The Duke's Daughter Goes Her Own Way
[Until You Call Me 'Friend'... (2)]
Translated by: ME
Seriously... The first King's 'I love my big brother'... at this point, it's enough to make you slightly recoil...
This was my impression after reading the first King's portion of the successive kings' journals from my sickbed.
Holding that thought, I opened the first page of the second king's journal and couldn't help but burst out laughing.
『Frankly, I'm at a loss for how to react to my father's fondness for his uncle.』
I know, right! I understand how you feel, Your Majesty the Second!
The first King's journal was just full of: "At that time, my brother said this," "According to my brother...", "My brother did this," "My brother," "My brother was," "For my brother."
While I found it a bit much, I also felt a little envious.
What the successive kings recorded in this blank book varied greatly.
Some wrote encouragements for those who would one day become king after them, some wrote their own life stories, some wrote gratitude towards those who supported them...
But without exception, their closing words were all encouragements along the lines of: 'Since even an incompetent like me could fulfill the duties of kingship, surely those who follow will be able to do so too.'
Among them, there were kings who, like me now, did nothing but repeatedly question themselves, "Am I really suitable?" "Can someone like me really do this?" And not just one or two, either.
But they would find a trustworthy friend, or a beloved partner, and gradually begin to look forward, thinking, 'It's not about whether I can do it or not. I *must* do it.'
...I'm envious, I thought from the bottom of my heart.
Just as the first King had Duke Macnagan, many kings had an irreplaceable presence.
Unfortunately, I don't have that now.
The king is a solitary being.
I think I understand well enough what that means.
But, in this collection of journals, there isn't a single king who was truly solitary.
...Well, there was one king who filled nearly twenty pages with nothing but cooking recipes. Concerning him alone, it's almost impossible to understand anything.
I took my time reading this journal, spending over a week on it.
By the time I finished, my physical condition had improved slightly.
According to the court physician who came with me, it was probably good that I had left the castle...
Maybe so.
The anxiety that had been buried deep in my heart had quieted down a little.
Leaving the castle, and this journal.
Those two things seem to have lightened my heart just a bit.
I must thank my father for letting me have this.
＊ ＊ ＊
Another week later.
I had recovered enough to be able to sit up.
However, because I had been largely bedridden for so long, my physical strength had completely deteriorated.
"Let's start by getting you accustomed to movement," the court physician said, so I made it my daily routine to wander and stroll around the palace.
In the kings' journals, there was one from a king tormented by terrible loneliness.
He couldn't get along with the 'friends' introduced to him by adults, felt that everyone around him was watching his expression, and couldn't trust anyone.
One day, his attention was caught by a servant who, day after day, wore the same expression and simply went about their work dispassionately.
They, these servants, would smile just faintly each day, prepare tea and meals for him, prepare his clothes, make his bed, and keep his room clean.
He couldn't read anything of their thoughts from their expressions.
But the quality of their smiles was clearly different from those of his 'friend' crowd.
The king himself later wrote, 『Thinking back, well, for the servants it's just a job. If they think of it as their livelihood, they'll probably put on one or two polite smiles whenever needed.』
But at that moment, the king realized.
That they, too, were 'people.'
Anyone who can say "Well, that's obvious" to those words must be happy.
Because I, for one, was made to think "Now that you mention it, that's true" by those words.
It's not that I consciously thought of them as 'something other than people.'
But in reality, there are differences in status and position between us and those servants.
They are trained not to chatter unnecessarily while working, and we are trained not to pay particular attention to their presence.
'They too are people, and each one is a citizen whom I must protect once I become king.'
It's a very obvious thing.
But I, like the king in that journal, had overlooked that 'obviousness.'
'Citizens' were those in the city below the castle, and 'people inside the castle' were bureaucrats and nobles.
That was the only categorization I had, so 'castle servants' belonged to neither.
But servants are also 'one of the citizens,' with families in the city below.
Realizing this, I began to think that there must be many more 'overlooked obvious things' in existence.
Still, I'm glad I realized this obvious fact before becoming king.
I felt relieved, but also deeply shaken.
