Chapter 24

After spending a night at the inn the knight order had prepared for us, returning to town turned into a huge commotion.

The townspeople rejoiced that I was safe, while also telling me, one after another, how wonderful it was that I had risen so far in the world, and it took me some time to understand the situation. Word had already spread throughout town that Cyril Vedito’s abilities had been recognized and that she had been taken into service by the royal family, where she would become an apothecary at the royal castle. The moment I returned, customers flooded into the shop, to the point that nearly all the stock vanished.

Of course, that did not mean I was able to sell every single medicine. Magical medicines could only be sold to those who needed them, and because I had been away for several days and unable to maintain their magical protection, some of them degraded in efficiency. Still, the medicines I had left were so few that I wouldn’t have any hassle with transporting them, so, well, for me, now that I would be moving, that was helpful. …It truly had been a dizzying month.

「Court apothecary and personal advisor to the first prince, huh. You’re going to live in the castle starting today, right? How does it feel?」

Hector, who was helping me carry my belongings for the move, asked me that, and I let out a small sigh. After a month of preparation, today was the day I would depart for the royal capital.

「I feel weighed down by it.」

Apparently, I was to be given a room inside the castle and live there. If I heard it as a fairy tale, it might sound like a dream, but once it became reality, it weighed heavily on me. There was no way I, a commoner, could enjoy a life surrounded by nobles.

「Knowing Kyos, I think he’ll arrange things as well as he possibly can for you. You know, since he’s a prince, he can use his authority and all.」

「The fact that he is a prince is one of the reasons it bothers me so much…」

Kai’s true identity was this country’s first prince, a man named Kyos Ziggy Dithotonicus, first in line to the throne. If he had been a prince much farther removed from the throne, perhaps I could have lived a life far away from power struggles and the like, but he stood right at the center of them. I would inevitably be dragged in as well.

「Well, still, I am grateful that he is allowing this apothecary shop to remain.」

Perhaps it was because, in the underground workshop, he had learned how much I treasured this place. Kyos had arranged things so that this shop could be preserved. I would live at the royal castle and make medicines there, but my medicines would also be brought to this shop and sold, allowing it to continue existing as an apothecary shop. I could already imagine Apothecary Vedito becoming quite prosperous as a shop patronized by the royal family. It seemed I would be able to come back here from time to time as well, so I had no complaints.

Kyos seemed to have put a great deal of thought into how I would be treated. With someone like that, even after learning that he was not merely a noble but a member of the royal family, perhaps, to some extent, I could feel at ease. I’m intending to keep the fact that I’m a magic user hidden, but knowing that he is not a bad person is a relief. He was also the person I had chosen to serve.

「…I am a little sad to be separated from you, Hector-san.」

He was a knight belonging to this town’s Second Knight Order, and though this town and the royal capital were not so far apart, it would no longer be a distance where we could meet as casually as before. The words had slipped out because I felt uneasy about living surrounded by strangers, but when Hector heard them, he covered his face and let out a small groan.

Somehow, the way his heart moved strangely bothered me. It was an odd movement of his prediction line, as though he were trying to suppress a growing emotion of joy. …This, I did not really understand. Was it something he wanted to say but could not?

「…Did you figure something out?」

「I figured out that you are conflicted about something, Hector-san.」

「Ah, yeah, I suppose that’s so… Cyril-san, you don’t have to worry too much about life over there. It’ll definitely be all right.」

Perhaps he had heard things from his best friend that I had not been told. If Hector says so, then surely it would be fine.

I was told that most of the things I would need for daily life had been prepared over there. The main things I had to bring were the plants that served as ingredients for medicines. I had also heard that they would prepare an herb garden just for me, so I decided to bring along the ones I had been growing personally, such as Shutom and Feferi.

「…Come to think of it, you are in uniform today.」

「Well, yes. You now work directly for the royal family, so it won’t be strange for a knight to be at your side. It’ll be fine.」

The knight order’s white-based uniform stood out terribly. Not only because of the color of the clothing, but because the combination of that outfit with his splendid face was, quite frankly, very conspicuous. Even though it was early morning and there were few people around, if someone found him, people would come flocking over at once and form a crowd.

When he usually came to the apothecary shop, he wore clothing in subdued colors with a cloak over it that had been disguised to look dirty, so seeing Hector the knight in this place felt a little strange.

「All right, I suppose this is the last of the luggage.」

The not-so-large amount of luggage had been loaded onto the freight wagon Kyos had arranged. Together with these belongings, I would head for the royal capital, and from tonight onward, I would be living in the castle. …It still did not feel real.

「Thank you very much for helping me. It was a great help.」

「It’s only natural to do this much, but you’re welcome. Now, the carriage you’ll ride in is over here.」

I had thought that riding inside the freight wagon would be enough, but a separate carriage specifically for transporting people had also been prepared. And on top of that, it looked somehow expensive, the sort of thing that made the commoner part of me shrink back. I climbed in with Hector’s help, and when I sat down, the softness I felt beneath me made me want to grimace. …It was too much for someone like me.

「I’ll be right outside, so don’t worry.」

「You are going too, Hector-san?」

「Yes. I’ve been entrusted with guarding you on the way.」

Did that mean he would be with me until the royal castle? I felt just a little more at ease.

The carriage journey took around four hours, with breaks in between. Even with soft cushions, sitting the entire time made various parts of my body ache. Just when I thought I was nearing my limit, the carriage finally stopped, and the door opened.

「Good work. You must be tired from a carriage trip you’re not used to.」

「Yes. But when I think of what lies ahead… this is still nothing.」

The real part would begin now. I stepped down from the carriage, stretched my body as much as I could, and looked around. There were no people nearby, but since we were inside tall stone walls, we were likely already on the royal castle grounds.

