Akuyaku Reijō (Kari) No Funtō

Chapter 26: The Crown Prince's Family (Ethan POV)

 The form of love is different for each person.
I believe that any kind of love is precious.

 

 　It was my father, the King, who would decide how to treat the guilty and how to deal with the Kingdom of Xium.
　I honestly expressed my desire to have Rebecca as my Queen and asked him to consider my opinion on the treatment of Zhangou, as well as the history of Zhangou.

　Father seemed surprised to learn that I had caught feelings at first sight for Rebecca.

“When the engagement between you and Princess Aaliyah was first discussed, both Margaret and I had our heads in the sand over the Marquess Howard's head on attack …”

　Marquis Howard, who did not like the idea of using his daughter as a political pawn, kept running away, saying that his daughter could not serve as the Crown Princess.
When asked if he would marry her to the second prince, Howard refused, saying that if my brother got engaged first, it would spur the strange rumors that were circulating around the country.

“Ethan, did you know that you were rumored to be homosexual?”

　That's the conclusion even Princess Aaliyah, who had just done light research on me, had arrived at.
One can only guess what people thought of me, a man who never looked at women.
　I answered in short, “Yes,” and my father let out a tired breath.

“Then you came to me with the engagement proposal.
Margaret and I were pleased to know you had more opportunities to meet women, even if it was a contract with a termination date.
　Garrett, on the other hand, is book smart, but his stupidity is his greatest flaw, and he needs a firm daughter like Miss Rebecca to tighten the reins on him.”

　Parents, indeed, have a point.
　It is true that my younger brother is an excellent student.
But this time, I found that his thought process to achieve his goals is somehow disappointing.

　According to Father, “My brother was like that in the past.”

“He specialized in the medical field and was devoted to his sister.
He gave up the throne to his brother, even though his sister wanted it more, and devoted himself to the study of medicine.
That's why the standard of medical care in Lendor is so outstanding.”

　In a royal family with generally high magic power, it is said that a pathetic man who excels in one art rarely appears.
　At first glance, this lunkhead appears to be a quiet, good-natured man.
While he can make  outstanding achievements, his decisions at critical moments are unique, and it is here that the people around him first realize that he is the one.
　One wonders if he will not be used for political purposes, but in fact, this slacker is very dependent and basically only moves for the sake of the person he is fascinated with.
He is certainly not suitable for the position of King, and it would be difficult to make him a puppet.

“I had been worried about him for a long time, but we have a family relationship that has not existed among the royalty of the past generations.
　But this latest series of actions has convinced me that Garrett is definitely of this blood.
There is no doubt in my mind that Garrett is from this side of the family.”

　”If you knew, you should have told me,” I thought, but my father was relieved to see how Garrett had taken to me.
　A politician is always lonely.
A brother is both family and a loyal subject.
He thought that he and my brother should support each other to rule the country, but for my part, I would like him to become an independent man.

　I think back to the past.
　He once said, “It's amazing that you practice this kind of thing, brother.
I knew that only you could be King.” Call it a miscalculation, but it makes me reflect that I should have looked at Garrett more closely, too.
　Still, my brother vowed to grow up in the future.
There is no lie in his sincere eyes, and I don't think his education up to now has been in vain.
Garrett will prove it from now on.

　Still, the eldest son, who is suspected of being a homosexual, and the second son, who is full of bad habits … I can only imagine the anguish our parents must have been going through all this time.

“Garrett's qualities are just as much a part of his personality as his looks.
He's attached to you, and I'm sure he'll make something of himself if the people around him take the reins properly.
　Then there's the engagement between you and Princess Aaliyah.
I didn't expect you to be such a romantic in your search for the woman of your dreams, but then again, you never brought a man into your bedroom in the first place.
The rumors have proven to be nothing more than the imagination of commoners.
　I thought it was the best choice at the time to dispel the rumors against you, and to destroy Marquis Howard's escape route and set up Miss Rebecca as Garrett's fiancée.”

　I waited for my father, who was thinking … that I would meet Miss Rebecca after my engagement to the Princess had been finalized.

“She’s still my one true love.”

“ ……What?”

“Do I have to tell you twice? She is my one true love.”

“What? You still haven't told Miss Rebecca how you feel about her?”

　Father hurriedly called a servant and for some reason told them to tell Mother that I was going to visit her.
The way he said it, with no consideration for Mother's convenience, made me feel the urgency of the situation.

“Ethan, go to … your mother Margaret at once.

　She had summoned Miss Rebecca during the day and promised to introduce her to a man related to the royal family at the ball after her social debut there.”

　I was perturbed.
　If Rebecca's engagement was called off, it was clear that men would flock to her like ants to sugar.
　
“Listen, you must win Miss Rebecca over!
　This makes Garrett's inadequacy all the more annoying.
He should have stuck it out until Ethan's engagement period was over!”

　Father spits out in exasperation.
He urged me to hurry and get going.

