A Captive Prince Awaiting Execution Falls In Love With A Young Lady - Episode 19

“Excuse me, could I have that nectarine and plum? And what about Sirius?”

“Ah… Well then, that apple.”

“Sure thing, as always!”

The man with the black beard skillfully peeled the skin to make it easier to eat, and placed it on a makeshift plate made from large leaves. He even added a cute flag decoration along with a toothpick, showing a level of detail that belied his appearance.

“What are you going to do with the apple?”

“Oh, just like that.”

When I told them, they made a squeaking sound and polished the apple with a cloth.

“Young lady, you can just put that disposable plate in the trash can in the square.”

“Thank you!”

“Um, how much is the fee?”

“I was told, ‘Buy anything that Judith might like,’ and I was entrusted with the money from the Duke of the Imperial Court.”

Sirius paid a little more than the price the bearded man quoted and received the apple. Judith, who had already received a simple plate, had a beaming face.

“Let’s eat where the fountain used to be!”

Judith runs back to the center of the square, te te te te te.

“Are you going to drop it!? Are you okay!?”

Sirius is restless, but surprisingly, he moves quickly and takes a seat on the edge of the fountain.

“Let’s eat!”

As instructed, I stuck a toothpick into the nectarine and lifted it up.

Juicy flesh dripped with thick juice. Judith tossed it into her mouth without hesitation and took a big bite.

“Sweet! Soft! Melting!”

After saying those three words, he closed his eyes and fell silent for a while. It seemed he was lost in the afterglow.

Sirius, while giving a wry smile, drew the knife sheathed at his waist.

“Do you want to eat an apple too?”

“I’ll eat it! But just a little! It definitely won’t fit!”

I thought, “That’s probably how it is.”

Sirius skillfully cut off a quarter of the apple and placed it on Judith’s makeshift plate. He returned the knife to its place and sank his teeth into the apple. A satisfying crunch echoed. The flesh was firm and to his liking. He appreciated that it wasn’t too sweet, but next to him, Judith was saying, “Sour! Hard! Not good!” So, it must be a matter of personal preference.

“This much is good.”

“This is way too sour!”

“It’s not candy. Fruits these days are too sweet.”

“They say sweet is better! Here, try this!”

As instructed, Judith offered the nectarine she had pierced with a toothpick. Sirius popped it into his mouth.

“It’s sweet… this.”

“Isn’t it supposed to be ‘delicious’ instead?”

“Uu…n”

In the end, I put the apple in my mouth. I think it’s refreshing, but Judith looks at me as if I’m some kind of monster.

“Apple”

Since Judith said so, I offer the side I haven’t bitten into.

She twisted her waist and slightly leaned forward to bite into the apple Sirius was holding.

With very childish gestures, despite having no manners at all.

Her posture was relaxed and graceful, like a supple cat. Somehow, it looked very erotic.

“Judith”

“What?”

“You know, you’re at that age, being a girl and all?”

Actually, I should scold you for being rude.

I slightly turn my face away. My face is about to turn red.

“Geez, seriously. Ugh, it’s still sour.”

Even though she is grimacing, she is savoring it, so I really don’t understand her tastes.

“Letting go of someone who makes such delicious fruit must have been a regrettable thing, don’t you think?”

Judith suddenly said something like that.

Sirius directs only his gaze towards the girl sitting next to him.

“Sure, I understand there are various human rights issues and all that, right? I mean, no one wants to become a serf in the first place, so I think it’s a really good thing to be freed from that. But from the perspective of those running the farms, they might think, ‘Why are you suddenly saying something like that?’ You know?”

Judith brings the last nectarine to her mouth.

“I thought it was a product that only I could handle, but then it started circulating in the market at a low price… If that’s the case, we have to add some kind of value and create something special to sell to the high-ranking nobles, right? Considering the effort and time involved…”

Judith swallows the juice with a gulp.

“Seems like the grudge runs deep.”

“……probably.”

To the extent that it could potentially overthrow the nation.

Sirius murmurs to himself.

“Oh. This plum is sweet and sour! I like it like this.”

With a smile, Judith stood up straight after finishing her meal.

“I’m going to throw it in that trash can.”

“Oh, yeah. Wait a minute. It’s dangerous to go alone, so I’ll go with you…”

When I hurriedly tried to stand up, Judith laughed lightly.

“You won’t get lost, and you won’t be attacked by anyone, so it’s fine. Besides, Sirius, don’t go following strangers who call out to you, okay?”

“Do you think I’m a child or something?”

“I’m not a child, but I do think I’m naive about the world.”

When I’m told that, I can’t retort.

Pouting her lips into a straight line, Judith walks away laughing.

Suddenly.

It somehow got quiet.

No, the hall was still overflowing with people, and children were cheering everywhere. It seemed that street performances had started a little further away, and I could hear the sound of an accordion.

If anything, the fountain behind me is constantly making a soothing sound of water.

But.

Judith is not nearby.

I felt like I was cut off from the source of the sound just by that.

She came along to the royal capital as if it were a picnic.

A girl who is two years younger and comes to play at the tower almost every day.

But I am a deposed prince, and she is a legitimate daughter of a noble family in the imperial court.

No matter how much I cherish myself.

No matter how much I cherish you.

Even if it feels so important that it makes my heart ache.

From here on, their paths will not cross.

