novel040. Imperial Prince is Heading Out to Enjoy a Festival -3 (Part One)
| ← Ch.066 | Ch.068 → |
It was the death anniversary of a woman.
To remember her passing, people came together. The location was the garden found within the imperial palace.
The ceremony itself was simple, sombre, and quiet.
Kelt, Luan, and myself stood before the woman's statue and offered our silent prayers. The ceremony itself was brief; it ended quickly and everyone went on their own ways.
However, I remained behind and continued staring at the statue.
Harman addressed me from behind."It's Lady Yulisia. She was your mother, your highness."
Stunned by that revelation, I took a deeper look at her statue.
That's right... I did hear about her. She was the Crown Princess Consort, and the mother of the current me. The one who lost her life while valiantly defending the Seventh Imperial Prince from a Vampire's sneak attack.
She was also apparently the most pure-hearted and kindest person as well.
I stared at the statue erected above her final resting place and offered one more silent prayer.
After the ceremony ended, another week flew past us.
By then, the festival was well and truly over. Mother's anniversary had also come and gone. I figured things would finally settle down, but no.
"We humbly come to pay our respect to your highness, the Imperial Prince."
Nobles continued showing up and...
"Do you still remember me, your highness?"
Esteemed daughters of noble houses also kept popping in and out too, and...
"Ahaha! Your highness, please forgive us for this intrusion, but we're here to ask you some important questions. Just how did you pull off Resurrection magic... ?"
... And even Priests and Magicians showed up to pester me.
Besides them, even tutors meant to drill the ways of etiquette, aristocratic refinement and history into me, stood in a proverbial queue outside my room. Hell, Harman was also nagging me, still asking if I wasn't interested in taking up swordsmanship training.
Every single day was packed to the brim with stuff to do.
To put an icing on this... cake, someone else had to test my food first before I was even allowed to touch it.
My life in the palace so far has not seen one single peaceful day.
Ah, ah... I already feel myself missing the days back when I toiled away as a gravekeeper.
Only at night would I get to enjoy some peace and quiet around here.
After leaning against the balcony and letting my body sag like a piece of rag, I muttered to myself."If I knew this would happen, man... Hunting zombies or Vampires would've been so much better."
At least those guys were considerate enough to get killed and leave me in peace afterwards, yet these dang living humans just kept on pestering me day in and day out!
I was seriously beginning to miss the days when they ignored me and pretended that I didn't even exist.
My head was pounding; it was getting harder and harder to endure physically and mentally.
"Ohhh! My dear beloved youngest brother, Allen Olfolse!"
There was also this dude busy wrapping his arm around my sagging shoulders, too. I turned my head to the side and frowned at the First Imperial Prince, currently waving around a wine bottle next to me.
This dude, I could tell that he was having the time of his life after regaining his full health.
Probably because of his reborn taste buds, he had been ordering all sorts of rare and delicious cuisines, as well as fine liquor to gorge himself in, and I also heard that he'd been sneaking in some ladies to his chamber every night too.
While someone here was toiling his ass off, you were having a real blast, weren't you, buddy?!
"... Brother, please knock before entering someone else's room. Please."
"Hahaha! Ah, my sincerest apologies. In any case, isn't the life in the imperial palace proving to be too challenging for you?"
Challenging, you say?
Don't even mention it. If I was given some time to rest, then it might not have been as bad but since I wasn't afforded even a moment of respite, I'm seriously considering running away from here.
I spat out a lengthy groan and responded."Honestly? I'm exhausted."
"Haha! Is that so?" Luan checked my complexion before pushing an envelope towards me."How about this, then? Run a simple errand for us, and in the process, refresh your spirit too."
"An errand?"
I took the letter. On the cover were the words [To Hilda].
Luan continued yapping away."Hilda's territory is located in the northwest of the empire."
Hilda's territory in the northwest? Ah, hang on. Isn't that the mining area Harman told me about not too long ago?
Now that I thought about it, this name was also familiar, too. For sure... this was the First Imperial Princess's name, wasn't it?
"Why don't you pay her a visit and say hello?"
Luan made that suggestion with a rather smooth smile.
I stared back at him with deeply furrowed brows."You mean, you want me to travel somewhere that far away?"
"Well, I was thinking that it'd be good to bring back some weapons from over there."
"Is there a reason why you need an Imperial Prince to do this kind of task?"
