The Anga had not been used for a long time and was covered in cobwebs and dust.
Although they did do periodic maintenance and cleaning, it was still impossible to manage it like a house where people lived.
But why are the 'guests' cleaning up after themselves when he clearly ordered them to clean up before welcoming guests?
“No, that’s not it...”
The guard at Anga explained with a strangely slick face. He said the caretaker had been cleaning, but to them, who were 9th-grade housekeeping experts, it looked like nothing was going right, so for days, they'd been doing nothing but deep-cleaning the house.
“My mother is such a good cook... I’ve been very satisfied with my meals lately.”
The knight finished his speech with a satisfied smile. He said his face seemed to glow, and it seemed to be from a hearty meal.
“...Hmm.”
Winfred stroked his chin, lost in thought.
In fact, before coming here, he thought he should treat them well, since he was Aila's benefactor. He wanted them to rest comfortably, protected by stalwart knights, without lifting a finger, and then return when it was safe.
But when he actually came and saw them in person, he thought that it might be more uncomfortable for commoners to be treated like that.
“You didn’t tell them who I was, did you?”
“Yes, Your Highness. I simply told them that the landlord would like to meet them.”
The knight answered his question with a sullen expression. Even if it was the Crown Prince's order, he felt a bit disloyal to refer to the Crown Prince as a mere householder.
In any case, it wasn't a particularly important issue for the Crown Prince himself, so he approached the couple with a slightly nervous expression.
The couple, who were busy cleaning without even knowing that the landlord had arrived, were startled when a boy who looked like a nobleman from all angles approached them and fell face down on the floor.
To the common people, nobles were like that. A terrifying existence, where if you were wrong, you could die without anyone knowing.
Of course, after Hiram ascended to the throne, a law was passed prohibiting even nobles from taking the lives of commoners. However, to the couple, who had been locked away in the mountains for over 20 years and were unaware of the change in the Emperor, nobles were still a terrifying presence.
And the couple's attitude left Winfred quite perplexed.
“Why, why are you all like this? Get up.”
He clearly told them not to reveal that he was the Crown Prince. When Winfred looked at the knights in bewilderment, they shook their heads in frustration.
When Winfred personally helped the couple who were lying flat on the floor up, they were embarrassed, saying that they had not expected such a precious young man to come.
‘...If I tell them that I am the Crown Prince, they might faint.’
And at their overreaction, Winfred sighed softly, saying that he had done a good job of hiding his identity.
"Let's move inside and talk. There's a lot I want to hear."
At his words, the couple obediently moved inside, but they still seemed uneasy. They looked uncomfortable, as if they were being placed on a bed of thorns.
Then, Winfred, who could not stand to watch, asked the reason.
"What's wrong? Is there anything inconvenient about staying here?"
Scott spoke, stroking his hair with a hint of embarrassment. He seemed uncomfortable with the noble young master's constant formality.
“Then... I’ll speak comfortably.”
Winfred spoke with a stiff tone, as if he felt a little awkward.
Since he was young, he had been taught by his parents to respect others and not look down on them, even if they were members of the royal family. So, it felt a little strange to speak down to Scott and Debbie, who were much older than his parents.
Winfred felt uncomfortable, but Debbie and Scott seemed much more relaxed after he spoke.
“Hmm, hmm... Then, I’d like to hear the circumstances of how you came to be here.”
At his words, the couple exchanged glances with slightly embarrassed faces.
Because Aila had warned them several times to watch their mouth, they were hesitant to tell the owner of the house, whom they didn't even know.
And Winfred, who noticed this fact, began to appeal earnestly that he could be trusted.
“Well, actually, I’m a friend of the kid who told you where this place is...”
It was unclear whether Aila had revealed her real name to the couple, so he tried to cover it up like this, but fortunately, the couple knew her name and responded right away.
“Oh, you’re Aila’s friend!”
“If that’s true, I’ll believe you and tell you. Seriously, we don’t know exactly what’s going on either...”
Who would have thought they'd open their mouth so easily just by mentioning Aila's name? It's a good thing he's truly her friend. If he had been her enemy, things could have been a disaster.
After all, how often would such ordinary people become involved in a world rife with conspiracies and underhanded maneuvering? In a way, it was only natural.
