Fake Cinderella

When I finally entered that office after a week, it stood in the midst of inescapable tumult.

“Will you please explain just what, exactly, is going on here?”

The a sweet smile emerged on the face of the proprietor of said room, and he turned a circle to get a gook look at everyone.

He was smiling, but his gaze wielded a chilling, absolute-zero blade.  

I’m sure it can’t be only me who, every time I saw such an expression, felt less willing to allow His Highness the Crown Prince his reputation for being so kind.

Just who the hell was it that said he was kind and compassionate…?

The young man, possessed of the Dartier royal family’s signature silver hair and cool, gunmetal-blue eyes, continued piling on the smiles even as I watched him.

This was our master and crown prince, Nadir Ethelbert Dia Diel Vera Dartier. (1)

His appearance was dreadfully beautiful.

Perhaps because the people of the royal family have accumulated generations of beautiful genetics, but they were possessed of immense beauty.  Among them, this one was especially choice.

“Ray.”

Nadir called my name in a clipped voice.

My full name is Raymond Wells Il Lada Lithtrade.

As far as position is concerned, I was one of the administrators serving Nadir, who is His Highness the Crown Prince.

The reason I felt as though I’d been cut through the moment he called my name was because I did not possess the answer he was seeking.

“My deepest apologies, Highness.  As we’ve had our hands completely full with adjusting the budget compilation through this entire week, I don’t have any way of knowing what happened, either.”

“…… You still weren’t finished?”

The coldness in his eyes increased by about twenty perecent.

“There were a few numbers that wouldn’t add up.”

Add another thirty percent to that premium.  All told, 1.5 times.  If the coldness increased any further, things were going to get risky; so with my smile reflex kicking in, I said,  “All is well.  We were able to ascertain the reason in the end.”

“… And?”

He implicitly asked what I intended to do about it.

“Ah—  We’ve made them cough up the money plus damages, and currently intend to use their weaknesses to work them to the absolute bone, so we hope Your Highness would turn a blind eye to this.”

At my words, my colleagues retreated with emerging expressions of despair; but I couldn’t help but wonder if it was all that strange at all.

“… I see.”

Nadir seemed to be ever-so-slightly lost in thought, but he nodded quickly.

It was likely he already had an idea of who pilfered the budget, and he was probably also agreeing with my planned course of action.

Punishing someone is easy, but when it comes to people who do bad things, the competent must be thoroughly dealt with.

I am the type to recommend renewing and reusing our resources, so I often determine that, the first time around, things can be overlooked.

“By the way, what on earth has happened?”

At my question, the whole place went silent as death.

“Eh?”

In that strangely strained atmosphere, for some reason I, as the one who asked the question, found myself perplexed.

Even so, everyone remained frozen in place, looking as though they had no idea how to answer such a question.

The one who finally put it to words was Nadir.

“It appears… my consort was attacked.”

“What?”

I was dumbfounded.

The Crown Princess, meaning the princess of the ducal house of Elsvelt, Her Royal Highness Alterie.

Plainly said, based on her birth and lineage, she stands as one of the single-most heavily guarded persons of national importance.

From the moment she was born, it was decided she would be under the custody of the royal family, and even as a daughter of the duke, she was honored with the title of royal princess, and became Nadir’s wife before even reaching her first year of age.

Currently, she is twelve years old.

She was a princess so calm and of so few words, she became known as the Doll Princess.

Though saying she was a person of few words was putting it generously as, to be quite honest, she speaks so seldom and so little that one would begin to suspect her of having a speech impediment of some sort.

Well, Nadir looks to be the type to think that rather than someone who talks endlessly, he’d prefer them to say nothing at all.

“It appears she was pushed from the castle’s third story into the lake, and was unconscious for some time.”

“Well, of course.  It’s winter!  It’s the time of year for lakes up there to be freezing over.”

“Mm.  Thankfully, it seems on some whim one of the children of the household wanted to go boating, and broke the ice beforehand.”

Even if he called them children, it wasn’t as though their age was very different from ours, though.

“That’s apparently why she managed to come out of it without any injuries of note.”

Nadir said it in the calmest of voices, but a cold sweat still ran down my back.

He may have been wearing a cool face, but there was no doubt Nadir was considerably irritated, and just as impatient.

And to prove it, he’s been clenching his fists this whole time.

His expression seemed plenty composed, but like as not, that was because he was good at faking it.

