I'm a court magician. Recently, I’ve been worrying about the princess staring at me. - Chapter 18

“Whoa…”

I let out an amazed sigh at the clothes I had just changed into.

“It suits you very well.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Her honest praise lifted my mood. I’m happy to be praised honestly, but that’s not the case.

Right now I wasn’t wearing my usual formal attire, but rather a simple blue dress that any woman in the city could be seen wearing. To be honest, I liked this dress quite a bit more than the expensive ones I was used to wearing. My father and mother wouldn’t be too pleased to hear that, though.

“Well, I agree with this.”

“Excuse me, but—”

“By the way, Princess, your substitute will be here soon. Rest assured, no one will notice anything while you are gone.”

“I’m not quite sure what you…”

Before I could finish my sentence, she had already left the room and closed the door behind her, leaving me in a state of confusion. As much as I liked the dress she had given me, it wasn’t the kind of thing I could wear in front of the country, much less while giving a speech. So why—

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock at my window.

“Who…?”

I opened the window and went out into the veranda, and what I saw left me speechless.

You really couldn’t blame me, considering who my unexpected visitor was.

“How are you, Your Highness? Would you care to go out with me right now?”

Raize-sama, clad in his black robe, was sitting on the railing and reaching his hand out to me.

◇

[Around half an hour ago.]

“What should I do for now?”

I was sitting on the sofa, contemplating in my office. My job—to escort the princess from the shadows—didn’t start until evening. When the time came, in a carriage flanked by guards, the royal family would parade the streets of the capital and greet the citizens.

Afterwards, they would return to the palace and speak to a crowd gathered in the central square.

Until then, the royal family—the princess in particular—had no reason to leave the palace chambers. In other words, I was free.

“I’d like to take a nap, but…”

I picked up a piece of paper lying on the desk covered in scribbles. It was my own handwriting, marking down all the information I had picked up recently about the disappearing members of the royal guard.

It was for the most part incoherent, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something that could tie it all together. And so, I ignored my sleepiness and continued going over the situation in my head.

“Five members have disappeared. One of them is Arsenas Kroger, the deputy commander of the royal guard. After the captain, he’s the best there is, especially when it comes to swordsmanship…”

There were too many suspicious points to cover. To begin with, it was strange that the perpetrator removed the body from the scene but left it covered in blood. If they only wanted to kill him, it was safer to leave the body there. And the amount of blood was more than excessive.

Most importantly, was it so easy to assassinate the second in command of the royal guard? Just because he was asleep in his room? A man of his caliber would be alerted by the faintest footsteps, and there’s nothing more dangerous than attacking a skilled soldier in his sleep.

Perhaps some sort of possession magic that we were unaware of was at play here. Or… it was possible that there was some sort of internal struggle, but I doubted it. The royal guard was too well-trained for this kind of barbaric scuffle.

“Or…”

The man in black possessed by Mental Domination came to mind. What if a member of the guard was under the same spell?

As I was deep in thought, someone knocked at the door. Do they need more hangover medicine?

“Come in.”

“Raize-kun, you have a guest.”

“A guest?”

It was Milena-san speaking through the door, but it seemed that someone was with her.

It was probably another person asking for help with the festival preparations… in which case I wanted to ignore them entirely. But I had already responded, so they knew I was here.
Well, maybe getting some air would be good for me.

I got up and opened the door.

Standing there was a maid I had never seen before. She was slender, and her black hair was trimmed in a bob. Her eyes, black also, betrayed no carelessness in her firm demeanor.

“…Do you need something?”

The maid curtsied politely.

“Apologies for the lack of notice, but would you mind sparing me a moment?”

“Huh? Oh, sure. No worries, I wasn’t busy anyways.”

In response to my affirmation, the maid said, “This way,” and walked down the hall.

There were still a lot of things I wanted to think about, but they came and went.

I closed the door gently behind me before following the maid.

***

We eventually arrived at the reception lobby in the main wing of the palace. I didn’t come here often. I felt out of place among the velvet sofas and luxurious furnishings. At times like these, I missed the grassland around my old village. Green as far as the eye can see, and air cleaner than any cityfolk could dream of. I remembered how it felt to lie down and watch the clouds with soft grass cushioning my back. But I was here now, staring at the cup of coffee offered in front of me.

“So…”

“Of course. My name is Bella Laiti, and I am the princess’s exclusive maid. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Her unexpected revelation took me by surprise. But it made sense. There was something about the atmosphere around her and the way she presented herself. But I had to wonder why she came to me.

“Is this about anything I did to Her Highness?”

“Hm? No, I’m not quite sure what you mean?”

“So it’s not that, then…”

At the very least, I escaped a potential beheading. Especially considering my most recent interaction with Her Highness, I thought it might have been something along those lines, but I guess I was wrong.

I straightened myself up and looked at the maid—Bella.

“Can I help you with anything, then?”

“…About what I am about to say, please do not mention this to anyone else.”

Her voice was quiet and serious. I nodded.

“There is still about half a day before the parade begins. In the meantime, the royal family will not be going out, and there are guards stationed at their doors.”

“I think I get it.”

I rested my index finger on my temple and smiled knowingly.

“Are you saying you want the princess out of her room?”

“Indeed.”

“But why?”

There was nothing that would require Her Highness’s attention until the parade. If anything, Bella was risking endangering her, yet she was asking for my help. There had to be a good reason.

“The princess has a lot on her mind these days, however much she tries to hide it. Allowing her to speak to the public in this state would not do good for anyone. At the very least, I would like her to enjoy the festivities and clear her mind.”

“Ah… before her speech?”

“Yes. The people will want to see the princess doing well. But more than that, I simply wish for her to feel better. Will you accept my offer?”

Bella bowed deeply.

I could tell just how much she respected and cared for the princess. Her Highness was lucky to have her.

Loyalty should be rewarded, I guess.

“Alright. Should I take her out now and come back before the parade?”

“Yes, I have prepared a substitute for the princess. Someone with similar height and physique. I am the only one who can enter the room, in any case.”

“Well, aren’t you prepared…”

It sounded like she had planned under the assumption that I would accept from the beginning.

I pondered over it a little.

But to be honest, I was a little interested in the festival myself. I was starting to worry whether I could even escort her properly among the numerous distractions.

I took a sip of coffee and straightened the brooch on my chest.