[CHE] 009. AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR

“So, you mean there was a visitor limit until now?”

Seongjin asked Edith while eating the lightly baked pre-dinner bread.

“Since when?”

“I don’t know the exact period. It’s been two years since I’ve been on the job, so it’s clear that there were restrictions at least before then.”

Edith answered as she poured water into his cup.

According to her explanation, except for a few servants and resident knights, all visitors were initially restricted from entering the Pearl Palace. Those who inevitably wanted to visit had to submit an application to the main palace. Even if it was a member of the imperial family, there was no exception.

And most of the applications were rejected. It’s practically a no-entry ban.

“I can’t believe it, am I not allowed to go out?”

Edith shrugged.

“As far as I know there was no such thing. It’s just that Your Highness hates going out of the Pearl Palace, so you rarely go out.”

Fortunately, it seems that Morres was not confined to the detached palace.

Indeed, he was even too lazy to go to the main palace once a week, so he skipped regular visits.

The human relationship of the prince of the Holy Empire, can it be like this?

“Still, you used to go to the town house to see a friend once every two months.”

“Friend?”

“Yes, I think most of it was an appointment with the young duke1 of Scarchapino.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t have friends at all.

“Hmm……”

Seongjin chewed on his salad and was lost in thought.

It is said that there are no special restrictions on the Blue Rose Labyrinth or the Silver Rose Labyrinth, the palaces of the princes and princesses, so such measures were aimed only at Morres. It may have something to do with the reason why only the Pearl Palace had so few servants.

However, no matter how famous he was, is it really the right thing to do to isolate him in a separate palace while blocking visits from his family and friends?

Although Morres had a dirty personality, he wasn’t particularly a heinous criminal, so wouldn’t being locked up like this have a more adverse effect on his character and position?

“By the way, if it is released, what is partial release?”

“They said that high-ranking priests and paladins are still prohibited from entering.”

“That……”

So, people with strong divine power should not enter the Pearl Palace at all?

The demon king whispered.

[Suspicious.]

‘Oh, yes. It’s very suspicious.’

What the hell is that Holy Emperor guy up to?

If he had known it would be like this, he would have been a little more active in researching this and that while the demon king was able to detect the soul. After finishing the meal feeling uncomfortable, Seongjin sighed.

Well, now he had to think about it alone, so there’s no way to know what’s going on. Whatever the reason, the fact that the restrictions were lifted immediately after meeting him must mean that Seongjin’s impression in the audience yesterday was not too bad. He guessed he thought it would be less rotten if he’s let loose.

Let’s do what they can do now.

Soon, he erased all trivial thoughts and ran straight to the gymnasium.

“One two! One two!”

As usual, Seongjin started training by running round the gymnasium. Now, keeping the run at a fairly steady pace didn’t put too much strain on my body. It’s an encouraging development considering he almost crawled when he first came out on the field.

Intermittently, he started doing strength training as well. It was because he was losing weight rapidly unexpectedly and was concerned about muscle loss.

The knights of the Pearl Palace were training on their own, avoiding his range of motion, as if they were now relatively accustomed to Seongjin’s appearances. The not-so-kind gaze was still the same, but they weren’t openly hostile like before.

‘Well, this is someone’s gymnasium, but who can say it’s safe?’

He snorted inwardly and took a moment to catch my breath when a stranger appeared at the entrance of the gymnasium. He was a man of considerable stature and well-formed.

He stood at the entrance for a while, looked around, found Seongjin, and approached with a bright smile.

Hm? That gentle, large-sized retriever-like face, where had he seen that face?

“Your Highness!”

He strode forward with his blond hair fluttering brightly, and as he put his right hand on his chest, he greeted him with a sharp smile.

“I greet Prince Morres.”

“……”

So, where did they meet?

The man’s eyebrows droop.

“… I am Marthain Klanos, the leader of the Imperial Guard and the 2nd Knights. Your Highness.”

Ah, the kind knight commander who escorted him from the main palace yesterday.

Seongjin smiled a little too much in an apologetic heart and welcomed him.

“Sir Marthain! I never expected to see you at the Pearl Palace. What are you doing here? Are you off duty today?”

It’s not wrong, but now he was wearing simple casual clothes, not a knight’s uniform, and he was wearing only a sword. At Seongjin’s question, Marthain smiled lightly and scratched his head.

“I came because I heard that the visitor limit has been lifted as of today. So far, I haven’t been given permission to enter. You were sick, but I apologize for not being able to visit you once.”

