A Lovely Smile

"You're out on an inspection, right, Al-kun?"

"For the most part."

Sonia and I continued walking together afterward.

Sonia said she still had some shopping to do.

Since I didn't want her to get accosted again, I had Sonia pull her hood up, and I agreed to buy whatever she wanted.

"For the most part?"

"I'm just taking a break. I've hit a bit of a wall."

"Is that why you have dark circles under your eyes?"

"Yeah."

I touched beneath my eyes.

I hadn't looked in a mirror, so I didn't know, but I probably looked pale too. I'd been up nearly every night lately.

"Are you dealing with some troublesome matter?"

"Do I look like it? They call me the Dull Prince, you know."

"The Dull Prince?"

"You don't know? The Dull Prince who had everything good taken by his twin younger brother. The laughingstock of the entire Imperial Capital."

There wasn't anyone in the Imperial Capital who didn't know my reputation.

Which meant Sonia must have come from somewhere else.

She certainly didn't look like she lived in the Imperial Capital. Calling her a traveler did seem to fit better.

"I'm not familiar with the Imperial Capital. But people really call you that, Al-kun? The patrol officer earlier seemed to be treating you with deference."

"My younger brother is a candidate for the throne. Anyone in his faction has to show me respect, at least on the surface. Nobody actually respects me."

I looked up at the sky as I spoke.

Aside from the people I could truly call family, that was an undeniable fact. I'd acted like a member of the imperial family earlier, but that was simply what any member of the imperial family was expected to do. The moment I'd relied on the patrol's authority, it would have been perfectly reasonable to see it as a mark against me.

People expected a member of the imperial family to put someone in their place with a single shout, and my negative reputation was already too great. Showing a somewhat decent side of myself wouldn't change either my reputation or the way people saw me.

Even if those who had witnessed what happened earlier formed a favorable impression of me, it would only be temporary. It wouldn't change their overall opinion.

Unless I accomplished something truly monumental, the image of me as the Dull Prince and that title would never disappear.

I didn't mind if they never disappeared, and I had no intention of erasing them. That might have been possible once, but it was far too late now.

"Does it bother you, being treated that way?"

"Who knows? Honestly, I've gotten used to it."

"I see... Then we're alike."

Saying that, Sonia lightly touched her ear.

The short, pointed ears that could be called the defining feature of a half-elf.

Sonia must have been persecuted all her life because of them. That was in no way the same as my situation.

Mine was something I'd acquired later in life, while hers was something she'd been born with.

"We're not alike. If you've really gotten used to it, then you're far stronger and far more admirable than I am. I probably couldn't endure it. No matter what, I'm still a prince... protected by my birth and bloodline."

"The way you put that... it sounds like you don't like being a prince."

"I don't. I hate both the position and the way I rely on it. If I could give it to someone else, I would. I know that even wishing for that is self-indulgent. That's why I hate myself more and more."

Wanting to live as I pleased was a reaction to that.

Just as ordinary people longed for something special, I longed to be ordinary.

How wonderful would it be if I could live in an ordinary home and build an ordinary family instead of living in a castle?

I wanted to live each day among the many people here. But I wasn't allowed to. Even if I gave up my position as a prince, my bloodline wouldn't let me go. Father would mercilessly send me into the family of some noble or other as a son-in-law.

Imperial blood was powerful. It produced many exceptionally talented people. People like me and Zandra excelled in magic power and sorcery, while people like my elder sister Liese and Gordon were blessed with talent for swordsmanship and martial arts. And then there were all-rounders like Leo.

That was the result of continuously introducing excellent bloodlines over generations. The imperial blood had grown too powerful to be released into the wild.

"I see. Then I suppose we're alike in that way too. I hate my own birth, too. I never wanted elven blood. I wanted to be human. But I'm not allowed to live as a human."

"...We do seem to be alike in some strange ways."

"I guess we do. But I've accepted that part of myself, too. It was hard when I was a child, but there were kind people by my side, so I endured it. I still face persecution when I go outside... but there are kind people like you, Al-kun."

Saying that, Sonia gave me a bright smile.

It was a cheerful smile that lifted the spirits of those around her. Along with my lack of sleep, it brought my increasingly negative thoughts back up.

A girl I'd only met today had actually cheered me up with her smile.

"Thanks. I feel a little better."

"I didn't do anything."

"You have a lovely smile."

When I told her honestly, Sonia's face turned red.

Seeing that, I chuckled, and Sonia furrowed her brows.

"Y-you were teasing me..."

"I wasn't teasing you. It's true that you made me want to do my best, too."

"Oh, come on... Do you always say things like that to girls?"

"Depends on my mood."

"Al-kun, I think you'd be good with women..."

"Why, thank you."

I chuckled and continued walking.

Talking with Sonia was fun. One reason was probably that she was more sensitive than most people to the distance between herself and others.

I could tell that she observed people closely and was extremely considerate toward me. It was probably unconscious.

It was sad, given her background, but I was grateful for it now.

