Translator: Michiko
Editor: Elena
“Gio, even you will have to answer for your disrespect if you go too far.”
Holding the collapsed princess in his arms, the crown prince made a stern face.
“Ah, I’m sorry about that, Your Highness. Your sister made my brother leave, so I lost my cool.”
The crown prince became even more apprehensive when Gio responded sarcastically in a nonchalant manner.
“… I don’t think she meant to go that far. I assume your brother is actually safe, right?”
Objectively speaking, If his safety was unknown, the question to the princess should have been, “What did you do to him?” or “Where did you send him?”
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“Jwv vbyv osxyd nswze byhl esdl kv kq pbl’e oydvle vs… Mbyv’p vbl rasczlx,” Qks pyke, pvkzz zssjkdt esod yv vbl rakdnlpp okvb hlkdp cwztkdt sd bkp qsalblye.&dcpr;
Mbl nasod rakdnl nyzzle vbl twyaep yde vbl rakdnlpp’p xyke, obs olal oykvkdt swvpkel vbl assx, yde saelale vblx vs nyaau vbl wdnsdpnkswp rakdnlpp vs bla cleassx.&dcpr;
Xdzu vbl nasod rakdnl, Qks, yde bkp qakldep alxykdle kd vbl assx. Mbl nasod rakdnl ypjle vbl nbyxclazykd vs ralryal vly yde watle lhlausdl vs pkv esod yde xyjl vblxplzhlp yv bsxl.&dcpr;
Qks pvkzz bye y pxszelakdt zssj sq ydtla sd bkp qynl, cwv rlabyrp bl bye nsszle esod y ckv, sa rlabyrp bl bye fwetle vbyv vbl nasod rakdnl oyp dsv vyjkdt pkelp okvb vbl rakdnlpp kd vbkp xyvvla, yde bl sclekldvzu pyv esod sd vbl psqy.
“Ebld R fskdle vbl Idktbvp, R oyp vsze alrlyvlezu, ‘G jdktbv pbswze yzoyup cl qyka, oklze vbl posae sq fwpvknl okvb y rwal pswz yde y pswde cseu, yde dlhla ycwpl vbl posae.’ Rv pllxp vbyv vbl asuyz qyxkzu zynjp pwnb vlynbkdtp.”
Qks pyanypvknyzzu xwple okvbswv lhld vyjkdt y pkr sq vbl vly vbyv oyp plahle kd qasdv sq bkx. Mbl nasod rakdnl jdlo yzz vss olzz ycswv bkp qaklde’p qswz xswvb yde bkp bspvkzkvu vs vbspl bl bye keldvkqkle yp ldlxklp. Mblalqsal, bl oyp qle wr, cwv dsv ydtau.
Rdelle, vbkp vkxl, bkp pkpvla xkpfwetle vbl pkvwyvksd.&dcpr;
Rv pllxle vbyv vbl pnldyaks sq Qks lyadlpvzu alqwpkdt vs xyaau bla, vbl rakdnlpp, wdvkz vbl lde oyp hlau wdlmrlnvle qsa bla. Gp y alpwzv, pbl bye ydtlale vbl blas obs oswze ts esod kd bkpvsau, vbwp vbkp pkvwyvksd nswze cl nsdpkelale bla qywzv. Gde wdqsavwdyvlzu, vbl sdzu sdl obs nswze nzlyd wr bla xlpp oyp bkx, bla szela casvbla.
“Cause she’s the youngest princess and a memento of the late queen. Everyone has a soft spot for her.”
The princess had a very lovely face. Furthermore, she was able to make the people around her come to her side by effectively acting spoiled, crying, and throwing tantrums.
Therefore, there was no one in the royal palace who would intentionally point out her somewhat presumptuous nature and narrow-mindedness.
The princess’s temperament was at fault, but the fact that the king and her educators had allowed her to get this point were also at fault. And maybe it was his own fault for not being able to intervene.
Gio had dismissed her as a brat, but the princess was already seventeen. They needed to have her settled on someone appropriate for her soon. The person that the princess would marry could be decided immediately. There were many within and outside the country who wished to marry her.
However, in the first place, the crown prince thought that if the other party had not been Gio, the matter would not have gotten so complicated.
Although the princess was good at conducting herself around people, she was not overly selfish. It was within the reasonable range for a person of high status.
Gio hated the princess for being shrewd, but her ability to control situations for her benefit and her sort of ruthlessness in getting rid of anyone who got in her way was not something to be condemned for in royal and noble circles. Rather, it could be seen as a commendable ability depending on the situation.
The crown prince himself even praised his sister, saying that the way in which she had surrounded herself with the goal of marrying Gio was quite impressive.
In general, there were not many men who wouldn’t be excited to receive the adoring gaze of a beautiful princess. Normally, they would choose to marry a princess without hesitation. There weren’t many men in the country who had the right to hold a royal princess in their arms. If he was a common man, even more so, he would not be able to resist reaching out for that prize, a symbol of power and prominence.
In other words, no matter how you look at it, Gio’s reaction was strange. In that respect as well, Gio was a difficult person to measure by normal standards.
