Chapter 73
Inside the Royal Palace of the Kingdom of Russell, in a certain room of the Prince's quarters.
Items are scattered messily on the tables and sofas placed in the room, and piles of clothes dot the carpet here and there. At the center of it all sits Renato, the Second Prince, diligently packing his belongings into a large, ornate, locked wooden chest.
Though the prince is well-regarded as capable and excellent alongside his brothers, he seems to struggle with packing, likely because he's usually on the receiving end of care.
Still, Renato hums a tune cheerfully, and both the middle-aged knight standing outside the slightly open door and the prince's nursemaid waiting inside can't help but soften their expressions.
Due to a poisoning incident a few years ago, only the nursemaid and escort knights personally selected by His Majesty the King are allowed near Renato, and meals are always taken with Ludweek under the utmost caution.
Since there are no maids or attendants, Renato handles the bare minimum of personal preparations himself, though it truly is the bare minimum.
"Shall I help you?"
Soon, he'll be living in a dormitory and will have to do everything on his own. The nursemaid had been instructed by Ludweek beforehand not to interfere, but seeing Renato pick up clothes, roll them into balls with both hands, and stuff them into the chest, she couldn't help but speak up.
"I'm almost done, so it's fine."
"Is that so...?"
In the nursemaid's estimation, it would still take quite a while, and the chest's lid wouldn't close as it is, but faced with his adorable smile, she couldn't say anything more.
With a wry smile, the nursemaid decided to focus on cleaning up after the packing was done and reached for the tea set.
"Hm, hmhm... mm, hmh."
Unaware of the song spilling unconsciously from his lips, Renato carefully stows more balled-up clothes into a second wooden chest as if they were balls.
Three months remain until the entrance ceremony at the Military School.
Half a year ago, he completed his physical and fitness examinations at the Royal Palace, and the results were sent to the school along with his enrollment documents. The dog tag he's been wearing since it was made sways at his chest, and he unconsciously touches it so often that he polishes it carefully with a cloth every other day.
His elder brother, the Crown Prince, struggled with selecting aides during this period, but since the likelihood of the second son or beyond inheriting the throne is nearly nonexistent, there's no need for such meticulous selection. Renato's aides have already been decided. Though he's technically a spare for the Crown Prince and receives education in imperial studies, his curriculum leans more toward swordsmanship training, tactics, and strategy, which he enthusiastically engages in.
"Hmph, hmhmhm... hmm."
He stuffs a large stuffed animal shaped like a dog into a gap in the chest. Crafted so realistically it could be mistaken for the real thing, it was a gift from his mother, the queen, and something precious he's slept with since he was a toddler.
It's not that he can't sleep without it, but since he'll be far from family in a distant land, the nursemaid told him he'd need something to anchor his heart, so he's bringing it along.
Many frowned upon the unprecedented act of a prince attending Military School and opposed the idea of sending him to a dangerous border region far from the Royal Capital. However, his mother, the queen, apparently convinced them that a town with Fildé Rotish from the queen's faction would be safer than an academy attended by multiple children of the concubine faction.
Though he feels a slight unease about leaving the safety of his brother, who would never let harm come to him, the excitement far outweighs it, and just preparing his belongings makes him feel light and giddy.
His humming gradually grows louder, and he doesn't notice the knock on the door or the nursemaid's voice responding to it. While peering into the second chest, someone taps his shoulder, startling him into letting out a "Hyaah!?" of surprise.
"Sorry. I didn't expect you to be so startled... heh..."
Trembling, Renato turns around to see Ludweek covering his mouth with one hand, shoulders shaking with laughter.
"Brother... you could have called out to me first."
"You were singing so happily, I thought it'd be rude to interrupt."
"You meant to startle me from the start, didn't you...?"
Ludweek brushes off Renato's resentful glare with a single smile, then notices the wooden chest behind his younger brother and widens his eyes.
"Looks like you're not done preparing yet."
"Almost. I just need to pack that and the documents, and I'm done."
"By 'that,' do you mean the pile of shirts tossed over there?"
"Yes. I do this, like so, make them small, and put them in here."
"...Won't that make them wrinkled?"
Tilting his head at Ludweek's comment, Renato thinks for a moment before saying, "It'll be fine."
Anyone could see that they'd get wrinkled, but Renato believes this is the correct way since he once saw Dan at the Fortress rolling up clothes and storing them on a shelf.
