Princess Bibliophile - Volume 01 Side Story 04

Volume 01 Side Story 04: Angry Princess

Life study? I tilted my head in confusion, and Dr Lezzi stared at me with his distinctive eyes.

“Hmm, are you the girl who the chick-like boy was desperately trying to get back from the fox? Do you want to hear an old story from the boy? If you pay for my drinks, then I’ll tell you half-truths about the boy.”

Half-truths? Fox? I blinked at those strange words and His Highness forced his way in front of me.

“They’re both none of your business, old man Lezzi. Don’t extort Elli.”

“What? Your body grows a little big, and so does your attitude. Or is it that? Are you trying to show off because you don’t want the girl you love to know about half-truths?”

“You only want to brag!”

Your Highness, your words are getting jumbled…

The old man laughed dryly at His Highness, who seemed aggravated, and Lord Alan whispered, “He has something in common with Prince Theodore.”

“Mm… Are you a part of Thistle Star? My name is Elianna…” I hesitated to say my surname. Paolo might not know about this, but most adults should know that I’m the fiancée of the Crown Prince of Southlynd. I thought that revealing my identity would be the same as revealing His Highness’s.

The old man stared at me with a different kind of interest. “Miss, have I seen…” His Highness drew the old man’s attention when he started whispering. “Anyway, I have something I want to say to you. Old man Lezzi, take me to the chief of the Roma people.”

“The chief? What? Are the knights of Southlynd going to raid the Roma’s chief?”

At that moment, I could tell that the Roma men were seething with anger. The two guards quickly readied themselves and placed their hands on their sword handle, and Sir Glenn restrained them.

His Highness sighed.

“I have something I want to talk to him about. I also have something I want to ask him. I want to talk to him because now is a good chance. Introduce me to him. Think of it as a service to someone who paid for your alcohol.”

“I only remember you paying for my alcohol once. It’s not worth it,” the old man grumbled. His Highness put Rene down, patted his head, and said, “Rene. Go to your mother first. We’ll go there later.”

The boy’s blue eyes swayed in anxiety, but he nodded back firmly. Invisible bonds seemed to have formed between His Highness and Rene in this short time.

I felt a haze over my mind and asked His Highness, “You… Prince Christ, you know people from Thistle Star?”

“Yeah… Well, no. A long time ago.” His words were prevaricated, and he smiled. Is it something he can’t tell me?

“Let’s go, Elli,” he tried to hold my hand, but I quickly avoided him.

“Elli?”

“Mm… I’ll go with… Rene. You… Prince Chris, please finish your business.”

I should deal with my house’s problems, but I was trapped by a strange obstinate thought.

I lightly curtsied, took Rene’s hand and turned away. A surprised voice called out to me, but I couldn’t stay by His Highness’s side right now for some reason.

Since coming to the Roma market, I have been surprised by the sides of His Highness that I haven’t seen before, and I felt an indescribable anxiety when I caught a glimpse of his unknown past.

You can’t know all about a person who is different from you. His Highness and I were raised in different environments. I think my hazy feelings are a bit different from feelings of wanting to know all about His Highness.

But I do think… that there are a lot of things that I don’t know about him.

The root of my anxiety is because of my lack of confidence for not being able to remember our interactions from when we were younger.

His Highness sighed and looked at me as if it was no use. Two guards followed after me.

“――― Miss Elianna.” Alan approached.

“I have to leave you for an errand, but you can’t leave your guards.”

“Okay.”

Alan said with a wryly smile, “Miss Elianna. Don’t worry by yourself, it’s better to tell Prince Christ about your frustrations and fears. If not, then he’ll take it out on Glenn, and his hair will get thinner.”

Alan teased, then he said something to Paolo, and both of them left. Rene spoke to me as I saw them off, “Sister.”

He opened his little mouth as if he was hesitating, and a new voice spoke, “Rene. ――― Rene.”

Several children beckoned at Rene with a serious face from the shadows of the thicket. Rene approached them with his hands still in mine, and the children kept their guard up and looked as if they were going to flee, so I asked the two guards to keep their distance.

They looked grim, but the children seemed relieved when the guards distanced themselves.

“Rene, weren’t you caught?”

“Where’s Paolo? Weren’t you with him?”

