ADDHP 12

Chapter – 12 

Isn’t It Kind of Exciting?

I couldn’t use magic in that split-second moment.

The frustration made me grit my teeth.

(Even if I have a lot of mana, I have almost no practical experience using magic!)

That was my weakness right now.

I couldn’t even catch a single boy falling from the sky.

(More importantly…)

Why had a boy fallen into the middle of the palace garden in the first place?

Tilting my head inwardly, I pushed myself up, my body aching from being crushed beneath his small frame.

Al was doing the same, muttering, “Oww…” as he sat up. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be injured.

As for the boy in question—

“Hahahahaha! Amazing!”

He was rolling around laughing without a care in the world.

Grass and vines were tangled in his strawberry-blond hair, and his dress shirt was stained with mud.

Even so, both Al and I immediately noticed the unique air of nobility he carried.

After all, there were only so many children who could freely enter and leave the royal palace gardens.

We exchanged glances.

“This kid…”

“Yeah… I think so too.”

We whispered to each other.

As we leaned in to talk, a sweet fragrance drifted past my nose.

“What are you talking about?”

The angel—or rather, the mysterious boy—suddenly popped his face in front of ours.

The sweet scent was probably incense infused into his clothing. Everything he wore was clearly treated with extraordinary care.

“Let me join too!”

A boy around our age, free to come and go in the palace gardens, and obviously cherished…

Those clues were more than enough.

“Prince Leonard.”

When I called his name, the boy tilted his head slightly.

“Yes?”

He didn’t deny it.

That settled it.

This was none other than Leonard Esterion, the king’s youngest son and Fourth Prince.

“We apologize for not greeting you properly.”

I quickly stood and curtsied, gathering my skirt.

Al followed suit, placing a hand over his chest.

Even among children, one had to observe proper etiquette.

“My name is Lillietta Rosenford.”

“I’m Alverio Forsten.”

After we introduced ourselves, Prince Leonard nodded magnanimously.

Then a bright smile bloomed across his face.

“So you’re Lili and Al!”

His cheeks were faintly flushed.

He looked genuinely happy.

The expression written all over his face left both Al and me frozen in surprise.

“I’m so glad I found you! I tried flying out from my room, but I got lost. Then I landed here and found you two. I’m incredibly lucky!”

He had said it so casually.

I flew out from my room.

Only then did I notice the gemstone shining on his chest.

A round, peach-colored jewel sparkled there.

“Were you flying with magic?”

When I asked, Prince Leonard puffed out his lips slightly.

“Don’t talk like that. We’re friends, right?”

Becoming friends within minutes of meeting someone—that was quite an open-hearted prince.

I could insist on maintaining noble etiquette, but that would only make him sad.

Besides, continuing to speak formally between children felt… unnatural.

“You’re right. We’re friends.”

“Yep! Call me Leo!”

When I nodded with a smile, the newly christened Leo happily grabbed my hand.

Seeing that, Al made a rather complicated expression.

Well, Al wasn’t exactly the type who liked getting all buddy-buddy with people.

That couldn’t be helped.

Still, seeing him look so displeased wasn’t good for my heart.

(This is exactly when I’d like him to keep up his polite façade.)

I shot him a meaningful glance.

For some reason, he looked away.

(Why?!)

I protested internally, but apparently I was the only one bothered.

Leo paid absolutely no attention to Al’s attitude and eagerly continued talking.

“I was supposed to meet you two together with Father today!”

So Leo had also been identified by either the king or that old mage as one of the “Children of Destiny.”

Given the gemstone on his chest, that made perfect sense.

“But Mother was completely against it!”

That made sense too.

Few mothers could remain calm after being told their child would one day have to risk his life fighting the Demon King.

That was probably why the king had only summoned our fathers and us children today.

Though the fathers hadn’t exactly remained calm either.

“She wouldn’t let go of me, so I used a little magic to put her to sleep and snuck out!”

That was certainly a bold thing to do.

As Leo brushed the dirt from his shirt, he glanced westward.

His room—and presumably his mother—must be in that direction.

A trace of sadness crossed his face.

“Mother keeps saying, ‘Leo is a prince. He doesn’t have to fight.'”

He continued:

“Isn’t that strange?”

His sapphire eyes gleamed.

“I’m a prince. If you guys are risking your lives, then I should be standing at the front. Even if I wasn’t one of the Children of Destiny.”

The strength in his gaze made me instinctively shrink back.

(This child truly was born to be royalty…)

I had royal blood too.

My mother was the current king’s younger sister, making Leo my cousin.

But there was a fundamental difference between us.

I swallowed hard.

As if unaware of my thoughts, Leo smiled brightly.

“There’s nothing to worry about!”

Ignoring the stunned expressions on our faces, he continued.

“We’re not fighting the Demon King right now. We’ll train, become strong enough not to lose, and help each other. It’ll be fine!”

Then he wrapped an arm around both Al’s and my shoulders.

Our faces were suddenly close enough that our cheeks might touch.

“Besides, isn’t it kind of exciting?”

“Exciting?”

“Of course! A special teacher is going to train us! We’ll learn secret magic that nobody else knows!”

That was a little exciting—

No, actually, very exciting.

“…It does sound fun.”

“Right?”

“I’m sure they’ll even let us read the forbidden books in the Royal Library! After all, we’re going to fight the Demon King!”

He had a point.

If it was necessary for defeating the Demon King, most requests would probably be granted.

We might even be allowed to touch depths of magical knowledge normally forbidden to us.

The thought made my heart race.

“Al, you think so too, don’t you?”

“Well… yeah.”

Still pouting, Al nodded.

Even through his grumpy expression, he couldn’t hide his curiosity.

“Let’s do our best together!”

As Leo chuckled happily, I found myself smiling too.

With the three of us together, maybe we could really manage somehow.

The one who made me feel that way wasn’t the king or our fathers.

It was a little prince our own age.

“Hey.”

On the way back to the lounge where our fathers were waiting, Al suddenly stopped.

His voice still sounded irritated.

“What?”

“So that’s the type you like?”

“Huh?”

I tilted my head.

I had no idea what he was trying to ask.

Annoyed that I didn’t understand, Al chose not to elaborate.

Instead, he lowered his gaze and kicked a small stone lying on the path.

“…I wanted to be the only one who called you Lili.”

His voice was quiet.

But I heard it clearly.

(Well, would you look at that.)

Apparently even this scheming, cheeky little brat possessed the emotional capacity to feel lonely when it seemed like a friend might be taken away.

“What are you talking about? You’re special.”

“Special?”

“Yeah. You’re my first friend.”

The moment I said that, Al’s head shot up.

His cheeks looked slightly red.

(So he does have a cute side.)

The sight warmed my heart.

Starting the following week, Al and I began attending lessons at the royal palace.

We were to study magic under mages who served the royal family.

Balancing those lessons alongside Caleb-sensei’s classes would be difficult, but our days promised to be full and rewarding.

Just as I began looking forward to it, an incident occurred.

“You mustn’t! You are absolutely not allowed to leave the house!”

My mother had fallen into a state of panic.