So, while wandering around the palace, I started talking to servants I came across.
...Well, I couldn't talk too much lest I get in their way, so I could only ask things like their names or where they were from.
By the time a month had passed since moving to the palace, I had learned the names and origins of all the servants there.
Well, it's a palace where I'm the only resident.
There are only about twenty servants in total.
Once I learned all their faces and names and came to know their backgrounds, I naturally began to see their individual personalities.
Ah, I see.
This is how people build relationships.
I had found another overlooked obvious thing.
＊ ＊ ＊
「A festival.」
「Yes. I hear the festival in the capital city starts the day after tomorrow.」
A maid said this while deftly putting tea leaves into a pot.
「Isn't it two scoops of tea leaves?」
She had put two teaspoonfuls of leaves into the pot, and then added another scoop.
I'm sure before, when another maid taught me, it was exactly two scoops...
The maid laughed a little merrily at my words. 「Fufu.」
「Normally, it is two scoops. However, today's tea is a special tea.」
According to the maid, the tea she was brewing today was a very rare item imported from a distant country.
Unlike regular black tea, she said, if you don't put in a bit more leaves, neither the flavor nor the aroma will come through. And yet, the places where these tea leaves are grown are extremely limited, and the production volume is very small.
Because of its rarity, the price is high, making it an outrageous product that is 'very expensive per unit weight, yet you have to use more than usual to get any taste.'
「Therefore, this is a tea that only passes the lips of noble individuals such as Your Highness.」
「Have you ever drunk it?」
「I have not.」
She replied as if it were obvious and poured hot water into the pot.
A faint, sweet scent, reminiscent of floral notes, wafted up softly.
「I haven't drunk it, but it smells wonderful, doesn't it? This moment is my favorite.」
「Yes. It certainly is a good smell.」
When I nodded, the maid smiled faintly again.
「Now, please take your seat, Your Highness. This is tea I have brewed with all my heart. Please enjoy it at your leisure.」
「Yes, thank you.」
Occasionally, I had started asking to watch the servants at their work like this.
At first, my presence in a place where I normally shouldn't be made the servants terribly tense, but humans adapt.
To me, asking questions like a young child – "What's that?" "What are you doing?" – they began to answer without stopping their work.
When I, impressed, would say "Amazing, amazing!" still like a child, some would even entrust me with what was probably a simple task, saying, 「Would you like to try?」
But of course, I couldn't even do that well.
When I muttered, "It's surprisingly hard to do well," a cook who was peeling potato skins with effortless ease laughed.
「Isn't that fine? Cooking is our job, us cooks. Laundry is the laundry maid's job, carrying luggage is the porter's job. Everyone has their own work, does they not? And Your Highness's work is none of those, correct?」
Indeed, that's true.
My job – what 'I must do' – is to steer this country.
I suddenly remembered the words of the first Duke Macnagan.
A King don't need to be some 'perfect person who can do everything by himself.'
Ah, how truly right that is.
It's impossible to 'be able to do everything by oneself.'
In fact, without the nearly twenty people working for me in this palace right now, I wouldn't even be able to manage today's meal.
Ah, really, truly...
There are so many 'obvious' things in this world.
＊ ＊ ＊
While drinking the tea the maid had brewed for me, I tried speaking to the knight standing guard nearby.
「I heard something about a festival happening soon...」
「So it seems.」
The knight smiled and nodded.
「I wonder what kind of festival it is?」
When I asked, the knight laughed, looking slightly amused.
「I hear it's a 'festival with no particular meaning.'」
...Huh?
Basically, holidays and festivals are supposed to have some meaning.
For example, the 'Hundred Flowers Festival' held in the royal capital in spring celebrates the arrival of spring, the start of the social season, and the new fiscal year.
The 'Star Snow Festival' at the end of the year gives thanks for the passing year and prays for the coming year to be good. The 'Founding Day Festival' commemorates the day the first king of our Belkraine Royal Family ascended the throne.
Additionally, there are local thanksgiving festivals, harvest festivals, church-led nativity festivals and holy night festivals, etc., each with its own definite meaning.
