Chapter 409: Don't Scare Me Like That

The commendation ceremony that ended in a festival-like state was over, and I was allowed to take the day to rest and relax while soothing a sobbing Till. I thought I’d be able to laze around for about another week, but unexpectedly, an urgent message arrived the very next morning, summoning me.

As I was getting ready while rubbing my sleep-deprived eyes, a highly cheerful Till spoke up as she made the bed I had been sleeping in.

“Lord Van. You just woke up, so perhaps it would be alright to take it easy for a little while longer, no?”

“Eh? It sounded like an urgent matter, you know?”

“It will be fine. Shall I brew some black tea as well?”

“No, no, that’s probably a bit too much.”

Giving a wry smile at Till’s unusually laid-back comments, I finished getting ready.

“It seems urgent, after all. Let’s just head out in a hurry for now.”

As I said that and left the bedroom, Till followed me with a beaming smile.

“As expected of Lord Van. You are wonderful.”

Till praised me as we walked. She hadn’t received her reward yet, but it seemed Till had been continuously happy ever since the commendation ceremony ended. She must have been incredibly happy about it.

As I was thinking once again about how glad I was that we held the commendation ceremony, Khamsin came running from the end of the hallway. He was sweating so much that the color of his shirt had changed, clearly looking like he had been in the middle of sword training.

“Lord Van! Are you heading out?”

Khamsin asked that with rough breathing, his shoulders heaving. Could he have spotted me from outside the window and come running? My bedroom is on the second floor, though.

“It seems I’ve been summoned for a bit. If you were training, you can just continue, you know?”

When I answered him, Khamsin shook his head from side to side and straightened his back.

“No, I will change my clothes immediately. Where are you going?”

“You will? Toward the entrance.”

“Understood!”

The moment I told him the location, Khamsin ran down the hallway and disappeared somewhere. He sure is energetic this morning.

“I wonder if he’ll get scolded for running in the hallway.”

“It will be fine! Khamsin is Lord Van’s guard, after all!”

“I’m not sure about that reasoning…”

Smiling wryly at Till, who interpreted everything in a positive light for my sake, I went down the stairs and headed for the entrance. Then, Khamsin came running from the back of the first floor, already fully clad in armor. Just how did he finish getting ready so quickly?

“Y-You’re fast, aren’t you?”

“Yes! Because I am always prepared to protect Lord Van at any time!”

“O-Oh… thank you.”

Feeling a little bashful at Khamsin’s always-straightforward response, I expressed my thanks.

The three of us left the entrance and headed toward the mansion where Rosso was waiting. Then, I saw two obviously overly luxurious carriages parked there. No matter how you looked at it, they bore the royal crest. A few knights wearing pure white armor were even standing at a slight distance around them.

“This is…”

As I was passing by, looking up at the carriages in surprise, a face suddenly popped out from one of them.

“Ah, Viscount Van!”

A beautiful blond boy who looked like an angel or a fairy poked his head out, noticed me, and immediately called my name with a smile.

“Ooh, Prince Pista!? Why are you here?”

The one who appeared was the Fifth Prince, Pista en Zola Berlinetta. An unexpected appearance by the prince himself. As I stood there surprised, forgetting to even greet him, Pista lightly stepped down from the carriage and turned back to face me. Every single movement was picture-perfect.

“It has been a long time, Viscount Van! I heard from my father… His Majesty, that you were building a ship, Viscount Van, and I couldn’t hold myself back, so I asked to accompany him! Ah! I heard that you went missing on that ship, Viscount Van, but were you alright?”

Pista began talking excitedly, his expressions changing dizzyingly from laughing to looking anxious. Huh? Was he always this energetic?

“Ah, yes. It has been a while. Fortunately, I was saved by mermaids and made it back alive. Right now, I’m researching how to build a ship that can cross the deep sea once again.”

When I answered with a smile, Pista’s eyes sparkled, and he took a step forward.

“Mermaids!? That is the first I’ve heard of them! I have never seen a mermaid before…!”

Pista said that happily, clenching his fists.

Just as I was about to give a wry smile and reply to the excited Pista, a sound came from the direction of Rosso’s mansion. Turning around, I saw over ten armored knights walking towards us. And behind them were the figures of two men.

A blond man wearing a red cloak, and a slender man wearing a cynical smile. King Dino and the Prime Minister, Marquis Aperta. The two noticed us and walked over with serious expressions.

“Ah, Your Majesty. Lord Aperta. It has been a whil—”

As I was about to greet them, the two did not stop, but came right up in front of me and crouched down together. Aligning their eye level with mine, the two brought their faces close and spoke.

“Lord Van, were you not far too careless?”

The two said such things in low voices. At that, I straightened my back and replied.

“A-Y-Yes… I am v-very sorry…”

I felt like I was being scolded at school… no, it felt like being scolded directly by an executive at work, and cold sweat poured down my back.

His Majesty placed a hand on my shoulder with a serious face and spoke.

“Viscount Van. We value you greatly. That is precisely why we allow you more freedom than the others, and we would never ignore your opinions. However, it is a different matter when you take actions that make light of your own life.“

When His Majesty said that, Aperta furrowed his brow and nodded deeply.

“We consider this incident to be a much larger problem than you realize, Lord Van.”

“A-About that, I am truly sorry…”

I tried to apologize with all my heart while keeping my back straight, but Aperta lifted the corner of his mouth into an evil smile.

“Therefore, I was thinking of making a detailed report to Sir Espada, who acts as one of your guardians, Lord Van…”

“Hie.”

At Aperta’s words, I could do nothing but gasp.