Chapter 79

In romance fantasy novels, the “Imperial Invitation” is a very important element.

Most romance fantasy novels have a female protagonist, and the Crown Prince in these novels almost always has a 90% chance of harboring unrequited feelings for the protagonist for some reason.

In romance fantasy novels set in a medieval backdrop, the Crown Prince, who is always a candidate for the male lead, becomes connected to the protagonist through the “Imperial Invitation.”

“Hey, you came.”

“…What’s with that tone? Even a street thug wouldn’t talk like that.”

Although the protagonist I’ve possessed in this novel isn’t female, so this doesn’t apply.

“…Street thug? You’re being unusually harsh today.”

“I’ve always been consistent.”

“Shut your mouth, I know.”

“…”

I smiled, but my expression was completely twisted as I looked at our protagonist with the same gaze as always.

People’s illusions shatter much faster than you’d think.

Is that really the protagonist of the novel I enjoyed the most?

The headache that comes every time I think of the original work is still there, but even so, it’s worth seriously considering.

“…Prince Albert.”

“?”

Perhaps I was staring too blatantly at the Crown Prince, as the woman standing next to Mikhail, as if guarding him, spoke to me.

“I know better than anyone that His Highness is unpleasant, but he still holds the position of Crown Prince, so could you manage your expression a bit?”

“…Knight Commander?”

As soon as the woman finished speaking, Mikhail’s voice, sounding utterly confused, came through.

I thought it was understandable for him to sound like that.

At first, I thought the woman called the Knight Commander was being rude and blaming me.

And in fact, she was blaming me.

The conclusion of her sentence was that Mikhail’s heart is more fragile than one might think, so I should manage my expression.

It’s just that all the words in between were ones that belittled the Crown Prince.

“Commander Veronica.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“You’re also quite displeasing today.”

“Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness.”

“…”

Veronica, the beautiful Knight Commander, flawlessly and gracefully countered the Crown Prince.

“So, why did you call me today?”

Thinking that this would go on forever if I kept watching, I urged the Crown Prince to get to the point.

“Do you think it’s a crime for a monarch to summon a subject?”

“I’m not yet Your Highness’s subject.”

“…You will be eventually.”

“That ‘eventually’ isn’t now, is it?”

“…”

Mikhail, seemingly at a loss for words, closed his mouth.

And beside him, Knight Commander Veronica was looking at me with a gaze full of respect.

As if thinking, “So that’s how you do it.”

I wondered if I really deserved the respect of the Imperial Knight Commander for something like this, but that wasn’t the important thing right now.

“Anyway, why did you really call me?”

“…There’s going to be a ball hosted by the Imperial Family soon.”

“A ball… you say?”

“You’re not going to ask me to explain what a ball is, are you?”

“…I’m not Your Highness.”

Having read countless romance fantasy novels before possessing this body, I couldn’t possibly not know what a ball is.

“Why am I suddenly involved in this?”

“What does it matter? That’s not the important thing right now.”

“…”

Hearing my answer, Mikhail made a slightly annoyed expression but quickly composed himself and continued.

“…Anyway, there’s going to be a ball hosted by the Imperial Family soon… I’d like you and your fiancée to attend.”

“You called me to the Imperial Palace just to ask me to attend a ball?”

“If I sent a letter, you’d just send a reply saying you wouldn’t attend.”

“…”

Surprisingly, I couldn’t think of a rebuttal to that.

Even I thought that if the Crown Prince had sent an invitation, I probably wouldn’t have attended the ball.

I’d probably have refused, thinking it’d be more fun to spend time alone with my fiancée.

Even seeing it right in front of me, I thought this way. If I’d received a letter, it would’ve been worse, not better.

“…So, you don’t have anyone to attend the ball with?”

Honestly, it was hard to understand why the Crown Prince was making such a request.

It’s not like Rebecca and I are the only nobles in the Empire. There are so many noble families that it’s impossible to count them all.

Why exactly Rebecca and I had to attend was beyond me.

Hearing my question, Mikhail shook his head as if to say that wasn’t it.

“That’s not it. In fact, ordinary nobles are so eager to attend that they’re sending requests for invitations.”

“Then why do you need me and the Princess?”

“Hmm. I’m not sure.”

Mikhail suddenly said he didn’t know when I asked why Rebecca and I were needed.

I wondered if this was how my fiancée felt when she saw me pretending to be clueless.

“Well, let’s just chalk it up to the Crown Prince’s usual eccentricity.”

“Your Highness has always been eccentric.”

“…You keep your mouth shut until Prince Albert looks at me strangely, and then you speak up.”

“Did you just realize that?”

“…Do you want your salary cut?”

“My apologies, Your Highness.”

While the amusing(?) banter between the lord and the knight continued in front of me, I couldn’t enjoy it.