It meant I didn't have to get irritated for no reason.

"Come to think of it, I never asked why you're sleep-deprived. What kind of game are you playing, Al-kun?"

"A game?"

"Isn't it? It's not work, is it?"

"Yeah, I suppose it is a game. It's like a quiz. I haven't been able to solve it, so I've been losing sleep lately."

"Is that why you've been irritated, too?"

"Do I look irritated?"

"Not now, but you were really irritated when I met you at the stall."

"Well, I was irritated with the shopkeeper then, too."

But that wasn't all.

I really had been irritated.

At my inability to find a clear answer at such a critical juncture.

"The person who posed the quiz sounds awful. Making things so difficult for you, Al-kun."

"Not really. I'm irritated with myself. How should I put it...? I feel like the answer is close, but just out of reach. I think I'd understand if I just had some kind of trigger, but I don't have one. That makes me even more irritated. Why can't I figure out something this simple?"

"Do the people around you know the answer?"

"They probably don't. Whoever came up with the quiz is incredible. To be honest, I thought I had a flexible mind, but that confidence has been shattered. The answer seems close, yet far away. That's why I came outside to refresh myself and inspect the city while I was at it."

"I see. You're a serious person, Al-kun. If it were me, I'd just say, 'To hell with this!' and give up."

Saying that, Sonia laughed in a carefree manner.

Sonia might really say something like that. I had a feeling she would.

But I couldn't do that.

Rebecca and the letter she carried would have a major impact on the situation going forward. Whoever obtained them would seize the initiative and control the course of events.

We absolutely couldn't afford to lose this battle.

As I thought that, Sonia pointed at a street stall.

I assumed she wanted to buy something there.

I ordered whatever Sonia pointed to from the vendor, and we continued shopping while making casual conversation.

"Hey, young man, you two on a date?"

"Does it look like it?"

"Sure does. This is a freebie from one cool middle-aged man. Have fun."

After that exchange, the shopkeeper gave each of us a bottle of fruit juice as a freebie.

Sonia, who hadn't expected us to be mistaken for a couple, hurriedly denied it, but the shopkeeper forcibly put the bottle in her hands and waved us off.

"Geez, what a pushy guy... I told him we're not a couple."

"Just take the free drink."

"It's because you didn't deny it right away, Al-kun! You made it look like we'd tricked him!"

"Don't get so worked up. It's good, isn't it?"

"Geez..."

It was considerably more watered down than the fruit juice served at the castle.

But it still tasted several times better. I supposed drinks I bought myself after walking out to get them tasted better than ones that simply appeared without me doing anything.

"He's right. It's good."

Sonia had looked dissatisfied, but after drinking the fruit juice, she seemed to have cheered up despite herself.

I ought to thank that shopkeeper.

"Come to think of it, what do you think of your younger brother, Al-kun?"

"My younger brother? What do you mean?"

"People say he took all the good things for himself, so he must be talented, right?"

"Yeah. He solved the crisis in the South and is popular with the people. He's a hero in every sense of the word now."

"...Never mind. I can tell from your face."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"I was going to ask whether you liked him or hated him, but it was written all over your face. You looked incredibly proud when you talked about your younger brother."

At Sonia's words, I covered my face with my hand.

Was I really making that face? I hadn't noticed.

Leo really was a younger brother I was proud of. But I'd never felt this way before.

Maybe it was because Leo had grown so much after what happened in the South. That rebuke of his had been something else. Leo had actually declared that he was the man who would become emperor.

Yeah, he really was a younger brother I could be proud of.

"That's right. I respect him. I've never known anyone as kind and strong as he is."

"I see... Then I guess I can trust him."

Saying that, Sonia snatched the bag I was carrying from me, spun around, and headed into an alley.

I hurried after her, and Sonia abruptly set the bag on the ground.

Then she suddenly threw her arms around me.

"Wh-what!? What are you doing!?"

"At exactly noon today, I'll take Rebecca to the clock tower visible from the South Gate. Bring Prince Leonart there."

"!!?"

I couldn't help opening my eyes wide.

When was the last time I'd been this surprised?

Sonia whispered only that in my ear, then gently pulled away from me and picked up the bag.

"S-Sonia! You...!?"

"I'm giving you five minutes because I trust you, Al-kun. Just the five minutes starting at noon, okay? If you don't make it in time, I'll use my trump card... So don't make me use it."

Saying that, Sonia ran off.

My hand shot out instinctively, but grasped only air.

My hand couldn't catch hold of Sonia.

Then I slowly composed myself. The moment she'd mentioned Rebecca's name, there was only one possibility.

"Sonia is Rebecca's strategist..."

I stared in the direction Sonia had gone.

I hoped Sonia would poke her head back out, but she didn't.

This wasn't one of cheerful Sonia's jokes.

I should have stopped her, even by force. But I was too shocked to even think of doing that.

"...I guess I have no choice but to go."

I had no other leads anyway.

I had no choice but to trust Sonia and go there.

Having made up my mind, I hurried back to the castle.