I Became the Villain of a Romance Fantasy

57 – The prince has no friends (4)

Noel Estelia and Orcus Estelia.

Although I was surprised by their visit, it was not completely unexpected. I was just surprised that the royal family moved directly, but once I thought about sending someone from the imperial family to Sarham.

Engagement between Edelweiss and Krause.

It is the engagement of two great aristocrats who are proud of one hand in power in an empire that can be said to be unmatched. As the owner of a small household, I knew best what kind of power Kraus had. If you set your mind to it, you can take half of the southern part from the empire and declare a kingdom separately, but you can lead it without any shortage.

Then, is it different from edelweiss? Rather, since it is a northern country where people can hardly live without magic, it might be easier for Krause to take control of the north than to take control of the south.

Of course, this is an extreme example. Due to the existence of Altair, the main deity, and the history of being united as one nation called the Empire, it is obvious that even if a kingdom is declared separately, it will be treated as heresy. Again, this is only an example, and even if it doesn’t end well, you can see how influential the two families are in the empire.

No matter how powerful a force is, it has no meaning if it cannot be controlled.

The Estelian imperial family would definitely come to see if there were any other intentions to Elena’s engagement to me. The truth is that the engagement started from a drunken conversation between friends, but it might seem like it has a special meaning to others.

It was something that passed by almost without mention in the original work, and I knew that my father and the Duke of Joheim had no particular meaning, so I wasn’t particularly worried about this.

The only problem was the fact that Orcus and Noel came here directly.

Although the emperor is a count of the empire, it was as if he had sent the prince and the princess at the same time to a place that might be in the middle of the enemy camp. I didn’t understand this.

If the two of them were to be taken hostage, how would they handle it? Although Krauss has been quiet for a long time, there is no guarantee that the things I mentioned earlier will not happen. Even the emperor knows this better than anyone else.

Then, even if sent, shouldn’t at least one person be left in the imperial castle?

‘Make friends…’

The truth my father told me passed through my ears.

“What bullshit…”

“Damian?”

“It’s nothing, Elena.”

It was something I said in my mind, but it seems to have come out of my mouth inadvertently. Fortunately, no one seemed to hear this except for Elena, who was sitting closest. I evaded Elena’s questioning eyes and looked at the people sitting across from me.

Orcus and Noel.

The two entered the banquet a few minutes after Alphonse arrived.

As soon as Orcus entered the banquet hall, he made eye contact with me and no one else. He stared into my eyes for a few seconds, then smiled and sat down. I don’t know if it was to make me feel good, but I could feel my stomach swell as soon as I saw that smile.

For some reason, I must say that I have no luck. First of all, it wasn’t a person I wanted to associate with.

Orcus was a man who did not waver until the moment he sat down.

Did you say you talked to your father earlier? Maybe that’s why he talked to his father as if nothing was wrong even in front of a man who could drop his neck at any time, called the Sword Master.

Noel, who sat next to him, said nothing, but her twinkling eyes told her how she was feeling. From the point of view of the swordsman Noel, being a sword master is nothing short of ideal.

Still, I thought Orcus would show a bit of a wary side of us, but he’s very good at hiding his emotions.

Hagiya, unlike the other guys, Orcus was a character who was active in a non-forceful field, so I didn’t think it would be so easy to know.

I don’t think my father lied, but that and what Orcus was thinking were two separate issues.

Won-chae is a guy with a lot of doubts, so it’s clear that he’ll try to scoop me up at least once. If you catch a strange pod here, you don’t know how things will get twisted in the future. It may not be right now when my father is in front of me, but I was alert to Orcus’s question.

The conversation between my father and Orcus didn’t mean much. Should I say it’s kind of formal? After a few simple words, Orcus turned his head to me and smiled as he did when he entered.

“Come to think of it, Prince Damian. As far as I know, you are the same age as me, is that correct?”

“Yes. Your Highness. I am sixteen this year.”