I must have had a very dubious look on my face. The knight looked at me and chuckled.
「I was also surprised when I heard about it... It seems it started without any particular origin or reason, just because someone said, 'There are no holidays this month, so let's just have a festival!'」
Whaaat...
Well, it's true, there are no state-designated holidays this month...
「I hear this year marks the memorable 30th occasion.」
It has more history than I expected!!
「Will you be going into the town?」
When the knight asked me, laughing, I hesitated for a moment before nodding.
「I think I'll just go and take a look.」
The knight smiled, bowed, and said, 「Understood.」
＊ ＊ ＊
On the day.
I put on the clothes prepared by my valet, wore a wig, and put on glasses to somewhat hide my face.
The clothes were like those of an ordinary townsfolk; when I asked my valet how he managed it, he said he had bought them yesterday at a clothing store in town.
When I said I was sorry for adding to his work, he laughed and said, 「No, this is also part of my job.」
That valet and the guard knights were also dressed like ordinary townspeople.
Somehow, that alone gave me a sense of stepping outside everyday life, and it was fun.
＊ ＊ ＊
The central street of the ducal capital, where the market is held, apparently cannot be reached directly by carriage.
We moved by carriage to a nearby point and arranged to leave the carriage at an inn there.
From there, we moved on foot, but there were so many strange and interesting things everywhere that it wasn't bothersome at all.
A tavern along the main road had set up tables outside instead of inside, serving alcohol and food.
At one table, a young man was rambling drunkenly, 「It's not 'just another day'! It's my birthday today!」 The people around him laughed cheerfully and called out things like, 「Congratulations!」
A bakery had placed a cart outside its shop, on which were small, individually bagged cookies with a sign saying 『Help yourself!』
A boy tried to grab a handful with both hands and was scolded by a woman who seemed to be the shopkeeper, 「One per person!」
When the boy said, 「It doesn't say that anywhere!」 the shopkeeper brought a pen from inside and added 『One per person!!』 in the corner of the sign that said 『Help yourself!』
Street performers were everywhere; some did magic with cards, some juggled, some made flowers disappear and reappear from their hands... all entertaining people in various ways.
One house had a sign saying 『Please say something nice♡』. A man who seemed to be passing by said towards the house, 「Oh! How cute!」 Then, a woman's voice from inside the house replied, 「Thank you♡ You're wonderful too!」 The man laughed cheerfully and walked on.
A table and chairs were set up by the roadside, and a person who seemed to be a woman with a veil over her face was sitting there.
Given her suspicious appearance, I thought she might be a fortune teller, but the sign leaning against the table said, 『I will praise you. I will praise you no matter what. I will praise you to death.』
As I watched curiously, a woman came and sat in the chair.
「My, oh my, haven't you gotten prettier lately!? That hair, the color of the most perfectly made silage, is so wonderful! And your simple outfit highlights your beauty to the extreme! I'm so jealous of how cool you are!」
...I see. This is indeed praise to the death.
「Wow, what a cute doggy! I've never seen such a cute little thing before! The matted fur on its back is so charming!」
I walked on, hearing the cheerful voice praising even a passing dog.
Amazing.
Everyone I passed was laughing happily.
When I walked past what seemed to be a restaurant, a woman who appeared to be a staff member said, 「Mister, you're handsome! For a handsome guy, here, have this!」 and gave me a skewer of grilled meat.
My valet said, 「Just to be safe, let me taste it first,」 so I handed it over. He took a bite and muttered, 「Ah, so good.」 I found myself looking at him with a slightly resentful gaze, thinking, 'Well then, give it back.'
Noticing my gaze, the valet smiled awkwardly and said, 「It seems there's no problem. Here you are,」 returning the skewer.
Walking while eating the delicious, well-spiced grilled meat skewer, I arrived at the central square of the ducal capital.
The capital of the Macnagan duchy is very systematically laid out.
Large avenues extend radially from this central square, with roads laid out in nearly equidistant concentric circles.
Houses and shops are balanced in their placement, and there are guard barracks positioned so their jurisdictions don't overlap.