In this kingdom, the one person we could not bear to lose was neither his Majesty the King, nor Nadir.

It was none other than the princess consort and sole legitimate heir to the ducal house of Elsvelt, Her Highness Alterie.

While there were other direct descendants capable of becoming king, there is no doubt that she is the only one who bears the rightful bloodline of Elsvelt.

“…  How?”

“That’s what I would like to know.  If you include those hiding in the shadows, she had over 50 people surrounding her, you know?  And yet they still managed to pull one over on us.”

Even the guards stationed within view, all those under Count Schtazen, were carefully selected persons of skill.

“……  Or rather, she is alive, right?”

“Mm.  …  I received notice that she woke up, but it seemed somewhat vague.  The information was complicated, and since things remained unsettled I sent Phil to the Elsvelts.”

Phil Lynn… one of those colleagues with a name so long I can’t even remember the whole thing.  I felt him less as a colleague and more as a childhood friend.

Of the friends I made in my younger school years when status didn’t hold much importance, only myself, Phil Lynn, and Viscount Rius — Serenius Fador — remained.

At first, there was no such thing as a future where Nadir was the crown prince.  There wasn’t even a future where he was referred to as a prince, let alone crown prince.

Nadir was merely a duke born of the royal family, sitting among the lowest ranks, registering at college to research what he pleased to his heart’s content.

But Fate just couldn’t leave Nadir alone.

To start with, Nadir’s father — the current king — was passed the crown, which determined that Nadir, as the eldest son of his Majesty’s lawful wife, the first in line for the throne; and so with the ascension of his Majesty, Nadir was named Crown Prince.

Being the aide to His Highness the Crown Prince required incomparably higher skill than being the aide to a royal duke.

It’s precisely because we were able to barely clear that border that we are allowed to be here.

That’s why I have something of a bond, or perhaps affection, for Phil and Serenius, as compared to the other aides.

Like as not, those two feel the same.  Others wouldn’t understand the trials and handful of memories that bind us to one another.

And of course, Nadir is included in that bond we have.

Though we can no longer call his name directly, that we still call Nadir by his name in our hearts is surely the remains of exactly that.

The greatest genius birthed of royal blood.

Nadir has been told as much ever since childhood.

And this outwardly exceptional man was surely possessed of the abilities to meet all expectations, both tangible and intangible, placed on him by a plethora of people.

Kind and deeply compassionate, both wise and excelling in the art of war… he was the unimpeachable Crown Prince who never betrayed their expectations, and was effusively showered with unconceivable amounts of the highest praise

For he who governs in place of his Majesty the King, who dislikes government affairs — the man who operates as the practical de facto leader and highest power holder in the kingdom — Her Royal Highness is his sole weakness.

It’s difficult to call it a favorable relationship, but having said that, neither is it a stormy one.  It can’t be helped, but as it stands, there is nothing to their relationship as a couple due to the large difference in their ages.

Political marriages can be established even if they are somewhat unreasonable, but it is equally unreasonable to think of a young girl of only twelve as one’s wife.  Nadir’s taste doesn’t run to little girls or anything of the sort.

Well, in the end, Nadir’s just too busy.

Thus the situation stands that neither of them have taken time nor opportunity to meet each other halfway.  And while thinking that things can’t continue on in such a way, and yet on the verge of an unconsciously apathetic relationship, this happens.

“…  If this communication of her apparent return to the capital is real, it’s quite possible they’ll just miss each other.”

My brows knit together as I took in hand the one-sided note from Serenius, which he apparently received from the Princess’ shadow escorts.

If Her Royal Highness and her party were on their way back, I was sure they would use the main roads, but Phil would take the fastest route possible.  Due to various reasons, we were all well-versed in roads and shortcuts that didn’t appear on the map.  Naturally, that included Phil as well.

“Even if they end up missing each other, it’s not that big a problem.  Either way, he’ll need to go to the Elsvelt estate to investigate the incidents.  In its own way, it worked out perfectly.”

I decided to send up a prayer — no matter what happens, please don’t let Phil Lynn come back empty-handed.  Since it’s Phil, I was sure it would turn out alright, but every once in a while he could make some exceedingly stupid errors, so I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.

“How sure are we that the Lady Princess is truly alright?  There’s no way the report is falsified, is there?”

Usually I would carefully review whatever notes or letters or official emergency reports one by one while comparing my conclusions with Serenius’, but the Crown Prince’s First Secretary, the current Viscount Lada, Catlas Geldia, had his ill-ease written all over his face.

