Chapter 7
***
Finberg dismissed Argos's words with a gentle smile.
“Are you going back to the capital right away?”
Finberg's words, which were clearly not meant to be taken lightly, were enough to strike a nerve with Argos.
"I am, and with no one to invite me, this prodigal son must return to the dull and dreary royal court."
The chill in his voice made the assembled group pause, but no one stepped forward.
"Father will be pleased."
Finberg broke the conversation with his trademark smile.
"What's your name? Leita or something?"
Argos looked down at Lynette.
"Lynette Dikla Hilt."
"Lynette."
The loose voice called out to her, and Lynette held her breath.
"What do you think?"
"Yes ......?"
"Is it better to spend this once-in-a-lifetime moment alone, or to accept being an unwanted guest and find someone to share it with?"
Lynette didn't answer. She knew he wasn't expecting an answer anyway.
"I've decided."
As Lynette had predicted, Argos immediately smirked.
"I’m invited."
He tilted his head to see if she liked his idea.
"Little lady, do you understand?"
It's not that she hadn't anticipated this when they decided to invite Finberg to Hilt.
Argos was not a great man to follow Finnberg just because he was going. He would have walked in the opposite direction of Trokan, where Hilt was.
‘Okay, let's use it in reverse.’
Revenge is a long game, and there's not much a twelve-year-old can do about it anyway.
Lynette calmed herself.
‘I'm so glad you two are coming to my house.’
She pressed her nails into her palms as hard as she could, knotting her words.
"I am honored."
"Very well, then I'll go to Hilt."
A cold sweat broke out on Hyperion's back as he realized that he had served all of the princes at once.
He was glad to be accompanying Finberg, but Argos was a problem.
No one would welcome a prince who was, to put it mildly, free and, frankly, unruly.
Even when his mother was accused of being a witch and burned at the stake, even when rumors circulated that Enrique III might not be his real father, he was able to remain in the royal family without being stripped of his title.
This was due to the fact that Argos was a brat, not the least bit interested in succession or politics.
Hyperion was perplexed.
‘The crown prince is coming, and the lowly Prince Argos is coming too?’
The two young men did not get along. The ailing king was always worried.
Finberg was a legitimate crown prince and had a gentle personality, but Argos was a bastard and was wild and rebellious. The two were incompatible from the beginning.
“I will make preparations to serve you both without any shortage.”
But there was no stopping the prince from coming.
All he could do was try to look as pleased as he could.
***
The carriage rattled endlessly, but Lynette was asleep as death. She was motion sick and had taken a drug on the way home.
"Father, I hope this is a good thing?"
Hyperion said, glancing at his sleeping daughter.
"..."
But Mersamu's reply was inaudible.
Instead, it succeeded in diverting his gaze, which had been fixed on the window since shortly after departure.
He looked wistfully at his granddaughter, who had collapsed, exhausted from motion sickness, and let out a short gasp.
"I wonder why she did that."
"What?"
"What were you thinking?"
Hyperion asked cautiously again, his eyes narrowing.
"Father, what are you talking about?"
"It seems to me that she was planning to invite the crown prince from the beginning."
Hyperion was silent for a moment, unable to comprehend Mersamu's words at once. But after a moment, his jaw dropped as he realized what Mersamu meant.
"You mean Lynette?"
He had not expected to return with royalty.
Nobles from all over the kingdom had already filled the auditorium to celebrate the princes’ graduation.
The Hilt family was no less powerful than the other noble families, but it was also no more powerful than they were.
"Lynette must have done it without thinking.”
"Didn't she deliberately give a difficult toast to stand out and see how the Crown Prince would react?"
"As I'm sure you're aware, Lynette is not that clever."
Hyperion spat out a bitter laugh.
"She must have picked it up by accident, and since the Crown Prince is such a sweetheart, he accepted it."
"I thought she was an innocent child, but I don’t see her often, or maybe she's grown up."
"She's a child, and I'm glad I brought her along."
"I don't know."
The air in the carriage grew heavy with Mersamu's sigh.
"Father, is something bothering you?"
Hyperion asked, but Mersamu remained silent, unwilling to answer his son's questions. Turning to look out the window, Mersamu spoke in a low voice.
"As soon as we're done with the luncheon, we should start preparing for the banquet."
***
That evening, thanks to the two Princes, Trokan was in a festive mood.
Hyperion opened the Hilt manor to welcome the crown prince and threw a grand banquet.
"His Highness is gracious and elegant."
"This must be what it's like to see a god in person."
"How can he be so gracious?"
All the neighboring nobles who had invited the Crown Prince, as well as those who had come down from the capital, had gathered at the mansion.
The banquet had not been prepared in advance, and in many ways it was a flawed affair.
"Wine, more wine!"
Flowers and decorations, though hastily flown in, were scarce, and the maids were scrambling.
There were too few helpers for the space, and the ballroom was too small for hundreds of guests.
It couldn't compare to a royal ball.
But Finberg actually liked the atmosphere.
Maybe it was because it was an escape from his regular, structured life, but his mind was more peaceful than ever.
"I understand you studied medicine in the field?"
"I was always interested in medicine."
He graciously accepted the greetings of those who approached him, and conversed with commoners with ease.
"I've heard you're also skilled in law and math. They say Your Highness solved a problem that had been unsolved for three hundred years."
"It was also said that logic could not keep up with Your Highness."
"Haha, that's a lot of rumors, and I'll have to come down here from time to time to correct them."
"Hahaha!"
A round of loud laughter broke out.
Argos, watching from a few feet away, sipping his drink, snickered.
‘You've got to give him credit for the pretense.’
Unlike Finberg, who was surrounded by people, Argos was alone, like a remote island.
Occasionally, a few people would greet him, but most of them were commoners who didn't know who he was.
Argos did not accept greetings from non-nobles. He simply shook his head and sighed.
"Not so good."
Hilt was not a very prestigious family, but the mines of Mersamu were terribly famous.
It was said that the mansion was lined with gold, and that its wealth rivaled that of a duke, but in reality, Hilt's mansion was a humble abode compared to the rumors.
"Of all the rumors, only one is true: that the old man is extremely frugal."
Argos jerked his head in the direction of Finberg.
Just then, Hyperion, who had finally caught his breath, approached the crown prince.
‘A pretender meets a flatterer.’
Argos was still chugging down his drink when Hyperion stood before Finberg.
"Your Highness, I apologize for my shortcomings, for I never dared to imagine that such honor would come my way."
The crown prince laughed, twirling the goblet he held.
"The music is wonderful and the people are friendly."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
"The food and drink are also very good. I hear it's Hilt's special recipe, is that correct?"
"Yes, it is, and it is wonderful to have our family ale to serve you......."
Hyperion placed a hand on his chest and bowed his head.
"I do not know how to express this honor, Your Highness."
"It's a scent I've never encountered before, and it has a peculiar, strange pull."
He took another sip, then looked away as if remembering something.
"I don't see it in the lady who invited me, though."
"She's motion sick, I gave her a pill on the way here and she hasn't woken up yet."
"Still not awake?”
Finberg repeated in a puzzled voice.
"It's been a long time since we returned from Borden, and you mean she hasn't woken up yet?"
***
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Write a comment
Krim (Friday, 12 January 2024 08:12)
Please let the ml be someone other than Argos!
Thank you for the translation!