The children, who continued to question Rene, looked around the same age as Paolo. Apparently, they were the children who helped Rene and Paolo steal books. Rene replied in a slightly cheerful voice, “We were helped, so it’s alright now. They also said they’ll help with mum.”

That was what His Highness had promised Rene before we left the dining area. “I’ll help your sick mother,” he’d promised.

The complexion of the children changed, and they looked at each other.

“Rene… Listen to us calmly. We saw that you got caught by someone who looked like a noble. So, we waited for the mole noble to come, then we told him that we won’t listen to what he says anymore because you guys were caught. And then…” the children looked awkwardly at the younger Rene.

“The mole noble suddenly panicked when he found out that you guys weren’t caught by Roma people. He said, I’m a Bernstein, tell them not to say anything unnecessary… He locked up your mum, who he was supposed to get a doctor to see.”

“Eh…”

“It’s kinda bad, right? He also said to get rid of the evidence, so they’re getting ready to burn the books. We thought about consulting with the chief, so we came back.”

“Sorry, Rene. We couldn’t protect mum Marissa…”

Rene turned pale, and I also shivered when I heard inexcusable words.

“Burn the books…?”

By locking up Rene’s mother, he could use her as a hostage so that they wouldn’t say anything that would inconvenience him. And I can’t even call him human anymore since he’s using such barbaric methods such as burning books to get rid of the evidence. An animal… no, that’s something a fiend would do.

“Where is he?! Where is that noble!?”

The boys winched as if they were frightened by my threatening attitude. “I’ll guide you!” Rene said as he pulled my hand. I followed him without looking back.

“Miss Elianna…?” The two guards’ surprised voices overlapped with the boys’ voices.

The guards tried to rush after me, but I could hear that the boys were getting in their way because they were on guard against adults who weren’t Roma.

They probably considered me a friend because I was holding Rene’s hand. I wanted to explain a lot of things, but I couldn’t afford to think about other things because I had to stop the barbaric act of burning books as soon as possible.

In the forest where the Roma’s residence was, we took a few steps and then an abandoned mansion appeared. It looked as if it used to be a noble’s residence, and it looked desolate, even though it maintained its large structure.

Several men were gathered at the corner of the garden, and a large pile of books were laid at their feet. I trembled because it looked like they would light the books up at any moment.

I stepped into the garden with my breath ragged because I had been running.

“――― Wait!”

The men turned back in surprise when I suddenly barged in. I know one of them; a man dressed like a noble.

I said his name in anger, “Why are you doing such an outrageous thing?! Baron Mole!”

“It’s Moseley!” The man corrected me. I remembered his face even though I didn’t appear in social circles much because when I did, he would stick to His Highness. But, I don’t care about his name now.

“You’re less than an animal for burning books. It’s unforgivable. You’re lower than trash! Shame on you!”

“T-Trash…”

He has probably never been subjected to verbal abuse. The Baron staggered, but I didn’t take back my words.

“It’s clear that you used the Roma children to steal books and deceived them with my family name. Admit your guilt, and hand over Rene’s mother. You can still plead extenuating circumstances right now.”

The Baron’s face twitched, and he argued, “I was wondering what you would say since you suddenly appeared here… As for you, Miss Elianna, this might sound rude, but did you have a bad dream? Or do you truly accept the words of rootless people like the Roma children? Oh dear! I can’t believe the Crown Prince’s fiancée would get involved with Roma people and be deceived by their words. This is a big problem, isn’t it?”

Gradually, he began to grin, and his smile was repulsive. I replied firmly, “Then, how do you explain the books over there?”

“These are books I bought. I can use these books however I want. You have no reason to order me even if you called the 『Princess Bibliophile』.”

Rene spoke, “No! He’s the one who ordered us to steal the books. He said that he was a Bernstein noble!”

The Baron smiled at shrugged.

“What noble listens to things that rootless people say? Much less children. What they say isn’t reliable at all as testimonies. If you accuse me because of what that child says, then you’ll only undermine your reputation. On a different note…” The Baron’s disgusting eyes fixed on me.

“Won’t you make a deal with me, Miss Elianna?”

Deal? I frowned, and the Baron proposed as if it was a good idea, “I will keep it a secret that you, the Crown Prince’s fiancée, are involved with filthy people like the Romas. In exchange, I want you to stop the stupid policy that has just started. I can’t believe that the budget is being used for something like that and the deal with Berth Company has gone to waste. The Berth Company are about to manufacture new weapons right now.”

