Leave a comment

My real name is Giancarlo Ericco Bertoni.

Even though the house of Bertoni is a noble house, as a lower-class baron, it is impossible for me to serve near his highness. However, when my father was young he served the current king as an imperial guard and built a friendship that crossed social statuses, or so I heard.

Me and his highness? Well, I don’t know. In the end, I am nothing more than his highness’ loyal retainer.

Because of the relationship my father had, my mother, who had just given birth to me, became the wet nurse of his highness who was also born soon after me.

Well, there are wet nurses other than my mother, but somehow his highness hated the other wet nurses—perhaps his picky taste for women was something he was born with.

…To be honest, I’ve also never seen any woman who is more beautiful than her highness Hiyuki, so I kind of understand why his highness fell into a daze.

Even so, my mother didn’t neglect me when I was born to only focus on his highness all day.

…That’s right, the reason was that my mother was originally a commoner. If it was some other noble, then I think they might have ignored their own child for his highness.

As a result, even before I was aware of anything I had been raised together with his highness in the royal palace.

Like a real brother? No, when I started to understand things we received warnings, they emphasized how the two of us should know our positions. That’s why I don’t have any intention of being more intimate than necessary.

To begin with, I have other real siblings, though we don’t meddle in each others’ business. In reality, whether you’re born as a noble or a commoner, it’s all the same; there’s already a clear difference between the eldest son, the second son, and the third son.

Right, just what I expected. When it comes to his highness, he’s unconcerned about that stuff, constantly ignoring warnings from his surroundings, and he always brought me along wherever he went.

That’s right, if I had to say because of either his highness’ generosity as a virtuous person or his thick-headedness, I also enjoyed myself.

And with that, I was treated as his highness’ playmate, or to be blunt, his highness’ ‘toy’.

That duty changed when his highness turned 11 years old. Yup, after the attack by the assassins.

When I was 7 I also attended a children’s school, thus I lost the chance to meet with his highness as frequently as before. However, a few days after the attack, my father and I were called in front of his Majesty the king and began to have secret discussions. I became his highness’ chamberlain and had to keep an eye on all of his highness’ actions and report on every detail.

Perhaps His Majesty the king is the first one in the royal palace who felt dread toward his highness who, despite being only 11 years old, was able to fight back and even kill 8 skilled assassins.

Then, since his highness let his guard down with me, His majesty the king ordered me to become ‘the bell on the cat’s neck’.

Yes, of course, I can’t refuse. Just like I was ordered, I reported everything that happened on that day in a detailed document.

…His highness? Well, I wonder. He should understand to some degree the reason I became his chamberlain, but he felt happy in all honesty.

“We can be together!” he said and laughed happily.

Since then, every day has been a hectic day. I was even forced to play adventurer with his highness—right, I even had a C rank qualification.

No no, that’s preposterous. Half of it is the result of taking care of his highness’ leftovers.

When it comes to his highness, in a mere two years, he reached S-rank. That rank belonged to only 50 other people on this continent.

No, I didn’t feel envious at all. Quite the opposite, I felt proud to be able to walk together with such a magnificent person.

For me, his highness’ existence is like an unreachable dream that I wouldn’t dare to feel envious about.

Even so, during the period of his association with commoners, before anyone noticed, the disparity of wealth and difference in classes cast a harmful effect on his highness. He didn’t show it on the surface, he should have felt ashamed in his heart—then in this world, some unsavory folks can “smell” that kind of thing.

With skillful words, they got close to his highness, and started to give him impossible ideals… Yes, that’s right, if that ideal really was so splendid then they should try to work hard by themselves.

I tried to separate his highness from them, however, those ideals that took root in his heart were buried deeper than I expected and were eating away at his highness’ mind. He even managed to meet with them outside of my watch…

Around that time, the royal palace’s side felt the impending crisis and ordered me to gather even more secretive information. Reluctantly, I pretended to sympathize with his highness’s ideals and work together with him.

And with the information I gathered, I reported on every detail of their organization, their hideout, and even the number of people. I dare say they are being rounded up as I speak.

…Yes, I don’t feel anything special. Because in the beginning, it was an impossible dream, and in the very end they are a group that tempted his highness for their own benefit.

Then one last order I received is that if his highness meddles with politics, I should end his highness’ life with my own hands.

If I said that I didn’t feel any hesitation then that would be a lie. To tell you the truth, I thought that wouldn’t happen. I thought that his enthusiasm was temporary, and since his highness was intelligent, he would come to understand reality.

However, his highness pushed forward with his political campaign and even made a deal with the monster country. The royal palace fell into a panic.

Then, when they fell behind, their meeting was decided—I never thought that her highness Hiyuki was that free-spirited—and the urgent order I received is, if His highness continued to attract foreign threats, kill him. Something like that.

I kept worrying while looking at his highness’ defenseless back. Must I, with this hand, end my own lord’s life?

That very person who bows his head to protect me, and calls me his ‘best friend’. My feeling of wanting to confess everything and ask for his forgiveness was erupting.

“I am a man who doesn’t deserve those words! Please punish me with your own hands!”

