My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 89
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 89
I hear a shout from behind me.
"Oh, gosh, it's…!"
"I didn't expect His Highness to be here!"
The nobles, including those in the other booths, begin to shout.
What the hell?
I turn my head towards the source of the commotion and see the Crown Prince, who has arrived just in time.
Me and Phoebe rise from our seats.
"Ryan."
"Kayla, you're here first." The Crown Prince smiles at my polite greeting and walks toward us, followed by two knights, presumably his guards.
But the face of one of them looks a little familiar.
"Huh?"
"Skyla…?"
Behind the Crown Prince is Hubert.
'Wow, the person His Highness the Crown Prince is meeting today is Skyla! I could never have imagined it!’
Judging from his dumbfounded expression, he hasn't expected to see me here either.
Now that I think about it, Hubert is a member of the Imperial Knights, so it's no wonder that he's the Crown Prince's escort.
"This is Lord Hubert, who will be my escort today. Hubert, this is Princess Skyla." The Crown Prince introduces us to one another. He adds, "Ah, now that I think about it, you two must already know each other."
I feign surprise. On a whim, the two of us shake hands and exchange pleasantries.
"It's been a while, Lord Hubert…."
"Ah, yes…, it is, Princess Skyla…. It's been a while, too, Phoebe…."
It's a formal occasion, so I can't help but use honorifics. It feels awkward to use them for someone I've known since childhood.
After the meaningless greeting, I take a step back, and the Crown Prince introduces me to the other knight.
"And this," he says, "is Lord Carberry, who will also be my escort."
Carberry?
My eyes narrow slightly at the name.
If this is Lord Carberry, he must be Lady Artberry’s brother, right?
"Greetings, Lord Carberry. I am Princess Skyla of the Kaerun Duchy."
"I'm Carberry of Count of Vrans."
At the Crown Prince's words, Carberry bows to me. As he does so, he studies my face with a furtive glance.
'So this is the infamous Princess Skyla, no wonder my friends are drooling over her!’
What? Why are you drooling your filthy germ-filled saliva at me?
I stare at Karberi with scepticism.
He clears his throat and puffs out his chest.
‘Why are you looking at me like this? Are you interested in me?’
What do you mean? Are you crazy? I'm just looking at you because you're acting strange.
I find this ridiculous, so I continue to stare at Carberry, but this time, I hear an outlandish comment.
'Hoho, does she have a crush on me? Hmmm, I am pretty handsome!'
I'll have to send a mirror to this guy's house later.
I roll my eyes.
Carberry has pink hair, just like Artberry. It's easy to tell from their faces that they're siblings.
I wonder if Carberry knows his sister is here.
"It's nice to meet you. I've heard about you from your sister, Lady Artberry."
At that, Carberry lights up.
"My sister is also going to see this play today, so it seems like we've met at the right time!"
‘Did Artberry brag to Princess Skyla about how good I am for me in advance?’
Oh, not bragging. That's a load of bullsh*t.
Keeping that answer to myself, I point to the booth seats downstairs instead. "Yeah. That's where Lady Artberry is."
Lancer and Artberry spot us and start waving, grinning ear to ear.
I can see the faces of Hubert and Carberry stiffen at the same time.
Hubergs looks like he's been bitten on the back of the hand by a rabbit he trusted.
‘Why is that bastard Lancer with Atberry?’
Lord Carberry, on the other hand, is ready to tear his hair out at any moment.
‘What the hell, why is Artberry with Hubert's brother?’
Both of them seem to be in a state of shock.
I let out a deep sigh. Well, they're all freaking out.
So what the hell is going on here?
As far as I know, there's a conflict between Hubert and Carberry.
Well, to be more precise, Carberry was sh*t talking Hubert.
Imagine their surprise and dismay to find their siblings watching a play together.
"Even though this is a high-security theatre, you will still escort me, Princess Skyla, and her maid." Ignoring their reactions, the Crown Prince speaks up.
The two men tiffen and open their mouths.
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes sir…."
The difference in atmosphere between the two is obvious.
Naturally, it's Hubert who answers with more confidence, while the one who speaks his reply like a deflated balloon is Carberry.
‘This is my first time escorting the Crown Prince outside the palace, so I'll have to work harder!’
'Ah, damn it… why do I have to watch the Crown Prince date at this late hour….'
Thinking differently, the two walk towards the entrance of the booth and stand side by side.
"Why on earth did you bring those two with you?" I whisper to the Crown Prince as soon as we take our seats.
