Day of the marathon run compet.i.tion.

I had manufactured 3 dozens of 'teru teru bozu' but

apparently that was not enough. The sky was dark and overcast as if it was

about to downpour while hot wind blew about the place; it was an undeterminable

state of weather.

The starting point of the race was situated at the entrance

of the capital which was filled with partic.i.p.ating runners and on-looking

cheerers on both sides of the track. Guards putting up barrier ropes fought to

keep the onlookers from trespa.s.sing into the runway.

"Sigh, how repulsive! We are Princesses! Princesses should

just rest comfortably in a pure-white room, reading romance novels besides

vases of roses! That has been the rule for more than 3000 years! Humph!"

"That's right! So right! We are so delicate and fragile, we

may even fall sick!"

Those pair of twin Princesses Sarasa and Orie were both clad

in cutely embroidered skirt and baggy pants while stomping in displeasure. The

guards around hastily tried to appease them. I secretly thought that, with

their energy and hyper-activeness, even running 4 rounds should be nothing for

them.

A far cry from Her energetic daughters was the Queen, who

stood pale-faced and looking as if she would collapse even before the run had

begun. She kept rubbing at her chest and breathing deeply.

Was Her Majesty really alright? Fortunately, there were many

guards around her, so should anything really happen, they would definitely take

good care of Her.

There were also guards around Prince Ryuuju who was actively

swinging his arms and stretching his legs in preparation, looking all normal. I

turned towards Princess Seira, who was also surrounded by guards, her

expression as usual.

What did those words that she said yesterday mean?

She said that if I was not Glinda, it was best that I did

not get close to Prince Ryuuju today… It was like the foretelling of a witch,

how scary.

No, there was no time to think about such things.

A big bucket of drink was placed before the finis.h.i.+ng point

and a mountain of bananas piled high beside it for partic.i.p.ants to help themselves

to.

Within the pockets of my waistcoat I had been carrying the

tripod spikes laced with anaesthesia, the highly potent laxative, test-tube of

live wasps as well as the voodoo doll.

The only thing I could do now is to use this… I took out the

packet of laxative from my breast-pocket.

If I just spiked the bucket of drink and bananas, the

partic.i.p.ants would all have running stomachs and be unable to continue the

race.

In the end, I still brought over all the illegal stuff that

Helmut pa.s.sed me! Waaaah! I couldn't just do that~~~

But, if I did not get the top prize, the relations.h.i.+p

between Winstoria Empire and Eren Kingdom might become adversely affected…

In my anxiety, I peeled open a banana and sprinkled a little

of the powder on it.

The white powder vanished on the banana without a trace.

Uh… That way it would probably not be detectable. Oh, but it

would definitely be suspicious to peel open an entire pile of bananas, so I

guess spiking the bucket of drink would be better… Ahhhh! What was I turning

into?!?

Let's just give up; there's no joy in winning with such

methods. I was a model citizen, not that venomous Count Ascano of Rubinia who

loved getting rid of his enemies with poison. As an extra, the Count seemed to

have died from choking on an oyster; a fitting death indeed.

 I was just about to

destroy the spiked banana…

"Hey! Glinda!"

Jerome from the Knight Company appeared all of a sudden,

clad in an eye-catching red cape.

"I would pay you back today for the humiliation you gave me

on the training grounds! Have you forgotten our promise? If you lose, you would

put on a pair of dog's ears and bark 'Arf! Woof! My Master!' Ha!"

"I-I don't remember making any such promise (That's just

your own sick interests! You pervert!)… Ah!"

Jerome s.n.a.t.c.hed the banana from my hand.

"You c.o.c.ky little la.s.s that get all conceited from just a

few words of flattery! Watch me as I swallow you whole like this banana! The

main actor today would me! Buahahaha!"

Jerome took the banana and strode away with his cape flying suavely

behind him.

Was he really going to run with that cape wrapped around him

like that… Wait, he just ate the banana! That's the banana with laxatives on

it!

Helmut said that the laxative was so potent that its effect

would immediately show…

As I imagined what was going on within Jerome's stomach,

cold sweat began to rise from within.

"P-pretend not to know anything…"

I muttered while s.h.i.+fting my eyes away from the red cape

moving away into the distance.

In the end, I ran out of options and the marathon run began

without any incidents.

A projectile-less cannon fired into the air, signalling the

beginning of the race, and the male compet.i.tion group began to run.