Clinging to his feet while begging like that might have been better.

…However, I can’t. My failure would bring disgrace to the Bertoni family.

No matter how close my father was with his majesty the king…no, I think it’s the opposite, because of that, if people from the royal court used my failure as an excuse to punish my house, lower-class noble houses like mine would be abolished easily.

That’s right, I compared his highness’ trust and my house, and decided to betray his highness.

Luckily, he didn’t receive the Imperial Crimson’s help in this matter, thus I have some time.

Then, this was my last bet to separate his highness from his political campaign.

That’s right, by sacrificing Lady Angelica’s life, I would show his highness the difference between his ideal and reality. Also, it would show his highness how the citizens he tried to protect, might steal away the ones he loved the most.

Arranging several people from the sanatorium, and mobilizing those young people who were problematic from the beginning was pretty easy. My subordinate said to them with a self-satisfied face,

“Though you guys need to work hard to be able to drink one cup of soup, those royalties don’t need to do anything and live in luxury. They live from the taxes you pay, so isn’t it fair for us to take it back?”

Just by hearing that, they fully fell for it.

…Yes, that’s true. Those people, as long as you gave them a justifiable cause saying ‘it is the correct thing to do’, no matter what kind of inhuman thing it is, will do it without hesitation.

However……perhaps I misread his highness? Even with that incident, his highness didn’t give up on advancing… This is the result.

“Then, is your confession finished?”

With an uninterested expression, Hiyuki who wore a pagoda sleeve that emphasized red rather than black and sat on the chair usually used by Prince Acyl, verified that Sir Carlos was finished.

Prince Acyl’s private room had his corpse enshrined in the middle and was arranged to be brought into the royal family’s graveyard tomorrow under the holy temple great priest’s witness.

Tonight is the night the chamberlain ought to say parting words, alone beside the corpse. While looking at his face without getting any sleep, suddenly the night wind stirred the lace of the curtain. Then he noticed, standing under the wide open window, was a girl with a face so beautiful it was as if it was the incarnation of the moon itself…Rather than be surprised, what he felt was relief, and he expressed what was inside his heart as he was being asked.

“Yes. Your highness Hiyuki, do you want to punish me?”

Against Sir Carlos’ tone which suggested that he wanted to be punished, Hiyuki snorted at him in contempt and answered.

“Why? This is your internal problem. I don’t have any reason to find fault.”

“However, this is the reason why the house of nobles can blame everything about this incident on your highness and your country. I am the source, that’s why I think it’s enough of a reason to punish me.”

Carlos once again brought that up with an unusually frantic expression.

“Well, it’s not like you arranged it personally right? Then you’re no more than someone who takes orders from those stupid people who pull the strings behind the scenes.”

Being told that his life had no value whatsoever, Carlos bit his lips.

Meanwhile, Hiyuki moved from her seat and walked toward the coffin decorated with roses and peered toward the dead prince Acyl’s face.

“I always thought he was stupid, but he seriously kept his stupidity till the end. I heard death can cure stupidity, but I wonder whether it’s true?”

She said it with a low voice so it didn’t even reach Carlos’ ears, however, Hiyuki raised her face and showed an impish smile.

“I want to give my last farewell, so can you turn your head?”
“Ah, yes.”

He faithfully stood, walked to the wall, and then turned his back.

Confirming that Carlos wouldn’t be able to see what she was doing, she gently moved her face closer to his highness.

Carlos hears a sound slightly tinged with moisture –then after a few breaths, he can feel Hiyuki return to her previous position.

“Well, something like this, I guess. The rest will depend on his luck.”

At the same time he felt Hiyuki return to his position, Carlos turned back in a hurry, “Will you return now?”

“Yup, since it will become hectic from now on, they also won’t let me stay for long.” After saying that, Hiyuki showed a fearless smile and her unusually long canines could be seen.

“…do you really not want to punish me? I confessed everything while anticipating that.”

“As I said, that’s not my duty. I just want to know why the bypass I left with the prince suddenly got cut off. Though, letting you carry those burdens for the rest of your life is already a painful punishment right?”

“……”

Then Hiyuki suddenly shrugged her shoulders, “Well, if your luck is good, soon someone with the qualifications to give you a punishment might visit you.”

“—what do you mean?”

“Just a possibility. Currently, it’s only a 30% chance. The rest is… perhaps you should pray to your God for the rest.”

Leaving the confused Carlos behind, Hiyuki advanced toward the window.

“Even so, you guys are indeed similar.”

“—hah?”

“While facing adversity or wanting to kill yourself, you guys try to borrow somebody else’s hands. Though you said you guys aren’t friends, perhaps this is what they called ‘birds of the same feather flock together’.”

Hearing that, Carlos became dumbfounded and opened his eyes wide.

Then by the time he realized it, Hiyuki’s figure had already disappeared like an illusion.

“Friend…”

That murmur which came from Carlos’ mouth flew out the window together with the night wind and disappeared into the evening darkness.

Author’s Note:

For vampire transformations, the ‘parent’ needs to pour a fixed amount of their blood into the target. That’s why it’s not a kissing sound but Hiyuki did bite his nape.