"Will the lid close?"
"If I push... probably."
The sight of the brothers trying to close the unyielding lid while peering into the chest is endearing, and both the nursemaid and the Crown Prince's maid can't help but smile as they prepare afternoon tea.
Noticing the scent of sweet pastries and tea prepared in the room, the brothers step away from the chest for a moment and sit side by side on the sofa.
"I've been so busy lately that I haven't had much time with you, Renato."
"You're helping Father, so it can't be helped."
"But you're heading to Taurus soon, aren't you? ...I'll miss you."
"Brother..."
Hearing Ludweek murmur with downcast eyes while holding a cup, Renato smiles happily. Ludweek, stroking the head of his ever-adorable younger brother, tilts his head with a "Hm...?" before standing Renato up, standing himself, and realizing their eye levels are the same. He then flops back onto the sofa.
"Brother?"
"You've grown so much... At this rate, you'll surpass me."
"I've been working hard to eat meat, exercise, and sleep a lot."
"I try to exercise as much as I can, but..."
"While you're handling state affairs, I've been moving my body the whole time."
Renato, smiling wryly at his brother leaning on the sofa's armrest, has a well-built physique upon closer inspection, with more muscle than others his age.
He might have already surpassed me in many ways... Ludweek thinks, but he would never say it aloud. It's a matter of a brother's pride.
"I still need to catch up to Celes, so it's not enough yet."
"It's been a year already... Imagining how Celes is faring at the Military School is terrifying."
"She'd probably cut through iron with a sword."
"Yeah, that's... quite possible."
Those around them are taken aback by the two seriously discussing cutting through iron, but upon reflection, they somehow accept it, thinking it's not surprising for the granddaughter of Fildé Rotish.
If she were here, she'd vehemently deny it, though.
"Maybe I should try harder... At this rate, I'll be laughed at."
Ludweek doesn't think of himself as frail, but to Celes, who spends her days training at the Military School with robust individuals, his thin chest and slender limbs might seem lacking. Deciding to increase his exercise time starting tomorrow, he sits up and faces his younger brother.
"We won't see each other for four years."
"Brother, come visit Taurus like Father does."
"Ah, that's a good idea. I should follow the example of our great King."
Laughing together over such a grandiose statement, Ludweek sips his tea while watching Renato, who usually eats little, munch on pastries.
"What about your escorts?"
"I hear several will be placed among the instructors, but most of the Military School instructors are former soldiers, many from the unit led by the Marshal, so I don't think there's much to worry about. The Former Knight Commander is there as well."
"I've also assigned some people I've chosen as your peers. You don't mind, do you?"
"I don't, but it's the Military School, you know?"
"If they can earn the trust of the Crown Prince and the Second Prince, and gain the approval of the Tseli family, most would volunteer themselves."
Despite various conditions—being from the queen's faction, upper nobility, having no aversion to commoners, and more—they were found without much difficulty, likely due to the significant benefits.
"Brother, will you return to the dormitory?"
"Since you won't be here, Renato, I suppose I will. I plan to return a few times a month to handle state affairs that can't be taken out of the palace."
Upon entering the Academy, whether royalty or high nobility, everyone without exception lives in the dormitory.
Ludweek, who has started handling state affairs as the Crown Prince, was supposed to return to the palace twice a month and spend the rest of the time in the dormitory. However, due to his inexperience causing delays in affairs, he received permission to stay at the palace instead of the dormitory for a year.
But the real reason isn't state affairs—it's Renato.
Under the pretext of visiting the Third Prince, a son of a concubine, members of the concubine faction have been frequently entering the Prince's quarters. Though only those with verified identities are allowed in, there's still the possibility of them contacting lower staff within the palace and attempting another poisoning like before. Even with the nursemaid and the King's personal escort knights nearby, the situation isn't reassuring.
Ludweek directly appealed to the King about this, and after discussions with the Academy, it was arranged for him to commute from the palace to the Academy for a year.
"Brother, thank you."
To his beloved older brother, who always laughed it off as "something I'm doing on my own" and protected him with outstretched hands, Renato expresses his gratitude with layers of meaning.
"You... you'll come back in four years, right?"
Asked in a trembling voice by Ludweek, as if it were a permanent farewell, Renato hurriedly explains that it's not like that at all.