The Abandoned Prince Heals an Enemy Soldier on the Frontlines, Only to Discover She’s the Seventh Imperial Princess - Chapter 72: The Abandoned Prince Gains Fame

Chapter 72: The Abandoned Prince Gains Fame

I’d just finished explaining the whole Kijin situation to Alcarion and was now discussing what we should do next.

“Hm… Kijin, you say?”

“Y-Yeah. Apparently, they regularly attack from Onigashima and have been giving Ashuhara a really hard time.”

“Kijin… I see. That’s certainly an interesting development.”

Alcarion kept her usual unreadable expression, but I could tell she was deep in thought.

After a long pause, she gave a small, thoughtful nod.

“Understood. Let’s take this seriously. We should try arranging a formal discussion soon.”

“Wait—are you really okay with deciding that so fast?”

“We’ll be stationed in that ocean region for nearly half a year, right? There’s a real chance the Kijin might target us, too. If we manage to take care of the problem, we not only secure safe access to the seabed resources, but we also smooth over the whole territorial trespass issue. No reason to say no. More importantly—”

“More importantly?”

Alcarion suddenly pulled me into a hug and gently began stroking my head.

“You want to help Ashuhara with their Kijin problem, don’t you?”

“W-Well… yeah.”

“Then it’s a wife’s duty to support her husband’s kind heart. …Though we will need to address how easily you fall for honey traps.”

“Geh! H-How do you even know about that!?”

“I heard everything from Kuura. She reported that while on assignment, you cheated with a pair of fox-eared sisters.”

“S-Sorry…”

I apologized before I even thought about it.

In response, Alcarion just hugged me even tighter.

“It’s too late to worry about that now—and honestly, that’s part of your charm. You don’t need to apologize. In fact, I’m happy more women are starting to realize how wonderful you really are.”

“Y-You really think so?”

I mean, I’ve known for a while now—

But Alcarion really is the type to praise me no matter what I do.

At this rate, she’s gonna spoil me into becoming a completely useless human being.

…What’s that?

“You already are”?

No, no… I’m still good. Probably. Hopefully.

“…Hey, Alcarion?”

“Yes, my dear?”

A sudden realization hit me, and before I could stop myself, I blurted it out:

“Why are you even here!? This is Ashuhara! And not just anywhere—this is the most heavily guarded place in the entire country! The freaking Celestial Empress lives here!!”

“I wanted to see your face.”

“…Why do you look like, ‘Isn’t that a good enough reason?’ Ugh—you’re so cute it hurts!!”

Right.

This wasn’t Agardramoon.

This was the super fancy guest suite I’d been given while staying in Ashuhara.

And yet—for some reason—Alcarion was here.

In my room. Just casually hanging out.

How she even got in? No clue.

But there she was.

Talking, moving, acting like it was the most normal thing in the world.

I don’t get it. Her mobility is insane.

“Wait—won’t you get in huge trouble if someone finds you!?”

“If it comes to that, I’ll just burn everything down and erase all evidence. So don’t worry.”

“THAT IS NOT REASSURING!! You are absolutely not allowed to do that! Got it!?”

“…It was a joke.”

That was way too terrifying to be a joke!!

“Well then, I’ll be taking my leave. I’ll come check on you again soon, my dear.”

“W-Wait, hold on!!”

Alcarion slid open the shoji window, struck a graceful ninja-like pose… and vanished into the night.

Way too bold.

Panicking, I rushed to the window and leaned out to see where she went—

But no matter how far I looked—up, down, left, right—there was no sign of her anywhere.

“Alcarion is way too good at this…”

“…She’s always been like that.”

“BWAAH!?”

I jumped like a cat getting hit with cold water.

I spun around—and found Kuura standing silently behind me, still staring at the open shoji window Alcarion had just used.

“O-Oh, right… You two are friends, huh?”

“…I don’t acknowledge that.”

“But Alcarion said you guys have tea together sometimes… Doesn’t that mean you get along?”

“…We only engage in the bare minimum of social interaction.”

“O-Oh… gotcha.”

I wisely shut my mouth.

Alcarion might always wear that blank expression, but you can still tell when she’s feeling something.

Kuura, though?

She really does feel emotionless.

Which makes things super awkward when we’re alone.

Conversations die instantly, and I never know how to handle the silence.

“Uh, s-so… I’m gonna go talk to Kinko, see if we can set up that meeting now.”

“…I’ll come with you.”

And just like that, I headed off with Kuura—my ever-silent bodyguard—toward the room where Kinko was staying.

That’s when I noticed something weird.

A bunch of people were giving me looks.

Specifically… young guys working around the Ashuhara palace.

And let’s just say—those looks were not friendly.

“Did I… do something wrong?”

“…There’s definitely some hostility in the air.”

“Ugh, seriously?”

“…But I don’t sense any killing intent. It should be fine to ignore them.”

“I… I guess?”

Still felt a little uneasy, but if Kuura said it was fine, I had to trust her.

So, I headed straight to Kinko’s room and let her know that Alcarion was seriously considering forming an alliance against the Kijin.

“Truly!? Oh, thank you so much, Reyshel-dono!!”

“I didn’t actually do anything though. Oh, right—there’s something I wanted to ask.”

“What is it?”

“On my way here, I noticed a ton of people staring at me. Do you know anything about that?”

The moment I mentioned the stares, Kinko suddenly froze.

“T-That is… well… I’m so sorry. Actually, it’s Ginko…”

“Ginko?”

To sum up what Kinko told me—

Apparently, Ginko had been going around the palace bragging about our night together.

Thanks to that, my reputation had absolutely blown up.

Word was, I was huge, tireless, never went soft, and had god-tier technique.

And just like that… I’d become a palace legend.

A full-blown celebrity.

Still didn’t explain why all those young guys were glaring at me, though…

“The young men working in the palace all adore Her Majesty the Celestial Empress. In other words, they’re basically… unofficial lovers.”

“Ahh, got it.”

“Yes. And since we were the ones who spent the night with you, they’re assuming Her Majesty is next. They’re probably worried you’ll become her new favorite. Everyone knows your current status, so I don’t think they’ll actually try anything, but… just in case, please avoid walking around alone.”

Well, that was… complicated.

I mean, Ginko did take really good care of me, so I wasn’t mad or anything, but…

If I have to be stared at, I’d definitely prefer it was by cute girls—not jealous guys.

Still—let’s not forget, I’m technically here as an official representative from a super-advanced floating nation they might want to ally with.

No way they’d actually try anything.

Not while I’ve got a personal bodyguard with me.

…Or so I thought.

“Hey! You!! I challenge you to a duel!!”

That happened a few days later.

Some kid—probably mid-teens—suddenly burst into my room and yelled something completely ridiculous.

A duel.

A duel!?

I let out a sigh, already exhausted, and tried to figure out the least painful way to deal with this mess.

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[Afterword]

A Random Tidbit

Author: “It’s kinda rare for a guy to show up in this series, huh…”

R: “Yeah, true.”

If you found yourself thinking, “Alcarion’s sneakiness is OP lol,” “Famous for that? Seriously!?” or “Wait… a male character!?” Then feel free to leave a comment, bookmark, ★ rating, or review!