Chapter 131
"A temporary truce...?"
"Yeah. We haven't decided when it'll resume, though."
The next day.
In my room, I told Fiene about yesterday.
Fiene asked curiously as she poured tea.
"So, is this just a public pretense?"
"No, it's a real truce. Making a move now means elimination. If we act behind the scenes, we'd have to be extremely subtle, but the Chancellor is at Father's side. I don't think we could outmaneuver him."
"Indeed. Prince Erich must realize that as well. It seems the struggle for the throne will be on hold for a while."
"I see. That's wonderful!"
Saying that, Fiene smiled and offered me tea.
When she handed a cup to Sebas too, he thanked her and drank it elegantly.
"A new tea, I presume?"
"Yes. I received it from the demi-human merchants' guild the other day. How is it?"
"The flavor is impeccable, and its fragrance puts one at ease."
"Exactly! I thought it might help you relax."
"How considerate of you."
Saying that, Sebas praised Fiene without reservation.
Thinking he was overdoing it, I drank my tea too.
It was good. But it didn't relax me. I just thought it smelled different from usual. Probably because I had no intention of savoring the aroma.
"What do you think?"
"It's good."
"What a bland answer. Now that we have a truce, why not do something you enjoy?"
"Then I guess I'll go to sleep."
"Were you not instructed to maintain your dignity?"
"I'll maintain my dignity in bed. Going outside would damage my reputation. I've intentionally done that before, but for the most part, my reputation fell simply because I acted normally. Staying in my room is probably the best course."
"That is the sort of thing a good-for-nothing would say. If you shut yourself away in your room, your reputation will suffer anyway."
"I don't care. Spread a rumor that I'm doing paperwork or something."
"There are limits to that. His Majesty is watching as well, so I recommend going outside."
"No."
I turned away and sipped my tea.
Sebas sighed at me. Then...
"I see. In that case, it cannot be helped. I have somewhere to be, so I will take my leave. Is that all right?"
"Huh? Sebas-san?"
"Sure. Go on, get out of here."
"Understood. Then I will leave her in your care."
For some reason, Sebas vanished after leaving me with that responsibility.
With the overly fussy butler gone, I yawned hugely and slumped over my desk. Going all the way to the bed sounded like too much effort. Maybe I'd take a nap here.
Just as I was thinking that...
"Um, Arnold-sama?"
"What?"
"Well... I have plans to go outside now..."
"Oh, don't worry about me. Go ahead."
"No, that's not what I mean... Sebas-san was supposed to escort me..."
"...What?"
I involuntarily raised my head.
Then I understood exactly what he had meant by "I will leave her in your care" earlier.
"That damned butler... He's definitely trying to drag me outside..."
"Um, if you don't want to, Arnold-sama, I can ask someone else..."
"I only entrust guarding you to people I trust. If Sebas isn't available, I'll go. Linfia and Zeke are with Leo, after all."
I quickly ran through the people I could ask to guard her, but all of them should have plans. I was the only one free. Sebas must have planned all this before he left.
That man really is infuriatingly competent.
"You'll come with me...?"
"If you don't mind."
"I wouldn't dream of objecting! I'll go change right away!"
Saying that, Fiene hurried out of the room. I debated changing clothes, then immediately banished the thought.
I'd already decided even changing was too much effort. Moments like this reminded me what an incredibly lazy person I was.
"I really am a good-for-nothing, huh?"
I sighed as I said it.
The fact that even realizing I was a good-for-nothing didn't make me feel disgusted or ashamed meant I was beyond saving.
Still, even I couldn't shirk guarding Fiene. Even with the struggle for the throne on hold, there were countless problems unrelated to it.
"Sigh... I guess I'll make an effort just for today."
After steeling myself to that halfhearted resolution, I rose from my seat.
■■■
"Here you go."
"Thank you, Fiene-sama."
"You're welcome. It's hot, so please be careful."
"Fiene-sama, me too!"
"Yes, I know. Don't rush."
Saying that, Fiene responded with a smile as she ladled hot soup into a bowl and handed it to the child.
Beside her, people from the demi-human merchants' guild were handing out bread, salad, and the like.
This was the outermost district of the Imperial Capital.
Fiene's plans for the day involved holding a soup kitchen there. The demi-human merchants' guild had originally run it on a small scale, but it grew after Fiene joined in. Since Fiene herself handed out the food, a great many people came to the soup kitchen. Well, anyone who wasn't from the outermost district was being tossed out by the guild's burly beastmen.
"You again? This is only for people from the outermost district."
"No, that's not it! I'm from the outermost district!"
"It's limited to people who live there now."
"O-One of my students is here!"
"That has nothing to do with it."
"Hey, let go! Damn it! I want soup from Fiene-sama too!"
I heard a man's voice that sounded vaguely familiar, but I decided to ignore it. I was busy right now.
"Heave-ho."
Making a sound like an old man, I set a box full of bread on the ground.
The fact that so many people came meant that we needed a huge amount of food. Preparing this much food would be difficult for an ordinary merchant guild, but the demi-human merchants' guild was making a fortune by using Fiene's name, so I supposed it was possible for them.
They might have damaged their reputation if all they did was make money, but their reputation was excellent thanks to soup kitchens like this. They were becoming known as a guild that supported Fiene's charitable activities. Fiene's reputation was rising even further as well.
"Quite something."
As I said that, I started walking to get another box from a nearby wagon.
There were still countless boxes in the wagon. Now that I'd come outside, I couldn't just stand around staring. I had also been instructed to maintain my dignity. I used those as my excuse to offer to help and started carrying boxes, but it was far more strenuous than I'd expected.
