Final Runner - The True Dark Horse

Sauslind finally welcomed in the new year.

Given that all of the departments had gone on break for the time being, the palace was deserted with no signs of life. The only people there fell into one of two categories: they were either workaholics or in highly important positions with never-ending piles of paperwork. Then there were people like Alexei who fell into both categories. He was currently in his office, busily filling out paperwork.

With a bounce in my step and a grin on my lips, I wandered into his office. As I’d expected, contender number three shot past the finish line. Most had bet on Prince Chris, certain he had the best chance. Thanks to that, even after I passed off part of the winnings to those who had bet on Scarecrow, I’d still have plenty left to fill my pockets.

I’ll have to hand over their portion once the new year break is over, I thought to myself, satisfied with how this year was shaping up already.

Alfred suddenly entered the room, carrying some correspondence he was delivering personally. As the prime minister’s assistant, it wasn’t surprising he was being forced to work through the break as well. With so many others gone for the holidays, those still at the palace had to deliver any letters themselves.

The three of us engaged in some idle conversation, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere that came with most of the palace being empty. This was interrupted when noise reverberating just outside the door caught our attention. After a brief moment of clamor, our esteemed prince suddenly flew into the room.

“Fred!” His hair was disheveled, and his eyes glowed with rage. It was a rare look for our future monarch. Especially since his anger usually tended to be like ice, freezing the atmosphere as it swelled.

Alfred, who’d prompted this shocking change in His Highness, regarded the prince with his usual gentle demeanor. He seemed neither surprised nor taken aback. “Is something wrong, Prince Christopher?”

“Yes, something is wrong!” His Highness snapped. “Eli was supposed to be reading at home. Why is she off on some trip in a neighboring town?! And what’s this I hear that she’s with some unknown man?!” There was such bite in his words that he looked ready to start trading blows with Alfred.

The moment he realized his little sister’s information had been leaked, Alfred’s gentle eyes went hard and cold. But he kept his soft smile as he said, “He’s not ‘unknown.’ Uncle Andrew is my father’s younger brother.”

“Uncle, you say?”

Alfred nodded. “Yes. You know we have an archaeologist in the family, correct? He’s constantly traveling across the continent and rarely finds the time to come home. This year we were lucky enough to have him visit, so we encouraged Eli to go with him. After all, she won’t have the opportunity to do that anymore after this spring, now will she?”

He had a point; once they exchanged vows, Lady Elianna would be an official member of the royal family. She would have few opportunities to go traveling at her leisure. The freedoms she enjoyed right now would be gone.

Prince Christopher must have realized this as well because he sobered quickly. But there was still a distinct bitterness on his face as he said, “Still, you could have at least told me. I would have made room in my schedule so I could accompany—”

“Excuse me?” Alex interjected, the temperature in the room taking a sharp dive. “I must have heard you wrong. Did you just say you would have ‘made room in your schedule,’ Your Highness?”

The prince’s face instantly wrinkled in annoyance. Nonetheless, he swept back his messy golden hair, keeping his usual assertive tone as he said, “As I was saying, I would have accompanied her. I already gave up on our pre-wedding trip to the villa. Even you couldn’t deny me a short trip with her, Alex.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alex’s expression freeze over as his lips thinned. “It seems you don’t understand your position, so allow me to enlighten you. Do you realize how many personnel I had to spare to make preparations for your frivolous, absurd pre-wedding trip? We had to set aside guards for your security, send people to make a careful inspection of the road all the way into the Gral Region, and send staff to check the village grounds and make sure everything was secure for your arrival. If you’d like, I can bring each and every one of them here so they can explain to you themselves all the trouble they went through for you. How’s that?”

Unruffled, Prince Chris just kept his head held high as he quipped, “We could have traveled in disguise. That nickname everyone calls you by is really starting to fit—your head is as hard and stiff as a block of ice. Your migraines are only going to get worse if you can’t learn to be a little more flexible.”

I could almost hear the audible snap as veins started to bulge on Alex’s forehead. Glen was off duty for the day, which meant the prince had nowhere to redirect his anger.

