Chapter 85: The Morning the Crown Prince’s Body Arrives

The next morning, a light, drizzling rain was falling.

From early morning, the royal palace was in a state of commotion as they prepared to receive the Crown Prince’s remains. The maids were already wearing black uniforms, they were already for it. Funeral attire had also been prepared for me. Since it would be bad if I got it dirty (being a child and all), I was scheduled to change into it right before the Crown Prince’s body entered the palace.

At breakfast, I wondered if there were any restrictions or special funeral meals, but it seemed there were no taboo foods. The usual dishes were served. Meat wasn’t forbidden, but perhaps strongly scented foods were avoided. This was just my personal guess — I hadn’t actually asked anyone.

While eating and thinking about such things, the maid who served me whispered softly,

"Roby-sama, please call for me for the night shift next time!"

Her voice was slightly trembling.

When I looked up at the voice, I saw a girl with chestnut hair and green eyes.

"What’s your name?"

"Yes, my name is Grace Slick. It’s a pleasure to meet you."

"I’ll think about it. I can’t decide on my own, so I’ll need to consult with others."

"Yes, I’ll be waiting."

Grace Slick bowed politely and withdrew.

From behind me, I could hear Grace Slick talking with the other maids.

"How did it go?"

"I did it! I was so nervous~~"

"You said it well!"

"Good job~~ I hope he calls for you!"

They sounded like young maids. Since they were behind me, I couldn’t see their faces, but from their excited squealing, it felt like middle or high school girls hyping up a friend who had just confessed to her crush. It was a strange feeling to be the one on the receiving end of that. In my previous life, I had absolutely nothing to do with that kind of situation.

Anyway, I’ll have to talk to Cass about this. I don’t have the authority to decide alone, and I barely have any contact with that girl. Even if I wanted to call her for night duty, I probably wouldn’t even get the chance to meet her personally.

After breakfast, it was time to change into the funeral clothes. Cass came to help me dress, so I told her about Grace Slick.

"Grace Slick, you said?"

Cass looked puzzled.

"Do you know her?"

"Of course I do," she nodded.

"What kind of girl is she?"

Cass paused her hands for a moment to think.

"Hmm... she doesn’t really stand out in any particular way. I believe... her older brother served as an aide to the Fourth Prince, William-sama."

"I see. But why would she want to take my night shift? Is it for money?"

"I don’t think that’s the case. Her family isn’t particularly poor or struggling."

"So she just likes me?"

"That’s not impossible. And it’s not unheard of for a girl on night duty to end up being taken by the prince."

"But even if someone like me — a disposable prince candidate — lays a hand on her, there wouldn’t be any benefit, right?"

"That’s true... Perhaps she genuinely admires you, Roby-sama?"

"I wouldn’t know even if you asked me."

"In the end, we won’t know unless we ask her directly. Shall I call her once? But Roby-sama, you mustn’t lay your hands on her lightly."

Cass glared at me as she spoke. She could be quite intimidating.

"I know."

"Even if that girl becomes yours, and even if you gain independence, she might still need to continue working as a maid to support the two of you."

Cass was blunt with her harsh view of reality.

"Because my earnings wouldn’t be enough?"

"Exactly. You can’t say they would be."

She hit the sore spot directly. I already know that!

"Yeah... So it’d be me living as a kept man, supported by Stevie and her working as a maid."

"That’s not a bad life for a man, is it? Hehe."

Being a full-time househusband didn’t sound so bad. When I thought about it, being royalty was basically the ultimate form of being a kept man.

"Isn’t that what all royals are?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, they’re supported by the entire nation."

"My goodness! I didn’t hear anything."

Cass shook her head. Apparently, that was something one wasn’t supposed to say.

"Yeah, I didn’t say anything. I need to find some kind of work so I don’t have to be supported."

"Oh, you’re gaining quite a reputation in the Accounting Bureau. The director was saying they wish you would come work not just half a day, but a full day."

That director seems very good at keeping up appearances, so he probably would say something like that.

"That’s probably just lip service. They’re looking after a prince — they can’t exactly say I’m useless."

"It doesn’t seem that way. I heard from Miss MacVey — I mean Christine — that she said so."

While helping me put on my pants, Cass grabbed my son, who was trying to escape outward, and roughly shoved it back inside. Being handled so carelessly was enough to wake the sleeping child! Cass knew it was getting hard but pretended not to notice as she adjusted my pants.

"Miss MacVey? Oh, Christine. Heh, if she’s saying that, maybe my future looks bright?"

If she’s a colleague, I wouldn’t mind working there long-term. Even better if she’s my boss. My ideal is to work as just one ordinary cog in the machine, without being given heavy responsibilities.

"Yes, though there was that awkward incident with Brando..."

"We promised not to talk about that."

"Right. There, all done."

"Cass, the front of my pants is bulging..."

"I don’t know anything about that. It’ll go down if you leave it alone. Now, please go ahead."

Even as she said that, she gave the front a gentle stroke. But she didn’t do anything more and walked out of the room ahead of me.