79 – Invitation

In romance fantasy novels, the ‘invitation from the imperial family’ is used as a very important element.

In most romantic novels, the main character is a female protagonist, and the prince of romance is a person who has a crush on the protagonist for some reason with a probability of almost 90%.

The element that creates a relationship with the male lead candidate and the crown prince, which always appears in romance novels set in the Middle Ages, is the ‘invitation from the imperial family’.

“Hey, are you here?”

“··························································································································································.

Although the gender of the main character in this novel I possess is not female, so it is not applicable.

“······Street gangster. Talking a bit harsh today.”

“I’ve always been the same.”

“I know, so shut up.”

“····.”

I looked at our protagonist with a steady gaze, smiling but his expression crumpled.

I heard that people’s illusions are broken much faster than expected.

Is that really the main character of the novel I enjoyed reading the most?

I still get a headache every time I think of the original work, but it was a serious consideration worth taking even with that headache.

“······Prince Albert.”

“?”

Perhaps I was staring at the crown prince with a too blatant gaze, a woman standing next to Mikhail as if escorting him spoke up to me.

“I know better than anyone that we are unhappy, but since he still has the title of crown prince, why don’t you take care of his expression?”

“····.”

“The crown prince didn’t look like that at all, but he’s a softer-hearted person than I thought, so he’s sure to get hurt.”

“······Knight Commander?”

As soon as the woman’s words were finished, Mikhail’s voice was heard, saying he did not know why.

I thought it deserved a voice like that.

At first, I also thought that the woman who was called the knight commander was being too rude, and that she was trying to blame me.

In fact, the content that blamed me was also correct.

The conclusion of the sentence was to say that Mikhail’s heart is weaker than he thought, so please take care of his expression.

It was only that the words mixed in the middle were words that demeaned the crown prince.

“Captain Veronica.”

“Yes, lower.”

“I don’t like you very much today either.”

“Thanks for the rave reviews, low.”

“····.”

The beautiful knight commander named Veronica flexibly defeated the crown prince without showing any gaps.

“So, why did you call me again today?”

She urged the crown prince to quickly get to the point, thinking that it would continue endlessly if she watched the scene more.

“In your opinion, is it a sin to call a subject in the position of a monarch?”

“I am not yet a servant of the lower rank.”

“······Wouldn’t it be a servant later?”

“The later is not now.”

“····.”

Mikhail keeps his mouth shut as if he has nothing to say.

And next to him, Knight Commander Veronica was looking at me with respect.

It’s like, ‘There’s a way like that.’ Such a gaze.

I wondered if I could earn the respect of the Imperial Knight Commander with something like this, but for now, that’s not what’s important.

“I don’t care, so why did you call me?”

“······There will soon be a ball hosted by the imperial family.”

“If you say prom…”

“I don’t think you’re asking for an explanation since you don’t even know about the prom.”

“······I am not degraded.”

Besides [The Crown Prince Raises a Sword] Before being possessed, there was no way I didn’t know about the ball, as I had read numerous Romance books.

“Why am I coming out of nowhere?”

“What do you think? It’s not that important right now, is it?”

“····.”

After hearing my answer, Mikhail made a sullen expression for a moment, but then he corrected his expression and continued talking.

“······Anyway, there’s going to be a ball hosted by the imperial family soon… I hope you and your fiancée can attend as well.”

“Did you summon me to the imperial family because you wanted to ask me to join you at the ball?”

“If I sent it by letter, I would reply that I would not participate.”

“····.”

Surprisingly, I couldn’t come up with anything to refute.

I think even if the prince sent an invitation to the ball, he wouldn’t have attended it.

Maybe he refused, preferring to hang out alone with his fiancée.

I’m thinking this even though I’m watching it right in front of me. If I had received it in a letter, it would have been worse if it had been worse than this, but it would never have been less.

“······Is there no one to attend the ball like that?”

To be honest, it was difficult to figure out why the crown prince made such a request.

It’s not just Rebecca and me in the empire. There must be so many aristocratic families that it’s hard to count them all.

I didn’t understand why Rebecca and I had to be involved.

Mikhail, who heard my curiosity, shook his head as if that wasn’t the case.

“It’s not like that. Ordinary nobles want to participate and ask for invitations.”

“Then why do you and the princess say you need it?”

“Well, I’m not sure about that.”

When I asked him to tell me why he needed Rebecca and me, Mikhail suddenly said he didn’t know.

I wondered if my fiancée felt like this when she saw me pretending to be a fool.

“Well, think of it as an unreasonable prince’s change of heart and pass it over.”

“I was originally nonsensical.”

“······You keep your mouth shut and only open it when Prince Albert looks at me strangely.”

“Did you know that just now?”

“Do you want to take a pay cut?”

“Sorry, lower.”