“Don't blame Garrett too much.
　He was acting suspiciously because he knew how I felt about her.
I gave him a stern talking-to for damaging his reputation as a prince.”

“…
Ethan, you and Garrett are going to get good scolding together.
How dare you keep such an important matter from your parents?”

　I almost yelped at the sound of Father's voice, which sounded as if it was crawling on the ground.
　We have a very unusual family relationship for a royal family.
　I have used my knowledge and experience of modern Japan to coax a family harmony from an early age, so that in private, we are a normal family that you would never think of as royalty.
This is also the reason why my younger brother became unusually attached to me.

　In fact, it was a precise move so that I could raise my own children in the future, but it seems we became a little too close.
Father seemed angry that his two sons had colluded to make one of them a house husband.

“Normally you don't talk to your parents about the one you like.
It's part of being independent.”

　He scoffed at my excuses.
He pushed me away again, and this time I left the room and headed for my mother's room.

　Thanks to Father's servant, when I visited my mother's room, tea had been politely prepared for me.

“Welcome, Ethan.
You still look just like your father did when he was young.
I'm almost smitten with you, even though you are my own son.

　You are such a sweet boy, but I don't admire you for being so careless.
　Now, tell me: What is your emergency?”

　Mother smiles softly, her face quite beautiful, but with a hint of annoyance that only the family can see.
　A family tree was spread out on the large table in the living room, and she seemed to be in the process of selecting Rebecca's partner while looking at it.
　From the looks of it, I guessed that they were still in the selection process and would not have contacted the other party.
I patted my chest in relief.

“Your good mood … seems to not be so good, Mother.
　Anyways, yes, it is a great emergency.
　I heard that you are about to introduce Miss Rebecca Howard to a man of royal blood, and I have come in a hurry to stop you.”

　I put a smile on the face she said looked just like her favorite husband's when he was younger.
This, again, resulted in a secret anger that only our family could understand, and my mother's eyes widened in surprise.

　I know my mother doesn't know about my situation, and I know she didn't do anything wrong.
But the thought of Rebecca with another man does not make me feel at peace.
　Just the thought of her dancing with another man drives me crazy with jealousy.

　The social season starts in less than two months.
　It would be difficult to deal with all the problems and break off my engagement with Princess Aaliyah before then.

　It was a terrible thought that I would have to come this far and stand in front of Rebecca before calling off the engagement.
　However, if I stuck to my vow to tell Rebecca how I felt after the engagement was called off, I would miss out on her.
A change of policy was necessary.

　I asked my mother if I could be Rebecca's escort.

“What are you talking about? I will not allow Rebecca to be a mistress.”

　Mother blinked at me with a furrowed brow.
　I stopped the scolding that was about to begin and told her that I was ready to call off my engagement to Princess Aaliyah and that I would propose to my beloved Rebecca after the engagement was over, but that I would do everything in my power to avoid losing her to another man before that time.

“Wait a minute, please.
Are you two by … any chance?
　Is that why Rebecca suddenly said she can't get married unless it's someone she loves, or that she wants to remain single?”

“I'd be happy if that were the case.
It's my one true love at the moment, and although we haven't exchanged words in over three years … my feelings have always been for Rebecca.”

“Well! Well, they are!”

　As a romantic, Mother was overjoyed and promised to give me a boost.

　As I listened to the details of her conversation with Rebecca, it seemed more and more likely that she was remembering her previous life.
　If I couldn't end the engagement in time anyway, I would go see her right away.
I thought so, but my mother stopped me from doing so.

　She is surprisingly stubborn.
She would not necessarily accept the position of Crown Princess before the engagement was called off, and the Howard family would not have a good impression of me.
There is a possibility that she will cancel her social debut and participation at the ball for a made up reason.
　A ball presided over by the queen would be the best way to check the aristocrats who wanted Rebecca, and it also gave us the advantage of being able to respond immediately in case of trouble.
We had to get her to attend at any cost.

“Besides, we might be able to break off the engagement in time, right? And if so, proposing to her at the ball would be the most wonderful thing ever.”

　I pulled Mother back to reality, clinging to what little hope I had.

“I told you it's still unlikely.
If I show up out of the blue on the day of the ball, I will be suspected by Marquess Howard and Rebecca of searching for a mistress.
I'm against it.”

“There’s a greater risk of Rebecca not attending the ball for her social debut, and subsequent unveiling.
If Rebecca does not attend the ball, we’ll have to wait until she’s named as Crown Princess.”

　If I put priority on preventing a no-show, I can't let Rebecca know in advance that the other party is me.
　The fan for the ball, which Mother was going to prepare, was to be inscribed simply as “Royal Man”.

　If Rebecca's memory had returned, the explanation would be easy.
　Even if she had no memory, if I could hold off on the decisive phrases, I could be able to keep the line at the very limit of her forgiveness.

　And so, with my mother's help, I was finally reunited with my beloved wife — Rebecca, who had regained her memory.