Chapter 105: Invitation from Prince Alan

When I returned to my room in the rear palace, a maid was waiting with a letter. She seemed to have been waiting for me to come back. The sender was the 5th Prince, Alan. I vaguely remembered him as the one sitting next to me at the Crown Prince’s funeral, but I had no clear recollection. In times like this, I deeply regret my long-standing weakness from my salaryman days—my inability to remember people’s faces.

This letter was clearly an invitation to join Prince Alan’s faction in the succession struggle. For a minor prince like me, there was probably no option to refuse. His mother was the Queen, after all. He was the Queen’s faction’s promising prince—a huge difference from someone like me. The only possible answer was "yes." I didn’t want to offend him and cause trouble for my mother.

I asked the maid,

"Do I need to write a reply to this?"

"Normally yes, but the messenger is actually waiting at the rear palace entrance. I think it would be fine to give your reply directly to him."

He was waiting? That meant he had been waiting the entire time I was out. I felt bad about that.

"I see. Then I’ll give my reply in person."

Led by the maid to the rear palace entrance, I found a tall, handsome man with blond hair and blue eyes standing there. This guy must be popular with women, I thought. When I glanced at the maid, sure enough, her cheeks were slightly flushed.

"Thank you for coming, Lord Robin. I am Paul Cantoner, serving Prince Alan, the 5th Prince. It is a pleasure to meet you. Did you read the letter from Prince Alan? If possible, I would like to hear your reply."

Feeling guilty for making him wait so long and not wanting to make a bad impression on the prince’s close aide, I smiled and answered:

"Understood. I’m free in the mornings, so tomorrow or the day after tomorrow is fine. Please let me know what time is convenient for Prince Alan."

Cantoner thought for a moment, then said,

"Then, how about the day after tomorrow, after breakfast? I will come to escort you to Prince Alan’s room. Please make the necessary preparations. Thank you very much."

Cantoner bowed politely and left.

Sigh. Another troublesome matter. Once word gets out, I’ll probably receive invitations from Prince Alan’s rivals too. Is it really impossible to stay neutral? Maybe I should consult with Cass? He’s been hard to catch lately, so I’ll just leave a message with a maid for now.

I was planning to consult Cass, but before dinner I was summoned by my mother. When I went to her room, Cass was already there.

"Robbie, the reason I called you is about Prince Alan."

Yep, called it.

"I heard that Prince Alan contacted you today wanting to meet. Is that correct?"

Unlike her usual gentle expression, my mother looked serious.

"Yes. A man named Paul Cantoner, who serves Prince Alan, came and asked me to visit Prince Alan at a convenient time for me. Since it wasn’t something I could refuse, I agreed to go the day after tomorrow after breakfast. I actually wanted to ask you about this too—what should I be careful about when meeting Prince Alan? Could you give me some advice? Should I bring some sort of gift?"

"As far as I’ve heard, Prince Alan is a calm and intelligent person, unlike Prince William. So I don’t think he’ll say anything strange or troublesome. Do you have any idea why Prince Alan would reach out to you?"

She turned the question back on me.

"I can’t think of any reason. I don’t remember doing anything that would catch his attention."

My mother tilted her head.

"Is that so? But you have changed so much, Robbie. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that everyone is watching you now. Even Prince William took notice, and you were summoned by Lord Richelieu. Still... I don’t want you standing out too much."

Hmm? Before I woke up, I think I was known as the idiot prince who stood out in a bad way. Now that I’m acting a bit smarter, I thought I was standing out less than before.

"Everyone used to call you stupid, stupid, and it pained me as your mother. Now you’ve finally become a normal child. I just want you to stay this way and not go back to how you were."

Normal child by my mother’s standards... does that refer to me? I’m not sure what part of me is "normal." Since I have almost no contact with the other princes, I don’t even know what normal is supposed to look like.

"That is exactly right. Compared to the old Lord Robby, ever since you woke up you have become sharp, thoughtful, and curious about many things. Your future looks very promising. However, I sincerely hope you do not get dragged into the royal family’s power struggles."

Even Cass managed to say that long sentence without stuttering. I felt like he was subtly dissing me, though. In any case, I still hadn’t gotten the advice I wanted.

"Mother, when I go to see Prince Alan, is there anything I should be careful about? I’d appreciate any advice at all."

This is the important part. My mother is unreliable, but Cass might actually give me something useful.

"Well... Cass, what do you think?"

My mother just tossed the ball to him... Cass replied,

"Lady Doreen, I don’t think you need to worry too much."