There are almost no dimly lit alley-like paths; the roads are wide with good visibility.
Its status as having one of the lowest crime rates in the nation makes sense.
The crime rate per capita is unrivalledly low.
In that peaceful ducal capital square, stalls and makeshift stages were lined up, making it hard to believe this was a 'meaningless festival.'
Looking closely, it seemed the majority of the stalls were giving away their items for free. And the few paid stalls also only set what seemed like a token fee.
The makeshift stages seemed to be putting on plays; a sign advertised that for a child's pocket money-level price, you could buy a ticket and watch as many shows as you wanted all day.
「They don't seem to be collecting fees or anything...」
「Indeed. It seems most things are free...」
Even my valet was surprised.
「You fellas, tourists?」
A voice called out suddenly from nearby. Startled, I looked over to see a middle-aged woman smiling.
「Ah, yes. We heard there was a festival and came to take a look...」
「You came on just the right day! Lucky you!」
My valet asked the cheerfully laughing woman while looking around.
「The stalls don't charge any fees?」
「Today is special.」
According to the woman, this 'Festival with No Meaning' originally started simply from the idea, 『Since there's nothing going on and it's boring, let's all bring what we can and gather to make some noise.』
Since it's a potluck, of course, no one thinks of turning it into a business.
The one who suggested it was the Macnagan Duke of the time, who apparently served alcohol and food brought from the ducal house in this square.
Then, people started joining in, thinking, "Then I'll bring something too," one person, then two... and before anyone knew it, the scale ballooned, and a few years later, it had become a large-scale festival involving the entire ducal capital.
「Even now, the basic idea is 'potluck.' The lord has even issued a notice for this festival: 'If you charge money, you must not make a profit.' And if you can't manage that, then there's no need to set up a stall.」
「...It's amazing that so many stalls still set up under those conditions...」
It's a splendor that rivals the proper festivals in the royal capital. The scale is somewhat overwhelming.
Hearing my words, the woman laughed cheerfully and looked around the square with a somewhat proud smile.
「Well, it's fun, isn't it? Getting everyone together for a once-a-year fool's revelry. And there are this many other fools who think the same way, that it's 'fun.' It's so fun it makes you laugh, right?」
Just as the woman said, there was no one in the square without a cheerful, smiling face.
Everyone was laughing.
「It certainly is fun.」
At my words, the woman again said proudly, 「See?」 and laughed.
We waved goodbye to the woman and decided to walk a full lap around the square.
After walking just a little way, the lined-up stalls had loaded us with all sorts of things, this and that.
My valet, for his part, had been made to wear a hat with some kind of inexplicable animal ears on it.
「Haa... How to put it, everyone is so friendly, aren't they?」
I nodded, laughing at my valet, who looked surprisingly good in the ear-adorned hat.
The stallkeepers and the people walking around were all affable and friendly.
They called out to us as if we were old acquaintances.
And there was no unpleasantness in it.
Since everyone was laughing and seemed happy, I found myself smiling along with them, somehow.
In one corner of the square, there was a spot with an unusually large crowd.
Wondering what it was, I peeked in and saw it seemed to be a game where you throw knives at a target some distance away.
A sign was posted saying things like 『Five consecutive hits wins a luxurious prize!!』
This 'hit' seemed to mean hitting the bullseye.
The man who just threw a knife missed the center by a little and was being told, 「Okay, that's two in a row~」.
Prizes seemed to be set for the number of consecutive hits. One and two hits were listed as 『Participation Prize: Scrub Brush』.
Three consecutive hits: 『Sleepyhead Rooster - One Day All-You-Can-Drink Pass』, four hits: 『Ducal Capital Common Gift Certificate』, and five hits: 『Deeslee - One Case of Finest Wine』.
The prizes seemed to be limited in quantity; under 『Scrub Brush』 it said 『5 left. Once gone, changes to candy.』 ...Speaking of which, isn't that an awful lot of scrub brushes...?
「Why is everyone getting scrub brushes...?」
It seemed my valet was thinking the same thing.
A man standing right nearby laughed merrily at this mutter.