The reason, of course, was that I couldn’t figure out the Crown Prince’s intentions.

It’s true that Rebecca and I always give Mikhail harsh evaluations, but Mikhail wasn’t a fool.

If he were truly stupid, he wouldn’t have survived as Crown Prince, a position where nobles are always ready to pounce.

Perhaps the foolish demeanor he usually shows is just a smokescreen to hide his true intentions.

“No need to think too hard.”

Perhaps I failed to hide my deep contemplation. The Crown Prince, reading my expression, spoke.

“I simply wished for you and your fiancée to grow closer through this ball.”

“…Last time, you clearly said you didn’t want to see us…”

“That’s because you were doing it right in front of me. As long as I don’t see it, it’s fine, so don’t worry.”

“…”

“So, you can enjoy a pleasant time with your fiancée without any concerns.”

“How can we avoid Your Highness’s notice at an Imperial ball?”

It was a simple but crucial question.

How could we possibly avoid the Crown Prince’s notice at an Imperial ball?

Given that the current Emperor has almost relinquished power, it’s clear that this ball will revolve around Mikhail.

Then Mikhail said there was no need to worry at all.

“Ah, don’t worry. This ball will be a masked ball.”

“…A masked ball, you say?”

“Yes, a masked ball. That way, I won’t see you and your fiancée getting along.”

It made sense.

Unlike a regular ball, a masked ball is one where all participants hide their identities.

Moreover, in the world of [The Crown Prince Wields a Sword], magic exists, so if masks enchanted with magic are worn, even people who’ve seen each other many times wouldn’t recognize one another.

“This could be fun. We could make a game out of finding each other at the masked ball.”

“…How does Your Highness know that the Princess and I often make bets?”

“The Crown Prince of the Empire naturally knows everything.”

“…”

“By the way, I’ve already sent the invitations to the Valencia Duchy Mansion, so handle it yourselves.”

Mikhail continued with a shameless expression, as if telling me to just go along with it.

Honestly, it was unsettling how the Crown Prince knew things that even the servants at the Valencia Duchy Mansion or Count Zernias’s mansion wouldn’t know.

“…Understood. I’ll discuss it with the Princess.”

At least for now, I didn’t sense any malice from Mikhail, so I nodded, thinking I’d trust him this once.

After all, the Crown Prince has never harmed me or Rebecca before.

“Won’t you have a cup of tea before you go?”

“No, I’ll have tea with the Princess when I return.”

“That’s a shame. I made it with great care.”

“…If Your Highness made it, I want to drink it even less.”

“Safe travels.”

And so, with a lingering sense of unease, I accepted the Crown Prince’s farewell and headed to the Valencia Duchy Mansion to persuade my fiancée, who had likely already read the invitation.

***

With one guest gone, the Crown Prince’s office grew quiet.

“…Whose idea was the masked ball?”

Veronica asked Mikhail, who was making an expression hard to decipher.

“It was an idea I’ve been planning for a while… but I thought they wouldn’t attend if it were a regular ball.”

“I don’t understand why Your Highness is so interested in Prince Albert and Princess Rebecca.”

Veronica couldn’t understand.

The superior she knew was a childlike person who hated work and only wanted to play.

A cunning person who always manipulated people to act according to his whims.

Mikhail showing interest in and helping others was something she had never seen in her time as Knight Commander.

“Why, do I not seem like the usual Crown Prince?”

“Frankly, no. This isn’t like you.”

“I don’t know how you usually think of me…”

“I think of you as a lazy idiot.”

“…That’s always the problem with you.”

After briefly glaring at her, her superior cleared his throat and continued.

“Anyway, people should have moments when they’re kind, don’t you think?”

“…This really isn’t like you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It is a compliment.”

“…Stop talking back and just drink this tea.”

Her superior offered her the tea that Prince Albert had refused to drink.

It felt oddly unpleasant to drink something someone else had left, but with no reason to refuse, she sipped the tea slowly.

And then she was surprised.

Because she could taste and smell strawberries in the tea.

“…Why does the tea smell like strawberries?”

“Do you smell it? Prince Albert didn’t seem to notice last time.”

“It’s a scent you can’t miss if you’re familiar with it.”

“…Well, Prince Albert is like that.”

Her superior’s expression looked like someone reminiscing about the past.

And it gave the cold-hearted Knight Commander, known for her lack of tears, the illusion of sadness.

“Don’t you want to attend the ball? I’ll be your partner.”

“I wasn’t planning to attend in the first place, but if I have to be Your Highness’s partner, I definitely won’t go.”

“…You’re so honest, it’s refreshing.”

“Thank you.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“I know.”

“…”

As usual, her superior was strange, but today he seemed even stranger.

With such thoughts in mind, Veronica slowly sipped the tea with its faint strawberry aroma.

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