Chapter 191
"Hmm!?"
It was nearly time for the festival to end.
Orihime suddenly raised her head.
Her tone was clearly different from usual.
"Over there?"
With that, Orihime suddenly accelerated and raced through the crowd.
There was no way I could keep up with her at that speed.
"Your Highness."
"I'm fine. Go after her."
Mark, the nearest Imperial Guard Knight, quietly asked for my instructions.
I immediately gave him an answer, and the nearby Imperial Guard Knights began moving at once.
My guards had effectively left me, but Elna was a short distance away. She would assess the situation and devote herself to guarding me.
Besides, that distance was well within Elna's range. Whatever happened, she would somehow deal with it.
Thinking that, I jogged after Orihime.
■■■
"You brat! Don't get in our way!"
When I caught up with Orihime, a crowd had gathered there.
The crowd surrounded Orihime and the others. At its center stood Orihime, the woman who had displayed her amazing skill at the stall, and a fallen old woman. Confronting them were two thugs, both of them large men.
There was a stall nearby, but it had been ransacked, and food that seemed to have come from it was scattered around the area.
It was easy to imagine that some sort of trouble had occurred.
"That's my line! Apologize to the old woman!"
"As if I'm going to apologize! This is a place where no one can open a stall without our permission! That old hag is at fault for opening one without permission!"
"I never heard anything about that, desu wa! The old woman has a proper permit, desu wa!"
"Not ours!"
I see.
The thugs were trying to extort money.
They were demanding payment from anyone who wanted to set up a shop in what they claimed was their territory.
"You've got some nerve."
Normally, this would be grounds for immediate arrest.
The Imperial Capital Guard handled security for the festival, while the city patrol force responsible for maintaining the capital's peace dealt with people like these.
The former was a unit under Leo's authority, while the latter was under the authority of the Minister of Justice.
However, even those two forces combined didn't seem to have enough manpower to inspect every detail of a festival this large.
I glanced over and saw Mark and the other Imperial Guard Knights watching us.
Apparently, they were waiting for my decision.
It would be easy to restrain them immediately, but they were just thugs. Anyone bold enough to act this openly must have someone behind them.
It might be worth finding out who.
With that in mind, I pushed through the crowd and stepped between Orihime and the thugs.
"Excuse me. I apologize for our young lady's rudeness."
"Huh? Who the hell are you?"
"I'm her retainer. My apologies. The young lady isn't familiar with the customs of a place like this."
"Retainer! What do you think you're doing?"
"Please be quiet for a moment, my lady."
I turned around and fixed Orihime with a narrowed-eyed stare.
My narrowed gaze was meant to say, You know what will happen if you say anything unnecessary, right? Orihime understood me perfectly, trembled, and hid behind the woman who had displayed her amazing skill.
"I sincerely apologize for the young lady. Would this be enough to earn your forgiveness?"
As I spoke, I gave the thugs a glimpse of the bag full of gold coins, then took one out and handed it to them.
The thugs' eyes lit up when they saw the large number of gold coins.
They looked at each other and grinned.
They must have figured they could squeeze us for even more money.
"Hey! This isn't enough to earn our forgiveness! The old hag over there broke the rules, and you lot who protected her are just as guilty, aren't you?"
"Yes, so I'm sorry."
"If you really feel sorry, you'll have to show us some sincerity!"
With that, the thugs demanded even more money.
The festival had clearly gone to their heads.
That suited me just fine, though.
"In that case, how about this?"
I handed them several more gold coins.
But the thugs weren't satisfied.
"Hah! You call this sincerity? Listen up! Baron Garmlich is backing us! He'll bury this whole mess, so if you want us to let you off, hand over the whole bag!"
Baron Garmlich.
He was one of Geed's hangers-on, if I remembered correctly.
Well, that bunch would naturally have connections with people like these. It wasn't surprising.
"The whole bag is a bit much... How about a few more coins?"
I deliberately put on a weak front.
I could simply arrest them here and ask Baron Garmlich what was going on, but that would improve my reputation, which would be a problem.
It would be a problem if I were seen as having forced the noble's name out of them and then had the Imperial Guard Knights arrest them. That would make me look rather good.
I needed them to see me as someone who tried to settle things with money to avoid causing a disturbance. Ideally, the city patrol would arrive and arrest them. I wanted to buy time until then.
With that in mind, I continued negotiating with the thugs for a while.
Before long, the townspeople around us began casting cold looks my way.
I must have started to look like a retainer desperately trying to placate the thugs.
Just as I thought the time was right, the thugs' patience reached its limit.
"I said hand it over!"
With that, one of the thugs reached for me.
Ah, they couldn't wait for the city patrol to arrive.
