A Captive Prince Awaiting Execution Falls In Love With A Young Lady - Episode 23

After that, several times consciousness surfaced, and each time Sirius ruminated on the stories he had heard from King Benedict.

After careful consideration, I feel the urge to escape and fall asleep again.

After repeating such things.

Consciousness rapidly surfaced, and my upper body automatically propped itself up.

“Wow. You’re awake? Sirius.”

Until now, it had been lying there like a corpse, so it’s no wonder Judith was surprised when it suddenly started moving silently.

Seeing him stand up from his chair and reach for the tonfa baton at his waist, it was clear he was quite startled.

“Thank you, Judith. Have you been here the whole time?”

Sirius thanked them and looked around.

It’s a completely unfamiliar room.

I was lying in a large, spacious bed, with thick curtains drawn.

The floor uses boards with a heavy-looking color, and chairs and chests of the same color are elegantly arranged.

However.

It somehow feels like the hotel I’ve been using for the past few days.

Just hosting an unspecified number of visitors. There is no owner. It had such a simple cleanliness.

“This is Aobamiya. This is the master bedroom.”

“Here? Really?”

I was taken aback when Judith told me.

The Aobamiya in my memory is quite different.

First, the color.

I feel like it used to be filled with brighter colors like light blue and yellow.

The curtains are also made of gauze, and a soft light spreads throughout the room…

“Well, memories tend to be romanticized, don’t they?”

Wry smile.

In reality, wasn’t it more like this sterile feeling?

At the time, I didn’t feel it deeply, but I am an illegitimate child.

It’s only natural that the crown prince born to the legitimate wife and the younger brother are treated differently.

In fact, I was the only one raised in this way, separated from the others.

“What time is it now? How long have I been asleep?”

I was shot last night, and from there, I headed straight to the royal capital.

Entering the royal castle in the early morning, having lunch, and then an audience with King Benedict.

At that point, I fainted.

Looking at the curtains.

It was thick, but I could still sense the presence outside.

It’s already night.

The fact that all the lights in the indoor lighting fixtures are on is proof of that.

Just now, the last bell rang.

Judith said, and then she quietly sat down at the edge of the bed.

That means it’s 8 PM.

The next time the church bell rings is at 4 AM.

“If you’re hungry, I’ll bring you dinner.”

“What’s wrong with Judith?”

“I’m going ahead with Dad. Sorry.”

“Not at all. Rather, I feel relieved.”

“What should we do about dinner?”

“I don’t need anything today. But if you have any drinks…”

“Wait for me.”

Judith stands up and, with light steps, makes her way to the table.

Remove the insulation cover and pour the tea from the bottle into the cup.

“It might already be cold, but…”

Judith approached Sirius with a furrowed brow, looking apologetic, and offered him the item.

“Not at all. Thank you.”

I brought the cup to my lips and gulped it down. I must have been thirstier than I thought, as I finished it in one go. I wrapped my hands around the empty cup and let out a sigh of relief. Judith gently picked up the cup, returned to the table, and poured me another drink.

Sirius swings his legs off the bed, sits up, and takes the cup.

“Have you been with me all this time?”

“Except when I was eating.”

Judith sat next to Sirius with a smile.

And then, looking at Sirius’s face as he took a sip of tea, I laughed again.

“Right after you collapsed, you had a face like a scholar tackling the mystery of the world’s end.”

“Well, if you’re suddenly told a story like that…”

“Your face looks refreshed now. Did something get resolved? Or did you just regain your energy?”

Judith sways her feet as she leans in to look at Sirius’s face.

Fluffy, fluffy, fluffy, and.

The bed gently swayed to match Judith’s feet. Sirius thought it felt like being on a cloud.

“Maybe all of that. My stamina has recovered. …Or rather, I’m fed up with my lack of stamina.”

“Well, that’s to be expected, isn’t it? Even though you were careful and exercised, Sirius, you couldn’t leave the tower for a long time.”

“Even so, it’s completely different from you.”

“Don’t compare yourself to me.”

“……I guess that’s true, but it still gets me down. Well, putting that aside, my stamina has recovered.”

“Yeah”

“So, did we resolve it… Well, some things were resolved, but some things weren’t.”

Sirius brought the cup to his lips once again and, as expected, downed its contents in one go.

Moistened.

I thought so.

It wasn’t that I was satisfied or indulged, but that I was fulfilled. That was the most fitting.

“It’s strange to say it’s resolved. You know, I’ve kind of come to terms with it.”

“Did you come to terms with it?”

Judith tilted her head slightly. Sirius placed the empty cup on the bed and gave a wry smile.

“Because that’s how it is, right? My mother is a princess of the Darnian Empire. I became a prince at the request of a neighboring country. I had to stop my brother-in-law’s conflict to maintain the peace in this country. And then, to stabilize the borders between our countries, I had to govern the territory.”

“Haha,” Sirius laughed.

“Even if I say something, it won’t change anything. Besides, I don’t even have the right to say ‘no’.”

“Are you giving up?”

Asked by Judith, Sirius shook his head gently, maintaining a soft expression.

“No, that’s not it. I’ve come to terms with it. If this is my job, then I have to do it. That’s my role.”

“Is Sirius okay with that?”

“That’s how it is. That’s why I was kept alive.”

The face of my brother-in-law comes to mind.

I always think about it.

I want to remember his smile, not this face.

And.

Originally, I wanted to grow up together with him.

But.

He died, and Sirius survived.

Then.

I must fulfill that mission along with the reason I was spared.

“Yeah. So, are you okay now?”

“Well… there are problems that aren’t okay either. Right. You know, Judith.”

Sirius turns his body to the side.

One leg was still hanging off the bed. The other leg was bent at the knee as he looked at Judith.

“As I said earlier, there’s nothing we can do about the Darnian Empire situation. We’ll go along with what they say.”

“Yeah, why not? The Emperor is probably Sirius’s uncle, right? If you have time, go meet him. I think he’ll be happy too.”

“Well, yeah. I’ll do that. So, about the dispute with my brother-in-law…”

“That’s important, right? Sirius is weak.”

“You’re just too strong. I’m pretty strong too.”

“Really?”

“I don’t care about that. I’ll figure something out regarding my brother-in-law. At the very least, it won’t turn into a war.”

“Eh? No way!”

“……It might be impossible, but I’ll do it. Besides, if it turns into a war, then there won’t be any place for me.”

“That’s not true, is it? You can use two battalions and, what was it again, the cavalry unit, right?”

“Do you think I have the ability to command professional soldiers?”

“Not at all.”

“You’re so straightforward. So, I’ll just leave it entirely to the captains.”

“Can you really do that?”

“To begin with, they probably don’t have any expectations either. I’m just a figurehead commander after all. So, this is more or less resolved.”

“Y-yeah. It’s kind of a sweet, impulsive start, but…”

“So, it’s a problem with you.”

“Me?”

Judith stopped in her tracks with a puzzled expression on her face.

“The talk about marrying you”

I couldn’t help but furrow my brows. Judith mirrored my expression and said.

“Don’t you like it?”