Chapter 94: The Disappointing Prince William

Come on, give me a break first thing in the morning.

The refreshing morning afterglow from last night with Lily was still lingering in my lower body, and yet here came this shouting. Just as I was thinking that, Cass’s voice came from behind her.

"What is all this commotion about?"

William, George, and Grace all turned around at once.

"Oh my? Prince William, what brings you to Robby’s room? And why is this gentleman here as well? Men are not allowed inside the rear palace, are they?"

Mother spoke with the full dignity of a consort, showing none of her usual airheaded demeanor. Prince William’s expression didn’t change at all, but George Slick clearly realized how bad this was and was grimacing.

"Someone! Call the royal guards! There is a man inside the rear palace! A man who has entered without my permission!!"

Mother’s clear, carrying voice ordered the maid behind her. The sound of the maid running off echoed. Grace’s face had gone completely pale.

Prince William finally seemed to realize the situation was turning against him.

"Wh-what are you saying! I am William, the Fourth Prince! I can take whoever I want wherever I want! No one has the right to order me around!!"

He declared it forcefully, but... was this prince actually just as much of an idiot as the old me?

"Oh? Isn’t that Slick over there?"

Mother had spotted Grace. Grace twisted her body, trying to avoid Mother’s gaze, but it was already too late.

"If Slick is here, that means Slick guided Prince William to Robby’s room, doesn’t it? In that case, this man must be Slick’s brother? Slick! You understand what this means, don’t you? As a maid serving in the rear palace, you should know exactly how serious the crime of bringing a man inside is. This must be reported to His Majesty the King. I was just on my way to report something to him—this is quite a serious matter!"

Hearing Mother’s words, Grace’s face turned deathly pale and she collapsed to her knees. Her brother George must have finally grasped the gravity of the situation too; his face went blue and his hands began trembling violently. But Prince William seemed completely unconcerned.

"What? Why are you making such a big deal out of this? It’s just an older brother visiting his younger brother’s room! What’s wrong with a prince bringing an attendant with him on a visit?! How rude! A mere consort daring to lecture a prince!? Hah! Who do you think you are?!"

No, no, no—you’re the one who needs to ask who you think you are.

This kind of delusional person exists in every era and every place, huh... Sigh. We had one at a business partner’s company too—the president’s idiot son. The eldest son was fully aware he would be the next president, carried himself with responsibility, and everyone recognized the weight behind his words and attitude. But the younger brother was a complete fool who constantly acted like a critic about the company’s management, earning everyone’s disgust, yet never realized it. No matter how much time passed, he never settled down. Everyone said the company would go bankrupt if he became president. Every company has its own local rules. The eldest son followed them even when they felt restrictive, but the younger brother would say things like, "I’m from the owner’s family, so I don’t need to follow those rules. I am the rule," and break them without hesitation.

Anyway, Mother had already shown him a yellow card and was now flashing a red one, so Prince William should have just left quietly. Instead, he kept repeating his arrogant words and insulting her.

Finally, the royal guards (all women—sturdy, large-built ladies) arrived.

Mother declared firmly:

"Arrest the man accompanying Prince William. He has entered without my permission! I will report this to His Majesty later! Now, seize him and take him away immediately!!"

At Mother’s command, the guards responded with a crisp "Yes!" and moved to apprehend George without hesitation. George tried to hide behind Prince William to escape them, while William shouted:

"Wh-what are you doing?! This man is my close aide! You can’t arrest him! Stop! I said stop!"

He flailed about, but since William was just spreading his arms and shaking them uselessly, he couldn’t actually interfere with the guards. In the blink of an eye, George was pinned down and dragged away. All that remained was Prince William babbling incoherently ("Awa wa wa...") and Grace lying face-down on the floor, sobbing loudly.

Honestly, they could have removed William too, but Mother probably showed consideration because arresting a prince might cause political problems.

George had been taken away, but what now? Was Prince William just going to stay here? I was worried, but then—

"Prince William. I was not informed that you would be coming here. Did you obtain permission from someone? If not, this is a rather large problem."

Mother spoke with a sharp, stern expression. How reliable she was today. There wasn’t even a trace of her usual ditzy self. When it was time to act, she really stepped up.

"Th-th-that’s, uh, guh, wh-what, ba-daji-ba..."

Prince William’s face turned bright red as he stammered. At that moment, an older maid entered the room.

"I am terribly sorry, Lady Doreen."

She seemed to be connected to Prince William. Mother recognized her and softened her expression slightly.

"Oh, it’s you. Thank you for your trouble."

The older maid bowed and said,

"Yes, please forgive us. I come on orders from Her Majesty the Queen. Prince William has acted on his own again. We are truly sorry. She said she will apologize in person for this mess at a later date. I cannot apologize enough. Now, Prince William, it’s time to go home. This is not a place you are permitted to visit."

"Ah... uh... what... gaga ga..."

In the end, Prince William started making completely unintelligible noises. Drawn along by the older maid’s beckoning hand gestures, he shuffled away with little penguin-like steps: pita, pita, pita.

Everyone present watched that penguin walk in silence. Is it really okay to make this guy king? I’m sure every single person there was thinking the exact same thing.

Don’t underestimate the impression a mere maid can make. Maids talk among themselves, the story spreads throughout the royal palace, then into the noble district, and seeps in everywhere. That’s how rumors work.