The Strongest Dull Prince’s Secret Battle for the Throne

“Alright! It’s time for you to entertain me!”

Saying so, Orihime sat down on the sofa, twitch her ears, and fluttered her legs.

Currently, I and Orihime are in the annex outside the inner palace. This place is currently her to use and it is being guarded by the second imperial knight corp.

That being said, she just moved here today. It seems that she has been staying in another place until yesterday.

The reason she was moved here seems to be because she escaped the eyes of the imperial knights who were guarding her and went on a walk with Enta yesterday. Well, that is their expected reaction.

Orihime is our nation’s guest but she is not a foreign delegate. If her identity is revealed, it will cause a lot of confusion. It doesn’t matter to me since I already know that a Celestial Princess is in our country but for everyone else, it will probably be chaos.

“I still haven’t decided that I would be your entertainer yet though?”

“That is what I wish for. Isn’t that enough?”

“Unfortunately, this is the Empire.”

That might be enough of a reason for her in her country but here she will have to respect the will of the Emperor.

I just follow the mood and follow her here but the captain of the second imperial knight corp is already heading to see the Prime Minister. I told them to inform him of the situation.

As expected, we can’t just contact Father over this. I’m sure the Prime Minister will come over once he hears about the situation.

Until then, I am not her entertainer.

“I see……so boring.”

Saying so, Orihime dropped her shoulders looking dejected. Her ears also drooped down to match that.

Such an easy to understand person.

“It seems Arnold doesn’t want to entertain us, Enta.”

“Chuppii…….”

Enta curls itself on Orihime knees and slowly closes its eyes.

It seems to have become sleepy. Seeing that, Orihime slowly strokes him and put him to sleep.

After a while, Enta rolled up on Orihime’s knees and quietly slept.

“Such a carefree penguin isn’t he.”

“He’s a swallow. Don’t make me repeat myself…..”

Responding so, Orihime let out a small yawn and closed her eyes. It seems that she is getting sleepy as well.

She tried to open her eyes a few times but soon she couldn’t keep her eyelids up.

Then.

“Umu…Arnold. Come here.”

“What? You want to chat?”

“Something like that.”

Orihime taps the place next to her to invite me to sit down.

If she wants to sleep then there is no problem with that but it seems she doesn’t want to be treated like that huh.

I sat down next to Orihime as I thought that I could at least keep her company.

Now, what should we talk about.

I thought so but something fell on my leg.

“…….Oi.”

“Umu, not a bad place to sleep. You pass the passing mark as my pillow.”

Orihime lay down on the sofa and used my knees as her pillow.

This girl, doing whatever she wants again. For the record, I am still a prince alright.

“Listen you…..don’t you know anything about diplomacy etiquette?”

“I know how important etiquette is. But I am an unofficial guest. No matter how I behave, there’s no problem. Fumu, it’s your fault for foolishly approaching me, well, it’s not so bad at all.” ꞦΆΝȱᛒƐŠ

Orihime was shuffling herself to find a good position but once she settled with the face-up position, she smiled happily at me.

It really felt like I am caring for a dog or cat here but the things that come out of her mouth are still irritating.

Certainly, since Orihime is here unofficially, there won’t be any problem no matter how she behaves. Her visit is unofficial after all.

Of course, it would be a different matter if she behaves rudely toward the Emperor but if it’s me there shouldn’t be that much of an impact. After all, it was the Empire that asked for her presence here.

The Prime Minister will probably allow me to act as her entertainer as well. After all, spoiling Orihime’s mood here is out of the question.

The plan will proceed normally through the Empire cooperation with the adventurer guild but the monsters’ movement is difficult to predict.

In case of an emergency, we can rely on Orihime’s barrier. No one is more reliable than her in that regard.

“Haa….do you often do this in your country?”

“No way. There’s no one in Mizuho who would act so carefreely toward me. The people close to me are one thing but they can’t act all friendly toward me either. I am the Celestial Princess after all.”

Saying so, Orihime’s expression turned lonely.

She then gazes at Enta whose round body lies on top of her.

“The only one I can call my friend is Enta. The Celestial Princess is a special existence in Mizuho…..the relationship I have in my country is different from the Empire and the Brave house. For the Empire, the Brave house is the trump card, not someone that you need to rely on. But Mizuho is different. Against the mighty Sokal Empire, Mizuho is but a small country. The Celestial Princess’s barrier is essential to defend against their invasion. Mizuho needs to rely on the Celestial Princess to stand on its feet.”

“Then why is such an important Celestial Princess came to the Empire? I think that the risk is too high for your country though?”

“If something happens to me, another member of the Celestial Fox Clan will inherit the title. Without exception, all of us in the Celestial Fox Clan are powerful barrier users. The country affords to dispatch me because they have insurance. However, this time coming here is what I personally wished for.”

“You wanted to come here?”

“I wanted to see the outside world. I wanted to meet people from different countries. This is a unique chance. I wanted to see the imperial capital I heard from the rumor. Well…..I don’t have a chance to really see it though.”

So that’s why she went out by herself huh.

But that time she got separated with Enta and she had to spend time looking for him.

She may be an idiot but she is still pitiful.

Even though she is not alone, she is still lonely.

“…..are you lonely?”

That word came out of my mouth.

Hearing that, Orihime looks slightly surprised and then answers with a shy smile.

“Umu, I’m lonely.”

“I see…..”

“That’s why the time I spend with you isn’t bad. You are really casual with me after all. When you found out that I am the Celestial Princess, why didn’t your attitude toward me change?”

“I don’t want others to experience the unpleasant feeling I used to have.”