Seongjin blinked at the unexpected answer.

Does that mean you often applied for visits before? As soon as the restrictions were lifted, were you the first to run?

Uh, maybe this knight commander was closer to Morres than he thought……

The demon king bluntly criticizes.

[You are bad! Wrong! Have you forgotten the guy you saw yesterday? How many people are good to this idiot?]

Ehem. He’s really sorry for not recognizing. Sir Marthain.

Seongjin swallowed tears in his stomach, feeling guilty, but the knight commander didn’t notice at all and asked in a bright voice.

“I heard you’ve been working hard on your physical fitness lately. Do you always come to the gym at this time?”

“Yeah, I spend most of my day at the gymnasium, unless it’s a big deal.”

“Excellent!”

In response to Seongjin’s answer, Sir Marthain nodded with a warm eye smile.

“Then, if there is nothing special, from now on I can come to the gym together at this time.”

“Sir Marthain? Why?”

“This is His Majesty’s command. From now on, he asked me to watch the prince’s swordsmanship.”

They said they would send the right person, so maybe a knight commander?

It was a request yesterday, and the work was done faster than expected.

“I don’t have a lot of skills, but I have a good understanding of basic Aura training classes. It will definitely help.”

“Ohhh, is that so?”

“Yes, I mainly recruit and teach new squires.”

He looks young, but he is the leader of the knights. I’m sure his skills are good, but for his humble personality, he’s so confident that he seems to be really good at basic classes.

Marthain, recognizing the expectation and admiration in Seongjin’s eyes, smiled shyly and scratched his head.

“It’s embarrassing, but I was very late in my initiation because I came here myself. Since the period of digging the foundation was much longer than others, the process had to be hardened……”

It is said that there are people who master it quickly even if they are late in initiation, so this person seems to be that type. It is a solid foundation for guaranteed skills. Isn’t that the perfect line?

Seongjin smiled.

“I’m still inexperienced. Please take good care of me, Sir Marthain.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Marthain was embarrassed and lowered his head.

“Um, but……”

Unlike usual, Seongjin felt empty and glanced around the gymnasium.

Sure enough, all the resident knights of the Pearl Palace, who had been training here and there until just now, had disappeared.

Why? Certainly, even before Lord Marthain appeared……

I was looking at the empty gymnasium, and Marthain asked.

“Sir, I mainly teach swords, but do you have any other weapons you particularly prefer?”

“Weapon?”

Seongjin was deep in thought.

When he was fighting monsters in the past, most of the world’s infrastructure collapsed and supply was not smooth.

Not to mention weapons. Even the heat weapons were not eaten by the thick skin of the monsters, and the few cold weapons were also prone to chipping or breaking after a couple of knife cuts.

As a result, the hunters had no choice but to head to the bare ground with one strengthened bare body. Occasionally, the claws, pincers, and teeth of monsters were roughly trimmed and wielded, but should we really see them as weapons?

“… I don’t think there is anything.”

“If so, what are your memories of the swordsmanship you learned as a child……”

“doesn’t exist. It flew clean.”

When Seongjin answered with a refreshing face, Marthain sighed.

“Yes. Then, I think it would be a good idea to start with the standard swordsmanship of the Imperial Knights and the Banahas seniority method.”

“Are there other options?”

“Imperial Knights basically learn both sword and spear skills, but in the case of Aura techniques, it is a rule not to start practicing other techniques until one has been mastered. They usually start with Banahas, which is intuitive compared to Wirose, which is designed for spearmanship.”

Well, it still doesn’t change that you have to learn both in the end, he added.

Seongjin tilted his head and asked.

“Isn’t it better in terms of time to pay attention to only one? When you reach a certain level, the distinction of seniority becomes meaningless……”

“Eh?”

Marthain made a grotesque expression.

“Who did you hear that from?”

“Father said that it is a way to go to the place where the heart goes……”

Tuck!

Seongjin was momentarily frightened as Marthain suddenly hardened his face and yelled at him.

Well, it’s a little scary because normally a mild-mannered person has a straight face.

“A certain level? What level do you think that level is? Even if you devote your life to it, how many people will reach even the tip of it!”

“Uh……”

“Where the heart goes… I beg your pardon? Is that something to say to a beginner? Yes?”

No, why are you angry at me……

While Seongjin was sweating, Marthain suddenly stuck his face out in front of Seongjin’s nose and emphasized it again in a strong tone.

“Forget about learning anything from him! If you’ve heard anything, forget it all here! You absolutely must!”