No need to worry? On what basis?

"When Prince William barged into Lord Robby’s room, didn’t the Queen send an apology to you? At that time, didn’t she also express goodwill toward you? I believe the conversation was quite amicable."

Cass reminded her as if recalling the event.

"Now that you mention it, the Queen was unusually gentle and warm that day. Perhaps it was both an apology and a signal that we should get along from now on? If that’s the case, then Prince Alan inviting Robbie might mean that both mother and son wish to maintain friendly relations?"

My mother said this while looking at me, but I have no idea!

—-

Neither my mother nor Cass gave me the kind of practical advice I was hoping for. It seemed like the meeting with Prince Alan would be a peaceful, friendly encounter rather than anything confrontational or forceful.

"By the way, Robbie, there’s something I want to tell you," my mother said.

"Yes? I hope it’s good news?"

Mother and Cass exchanged glances and chuckled softly.

"Yes, it’s good news. Actually... I have been blessed with another child from His Majesty."

Huh? His Majesty’s child? His Majesty? Wait... the King? That old man? The one who’s more grandfather than uncle? Eh? That guy can still do it? He was doing it with Mother? He held this mother of mine naked? From my perspective, that’s pretty gross!?

Ehhhhhhhhhh—!!

I can hardly believe it! She’s pregnant? I’m getting a younger brother or sister? Hey, Mother, are you happy about this? Your face is all red! Both you and Cass look so happy!!

"I’m so glad you’re happy for me too, Robbie."

Her voice snapped me back to reality. My soul, which had been floating near the ceiling, returned to my body. What kind of face am I making right now? Does it look happy from Mother’s perspective? If my mother is happy, then as her son, isn’t it my duty to celebrate with her?

"Congratulations, Mother. When will my little brother or sister be born?"

"Let’s see... the doctor says I’m about four months along, so probably another six months or so? But you took a long time to be born too, so this child might be late as well. Ufufu."

Mother smiled while gently stroking her still barely noticeable belly. I still hadn’t fully recovered from the shock.

"Also, Robbie, I have a favor to ask."

Oh? There’s more?

"You’re already ten and will soon be eleven. Since you woke up, you’ve become much more reliable and you’re even working at the accounting bureau. So, I’d like you to move out of the rear palace and start living in the main palace soon. Of course, there’s no rush, but could you move before the baby is born?"

"Eh!?"

I froze again in surprise. What are you saying, Mother?!

"When you move to the main palace, I’d like you to choose your own servants. Cass will continue serving me, so don’t take him with you. If there are any maids in the rear palace you like, pick a few and let me know."

What? Cass is staying in the rear palace to take care of Mother! That means my time with Cass will continue for a while longer? When I looked at Cass, he was smiling brightly.

"Right now, I have Cass preparing many things for the baby that’s coming. So please don’t burden him too much."

So that’s why Cass has been so hard to find lately. Cass is leaving my side! Is that okay with you, Cass? ...Well, he was technically serving a married woman...

"Once you move to the main palace, I think a male attendant will be assigned to you. If you don’t like that, make sure to say so. Though that’s still a ways off."

Mother’s attention seemed mostly focused on the baby in her belly. It felt like she wanted me to leave the rear palace as soon as possible. Cass’s priority was clearly Mother, so there was probably no option for him to follow me. As for favorite maids... Lily and Stevie? Are those two even regular maids? Or are they part of the garden maintenance staff? Linda could work too since I don’t rely on her much during the day... No, I need to think about this carefully. Ah, but Debbie Harry would be nice too. So many choices. Can I prioritize based on lower-body preferences? Like swapping maids every night...!

"That’s all I wanted to say. Are you okay, Robbie?"

"Eh? Yes, I’m fine. I was just surprised by the sudden news."

What kind of face was I making just now? Did I look like an idiot?

"I see. That’s good then. Also, there was a letter from Lord Richelieu for you. Here."

Mother handed me the letter.

"Robbie, could you open Lord Richelieu’s letter here?"

At her request, I borrowed a paper knife and opened the seal. It said that after I met with Prince Alan, he wanted me to come see him. In other words, he wanted a report on what we discussed.

Who exactly am I supposed to rely on in this world? I don’t think my mother is reliable when it comes to politics. The only politically powerful people (or people who seem powerful) I know are Lord Richelieu and Prince Alan (and his mother, the Queen). If those two are working together nicely, I have nothing to worry about. But if not, one wrong step could send me falling into a bottomless abyss. And even if I’m careful, sometimes you still slip anyway.