When I was a kid, I had commoner friends who played with me without minding the differences in our status but once they found out who I am, they gradually grew distant.

It was sad and painful.

However, I am grateful for Gai who never changed how he treated me.

Since I have that experience, unless it will cause trouble, I will not change how I treat others because of their standing. Of course, I will do it if it becomes necessary.

“I see…..then don’t ever change that. Since I finally left my country, at least I want to have a friendly talk with someone.”

“That’s why you want me as your entertainer?”

“I got carried away by the mood.”

“Carried away……..”

“Umu, carried away. Yawn….I’m getting sleepy. Arnold, you may stroke my head.”

Orihime said so as she closed her eyes and slightly lifted her neck.

Stroke her head huh…..you are not a child you know. Her words and behavior may seem like a child but from her appearance, Orihime should already be 15 to 16 years old. It’s a little too much for me to stroke a girl’s head like that.

When I was hesitating, Orihime opened one of her eyes and made a dejected expression. Her ears drooped down and her expression turned depressed.

Seeing that, I was stimulated by guilt and started moving my hand. Seeing that, Orihime seems like she is looking forward to more.

Her tail is wagging and her ears are standing up.

I will be troubled if you are looking forward to it so much though…….

“Haa….”

I Sighed as I gently stroked Orihime’s head.

Her ears moved in response and Orihime showed a satisfying smile.

“Umu! Not bad! You may keep going!”

“Keep going?……you are not planning to sleep here right?”

“Of course I am. Now, keep your hand moving!”

Orihime said so and wagged her tail.

Since I had no other choice, I kept stroking her head and Orihime smiled pleasantly as she gradually closed her eyes and started to quietly fall asleep.

“She really fell asleep……”

Confirming that she is sleeping, I stopped my hand.

In response, Orihime frowns as she sleeps.

Isn’t she actually awake…….

I gave up and continued stroking her head.

While I kept doing that, Franz, the Prime Minister quietly entered the room.

“Your Highness, my deepest apologies.”

“I don’t mind. It’s just her whim after all.”

“I am grateful. Her Grace seems to take a liking to Your Highness, could you comply with her request?”

“Being her entertainer huh…..”

No matter how I think about it, this will be tiring for me and the distance between us is too close. I thought that it would be good to have contact with her but being her entertainer means that I will become the person closest to her here.

This may prove troublesome given how the future will develop…..

As I pondered about what to do, the face as Orihime told me that she was lonely flashed up in my mind.

If I decline her request, she will make that kind of expression again. I don’t like it.

“Well, that is what the Celestial Princess wants. I guess it would be better for us if we grant her wish huh.”

“Thank you very much. However, since when have you two met?”

“Yesterday, I had a little grudge with this penguin you see. It’s good that the one she met is me isn’t it.”

“About that…..How did you become aware that the Celestial Princess is here you met her?”

The yesterday case was already reported to him by the second imperial knight corp.

It’s a given that he knows that I know she is the Celestial Princess beforehand.

From Franz’s perspective, that is something worth worrying about. Of course, I can give him a reason for that.

“I heard it from Silver.”

“Silver……? Why would he tell you, Your Highness?”

“Stop with the charade. You should already know that Silver is cooperating with me and Leo. With that said, that man is still a mystery, there’s no doubt about that. Sometimes he lends us a hand, sometimes he doesn’t. Since he’s an SS-rank adventurer, I guess he has his own things to do huh.”

Franz also has his own information network.

He should already know that we are working with Silver.

However, he should see that Silver is not actively on our side and thinks that Silver comes to help us from time to time.

It is dangerous for an SS-rank adventurer to involve himself in the succession war but if it’s only this much cooperation then he should be able to turn the other way.

“As Your Highness says, I am aware. However, from what I can see, that man shouldn’t be the type that actively cooperates with you though?”

“It seems that there is something different about it this time. He was quick to pass on the information. He probably irritated that you left him out of this event.”

“…….it was an agreement with the guild.”

“I guess so. Still, that shouldn’t be amusing for Silver either. It is Silver that has been protecting the Empire from monsters. The Empire has borrowed his help many times already, I think it’s best to stop doing things that will break the trust between him and us right?”

“……The Empire is wide, Your Highness. We must find the solution to get rid of the situations where we can only rely on Silver to solve as soon as possible.”

I understand Franz’s point.

The guild rarely exercises their power on an adventurer. At most, it would be a request.

That’s why adventurers don’t gather in places that aren’t popular. And recently that unpopular place turned out to be the Empire.

After all, the Empire was peaceful and stable with only a few monsters.

However, recently the situation has changed. With problems occurring one after another, the Empire is hoping for S-rank adventurers to set up base in its territory.

No matter how strong Silver is, one person cannot cover the entire Empire.

“I understand the idea. Does Father also share the same opinion?”

“Yes. That is why I am grateful that you are keeping contact with him, Your Highness.”

“Unfortunately, I can only wait for him to contact us though. It’s just…..He took a liking to Leo……I kinda get that feeling. If he’s in a bad mood then try to bring Leo up, alright.”

“I hope that it doesn’t come to that…..but if we really have to rely on Silver, we will make sure to ask His Highness Leonard.”

Franz left after I kept talking with Franz for a while.

With this, the contact with Silver is established in case of the unlikely event. And if Silver moves, the credit would go to Leo. At least, we are now prepared for the worst-case scenario but…

The problem is that I became Orihime’s entertainer.

The person herself is pleasantly asleep though.

“Sleeping so comfortably, this girl.”

When I got a little irritated and flicked her forehead, she raised her eyebrows.

Seeing that, my gloom lifted a little bit.

After that, I kept stroking her head until she woke up.

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