Chapter 30: Preface to the First vs the Thirteenth
“Noah-sama”
I borrowed a couch a short distance away, sat down and waited, when Shirley came over, bowed, and reported.
“That man has died, sir.”
“All right.”
“And there are some police officers on their way. They must have heard the commotion, but when they heard that Noah-sama was there, they seemed troubled from afar.”
“Maybe.”
A police officer is commonly called a “policeman”.[警吏(Keiri) = Police Officer and おまわりさん(Omawarisan) = Policeman and yes kanji for the guard(警備員) is different]
This comes from the word “mawaru” meaning to visit several places in order to maintain public order.[TN: Here まわる(Mawaru)=’ to turn/to visit several places’ is used, while まわり(mawari) means circumference or rotation which may differ on Kanji Used]
The Police officers in the capital are, of course, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice.
“Go get them.”
“Yes, sir.”
Shirley bowed again and went to deliver my order.
A few moments later, two young police officers arrived.
Both of them were in a hurry, and when they got in front of me, their legs got tangled and they rolled over and knelt down to me.
“Y-Yo-Your Highness, we didn’t know you were here.”
“We are extremely sorry!”
The two of them looked terrified.
They didn’t have any manners at all, but I let them pass.
“If there are two of you, that’s just fine. One of you – you over there, you’re going to clean up that body. If he has a family, have them take him in. If not, have him cremated immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you, go to the Ministry of the Imperial Household. Report and record that Daren, the First Prince Retainer, has been punished under the Imperial Household Law for disrespecting the Thirteenth Prince.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Go.”
The two of them ran off in delight.
They misunderstood that I was definitely offended and were relieved that I hadn’t taken my anger out on them.
Shirley came back, replacing them.
“What do we do now, Noah-sama?”
“Go get one of those handcuffs.”
“That’s all very well, but …… why?”
Shirley tilted her head curiously.
She carried out my orders and kept whipping Daren until he was dead.
Because she actually did it and made sure that Darren died, why handcuff him now? It’s natural to have this question.
“They’re for me, so I’ll just use the kids’ ones.”
“Ehh ……?”
Shirley was even more surprised and puzzled.
☆
The First Prince’s residence is located on the perimeter of the royal palace, the same as my own.
I took Shirley there, not in a carriage, but on foot.
On my hands are the handcuffs that Shirley procured for me.
With the handcuffs on, I approached the gatekeeper.
“Hello there, Your Highness the thirt—eh?”
He knew my face and almost smiled to show his respect, but when he saw that I was handcuffed, he became speechless.
“Uhmm…… what is this…”
“I’m here to apologize to my brother. Can you please report this?”
“Ehh? Ah, sure! One moment, please.”
Although the situation was far beyond the capacity of a simple gatekeeper, he did what he thought was best.
He made me wait there and then went inside the residence to make a report.
A few moments later, an elderly man appeared from inside the compound.
His name is Coyle, and he has been working as a butler at the First Prince’s residence for a long time.[TN: コイル = Coil, changed it to Coyle]
“Long time no see, Your Highness.”
“I’m sorry to barge in on you like this. Is my brother at home?”
“Gilbert-sama is waiting inside. Please come in.”
Unlike the gatekeepers, as expected of a man who has worked as a butler at the First Prince’s residence for many years, he was completely unfazed when he saw that I had come in handcuffs.
Led by Coyle, I entered the First Prince’s residence with Shirley, who was still fidgety, in tow.
We were led into a room with gorgeous furnishings.
It was the highest-grade room in the parlor, with several priceless gifts from His Majesty that could be seen at a glance.
Inside the room, Gilbert was looking out the window, but when I entered the room, he turned around and came over to me.
“Oh, good to see you, Noah. Hmm? What’s with the handcuffs, is this some kind of new game?”
Gilbert looked at my handcuffs and asked with a carefree smile on his face.
“I’ve come to apologize to you, brother.”
“Apology? All of a sudden”
“I have just disposed of Daren, Brother’s Retainer. I want to apologize for what I did without consulting you.”
After I said that, I gave a brief explanation of what had happened on Cobalt Street.
“That’s a given. He deserves to die for being a Retainer and talking down to the Prince. But–“
Gilbert picked his chin and looked up at the ceiling, a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Daren……Daren……Hmm, I don’t remember.”
“With all due respect.”
Coyle, the butler who had been showing us around, opened his mouth.
“This is the name of the man who was transferred from this residence to the Ministry of the Imperial Household a few years ago.”
“Ah!”
Gilbert clapped his hands.
“I remember now, that’s him. You don’t have to worry about him.”
Gilbert smirked.
“I had to fire him for misbehaving. That’s why he’s not much of a Retainer. Don’t worry about it, Noah.”
