My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 62
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 62
Princess Julia's Birthday Party!
My eyes light up when I hear the crown prince's words.
Thinking about it, the princess's birthday party would be the perfect setting for Lancer to meet people for the first time.
Nobles from everywhere in the empire would come to celebrate her birthday, so it would be easy for those who hadn't heard of the negative rumours about him to approach him.
Moreover, the princess is young. There would be a lot of young nobles who hadn't yet passed their coming-of-age ceremony- 'newbies' who have yet to master etiquette, so they might be more forgiving if Lancer slips up a little.
"Thanks for the suggestion. I'll be sure to join."
"Alright. Invitations will be sent out to all the nobles in the capital anyway, probably within the next week, so be on the lookout." The crown prince smiles lightly, as if to say that he doesn't mind my deliberate lack of gratitude.
"So, is there anything else you need to report?"
"None."
"Well, then, I'd like to hear how you've been doing."
The crown prince's question leaves me speechless for a moment, as I don't expect him to ask me that.
“...You mean me?" Me, not Lancer, who was on probation?
"Yes, you." The crown prince nods. "We're about to be betrothed, but I don't know much about you, so I'd like to get to know you better now."
Ah, I see. Well, he's right. When we get engaged, people will naturally ask what made us decide on that.
Many may assume that the crown prince and I got a political engagement. The next Emperor needs a betrothed with a strong family behind her, after all.
Still, if we don't know much about each other, it'll seem suspicious.
"Have the people I sent you been helpful?"
When I don't answer, he asks me first.
I nod, recalling the pharmacist and others he had sent for me. "Yes, I was able to sleep in peace thanks to them." I actually had a nightmare last night, a bizarre dream in which an invitation tortured me by setting fire to its own body.
Oblivious to my thoughts, the crown prince smiles. "Good, then. You may have them as your own if you wish."
No, thank you.
At those words, I hold myself back on declining so politely.
But then a figure flashes through my mind.
Still, Viscount Artisina was quite useful.
Although we started on the wrong foot at first, I now have a pretty good opinion of him.
The fact that he's Princess Bliss's younger brother is especially useful to me.
Surprisingly, the Viscount is more knowledgeable than I am regarding Lancer's rampage. He's also able to point out to me the differences between an ordinary person and an archmage in great detail.
If I send him back to the palace, I don't know when I'd see him again; after all, he's a labourer in the imperial palace.
So I ask the crown prince slowly. "Would you mind if I have the mage you sent to me?"
"By mage, do you mean Viscount Artisina?" The crown prince asks with an air of innocence.
‘Cade must have worked quite hard.’
"Yes, he's very skilled in healing magic, so he was a great help," I reply, pretending I didn't just hear his thoughts.
"Viscount Artisina is someone I care about as well, and has helped me greatly as an imperial mage. But of course, if that's what you want, he can stay with the Kaerun Duchy."
"Thank you."
"So, what else have you been up to?"
Hmm.
I can't easily answer that simple question.
What have I been doing for the past few days?
Looking back, there weren't many memorable events. I'd spent the last few days reading up on Archmage Bliss, seeing the papers awaiting my attention, or, as the Duke's deputy, briefing the butlers and maids on the state of affairs at the duchy.
So I frankly gave the prince a summary of my tedious life. Upon hearing my story, he suddenly bursts out laughing.
I can't understand him.
"What are you laughing about?"
"Kayla." When he stops laughing, he calls me by my nickname. I stare at him, the name still feels unfamiliar.
"I knew you were always working, but I didn't know you were ‘only' working."
"Don't you work like that every day, too?" I ask, feeling a little offended. Maybe because I'm more comfortable with him now, I'm able to ask him that.
He shakes his head. "No, I'm not as busy as you think. I'm only a prince, so the Emperor is in charge of the country's important affairs, not me. At most, all I do is manage the finances within the Empire, oversee the Imperial Knights, and go on inspections in the provinces. That's it."
The crown prince's words send a small shock through me. I would be lying if I said I'm not surprised by what he said.
I had assumed that being a crown prince was a position that came with all kinds of responsibilities. I've been completely mistaken.
"Do you remember what you said to me at the ball? That you had no friends?"
"Yeah."
"To be honest, that was a bit of a shock to me. I wondered, are there not any nobles you socialise with?"
The crown prince grins and picks up a piece of dacquoise from the table in front of him. The fragrant almond aroma wafts through the air.
"Now I can see why."
He gestures to me toward the refreshments on a gold-rimmed plate with a blue rose pattern that could only be used by the imperial family.
I grab a dacquoise from it, just like he did. "It must be bad for my character."
"I don't think so." He takes a bite of the dacquoise as he beams at me.
"Kayla, you're still young. You've got a while to go before you're officially Duke of Kaerun, but isn't it strange how you're already bogged down in duties as a deputy duke?"
“....”
"Why don't you live as Princess Skyla Kaerun for the next year, instead of being the Deputy Duke of Kaerun?"
"But without me, the Duchy will have to deal with-”
"Let the Duke of Kaerun do it. Isn't what you're doing now supposed to be his job?" He mutters, "Kayla, I'm very proud of you, but at the same time, I'm worried about you. Do you have any other hobbies besides working?"
“....” His question is greeted by silence.
What the crown prince said isn't wrong, there's nothing in my life except work.
In truth, my personality is partly the reason for my lack of friends, and the main reason is that I don't go out to gatherings as much as other young nobles.
I don't like gatherings, but that doesn't mean I abhor it. I welcome gatherings that feature someone I occasionally speak well with, or someone I admire.
The problem is, I have no idea if they existed.
It's a vicious cycle. In order to enjoy a gathering, I need to be with the right people, and in order to find the right people, I need to go to a gathering.
But I don't have the time or energy for that.
"If you want to work, you'll be able to do that as much as you want once you officially inherit the duchy. So why don't you goof around a little, live lazy, and do what you want now?"
“....”
This is advice I can never accept or tolerate. I grew up in an environment where it was expected of me to constantly strive, work, and produce results.
"Ryan, I appreciate your advice, but I'm satisfied with my life as it is."
"Really?" The crown prince looks me in the eye. "Are you really content with the way things are now, or are you compromising because you can't imagine a life other than this?"
"......."
I'm just here to report that I'm doing a good job training Lancer, so why am I listening to this profound lecture…?
Speechless, I swallow my silence, passing the drink in my teacup down my throat until I notice the crown prince's teacup across from me.
You put lemon in your tea.
Unusually, he floated a lemon in his steeped tea.
I glance at his teacup in wonder as I have never seen a lemon in black tea before.
Then he holds out a slice of lemon to me. "Why don't you try it as well?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't like sour things."
"I see. I'll remember that." The crown prince leisurely lifts the teacup, slowly savouring what was in it before giving me a radiant smile and saying,
"I'll issue the Duke of Kaerun an imperial decree today so that he won't be able to entrust you with any work for another year."
Yes…?
Excuse me, Your Highness, why are you forcing me to take a vacation…?
"When we meet again next week, I want you to have something more interesting to tell than just that you worked."
The crown prince winks at me, the hint of mischief lurks over his face.