For someone as weak as me, just bringing over a box was a struggle. While I carried one, the people from the demi-human merchants' guild carried two or three. Sadly, that was the difference between demi-humans and humans. Though I suppose it could also be called the difference between a healthy ordinary person and a frail man.
"My back hurts..."
"Prince, why don't you rest instead of overexerting yourself?"
A large beastman spoke to me. He was a tiger beastman with tiger ears and a tail.
He had incredible muscles and carried two or three boxes with ease.
"Am I in the way?"
"You are not in the way, but I doubt it would make any difference whether you were here or not."
"I see. Then there is no problem with me staying, right?"
"There is no problem. However, it would be a problem if you collapsed from overexertion."
"I'm not that much of an idiot. I'll take a break if it gets too hard, so don't worry."
"Understood."
Saying that, the tiger beastman flashed a broad grin and resumed carrying boxes.
I didn't have the energy to push myself to keep up, so I carried them one at a time at my own pace.
As I did, the sun sank, and the soup kitchen came to an end.
By the time it was over, I could no longer lift my arms.
"Sigh... My arms hurt."
"Arnold-sama... Are you all right?"
As I rested on the bed of the wagon, now emptied of its cargo, Fiene poked her head in, looking worried.
She looked somewhat tired, but was brimming with energy. Her expression was completely different from mine.
"Not really..."
"I'm sorry... You only came along because of me."
"It's fine. I said I'd do it myself."
As I said that, I heard an unpleasant laugh from outside.
I glanced outside and saw several louts loitering there.
"Did you see today's washed-up prince?"
"I saw! He was so damn weak he couldn't even carry one box properly! He was so useless it was hilarious!"
"What the hell did he come here for? Nobody asked for him!"
"Yeah! Fiene-sama is the only one who needs to come! If he's going to show up, Prince Leonart would be better!"
They sure were saying whatever they pleased.
They weren't wrong about me being useless, though, so I couldn't argue.
Fiene glared fiercely at them. Then she took a step forward, apparently about to complain.
"Leave them, Fiene."
"But!?"
"It's fine. There's no point engaging with them. They're not wrong."
"But you did your best, Arnold-sama!"
"That would be fine if I were just an ordinary citizen. But I'm a member of the Imperial family. I'm supposed to benefit the people. Since I haven't fulfilled that duty, it's only natural that they'd complain."
"That's not true! You, Arnold-sama..."
"I haven't done anything for the Empire. Am I wrong?"
I said that to quiet Fiene down and make her face the facts.
Fiene then looked as though she might cry. I wished she wouldn't make that face.
"The struggle for the throne has thrown every region into confusion, disrupting distribution and driving up prices. If prices rise while wages do not, the people's lives grow harder. I'm trying to put Leo on the throne for their sake, but in the end, it's the people who are paying the price for that struggle. They want someone to vent their frustrations on. A washed-up prince like me is a perfect target, and if that's all it amounts to, it's not so bad."
"Then Arnold-sama... you're not being rewarded for it."
"I am. I have you. I don't want anything more."
The reason I hadn't increased the number of people who shared my secret was that I saw no need. It would make things easier, but the more people knew, the more likely the secret was to be exposed.
If I were emotionally worn down, perhaps it would be worth adding another person, but I didn't particularly want that.
Against all expectations, the person who had accidentally become the keeper of my secret was an excellent confidante.
"I... wish people would recognize you more, Arnold-sama..."
"On the surface, I've only done small things. Someone who does only small things will only get small things in return."
"Even so...!"
"It's fine. Even small things come back to you in full."
Saying that, I smiled.
In front of the louts, the burly beastmen stood in a line, led by the tiger beastman from earlier.
"You fellas are having an interesting conversation."
"Huh? N-No, it's not like that..."
"It's true that the prince was useless, but he still helped us. What about you? What did you do? Even a child could tell which is more admirable: the people who carried things or the people who didn't."
"W-Wait!? What's this about!?"
"Why don't you come to the shop with us for a bit? Our big sister made the call. She won't tolerate people who laugh at their comrades. You can work off those laughs."
"Hey! Let go! That's tyranny!"
"It's better than being dragged to the castle for lèse-majesté, isn't it?"
"What's wrong with laughing at the washed-up prince!?"
"I'm not saying you can't laugh. But if you laugh, you have to put in work to match it. You can't just laugh at someone without doing anything yourself."
Saying that, the louts were taken away by the burly beastmen.
Poor guys. They were probably in for hard labor. Still, the demi-human merchants' guild would pay them properly, so it could be worse.
Judging by their appearance, they didn't look like they had jobs.
"See? Even a small thing comes back to you."
"Yes, but in the first place, no one should have to be mocked like that..."
Fiene pouted in displeasure. That was unusual for her. It was rare for her to hold a grudge this much.
Wryly smiling, I stood up.
"Well, we'd better head home. I'm exhausted."
"All right. Oh, Arnold-sama, Yuliya-san recommended a delicious restaurant to me..."
Fiene announced it as if she'd just remembered. I could tell what she wanted to say next. The reason she hadn't said it immediately was probably consideration for how tired I was.
"In that case, why don't we have dinner there? If you're free, that is."
"Huh? Oh, yes! I'd love to!"
Seeing Fiene answer happily, I sighed inwardly. To be honest, my arms were in pretty bad shape. Having an elegant meal would be quite painful, but it couldn't be helped.
I had gone out with a woman, after all. I might as well keep up appearances to the end.
With that resolve, I went to dinner with Fiene.