CH 116

I glanced at the prince behind me.

He was just blankly waiting as if he didn’t really care about this situation.

With my signal, the carriage slowly left its location.

From behind us, who were about to board the carriage to go home, someone’s voice rang.

“Stop.”

It was the voice of the aristocrat’s young master sitting in the carriage.

The attendant who received his order, came closer and talked to us.

“My Master ordered you two to ask for forgiveness in front of the carriage.”

“. . .”

As I became speechless for a moment from the absurd words, the prince looked at me once, then at the attendant once and asked.

“Is that person calling us to ask for forgiveness?”

“No. It means you two have to apologize for blocking the carriage of Viscount Philip.”

The voice of the attendant was formal, but the underlying tone was permeated with faint contempt.

He mumbled as if wanting us to hear it.

“I can’t believe they boastfully parked a dull commoner’s carriage. What shameless people.”

It was a comment that was spoken only because it was impossible for him to know that that commoner carriage was numerous times more expensive and better than that carriage wrapped in gilt.

Although I didn’t want this problem to grow out of control, I had no reason to bow my head just to appease that person’s anger.

“I don’t want to do that.”

The attendant’s face crumpled at my reply.

Before he could return to their carriage to deliver my words, the impatient young master walked to our carriage accompanied with two knights.

Then, he kicked our carriage’s wheel.

“Agh!”

The scream came from the young master who kicked the wheel.

It was possible because he didn’t know that the wheel, which appeared to be loosely attached as though it were about to fall out, was actually a steel wheel painted to make it look old.

“Oh my.”

He, whose face turned red, pointed at us with his finger.

“How dare you mock a noble when you only have this kind of poor carriage!”

The boy who looked like he was around the prince’s age was very foul-mouthed.

The knights next to him took a step ahead as if ready to pull their swords.

“Look at these . . .”

Sir Rune scanned over the viscount’s knights as if he was dumbfounded.

“Are you okay with fighting them two on one?”

“Are you asking if I’m okay, or if those fellows will be okay?”

Sir Rune responded while smiling.

Clenching and relaxing his hands lightly, he pushed me a step back.

“It really hurts my pride.”

I was about to reply.

The sudden grasp on my sleeve led me to look back, and the prince’s expression was stiff.

Before any words could come out of his lips, there were sounds of military boots advancing.

“Wha- what’s happening?!”

The direction of where the startled young master turned his head and the prince’s gaze were the same.

The knight with black uniform and expressionless face was familiar.

There was a crest of the three families that decorated the book I just bought earlier in the robe he wore.

“Young Duke . . . Bolton.”

The son of the viscount who turned pale stepped back.

Samuel Bolton, strode forward, knelt before the prince. I mean, in front of me.

I could feel those surrounding us whispering.

“Greetings, Your Highness the Second Prince.”

That ridiculous young master’s face turned whiter at the polite greeting.

It seemed like he finally realized who was the boy behind me through the young duke’s greeting.

“The security of the streets here is under the Bolton Family’s responsibility, so please forgive me for letting a discourteous man who dared to commit the rude act of pulling a sword on you, Your Highness.”

His gaze was only directed to the prince behind me as if he didn’t care about me.

The prince nodded while keeping his mouth shut.

Although he didn’t look frightened, I could sense he couldn’t reply to him.

It must be burdening to face that man.

“Take them away.”

At that faint voice, the soldier came and surrounded the young master and his knights.

“Wait. Stop.”

Young Duke Bolton, who stopped the young master, who was being dragged without being able to say a word, lifted his sword.

“Summary execution is the punishment that befalls those who insult the imperial family.”

Was he trying to kill someone in front of the young prince?

His figure overlapped with my memory of when he stabbed a servant and tossed it to wyverns.

When I saw the prince turn pale, I unintentionally spoke out.

“It’s not for you to decide the execution, sir.”

His steps, which were coming to the young master, stopped.

The expressionless eyes turned to me.

I got goosebumps the moment I met those eyes.

It was my first time feeling like so from meeting his eyes.

“Since the one he commited atrocious act to was the prince, isn’t the decision for his execution in the prince?”

He slowly lowered down his gaze.

The flinched prince wriggled his hand.

After taking a deep breath, a small voice flowed out from his mouth.

“I didn’t expose my status because I didn’t want to make an uproar. Let him go, sir.”

It was a voice that even I, who was near to him, could barely hear.

He, who surprisingly looked like heard the prince’s voice, turned back to the young master.

With a gesture, the soldier let them go.

Although I think the fuss is already big enough.

The black eyes pierced me with their gaze.

It was only in a very short time for his sword to casually fly back to the young master who was released.

“If we don’t punish those who insult the imperial family, the imperial family’s authority will lose its respect.”

At the same time he spoke in a flat tone, the young master clutched his cut hand and screamed.

The bloody smell pierced my nose.