The Seventh Prince Runs Away from Awkward Situations

Chapter 13 : A Bystander's Choice (1)

Mentil looked at my eyes with an expressionless face.

If she wanted to confirm the truth of my words, there wasn't much I could do.

I, too, just met her gaze silently without opening my mouth.

Her blue eyes didn't let me go.

“Have you been in contact with your mother all this time?”

I shook my head.

She stopped talking again and looked at me.

She was probably thinking about the 7th Prince's mother.

Because Ran Abalan's mother is quite famous.

The current Emperor has many children.

My siblings number over twenty; there's no way all of them have the same mother.

I know he has quite a few consorts, aside from the Empress.

My mother is famous because she is the only woman among them who ran away from the Imperial Palace.

There's no detailed description.

Because the 7th Prince is not the protagonist.

In the original work, she, who ran away from the Imperial Palace, appears briefly in passing conversation or is used to insult the 7th Prince, and then is never mentioned again.

Piecing together the small clues described, she seemed to be the last remaining royalty of another race, one with black hair like Ran.

Not long after the 7th Prince turned 12, she vanished forever from the Imperial Palace.

Some said she returned to her homeland.

But most people said that after giving birth to a half-wit, black-haired prince who couldn't wield Manis, she was ashamed and afraid, and ran away, abandoning her young son.

Because the 7th Prince would immediately throw a fit if such talk entered his ears, the number of people who spoke of it openly decreased significantly.

Well, there are still some, like the 8th Prince, who say it openly.

In any case, she is a character who doesn't appear, not even a strand of hair, until the end of the novel.

And that's the reason I can use her as an excuse with such peace of mind.

I crossed my arms and slowly opened my mouth in front of the Imperial Princess, who was waiting for me to speak.

“For a month, I watched a single falcon fly east every day around sunset.”

The question 'So what?' was written on the Imperial Princess's face.

“I'm told that in the far eastern country where my mother lived, when a royal passes away, they call one bird each day for a month.”

The Imperial Princess was listening to my words impassively.

Because she didn't cut me off, I continued impassively as well.

“They say they call a peregrine falcon if a king or queen dies, and a black falcon if a prince or princess dies.”

Mentil just continued to stare at me silently.

“So I knew. That the last remaining eastern princess had, fortunately, fallen asleep in the east and not somewhere else.”

Even after I finished speaking, silence lingered between us.

I also kept my mouth shut, as I had nothing more to say unless she asked me.

“The window...….”

She opened her mouth for a moment, then swallowed once.

“...…Did you look out the window every day?”

Well, I don't know if the 7th Prince really did that.

Though I personally hope he didn't.

Hiding that inner thought, I answered.

“There's a window with a nice view of the outside by my bedside.”

To my follow-up answer, 'My eyes just went to it on their own sometimes,' the 1st Imperial Princess fell silent again and covered her forehead for a moment.

And she leaned back, resting completely against the sofa.

“...…Right, so...… did your remaining blood relative suddenly become precious to you?”

“Of course not.”

I answered with a short laugh.

“I just realized that there's no one left around me but people who will live longer than I.”

“...….”

It took quite a long time for the 1st Imperial Princess to remove the hand that had been on her forehead and raise her head.

“You may leave now.”

She said to me, her face wearing the same gentle smile as before.

At the thought of being able to leave this suffocating space, I gave a quick bow, stood up, and headed for the exit.

But right before leaving, I remembered my original purpose and had to turn back.

“I heard you were looking after my horse.”

“Ah.”

She let out a short utterance as if she just remembered, and then smiled brightly.

“I heard it's resting very comfortably in the 7th Prince's Palace stables. You have a clever horse.”

I grit my teeth, bowed my head once more, and stepped outside.

The 1st Imperial Princess is really someone who brings nothing good when met.

***

I came out of the tent and walked, leading the horse tied up next to it.

The wind blew, sweeping past me with the smell of grass.

Even though I wasn't inside the warm tent, it didn't feel colder than the breeze I felt in there.

The 1st Imperial Princess probably won't completely believe my words, but she won't think they're a complete lie, either.

Because she's the only one among the Imperial Family who places great meaning on blood relationships.

Of course, she can also be endlessly cruel to those unrelated to her.

What I told her wasn't a complete lie.

Watching a black falcon pass by for a month was a lie, but things like the funeral culture in the far eastern country actually exist.

If I had lied about even that, it would have been found out quickly.

The answer to that question is whether I watched out the window every day...… I don't know.

I personally really hope not.

I hope that the books about the culture of another race, which were located in one corner of the study, and the fact that the bed and chair were insistently placed by the window, don't hold much meaning either...… I hope so.

Bbooo-- Bbooo-- Bbooo--

The sound of the horn announcing the end of the hunting competition echoed through the forest.

I shook my head once and led the horse toward the place with the altar.

To complete today's real mission.

***

As soon as Tollin returned to the Ducal family's tent, he was sent to the court physician who was on standby.

“My goodness, you tripped on a stone, fell, and hit your head on another stone?”

The doctor, who was making a face as if looking at the biggest idiot in the world, looked at the shape of Tollin's wound and, without asking further, applied medicine and wrapped it in a bandage.

“Next time you fall, you should at least take your anger out on the stone that tripped you. Kick it, stomp on it.”

Tollin laughed awkwardly, haha, at the muttering middle-aged doctor, and answered inwardly that if he did that, it wouldn't be Tollin returning here, but just Tollin's head.

“Stay here. Jack and I will go and finish up the hunting competition.”

The Duke said, looking at Tollin who was wrapped in bandages.

“What? No. This is really just a simple wound, the treatment was just fussy.”