I was initially positioned among the frontline at the

starting point, but was immediately overrun by the flood of people from the

rear, fighting to even remain upright.

Pretty-boy Sir Jerome was initially positioned far behind me

in the rear lines, but with a strange scream "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Stomach!

My stomach!!!" he pushed aside the other runners and shot out wildly. Looked

like the laxatives had taken effect.

"Ms Glinda, I would be going first then."

King Cecello greeted me briskly as he overtook me.

"It's His Majesty!"

"Long live His Majesty!"

The surrounding crowd cheered.

"His Majesty is so handsome! So charming!"

There were also such fan-girl squeals around.

The King gave everyone a smile, attracting copious amounts

of 'Ah' and 'Wow' among the crowds.

To the people of Eren, King Cecello was an existence on the

level of a G.o.d. Pretty much hidden in behind the thick walls of the royal

palace at all times, the appearance of the legendary King of beauty running

before their very eyes caused some of the commoners among the watchers to grasp

their own hands in thanksgiving.

This race would certainly greatly raise the support for King

Cecello and radically deify the descriptions of his beautiful outer appearance

among the tabloids.

Me, on the other hand…

"Hey, why is there a girl among the men's group?"

"Heard that Winstoria Empire's Ms Glinda would also be in

the men's group, but this girl's probably someone else."

"Hoho, oh yes, it is said that Ms Glinda is a divine beauty

who runs as fast as a deer."

"There's no way that geniuses would run this slow. That girl

looks cute, but doesn't seem to create even a bit of impression and looks so

ordinary."

"Yes yes, Ms Glinda must have departed with a speed far

beyond what our commoners' eyes can detect."

"Hoho, that may actually be possible for a genius."

"Ms Glinda is so incredible!"

"Would we be able to see Ms Glinda during the award

ceremony?"

"Definitely as beautiful as they say she is."

"Yeah, I mean, even His Majesty is more beautiful than the

legend says."

"But, if that girl isn't Ms Glinda, who is she?"

"Probably just some confused girl who barged in on the men's

group."

"What, is that so, hahaha, Hang in there, Ms Confused Girl!"

Uwuuwuu… the idle chatter surrounding me broke my heart.

All this while, I continued to fall behind.

Even though I should at least try and recover some distance,

I just could not gather my strength.

Everyone who pa.s.sed me by displayed a shocked expression

that seemed to say "Why is Ms Glinda here?" and then outran me further.

The roads and buildings outside the city were all new and in

good conditions, just as the pathways had been cleaned to within the standard

of developed civilizations. Every corner was also guarded   by a soldier.

But, I soon lost the interest in appreciating the scenery

around.

I was panting hard and dizzy. My heart was beating as if it

could burst out of my chest.

Just how much further is the finis.h.i.+ng line?

The track apparently extended from the city to the suburbs,

going through the hills and returning back to the city and stopping before the

castle.

I panted with all my strength, finally running out of the

city and coming to a quiet plantation where even the breeze was cooler.

Fuu… Fuu… Midpoint at last…

I breathlessly bounced along a narrow path cutting though

the plantation.

There was n.o.body else around nearby. Did that mean I was the

last?

The soldiers standing guard watched my slow b.u.mbling steps

and were shocked.

"Ms Glinda is the last?!?"

"Could geniuses be last?"

What, geniuses' couldn't possibly be last? ~~~ Outrageous!

Even if I were to use the anaesthetic-laced tripods Helmut

pa.s.sed to me, there was n.o.body else behind me to step on them.

Not only that, by the time I reached the snaking bends in

the track, even the cheerers and guarding soldiers had disappeared.

Sigh, if only I could get attacked by a bear in the hills,

so that I won't have to run any longer.

That's right! What the flying hippo was I running for? I was

sweaty, dizzy and weary, but all for what? Would my running bring about world

peace? Would it save all of humanity? Would it decrease tax? Would it make

Helmut uglier? Would I be able to grow at least some facial hair?

While I bemoaned my situation, a clatter of steps closed in

from nearby.

What? It seemed that there was still someone behind me.

But the footsteps seemed to be extraordinarily quick in

succession.

A breeze blew past in a 'Wos.h.!.+'.

A black-haired boy with tightened lips and stiffened face

ran past my side.

Prince Ryuuju?

That's to say, the women and children's group had started

the run, and I was even beaten by Prince Ryuuju who was at its head?

Nooooooo! To lose to even children!

I was supposed to be a man!... A man!