The Baron leaned forward in excitement.

“We should monopolise it in our kingdom before it gets passed to another. This is for the future of our kingdom. Miss Elianna. I want you to think of the future of this kingdom rather than try to curry favour with the lower class.”

Excuse me…?

None of what Mole… Baron Moseley said made any sense to me. But, I understood one thing.

“Baron Moseley. If I were to think of the future of this kingdom, then I would assign the budget to books rather than weapons, and research on how to cure diseases instead of developing weapons that can kill people… Our predecessors said that burning books is like burning human history. Even I understand that we shouldn’t be a kingdom like that. I can’t accept your deal.”

The mole’s face flared up in anger.

“How impertinent of someone just borrowing the authority of His Highness! Then, I have no choice but to force you.”

The Baron signalled men who looked like private soldiers, and they pulled out their swords. I quickly pulled Rene to me and put myself on guard.

It was when the private soldiers faced their swords towards us, and I was stepping back.

“――― That’s as far as you go,” a dignified voice said.

I understood this place was under control the moment he showed up. The Baron opened his mouth stupidly, and the private soldiers froze as if they were pinned by his stare.

His Highness calmly appeared with Sir Glenn and the guards. I can also see the children who guided them here.

“Yo-your Highness Christopher… Why are you here?”

His Highness showed his cold smile to the Baron, who looked flustered.

“Outrageous. I wouldn’t let Elli face danger alone. Baron Molesey.”

“I, I haven’t done anything! Your Highness, please don’t listen to what the Roma children say. They are dirty people who wander without a kingdom, they might take revenge on Southlynd someday. Your Highness, you are intelligent, so you can tell who is more trustworthy. Me, a noble who is loyal to the kingdom, or them.”

“――― Setting aside what you have to say…” His Highness’s voice was chilly. His bright blue eyes stared at the men relentlessly.

“You pointed your swords at my fiancée. I think this current situation is more problematic than anything else.”

The Baron panicked, and His Highness cornered him further, “And you seem to despise the Roma people, but I have acquaintances in Thistle Star. I listened to what they had to say fairly.”

His Highness signalled, and the Baron and the private soldiers were captured by Sir Glenn and the guards. The Baron shouted in vain, “You’re naïve, Your Highness Christopher! Don’t you know what this kingdom needs?!”

“――― I forgot to say something, Baron Molesey.”

His Highness directed his sparkling smile at the Baron.

“It’s about the Berth Company’s manufactured weapons that you’ve been raving about… You’ve been scammed horribly. The old man, said to be the best among weapon developers, took part in the designing and drawing of the weapon’s blueprints; but the completed produced ended up being unviable as a weapon. Berth Company mass-produced this weapon because they hadn’t noticed, and now they’re going bankrupt. And the old man who designed the blueprints took a large sum of money for alcohol and ran away… There are good-for-nothing old men in this world.”

“That’s impossible…”

That was like a finishing blow to the Baron; he was no longer shouting and was dumbfounded and dejected.

“Huh?” A carefree voice said. It was Lord Alan and Paolo who was with the royal capital guards.

“What? You’ve already captured them? I don’t get a turn?”

“You’re late,” His Highness rejected him with two words, and Lord Alan grumbled, “I rushed, you know.”

“――― Elli.”

I stared at His Highness as he walked up to me and pulled back in surprise. I thought that he might be disappointed or angry because I acted selfishly even though they warned me a lot.

“Jeez,” His Highness sighed. He pulled me towards him and hugged me. I can feel his heartbeat and body temperature and my heartbeat instantly jumped.

“I really can’t take my eyes off you. There aren’t any Princesses who would march up to the bad guys without waiting for the Prince,” he said and laughed strangely. “You really don’t change,” he said.

“… Mm, are you angry?” I asked timidly, and His Highness raised his eyebrow. “Do I look angry?” He replied.

His blue eyes looked at me seriously, and I knew that he wasn’t angry. I tried to apologise, but Paolo spoke, “Rene.” He called Rene, who was also being held by His Highness.

“They said mum Marissa is in this house. Let’s go. If you don’t show your face, then mum Marissa will be worried.”

Seeing the children rush off, His Highness took my hand and followed after them.