"Haha, that's right, you must be seeing for the first ti," the Crown Prince said, smiling warmly.
Rupert, caught off guard by the Prince's sudden greeting, could only stand there with a bewildered expression. The Crown Prince’s friendly deanor was equally confusing to everyone around them, who were unsure of what to make of the situation.
"I know how hard you've fought, all on your own. Only I could understand that," the Crown Prince continued.
"Your Highness…" Rupert’s mind raced as he tried to make sense of the situation.
If the Princess had visited, it would be surprising, but understandable given her obsessive interest in his work, which he had observed, even if only briefly. But his relationship with the Crown Prince had been limited to the exchange of a few letters—letters that had been far from pleasant.
If the Crown Prince had co to cause trouble, that would make sense. But this warm, almost friendly reaction was completely unexpected.
‘Looking back, that was sheer madness,’ Rupert thought, recalling how he had used the Princess as a shield in his past correspondence with the Prince. Reflecting on it now, it was hard to believe that the reckless person who had responded so brazenly was really him.
"But the estate seems rather lively. Has sothing happened?" the Crown Prince asked, interrupting Rupert’s thoughts.
"Your Highness, we currently have another distinguished guest at the estate," Rupert replied carefully.
"Really? It seems I’ve chosen a rather inconvenient ti to visit. Who might this guest be? If they’re a noble, perhaps I know them," the Prince inquired.
"The guest is the Saintess from the Goddess Church, Your Highness."
"The Saintess? What on earth is she doing here?!" The Crown Prince’s shock was evident.
It was understandable; within the Empire, there were only two people whom even the royal family had to treat with the utmost respect—the Pope and the Saintess of the Goddess Church. Even the Emperor himself was cautious in his dealings with them, so there was no need to explain further.
The Crown Prince, Alex, had only t the Saintess a few tis, as she was a figure rarely seen, even by him. The fact that she was here, in the remote Sorset estate, struck him with a sudden sense of foreboding.
"Where is the Saintess now?" the Crown Prince asked, his tone serious.
"She is currently in the family’s workshop," Rupert replied.
"Lead the way!" The Crown Prince’s command was firm, leaving Rupert with no choice but to reluctantly guide him, as though he were being forced into an unpleasant task.
As they walked, the Crown Prince’s gaze t that of Count Bradley, who naturally bowed his head in respect. However, when the Prince clicked his tongue in apparent disapproval, the Count began to question internally whether he had done sothing wrong, though he couldn’t imagine what it could be. After all, this was their first eting—how could he have possibly offended the Crown Prince?
"The workshop is quite large," the Prince remarked.
"Yes, Your Highness. It started small, but we’ve expanded it several tis," Rupert explained.
"I see. It seed smaller the last ti I saw it."
"The last ti, Your Highness?" Rupert asked, confused.
"I visited once before. I left a letter as well," the Crown Prince said.
Rupert’s mory sparked, recalling a letter he had received so ti ago. He had dismissed it as a prank, thinking it was from so madman, but had kept it due to a strange, uneasy feeling that warned him to take it seriously.
Now, the previously puzzling content of the letter began to fall into place like pieces of a puzzle.
The Crown Prince had indeed visited in person after receiving Rupert's irreverent letter.
‘But why did nothing happen then?’ Rupert wondered. The Prince, notorious for his wild behavior, had visited in person, yet had done nothing and left only a letter. It didn’t make sense.
"That’s right! This man called Ada chubby!" Ada suddenly chid in.
"Haha, Ada, I’m sorry about that. I shouldn't have said that to such a lovely young lady," the Crown Prince responded warmly, tousling her hair.
As Rupert watched the unexpectedly close interaction between Ada and the Crown Prince, a thought crossed his mind.
‘Could it be that the Crown Prince has… unusual tastes?’
Quickly dismissing the potentially dangerous thought that could cost him his head if the Crown Prince knew, Rupert tried to steer his reasoning in a more realistic direction.
"Your Highness, did you happen to et Ada during your previous visit?"
"Yes, we had a very enjoyable ti together."
"That's right! Let’s play again, mister!" Ada added, clearly thrilled.
Rupert, realizing that he was becoming too accustod to Ada’s informal manner of addressing the Crown Prince, quickly corrected her.
"Ada, you mustn’t address His Highness so casually. You should say ‘Your Highness the Crown Prince,’" Rupert said.
"It’s fine. Ada, I give you permission to call whatever you like," the Crown Prince responded, his tone gentle as he patted Ada on the head.
Rupert’s thoughts grew more tangled. According to the original story, by now, the Crown Prince should have been stripped of his title due to his excessive behavior and should have beco a dethroned prince, marked for his reckless actions.
This was supposed to be a key event signaling the start of the original story’s main plot, where the third prince rises to power. Rupert had even been keeping an ear out for rumors, but had heard nothing about the Crown Prince’s downfall.
‘Could it be my fault?’ Rupert pondered the butterfly effect, wondering if his presence in this world as Rupert had already altered many events from the original story. He couldn’t deny the possibility, especially considering how even his attempts to remain low-key had made people around him view him as insane.