Recalling Helmut's smiling face saying "This is a shame to

the Winstoria Empire", I truly just wanted to run into some disaster in the

hills.

His Highness did not even turn to look at me, but ran around

the bend in the forest path in a breath.

There should have been bodyguards beside him, but he had

probably outrun them all.

Hey! What's the meaning of that? How could they just leave

the Prince alone unprotected? These irresponsible slowcoach tax thieves!

I ignored my own current situation while criticised others.

At that moment…

Masked men came out on both sides of the Prince.

These men did not seem to be friendly common folks no matter

how you looked at it. Could they be disguised guards? But no, the dangerous air

about them was chilling.

Those men covered Prince Ryuuju's mouth and carried his

small body into the thick woods.

Ruffles in plantation and struggles of the Prince vanished

into the forest without a trace.

Huuuuuuuuuuuuuh?!?

Kidnapping?

I turned but could see no trace of the bodyguards.

Wwwwwwwhat should I do?

Should I run backwards for help?

But by the time I returned those people would have been gone

for long.

Gritting my teeth in the face of danger, I ran after Prince

Ryuuju.

"Prince Ryuuju! Prince Ryuuju! Heeeeelp~~~ Prince Ryuuju has

been kidnapped~~~"

I screamed with all my strength while running through the

forest.

Booohooo, please hear my cries, bodyguards who were on their

way! There was no way I could handle the kidnappers alone! Absolutely never!

As I fervently prayed, someone grabbed my mouth and dragged

me from the rear.

"Uuuuu!"

I was captured and immobilized. Before me was Prince Ryuuju

who had been caught in the same situation by the group of masked men.

My body was frozen in fear.

Waaaaaah! Kidnappers~~~~ I'd been caught!~~~~

Prince Ryuuju had his mouth gagged and one arm restrained,

but continued to struggle. He winced in angry surprise when he saw me, as if to

say "why are you here?". What choice did I have?

Noooooo! What would happen now?

As if to answer this question, the masked men started to

discuss among themselves.

"What should we do with this girl?"

"It would be trouble if she caused a ruckus. Take her with

us?"

"No, that's too troublesome, just rid of her."

W-wait! What were you saying!

As I almost dirtied my undies from fear, the man holding

onto Prince Ryuuju suddenly screamed.

"Ouch!"

His Highness had bitten the man's hand.

The one restraining me was also stunned and loosened his

grip somewhat, or maybe because he had thought me a woman, was careless.

I elbowed him in the guts with all my strength.

"Uuuoo!"

The man completely released me.

Now!

I had begun to rush forward, reaching within my breast

pocket for the test-tube of wasps, opening it before the man in front.

The wasps flew forth from the opening of the test-tube,

buzzing all over.

"Huah! What are these!"

Prince Ryuuju also stomped on the feet of the man

restraining him and escaped his grip.

"Hey! Wait!"

The men chased in a hurry, but I threw out the packet of

laxative powder.

The powder dispersed into a cloud of dust and we ran while

the men fell into a coughing fit.

"Prince Ryuuju! Please run before me! Your legs are more

nimble, please go run for help!"

"B-but!"

"Quick! Or we would both be caught!"

I sternly cried to the apprehensive Prince Ryuuju, then

turned and threw the tripods towards the pursuers.

"Whoa! What is it this time!?!"

The tripods struck the face and hands of the men, but maybe

due to the cloth wrapped around their face and gloves, the anaesthetic laced on

the spikes was not effective.

"This b****! How dare you use such toys against us!"

Oh no! That seemed to have infuriated them!

A man unsheathed his sword and sliced at me from above.

I immediately took out the voodoo doll to block it, but the

doll was just sliced into half in one blow.

"Kyaaaaa!"

A shameless scream escaped my mouth.

The slice just now had sliced through my clothes in front

from my shoulder to just above my chest.

The cut on chest area was particularly deep. But for the

thick layers of pads, I feared I had already suffered a mortal blow. When

considering that, I felt cold even from the tips of my toes.

"Glinda!"

"Don't come here!"

I had already told you to escape, so why were you running

back!

You were a prince! How could you not first look to your own

safety!

"I'm alright! Please run!"

As if I could be alright! … I was being driven to death's

door by this group of men…

The sword sliced again.

If I were to die here, people would probably discover that I

was male when they buried me, then everyone would probably say that Ms Glinda

was a cross-dressing pervert…

As I thought about such things with unnatural calm…

 "Whoa!"

An arrow shot from nowhere and pierced the hand of the man

about to slice me through.

