Chapter 10 – Coming to the Royal Castle

Finally, the day I’d been waiting for—the treasure vault viewing day—had arrived!

The carriage carrying me, all excited, and my older brother Ninreney, who was worried enough to have a stomachache, smoothly passed through the castle gates.

The butler who came out to guide us didn’t greet me, the invited guest, but instead bowed to my older brother, Ninreney, the crown prince Narish’s close aide.

My brother gave a polite greeting but quickly pasted a smile on his face and stared intently at the butler.

“The main guest today should be my younger brother, right?”

He questioned why the butler didn’t greet me. I was just glad I didn’t have to speak. Honestly, I thought, Ugh, this is annoying… but I found the butler’s flustered face amusing, so I decided to watch quietly. He was trying hard to keep a calm expression but was clearly panicking over how to explain himself.

Ninreney is still a student, but he already serves as a close aide to Crown Prince Narish and isn’t someone to be taken lightly.

When he became the crown prince’s aide, he was granted the rank of marquis. He even has his own lands. So, his proper title is Marquis Ninreney Lasranatel, but until he graduates, he goes by the title of second son of Duke Nobizel’s family.

There was no way the castle butler didn’t know this, and I could see him go pale.

The butler hurried to greet me too, but I just glanced at him and ignored him. He ignored me first, so I didn’t feel the need to respond.

My brother refused the butler’s offer to guide us further and instead took me to a familiar reception room.

The attendants, realizing what was going on, quickly appeared and opened the door, leading us to the sofa.

They quietly set down tea and sweets and lined up inside the door, waiting. They told us the crown prince would arrive soon.

“…What’s the rumor about me, anyway?”

I asked, curious. Actually, this wasn’t the first time I was ignored after being called to the castle.

Back when I was still the top marriage candidate, they would lead me silently to this reception room, offer cold tea and pastries, and make me wait for hours.

Once, I got so annoyed I rang for a servant with the bell, gracefully picked up the cold tea, poured it over the servant sitting on the floor, shoved stale pastries into their mouth, and sent them away. Since I was left waiting for so long, the crown prince never saw any of this, so it was my way of venting.

I couldn’t bring a book to pass the time, so when the crown prince finally came around evening, I’d drink the properly warmed tea and chat with him, though he didn’t talk much back then. I thought he was a quiet person, but recently I realized he actually talks a lot.

As the top marriage candidate, I was supposed to meet the crown prince regularly. I should have seen him once a week, but because he was always busy, meetings got pushed back. I’d only come to this castle’s reception room three times total during that whole period. Despite being the top candidate for so long, our tea meetings only happened three times. I guess he must have disliked me. But whatever, it’s fine now.

Back then, I was just happy to meet him and didn’t notice any of this. I thought he was simply busy with public duties.

Today, I sat down on the sofa and sipped the tea, wondering how long I’d be kept waiting this time.

“!”

I was surprised.

“What’s wrong? Was it too hot?”

My brother Ninreney noticed my reaction and hurriedly looked at me.

“No, the tea was warm from the start, so it surprised me. It’s just right and tastes good.”

“………”

I drank the delicious tea. Beside me, Ninreney had a strange look on his face.

The pastries they brought out were fresh and tasty too. I felt lucky that today, with Ninreney by my side, we were treated so well.

I planned to relax and enjoy my tea when suddenly I was told the crown prince would arrive soon.

“Eh? That’s early today.”

“You usually had to wait a long time?”

Before I regained my memories from a past life, my relationship with Ninreney was bad. The only other time we’d come to the castle together was when I was told I was no longer the top marriage candidate. That time, the situation was totally different because the crown prince and Ninreney were already waiting.

“Yes. Usually, it was around evening, when the sun was setting.”

“I thought he left by noon?”

“Yeah. That was tough since I missed lunch.”

Because I was kept waiting so long, I had to skip lunch. I filled my hunger with cold tea and not-so-tasty pastries before finally meeting the crown prince in the evening and eating the good sweets. Since it was before dinner, I couldn’t eat much at the banquet, which was frustrating.

“………”

“Brother?”

Ninreney stared hard at me.

“Let’s go.”

“Huh? What about the magic sword?”

“Let Brother Bizet get it for you. There’s no need to get it from the royal family.”

Ninreney stood up, so I stood too, feeling a bit unsure but thinking it was okay if I got the sword somehow. I was a little disappointed about not seeing the treasure vault, but I didn’t want to upset my brothers. Maybe I could see other things elsewhere someday.

As we were about to leave, the servants waiting inside the door suddenly panicked.

“The crown prince will arrive soon!”

“Please wait!”

“No, something urgent came up. We’re leaving.”

Ninreney, even though he’s a close aide, seemed unconcerned about this.

While the servants argued near the door, Crown Prince Narish arrived.

“What’s going on?”

He stood up and looked at us near the door with a puzzled expression. Understandable, since we were about to refuse the royal invitation.

A servant quietly informed the prince of the situation.

Hearing this, the prince murmured “I see,” and smiled gently as usual.

“Sorry. I didn’t know you came that early every time.”

Even hearing that now, I could only reply with a “Huh.” Could he really have been unaware?

I think Ninreney truly didn’t know.

“Prince, we’ll be leaving for today. The duke will contact you later.”

Wait, Ninreney was angry—for once—at the prince.

“…Are you serious?”

The prince didn’t back down either.

They exchanged glances for a while. Ninreney and I have recently gotten to the point we can talk with just looks—maybe the prince and Ninreney could too.

In the end, Ninreney gave in.

“Please refrain from such behavior in the future.”

“I never intended that.”

With a sigh from Ninreney and a bright smile from the prince, their talk ended with Ninreney’s defeat.

“Now, shall we look at the treasure vault first?”

With a light greeting, the prince asked me if I preferred to see the treasure vault or have tea.

“The treasure vault, please!”

I wanted to see it quickly and leave since Ninreney was in a bad mood.

The prince smiled and agreed.

“Ninreney, wait here. I’ll be back in about an hour.”

Ninreney gave me a stern look.

“Exactly one hour. And don’t give any unnecessary things to Oryuga. If you need to, consult the duke’s family first.”

Both Ninreney and the prince are Alphas. The atmosphere became tense and heavy.

The servants waiting by the door looked pale and tried hard not to faint.

As an Omega, the Alpha pressure is hard on me because Omegas are sensitive to their presence. Since I recovered my memories, I’ve learned to handle it better, so I’m not as weak as the Betas. To break the silent pressure battle between these two Alphas, I cheerfully stepped in.

“Of course, today I’m only looking! Right, Your Highness? Brother Ninreney! You wouldn’t just give away treasures so easily, right?”

The Alpha pressure suddenly vanished.

The servants visibly relaxed.

“I said I would give him the magic sword.”

Ugh! Don’t bring that up again, Your Highness!

Ninreney’s face grew serious again.

“Oh, come on~! You’re such a tease, Your Highness! Now, let’s go. Show me around quickly!”

I grabbed the prince’s hand and headed to the door. Normally, holding his hand like this wouldn’t be allowed, but I felt like getting this done quickly was important.

The prince didn’t like being touched.

Before, I used to wrap my hand around his arm when talking, but he’d subtly pull away. At the time, I was too focused on the conversation to notice, but thinking about it now, he disliked it. He’d even change clothes because of my scent.

But for some reason, this time he let me hold his hand.

Ninreney sighed as he watched us.

“I’ll be waiting.”

He said to be careful as we left.

I wondered if “be careful” was really okay to say in front of the crown prince, but hand in hand, we headed toward the castle’s treasure vault.