Summer Vacation – 1

-CRASH!

Eastern Imperial City, the Winter Palace where the Crown Prince resides. Aaron, the chief attendant of Crown Prince Wilhelm, sighed at the harsh sounds coming from Wilhelm’s room again today.

He must be angry again, throwing and breaking things. The Crown Prince, with his unnecessarily exceptional specs, was almost impossible to restrain once he lost control. It was only because Aaron had essentially served as a father figure since Wilhelm’s early childhood that conversation was even possible.

Sure enough, maids were outside the door, stomping their feet in frustration, not knowing what to do.

“Go about your business.”

At Aaron’s words, they dispersed instantly. More strange rumors will surely circulate. Aaron clutched his throbbing head.

-Knock knock

“Your Highness. May I enter?”

He straightened his clothes, took a deep breath, and knocked on Wilhelm’s door. After several more crashing sounds, an angry, panting voice emerged from the room.

“Enter.”

Aaron barely suppressed a sigh that tried to escape as soon as he saw the state of the room. It wouldn’t look this devastated even if hit by an explosion spell.

“I’ve come to report on the progress of the task you ordered, but…”

“Forget it. I already know.”

Wilhelm waved his hand dismissively. Right. Because he already knows, he’s throwing this insane tantrum.

A few weeks ago, after suddenly announcing a leave of absence from the Academy citing health issues, Crown Prince Wilhelm had become increasingly violent. He was always cold, resolute, and somewhat lacking in empathy, but at least he hadn’t acted like this.

At least so far, that ferocity hadn’t been directed at people, but seeing what he’s doing now, he might soon bare his teeth at humans too. I should retire quickly before I witness something terrible.

Aaron self-deprecatingly thought, what a way to end my career.

The cause was clear. On the surface, his leave of absence was attributed to health issues, but everyone, while keeping quiet, was certain:

‘Crown Prince Wilhelm went mad after Mikhail von Sirius stole his lover!’

Isn’t that the case? After taking a leave of absence over a girl from a humble baronial family whom he was dying to be with, he doesn’t even mention her, let alone write letters. Instead, he burns with abnormal hostility toward the heir of the Sirius Grand Duchy.

Despite enforcing secrecy as much as possible, there was no way to prevent rumors from spreading among the servants that he’d lost the woman he cherished to the Grand Duchy’s heir, even after breaking off his engagement.

Even Aaron himself was certain about the heartbreak, so it was only natural.

Well, losing a woman he loved would be a significant emotional wound. Why wouldn’t it be? Aaron was also a man who had experienced his cheating wife running away.

However, that doesn’t mean he should behave like a thug. Even if some ignorant peasant from the countryside acted out like this, it would be difficult to handle, but when someone of the Imperial Crown Prince’s status throws tantrums wildly, no one dares to intervene.

Moreover, personally, he thought it was fortunate that the prince hadn’t ended up with that woman. Instead of acting like a thug, he should consider it a blessing and focus on finding a new Crown Princess. It’s not particularly about Lily von Adamas’s humble family background. It’s just that Aaron’s instinct, honed from decades of service amidst the court’s rampant slander, was screaming.

That woman just felt really, really off.

To begin with, he couldn’t understand what Wilhelm saw in her. It was true that she was exceptionally beautiful, but in Aaron’s view, his former fiancée, Lady Deneb, was equally stunning.

In terms of character, Lady Deneb might have been better. Even during their engagement, which was like walking on a knife’s edge of mutual dislike, she never once lashed out at her subordinates. When Wilhelm announced the termination of their engagement, countless maids were heartbroken.

While Aaron was lost in these thoughts, Wilhelm, who had also been deep in contemplation, spoke in a low voice.

“Why do you think we failed this time?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Well, it’s because there’s no way you’d find decent people among those desperate enough to accept a suspicious proposal to attack the heir of the Grand Duchy and his friends after taking an unfamiliar drug. Aaron swallowed the words that had risen to his throat. Working in the Imperial Palace, the only skill that improves is the ability to hold one’s tongue. If he were to speak frankly, the only response would be hysteria.

“The drug?”

“Proceeding steadily.”

The drug.

Aaron tried his best to maintain his expression, but his discomfort was unavoidable.

Right after taking a leave from the Academy, Wilhelm began going out at night as if possessed by something. Whether it was alcohol or women, he could have enjoyed plenty within the palace if he wanted. In fact, the alcohol and women available in the palace would have been far superior to what he could find on the streets. Nevertheless, Wilhelm continued to roam the night streets seeking alcohol and women.

Then one day, he suddenly brought back a pill. One with the suspicious effect of enabling even those who couldn’t sense mana to use it.

‘Make this usable.’

With one word from Wilhelm, after countless death row inmates died under mysterious circumstances, the drug was made to have even more dramatic effects. Naturally, the accompanying side effects were also more dramatic.

“Do you think we can catch him once more research on the drug is done?”

“I can’t be certain, but it seems possible.”

A lie. To be honest, no matter what methods are used, such a suspicious drug won’t be able to catch him. Although he didn’t specify who, it was clear who the target was.

Mikhail von Sirius, the monster also called the Empire’s greatest genius.

‘Did he really lose that woman, Lily or whatever, to the Sirius Grand Duchy’s heir?’

Originally, Aaron thought that while the Crown Prince had indeed been rejected, it wouldn’t be for such a pathetic reason, but recently, he was leaning toward the possibility that Wilhelm had indeed lost Lily to Mikhail.

This was a Crown Prince who had conducted charity work and relief activities in slums he didn’t even consider human, all for image management. Wilhelm, who seemed born solely to become the Emperor of the Empire, was now at odds with the heir of the Sirius Grand Duchy, someone he would definitely need to ally with when he became Emperor?