Soldiers who had been invisible thus far somehow surrounded

us without our notice.

Sword-wielding bodyguards were also standing at guard in

front of Prince Ryuuju.

"Ms Glinda! Are you alright?"

"Uuuoh… I-i guess…"

The soldiers beat back the kidnappers in an instant, and

captured them.

Could this be the effect of the voodoo doll? I glanced at

the beheaded voodoo doll with a complicated expression.

M-maybe I should go get exorcised afterwards… L-Let's get up

first.

"Our utmost apologies for arriving this late, Your

Highness!"

"Am I the only one being attacked? Is Lord Father alright?

How about Queen Mother? And my little sisters?"

Prince Ryuuju asked in worry.

"Please ease your worries. Their Majesties and Highnesses

are all safe. Apparently this group here have been targeting Your Highness

right from the beginning. But even though we have already caught wind of it, we

still let Your Highness fall into danger. It is completely our responsibility."

Prince Ryuuju finally relaxed his shoulders.

"That… Lord Father and the others are alright…"

He mumbled in relief - then, jumped in hindsight.

"Right! I have not reached the finis.h.i.+ng line yet! I must

continue the run!"

Having just encountered such a fearsome experience, he was

ready to immediately return to the compet.i.tion.

What a strong willpower, even I was collapsed on the ground,

my legs so weakened that I could hardly stand.

But, maybe it was due to his twisting his ankle in the

escape, Prince Ryuuju suddenly scrunched up his face and grabbed at his own

foot.

"Your Highness is in no state to continue the run."

The bodyguards tried to persuade him.

"No! Members of the royalty should be examples for the

common-folks! If I were to give up half-way there is no way I would be fit to

represent the country! Everyone would also worry about having such a weak future

ruler!"

Prince Ryuuju stood up, determined to continue the race.

But he twisted his expression immediately.

Even so, he gritted his teeth, and sweating profusely,

dragged his feet onwards.

Sigh, so frustrating, what a stubborn child.

The soldiers looked at each other helplessly.

If the duty of royalty was to reach the goal no matter how

difficult it was, and to smile waving at the common citizen no matter how

painful it was, a spineless guy like me could probably never be a king ever.

If he did not have any support right now, he might not even

be able to stand up.

Even if I was just a weak commoner and a lazy b.u.m whose only

forte was to flip newspaper or history stories while criticising famous people,

there was no way I could just at the side while watching someone else hard at

work.

How troublesome.

I walked towards Prince Ryuuju, barring his way.

His Higness glared at me.

"Glinda… You can't stop me, let me pa.s.s."

"Don't look down on a little foot injury. What if you can no

longer walk for the rest of your life?"

"H-how could that be…"

"Could you say that it will never happen?"

Maybe due to my fierce tone, Prince Ryuuju could not utter

any word.

Perhaps due to just having escaped from a near-death

situation, my words were free of fear or apprehension, be it in the face of

kings or princes.

"Earlier Your Highness ignored my warning and came back. If

the soldiers had not shown up on time, you might even have been sold to foreign

countries before you can succeed the throne, or even died! So you have to obey

me this time!"

Prince Ryuuju widened his eyes as I grabbed his hands and

pulled them around my neck.

"W-what the… are you doing, Glinda."

"I will piggy-back you and run."

"What did you say!"

I gave a little 'Heeve-Hoo' and supported his small b.u.m.

"Hey! Let me go! Glinda! This is so embarra.s.sing! To be

piggy-backed to the finis.h.i.+ng line by a woman is so shameful! I would rather

bite my tongue and die!"

I scolded loudly at the struggling Prince Ryuuju.

"As the heir-to-the-throne, how can you say you would give

up your life so easily!"

His Highness gave a little jump on my back, and even the

surrounding bodyguards nearby stopped.

"Stop throwing tantrums, you little kid who has no idea of

the dangers in this big wide world! A really great man would fight to live on

no matter how great the pain or the shame! That's called responsibility to the

people! Besides, even the king does not rule the country alone! As a king you

must know how to use the help of other people! n.o.body ever said that kings are

omnipotent! So stop trying to do every single thing on your own!"

Prince Ryuuju stopped struggling.

He slowly gripped my neck, hugging my back so that I could

feel the body warmth of the little child.

"Good! You just sit tight like an heir-to-the-throne and

ride on my back at leisure!"

I began to run.

After saying such audacious lines of words, I couldn't

possibly run slower than a tortoise now, could I?

