Chapter 38 – The Childhood Friends 1 (Freed POV)

「……Good bye.」

You don’t even know how happy I was —to the point of quivering, at those words.

Leaving Lidi in the room, I head towards my office.

My body was surprisingly light.

It did not even feel like I was not able to get a wink of sleep.

My magical power was calm that it felt like a lie and the energy within my body was filled to the brim.

Securing the ‘King’s Flower’ stabilizes one’s magical power.

I had known about that fact as part of the knowledge I learned, however, I would have never thought that it would actually feel this different.

Yet, it was not just that.

Whether it was the result of sleeping with her (Lidi) for almost 24 hours, the usual libido that was rampant deep within my body is also suppressed. I am truly in perfect form.

「Good Morning, Freed. You seem to be in high spirits.」

When I opened the door to my office in a good mood, Glenn was already waiting inside with doc.u.ments on hand.

Usually, I would be fed up at the volume of papers, but I think nothing of it today.

「Morning, Glenn. Aa (yes), I feel splendidly pleasant.」

I almost want to hum a song at the extent of my happiness.

「Rumors already spread, you know. His Highness finally brought a lady to his room, is what they said.」

I slipped out a laugh at Glenn’s words.

Let alone bringing; even now she’s lying down my bed. If that information was found, I wonder what they would think.

「Is that so, how disappointing. Was the ident.i.ty of my companion not spread? Although surely it must have leaked out from the Imperial Guards nearby.」

「I would guess it was because of the fact that His Highness brought a lady that piqued the interest of everyone the most. More so than finding the ident.i.ty of said lady, the former became the leading gossip」

「Hmmm, it would be better if it didn’t turn in a strange talk though.」

If that kind of hearsay occurred, I don’t want it to reach Lidi’s ears.

However, if nothing but the truth was spread then it would be fine.

As I conversed with Glenn, I sat down my seat and scanned over the doc.u.ments.

Although I already resigned myself over it, there was a considerable amount of papers.

「……that’s a lot」

As expected, the volume was disheartening. As if

fed up with it, Glenn spoke with an accusing tone.

「I wonder who neglected his afternoon duties. No matter how much time pa.s.sed, you did not arrive and so I actually searched for you, you know.」

「……Aaa, I was with Lidi the whole time that’s why.」

Glenn sighed and answered with an ‘I am informed’.

「At that time, I heard about the rumors as well. Freed and a lady secluded themselves in the room, they said.」

「Hmm. Just who do you think I am?」

I was a bit curious so I asked.

「……I know of Freed’s feelings which was why I did not even consider the lady to be anyone other than Princess Lidiana. ……In the end, were you with her until morning?」

「Yeah, I parted with her in my room a while ago. I pushed her to limits considerably so she’s probably asleep right about this time.」

I splendidly had s.e.x with her. Although it was my plan, perhaps it was a bit pitiful.

I should see her state afterwards, I cheerfully thought.Just having the idea that she was in my room, already makes me feel ticklish.

While sporting a face that expressed his inability to comment anything, Glenn opened his mouth.

「……That is」

「Freed!!」

(T/N: Kyah~ New ikemen chara)

Glenn knitted his eyebrows. He was probably about to present his candid advice. Before he could do so however, the door was slammed open.

A lone man with an angry expression came jumping in the room.

「Youuu!! You dared to deflower my cute little sister!!」(T/N: He said てめえ！！ = temee, which is like an aggressive way of saying you)

My eyes opened wide at the man that stormed in with a yell without even knocking on the door.

Not even appearing in yesterday’s engagement ceremony and having not being seen for almost a year, the face of that man was standing there.

「……Alex……so you’ve returned.」

With a flushed (T/N: in anger) face that was glaring my way, the man’s name is,  Alexei・Von・Vivouare

Along with various happenings, it has been a year ago since we last met. I thoroughly forgot his existence but as a matter of fact, he’s the Prime Minister’s eldest son and Lidi’s brother. And then, he would become my brother-in-law in half a year’s time, however, he is also one of my childhood friends.  

Although Glenn immediately moved to protect me the moment the door opened, he loosened his strength once he comprehended that it was Alex.

Alex is one

one of Glenn’s childhood friends as well.

Alex was grinding his teeth while looking at me with eyes that are shooting me to death.

It would seem that he’s seriously furious.

「Freed, explain yourself in detail. Depending on the sequence of your answers, I would absolutely never forgive you.」

Leaving the door open, Alex walked towards me briskly.

As Glenn observed the situation, he moved to close the door in silence.

Except for the spectacles, Alex –that was drawing near me with an enraged countenance, looked alike as two melons with the Prime Minister. Both are good-looking men. However, the reputation of cleverness that the Prime Minister posses is completely different to that of Alex’s. His looked more like raging fire.

He has the same lovely purple eyes that gave off a feeling of translucence like Lidi’s and silver hair that is comparable to that of new snow. Unlike his father’s hair however, his is a different straight hair and is put together neatly on the back of his head.

Although he is clad in a beautiful embroidery clothes that is befitting a House of a Duke’s eldest son, he didn’t seem pleased by it and wore the clothes to his own liking. And it certainly suited him.

