By Zephyria 
Side Story 3
A Sorcery alarm? Blinking at the unfamiliar sound, Lorenz looked at Julian. Of course, Julian was equally clueless about the noise, but with his quick wit, he soon realized how they had ended up in this garden.
No wonder there wasn’t a single guard in sight—it was under a spell.
He had no idea what kind of coincidence had allowed them to enter the inner area without triggering the Sorcery alarm, but that was precisely how this mess had started.
“Sigh. I need to report this to Brother Simon.”
Whether annoyed at the extra work or not, the black-haired man grabbed the necklace hanging around his neck and relayed a message. It looked crude but seemed to be an Artifact.
Soon after, several knights arrived.
“They seem to be lost.”
What pathetic fools. Even though no words followed, the hidden sentiment was clearly heard.
“Escort them to the exit. His Highness Pakirius has declared he will not press charges, so send them on their way.”
After giving the order to the knights, the black-haired man immediately dragged the silver-haired prince away with him.
“Paki, acting all nice like that isn’t very princely, you know?”
“Since when have I ever been particularly princely?”
“Paki!”
“Alright, alright. Ebon, sometimes you’re even more fussy than Gerold.”
Exchanging such words, the silver-haired man glanced back, winking slyly with just his eyes as he smiled, then followed the black-haired man and disappeared.
His Highness Pakirius. Even before hearing the name, he had been fairly certain, but indeed, it was unmistakably that person.
The Hero and the lover of the Hero! First in line to the Imperial Throne! The hidden Imperial family member! On top of that, a man lavished with praises for his god-given looks.
Even though he was of the Imperial family, Julian had thought the descriptions were overly exaggerated, but having seen that face for himself today, he realized it was simply that language was insufficient to fully capture that person’s appearance.
Perhaps due to the declaration that they wouldn’t be punished, the knights’ gestures as they guided the two outside weren’t particularly rough. Although they were essentially being kicked out, Julian actually felt relieved. It was a relief that they had trespassed into the Imperial family’s private garden and gotten off scot-free.
“Whew. Whatever it is, it’s a relief, Lorenz.”
Julian patted the shoulder of Lorenz, who was standing beside him. Even though their first visit to the Imperial Palace had ended in a chaotic mess with no gains, he patted him as if to say you can’t expect to be full after the first bite.
He thought Lorenz might brush his hand off in irritation, but surprisingly, Lorenz remained still. No, he seemed rather spaced out.
“Lorenz?”
Even after Julian called his name out loud, Lorenz didn’t snap out of it for quite a while.
No wonder his reactions had been slow and creaky like a broken machine since earlier; it seemed it wasn’t just simple fluster.
He seemed completely unaware that Julian had spoken to him or that they had just escaped a dire crisis, his face blank for a long time.
Then, he subtly blushed. As if he’d just had a very pleasant thought.
Good grief?
What possible reason could there be for him to react like that to the earlier events? The only thing that automatically came to mind was the man with the radiant appearance whom anyone would agree it was natural to fall for at first sight.
Ah, surely not?
It seemed so absurd that Julian looked at his friend’s face with suspicion, but he soon had no choice but to realize there was nothing else that could elicit such a reaction from him.
Julian, who stared at his friend’s reddened face as if it were something deeply unpleasant, swallowed a deep sigh inwardly.
It was due to a premonition that life in the capital was going to be very eventful.
* * *
“Snap out of it, Lorenz. That prince is dating the Hero.”
Julian thought Lorenz was a bit of a fool, but he didn’t dislike him for it. That’s why, when Lorenz said he was going to the capital chasing excessive dreams, Julian cursed, thinking, ‘Who’s going to look after this guy?’ but followed him anyway.
However, simply causing trouble and this were problems on entirely different levels. Of all people, falling for a prince? It wasn’t just a matter of status; that person’s lover was the Empire’s Hero!
If you asked most Imperial citizens to name the most passionate lovers or the most famous official couple in the Empire right now, wouldn’t most point to them?
There were rampant rumors they would get married within a year or two at most!
“Shut up. It’s not like that.”