Thankfully, in my adrenaline rush, I had forgotten the

tiredness.

I galloped madly like a race horse.

Maybe we had been delayed so much by the kidnapping

incident, there were few runners left in sight.

Panting deeply, I strode right on the centre of the running

track.

"Huh? Glinda! What are you doing?"

Among the race-watching crowds, a voice that sounded like

Anneth called.

The other watchers looked too in our direction and

exclaimed.

"Isn't that His Highness, Prince Ryuuju?"

"That's right! It's His Highness who has been running at the

front just earlier! What happened?"

"Who is that girl giving him a piggy-back? What marvellous

strength!"

"Whoa! Those eyes are blazing! Even her nostrils are fuming!

Even if she is obviously just a girl, her hair is unkempt, clothes torn, and

flames seem to be bursting forth from her rear!"

"It's Ms Glinda! That omnipotent genius!"

"What did you say? That's Ms Glinda?"

"No wonder she looks so different from normal! Those eyes

are just like she's been possessed!"

"I heard from someone that Prince Ryuuju had been attacked

by bandits in the middle of the race just now!"

"No way! I heard it was kidnappers, not bandits!"

"Huh? Huh? What's going on?"

"I heard that Ms Glinda suddenly showed up in the nick of

time and defeated a large band of sword-wielding kidnappers bare-handed!"

"Terrific! As expected of a genius!"

Everyone began to clap vigorously to cheer.

I focused on prancing towards the finis.h.i.+ng line.

Where was it? Where was the finis.h.i.+ng line?

My legs and heart could no longer take it. Due to the tear

in my clothes, the situation on my chest was deplorable. The voodoo doll peeked

its head out, and several layers of pads had fallen down onto my waist.

Sigh! Were we there yet?

"Glinda!"

"Big Bro Ryuuju!"

The frames of twin princesses stood in the front.

The pair of them each gripped an end of a rose-coloured

ribbon, probably tied together from the ribbons on their own hair.

They waved vigorously towards us.

"Just a little longer! Glinda! Big Bro Ryuuju!"

"Fight!"

At the side of Princess Sarasa was the blissful looking

Queen. So too was the gently-smiling King, with the toddler Princess Suzuna. Young

Prince s.h.i.+n and even the mature-eyed Princess Seira awaited us at the ending

point.

The rose-coloured ribbon touched my hips and flew into the

air.

Princess Seira widened her eyes, quietly watching.

Thunderous applause and cheering filled the air as the

crowds wildly called the names of Glinda and Prince Ryuuju.

The royal family surrounded me who had just run past the

finis.h.i.+ng line.

"Ohhhhhh! Teacher Glinda, thank you so much for rescuing

Ryuuju! Ryuuju, I am so glad that you are alright!"

Her Majesty hugged His Highness tightly with tears in Her

eyes.

"Sorry, Queen Mother, for causing You so much worry."

Prince Ryuuju also fell into his Mother's chest.

"Lady Glinda, you have rescued the heir-to-the-throne, and

is a benefactor to the Kingdom of Eren."

King Cecello's line drove the crowd frantic with excitement.

"Lady Glinda has known all along that His Highness would be

kidnapped, so slowed down on purpose!"

"As expected of the omnipotent Genius!"

 "Lady Glinda is the

true winner of the marathon race!"

"That's right! Only Lady Glinda has the right to the gold

cup top prize!"

Someone carried over the glittering gold cup prize, but I

became embarra.s.sed and humbly said.

"No way, that's too unfair to the top runner. Right, who

happened to be the top runner?"

As I looked from side to side, a breeze blew past.

And tragedy fell that instant.

I had kept running while piggy-backing someone even though

my clothes had been sliced open, and now this wind was all it took to open up

the torn clothes like a double-door!

As if that was not enough, the entire set of clothes fell

off from shoulders downwards.

Cha…

A falling sound, and the things covering the upper-half of

my body as well as the voodoo doll fell at my feet. Before the staring eyes of

the present crowd, my half-naked body stood frozen.

I stood mystified, still not realising what had just

happened.

Huh? Feels… Strange? What was this cooling sensation?...

Everyone stared at me in shock with expressions screaming

"Unbelievable! How could it be so!"

The courtyard was deadly silent, and after a glance

downwards, I let out a "KYAAAAAAAAAAAA" piercing scream, hugging my bare upper

body with both arms.

Wwwwwwwwwwwwhat should I do? I'd been seen… completely

uncovered~~~~~

And it had to be before so many people! Ahhhhhhhhh!