…… Oh, I see, so that’s what happened.
“Thank you very much.”
I immediately bowed my head.
“You’ve done rather well, Noah. If I had let him get away with it, he would have continued to misbehave under my name. I’d rather thank you for defending my honor.”
With that, Gilbert squared his chin at Coyle, took the key, and uncuffed me himself.
“You’re still amazing. His Majesty has appointed you Minister of Justice – the guardian of the law. Normally, you wouldn’t go so far as to get yourself punished .”
“Thank you very much, brother.”
While taking advantage of Gilbert’s story, which I wanted to put it that way, we made some appropriate small talk and then left the First Prince’s residence.
☆
After leaving the mansion, Shirley and I walked around the royal palace.
“Um …… Noah-sama.”
Shirley, who had been looking as if she had been pinched by a fox ever since I handcuffed myself, boldly asked me.
“What was that about?”
“What do you mean?”
“Something ……, um, …… something …….”
Shirley tilted her head, desperately trying to find the words.
However, she can’t seem to find the right words, so she grunted.
“Did you find my brother’s attitude strange?”
“That’s it! But I don’t know what’s so strange about it. ……”
“He was furious.”
“Eh? But he seemed so calm.”
“He’s furious, but he’s not going to be hostile with me just over one of his Retainer. We’re both Princes, and I’m also the Minister of Justice. My patronage is greater than my brother’s now.”
“Hah. ……”
“And I went there to apologize, myself. His younger brother was the first to tell him he had done something wrong. As the eldest child, you must show some maturity. You know that, right?”
“Ah, yes! I understand! That’s right, he can’t get angry if you apologize first. I see. ……amazing.”
Shirley rolled her tongue in admiration.
“And there’s one more thing.”
“There’s more?”
“If we leave this matter open-ended, my brother will harass me later. It’s almost as if we’re enemies.”
“Yes.”
“But I came to apologize, and he had to forgive me. And a nobleman has a face. It’s shameful to retract something once you’ve said it.”
“Thinking that far …… awesome …….”
Seeing Shirley’s admiration, I smiled.
Well, I didn’t have to go this far, but I guess you can never be too careful.
☆
The next day, after finishing my work at the Ministry of Justice, I came home in the early afternoon to find Dylan, my butler, greeting me at the door.
“What’s up, Dylan?”
“You have a visitor, sir.”
“A visitor?”
“Yes, he’s from the Ministry of Imperial Household. Please come in and see him in the parlor.”
“…… Okay.”
I walked to the parlor where the man had been sent.
As soon as I entered, the seated man stood up as if he had been jolted and bowed to me on one knee.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. My name is Don Oates.”[Don Oats, why OATS]
“Hmm”
With a slight tug of my chin, I walked over to the sofa and sat down.
“You may sit down.”
“Thank you.”
Don gets up and sits back down on the edge of the couch where he was sitting before in a reserved manner.
“So, what can I do for you?”
“I wanted to talk to you about yesterday.”
“Hoh”
“I was impressed by His Highness Thirteen’s treatment. I would like to come under Your Highness!”
“You want to join me?”
“Yes! By all means.”
“All right. But I’m the Minister of Justice, it’s hard to get you promoted in the Ministry of the Imperial Household.”
“No problem at all! Your Highness can use me when he needs me!”
“All right. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Thank you, sir!”
Don bowed his head happily.
After watching him leave through the window, I called Dylan.
“What can I do for you?”
“Find out what you can about the man. And be careful.”
“Yes, sir.”
Without asking why Dylan took my order and left the room.
* *
The next day.
I woke up in the morning and had the maids wash my face, brush my teeth, and set my hair as usual when Dylan came to me.
“I have something to report. We found out some details about this Don.”
“Hmm?”
“It seems to have been cleverly concealed, but both his parents are servants of His Highness the First.”
“He’s quite committed.”
Sometimes, noblemen let their servants marry each other.
The house of the aristocracy, especially the Prince, is very strict, and you cannot stop if you want to, and since you are in contact with the Prince on a regular basis, you are restricted from socializing in order to maintain secrecy.
That’s why they often arrange marriages between their servants.
And, as a matter of course, children born to servants also swear allegiance to their masters.
That is what it means to be a servant of the nobility.
“Perhaps His Highness the First sent him to be his spy.”
“I suppose. Do not let anyone find out that you know that. If he being a spy is known, he can be used in a certain way.”
“Hah”
Dylan paused for a breath and said in a different tone than when he was reporting.
“You’ve got a great eye for seeing through a person with just one glance.”
Eyesight, huh—-or rather it’s the sight in front of my eye.
It’s a status that’s always in the corner of my vision.
Even when I allowed Don, the “+” didn’t increase at all.
It was so obvious that he was not working for me in my heart.