Yep, I think it’s about time for me to scram.

The ominous aura emanating from Alfred stopped me before I had the chance. He kept his meek mask on even as he said, “No. I hate to be blunt, but even if you had approached us beforehand, we would have rejected your request to accompany her. I am certain Eli would feel the same. After all, this trip is the last chance for her to spend time with her first love while she’s still single.” His lips stretched into a smile.

The prince and I both blurted out together, “What?”

Judging by the way Alex’s face strained with tension, he’d already known about this.

The shock for the prince was unimaginable. I hadn’t witnessed it myself personally, but I suspected his devastation now rivaled what he’d felt when Lady Elianna had suddenly returned the book he’d given her during the mess with Lady Irene.

“Eli’s...first love?” His Highness eked out.

Seeing the way Alfred kept that smile plastered on his face, I wanted to fall to my knees in prayer and scream to the gods for salvation. Please, Gods, don’t let him pour any more salt on the wound! My fragile heart won’t hold up!

However, the person who landed the finishing blow on our future king was not Alfred. No, it was one of the prince’s biggest archenemies—a scheming tanuki.

“Fred? Are you there?” The man who peeked his head in was none other than Marquess Bernstein himself. His eyes swept over the room, and he paused to blink. He was mild-mannered as he exchanged a few words over work matters with Alex and Alfred.

Once talk of official business was over, he turned a smile toward his son and said, “That concludes our work for the end of the year. Work we wouldn’t have had if not for someone’s selfish actions. Now we can catch up with Eli and Andrew and enjoy our time together as a family.”

Alfred looked uneasy as he listened to his father’s snide remarks about the prince.

Still, that lack of mercy was a trademark of the tanuki line. The marquess wore the same smile that he used against the prime minister, who’d suffered no small number of stomachaches under the thumb of the clever marquess all these years. Even as Prince Chris’s face contorted in a look of pure rage, casting off the mask he usually wore in front of everyone, the tanuki remained unflinching. He exhibited the calm cunning his family was known for perfectly as he said, “Oh yes, Prince Christopher. If you’d like to postpone your wedding ceremony, we are prepared at any time. Don’t hesitate to ask, we’ll be happy to oblige.”

After giving the prince a verbal smackdown, the rotten tanuki turned to leave. Watching him go, I was reminded why the hidden name of the Bernstein family was so powerful (and yet terrifying).

Alex and I were both frozen in place. In the midst of it all, I’d lost my chance to escape. But the true killing blow came from Alfred, who reluctantly turned to me and said, “Alan?”

I looked up to find him flashing a gentle smile at me. Yet the words that came out of his mouth were anything but gentle, no matter how softly they were spoken.

“Eli’s spending her break with her first love, not her immediate family. So please be sure to give all the money you took for those bets to the man who bet on her first love. He only just started at the palace this past spring and his wife just had triplets. Seems he’s struggling financially, so I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”

That was when I remembered...

After I’d finished my proud explanation of the details of the race and its contenders, one man had come to me, betting that Lady Elianna would spend her break with her “first love.” The wording hadn’t drawn my attention as I merely assumed her first love had been Prince Chris. I never dreamed it could be anyone else.

The way things would scale with a single winner taking the whole pot meant there’d be next to nothing left for me once I paid out. All of the joy I felt moments before drained out of me as a silent black cloud hung overhead. The race had been rigged, and I’d never suspected a thing.

My devastation at being deceived conflicted with the genuine empathy I felt for the newbie who had triplets to look after. Tearfully, I bid farewell to the custom-made lute I’d planned on buying.

Alex cradled his head in his hands, already feeling the biggest migraine this year coming on.

Judging by the anger smoldering in the prince’s eyes, the new year had brought with it the demon lord’s awakening.

Silently, I said a prayer.

I will never again make a bet against Sauslind’s Brain. I, Alan Ferrera, swear it. So please, God, turn this demon lord into a kind hero instead. Bring peace to our palace! If you don’t, I may not live to see tomorrow!