Brother Leo walked into the training grounds and immediately caught sight of me.

“Alfred! Come on!”

What a pain in the ass…In fact, I would like to flee without even exchanging a word with you, but if you skipped school to get in, I don’t think they’ll let you go easily. ……On the contrary, they’re going to chase us until they catch us.

“It’s no use. ……”

“Really, Master Al? How dare you take on that thing?”

“Don’t say “thing” to the First Prince.”

“My master is only Master Albert. I don’t care about the others.”

This is the kind of thing that …… Makina would say in a straightforward manner.

“Haha …… not at all. I don’t know who you got that stance from.”

“That’s right, it’s Master Al. I mean, Al-sama is a bad influence on maid education.”

“What’s that?”

But it certainly could be …… true. Machina’s stance is pretty similar to me.

It’s unbecoming of royalty.

If you call it a bad influence, I can’t deny it myself.

“…… Well, okay. I’ll go talk to him, and you take care of Char.”

“Yes, sir.”

Breaking off the engagement It hasn’t been long since all that happened. In any case, it would be better not to let Charu and Brother Leo meet.

“Al-kun, …… that ……”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m used to dealing with my brother Leo.”

I stood in front of Leo, who was standing on the training ground.

“What is it, Brother Leo?”

“How many times do I have to tell you to change the way you speak to your brother?”

“…… What do you want, brother? You ditched school all the time to come here.”

When did it start? When did he stop allowing me to call him “Brother Leo”?

Well, I guess this way of speaking is the right way for royalty.

“If you hadn’t run away with your tail between your legs, I wouldn’t have bothered to come to you.”

“I see. I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you. Then please go home. I’m busy. Mainly people-watching.”

“Did you think I would leave without correcting you for your wrongs against Lucille?”

“You’re talking about that again? So, did you get any evidence?”

“What?”

“Proof that I tricked Lucille or some other woman. As far as I’m aware, there shouldn’t be anything like that out there, should there?”

“…………!”

My brother Leo made a face as if he was biting down on a bitter bug.

Of course. You can find no such evidence anywhere.

You cannot prove my atrocities unless you have proof. In other words, no matter how hard Brother Leo tries, it’s impossible for him to beat me in an argument.

…… I wish I didn’t have to go out of my way to start a losing battle.

How is that possible for a prince? It’s not like you can eat with pride and honor.

“Shut up! Are you still going to pretend to be something you’re not?”

Brother Leo then released a training wooden sword.

“Pick it up! I’ll give you a lesson in person. I’m going to beat your guts out of you!”

First, I sluggishly picked up the wooden sword that was thrown at me. —-

“Yeah.”

I snapped it off —-.

Fu_…… danger danger,I was just about to start a training battle.

“What? What are you trying to do ……?

“I hate it. It’s such a hassle to practice.”

“And yet you are a man of the royal house of Rayuere!”

“I just don’t want to fight you, brother.”

“You’re talking nonsense, ……! Do you really want to mock me that badly?

He’s my brother Leo, so I don’t think he’ll back down until he’s satisfied to some extent.

I can’t help it. ……

“Okay, then. Let’s practice. But I broke my wooden sword. Instead, I’ll use …….”

I picked up a sword that was propped against a nearby wall. When he pulled it from its scabbard, the forged steel blade shone with a dull glow in the sunlight.

“I’m going to use this sword in battle.”

Alfred held in his hand a steel sword with a dull, shining blade. The wooden sword that Leor had brought for training would have shattered to pieces.

Immediately, the surrounding soldiers began to buzz.

He doesn’t even try to hide his hostility towards Alfred, even though the other party is the third prince.

“You coward. ……!

“Leor-sama is a wooden sword for training.”

“Don’t you have any shame?”

“He’s got no pride, does he?”

“He’s just an abomination. ……”

The whispers of the soldiers around them reached Charlotte and Makina.

There was no way that Alfred could not hear me. And yet, he put on a cool face. It was as if he was trying to show that he didn’t hear such whispers.

“What do you want to do? Brother. If you agree to these conditions, I will accompany you to practice.”

Alfred’s provocative smile was met with a quiet response from Leor.

“It’s fine. Do what you want.”

The soldiers in the vicinity buzzed even louder at Leor’s words.

“Oh no, ……! Master Leor, it’s dangerous, no matter what!”

“I’m sure they’ll feign an accident to harm you, Master Leor!”

“If something happens to you, it will be too late!”

Controlling the soldiers with his hands, Leor readied his wooden sword.

“Don’t worry. I will not be defeated by a coward like him.”

“What if I slip up? What will you do if my hand accidentally slips?”

“Let him slide all he wants. I will not be defeated by a coward like you!”

The mock battle between the first and third princes.It is true that the move Alfred took was cowardly at first glance.

It was ……, but to Charlotte’s eyes it looked as if it was staged.

The more cowardly Alfred is, the more imposing Leor’s demeanor appears, as if the shadow accentuates the light.

“Al, that face of yours ……”

It’s similar. That night when I was forced to break off our engagement. –and when he saved Charlotte.

“Oh. Did you notice that, Lady Charlotte?”

Makina, who was next to me, smiled.

“You know what Master Al is up to.”

“Do you know what it is, Makina-san?”

