“Kent!”
“Kent, heh heh heh.”
“Older brother, you’ve got a flower in each hand.”
As they left the house and headed towards Sophie’s mansion, Kent had Caro and Josette clinging to each arm. Josette, in particular, was in a great mood, even sporting a strange smile. Though their hair colors were different, both girls had the same hairstyle, making them look like sisters. Rachel, watching this, teased Kent.
“Can’t complain,” Kent replied.
Kent felt genuinely good, sensing the affection that Caro and Josette had for him.
“Speaking of which, older brother, where are you meeting the prince?”
“Gordon? We discussed it when we met the other day. I first thought about meeting at the castle, but the castle is a bit far from town, right? So, maybe he was being considerate, or perhaps he didn’t want to impose, but we decided to meet at Sophie’s mansion.”
“I see. You and the prince seem to be getting along well lately, don’t you? Is that the reason why? Heh heh heh.”
Rachel giggled eerily as she spoke about Kent and Gordon’s recent good relationship. After that, Gordon, who had learned through Patty that Kent and his companions were going to the art museum, insisted that he needed to witness the matter involving Sophie himself. This led to him accompanying them this time. They had discussed where to meet, and ultimately decided on Sophie’s house.
“We’ll be arriving soon.”
Josette spoke as they entered the aristocrat district and proceeded further. Sophie’s mansion was just a short distance from here. They could see the fence surrounding the building.
“Hey, hey, older brother, there’s a suspicious person over there.”
“Indeed. Someone is peeking over the fence, as if trying to get a look inside.”
Rachel pointed out a person intently peering into the fence. After she mentioned it, Kent also noticed the suspicious figure.
“I’ll go and speak to him.”
“Ah, Josette, there’s no need for that.”
“Sniff, sniff. Indeed, there seems to be no need for that.”
Josette approached the suspicious person, who had his head stuck through the fence, intending to speak to him. Kent recognized who it was immediately and tried to stop Josette, but she was quick and was already behind the figure. Caro also recognized the person by scent, so she seemed to understand what Kent meant.
“Excuse me, you there. What are you doing?”
“Eh, wh-I’m, Ow!”
The suspicious person, startled by Josette’s sudden question, jumped up. In his haste, he slammed his head into the fence and ended up crouching down, holding his head.
“Gordon, are you alright?”
“Eh, Pr-Prince Gordon? I’m so dreadfully sorry for speaking to you so loudly.”
When he called out to the suspicious person, Gordon, Kent realized who it was, and Josette apoligzed profusely.
“Ouch, ouch. Josette, you don’t need to apologize. It’s my fault for acting suspiciously in the first place.”
“Th-that’s kind of you to say, it helps me out a lot.”
“So, you were waiting for us. Is that right?”
Knowing that Gordon wasn’t going to blame her, Josette showed a relieved expression. With their slight misunderstanding cleared, Kent asked Gordon again.
“W-well, something like that. It’s not like I lacked the courage to call the gatekeeper and wait inside first, you know.”
Gordon replied bashfully.
“I thought the prince I admired was so cool, but to think he’d be such a coward. It’s messing with my head.”
“Rachel, you shouldn’t say that where he can hear you.”
Rachel, who had been listening, accidentally let her true thoughts slip out, and Caro quickly tried to smooth things over.
“Well then, Gordon, shall we go together?”
“Right. Let’s go.”
Kent decided to head towards the main gate of the mansion. Gordon walked alongside Kent, their shoulders nearly touching.
“My, my spot has been taken.”
“Lady Josette, it’s not far to the main gate, so please bear with it for a little while.”
Before they reached this point, the spot next to Kent had belonged to Josette, so she looked a little disappointed. Caro tried to console her.
“Prince Gordon is quite amusing to watch lately. It’s much better to observe him from the sidelines like this than to interact with him as a heroine!”
Behind them, Rachel was gleefully observing Gordon.
“Excuse me. I have an appointment to meet Sophie, who lives in this mansion. Could you please inform her of my arrival?”
“Hmm? I haven’t heard anything about that.”
Kent went to the main gate and spoke to the gatekeeper, but it seemed that news of Kent and his companions having an appointment with Sophie hadn’t reached him. The gatekeeper eyed them suspiciously.
“You’re not the same gatekeeper as last time, are you? Do you know who I am?”
“Who? I have no idea.”
As Kent was speaking to the gatekeeper, Gordon, in his prince persona, stepped forward and asked, but the gatekeeper didn’t seem to recognize him.
“Wh-what? You don’t know who I am? Ugh.”
Gordon looked rather crestfallen that the gatekeeper genuinely didn’t recognize him.
“Hahaha. This is hilarious. It’s so funny I can barely help myself.”
“Rachel, you’re not trying to help yourself, you’re laughing out loud! It’s rude, so please don’t laugh.”
“Indeed. Lady Rachel. If you laugh now, Prince Gordon’s pride will be utterly shredded. Heh heh heh.”
As Rachel said this with a laugh, Caro rushed to intervene. Josette, watching them, was also holding back a laugh.
“Ugh, aren’t the three of you being a little cruel?”
” ” ” That’s not true at all!” ” ”
Rachel, Caro, and Josette vehemently shook their right hands, desperately denying Gordon’s question.
“It’s a fact that we have an appointment, so could you please inform her? If Sophie finds out you turned us away, what will happen to your position as gatekeeper?”
“Hmph, fine. I’ll go and check, but you’d best be prepared if they say they have no such appointment.”
Kent said to the gatekeeper with a slight hint of intimidation. The gatekeeper then closed the gate and went to check inside the mansion.
“Older brother, you’re so cool!”
“As expected of you, Kent!”
“Wonderful!”
“That’s my Kent!”
There was one comment that left Kent wondering how to respond, but he was pleased to be praised by all four.
“Oh, young lady. Please wait!”
“Hmph, hmph, hmph. I cannot keep my guests waiting!”
After a short while, the mansion’s door opened, and the sound of running footsteps was heard. The gatekeeper was hastily following behind the person running.
“…pant, pant, pant. I-I’m so sorry, pant, pant, for making you, pant, pant, wait!”
Sophie, clearly having hurried, arrived in front of Kent and his companions, out of breath.
“Young lady. I apologize. They really were guests. I’ll open the gate immediately.”
The gatekeeper hurried to open the previously closed barred gate.
“…Prince Gordon, our gatekeeper was extremely rude.”
“Pr-Prince Gordon? Oh dear, I’ve done something terrible. I-I sincerely apologize. This is my responsibility. P-please ensure that no repercussions fall upon the people of this house.”
Hearing Sophie’s words, the gatekeeper put down the sword he was holding and deeply prostrated himself before Gordon, apologizing.
“You may raise your head. It was due to my not revealing myself, and your not knowing who I was. In this instance, I forgive you. Please carry out your assigned duties.”
“Y-yes, thank you for your magnanimity.”
Gordon accepted the gatekeeper’s apology without much fuss, forgiving him easily.
“He’s usually a coward, but in moments like these, he acts like a prince and looks so cool.”
“Rachel, you’re saying that on purpose so he can hear you, aren’t you?”
“Are you sure about that?”
Rachel, observing Gordon’s actions, gave an ambiguous answer to Caro’s question.
Thanks to your support, Volume 4 of the comic book adaptation has been released. As before, both the paper and digital versions are available. I would be happy if you could pick up whichever version you prefer. Thank you in advance for your patronage. (Written on 2023/06/15)