Thinking that, I stared at the approaching hand.
The hand never touched me.
"W-what...?"
The Imperial Guard Knights disguised as civilians had drawn their swords on the thugs in an instant.
Surrounded on all sides by Imperial Guard Knights, the thugs stood frozen, unable to move even a step.
"Forgive us, Your Highness. If we'd waited any longer, the captain might have made a move."
"It's fine. That's your job. But now I'll have to report this incident to Father... What a pain."
I said that with half genuine annoyance and half as an act as I took off my hood.
The thugs briefly looked puzzled.
Apparently, they hadn't recognized me.
So I introduced myself.
"I am Arnold Lakes Adler, the Seventh Imperial Prince. Would it be easier if I called myself the Dull Prince? The men surrounding you are Imperial Guard Knights. You may resist if you wish, but it will be pointless."
"P-Prince!? What are you doing here!?"
"Because the young lady wanted to come."
As I said that, I turned around and bowed to Orihime.
"Please forgive the disrespect shown by one of my Empire's citizens, Your Eminence."
The people around us were startled when they heard that.
Only one person was addressed as Your Eminence.
"It's all right. I caused trouble too."
With that, Orihime took off her hood.
The people around us immediately dropped to their knees.
So this was the effect of being the Dull Prince. Learning my identity did not make the people kneel. A few did, but most merely bowed their heads.
Yet the moment they learned Orihime's identity, this happened.
After confirming that the people still looked down on me, I smiled wryly.
"Prince Arnold. What shall we do with these men?"
"Hand them over to the city patrol."
"Then, before that, I'd like them to apologize to this old woman."
Orihime made the request.
I nodded once in response and looked at the thugs.
"What will you do? Will you apologize?"
"Y-yes, we'll apologize! Please let us!"
"I see."
I signaled to Mark with my eyes, and the thugs were led by the Imperial Guard Knights to kneel and bow before the old woman.
Seeing that, Orihime spoke.
"Don't ever do this again. If you try to exploit the weak, it will come back to you someday. Live honestly from now on."
"Y-yes! Thank you, Fairy Princess-sama!"
The thugs bowed to Orihime repeatedly.
If Orihime decided she disliked them, they would be beheaded immediately. At least they had escaped with their lives.
Just then, the city patrol finally arrived.
They must have realized that a disturbance was underway, because they had come in considerable numbers.
"Leave the rest to you, Knight Mark."
"Yes, Your Highness. Leave it to me."
I left the transfer to the city patrol and the tedious explanations to Mark, then decided to return to the castle with Orihime.
"Farewell, kind person and granny!"
"Thank you! Thank you!"
The old woman kept bowing, and the woman who had displayed her amazing skill bowed along with her.
But then my eyes met the woman's.
At that moment, she opened her mouth.
"Your Highness... what do you intend to do about the people behind them?"
"..."
I had tried to distract her from that subject by revealing Orihime's identity, but...
She was remarkably observant.
Her archery skills alone showed that she was no ordinary person.
"I'll deal with it appropriately. My younger brother will."
"Y-your younger brother...?"
"Yes. I won't be doing it. That's my younger brother's job. Until we meet again."
With that, I left the area with Orihime.
After causing such a commotion, there was no way we could remain incognito.
■■■
That night.
After returning to the castle, I reported the incident to Father and also told him the information Sebas had uncovered.
That said, the information was still very fragmentary.
It was nothing more than speculation about what might have happened, so both Father and Franz looked troubled.
In the end, we agreed that Sebas would gather more information and report back.
In other words, this matter had been left in my hands for the time being.
"The back alleys at night are pretty creepy."
"They are ideal for a clandestine meeting, however."
As we were having that conversation, I sensed a presence behind us.
When I slowly turned around, I saw a woman wearing a vermilion mask.
She was holding a bow.
So this was the Vermilion Knight, the vassal state's righteous thief.
As I thought that, the woman looked at my face and muttered in apparent panic.
"P-Prince Arnold...!?"
"Oh? You recognized me? As expected of the vassal state's righteous thief. Was I on your list of targets, too?"
"N-no, nothing like that, desu wa!"
"...Desu wa?"
Her manner of speech was rather peculiar.
I had met a woman who spoke similarly at the festival.
I couldn't imagine that many people forcibly appended desu wa to their sentences. The only person I could think of who used desu wa incorrectly was...
"...The woman from the stall?"
"N-no! I wasn't using a bow, desu wa!"
"...I see. You weren't using a bow."
"Ah... I've done it now, desu wa..."
I hadn't said anything about a bow.
Realizing that at once, Vermilion knew she had given herself away. She slumped her shoulders and fell into dejection.