Even with that thought in mind, Winfred vowed to keep the couple hidden from view from now on.
“So, we are a couple who built a house and lived on the slopes of Mount Heltig.”
The husband, Scott, began to tell his story. He seemed unfamiliar with revealing his past, and it was a very long story.
Anyway, to summarize the story, one day, a mother and daughter who were being chased by loan sharks came to a couple who were living in hiding in the mountains. They left their daughter with them and left, but the daughter told them, "That woman is not my mother, and if I go back, it will be dangerous, so run away," and gave them the address of this place.
“And after Aila left, a man with a huge scar over his eye came and... told me to run away, and even gave me travel money. So...”
'Wait, the guy with the scar over his eye?'
As Winfred listened, something suddenly occurred to him. The man who had attempted to assassinate him. The man who had appeared with Aila.
Scott's story must have ended with, "We've arrived here." He quickly called out to Joseph, who was waiting outside the room.
"Joseph. Do you have any wanted posters for Cloud Air?"
“Huh? No, I don’t have it right now... I’ll get it for you right away.”
And while Joseph went to get Cloud's wanted poster, an awkward silence fell between the three of them.
Now that their stories of acquaintance had ended, their status and age were so different that they had nothing in common to talk about.
And then, Debbie cautiously opened her mouth.
“Excuse me, Young Master... Is that Aila... also a noble?”
Since she was said to be a friend of such a high-ranking master, they began to worry that Aila might also have been originally a noble.
“...Huh? Yeah, Aila is also a noble.”
She was an ordinary noblewoman, perhaps? A precious Princess from one of the few ducal families in the empire. Winfred nodded absentmindedly, and the couple's complexions darkened.
It was because they were concerned about having the noble young lady help them with the dishes and cooking.
“Why are you all like that?”
Winfred asked with a puzzled expression, but they were afraid they would be scolded for insulting a nobleman, so they couldn't bring themselves to open their mouths.
“Why am I so curious...! I can’t stand being curious.”
Only after Winfred, overcome with curiosity, asked several times did Debbie finally open her mouth, nodding her head.
“That, that... we made her do chores without even knowing that she was such a precious young lady...”
Ah, that's it. Winfred stuck out his lower lip, feeling a bit uneasy. His curiosity had been satisfied, and he should have felt relieved, but strangely, he felt uneasy.
This was because the Aila he knew would never have been the type to harm her benefactors by claiming they had exploited her just because she was a commoner.
“You know, from what you’ve seen so far, do you think Aila would be the type to get angry over something like that?”
"That..."
At Winfred's question, the couple thought deeply.
On second thought, it was probably because the outgoing girl didn't seem like she would punish them.
When the couple shook their heads, he finally nodded with a satisfied look on his face.
“So, you don’t have to worry about that. Aila is a good girl.”
“Yes, Young Master...”
And that was when they finished talking.
Joseph, who had gone to find the flyer with Cloud's portrait, returned.
“Here I am, master.”
He was about to call him "Your Highness" as usual without realizing it, but he quickly changed his address and handed him a piece of paper, conscious of the eyes of those around him.
“The man with the scar you saw back then. Is this him?”
“Well... I guess I’ll have to take a closer look to find out.”
The middle-aged couple in their fifties, who were suffering from presbyopia, opened their eyes blearily and stared at the paper Winfred had handed them for a long time.
“Oh, that’s right. It was this guy.”
As Scott recognized the man and affirmed, Debbie nodded in agreement beside him.
And upon hearing that answer, Winfred's mind was filled with confusion and chaos. Could it be that the man who had actually helped the couple was Cloud?
"What? Wasn't this guy one of my uncle's subordinates? But why is he taking Ayla's side...?"
What on earth does this mean?
His confusion continued even as he returned to the palace. He couldn't figure out what was going on.
“...You said Mount Heltig, right? Shall I secretly find out about the incident the couple mentioned?”
Joseph, who only recently learned the truth about Aila's true identity from Winfred, asked him, who was still confused.
There was a high probability that no one would know about the incident where the shack buried in the wilderness burned down, but they wanted to find out just in case.
“Yeah, yeah, please.”
Winfred nodded and answered.
He still wasn't sure what was going on, but there was one thing he could tell.