"No, no reason. But then again, you do seem exhausted after all. I simply thought that you could treat this errand as a vacation, to go on a grand tour of sorts. So... how about it? They should be in the midst of holding a festival of their own that's filled with all sorts of delicacies and joyous atmosphere. Also, did I mention that the area is renowned even within the continent as a tourist destination? Unlike here, you won't have to put up a facade to maintain your princely station once you get there. And since Hilda's around, you should be able to enjoy the proceedings more freely, I think."
Vacation. Tourist destination. Festival.
All those things sounded so sweet and tempting to my heart currently worn down by my packed-to-the-brim daily schedule.
Ever since arriving in this world, I never took a day off to just go on a trip for myself. All I did was lug around corpses, get involved in hunting Vampires, and then got dragged around in the Imperial Court's affairs...
"I heard that you've been searching for a weapon that suits you. Rather than place an order and wait around until its completion, why don't you just hop over to where it's going to be made, instead? Wouldn't that make things more certain? Not only that, they also have many delicacies and plenty of souvenirs to choose from as well. It'll be fun! Also..."
The corners of Luan's lips curled up as he tussled my hair.
"... There should be plenty of beauties too, " he continued on with a sly grin."You can say hello to our First Imperial Princess Hilda as an added bonus. What say you?"
I lowered my head in contemplation.
At this point in time, I didn't really care where or how.
I just wanted a break!
Was it northwest? Fine! No, this was actually for the better.
"Alright. I'll go. As long as I can escape from this stuffy and tiresome imperial palace, I'm prepared to do anything."
"Very good!" Luan clapped his hands before taking a long swig from the wine bottle. While doing that, he still didn't forget to pound me on the back."We'll get you prepared right away. Ah, wait. I almost forgot to say this. When you get there, another fun activity should be lying in wait for you."
"... Fun activity?"
Luan responded with an extremely refreshing smile on his face.
"Beast hunting. You will be able to enjoy that to your heart's content when you get there."
**
The next day.
Carriages and selected members from the Order of the Crimson Cross acting as guards were prepared to depart for the Hilda fiefdom.
Due to his duties, Harman had to remain behind in the palace. Meanwhile, Charlotte had gone off somewhere for a little while after receiving a letter of recommendation from none other than the Holy Emperor Kelt Olfolse himself.
I couldn't be any happier with the fact that I now got to travel by myself in peace and quiet.
Of course, my happiness didn't last all that long.
"... Hang on, is the archbishop coming with me too?"
"No need to fret. He might hate your guts to the point of wanting to murder you in your sleep, but he's also a man who knows how to separate private and public matters."
While bidding us goodbye, Luan cracked a joke at my expense.
Two carriages were prepared. One was for me since I was going there to run an errand, and also to get myself a new weapon that would hopefully fit me like a glove.
As for the other one, it was manned by Archbishop Raphael and his granddaughter, Alice. Apparently, they had some 'matters' to attend to at the Hilda fiefdom.
I had no idea that Raphael and Alice would be tagging along until right now. From what I heard, they had an important business they had to take care of up there.
What a relief that we were travelling in separate carriages. If I had to share one with those two, I'd have gone insane from the uncomfortable atmosphere.
This must've been my big brother showing his considerate side to me.
The knights of the Crimson Cross kitted out in crimson robes climbed aboard their horses. The carriages set off soon afterwards.
I opened the windows and looked at the outside world passing us by. Our group briefly stopped by small villages, and then toured other territories on the way as well.
I made sure to sample local specialities or buy souvenirs in every village and fiefdom we stopped by.
While covering the lengthy distances between each stop, I took naps inside the carriage or focused all my being in studying magic.
A week flew by just like this, then another week came and went.
My fatigued body and mind gradually recovered in the process.
"Yes, this is what I'm talking about. This is a true vacation! This is the isekai life I've been longing for!" [1]
Everything was truly satisfactory.
Now, where would you find a vacation this laid-back and peaceful?
I might as well take this opportunity and leave the imperial palace for good, and maybe even travel the whole continent!
For the first time ever, I thanked Luan Olfolse in my heart.
And so, our group travelled past the last village that was before the Hilda fiefdom. However, just before we could cross a bridge that connected the two territories...
The carriages suddenly came to a stop.
| ← Ch. 066 | Ch. 068 → |