“……”

“Understand?”

The Demon King spoke quietly.

[Hey, doesn’t it look like he’s hung up on something?]

‘… I know.’

For some reason, he had a hunch that the class with Marthain would not be smooth.

It was a memorable first lesson, but he didn’t learn how to wield a sword right away. Marthain went around the gymnasium with Seongjin and did light exercises, first thoroughly checking his overall physical strength.

In the meantime, he heard a rough explanation of the origin of the Imperial Knights’ standard swordsmanship and the characteristics of the Aura practice method, which I had to learn in the future, but with that alone, the morning passed quickly.

Finally, Marthain finished the class after explaining a simple meditation method.

“If we adjust the office hours of the main palace until late, we will probably be able to take more classes in the afternoon in the future.”

Seongjin waved his hand in fright at the knight commander, who said that if it didn’t work out, he would take a vacation and come to class.

Are you voluntarily returning your main job, overtime, and even vacation?

Compared to his fairly reliable first impression, the more he looked at Sir Marthain, the more he became a clumsy person.

* * *

Sir Marthain wasn’t the only unexpected visitor that day. He eats lunch and is doing gymnastics in his room for a while, when Edith knocks on his door with a slightly embarrassed face.

“Your Highness. Lady Amelia came and is in the drawing room.”

Who’s Amelia?

Fortunately, the demon king, who was nerfed to be a navigator, had the information accumulated in advance.

[That’s your older sister. The First Princess.]

First Princess?

“She didn’t say she was visiting, did she? But did you just let her in?”

No matter how much of a brat Morres was, the palace of the prince is not be a place one could visit at will. Didn’t Queen Lizabeth also send a message before coming?

“That is… Because she recklessly came in saying that she had to meet Your Highness…”

Ahh. Since she was a princess, it must have been embarrassing for Edith to bring her in or send her back.

Anyway, this was an unexpected situation. Didn’t that guy Morres not get along very well with the other princes and princesses? Let alone paying a visit.

[Especially, they say that your relationship with Amelia has already broken down.]

‘Whose fault was it?’

[Isn’t that obvious? They said that Morres was very harsh when he told her that she was a lowly princess.]

‘……’

The purpose of this visit would never be a good thing. Seongjin sighed.

“Guide me.”

Walking with a heavy heart, they arrived at the front of the drawing room, and before Edith could even open the door, they heard the sound of a chair being pushed as if someone was suddenly getting up from inside.

Then there was the sound of light heels hitting each other.

“Eh?”

Jump!

Suddenly the door was pushed back violently, and at that moment, Seongjin almost collapsed backwards in front of the door.

Confused, he looked ahead and saw a tall girl staring at Seongjin’s face while holding the doorknob.

[Wow……]

‘Wow……’

The Demon King and Seongjin exclaimed in bewilderment, but the girl in front of him looked like an angel who just came out of a fire.

A neat white dress with wavy, rosy hair. The shade of long eyelashes trembled over her delicate cheeks like a porcelain doll.

A pretty girl, like a single rose, was looking at Seongjin with wide eyes.

“… Morres.”

“Yeah……”

So, is this the Amelia? But why is she looking at Morres with such an affectionate gaze? It seems a bit different from what he thought.

The demon king memorized trivial information from the side.

[He usually called her a lowly girl. Of course, you don’t need to refer to that.]

‘Shut up!’

Seongjin broke into a cold sweat and opened his mouth to the girl.

“Uh… That… Sister? What’s going on here……”

However, Seongjin could not finish his words. As if a dam burst at the sound of his voice, the girl started to shed tears.

Then.

“Morres!”

Wham! The sudden weight of her arms made Seongjin fall on his butt.

“Huh? Huh?”

“Morres! Morres! Morres!”

The girl didn’t care about the fallen Seongjin and just called his name and dug into his arms. It was a desperate gesture, as if it were a baby burrowing into its mother’s arms. His chest was wet with tears in an instant.

No, what the hell is this?

Seongjin tried to say something with an absurd face, but soon shut his mouth and started patting her back with both hands. It was because her little girl’s shoulders were trembling pitifully.

As she sobbed sadly, she began to repeat incomprehensible sounds as if she were talking to herself.

“Ah, you are alive! I’m back! I’m back… Really, really fortunate!”

… Yes?

T/N:
Amelia-noonim is here ^_^ Next chapter is one of my favorites (and also what baited me into reading the novel lol).

1Young duke is what they call the heir of the duke.