It was a vague feeling that something had changed in the flow.
Although they did do periodic maintenance and cleaning, it was still impossible to manage it like a house where people lived.
But why are the 'guests' cleaning up after themselves when he clearly ordered them to clean up before welcoming guests?
“No, that’s not it...”
The guard at Anga explained with a strangely slick face. He said the caretaker had been cleaning, but to them, who were 9th-grade housekeeping experts, it looked like nothing was going right, so for days, they'd been doing nothing but deep-cleaning the house.
“My mother is such a good cook... I’ve been very satisfied with my meals lately.”
The knight finished his speech with a satisfied smile. He said his face seemed to glow, and it seemed to be from a hearty meal.
“...Hmm.”
Winfred stroked his chin, lost in thought.
In fact, before coming here, he thought he should treat them well, since he was Aila's benefactor. He wanted them to rest comfortably, protected by stalwart knights, without lifting a finger, and then return when it was safe.
But when he actually came and saw them in person, he thought that it might be more uncomfortable for commoners to be treated like that.
“You didn’t tell them who I was, did you?”
“Yes, Your Highness. I simply told them that the landlord would like to meet them.”
The knight answered his question with a sullen expression. Even if it was the Crown Prince's order, he felt a bit disloyal to refer to the Crown Prince as a mere householder.
In any case, it wasn't a particularly important issue for the Crown Prince himself, so he approached the couple with a slightly nervous expression.
The couple, who were busy cleaning without even knowing that the landlord had arrived, were startled when a boy who looked like a nobleman from all angles approached them and fell face down on the floor.
To the common people, nobles were like that. A terrifying existence, where if you were wrong, you could die without anyone knowing.
Of course, after Hiram ascended to the throne, a law was passed prohibiting even nobles from taking the lives of commoners. However, to the couple, who had been locked away in the mountains for over 20 years and were unaware of the change in the Emperor, nobles were still a terrifying presence.
And the couple's attitude left Winfred quite perplexed.
“Why, why are you all like this? Get up.”
He clearly told them not to reveal that he was the Crown Prince. When Winfred looked at the knights in bewilderment, they shook their heads in frustration.
When Winfred personally helped the couple who were lying flat on the floor up, they were embarrassed, saying that they had not expected such a precious young man to come.
‘...If I tell them that I am the Crown Prince, they might faint.’
And at their overreaction, Winfred sighed softly, saying that he had done a good job of hiding his identity.
"Let's move inside and talk. There's a lot I want to hear."
At his words, the couple obediently moved inside, but they still seemed uneasy. They looked uncomfortable, as if they were being placed on a bed of thorns.
Then, Winfred, who could not stand to watch, asked the reason.
"What's wrong? Is there anything inconvenient about staying here?"
“Ah, no, it's not that—it's just that you keep praising my words so highly... I feel so embarrassed.”
“Then... I’ll speak comfortably.”
Winfred spoke with a stiff tone, as if he felt a little awkward.
Since he was young, he had been taught by his parents to respect others and not look down on them, even if they were members of the royal family. So, it felt a little strange to speak down to Scott and Debbie, who were much older than his parents.
Winfred felt uncomfortable, but Debbie and Scott seemed much more relaxed after he spoke.
“Hmm, hmm... Then, I’d like to hear the circumstances of how you came to be here.”
At his words, the couple exchanged glances with slightly embarrassed faces.
Because Aila had warned them several times to watch their mouth, they were hesitant to tell the owner of the house, whom they didn't even know.
And Winfred, who noticed this fact, began to appeal earnestly that he could be trusted.
“Well, actually, I’m a friend of the kid who told you where this place is...”
It was unclear whether Aila had revealed her real name to the couple, so he tried to cover it up like this, but fortunately, the couple knew her name and responded right away.
“Oh, you’re Aila’s friend!”
“If that’s true, I’ll believe you and tell you. Seriously, we don’t know exactly what’s going on either...”
Who would have thought they'd open their mouth so easily just by mentioning Aila's name? It's a good thing he's truly her friend. If he had been her enemy, things could have been a disaster.
After all, how often would such ordinary people become involved in a world rife with conspiracies and underhanded maneuvering? In a way, it was only natural.
Even with that thought in mind, Winfred vowed to keep the couple hidden from view from now on.