As soon as Alex reached my side, he slammed both his hands on top of the desk with a loud thump.

The force threw the doc.u.ments away. It felt like the accounts payments portion and the portion with outstanding accounts got mixed.

「Freed」

I averted my gaze away from the doc.u.ments as I heard his low-key voice. His eyes were dyed in anger.

「First things first. Where’s Lidi?」

From the looks of it, it would appear that he dropped by his residence already.

There’s no point in hiding the truth. I thought as I honestly answered.

「……She’s in my room.」

His eyebrow twitched at my words.

「Oi……Just what are you thinking, doing as you please and abducting someone else’s sister. Proclaiming her as the Princess Consort already, but in truth, she’s still only just your fiancée. Don’t just forcibly lock her up in the castle on your own convenience.」

「Is that so, I had thought that couples living together before being engaged is a common story though?」

When I refuted Alex’s complaint like that, his eyes held still the whole time.  

That expression looked exactly like his father’s.

「There’s no way she wished for that to happen. Second thing. Freed……just what are

what are you thinking?」

「About what?」

I rested my chin on my hands as I replied in a calm manner. Alex appeared to lose his cool once again as he saw me.

「Don’t f.u.c.k with me!! You, even though you hated being engaged to my sister that much before!! Despite that, what is this ‘King’s Flower’ all of a sudden, or bringing her to your room immediately after the engagement ceremony. What are you planning!!」(T/N: He said temee again, weeee~)

「Even if you ask me that……Alex, you have no say in the matter, you know? In the first place, this engagement was brought up by your own father.」

「I know that already!! That was why I was in complete opposition the whole time!! And yet that s.h.i.+tty old man!!」

Alex groaned and cursed the Prime Minister with words such as ‘that old man is an idiot’.

I was utterly stunned at his state.

「……I know you’ve had a sharp nasty tongue since we were young but, did it further improve during the year?」(T/N: He said ‘improve’ but it probably means worsen. I guess he said it sarcastically lol)

「Shut up. It’s fine as long as I don’t do it in public. You don’t really care about it, and anyone would turn out this way if he were to spend time with my house’s underground people day and night.」(T/N: I don’t know how to word the ‘underground people’ better lol, just think of it like, gangsters in the modern world)

That’s true.

Alex is usually this way when he’s in front of me, but, he turns in a completely different person when in public from the refined disposition he conducts himself in.

As expected of a Dukedom Household’s successor.

I nodded my head in agreement as I remembered that fact.

From the start, Alex has been my close aide. As the successor of the House Vivouare, he has been by my side since we were young.

Likewise, his thinking process is exceedingly superior as one that is decided to be the future Prime Minister.

The two of us have been performing/managing official (castle) duties since way back. However, it then has been decided that he (Alex) would overlook the Duke House’s intelligence agency for a short period in order to properly succeed Duke Vivouare’s Household.

He reasoned that if he could not subdue the dark side (underground) of his territory, he would not be qualified to be the

to be the Dukedom’s successor. He, therefore, went back to House Vivouare’s fief just about one year ago.

On and after, as part of the condition (of his travel), Glenn will be accompanying me in Alex’s stead for a limited time. However, there are certain things that did not go smoothly.

Originally, Glenn is the Knights’ Leader. 　

He’s not in a position that can perform a close aide’s duties generally, and above all, it’s out of his field.

「……You, are you serious about this?」(T/N: Now he said, お前 = omae~)

Amethyst eyes stared at me intensely.

I felt his strong intention, and so I seriously answered again.

「Of course. I am in love with Lidi.」

「……Tsk」

I looked back at his eyes without hesitation. Seeing this, Alex finally moved his hands away from the desk.

I threw a glance at Glenn that was scratching his head.

「I honestly had expectations for Will. And yet that incompetent fool, no matter how much time pa.s.ses, he never instigates an action. While he took his time idling by, eventually it was taken entirely by this person.」

「……My brother was frantic in his own way.」

Alex spat out as he averted his gaze away (from me) to Glenn that stated excuses.

I cannot allow that conversation to pa.s.s. The same name I heard from Lidi this morning came up again. I pressed a question to explain what it means.

Naturally, Will is one of my childhood friends as well. (T/N: cue ‘dun dun dunnnnn’ sound for reveal)

However, I never would have thought that there would be a connection between Lidi and Will.

Without even noticing my state, their conversation became heated.

「Hah. Someone who thinks that anything can be conveyed to that dense Lidi without saying a word is mistaken. Staying by her side for so long, he should have realized that much even if it’s unpleasant. 」

「That is……」

「……Wait a minute」

I could no longer endure it so I stopped their exchange. I felt my insides becoming chilly.

As I started to speak while I felt that way, the voice that I let out was lower and colder than I thought.

「Will……is what?」

「Freed……」

Glenn averted his eyes awkwardly but Alex responded nonchalantly.

「Yeah, Will have had an unrequited love for Lidi for many years. Nowadays it’s the type of rare pure love, you know? His parentage is up to par as well. I, for certain, was rooting for Will more than some troublesome person like you.」