The Crown Prince smiles brightly and replies "Why? Because they're fun."
‘Actually, as of today, we're trying to kick Lord Carberry out of the Imperial Knights.’
Aha.
He's got some strange plans in his head again….
I remembered that the Crown Prince had wanted to expel Carberry from the Imperial Knights.
Makes sense. Although he's an imperial knight, he has a ten-year history of bad manners, and habitual tardiness, but still a backing up from his family….
I ask, lowering my voice so only the Crown Prince can hear me. "You're actually trying to kick out Lord Carberry, aren't you?"
Hearing my words, he seems a little surprised. But he quickly returns his gentle smile and nods. "That's right, I'm planning to put on a play today."
"I see, I can help you with that."
The Crown Prince gives a small chuckle at my response, and then he rises from his seat and offers me his hand.
"Then let us discuss privately before the play begins."
I obediently take his hand and rise to my feet.
"Where are you going?" Hubert, who's guarding the entrance, asks immediately.
Carberry, on the other hand, has been leaning stiffly against the wall near the entrance and straightens up hastily.
"I need to speak with Kayla in private."
"Shall I accompany you?"
"No, you don't have to. I'm going to the break room right out front."
"But I'll come with you, just in case."
Dang.
It's a bit refreshing to see Hubert on duty like this. All of his usual joviality was gone, replaced by solemnity.
He's kind of cool.
If you don't get a job later, come to my duchy, brother. I'll hire you, I have plenty of money.
Meanwhile, Carberry continues to grumble to himself.
‘What's all the fuss about escorting them to spend some quality time together? I just want to stand here and rest.’
This guy just doesn't want to work, does he?
Dumbfounded, I glance over at Carberry, who winks at me wryly.
‘Hoho, even Princess Skyla is captivated by my beauty.’
Ah, annoying.
I feel a little offended that a man who's only slightly more handsome than the bread I eat daily is thinking such thoughts.
"So."
Once inside the deserted common room, the Crown Prince locks the door behind him and turns to me.
"I've been thinking about the advice you gave me the other day."
"You mean dismissing Lord Carberry from the Imperial Knights for not showing up for training?"
He nods. "Yes. I've discussed the matter with the Knight Commander, and I'm afraid it won't be enough. He's at fault for not obeying orders, but our internal discipline dictates a maximum suspension of three months."
"Hmm."
So they're going to have to find something more wrong with Carberry than just disobeying orders.
"So what are you going to do?"I ask. “Are you going to catch him fooling around on his escort duty today, and use that to get him fired from his job altogether?”
The answer that comes out of his mouth is something I never imagined.
"To stage a self-inflicted wound."
What?
"I ordered some people to sit at booths today,” he says. "As you may have noticed, this particular play has an interval where the audience can throw fake eggs."
‘What a waste of cotton.’
I can hear the good Crown Prince thinking about his country's resources.
I respond with a newfound admiration for how eco-friendly the Crown Prince is. "Yes, sir. I bought a basket for Phoebe, my maid, too."
"Good thing you know that, because it will be dark in the theatre when the play is on, so I won't be able to see very well, and the people I've bought will pick a time when Lord Carberry is not properly guarded and throw fake eggs in my direction."
Aha. Now I understand what he's planning.
He's going to deliberately get people to attack him, and then he's going to get rid of Carberry for not protecting him properly.
"But won't it lower your standing if you're attacked in public like this?"
"Don't worry about that. I'll have them throw randomly at other people, not just at me."
‘Then maybe this theatre will ban fake eggs, and cotton won't be wasted like this.’
Indeed.
I admire the Crown Prince's thoroughness.
"Still, wouldn't it hurt to be hit by a fake egg?"
"It's made of cotton, so it shouldn't hurt too much, right?"
The Crown Prince pulls a fake egg out of his pocket.
The fake egg is made for throwing, so it had a small bead in the middle. If it's too light, it won't throw well.
Still, as the Crown Prince said, it was made of cotton, so it wouldn't hurt too much.
'Yes, actors use them, so it should be fine.'
Thinking that, I ask the Crown Prince the next question. "Okay. That's not a bad plan. So what do I do?"
"When the fake egg flies towards us, scream as loud as you can and make a fuss." The Crown Prince recites his plan in a calm voice. "So that all eyes will be on us. Then you can feign surprise and fall into my arms, and we'll be able to publicise Lord Carberry's incompetence."
Ryan, I think there's something wrong with that last part.