“So, we are a couple who built a house and lived on the slopes of Mount Heltig.”
The husband, Scott, began to tell his story. He seemed unfamiliar with revealing his past, and it was a very long story.
Anyway, to summarize the story, one day, a mother and daughter who were being chased by loan sharks came to a couple who were living in hiding in the mountains. They left their daughter with them and left, but the daughter told them, "That woman is not my mother, and if I go back, it will be dangerous, so run away," and gave them the address of this place.
“And after Aila left, a man with a huge scar over his eye came and... told me to run away, and even gave me travel money. So...”
'Wait, the guy with the scar over his eye?'
As Winfred listened, something suddenly occurred to him. The man who had attempted to assassinate him. The man who had appeared with Aila.
Scott's story must have ended with, "We've arrived here." He quickly called out to Joseph, who was waiting outside the room.
"Joseph. Do you have any wanted posters for Cloud Air?"
“Huh? No, I don’t have it right now... I’ll get it for you right away.”
And while Joseph went to get Cloud's wanted poster, an awkward silence fell between the three of them.
Now that their stories of acquaintance had ended, their status and age were so different that they had nothing in common to talk about.
And then, Debbie cautiously opened her mouth.
“Excuse me, Young Master... Is that Aila... also a noble?”
Since she was said to be a friend of such a high-ranking master, they began to worry that Aila might also have been originally a noble.
“...Huh? Yeah, Aila is also a noble.”
She was an ordinary noblewoman, perhaps? A precious Princess from one of the few ducal families in the empire. Winfred nodded absentmindedly, and the couple's complexions darkened.
It was because they were concerned about having the noble young lady help them with the dishes and cooking.
“Why are you all like that?”
Winfred asked with a puzzled expression, but they were afraid they would be scolded for insulting a nobleman, so they couldn't bring themselves to open their mouths.
“Why am I so curious...! I can’t stand being curious.”
Only after Winfred, overcome with curiosity, asked several times did Debbie finally open her mouth, nodding her head.
“That, that... we made her do chores without even knowing that she was such a precious young lady...”
Ah, that's it. Winfred stuck out his lower lip, feeling a bit uneasy. His curiosity had been satisfied, and he should have felt relieved, but strangely, he felt uneasy.
This was because the Aila he knew would never have been the type to harm her benefactors by claiming they had exploited her just because she was a commoner.
“You know, from what you’ve seen so far, do you think Aila would be the type to get angry over something like that?”
"That..."
At Winfred's question, the couple thought deeply.
On second thought, it was probably because the outgoing girl didn't seem like she would punish them.
When the couple shook their heads, he finally nodded with a satisfied look on his face.
“So, you don’t have to worry about that. Aila is a good girl.”
“Yes, Young Master...”
And that was when they finished talking.
Joseph, who had gone to find the flyer with Cloud's portrait, returned.
“Here I am, master.”
He was about to call him "Your Highness" as usual without realizing it, but he quickly changed his address and handed him a piece of paper, conscious of the eyes of those around him.
“The man with the scar you saw back then. Is this him?”
“Well... I guess I’ll have to take a closer look to find out.”
The middle-aged couple in their fifties, who were suffering from presbyopia, opened their eyes blearily and stared at the paper Winfred had handed them for a long time.
“Oh, that’s right. It was this guy.”
As Scott recognized the man and affirmed, Debbie nodded in agreement beside him.
And upon hearing that answer, Winfred's mind was filled with confusion and chaos. Could it be that the man who had actually helped the couple was Cloud?
"What? Wasn't this guy one of my uncle's subordinates? But why is he taking Ayla's side...?"
What on earth does this mean?
His confusion continued even as he returned to the palace. He couldn't figure out what was going on.
“...You said Mount Heltig, right? Shall I secretly find out about the incident the couple mentioned?”
Joseph, who only recently learned the truth about Aila's true identity from Winfred, asked him, who was still confused.
There was a high probability that no one would know about the incident where the shack buried in the wilderness burned down, but they wanted to find out just in case.
“Yeah, yeah, please.”
Winfred nodded and answered.
He still wasn't sure what was going on, but there was one thing he could tell.
It was a vague feeling that something had changed in the flow.
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