Chapter 13: The Crown Prince and His Unfortunate Tool Knight
Under the knights’ urging of “Commander, the carriage is ready!”, Alman sat in the carriage he did not like while pondering when he could fully retire.
Although he disliked it, Alman still had to sit obediently in this carriage with the royal insignia, which was extremely conspicuous.
The carriage was swaying along, making him feel drowsy, but he had to stifle yawns and stay alert. It was unlikely he’d encounter danger in the busy city center, but if someone reckless were to shoot an arrow at him from the carriage’s blind spot, it would be quite a predicament.
If he were on horseback, he would have probably arrived by now, but due to etiquette, Alman couldn’t just ride his steed recklessly through the bustling streets and could only sit quietly in this cradle-like carriage.
“Yawn…”
After unknowingly stifling countless yawns, Alman finally arrived at the royal gates. At the signal of the guards, he straightened out the wrinkles in his attire and stepped into the Royal Courtyard.
Although he was a person who never parted with his sword, he still had to comply and hand over his sword to the gatekeeper when entering the First Prince’s chamber. However, the entire Royal Knight Order was under his command, and the knights at the First Prince’s door were naturally his subordinates. They had long been in cahoots with the First Prince, so even though Alman surrendered his most obvious sword, he still had other weapons on him, just in case.
This was a kind of trust returned by the First Prince for Alman’s years of hard work. He was the only one allowed to conceal weapons while alone with the First Prince.
“Alman, you finally made it.”
As he pushed open the door, he was greeted by the First Prince Solor Klayar, who was sitting behind a desk. From age, the First Prince and Alman were peers; both were now 26 years old, but from rank, they were worlds apart. After all, the master and the dog could never stand on the same level.
“Ha… Your Highness, what did you call me here for this time?”
After watching the servant pour the tea and leave, Alman slumped down onto the guest sofa, unconcerned about the formalities. The First Prince didn’t mind the slight breach of etiquette and stepped out from behind the desk to sit across from Alman.
“Nothing much, just catching up. Are you satisfied with the manor I gifted you?”
Unlike Alman’s casual demeanor, the First Prince was born to be elegant. His short golden hair resembled that of a prince from a fairy tale. He inherited all his mother’s physical traits, being handsome and refined. If it weren’t for his blood-red eyes and his expression management that kept his emotions in check, he would have appeared quite gentle, perhaps bullied by the old ministers.
However, at least with Alman, he should smile and have some light conversation because besides his wife, the Crown Princess, the only person he could let his guard down with was Alman, who had been with him for over a decade.
“If you were to give this manor to those showy fellows, they would probably be quite pleased, but it is a bit too ostentatious for me. I’m already someone who attracts attention; if you give me something this grand, wouldn’t it cost me my life?”
Alman was not one to seek the spotlight. When he was saved by the First Prince and became a guardian, he was an introverted person. Had it not been for the First Prince seemingly placing all his hopes on him with that “I can only trust you” expression, he probably wouldn’t have accepted the arrangement that led him from a guardian to the commander of the Royal Knight Order at such a young age, under thirty.
When he first took on the role of the Knight Order commander, there were plenty of rumors. Those who coveted this position speculated, like Evelia, that perhaps the First Prince had a peculiar taste, favoring Alman’s looks, which allowed him to bypass others to become commander. Some even submitted a report to the First Prince claiming that “beauty misleads the nation.” It wasn’t until Alman proved himself deserving of the position through his abilities and the First Prince married into a duchy that the rumors quieted down.
However, when the First Prince married, Alman shifted from being the only “close confidant” to one among two.
Even so, even though he was forced to accept the position of the Royal Knight Order commander, he wouldn’t accept a nobility title from the crown. Positions could be resigned, but a title was a lifetime commitment. He didn’t want to wait until everything was over and then be encumbered by a title of little significance after he finally stepped down. He had privately saved some money and even found a place for retirement; now he just needed the First Prince to put his seal on his retirement application.
“I know you gave me this large manor because you value me… but it doesn’t need to be this extravagant…”
“You just returned from victory, of course, I want to show the ministers how much I value you. Our good relationship can also show them who truly holds the military power, so they won’t always regard me as a young man they can easily control.”
“Sigh…” Alman let out a breath. “How about this, why don’t you take the position of Knight Order commander? That way, the power would genuinely be in your hands.”
“For those old folks, the military power should be held by the ‘Royal Family’ rather than the ‘First Prince.’ That’s why it’s called the Royal Knight Order and not the First Prince’s Knight Order. Even though they all know you are mine, they won’t say anything outright. They can only claim I’m currying favor with you, or privately complain about me without affecting my current position. But if it comes up publicly, I can completely say you are a royal person. Plus, your becoming the commander is not through the back door, after all, your medals far outnumber their spit.”
Although Alman had a good relationship with the First Prince, this blatant consideration of him as a mere pawn still made him sigh.
Fortunately, the First Prince was straightforward with him; he shared everything, and even if there was a pitfall, he would clearly say how deep it was and how painful the fall would be, making it better to prepare mentally for the tumble than to fall unexpectedly and break bones.
The First Prince truly regarded him as a friend and treated him like a brother.
But at least the First Prince’s after-sales service was top-notch; he didn’t have to worry about breaking a leg and having nowhere to mend it.
“However, Alman, you need to be careful lately.”
“Mm?” Upon hearing the First Prince’s suddenly serious warning, Alman also turned serious.
“Since your return to the capital, there has been no news of the ‘Scarlet Crow.’ Our people have not picked up on any of their movements.”
“…”
Alman fell silent, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the sofa.
The ‘Scarlet Crow’ character either stayed quiet or made a big impact when they finally acted. Once the movements of the Scarlet Crow disappeared, it was necessary to be on alert; the enemy was in the shadows while he was in the light, making it hard to know what this capable aide of the Second Prince was planning.
Moreover, from what he learned yesterday, Alman already knew there was someone from the Second Prince by his side; the most suspicious was undoubtedly Evelia. But… Evelia was clearly a girl, while ‘Scarlet Crow’ had been confirmed as male through previous investigation… how could they be linked?
For now, he merely suspected Evelia and couldn’t rashly associate her with ‘Scarlet Crow’… perhaps this big shot had no interest in him and was simply busy with something else.
“You seem to have some thoughts?” The First Prince noticed the strange expression on Alman’s face. “Share them with me.”
“I have… but I need to clarify things first before discussing with you; otherwise, it would just be a smoke screen.”
Alman hesitated but ultimately refrained from voicing his somewhat outrageous speculation.
Sigh—he couldn’t exactly strip Evelia down to see, could he?