Chapter 30: Preface to the First vs the Thirteenth
“Noah-sama”
I borrowed a couch a short distance away, sat down and waited, when Shirley came over, bowed, and reported.
“That man has died, sir.”
“All right.”
“And there are some police officers on their way. They must have heard the commotion, but when they heard that Noah-sama was there, they seemed troubled from afar.”
“Maybe.”
A police officer is commonly called a “policeman”.[警吏(Keiri) = Police Officer and おまわりさん(Omawarisan) = Policeman and yes kanji for the guard(警備員) is different]
This comes from the word “mawaru” meaning to visit several places in order to maintain public order.[TN: Here まわる(Mawaru)=’ to turn/to visit several places’ is used, while まわり(mawari) means circumference or rotation which may differ on Kanji Used]
The Police officers in the capital are, of course, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice.
“Go get them.”
“Yes, sir.”
Shirley bowed again and went to deliver my order.
A few moments later, two young police officers arrived.
Both of them were in a hurry, and when they got in front of me, their legs got tangled and they rolled over and knelt down to me.
“Y-Yo-Your Highness, we didn’t know you were here.”
“We are extremely sorry!”
The two of them looked terrified.
They didn’t have any manners at all, but I let them pass.
“If there are two of you, that’s just fine. One of you – you over there, you’re going to clean up that body. If he has a family, have them take him in. If not, have him cremated immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you, go to the Ministry of the Imperial Household. Report and record that Daren, the First Prince Retainer, has been punished under the Imperial Household Law for disrespecting the Thirteenth Prince.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Go.”
The two of them ran off in delight.
They misunderstood that I was definitely offended and were relieved that I hadn’t taken my anger out on them.
Shirley came back, replacing them.
“What do we do now, Noah-sama?”
“Go get one of those handcuffs.”
“That’s all very well, but …… why?”
Shirley tilted her head curiously.
She carried out my orders and kept whipping Daren until he was dead.
Because she actually did it and made sure that Darren died, why handcuff him now? It’s natural to have this question.
“They’re for me, so I’ll just use the kids’ ones.”
“Ehh ……?”
Shirley was even more surprised and puzzled.
☆
The First Prince’s residence is located on the perimeter of the royal palace, the same as my own.
I took Shirley there, not in a carriage, but on foot.
On my hands are the handcuffs that Shirley procured for me.
With the handcuffs on, I approached the gatekeeper.
“Hello there, Your Highness the thirt—eh?”
He knew my face and almost smiled to show his respect, but when he saw that I was handcuffed, he became speechless.
“Uhmm…… what is this…”
“I’m here to apologize to my brother. Can you please report this?”
“Ehh? Ah, sure! One moment, please.”
Although the situation was far beyond the capacity of a simple gatekeeper, he did what he thought was best.
He made me wait there and then went inside the residence to make a report.
A few moments later, an elderly man appeared from inside the compound.
His name is Coyle, and he has been working as a butler at the First Prince’s residence for a long time.[TN: コイル = Coil, changed it to Coyle]
“Long time no see, Your Highness.”
“I’m sorry to barge in on you like this. Is my brother at home?”
“Gilbert-sama is waiting inside. Please come in.”
Unlike the gatekeepers, as expected of a man who has worked as a butler at the First Prince’s residence for many years, he was completely unfazed when he saw that I had come in handcuffs.
Led by Coyle, I entered the First Prince’s residence with Shirley, who was still fidgety, in tow.
We were led into a room with gorgeous furnishings.
It was the highest-grade room in the parlor, with several priceless gifts from His Majesty that could be seen at a glance.
Inside the room, Gilbert was looking out the window, but when I entered the room, he turned around and came over to me.
“Oh, good to see you, Noah. Hmm? What’s with the handcuffs, is this some kind of new game?”
Gilbert looked at my handcuffs and asked with a carefree smile on his face.
“I’ve come to apologize to you, brother.”
“Apology? All of a sudden”
“I have just disposed of Daren, Brother’s Retainer. I want to apologize for what I did without consulting you.”
After I said that, I gave a brief explanation of what had happened on Cobalt Street.
“That’s a given. He deserves to die for being a Retainer and talking down to the Prince. But–“
Gilbert picked his chin and looked up at the ceiling, a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Daren……Daren……Hmm, I don’t remember.”
“With all due respect.”
Coyle, the butler who had been showing us around, opened his mouth.
“This is the name of the man who was transferred from this residence to the Ministry of the Imperial Household a few years ago.”
“Ah!”
Gilbert clapped his hands.
“I remember now, that’s him. You don’t have to worry about him.”
Gilbert smirked.
“I had to fire him for misbehaving. That’s why he’s not much of a Retainer. Don’t worry about it, Noah.”
