal occurred, and Prince Bertrand—of all things—viewed it as an “opportunity.” He had plotted to use Robin’s engagement to the Princess as a starting point to drag down the Queen’s faction one after another (like pulling up a vine and finding a string of potatoes).

It was quite a lot for those of us who got caught up in it, yet Prince Bertrand didn’t seem to feel guilty at all…

“In that case, was your presence near Baron Kigyonne’s estate intentional as well?”

“Yeah. I knew Nazelbert would make a move, so I got there first. I figured I could get some leverage over Robin.”

“I see. I have also heard her story and secured her cooperation. I want to take measures because it would be troublesome if they sent more assassins.”

Prince Bertrand nodded magnanimously at Lord Nazel’s words. Then, his expression turned serious.

“I was operating separately from Nazelbert, but I’ve grasped the gist of this incident, and I’ve obtained evidence that the Earl and the Baron were connected to Robin. However, releasing that information now would be a bad move. If we play our hand poorly, the Royal Family will just hush it up, exactly like they did when you were exiled.”

“Then I shall leave it to you to do your best, Your Highness.”

Lord Nazel formed a pleasant smile and turned his gaze toward Prince Bertrand.

“Don’t ask the impossible. Both Leonardo and I are lacking in power. As things stand now, His Majesty will just turn a blind eye, and we’ll be the ones crushed. We need something more… grand. We need those fools to screw up on such a massive scale that His Majesty has no choice but to take action. If I were at least involved in internal affairs at the castle, I could have pulled some strings behind the scenes.”

It seemed his only option was to instruct Prince Leonardo and steadily corner the Queen’s faction.

For Lord Nazel and me, preventing Robin from meddling with the frontier was far more important than whatever the Queen was up to.

Still, if their interests aligned, Lord Nazel didn’t seem reluctant; he listened to the Prince’s words with a serious expression.

“Well, that’s how it is. Since you’re technically part of the Second Prince’s faction now, lend us a hand if anything comes up.”

“Understood. By the way, Your Highness.”

“What is it?”

“The swimsuit Agnes is wearing right now—did you recommend it?”

Prince Bertrand wore a blank expression for a split second before doubling over and laughing uproariously.

“I specifically chose it thinking you’d be pleased, but man, you’ve really become an interesting fellow since coming to the frontier. I’m delighted to see Nazelbert showing some humanity!”

“Please don’t make my wife wear strange things.”

“No returns allowed. For the record, Kelly was the one who handled all the changing.”

“Of course I did!”

Kelly, who had been lingering by the wall, averted her eyes while remaining completely expressionless.

It seemed Prince Bertrand was quite the shrewd character.