Chapter 5 – The Former Demon King Visits the Princess’s Chambers
A few days later, a carriage arrived at my lodging to pick me up.
“We have come at the behest of the eighth princess, Her Highness Iris Liestia.”
“Lord Yuuki, a messenger from Princess Iris has arrived.”
“He’s here~,” Martha and Remy announced, coming to fetch me.
Iris had already told me to expect them, so I was ready. My Magic Guild uniform was wrinkle-free, thanks to Martha’s ironing, and both she and Remy had worked together to style my hair. All set.
“Alright, let’s go, Martha.”
“Lord Yuuki?”
“What is it?”
“Why are you taking my hand as if it’s the most natural thing in the world?”
“I thought we’d go together.”
“How did we arrive at that conclusion?”
“Well, you’ve never seen the royal palace, have you, Martha?”
“Of course not. I am but a maid from the countryside.”
“So, I thought I’d show you.”
“Please don’t say such things so casually.”
“Is it a no-go?”
“I believe you would need the princess’s permission for that.”
“And if I get Princess Iris’s permission?”
“…In that case, I suppose I must prepare myself.”
“Alright. It’s a plan, then.”
“Sometimes, Lord Yuuki, you say things that make my heart stop.”
“I just wanted to introduce my partner to the princess.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, but perhaps another time.”
“Alright. Another time it is.”
After a quick high-five with Martha, I climbed into the carriage.
The royal carriage passed through the Nobles’ Gate, making its way toward the palace. The only other person with me was the male driver.
“Master~.”
Dick the bat was flying outside the window. With a few quick flaps of his wings, he flew off—the signal for all is clear. Here in the capital, we had established a ‘Bat Network’ with Dick at its center. During the day, my familiars Dick, Niil, and Gail took shifts, and at night, regular bats would join in, creating a system for gathering information from the sky.
So far, no one had made a move against Iris or me. Princess Salvia, too, seemed to have been quiet since the magic duel.
“—We will be arriving at the western villa shortly. Please prepare yourself,” the driver announced as we crossed a bridge.
In the distance, the massive royal palace came into view. Straight ahead was the main palace, where the king and his consorts resided. A right turn led to the eastern villa for the legitimate heirs, and a left turn led to the western villa, where the children of the concubines—including Iris—lived.
I gazed at the main palace from the carriage window. It was hard to see in the bright daylight, but the magical security alarms were set. At night, you could see a net-like structure covering the sky above the palace, but it seemed to be weakened during the day.
…I kind of want to hack it.
Seeing a powerful security system like that just made me want to mess with it. The magical net seemed to originate from somewhere in the palace gardens, which meant the magical tool for the security system was likely located there. I’d have Dick and the others check it out later.
Lost in thought, the carriage entered the grounds of the western villa. After alighting, I was escorted to Princess Iris’s room.
“Welcome, Lord Yuuki!” Iris greeted me with a curtsy, holding the hem of her dress. “Allow me to congratulate you once again on your appointment as my guardian knight. I look forward to working with you.”
“I pledge to protect you with my life, Your Highness.” I knelt before her, took the hand she offered, and touched it to my forehead. This was, apparently, the traditional salute of a knight in this country.
“Mary, Lindy, you may leave us,” Iris announced to her personal maids.
“B-But, Your Highness…”
“To be alone with a gentleman in your chambers…”
“Lord Yuuki is my guardian knight. In times of crisis, he is the shield to whom I will entrust my life. At such a time, do you believe the reasoning that one must not be alone with a gentleman will hold true?”
“Indeed!”
“Your Highness, you’ve thought that far ahead?!”
“In times of peace, one must not forget the possibility of chaos,” Iris said with a smile. “For the sake of an emergency, I must become accustomed to being alone with Lord Yuuki. As my clever Mary and Lindy, surely you understand?”
“Y-Yes.”
“We understand!”
“Then please wait outside the door. I will call if I need anything.”
““As you wish.””
The young maids bowed to Iris and me before exiting the room. After watching them leave and confirming they weren’t coming back, Iris’s demeanor completely changed.
“…My Lord is here! Yay! My Lord is in Iris’s room! Ehehe.”
“Don’t change your character so suddenly, Iris.”
“Call me Alice when we’re alone.”
“You know…”
“I know, I know.” Iris plopped down primly on a chair in the room. “Right now, I’m Iris Liestia. I’ll act like a proper princess when other people are around. But when it’s just me and my Lord, can’t I go back to being Alice Carmine?”
“Well, I suppose.”
“Then, here.” Iris stood up and patted the chair she had just vacated. “Here. Please.”
“Alright.” I sat down in the chair. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Iris then sat on my lap.
“Hey now. You’re 13 years old.”
“Too bad! I only regained Alice’s memories about ten days ago, so I’m technically only ten days old.”
“…Fine, whatever. So, did the package I sent to commemorate you getting your memories back arrive?”
“Yep. It’s here.” Iris pulled a silver staff from her desk drawer. It was the same model as the one I had used against Alex Kielce, only a little shorter. I had asked Niil the bat to deliver it.
“I’ll have to thank Rhodelia-san from the Grail Trading Company. She made it to match yours.” Alice looked up at me over her shoulder and grinned, showing her teeth. “Does this mean I can use it the same way you do, my Lord?”
“That depends on your research. To be honest, I don’t even know how ‘Ancient Magic’ is activated myself.”
“You don’t?”
“My older brother used to draw something that looked like a sigil in the air, so I just copied him by drawing one on my hand with my ‘Mistel Blood,’ and the magic just… worked.”
“…My Lord, you really are amazing.”
“That’s fine for actual combat, but now that I’m in the Magic Guild, I want to get the fundamentals down. That’s part of the reason I came here today—to have you teach me.”
“Okay. Then pet my head.”
“Alright, alright.” I touched Iris’s silver hair. Just as I had 200 years ago, I began to comb through it with my fingers, just the way Alice liked.
“Your hair smells like soap, my Lord.”
“I washed it this morning.”
“You washed your hair?! You, who only washed it about once every two weeks because your metabolism is slower than a human’s? Does that mean you’re finally okay with getting soap in your eyes?”
“I have a maid do it for me.”
“You must introduce me.”
“I tried to bring her, but she refused.”
“Please bring her next time.”
“Is it that important?”
“It is. I must learn from her the secret to making you wash your hair, and I shall call her Master.”
Come to think of it, Martha had said, “I will go if I have the princess’s permission.” Maybe it was okay, then.
“Alright. I’ll bring her next time.”
“You promise.”
“More importantly, tell me about ‘Ancient Magic.’”
“Very well.” Iris hopped off my lap and gave an elegant bow. “I, Iris Liestia, shall teach you everything I know.”
“Right. I already know that ‘Ancient Magic’ relies on mana manipulation, that the incantations are just to assist with that, and that the sigils are the key to activation. So, anything other than that.”
“That leaves almost nothing to talk about!” Iris laughed, a troubled look on her face. “Honestly, my Lord, you’re extraordinary, even in this new life.”
“I’ve just been alive for a long time.”
“Well then, allow me, Iris Liestia, with my 13 years of knowledge, to tell you what I know about ‘Ancient Magic.’”
With that, Iris settled back onto my lap and slowly began her explanation.
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