…… Oh, I see, so that’s what happened.
“Thank you very much.”
I immediately bowed my head.
“You’ve done rather well, Noah. If I had let him get away with it, he would have continued to misbehave under my name. I’d rather thank you for defending my honor.”
With that, Gilbert squared his chin at Coyle, took the key, and uncuffed me himself.
“You’re still amazing. His Majesty has appointed you Minister of Justice – the guardian of the law. Normally, you wouldn’t go so far as to get yourself punished .”
“Thank you very much, brother.”
While taking advantage of Gilbert’s story, which I wanted to put it that way, we made some appropriate small talk and then left the First Prince’s residence.
☆
After leaving the mansion, Shirley and I walked around the royal palace.
“Um …… Noah-sama.”
Shirley, who had been looking as if she had been pinched by a fox ever since I handcuffed myself, boldly asked me.
“What was that about?”
“What do you mean?”
“Something ……, um, …… something …….”
Shirley tilted her head, desperately trying to find the words.
However, she can’t seem to find the right words, so she grunted.
“Did you find my brother’s attitude strange?”
“That’s it! But I don’t know what’s so strange about it. ……”
“He was furious.”
“Eh? But he seemed so calm.”
“He’s furious, but he’s not going to be hostile with me just over one of his Retainer. We’re both Princes, and I’m also the Minister of Justice. My patronage is greater than my brother’s now.”
“Hah. ……”
“And I went there to apologize, myself. His younger brother was the first to tell him he had done something wrong. As the eldest child, you must show some maturity. You know that, right?”
“Ah, yes! I understand! That’s right, he can’t get angry if you apologize first. I see. ……amazing.”
Shirley rolled her tongue in admiration.
“And there’s one more thing.”
“There’s more?”
“If we leave this matter open-ended, my brother will harass me later. It’s almost as if we’re enemies.”
“Yes.”
“But I came to apologize, and he had to forgive me. And a nobleman has a face. It’s shameful to retract something once you’ve said it.”
“Thinking that far …… awesome …….”
Seeing Shirley’s admiration, I smiled.
Well, I didn’t have to go this far, but I guess you can never be too careful.
☆
The next day, after finishing my work at the Ministry of Justice, I came home in the early afternoon to find Dylan, my butler, greeting me at the door.
“What’s up, Dylan?”
“You have a visitor, sir.”
“A visitor?”
“Yes, he’s from the Ministry of Imperial Household. Please come in and see him in the parlor.”
“…… Okay.”
I walked to the parlor where the man had been sent.
As soon as I entered, the seated man stood up as if he had been jolted and bowed to me on one knee.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. My name is Don Oates.”[Don Oats, why OATS]
“Hmm”
With a slight tug of my chin, I walked over to the sofa and sat down.
“You may sit down.”
“Thank you.”
Don gets up and sits back down on the edge of the couch where he was sitting before in a reserved manner.
“So, what can I do for you?”
“I wanted to talk to you about yesterday.”
“Hoh”
“I was impressed by His Highness Thirteen’s treatment. I would like to come under Your Highness!”
“You want to join me?”
“Yes! By all means.”
“All right. But I’m the Minister of Justice, it’s hard to get you promoted in the Ministry of the Imperial Household.”
“No problem at all! Your Highness can use me when he needs me!”
“All right. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Thank you, sir!”
Don bowed his head happily.
After watching him leave through the window, I called Dylan.
“What can I do for you?”
“Find out what you can about the man. And be careful.”
“Yes, sir.”
Without asking why Dylan took my order and left the room.
* *
The next day.
I woke up in the morning and had the maids wash my face, brush my teeth, and set my hair as usual when Dylan came to me.
“I have something to report. We found out some details about this Don.”
“Hmm?”
“It seems to have been cleverly concealed, but both his parents are servants of His Highness the First.”
“He’s quite committed.”
Sometimes, noblemen let their servants marry each other.
The house of the aristocracy, especially the Prince, is very strict, and you cannot stop if you want to, and since you are in contact with the Prince on a regular basis, you are restricted from socializing in order to maintain secrecy.
That’s why they often arrange marriages between their servants.
And, as a matter of course, children born to servants also swear allegiance to their masters.
That is what it means to be a servant of the nobility.
“Perhaps His Highness the First sent him to be his spy.”
“I suppose. Do not let anyone find out that you know that. If he being a spy is known, he can be used in a certain way.”
“Hah”
Dylan paused for a breath and said in a different tone than when he was reporting.
“You’ve got a great eye for seeing through a person with just one glance.”
Eyesight, huh—-or rather it’s the sight in front of my eye.
It’s a status that’s always in the corner of my vision.
Even when I allowed Don, the “+” didn’t increase at all.
It was so obvious that he was not working for me in my heart.
