Chapter 24 : That Was Unmistakably… (Prince Leodore’s POV)

Translated by: chocolalaProofread by: Kitje

A report came in from the watchmen that they had detained Theodore. However, he had remained silent all the way… 

As soon as I heard that, I knew the one they caught was nothing but a decoy.

“That must’ve been nothing but an illusion, check it right away!”

The man on the other end of the communication was mortified—he couldn’t believe that was possible—but since the one they detained was keeping silent, I was ninety per cent sure that it could not be the real Theodore. From what I could infer, he was the type who would act immediately and settle the matter right away. He was never the type to meekly submit to another.

Then, where could he be now…?

It was correct to think that he must be on his way here—unmistakably so. I had no idea how he was going to come here, but Theodore was undoubtedly an excellent knight and also a superb mage. It was better to assume that common sense would not apply to him. 

In that case, I should prepare whatever I could and make my move earlier than him.  

“…Now, will you do exactly as I tell you?” After giving a few instructions, I cut the communication and walked towards a room. 

Every royal family has a dark legacy or two—especially the royal family of Janvangar with a 400-year history. There was a glorious and laudable history, but… behind that, there was also an unfavourable history that had been buried behind the times. 

The place I was at was exactly one of those dark legacies… It was a building that had stood here for hundreds of years, rebuilt many times as a necessary evil. 

The Palace of the Night—also known as the Prison Palace. 

It was a detached palace built originally for people who need to be under house arrest for one reason or another. It had also been used as the final resting place of tyrannical kings and of princes and princesses who were forced to die of illness for unavoidable reasons… 

But this place, for hundreds of years, had been exclusively used for… confining loved ones.

There was only one entrance to the detached palace and no other way in or out. The palace itself was an intricate maze that was designed to be difficult to navigate on the first visit, and the corridors were warded so that only certain people could pass through. All windows were barred and every door had a lock.

There was always a detection spell in place, which was used to keep an eye not only on outsiders but also on the subjects of confinement. The palace was fully guarded by watchmen who were constantly on the alert.

…The place was almost like a prison. 

However, to keep Urschel… this place was just nice to secure him temporarily. The security was too thin elsewhere. 

I walked through the palace and headed towards the chamber where Urschel was at. It was pretty deep inside the palace… 

The chamber was called Kagohinoma1. The chamber appeared to be a luxurious bed-chamber made of white marble, but there were no windows and access was limited to a single door. There was no way to escape from here… 

Urschel was still fast asleep on the bed of this chamber.

“Uuuunh…Ungh….”

He must be having a nightmare—his brows were furrowed. The blanket had been kicked to the corner of the bed.

I settled down on the bedside and grabbed the blanket that had been thrown into the corner to cover Urschel and looked at him. I felt guilty when I saw his face troubled by nightmares.

But at the same time, there was a gleam of joy in my heart that he finally landed in my hand. At last, I could feel the relief of being near something that should’ve been by my side long ago.

I reached out to him, still immersed in a terrible nightmare. As I wiped the sweat from his forehead, his brow wrinkled a little, and he let out a relieved breath.

…Even if it’s a little bit, I want to make him feel better. 

With that thought, I stroked his head. Afterwards, I could see him smiling. Ah, what a relief! I couldn’t help but raise the corners of my own mouth. 

Alas…

“…Theodore…”

As soon as I heard a delighted sigh escape his mouth, a ring slipped from his chest and appeared in my view.

When I saw that, I widened my eyes and pulled my hand away from him. And what I felt was unmistakably… 

Jealousy.

chocolala: grr, still this sicko’s POV, let’s get going to Urschel
Kitje: i kinda feel sowi for him tho…meow

Footnotes

I also feel weird about this name, it’s just two kanji combined together 籠樋, the first means cage, the second means eaves. Will it sound cooler if I translate it to ‘Cage Eaves’ instead? lol, I’m just gonna ignore it, it won’t appear again later.