A delightful (?) Bickering between the lord and the knight continued in front, but I couldn’t enjoy it comfortably.

The reason is, of course, that he couldn’t figure out the prince’s intentions.

It’s true that Rebecca and I always judge Mikhail badly, but Mikhail was no fool.

If you’re really stupid, you won’t be able to survive in the position of prince whose nobles are ready to bite you at any moment.

The low-key appearance he usually sees could be a smoke screen to hide his true feelings.

“You don’t have to worry too much.”

Did he not properly hide his expression that he was in deep trouble? The prince, who read my thoughts from my expression, spoke.

“I simply asked you to bring you and your fiancée closer to this ball.”

“······The other day, she said she didn’t want to look like that…”

“That’s right, didn’t you say it openly in front of me then? It’s okay if you can’t see it in my eyes, so don’t worry.”

“····.”

“So you can have a good time with your fiancé without worrying.”

“How can you go unnoticed at a ball hosted by the imperial family?”

A very simple, yet essential question.

How can you not be seen by the prince at a ball held by the imperial family?

Since the current emperor has almost given up power, it is certain that this ball will also revolve around Mikhail.

Then Mikhail said as if he didn’t have to worry about that at all.

“Oh, don’t worry. This ball is going to be a masquerade ball.”

“Did you say… A masquerade…?”

“Yes. A masquerade ball. If that’s the case, I won’t be able to see you and your fiancée getting along well.”

That made sense.

Unlike a regular ball, a masquerade ball is a ball where everyone who participates hides their identity.

Even in the worldview of [The Crown Prince holds a sword], Magic exists, so it was clear that if he wore a mask enchanted, no matter how many times he saw him, he would not be able to recognize him.

“Something like this would be fun. After everyone participates in a masquerade, they make a bet by finding someone else.”

“How do you know that the princess and I bet a lot?”

“The crown prince of an empire knows nothing.”

“····.”

“By the way, I’ve already sent all the invitations to the Duke’s residence in Valencia, so just do it yourself.”

Mihail continues with a shameless expression, as if to just pass it over.

To be honest, I was very concerned about how the prince knew what the Duke of Valencia and the servants of Count Xernias would not know.

“······First of all, I understand. I will tell the princess.”

At least right now, he feels no ill will from Mikhail, so he nods his head thinking he’ll trust him this time.

Also, the crown prince had never harmed me or Rebecca.

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

“No, I’ll go back and drink with the princess.”

“Sorry. I worked really hard on it.”

“······I don’t want to eat it even more if you made it yourself.”

“Goodbye.”

With that in mind, I moved to the Duke of Valencia’s residence to persuade her fiancée, who had already received and read the invitation, while receiving the crown prince’s farewell message.

***

The prince’s office became quiet after one guest left.

“······In whose head did the idea of a masquerade come from?”

Veronica asked Mikhail, who had a hard-to-recognize expression.

“I originally thought it was planned, but… I don’t think I’ll be able to participate if it’s held as a regular ball.”

“I don’t know why you are paying attention to Prince Albert and Princess Rebecca.”

Veronica couldn’t understand easily.

I’m sure the boss she knows is a childish person who doesn’t like to work and only wants to play.

She must be a dark-hearted person who only likes her hair and always makes people do what she wants.

Michael’s caring and helping others was something she had never seen before as a knight commander.

“Why, doesn’t it look like the usual prince?”

“To be honest, you are not like me.”

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

“I think you’re an idiot who doesn’t like to work.”

“······This is always your problem.”

Her boss glared at her for a moment, then went on to say that she cleared her throat once.

“Anyway, shouldn’t people be kind sometimes?”

“······You really don’t like me.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“That’s a compliment.”

“Why don’t you just drink this tea without talking back.”

Her boss offers her a cup of tea that Prince Albert didn’t drink with a wrinkled expression.

She seemed to be eating someone else’s leftovers, which made her feel strangely bad, but she had no reason to refuse, so she took a sip and drank her tea.

Then I was surprised.

Because I could feel the aroma and taste of strawberries in the tea my boss gave me.

“Why does my car smell like strawberries?”

“Can you feel it? Last time, Prince Albert didn’t seem to be able to feel it.”

“It’s a scent that you can’t help but feel if you’re not used to it.”

“······Well, Prince Albert deserves it.”

The expression on the boss’s face looked like that of a person reminiscing about a nostalgic past.

She gave the illusion that she was sad even to her, who was regarded as a cold knight leader without tears.

“Aren’t you going to the prom? I’ll be your partner.”

“I had no intention of participating, but if I had to partner with a degrader, I would never go.”

“·············It’s nice that you’re honest.”

“Thank you.”

“That wouldn’t be a compliment.”

“I know.”

“····.”

It’s usually weird, but today the boss seems even more strange.

With that thought in her head, Veronica slowly drank her strawberry-scented tea in small sips.