“If that’s the case, you’ll also enter the academy in the same year as me. Oh, did you think you wouldn’t go to the academy? Hey, from what I’ve heard from Noel, if you’re as talented as you, you don’t have to take classes.”

“You’re exaggerating. I’m thinking of entering the academy.”

I shook my head at Orcus’ question.

Estelia Academy. As it is named after the imperial family, it is a place where students are strictly screened, but if you are a noble of the empire, you are basically eligible to enter a higher educational institution.

Of course, only the qualifications are given, but there is no law that says you have to enter the academy, but most of the sons of noble families enter the academy without any circumstances. There are various reasons for this, such as making connections or attracting talented people to one’s own family.

I also wanted to enter the academy for that reason.

“Why? What do you have to learn there?”

Orcus questioned my answer and asked again. It doesn’t seem like he, who was in the imperial castle, didn’t know why it was mandatory for nobles to enter the academy even though it was not required.

I answered him like this, remembering what my father said to me before the two of us came to the dinner table.

“The reason you go to the academy isn’t necessarily to learn something. For example, maybe to make friends…”

And Orcus met my eyes again. He smiled again and nodded his head, as if he liked my answer. Judging by the reaction, it seems that he didn’t think much about this right now. Fortunately, I seem to be able to get past this without any problems.

Rather than that, don’t do that. Unlucky.

“That’s right. What you get from the academy isn’t just academics. Count. Come to think of it, have you talked about that beforehand?”

“Not yet.”

“Then you’d better tell me now.”

what. Is there anything else left?

Orcus turned his gaze back to his father and spat out an incomprehensible word. But my father immediately answered Orcus’ question if he knew what that meant, and then answered me with a smile without saying anything. Seeing that smile reminded me of what my father had said to me earlier.

no way.

“I heard that there will be a hunting competition in the south in a few days.

Then it is.

It must have been that the emperor’s words were sincere.

A week and four days until the hunting competition. At least more than that, it was said that it was certain that the two siblings would stay at Krause. It’s virtually impossible to become friends overnight, so I wonder if they’ve increased their stay here for the purpose of participating in a hunting competition.

What the hell do you believe in doing this?

Does the emperor have any means to restrict the actions of his father and the Duke of Joheim?

The face of Orcus talking to me looks somewhat bitter.

Of course, unlike Noel, his field of expertise is specialized in magic, so there is no rule against wizards participating in hunting competitions, but the hunting competitions held in spring are for hunting animals, not monsters, and there is no conflict between warriors. The purpose was purely to compete in martial arts.

In other words, in order to participate in this competition, he also had to hold a bow or a weapon in his hand.

“But I have one concern. That, I’ve never done hunting before. So…”

“Waaa!!!!”

Before Orcus could finish his words, the sound of cheers echoed through the banquet hall. At that sound, everyone’s eyes began to turn from Orcus to the side. After a while, the sound stopped, and silence came to the banquet hall.

It was no wonder that the one who cheered at his words was none other than Noel, who had come here with Orcus.

Freed from momentary joy, she lowered her head as if avoiding the gaze that was directed at her, perhaps realizing that everyone was looking at her.

“Ah, ah. I’m sorry… that, I’m so happy…”

no, what is it Why are you reacting like that?

Didn’t these two come together? Why are the reactions different?

Not understanding Noel’s reaction, I turned my head and looked at Orcus again. As before, when our eyes met, he immediately averted my eyes this time, and then smiled blankly and passed my gaze away. It was only that the tips of his ears turned red. Noel’s reaction seemed to make Orcus feel ashamed.

He continued to laugh for a long time, even if he wanted to forget what had just happened. And at the end of his laughter, he spoke to me again, not knowing if he was thinking of something he hadn’t said before, or if he wanted to change the topic.

“Ah, that… Congratulations on your engagement. Prince Damian. Princess Elena.”

“…thank you.”

oh well, say it too soon.