I Became the First Prince

The rumored gourmet (2)

Contrary to what people think, being a court lady was never a humble job.

A court lady is a professional who was clearly distinguished from those maids in charge of chores.

Their role closely resembles an aide who assisted in personal matters, and in some cases, giving advice.

Most of these women weren’t commoners, and come from aristocrat families. It was never unusual for them to be proud of their jobs.

Among them, the pride of the ladies of the royal palace was the greatest. Having a position to directly support the monarch and their clan was such an honor.

However, not all the ladies of the palace had such pride.

This was the case with the ladies of the First Prince.

They would describe him as ‘the royal shame’, ‘the kind that can’t be matched’, and ‘the hopelessness of relief’.

These words are vulgar, insulting, and poignant.

And in reality, all of those words are not false at all.

Prince Irian Leonberger was an outrageous mess.

Also, he was not capable of distinguishing between a lady and a maid.

Insulting and verbal harassment was a daily routine for him.

Occasionally, if there was something he didn’t like, he threw things at them.

As a result of this, none of the ladies of the First Royal Palace liked the ruined Prince.

No, they all hated this vicious pig.

But one day, the vicious phase changed.

Though his dignity and behavior remained the same, in almost all other respects, the First Prince became a completely different person.

He didn’t drink, and he did not harass the maids with insulting words. He also stopped throwing things.

He just stayed in the training room all day and spent time wielding or wiping a wooden sword.

In response to the sudden change, some maids said that he died on that shameful accident; some maids said he was simply protecting himself of His Majesty.

Another maid recounted that Count Bale Balahard was sent to persecute him through harsh training.

No one in the royal palace thought that the prince had been completely converted.

The maids considered the prince’s change to be just a temporary whim.

They believed that when the prince became tired, he would return to his old life soon.

However, even after months have passed, the prince was still acting decently and fully devoted to training.

It was very strange.

It was impossible because of the nature of the ruined prince is to quickly give up and become tired of everything.

Then one day, on the night of heavy rain, the First Prince was the court knights’ conversation topic.

“If I had to endure that guy for two months, it would have been too much.”

“The good days are now gone.”

The maids thought that the First Prince was being talked about because he revealed his true color once more.

But they were wrong.

Surprisingly, the reason they were talking about the prince was that he was too keen on training.

The ladies were confused.

The First Prince they know was never a person who could be engaged in training until his body hurt.

The court knights’ conversations continued.

“Maybe the rumors about His Majesty the First Prince have been maliciously fabricated.”

“They said he was very lazy? Huh!”

The ladies couldn’t sympathize with that.

They now wanted to correct the evaluation of court knights, who had only been a few months into the palace. In the maids’ eyes, these young knights are speaking too soon

During that time, another change occurred in the First Palace.

The letters started pouring in.

The letters came from everyone, including a number of noblemen, all with the same goal of facing the First Prince in battle.

The ladies also started to receive gifts from the nobles, in exchange for having their letters prioritized.

“We didn’t ask for this?” the ladies looked at each other with confused faces.

The situation was strange to them. “The opponent was already decided. It was over now,” they said.

It was made well-known that the First Prince would be facing the Third Prince, so they thought that this unsolicited attention would end.

Until rumors spread that the First Prince was looking for sparring partners…

* * *

Has it been three months already? Bale Balahard frowned.

It has been more than two months since he entered the royal palace upon his sister’s request. It was taking longer than he thought.

He believed that if he made the training rough on the pretext of losing weight, his nephew would quickly give up.

His nephew even made a bet, but he didn’t take him seriously.

But on the day of heavy rain, thunder and lightning, he saw his nephew wielding a wooden sword like crazy right under the thunderstorm. The prince looked unaware who was around and kept his focus even as his torn hands bled.

Bale Balahard knew then that his stay in the royal palace would be longer than he originally planned.

His stay was lengthened, and it was unpleasant, but not unbearable when he considers his sister. As his nephew grows stronger, his sister will be able to sleep more comfortably.

However, even if he can endure all the other things, it was difficult to bear the attention of the nobles in the kingdom.

Perhaps by now, all the nobles are talking about his nephew. And in these talks, whether it means good or bad, the name of Bale Balahard will come out naturally.

It’s okay to have a complicated politics, he told himself.

Bale shed his thoughts and decided to focus on the task at hand.

He looked down on his nephew. “So you’re going to be fighting with a single chain knight?”

“You said that already, Uncle. Don’t keep saying the same thing over and over again.”

As Bale looked at his nephew, who looked to be without fear, the potential fascinated him. However, he also knew that his nephew did not dream.

It’s really unfair for him, he thought. He only had three months of training, and now he has to battle with a knight. He hasn’t even taken out all the flesh off his body yet.

Still, Bale acted unconcerned as he spoke.

“If you ask me to ask for single-chain articles, I will decline.”

His nephew replied quickly. “No, I’m not going to ask you for that. I have made a list of the single-chain knights who will come running to me simply by calling them.”

“So, what are you trying to say?

“That’s it,” his nephew laughed. “They wanted to eat me. It won’t be good for them.”

His nephew chatted shamelessly.

* * *

Not all of the nobles who sent letters to the royal palace were double chain knights.

Many of them only had a single chain. Even so, these knights are confident they could beat up one idiot who still made mana hearts these days.

I picked up the list and handed it over to Carls Juli.

“Arrange these in order, from weakest to strongest,” I commanded.

Carls didn’t say anything and organized the list according to my command.

“I can’t guarantee the credibility of their strength just basing on rumors,” he added.

“Well, do what you can,” I replied.

I said thanks to Carls and sent him out. Then, I called in a court lady.

“Send all the answers to the kids listed here.”

“What do you want to write down, Your Majesty?”

“Say: I’ll give you an opportunity, so come right now.”

The lady didn’t speak. I continued.

“Try to coordinate their arrival, based on their order on the list. It would be difficult if they come all at once.”

The lady took my advice and started writing.

Before I sent her out, I had one last command.

“I wish I could have one on the 3rd.”

* * *

I practiced with increased fervor.

I wielded the sword during the day and scraped mana without sleeping at night. I had to go one step further before the first opponent arrived.

Mana hearts shook several times a day in my chest.

I don’t feel like it’s going to work. The mana heart was still tickling, a sign that it was not prepared yet.

Still, I continued to collect mana.

Ten days passed after the first signs appeared, a change occurred in my body.

『I have succeeded in collecting mana to a certain level through constant efforts.』

“The mana heart has been expanded.”

“The body shape is a little different due to the extended mana heart.”

“The body has been able to store a little more mana.”

“Done!” I opened my eyes and yelled with joy.

I still have three days before the first sparring opponent arrived.