Judith is.

Surely, I will live in a world with light music and sweet fruits, where a gentle breeze blows.

(They probably don’t even think of me as a man in the first place.)

Judith’s attitude.

Brother, or at best, childhood friends.

That realization makes my chest ache.

Holding a half-eaten apple and looking down.

Suddenly, the sun was obscured.

I wonder if clouds have appeared.

Lift your head.

And.

I noticed I was surrounded by unfamiliar men.

“…What is it?”

I stood up suddenly. An apple fell at my feet and bounced.

“If you’re going to escape with us, now is the time, Prince.”

There are three men.

Both are wearing linen vests and cotton trousers.

It appears simple and modest, though.

One of them notices that the necklace hanging around their neck is a rosary.

He is pretending to be a commoner, but he is a monk.

“Are you being taken to the royal capital?”

A slightly younger man spoke to Sirius in a hushed voice.

“If you go, you’ll be executed. If you’re going to escape, do it with us.”

“Th…that’s not it.”

Sirius shook his head reflexively.

They must be my brother-in-law’s companions, the monks of the Nalan sect.

I noticed that Sirius was taken out of the tower, so I followed him like this.

“Brother-in-law… Where is he now?!”

Sirius tried to look around, but he was blocked by three people and couldn’t see anything.

“His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not present here.”

“I will guide you, so please.”

“Now, it’s time.”

A man suddenly grabs Sirius’s arm, so Sirius instinctively shakes him off.

“It’s not like that. Please tell my brother-in-law to stop with the reckless things.”

“Reckless?”

Suddenly, the elderly man’s eyes take on a menacing hue.

As if closing the distance, the three of them stepped forward towards Sirius, one by one. The sound of a damp squish was heard as someone stepped on an apple that had fallen at their feet.

Sirius also tries to escape backward, but right behind him is a fountain. There’s no way out.

“It’s too late to try to overturn the government now. To begin with, we…”

Sirius compared the three one by one.

“I am the exiled prince.”

“No, I am the rightful heir to the throne.”

The elderly man asserts, and the two men nod deeply.

“Bringing chaos to the country won’t do any good. Isn’t the South already in turmoil over the serf issue? What will you do if other countries take advantage of that and invade?”

The neighboring country across the southern border is the Darnian Empire.

A country that has fought many wars in the past.

Even now, it is a state of ceasefire, but it is not a state of peace.

“Please… tell my brother-in-law. If he cares about the people of the country, he should accept this position.”

“The people are suffering, you know?!”

“Will you abandon it?”

The men threatened him, but Sirius firmly shook his head.

“Even if we stand up here, it will only increase the number of suffering citizens.”

It takes time to stabilize new policies.

Because revision work is necessary.

Trial and error is essential. How you adjust from here and find a compromise will test your skills.

“Now is not the time to act.”

“I would like to ask you something, Prince.”

The man says.

“For what purpose are you going to the royal capital?”

“I… I don’t know either.”

I conveyed it while feeling perplexed.

This is my true feelings.

I am merely following the request of the Prince of the Imperial Court.

“Huh?”

The youngest man raised a suspicious voice.

“Your brother stood up for the country, for us, without regard for his own safety… and yet… you…”

“Now is not the time to be saying such things.”

An elderly man stopped.

“Anyway, it’s for protection.”

“Let’s take them with us.”

The men nod at each other with their eyes.

And then, out of nowhere, he lunged at Sirius.

Sirius brushes aside the hand.

I tried to shout.

If you make a fuss, the kidnapping case will fall apart.

I took a deep breath and tried to open my mouth.

I was noticed.

“You ungrateful wretch!”

I was suddenly pushed in the chest by a young man.

“Stop it!”

An elderly man raised his voice in a flustered manner.

Sirius lies on his back.

I saw clear skies for just a moment.

And the next moment, I fell back into the fountain with a splash.

The loud splash was heard for just a moment.

The only sound left is the popping of the bubbles surrounding us.

Then, the sound of my breath turning into bubbles from my mouth and nose, overflowing into the water.

Sirius scratched his hands with both arms and tried to stand up.

Suddenly, a foot came down from above and stomped on me.

Gulp, and a loud breath escapes.

If it weren’t for being in the water, my stomach might have burst.

With that kind of force, they try to crush Sirius.

That dissatisfied young man.

Sirius remembers the man’s fierce eyes.

It wasn’t long before my back was pressed against the bottom of the fountain.

Even though I try to get up somehow, the force of the foot stepping on me is strong, and I can’t push back.

Although it’s muffled by the water, I can hear some voices. The other two men were shouting something at the young man.

(I have to get up…!)

The harder I try, the more breath escapes from my mouth.

Just when I was about to lose consciousness.

The hand that held me back is gone.

Sirius struggles desperately.

Someone grabbed that hand and pulled me up in one swift motion.

“Are you okay!? Sirius!”

The water from the fountain got into my eyes and I can’t open them, and suddenly my breath rushes into my lungs and I can’t stop coughing. I can’t see her, but this voice is Judith’s.

“Miss, shall we pursue them?”

“No. More importantly, let’s escape to the hotel right now. We still don’t know who might be targeting us.”

Apparently.

It seems that Mr. Sanders and Judith helped me.

It’s so painful that I can’t stop crying. Despite coughing violently, Sirius felt a deep sense of relief.