I briefly explained the situation to Behern. He seemed very shocked, but like a loyal servant, he appeared relieved that the Prince was alive.
“What should we do?”
“Shh. Lower your voice.”
I looked around, searching for a space where we could have a secret conversation. If Behern and I were caught having a private discussion by the Crown Prince’s side, it might become difficult to play the role of a double agent.
I took Behern’s hand and led him into the Prince’s room. When Behern saw the Prince collapsed on the bed, he was startled and tried to approach. I quickly blocked his way. There was no need to wake the Prince who had fallen asleep with difficulty and make him suffer again.
“I just held and comforted His Highness the Prince a moment ago. Even though I’m a lower-class Omega, that is my role.”
Behern grabbed my hand tightly with teary eyes and thanked me several times. I led him by the hand into my room attached to the Prince’s chamber and locked the door. The Prince’s room, with its restricted access, seemed most suitable for having a secret conversation. Even if someone were to sneak in, they wouldn’t bother with a lowly Omega’s room.
I sat on an old chair and organized my thoughts. Meanwhile, Behern was dabbing at his tears with his sleeve. The way he muttered “Poor Prince, my young Prince…” was as affectionate as an uncle or father.
“Behern, do you understand why I told only you about such a tremendous matter as the Prince’s assassination attempt, rather than making it widely known?”
Behern quietly nodded.
“Living in the imperial palace for a long time, you develop instincts. You probably understand. The reason you didn’t make this public is because our side is weak, right? If we touch them now, we might face even greater disaster.”
“That’s right. You’re truly wise.”
Behern stared at me intently as if amazed, then finally opened his mouth belatedly.
“Those are my words to say. A young one like you wasn’t even surprised by this situation and thought that far ahead? Just where did you come from and what were you doing to be capable of such situational judgment?”
His narrowed eyes were sharp. Frozen by his gaze, I stood still for a while, unable to do anything. Behern, who had been stroking his chin, continued speaking.
“Your showing loyalty to His Highness the Prince without reason is also suspicious.”
For Behern, who was devoted to the Prince, having such thoughts was natural. Even I would think it strange if a child who seemed to have an adult inside suddenly appeared and said they would side with William, who had no one to rely on.
I kept my mouth shut for a moment and thought about how to change Behern’s mind.
What was important now was to catch the culprit by any means necessary and discuss what to do going forward. After that, it wouldn’t be too late to dispel his suspicions about me.
Since Behern was a servant who handled all the big and small matters of the Prince’s palace, if he was away for a long time, the spies that Kalroy had planted around William would obviously become suspicious.
So instead of dragging out the conversation and wasting time, I decided to give an excuse that Behern could understand.
“Behern, as you know, I’m an orphan without parents and even a lower-class Omega. Living by barely scraping together meals on the street, what kind of things do you think I experienced?”
“It must have been difficult. In this empire, being a lower-class Omega… regardless of one’s traits, one is bound to receive lowly treatment. I understand that coming to the imperial palace was the only option.”
“Yes, that’s right. So I could never afford to be just a child, not even for a moment. If I had acted like a child, I might have died just like that. That’s why I consider this the opportunity of a lifetime. Since it’s a hard-won opportunity, I want to succeed even if I have to risk my life. I don’t want to go back to a life of worrying about meals and trembling in fear of when I might die. Even if I live just one day, I want to live and die as a human being. Is this wrong thinking?”
Behern was an affectionate and emotional person. That’s why he would have cared for the young Prince with loyalty to his former master alone in this imperial palace full of selfish people. Such an explanation wouldn’t be difficult for him to understand. As expected, Behern gripped my hand tightly with a much more comfortable expression and said:
“You’ve suffered much, young one. Having gained wisdom and intelligence through hardship, there’s nothing I can’t understand. Yes. If you take good care of Prince William together with me, good opportunities will come to you too.”
“Yes, yes.”
I smiled and nodded. Now it was time to gradually move to the main point.
“So, Behern.”
Despite my call, Behern gave no response and stared at the distant mountains with a blank expression.
“Behern?”
When I called him again, Behern let out a deep sigh. He sighed again, perhaps displeased with the reality of having to discuss such a frightening matter as the Prince’s assassination with a mere ten-year-old child.
