âYouâve even contacted Kingdom...â
The Prince replied calmly to Alistairâs dumbfounded mutter, âItâs a truly difficult situation, your cooperation is vital even if you donât know this. And thatâs not all.â
âThereâs been a lot of dissatisfaction in the regions in Frontier because Kingdom is the only place with a barrier. Theyâre also not happy that the people in Kingdom are living inside the barrier while relying on the magic stones produced in Frontier.â
Well, of course. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âBut what happens if Frontier doesnât supply enough magic stones? Wester produces the most magic stones out of the three regions of Frontier. We lightly hinted that we wanted Kingdom people to fill the magic stones.â
The Prince continued, âOf course, weâve also made a formal request to the royal family in Kingdom. But, we only hinted that we have people from the Albans and Lisburn families.â
No one could say anything. The mayor couldnât stop this. Bart and his crew didnât know what to do because they knew that I wanted to go back to where father was and that Alistair didnât want to return to Kingdom.
âIâww go.â
âLei!â Alistair said sorrowfully after my declaration.
âA magwic usher wiww come from Kingdom. If Lei ish there thhen they donâth need Awishthair,â I said clearly. They will probably come up with some excuse for why they had an Albans child but not a Lisburn child. They didnât need us as magic users; they needed us to act as bait for the magic users of Kingdom.
The Prince put his hand on his chin and looked at me when I said this to Alistair. âHmm. To be honest, Iâd rather have you, the summery-blue eyed child rather than a baby who isnât useful.â I stared back at him.
âThe fief capital has received information that Albans is frantically searching for his baby even though heâs doing it in secret. I guess itâll be fine if youâre the only one who comes.â Then he scoffed. It wasnât like he got cooler just because he laughed. But, his cold image was fading a little.
âYouâve got candy scraps on your face.â
Heâs an arsehole after all.
âBut, summery-blue boy.â The Prince tensed his face and looked at Alistair.
âThis barrier box plan was carefully planned out by us siblings when we realised that we had a lot of magic power at a young age. Your guardians may be able to turn down this request since youâre only 11. But when you turn 18, youâll be coming to the fief capital even if you hate it. Keep that in mind.â
Alistair clenched his teeth and looked down.
âIn the end, it will be for Lentforce.â
He lifted his face when he heard that.
âPrince, thatâs mean,â Bart, who had been silent, said.
âA messenger will come here from the fief capital every year until heâs an adult. But what will happen to the reputation of this barrier town that everyone envies?â
âThatâs why Iâm saying youâre mean!â
âIâm just saying the truth. Frontier isnât affluent enough to leave a magic user alone.â
Everyone was at a loss for words. Itâll never end like this.
âNeed thime.â
âLei, thatâs right,â Bart was surprised by me and answered in place of Alistair.
âWeâve certainly heard your request. But weâre their current guardians. Alistair doesnât know what to do, and not everything Lei says is right.â
I looked up at Bart in surprise, and he nodded lightly. This was something I had decided.
âI want them to think it over before they make a decision. Youâre not going to tell me to bring them to you tomorrow too, are you?â
âHmm. I actually want to see them tomorrow though.â
âImpossible. If you canât wait, then, weâll take them there. You can go back first.â
Thatâs probably not how someone should talk to a prince, even as a joke. I watched Bart and the Prince in anticipation.
âFuu.â The Prince sighed in an un-prince-like way.
âWe were only late because we heard of scoundrels who planned to kidnap her, so we went looking for them. Whatâs with your remarks?â
âWhat did you say?â
The people who tried to kidnap me? The Princeâs amazed face went back to a serious one. âDo you want to know more about it?â
âOf course.â
âThen, give me your response as soon as possible.â
âFine. Iâll do that.â
Itâs like theyâre making a gloomy deal.
âIn Kingdom, there seems to be a force that doesnât want that baby to return to Kingdom.â
âDid you find out something about this?â
The Prince shook his head.
âItâs just a guess. They went out of their way to use the name âRemingtonâ, so they probably arenât part of the Four Marquises. You can also reach this conclusion if you consider that the current prince of Kingdom is 2 years old and has strong magic,â the Prince stopped speaking there. I didnât know that there was a prince in Kingdom. There are a lot of things that a one-year-old doesnât know.
âThat baby whoâs playing innocent-.â
It seems like Iâve been demoted to a baby whoâs playing innocent.
âIâd say that there are guys who are worried about them being around the same age.â
Oh. A two-year-old and a one-year-old? No way. I looked off into the distance.
Bart, who had been silently listening to the Prince, stood up. Everyone else also stood up, and Alistair carried me off the chair. Thereâs still some sweets left! I felt disappointed.
âWrap up the sweets.â
âAh, yes!â
When the Prince said that, the servant quickly wrapped all the sweets on the table so that it could be carried in one hand. He might actually be a decent person.
âThanwsh.â
âYouâre welcome.â
The servant smiled and gently rubbed my head when I thanked him.
âYouâre not going to thank me?â I held onto Alistairâs hand and was about to go home with my snacks in hand, but I turned around when I heard the Prince.
âThanwsh.â
I smiled and the Prince froze with a surprised expression on his face. Whatâs surprising? Thereâs nothing to lose by smiling. Because smiles are 0 yen