Lorenz irritably denied that it was anything like that.
What do you mean, ‘not like that’? Knowing Lorenz’s inner workings all too well, Julian’s sigh deepened.
But since Lorenz kept vehemently denying it, Julian couldn’t really continue nagging and eventually had to keep his mouth shut. He just hoped Lorenz wouldn’t cause any trouble because of those immature feelings.
However, Julian’s worries would never become reality. Not so much because Lorenz truly ‘wasn’t like that’ as he claimed, but rather because, firstly, that prince was someone difficult to even meet, and secondly, the two were too busy just trying to adapt to the cutthroat capital.
In fact, the word ‘adapt’ was almost laughable. Lorenz tried desperately to integrate among the capital’s nobles, mobilizing his meager connections to the fullest to get invitations to various banquets, but it was naturally not easy.
The Imperial Palace banquet, which they considered the main event, also ended without any significant gains. The two had no choice but to watch from a corner of the banquet hall as the nobles, who seemed to live in a completely different world, laughed and chatted amongst themselves, wastefully downing expensive alcohol on empty stomachs before slipping out of the venue.
If it were the original Lorenz, he probably would have at least tried to talk to the nobles at the Imperial Palace banquet, a golden opportunity even if people ignored him…… but unfortunately, that day there was an unexpected obstacle.
That day, Lorenz encountered the silver-haired prince he had met in the garden on the first day. Of course, there were minor issues like the distance between Lorenz and the prince being vast, countless people standing between them preventing even eye contact, and the procession of nobles paying respects to the prince being so dazzling that he couldn’t even bring himself to approach to greet him…….
Lorenz, who had raised his voice insisting he hadn’t fallen for the prince, the moment the prince appeared, completely forgot his purpose for attending the banquet and just stared blankly in the prince’s direction.
Because of that, he missed the few opportunities he did have, forcing them to return home after ending the Imperial Palace banquet in vain.
All the fantasies he had on the way to the capital about ‘how great it would be to become the prince’s close associate’ became meaningless, as Lorenz became completely disarmed whenever he stood before that prince.
The fantasies of working alongside the heroes fizzled out, leaving only a foolishly racing heart. Disgusted with himself, Lorenz tried to stand tall and composed, but the fever of first love that had visited him for the first time in his life was not something he could easily handle.
“……Don’t say anything.”
As if his own mouth was itching to speak, Lorenz preemptively shut Julian’s mouth, who was looking at him, and then began busily moving about as if to make up for the missed opportunities.
However, all subsequent attempts repeatedly ended without any gains.
The capital’s nobles had no interest in the offspring of a provincial noble of little consequence—a nouveau riche noble without anyone’s recommendation—and were reluctant to invite them to banquets bearing their own names. After all, the roster of invited nobles reflected the host’s prestige, so in a way, it was natural.
“Alright, fine. I expected it wouldn’t be easy.”
But instead of being frustrated or despairing, Lorenz burned with even greater determination, his face blazing. Only Julian’s expression grew subtly complex, unsure whether he should be pleased or displeased by this.
“I finally got an invitation to a banquet!”
Then one day, Lorenz happily brought back an invitation to a banquet. The invitation, adorned with gold leaf, looked extraordinary at first glance.
Putting gold leaf on a mere invitation? Julian gulped at the unimaginable luxury, something no one in Montar would even conceive of.
“Whose is it?”
“Viscount Armand de Loran, a quite successful fashion entrepreneur in the capital these days. They say his invitations are hard to get, but he invited me?”
Why would such a person invite you?
Julian barely managed to swallow the words that rose to his throat. If he uttered such a thing in front of the proud Lorenz, a fight would break out in an instant.
“By the way, you’re invited too.”
“What?”
Saying that, Lorenz handed Julian an extra invitation. Seeing the equally ornate invitation adorned with gold leaf, Julian’s instincts warned him. This was suspicious no matter how he looked at it.
Lorenz was one thing, but why would they invite him, officially just a commoner servant? Even if it was a foregone conclusion that Lorenz and Julian were inseparable.