If I were in Behern’s position, I would have been frustrated too if I had to discuss such an important problem with a young child. However, there was no time to hesitate like this.
“Behern, snap out of it.”
“Right. Speak. It can’t be helped. You’re the only one who knows about this matter.”
“Yes. As you said, I’m the only one who properly knows about this matter. You may find me unreliable, but please listen to the end. Behern, even from my young perspective, this is a very serious situation right now. It means we need to stay calm.”
“Who doesn’t know that?”
“We don’t know when they might try to assassinate His Highness the Prince again. I’m just a lower-class Omega with a lowly status and no backing… no, no connections to rely on, but if His Highness the Prince is in danger, my life is in danger too, isn’t it? The same goes for you, Behern.”
I brought up the matter of having backing to avoid arousing Behern’s suspicion. To do that, I first had to explain why I was moving so actively on the Prince’s side.
Hearing my words, Behern nodded, saying “Hmm, that’s certainly true.” Now that he seemed willing to discuss with me, he began asking about solutions.
“Do you have any good methods?”
“First, to avoid being caught by them, we need to find the mastermind without anyone knowing. To do that, we need to be especially more careful. From now on, when His Imperial Majesty summons His Highness the Prince, please prepare so that no one finds out and no rumors spread.”
“Why is that?”
I had a lot to say and was trying to speak briefly and move on, but Behern’s persistent questioning was frustrating. However, fortunately, Behern, like an experienced servant, stated the reason himself when I was about to start speaking.
“Since this happened after the private meeting this time, you want to prevent it in advance.”
“Yes, exactly. And please have Behern personally manage and supervise the food that His Highness the Prince eats for the time being. They can’t pull any tricks in front of you. Since other servants can’t come and go around His Highness the Prince anyway, this actually works out better.”
“That would be good.”
“Time is urgent. Please go quickly.”
Behern agreed and left the Prince’s room.
Even though we hadn’t exchanged many words, I was so tense that my clothes were soaked with cold sweat.
Wiping the sweat flowing down my forehead, I thought that I had done well to gain Behern’s trust from the beginning.
***
Thinking that I only needed to find the person who manipulated Kalroy from behind, I couldn’t sleep all night last night. Who on earth had tried to assassinate the Prince?
To find the answer, I referenced the information window floating in the air and asked the book various questions. In doing so, I learned several new facts.
Based on the newly learned facts, if I got supplementary explanations from Behern about palace affairs I didn’t know well, finding the mastermind wouldn’t be difficult.
After organizing my thoughts, I began my daily routine.
While attending to the Prince’s morning needs, the young Prince stubbornly refused to eat, perhaps traumatized by what happened yesterday evening.
“I won’t eat! I said I won’t eat!”
William, that meal is a new one made after I spoke to Behern…
Swallowing what I wanted to say inwardly, I tried speaking several times with maximum courtesy, but the Prince said he had no appetite and wouldn’t eat. With a child throwing a food tantrum, you shouldn’t give them food… but if I did that here, it seemed like big trouble would happen, so I held back my patience and spoke calmly.
“Your Highness, you need stamina to fight and win against those who torment Your Highness.”
William chuckled as if my words were ridiculous.
“Stamina? I have more than enough stamina.”
William was a Dominant Alpha with enough stamina to lift and wield a heavy sword as big as himself. Moreover, perhaps due to hormones, he already gave off an incredible masculine aura that Dominant Alphas possess.
But that’s not what’s important right now. If William doesn’t eat, I, who serves beside him, might be in trouble.
If I said what was really on my mind, rather than getting him to eat, I’d probably get hit with the food bowl, so after worrying, I spoke differently.
“Your Highness, stamina is something where the food you ate before remains as nourishment and takes effect some time later. If you don’t eat now, you might collapse in about three days. I don’t understand why you won’t eat. Surely you’re not afraid?”
At my words asking if he was afraid, William’s brow furrowed deeply. His pride seemed hurt.
“Wh-who says I’m scared! Do you think something would happen to me from eating that kind of poison?”
Good. He took the bait.
“Oh, but you seem scared? That’s why you’re refusing to eat the meals you were eating just fine until yesterday, isn’t it?”
“I said I’m not!”
William took his place at the dining table and picked up his fork and knife. As if to show me, he cut a large piece of well-grilled beef and put it in his mouth. I watched him with a pleased expression.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