“It's true it's a wound that will heal with about a week of medicine and rest, but saying the treatment was 'just fussy' is a bit grating.”

At the doctor's complaint, the Duke made a firm expression.

“A whole week of rest? That's a serious injury, a serious injury. Now, just lie here until the closing ceremony and get some sleep.”

“Sleep? What sleep! You never gave me a single vacation before, no matter how hard it was!”

Tollin shouted as Duke Piteos forced him to lie down on the medical bed.

“Alright, alright. Let's call it even for all the grief you've had until now.”

“No, what kind of daylight robbery is...….”

“Tollin, even if it's a light wound, you lost some blood, so if you make a fuss like that, you might get mild dizziness.”

“Ugh.”

“See.”

As the doctor said, a throbbing sensation made Tollin grip his head, and the Duke patted his shoulder.

“Just rest. If you don't want to make me feel even more uncomfortable.”

Tollin met the sunken eyes behind the playful tone, and it wasn't as if he couldn't understand the Duke's desire to not face the 7th Prince at all, so he nodded with a dissatisfied expression.

“We're calling this event for next year's vacation too, so rest well!”

The Duke left the tent, making a ridiculous joke.

Muttering that it had better be a joke, he laid his body down on the hard patient bed.

And he fell into a deep slumber.

***

“Hey.”

He was about to fall under.

If some voice screaming in his head 'You must never forget' hadn't snatched his fading consciousness back.

When he opened his eyes, he saw black eyes looking down at him.

Tollin immediately tried to stand up and show his respects.

“Huk! Greetings to the 7th Prince, ugk!”

But a hand grabbed his shoulder as he tried to rise, blocking him like a spring, forcing him to lie back down with a strange, breathless sound.

“If you get up suddenly like that, the blood will rush and you'll get dizzy.”

“Yo...… Your Highness, why are you here...….”

Surely he didn't come to completely crush his head this time.

To the trembling man, the 7th Prince said something unexpected.

“How's your head? It looks like it'll be fine if you rest for about a week.”

“Yes....... That is correct. It's really fine, Your Highness.”

Tollin was horrified by the creepily specific and accurate selection of the time period, but he tried not to show it.

...…Don't tell me he intentionally sets a time period and throws stones at passersby?

The guy I hit this time gets 1 week of recovery, that guy over there gets 3 weeks of recovery, like that?!

As if he had no interest in what Tollin was thinking inwardly, the 7th Prince stared at him blankly and said.

“Right. While you're resting, get a prescription from the doctor for antibiotics...… no, olive leaves.”

“Yes, yes, Your Highness.”

Tollin replied, thinking it was unexpected that he, who seemed like he would be the one hitting others, not getting hit, knew about wound treatments.

He didn't know what his objective was, but if it was to pressure him into not running his mouth, he had already succeeded a long time ago, so Tollin wanted to beg him to please leave.

The 7th Prince was more taciturn and expressionless than the rumors, which made him even more uncomfortable.

“You're obedient.”

Tollin's expression stiffened as he remembered the 7th Prince who had sarcastically called him loyal in the forest.

Is it like that this time, too?

Tollin peeked at the 7th Prince's expression.

He was surprisingly looking at the slightly open tent entrance with no emotion.

“Well, let's just make that until today.”

At the 7th Prince's voice suddenly speaking to him, Tollin was startled and quickly ducked his head low again.

“Do your resting starting tomorrow. It would be good to go see the closing ceremony right now.”

“Right now?”

“Yes. Right now.”

'Do I have to make it an order for you to listen?' To the muttering Prince, Tollin quickly answered.

“Ah, no! I will run there right now.”

He smiled again, with just one corner of his mouth tilted up, said he would be going, and turned to leave without any lingering attachment.

That appearance was so strange that Tollin opened his mouth without realizing it.

“Did you come here just to tell me that?”

The 7th Prince turned his head toward Tollin, who was admonishing himself for his own reckless act after asking cautiously, let out a short laugh, and then picked up a medical bandage from the table that happened to be next to him and headed for the tent entrance again.

“No, I came to get a bandage because I needed one. Everywhere else was empty because they all went to see the closing ceremony.”

Tollin couldn't understand his bizarre behavior, but in any case, he couldn't disobey the words he'd spoken to a member of the Imperial Family, so he immediately left the tent and headed for the altar.

And that was, in Tollin's 30 years of life, the most regrettable choice and, at the same time, the most fortunate action.

***

As he got closer to the altar, Tollin realized something was different from usual.

It was too quiet.

There was no sound of people murmuring, no cheering.

Pushing his way through the people, among whom an uncanny silence flowed, Tollin was finally able to discover a single blue sphere floating, with the dizzying height of the cliff below it.

And inside it...….

“Your Grace!!!”

Without a moment more to think, Tollin screamed and dashed forward.

Though he was soon tripped by someone's foot and fell forward.

Fortunately, as if he had heard his scream, the Duke's gaze reached Tollin, who had fallen.

Those gray eyes widened for a moment upon discovering Tollin, and then relief and satisfaction soon swirled within them.

Tollin had many things he wanted to ask.

What was going on, why was he there, couldn't he come back.

But these words just circled inside Tollin's gasping mouth, unable to be spoken.

Time was not merciful to Tollin.

Soon, a cruel voice rang out.

“We will carry out the summary execution of the criminal, Agoni Piteos.”

And the water that had enveloped him vanished in an instant.

As if time was flowing slowly only for him, Tollin captured in his eyes the Duke's body falling slowly down the cliff and his tightly closing eyes.

And when he came to his senses, nothing at all remained.

Not the Duke, not the gray eyes that had looked at him, nothing.

Tollin lost consciousness right then and there.