But what exactly had changed that prevented the Crown Prince from being dethroned?
Rupert’s contemplation was cut short by the Crown Prince’s next words.
"What exactly happened in the workshop, Sir Rupert?" the Crown Prince asked, his tone suddenly sharp.
"Your Highness?"
"I couldn’t say anything earlier because of all the eyes watching, but I could tell that sothing had happened in the workshop," the Prince pressed.
"How could you know that, Your Highness?" Rupert asked, astonished.
"The fact that the Saintess remains in the workshop even after knowing I’m here suggests that sothing has occurred," the Prince explained.
Rupert realized his mistake. He had underestimated the Crown Prince, having been too fixated on his infamous reputation. The Prince was more perceptive than Rupert had given him credit for.
"Most likely, the people in the workshop have collapsed," the Crown Prince continued.
"...Yes, that’s correct," Rupert admitted.
"I’ve been inford that you also collapsed."
"It was just due to exhaustion…."
The Crown Prince silenced Rupert with a knowing nod and a raised finger.
"Has the Saintess also discovered this grand conspiracy?" the Prince murmured, more to himself than to anyone else.
A conspiracy? What conspiracy?
Without waiting for a reply, the Crown Prince strode into the workshop, throwing the doors open.
Inside, the workshop staff were sprawled across the floor, still unconscious, muttering as though trapped in a nightmare.
"Mother…" "No! Don’t eat that…" "It’s an assassination… Soone’s attacking us…"
"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Please forgive my rudeness for not greeting you earlier, but the situation was urgent," the Saintess said, appearing from within the workshop.
"There’s no need for formalities, Saintess. I understand the gravity of the situation," the Crown Prince responded hastily.
"Pardon?"
"I thought we had eradicated the dark wizards, but I never expected them to strike so quickly!"
"Search the area thoroughly! The remnants we missed must still be nearby!" the Crown Prince ordered, and his knights imdiately scattered to comb the surroundings.
"Saintess! Can you save these people?" the Prince asked urgently.
"Yes, I can heal them… but it’s rely food pois—"
"Thank goodness! By the way, who is that?" the Crown Prince cut her off, his eyes landing on a woman huddled in the corner.
She was a beautiful woman with blue hair, but her expression was forlorn, as if she were guilty of so cri.
"She is Lady Alia of the Bluewell Ducal House," the Saintess introduced her.
"Did the Duke’s house send her here because they knew of this incident? But why is she alone?" the Crown Prince questioned, his confusion deepening.
"That’s not exactly…" the Saintess began, but trailed off.
Rupert watched as the Crown Prince continued to speak, unable to make sense of his words.
‘What do dark wizards have to do with this food poisoning incident?’ Rupert wondered, his mind racing.
The workshop artisans had collapsed after eating the al prepared by Alia.
And at that very mont, the Crown Prince had visited the estate.
Things were so tangled that Rupert had no idea how to proceed. The Saintess had gone to the workshop to treat the fallen artisans and had instructed Rupert to greet the Crown Prince.
Thanks to that, they hadn’t committed the offense of keeping the Crown Prince waiting, but now Rupert had no idea how to explain the situation to him.
The reality was that Lady Alia had co to visit him out of concern for his health and had kindly prepared a al.
But that al turned out to be more of an assassination attempt?
Alia’s distressed expression as she looked at the collapsed artisans was clear. As a noble lady, this was not just a shaful but a humiliating situation.
‘I don’t want her to suffer like this,’ Rupert thought.
Alia, the heroine of the original story, had always been one of his favorite characters. In a tale that was otherwise a predictable romance fantasy, Alia’s struggle between her family duties and her love had always stood out to him.
He still rembered one of her lines clearly.
"Even if the world ends tomorrow, we loved today."
It was a sowhat cliché line, spoken to the third prince in a mont of crisis. But for Rupert, that scene was when Alia, who had always dread of romantic love yet suppressed her feelings because of her family’s burdens, beca a fully realized character.
"Your Highness, Lady Alia is not involved in this incident. She was rely visiting to thank for the book, and she happened to witness what transpired," Rupert said, deciding to take a stand.
He didn’t care what happened next; he just wanted to get her out of this situation.
"Of course, she’s not involved. This is clearly the work of those vile dark wizards’ remnants," the Crown Prince agreed.
"Your Highness… do you have any knowledge about this incident?" Rupert asked cautiously.
"Of course I do! Thanks to you, Rupert, I was able to prevent their conspiracy in advance," the Prince said proudly.
"Though I did lose an arm in the process," he added, almost boastfully, showing off his missing limb.
Rupert felt as if the scattered pieces of this strange puzzle were finally starting to co together.
"Upon arriving here, I caught the villain who was about to do sothing terrible to your sister Ada and her dog, but I never imagined that the estate itself would be under attack," the Crown Prince continued, now fully imrsed in recounting the events.
Rupert listened carefully, not missing a single word. Three key points stood out to him:
Dark wizards, Ada and Rashu, and The Alchemist of Steel.
Rupert suddenly saw a way to navigate through this tangled situation.
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