「'Cause all the challengers are drunk. Be thankful if the knife flies straight at all.」
This game is dangerous!!
「Ooh! Gonna give it a go, young master!」
The game master called out in a cheerful voice.
The crowd whistled, cheered 「We've been waiting!」 and the atmosphere became very lively.
The one who emerged from the crowd was a single young man.
Judging by his appearance at a glance, he seemed around my age.
Judging by his build and attire, he was probably from a wealthy family. He wore high-quality clothes, and his hair was neatly styled.
And above all, he had an astonishingly handsome face.
「If I hit five times in a row, can I still get the wine?」
The young man said in a cheerful tone while rolling up his shirt sleeves, prompting laughter from the crowd.
「If you brought it yourself and take it back yourself, that's just pointless!」
「Hahaha! True enough! Then I'll aim for the gift certificate!」
「Nah, El-boy, you should decline the prize.」
The surrounding people also laughed, saying things like 「Yeah, right!」
The young man took the knife from the game master, went to the designated spot, and threw the knife with utter casualness.
The knife landed with a satisfying *thunk*, sticking right in the center of the target.
The game master pulled it out, and the young man threw the next one just as casually. It, too, stuck in the center.
「...He's amazing.」
A guard knight muttered in admiration.
「How many in a row do you think you could manage?」
When I asked, the knight tilted his head slightly and narrowed his eyes.
「I'd be lucky if they just hit the target... We don't train in throwing...」
「I see.」
The crowd started a chorus of 「Mi-iss! Mi-iss!」
The young man laughed cheerfully at this and threw the third knife.
The knife, again, pierced the center of the target.
The crowd let out an 「Aah~!!」, a strangely disappointed sound.
「Young master, it's only by missing here that you become a true entertainer!」
The young man laughed cheerfully, 「Haha,」 at the game master, who said this while pulling the knives from the target.
「A pity, but I am neither an entertainer nor an actor, but the next lord.」
Another knife stuck in the center of the target.
「That's exactly why we're saying, what's the point of the lord skimming off the top from us!?」 a man almost shouted.
The young man grinned at him.
「If you say that, then all I have to do is score five consecutive hits.」
At the young man's words, cheers flew from the crowd, like 「Well said!」
Wait, did he say 'next lord'?
Then that young man, the one who just scored five consecutive hits, is Elrod Macnagan...!
Despite his impressive skill in getting five consecutive hits, the crowd was booing him.
But since the people complaining, "Boo, boo," were also smiling, it was probably more than half in jest.
The young man went over to the game master and took one bottle from the wooden case of wine.
「I'll take just one bottle. For the missing one, I'll have someone deliver something to someone later. What gets delivered, even I don't know.」
As I watched, the young man walked straight towards me.
Coming right up beside me, he lightly took my arm.
「Are you here as a tourist? How about some wine over there?」
He said, starting to walk while pulling my arm.
As I stood somewhat bewildered, the young man spoke in a voice just loud enough for us to hear.
「It's dangerous here, please move over there. ...These drunks have unsteady hands.」
Ah.
He's realized who I am.
He's realized it and is trying to move me away from danger.
My valet seemed to understand this too. His gaze, which had been watching the young man warily, softened, and he said quietly, 「Thank you for your trouble.」
＊ ＊ ＊
Leaving the crowd, we sat at a table set up in a corner of the square – who prepared it, I wonder – and I bowed my head slightly to the young man.
「My apologies. I've caused you trouble.」
「Not at all. ...Well, you have your guard knights, so perhaps it's not that dangerous... Joey, do you have a knife or something?」
The young man was addressing a man who was there.
「Ah, lend me the bottle. You just need it opened, right?」
「I'll leave it to you.」
The young man handed the wine bottle to the man called Joey, then looked at me and gave a light laugh.
「I'd recommend you observe something a bit calmer than the fool's revelry of drunks. If you were to get injured, it would be no laughing matter.」
「...You're right. My apologies.」
It's true, if a knife were to slip or something, it wouldn't be strange to get injured.