“So, what do we do after this? Go back to the ceremony? The sooner you get your peerage, the easier it’ll be for you later.”
“I would like to review the contents of the reward. Give me some time.”
When Gio said so, the crown prince sighed deeply. His head really hurt.
“Surely you aren’t planning to leave the country, are you?”
“I don’t know yet. But I do know that even if I become a nobleman in the future, it will probably be troublesome for me in one way or another. The more I stand out, the more people will start messing with Reiru. Maybe I’ll just take the reward all in gold and retire to the countryside somewhere as a commoner, or maybe go to another country where no one knows who I am.”
“H-hey, hey, hey, hey wait a minute, Gio!”
His companion, the swordsman, let out an exclamation of surprise. He had been hesitant to intervene because of Gio’s extremely menacing look, but he couldn’t let what he heard now slide.
“You always wanted to be a nobleman, didn’t you? You’re not seriously saying you’re going to refuse it for that guy, are you?”
“…Why would you say that? This is my problem. Stay out of it.”
Gio scoffed with a cold look in his eyes.
“Because it doesn’t make any sense! Don’t you think? I can’t understand it at all. You’ll get a title, a fiefdom, and even a connection to the royal family if you marry the princess. The child born will inherit the royal bloodline. What better way for a knight from a humble birth to get ahead? You will inspire all the kids in the country who are waving sticks around and playing knights. If you’re going to throw it all away, what have you been working so hard for until now?!”
“So what does that have to do with you? If you’re so concerned, you should propose marriage to that woman.”
“No, I’m a married man, that’s why…”
“Gio, we want you to be happy. We are friends who have fought for life and death together after all. I don’t think your current decision is going to make you happy.”
The mage sincerely appealed to the unapproachable Gio.
“I’m happy doing what I want, though. Are you guys judging my happiness?”
“It’s not that, I just…”
“We’re worried that maybe Gio is being used or threatened by the guy.”
“── Ah?”
Gio’s eyebrow raised at the boy’s words.
The youngest head of the Royal Academy of Sciences, who had been given the title of Wise Man at the age of 16, continued without faltering.
“I mean, it’s strange, isn’t it? You’ve been living frugally for years and giving most of your salary to that person, right? Everyone would find that a bit odd. Besides, if the recipient considers Gio as a dear brother, wouldn’t they be a little more restrained?
“I… I feel the same way. I don’t sense any gratitude from him to Gio-dono. He took the money as if it were a given… Her Royal Highness loves Gio-dono very much. This time, too, she did what she did for Gio-dono’s sake, and, um, she didn’t mean any harm, did she?”
Perhaps as a woman, the healer felt sympathy for the princess, so she attempted to mediate on the princess’s behalf.
“…Oi, Don’t say such absurd things. I don’t want a bunch of people who don’t know anything to utter a single word about Reiru.”
“Ah, you’re right, we don’t know anything about him. Gio won’t tell us anything after all.”
The boy said curtly.
The people around Gio knew of his scrimping and saving.
Although he was well dressed, he did not spend money on luxuries. He always ate in the dining hall of the Knights’ dormitory and never went to trendy restaurants. He didn’t drink with them, he didn’t buy women, and he was often teased that he was like a monk serving a deity.
Even when he was scorned for not knowing how to spend money because of his poor upbringing, or mocked as a miser, Gio did not change his lifestyle. When asked why, he did not answer.
It was when the time of the demon king’s resurrection was approaching that the companions learned where Gio’s money was going. In order to coordinate to defeat the demon king, they had teamed up even before Gio was entrusted with the royal sword as a hero.
One day Gio asked the mage to activate teleportation magic. When he asked for the reason, he said, “I’m going to send over money.” His reply made the mage worried that this person might actually be in debt, so he agreed on the condition that he would also accompany him.
The mage then saw Gio handing a bag that looked quite heavy to a shady man with delicate features at an orphanage in the countryside town they were visiting.
The man with delicate features casually took the money and didn’t act timid in doing so. He looked unimpressed at Gio, who had taken the trouble to use teleportation magic to visit him, without thanking him, and when he noticed the mage, he gave him a superficial smile.
That unhealthy and lackluster man, after a brief greeting to the mage, said to Gio, “I am counting on you,” and went away.
When the mage asked, “Where is he going?” Gio responded, “Well, I think he’s going to bed.” as if it were natural.
Afterwards, the mage along with Gio spent a heartwarming time demonstrating simple magic to the children of the orphanage, teaching them magic theory and know-how.
After an hour or so, an older girl came up to Gio and said,
“Gio-nii, Rei-nii said you should go home already.”
The mage was speechless at that statement.
Gio took time out of his demanding duties to visit the countryside, gave what could never be considered a paltry sum of money, and took care of the children — then without even having the courtesy of showing up, that man told Gio to “go home” through a child without showing a shred of respect.
Now that Gio was becoming a well-known knight, even the nobles would not treat him so indifferently.
But again, Gio seemed used to it and just said, “Yeah, okay.”
The mage pitied Gio.
TN: I will post a bit spoilerish pictures in discord. So, join the discord and get the role if you wanna see them. Enjoy reading and thank you for your comments.
Thank you for your hardwork. ❤️