“Well, we’ve received the same reports through multiple channels, so I’m sure there’s no mistake.  It’s just that…”

Nadir’s enunciation was strangely lacking.

“Was she injured?  What’s her condition?”

“Thankfully, there was nothing so dire as to really call an injury… but apparently, she has no memories.  Though this is also unsubstantiated information.”

“…  Is that so.”

“In the meantime, once she returns, I have no intention of allowing her to leave the castle for a while,” Nadir said clearly.

Originally, Her Royal Highness resided in an interior palace, but last year or the year before, she was taken into the West Palace where Nadir made his home.

So no doubt about it, to say it quite bluntly, Her Royal Highness was going to be under house arrest for some time.

“In the meanwhile, I’ll arrange for a doctor just in case.”

Serenius’ expression was grim.  He might have been more worried about Her Royal Highness than even Nadir himself.

“No, I’ve already taken care of those arrangements.”

“A court doctor?”

“No.  I reached out to the college.”

Though he has already graduated with degrees in history and law, Nadir remained registered at the college even then.

A noted genius from the time he entered the institution, he produced results in multiple fields that no other could hope to match, and held the undivided attention of the faculty, so his face is widely known.

“It’s quite difficult to allow someone who is not a court doctor to do an examination though, you know?”

“Since the lot of them are just a group of old men, I’m worried about the results.  … I’m only putting out the effort this one time.  I intend to consider their achievements, and appoint an exclusive royal physician for my consort and myself.”

A position as a royal physician wasn’t merely a means to raise one’s fame as a doctor.

To some extent, as the position dealt with the life and death matters of the royal family and, technique aside, whether one was trustworthy or not was the most important question.

Not only one’s personal standing and history, but every single detail of one’s family was investigated going up to three generations back; as such, for several generations, a number of families had perpetuated something of an occupational monopoly.

“You’re going to get complaints from the main palace.”

“I don’t care.”

I was sure he intended to take the chance to reform the personnel used as court physicians.

Well, if you asked the if the physicians at the main palace were trustworthy, the answer would be that they’re pretty dodgy, after all.

In the royal palace, incidents with poison did turn up sometimes.

And more than a few people near Her Royal Highness had died due to poison.

“If they manage to bring her memories back we’ll count that among their merits, but well, since that’s likely impossible, I’ll think about the qualifications later.”

“…  What the hell are you giving up for?”

I accidentally reacted naturally.

“I’m not really giving up though?”

“No no no, you’re going to just leave her amnesia as-is?”

“…  For that… I’m sure she wanted to forget.  If so, then letting those things remain forgotten could also count as kindness.”

I couldn’t help but react naturally again to this Nadir who kept saying that Her Royal Highness forgot everything that had happened up until now because she wanted to.

“But she doesn’t have any memories at all, you know?  Shouldn’t there be, you know, things?  She may not even remember anything about you, right?”

“Whether she has her memories or doesn’t, I don’t think our relationship will change much, though?”

For a moment, I was speechless.  In all honesty, I almost agreed on reflex that that’s exactly how it was.

“…  You can’t make the past as if it never happened, Nadir.”

“Of course.  … But you know, Ray, from the moment that girl became my consort, no matter what she did, there was no escape.  That being the case, I think it’s fine to let her forget things if she wants to.”

“How kindly.”

“…  If I were really so kind, I wouldn’t lock away a twelve-year-old girl at the height of her youth like a bird in a cage.”

Nadir smiled bitterly.

“…  In the meantime, for now let’s remove Viscount Sarria from her current escort.  If he can’t even send a proper report, there’s no point in sending him with her.”

“This is true.”

Viscount Sarria was among the officials Nadir dispatched to act in his place while Her Royal Highness participated in the funeral, joining and leading her retinue for the journey.

I had no idea what he did, but to have Nadir fretting so, it was safe to say he hadn’t served his purpose.

“Well, I’m sure he’ll at least let us know the expected day and time of their arrival.  Since he’s managing their travel.”

“That’s true.”

I began to make note of the arrangements needing to be made before Her Royal Highness returned to the capital in a corner of my mind.

I knew from the beginning, and as expected Nadir now knew as well, that far from serving his intended purpose as Nadir’s agent along the journey, the problems with Viscount Sarria certainly weren’t new, as he didn’t even bother to remember the names of the famed female warriors, and treated them as air, though Nadir had no way of knowing this beforehand.