「This is the least conspicuous gate… the one the servants use to come and go. I’ll guide you from here too.」

「Thank you. Please do.」

It seemed Hector would still stay with me. I did not know how far he would accompany me, but it helped me a great deal mentally. Guided by him, I started walking, but instead of entering the castle, we passed through what looked like a back path. Perhaps thanks to that, we did not cross paths with anyone, and before long, we emerged into an open space.

「Wow… this is an herb garden, isn’t it?」

A field of plants I knew spread out before me. It looked relatively new, but it had not been made in just the past few days. Wondering when it had been prepared, I tilted my head.

「That’s right, it’s your herb garden. It’s away from the castle, and nobles normally don’t come here. Your room is here too.」

「I’m grateful. Was this arranged by Ky-sa… His Highness Kyos?」

With this, my stomach might not have to hurt so much. As I followed Hector, who said my room was this way, the deep-green color of guilt stretching above his head gave me a very bad feeling.

Surely not, I thought, as I was led inside the still-new house built at the back of the herb garden, and there, the forecast lines I saw looked like a showcase of misfortune, making me want to flee with all my strength.

「You’ve come.」

Kyos, dressed in ornate clothing utterly unlike the traveler-like outfit I had seen him in once before, was looking at us with great amusement, a yellow line stretching out from him. I was stunned, wondering what a prince was doing without even a guard.

When I saw Hector immediately kneel before him and bow his head, I hurriedly followed suit.

「Hector Alderde. Cyril Vedito. As commanded by His Highness Kyos, we have hastened here.」

「No need to be so formal. I have also cleared the place of people. Speak as you always do.」

「Well, if it’s an order from royalty, then I guess there’s no helping it.」

After that somewhat theatrical exchange, Hector stood up. I also stood fearfully, but Kyos did not rebuke me for it, and his black eyes sparkled with amusement. The yellow line was very long as well. It was like a child delighted that his prank had succeeded.

「Now then, my personal advisor. You have done well to come.」

「…Yes. Since I do not know etiquette, I apologize if I cause offense. I would like to express my gratitude for this occasion.」

「I told you that is unnecessary. As I said before, I do not require etiquette of you.」

It was an order from royalty. Even if I felt as though my stomach was starting to ache, all I could do was smile and nod.

「Cyril. I shall tell you what I require of you.」

What Kyos required of me could be broadly divided into three things. The first was to live here, manage the herbs, and, as court apothecary, make medicines when necessary. The second was to use my 「good intuition」 to advise Kyos. The third was that he would occasionally summon me to meals, and I was to come without fail.

「…When you say I will be summoned to meals, what exactly do you mean?」

「You can tell whether poison has been added, can you not? I, too, would like to eat warm food from time to time.」

「Kyos. There you go again with that… Cyril-san, if you don’t like this, you can refuse, okay?」

Hector said that while shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head as if to say, honestly, but there was no way I could refuse. Unlike Hector, I did not have the easy relationship of being the prince’s friend.

I now understood very well why the guards who had accompanied this man before had been extending such exhausted colors. This prince was an exceedingly free-spirited personage. …In any case, I had no right to refuse, so I reverently answered, 「Understood.」

「Since I have taken notice of you, there will be a certain degree of danger as well. I shall assign you one guard knight from the royal family’s personal guard.」

「Eh, ah… Is that truly all right?」

The royal family’s bodyguards should be an organization only selected knights of proven ability could belong to. Having one person from there chosen for my sake seemed like exceptional treatment. Still, I also felt bewildered over whether I should really be allowed to receive so much, and when I looked at Kyos’s face, I saw that the yellow line had stretched even farther. …That was the forecast line of someone plotting mischief.

「Yes, the person himself also wished for it. Now then, Hector. From this moment onward, I order you to serve as guard to the court apothecary and my personal advisor. Protect her well.」

「Hector Alderde humbly accepts the duty of guard.」

「…………Pardon?」

Was I imagining things? Just now, it had sounded as though Hector had become my guard knight.

「Haha, that was the face I wanted to see. You make a fine expression, don’t you?」

「Um… I’m sorry, Cyril-san. I was ordered absolutely not to tell you…」

Hector explained things to me as I stood there confused. He had become able to swing a sword with his right hand, and as he had also grown used to handling twin swords, he was now able to return to the close guard knight order he had originally belonged to. In the past, he had been Kyos’s guard knight, but at present another person occupied that place. Hector could not return to that position.

However, now that I had been taken into service, the role of protecting me as royal property would be assigned to a personal guard. And from there, it was only natural that Hector, who already knew me, would be selected, or so he said.

(…This was absolutely the prince’s scheme.)

I could tell just by looking at those black eyes smiling in satisfaction. Somehow, all my many worries were blown away by the shock. Kyos was supposed to be a good person, yet he had a wicked streak. Deep down, he was probably a good person, but he was the type whose authority and mischievous nature were too strong, and who ended up dragging the people around him into things. Please spare me. …Well, still.

「So that means you’ll be with me here too, Hector-san?」

「Yes, that’s how it will be.」

「…Then that is fine. If you are here with me, I can feel at ease.」

Though the yellow-green color of interest shooting up vigorously above the black head in front of me made me feel some anxiety about the future, for the time being, I was able to feel that I could somehow manage to live here.

If Hector would be with me, then surely things would work out. He would protect me with all his might, so I would believe in that.

Looking up at the soft blond head above me, I held back the urge to laugh at the long-stretched color of love.

I could see this Knight of Flowers’ romantic feelings. That color was so long that it always made me want to laugh, but right now I was in front of royalty, so I needed to make a serious face.

「I, Cyril Vedito, humbly accept the post of court apothecary and personal advisor to His Highness Kyos.」

And so, my new life began.