And even if it wasn't intentional, if 'I were injured,' the person who did it would undoubtedly be blamed. And the valet and knights who failed to keep me away from danger would also likely be punished.
「...It seems I got a little carried away. I'll take this to heart as a lesson for myself.」
I want to avoid those around me being punished for my careless actions.
「Please do so.」
「Young master, it's open.」
The man, who had skillfully opened the bottle's cork with just a knife, handed the bottle back to the young man.
「Thank you. ...Mia! Could you get two glasses for us?」
When he called out to a woman nearby, she laughed cheerfully.
「I wonder if I have any glasses refined enough to lend to Lord El?」
「I don't care about refinement or not. As long as they're properly washed and don't leak what you put in them, a bowl or a plate is fine.」
「I have glasses! Or would you prefer mugs?」
「Like I said, anything is fine.」
The woman said, 「Wait just a sec, then,」 and shortly returned with two glasses from somewhere.
「Here you go.」
What the woman brought were very ornately crafted rock glasses.
「...You knew I had a wine bottle, yet you deliberately brought these...」
At the young man's exasperated voice, the man who opened the cork laughed.
「Probably because these hold more, or something like that.」
「I suppose so.」
Saying this, the young man poured wine into the glasses.
It was a very fragrant, deep, dark red wine. Just pouring it into the glasses made the aroma waft this strongly.
I later learned that this wine was an outrageous item with tremendous rarity value.
Apparently, exactly ten cases are presented each year from the Macnagan Duke to the King. And beyond that, none circulates on the market, etc. The presentation bottles have the royal family's crest and the national emblem on the label.
It tastes and smells very good even when young, and gains more depth with aging. It seems at least five bottles are stored away each year in the castle cellar. The decision of who opens them and when seems to be left to individual discretion, but my father once said with a wry smile, 「It's too intimidating; I've never even thought of touching one.」
Since it doesn't appear on the market, it has no set price. But it's not hard to imagine that if it did, the price would be utterly unaffordable.
It's an item served in small quantities at soirées for important state guests, or bestowed by the king upon those with special meritorious service. Those who receive it usually also store it without opening it, so it's apparently even called the 'phantom wine that no one knows the taste of.'
The young man placed one glass in front of me.
「Please. If you like, shall we have your valet do a tasting, doubling as a poison check?」
「No... that shouldn't be necessary. ...By the way, you are...」
We had been speaking with mutual tacit understanding, but we hadn't introduced ourselves.
The young man seemed to realize this too, letting out a small 「Ah.」
「I am Elrod Macnagan, eldest son of the Macnagan ducal house. Bending the knee here in formal greeting... would likely go against Your Highness's wishes, so I beg your pardon like this.」
As Elrod bowed his head slightly, as if making a light bow, I nodded lightly.
「Ah, that's sufficient. As you have discerned, I wish to avoid 'announcing myself' for now, so could you perhaps call me Carl?」
「Understood, Lord Carl.」
Hearing that, I thought, 「Hm?」
「Wait a moment. If you, the ducal heir, use honorifics for me, doesn't that effectively reveal my status just the same...?」
There are probably only a few, like the royal family, whom a member of a ducal house would place themselves beneath.
To my words, Elrod, surprisingly, gave a small click of his tongue.
Wait, a click of his tongue!?
I'm not upset, but having someone click their tongue right in front of me is a first!?
「Unexpectedly... how to put this without being rude. You're a sharp Prince, aren't you?」
Yeah. That's incredibly rude.
I must have been looking at him with suspicious eyes.
Elrod looked at me and laughed cheerfully, then picked up the glass he had set down and raised it to eye level.
「What a face you're making. Come now, let's have a toast for now!」
His tone had suddenly become very casual.
Had he been testing me to see if I would notice?
I didn't fully understand Elrod's intentions, but I also lifted my glass and raised it.
「What shall we toast to?」
When I asked, Elrod laughed cheerfully again.
「Why, to this 'meeting of no consequence' on this 'day of no significance,' of course. ...Cheers!」
This 'meeting of no consequence' on this 'day of no significance' would become a 'very special day' and a 'special meeting' in my mind, but that was a little later on.
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