Uwuuuwuuu…. I was finished, my male ident.i.ty exposed. Gone, I would soon be

dragged off and executed!

I felt dizzy and my entire face; cheeks, temple and even

neck blew, up in a fiery colour.

It was this instant that a cool quiet voice broke the silence.

"Teacher, your important breast pads had fallen off."

Princess Seira picked up the pad that had fallen on the

ground and handed it to me calmly.

"The other pads had probably fallen off while you were

protecting Elder Brother Ryuuju. There should be at least 5 pieces of them."

The monotonous voice steadily continued.

"Urg… T-that..."

The surrounding crowd blew up in commotion.

"5 layers of breast pads! So that is the reason! Ms Glinda

is a completely flat chested lady who needs a huge pile of padding!"

"It is true that the size is ridiculously small. At that

level, she really needs 5 pairs."

"Muah, it's almost as flat as a man's."

"Ohoohoohoo! So that's what a super was.h.i.+ng board looks

like!"

"I see, so 5 pairs of breast pads, huh. Ahahahaha."

T-these fellows! How dared they to laugh so loudly after

seeing another's chest!

Princesses Sarasa and Orie also said with tears in their

eyes.

"Poor Glinda."

"To be this flat even after p.u.b.erty."

Her Majesty quickly took off her own overcoat and covered my

body in it, consoling.

"Ara, ara, don't take it to heart, Glinda. Nowadays, many

men also prefer them flatter."

Even His Majesty vigorously added.

"Even if Ms Glinda does not have full-rounded b.r.e.a.s.t.s, she

possesses an intelligent head."

But, the corners of His lips seemed to be twitching as if to

keep from laughing.

Afterwards, due to His Highness Prince Ryuuju fainting from

a rush of blood from his bleeding nose, a huge commotion ensued…

As the situation settled down, I accepted the gold cup award

from the hands of King Cecello under the warm claps and cheers of everyone.

Everyone snickered at me who was hugging the huge trophy.

"I see, so that's a was.h.i.+ng board."

"So that's a runway."

"Hoo! I can totally see it clearly! Really completely flat!"

"So even geniuses have weaknesses!"

Hearing such whispered gossips, I could only lower my

flushed head.

For the record, the first one who reached the finis.h.i.+ng line

was Sir Jerome of the knight company, who had beaten everyone else by a far

margin.

All while screaming "It's coming ouuuuuut~~~", he ran out of

sight and vanished without a trace even until the closing ceremony. He was

disqualified as relinquis.h.i.+ng the top place, and it was granted to me due to

the special occasion.

"Humph! d.a.m.ned flat-chested girl!"

Chief Minister Gaston angrily murmured… how scary.

Hoho, at least n.o.body had discovered that I was male.

The day after, tabloids all over the world flashed the

headlines: " Genius Ms Glinda an astonis.h.i.+ng flat-chest!", "Ms Glinda's chest

was in fact two little red peas!".

Being able to rub some blemish upon Glinda's utterly perfect

record, I was actually a little pleased with myself. But once I considered the

possibility of Glinda knowing about my being stripped half-naked in full view

of crowds right in the centre of the capital, causing her to be reported as

little chick-peas, I flinch to imagine her fury.

Besides that, even though the masterminds behind the

kidnapping incident had been caught, there was still something that continued

to bug me.

To verify my doubts, one afternoon after lessons were over,

I went to seek an audience with His Majesty, King Cecello.

Epilogue: Glinda Dolye's deductions

"You said that you have something you would like to discuss

with me in private, so what is it about, Ms Glinda?"

After dismissing the people around, the beautiful king

s.h.i.+ned me a sparklingly lovely smile and asked.

The mere sight of it was enough to drive my weak heart

racing non-stop, but I must clarify this no matter what happened, so I looked

straight into the eyes of His Majesty.

"Your Majesty, were You the one who was responsible for the

kidnapping incident of His Highness Prince Ryuuju?"

I actually said it!

Even though my heart was beating like a drum from the

nerves, I had burned my bridges.

King Cecello gently narrowed his eyes.

"Oh?"

He murmured.

"Why would you think so?"

King Cecello stared straight into me, enquiring gently, but

I could feel an immense sense of pressure from it, and the tense air almost

impaled my skin.