“Of course, I helped with the preparations. If I hadn’t, I would have done it all the time.”

While Makina was saying, “Well, you’ll know it when you see it,” the two began to practice.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!”

Leor roared fiercely, and as soon as he dashed out boldly, he slammed his sword into it.

Alfred, who was forced to close the distance early in the opening, guarded it with his sword and seemed to be on the defensive.

“Get him! I’m not sure what to do.”

“Please blow away such a coward!”

Amidst a flurry of jeers, Alfred continued to guard against Leor’s attacks with his sword.

“That ……?”

In the middle of it. Charlotte’s eyes catch a strange sight.

“The sword Al-kun is using: …… If you look closely, isn’t the blade chipped? It looks like he’s using paint to cover it up, but it looks strangely old-fashioned. …… I think it’s going to break eventually. ……”

“What? Lady Charlotte, can you see that thing?”

“Yes. I have good eyesight. I can even hold a sword.”

“Charlotte-sama is also one of the most skilled swordsmen in the school. …… You have amazing eyes, by the way.”

While being praised by Makina, Charlotte observed their fight further.

“……You didn’t catch Master Leor’s attack with your blade. ……And you dared to catch it in the same place over and over. ……Maybe… ……!”

This was the moment when one speculation popped into my head.

“Aahhhh!”

Leor’s swing down. A powerful flash of magic power strikes the steel blade.

While the broken blade was flying through the air, Leor slammed the second blow into Alfred’s stomach.

“Haha, ……!”

The soldiers surrounding him cheered. When Alfred kneeled down on the ground.

“Holy crap! You smashed the steel sword with your training wooden sword!”

“That’s Leol-sama!”

“The First Prince is not some coward after all!”

Bearing the cheers of the people around him, Leor pointed his sword at Alfred.

At the same time, a broken blade pierced the ground.

“Do you feel Lucille’s pain now?”

“I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that I’m not the only one who has a problem with this.”

“You’re still trying to pretend ……!”

The scene that was unfolding would look like the First Prince had possibly defeated the Third Prince’s cowardly ruse from the front.

But in Charlotte’s eyes, she saw something else.

“Could it be that you lost …… on purpose?”

Makina, who was standing next to him, nodded quietly at his murmur.

“That’s what I meant.”

“The sword that broke Al-kun, was it tampered with in any way?”

“I prepared a sword that was about to break and put it on the wall. You can’t see it at a glance, so I took the trouble to make the outside look brand new. You can also use …… with your stomach instead of the blade, and if you continue to take the attack so that the attack is concentrated on one point, it will break like now.”

How much skill does it take?

Charlotte, who has taken up a sword and trained with it, understands.

That’s a hell of a far cry.

“I knew that Leol-sama was going to skip school and come here when I received the message from the shadow. We’ve been preparing for them to ride into the training grounds.”

“I’m not sure what you mean by that. What was the point of ……?”

“It’s obvious. It’s for Leol-sama.”

“What ……?”

“Al-sama plays the role of ‘the cowardly and vicious third prince’ so that Leol-sama’s imposing figure will stand out. It’s a great way to increase the reputation of Leol-sama around you. …… Thanks to that, most of the stupid soldiers who don’t know anything are loyal to Leor-sama.”

The soldiers in your line of sight are giving Leor a respectful look.

Makina, speaking, has a sarcastic expression on her face as she looks at the soldiers in her field of vision.

“…… It’s not just for today. Al has been playing the role of Leol’s shadow for a long time. No, it’s not just …… Leol-sama. I’ve been playing in the shadows to bring out the light of the royal family. It doesn’t matter how much you are hated.”

“Why are you so ……”

Leor receives the cheers of the soldiers. Alfred, on the other hand, is on his knees, and the soldiers look at him coldly.

It is similar to the time when Charlotte was forced to break off her engagement and people around her looked at her as if she was a sinner. That nightmare is stuck in my head.

“Willing to sacrifice to …… the royal family.”

“Master Al loves his family.

Makina speaks softly. However, her eyes are somewhat sorrowful.

“The most important thing to you is your family. He’s not a stranger to his country or his people. It’s the family. Because he is ……, he is playing the role he can for the family he loves. In the case of Charlotte-sama’s broken engagement, …… if Al-sama hadn’t acted violently there, Leor-sama wouldn’t have gotten off scot-free by now. “

“The role I can play …… is self-sacrifice by a ‘villain’?”

“That’s what he thinks. He thinks that’s all he can do. …… I don’t think that’s all there is to it, though.”

I can’t guess what Makina was feeling in her words.

She had been watching him for a long time, and she couldn’t say anything shallow to him.

“Get up, Alfred. We’re not done with this stuff yet.”

“Oh, ……, please give me a break. I’m a softy, you know.”

“………… Hun. That’s fine. I’ll let you off with this for now. In any case, it seems you’re going to keep your mouth shut until you have proof.”

Leor puts his wooden sword away. His eyes were clearly looking down at Alfred.

“You know about the Imperial Games in two weeks?”

“Oh …… that’s, well ……. It’s an annual thing.”

“So you and I will have a match. If I win, I won’t have to wait for the …… evidence to come out. You will have to admit your guilt and apologize to Lucille in front of the entire school!”