Chapter 20: Things That Have Changed

Translated by: chocolalaProofread by: -

The aroma of tea filled the room. It was somewhat bitter and carried a good scent… just like how the smell of tea supposed to be.

“Sorry, I keep talking about myself, it just happens… So, how about Urschel? Anything troubling you? Are you enjoying yourself every day?”

“Hm? Me?” Wondering how to answer Brother Ben’s question, I broke the crispy caramel of the crème brûlée that was brought to me with the back of my spoon and then answered, “It’s fun every day. Father is… Still the same as ever, but now I have a little brother I can rely on. Nothing is too much trouble. I’m doing well.

“Little brother…oh! The one who is the centre of everyone’s attention, the revolutionary boy of the times, right? If I’m not mistaken, his name is Theodore…?”

‘The revolutionary boy of the times’?? Huh? Theodore is called that way nowadays? Well, I could kind of understand though.

“Yes! Theodore, he’s really a great guy! He gives me sweet treats, very attentive to me; truly a reliable guy!”

“Is-is that so… Urschel, so you get along with Theodore? As I recall, Theodore is an adopted child in the Minusle family…”

“Yup, we’re really close. Even if we have no blood ties, I believe that we’re indeed family.”

“I see, a family…”

Suddenly, Brother Ben seemed to notice something, “You’re smiling so happily, Urschel.”

“Eh, am I?”

“Yeah… I thought you’d only smile like that in front of sweets.” Brother Ben said with a wry smile.

I see, so I had been smiling like that? I’d better change the topic!

“Br-brother Ben, how is it going on with you lately?!”

At my question, Brother Ben disconcertedly smiled. “I’m the same as ever, an aide to the prince and the head of my family; I still have a lot to learn for both positions. Although it’s indeed different compared to when we were the prince’s study mates, I still have to study a lot every day. The rest of the time is simply, work.”

“Oh really, you’re working hard.”

“…I still have a long way to go. Even though I am a part of His Highness’s aide, I am far from being able to support him… I’m just not powerful enough.” After saying that, Brother Ben cast his eyes down. He looked very distressed, or so it seemed to me.

Brother Ben was a very outstanding man. His Highness Leodore must have placed a lot of trust in him. For someone like that to be distressed, there must have been quite a lot going on.

“Brother Ben, did something happen?”

“…Urschel?”

“If it’s okay with you, I’ll listen. Brother Ben. Something must have happened to Brother Ben to bother you so much.”

“…”

He sighed and rested his cheek on the palm of his hand. It might just be my imagination that he looked like he was about to cry.

“You’re the only one, only you would listen to me…”

“Brother Ben?”

“No one is interested in my problems. Even my fiancé pretends to be listening, but then he ends up yawning. I guess that’s just because I’m such a bore.”

“Not at all, Brother Ben…”

Brother Ben was someone I admired. That would never change in my mind. For me, he was definitely not a boring person…

Brother Ben then asked me a question, “Urschel, from your point of view, how is His Highness Leodore like?”

“His Highness Leodore?”

“Yes.”

“Um… Even if I say something rude, you won’t be angry?”

“I don’t mind. There’s only me and Urschel here.”

So I honestly answered, “He is often described as a perfect superhuman… But in reality, he is just a person who has a superb balance of talents, albeit more exceptional than others… I guess.”

I could see Brother Ben blinking in front of me. I quickly tried to explain properly to Brother Ben.

“His Highness Leodore is, simply put, an all-rounder. He is a jack-of-all-trades who can do anything. On top of that, he’s brilliant and has the quick thinking to take care of a hundred problems in an instant. He is also good at winning people over and has a charismatic personality. He’s definitely a terrific guy, but… He’s not exactly beyond the borders of human standards.”

I certainly considered him a genius. He might be able to solve a hundred problems in an instant, but he couldn’t come up with a new system that would prevent a hundred problems from happening in an instant. Only an extraordinary genius like Theodore would be capable of such things.

Then I continued, “I think His Highness Leodore is a person who is easily misunderstood. Because he can do anything, many people misunderstand him and expect a lot from him, don’t they? They think that he can make anything happen. When I was his study mate, I used to think that he always looked depressed.

“The expectations and trust of many people… And then there’s also people’s devotion to him… His Highness Leodore has been carrying all of these things on his shoulders since those times, hasn’t he? I think it must have been hard for him to be constantly asked to do things that far exceeded his own qualifications. But I never intended to be part of his close aides since I have to inherit the Minusle family, moreover, His Highness was always surrounded by those damn pi–*ehem* other study mates who ruined my parfait. In the end, I never got a chance to talk to His Highness.”

And there were the sweets! Yes, the sweets! I just had to relish them! As a child, I could not restrain myself at all. If I were to put sweets and His Highness Leodore on a scale, sweets would be the winner by a large margin! But of course, I couldn’t say this out loud to Brother Ben!!

At my explanation, Brother Ben seemed to be blindsided and stunned.

“I see… After all… I guess we were the ones who were in the wrong….”

Obviously, Brother Ben was perturbed.

“Oh, I… Urschel, I still regret that you are not a member of His Highness’s aides. If only you weren’t so fixated on the Minusle duchy, perhaps there would have been such a future… With you present… His Highness would be…”

“Brother Ben?” I was bewildered by how extremely disconcerted Brother Ben was.

And here it came, the Delusion-kun!

Ha, they couldn’t run without me? That’s right. I was the only one who noticed it in the first place, and still does! That’s why I decided to take advantage of the prince. They’re all idiots! No one else even noticed it! Yeah! That prince actually is…!

His following delusional thoughts caught me off guard and made me dumbstruck.

Right in front of a dazzled me, Brother Ben suddenly stood up. Before his eyes, there was a crème brûlée with the caramel left unbroken.

Then, Brother Ben bowed his head with vigour.

“Urschel, I’m sorry…! I should have turned to Urschel all along…”

“Brother Ben..?”

I was about to ask him what was wrong…

…But my consciousness was suddenly wiped away by who knows what.

chocolala: NOOOOO!!! Don’t you lay a hand on my cute Urschel! Well, time for Theodore to show up next