"Eren Kingdom discarded her policy of isolation not more

than a decade ago, and the capital is apparently at peace right now, but I have

heard that outside of it, there remained some pockets of resistance supporting

the previous king belonging to the faction of isolation. It is still too

dangerous for royalty to casually partic.i.p.ate in a marathon race open to public

at this time, and in fact, many top officials are of the same opinion.

But from another point of view, this is also a good

opportunity to investigate suspicious people from outside the capital, tear

down old buildings, repair the roads and bridges, and demonstrate to the

citizens as well as foreign countries that the Eren Kingdom is both peaceful

and culturally advanced - Your Majesty's wisdom obviously saw through all that?"

While I ran outside of the capital, I could see that the

roads and buildings all around were new and in excellent conditions, and the

commoners were also joyfully cheering for the racers.

"Through this race, the citizens would definitely improve

their opinion of the royal family. But among them, there would definitely be people

who do not feel that way and may even pose a danger. These are all things that

Your Majesty would have already foreseen."

Of course, if investigations were made in the name of public

security for the sake of the race, a portion of suspicious elements would

definitely be uncovered, for example, the remnants of the isolation faction who

opposed King Cecello's policy.

What would happen if they were to be forced into a corner?

What actions would they take?

"To steal into the palace and attempt to kidnap or

a.s.sa.s.sinate royalty is an extremely difficult task, but in a marathon race open

to public, the chance of success would definitely be much higher.

Who would they have their sights on?

Laying hands on the legendary and experienced king would

definitely be hard, so the target has to be weaker than His Majesty, but also a

prominent member of the royal family… that is the representative of the policy

of opening up the country, Her Majesty who is Herself a foreigner, and the

heir-apparent His Highness Prince Ryuuju.

These two are the obvious targets."

His Majesty's lips maintained its smile.

His beautiful face of national treasure fame betrayed no

hint of any shadow, looking serenely at me.

~~If you are not Ms Glinda, in tomorrow's race, don't get

close to Elder Brother Ryuuju.

Princess Seira had told me indifferently before.

Did that child realise the truth even beforehand?

I added strongly.

"Your Majesty knew right from the start, and so arranged for

a wall of armed guards to surround Her Majesty, even the Princesses were

heavily guarded.

But, the one who ought to be protected the most, His

Highness Prince Ryuuju, was all alone.

There is no way that adults cannot catch up to a child, and

this is almost an obvious ploy to tempt the enemies into kidnapping him at the

abandoned paths… And also, the appearance of the rescuers was too coincidental,

I deduce that Your Majesty have ordered them to observe from afar right from

the beginning."

King Cecello said as if nothing had happened.

"As expected, there's no way I can escape the sharp eyes of

Ms Glinda."

His tone held even a trace of elation.

I angrily yelled.

"Stop joking around! How could you have used your own son as

bait!"

At this moment, I could care less about the opposite being

the king of an allied country.

This was not something that a father should be doing with

his child, not to mention that there was hardly a trace of regret in him.

At this, King Cecello's expression altered.

The original gentle smile tightened, and His eyes let out a

piercing light.

"I have no intention of letting Ryuuju become a useless king."

His manner of speech suddenly turned very serious.

"I wish that Ryuuju will sooner turn into a good king that

can succeed me and not one that can only rely on the protection of others. I

want him to be capable of thinking for himself, choosing and acting, to become

a real king that has the power to protect others, and for this, he must be

allowed to encounter all kinds of experiences. Merely staying sheltered in the

nursery is not going to develop any strong heart in him."

"But, His Higness Prince Ryuuju is merely eleven! What if

something unexpected is to …"

"Nothing unexpected will happen."

King Cecello displayed a proud and confident look and a.s.serted.

He did not holler, nor had he waved his sword around.

Just one short sentence was sufficient to send trembles up

my spine and render me speechless.

"A kingdom must not lose its heir or I too will be troubled.

Besides I love my children very much, but most importantly, if Ryuuju were to

run into some problems, the Queen would definitely become saddened, and I will

absolutely not do anything that may cause Her to cry. So,

unexpected will happen."

An incomparable confidence.

Unshakable willpower.

Nothing like the behaviour of a typical father of this

world.

His Laws; only the things that He believed could be the

truth.

My hands were covered in cold sweat.

Even though His words were illogical, I had no means of reb.u.t.ting.

What was there to rebut against someone with completely

different sense of morals and values? King Cecello might be of the same species

as Glinda.

"That's right, Ms Glinda, someone as intelligent as you

should also understand, that these words should not get out of this place, and especially

not enter the ears of Her Majesty. If you were to tell Her…"

Cold eyes stared into me, and I was completely frozen over

by it.

The King Cecello now might be known as a G.o.d-like Hero, the

Blue Sky-Drake King, but when he was still the previous king's younger brother from

different mothers and living in exile in an isolated dilapidated castle far from

the capital, he had another name…

That's right, I had read of it in an edition of the "Private

stories of World's Royalty".

While he was still a prince, due to his icy-cold beauty, and

cruel, unpredictable nature, everyone had called him the "Sky Blue Demon" in

fear…

Wwwwwwwhat should I do? How could I have tried to challenge

this kind of man?

I was suddenly paralysed in fear.

"Ho. What is it, Ms Glinda?"

King Cecello walked over with an elegant smile.

T-this smile was sooo scaaarrry!

"Taking this opportunity, Ms Glinda, would you mind teaching

me as well?"

Uwwwaaaahhhh~~~~~~

Just as the King's face closed in and my heart began

screaming in fear…

"Is Teacher Glinda here?"

A clear voice came in, and Princess Seira appeared.

The Princess slowly approached towards me, and looking

towards her Father, said

"Lord Father, I would like to discuss with Teacher Glinda a mathematical

thesis of Professor Muden from the Winstoria Empire, may I borrow Teacher for a

while?"

Her words were calm, but were also longer than usual.

King Cecello gave a surprised smile.

"Ho? It looks as if Seira likes Ms Glinda a lot."

"That's right. Teacher Glinda has taught me many helpful

things."

"Is that so. Then, Ms Glinda, please go accompany Seira."

"W-w-w-w-with pleasure!"

Princess Seira slowly walked back towards the entrance,

while I hastily followed.

"Fuuee… saved!"

Past the corridors and coming into the courtyard, I could

finally let out a breath.

"Oh, that, regarding that professor something's thesis, I am

really sorry, but I had no…"

"… I know."

Princess Seira said in a flat voice.

"Huh?"

I was struck by surprise.

"Did you pull me out on purpose?"

Did she just rescue me from the scene earlier?

Her Highness was silent.

When she entered the room, I was unable to hear any sound of

the door opening, so maybe she had been eavesdropping on King Cecello and I from

behind the door all along.

She had warned me too, not to get too close to Prince Ryuuju

on the day of the race.

When my clothes fell apart, the one who helped me pick up

the pads and distract the topic was also her.

"That, you said earlier that if I am "not Glinda", I should

avoid getting to close to Prince Ryuuju, what was that supposed to mean?"

"… Because you seemed to have no means of responding to

emergencies then, but I seemed to have underestimated you, sorry."

Her voice was as emotionless as usual.

"Uh, no, there's no reason for your Highness to apologise. I

should be the one thanking you instead. But for your aid in picking up my pads,

everyone may have already discovered that I am male. But, about His Majesty's

plans, did you also…"

I was about to say "did you also know about them?", when

cold little hand stretched out and covered my mouth like white snow falling

onto my lips, giving a soft sensation.

The 9 year old girl's small fingers were soft and her face

which was looking at me was small and delicate with smooth glistening pallor. Beneath

her long lashes, a pair of translucent amethyst eyes appraised me quietly.

Cherry-coloured lips gently parted.

 "…If you value your

life, say no further. Lord Father may love His wife and care for his children,

but

is cold and ruthless man."

These words that sounded nothing like a child's frightened

me. Ohoh, she had really been coming to my rescue earlier.

Even during the race earlier, or when I was facing off Sir

Jerome…

My heartbeat sped up, and said hopefully.

"I understand, I won't say anything… Would… Would you also help

me keep my secret?"

Princess Seira should probably say 'Yes' right?

Despite her cold emotionless appearance, she was actually

pretty friendly.

But…

"I might consider it…"

She said nonchalantly.

Uh… Wha?

The pair of purple crystal eyes silently looked at me who

was frozen by surprise.

"You

, you are

."

The words that came forth from those delicate lips sent

chills down my back.

"But…"

A trace of conflict floated in her cold eyes.

"Even though you

it, you still rescued

Elder Brother Ryuuju, and even interrogated Lord Father. n.o.body has ever done

those things before, so I would give you a chance."

Give me a chance?

I held back my breath, my neck and temple covered in cold

sweat as I listened to this 9 year old girl p.r.o.nounced her judgement like the

G.o.ddess of fate.

"If you can guess what I desire, I will not tell anyone else

that Glinda is an imposter."