It’s nonsensical. Even if Mikhail had inflicted unspeakable humiliation on Wilhelm, the Wilhelm Leonhardt that Aaron knew would have found a way to use it to his advantage. Although now he’s slightly—no, quite a bit—out of his mind.

The problem is thinking that Mikhail, the Young Master who’s praised as the Empire’s greatest genius, could be caught by fools who can be randomly recruited on the spot, even if they take that suspicious drug.

Where has all his former intelligence gone? The cool, calculated demeanor where intellect and ambition coexisted has vanished, leaving only ambition focused on absurd plans. It’s heartbreaking to watch.

While Aaron was lost in these thoughts, Wilhelm, who had also been contemplating for a while, spoke softly.

“This time, it doesn’t have to be that damn bastard himself. As long as there’s an opportunity, take immediate action.”

By “last time,” he meant inciting a thoughtless and mindless female student to attack Cordelia.

Seeing him calmly ordering the same thing again, Aaron felt his affection for the prince dropping with each passing moment. He had always lacked humanity, but not to this extent. More precisely, he had at least pretended to have humanity.

But now? He was ordering an attack on his former fiancée, whom he had unilaterally broken off with, just to mentally pressure someone he disliked.

“I’m not saying to do it right now. Pay more attention to security and let’s be a bit cautious for now. It seems like the Intelligence Bureau’s dogs have caught the scent. Even though they’re the royal family’s dogs, there’s nothing good about this becoming known.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Aaron bowed respectfully and withdrew from the room.

“Sigh, shit. My chances of dying peacefully are gone. I should have retired earlier.”

As soon as he left the room, harsh words escaped Aaron’s mouth. Though he often said he should have retired earlier, today was the first time he genuinely regretted not having done so.

His wrinkled, sunken eyes turned toward the south of the Imperial City, to the Summer Palace where Princess Yuria resided. Although Princess Yuria claimed to have renounced her succession rights, everyone with even a slight interest in imperial politics knew that wasn’t sincere.

Probably at the moment a decisive opportunity appears, she’ll pounce and tear at Wilhelm’s throat. And judging by his behavior, the end might not be far off. Even Aaron himself just now had come out nodding and saying ‘yes, yes’ without speaking the right words he should have said.

“Final exams already… Ugh, I don’t want to study.”

That day, whether or not the deal with Investigator Cicero had any effect, no strange incidents had occurred since then.

“But we have to.”

“Miss Cordelia, are you giving up already?”

Seol-ah and Hestia comforted Cordelia. Hestia was a given, but surprisingly, Seol-ah was also a good student. The four of us, who always hung out together, were studying in the library for the final exams that were just around the corner.

There hadn’t been anything particularly special since the deal with Cicero.

If I had to mention a few things, one would be disclosing my relationship with Seol-ah to Hestia. Of course, with the same story I told Cordelia. The setup was that after Wilhelm took a leave of absence, there had been strange attacks, and I had been secretly helping her. Hestia believed it without much suspicion. It wasn’t a completely implausible story, and it gained tremendous credibility from the attack incident at the training ground.

One more thing worth mentioning might be that Hestia’s jealousy had diminished compared to before. In truth, she hadn’t shown any direct actions that could be called jealousy before, but there’s something about the feeling, isn’t there? Sharp glances, cold tones, subtle power plays, and the like.

Such things, which were occasionally visible around the midterm exams, had disappeared as if by magic. Cordelia simply seemed to have no particular thoughts about it.

But Seol-ah had a different opinion.

“I admit that there’s no more power struggle or keeping tabs on us like before.”

“Right?”

“But something feels off.”

Off? At my expression of incomprehension, Seol-ah became frustrated.

“This is really hard to express in words. You have to see it for yourself. It’s like a sense of superiority, like ‘no matter what you do, you can’t have him…’ You need to see that expression soaked in superiority with your own eyes to understand!”

“What are you saying? That Hestia deliberately allows her jealousy to decrease so she can feel that superiority?”

That’s, that’s too terrible. It goes beyond being moody or gloomy. Seol-ah seemed to think it wasn’t that extreme either, as she waved her hands dismissively.

“No! That’s not it! I know how good a person Hestia is, too! But separate from that, she occasionally shows that kind of expression.”

I don’t think Seol-ah is particularly slandering Hestia. After all, she had tried to protect Hestia by throwing herself forward last time. However, her words were somewhat hard to believe. Superiority?

“…hail? Mikhail?”

“Huh?”

My reminiscence was interrupted by Hestia’s voice.

“Mikhail? What’s wrong with you? You need to concentrate more. The exams are really just around the corner.”

“Huh? Oh, oh. Right. I should focus.”

Sorry, Hestia. The truth is, I’m confident I’ll do well even without studying much. I’ve already got all the cheat sheets from Cicero.

Since this is a place where people live, there are professors who set similar exam questions every time, and naturally, there are cheat sheets for them.

‘What should I do during the vacation?’

Naturally, I set aside thoughts of studying and decided to plan what to do during the vacation. After the final exams, the vacation is really just around the corner. Starting from mid-June and ending in September, it’s a period of over two months.

Anyway, I’ll have to return to my family home at least once, and if Hestia is okay with it, I’d like to visit her home too. I might not kneel and say, “Father, please give me your daughter!” but I should at least greet her parents and see their faces.

I took advantage of a short break time to speak to Hestia.

“Hestia.”

“What is it?”

“Do you have any plans for the vacation?”

“Hmm, I haven’t really thought about it.”

She tilted her head.

“Then it would be okay if I go to greet your parents?”

“What, what? You’re going to Hestia’s house during the vacation?”

Cordelia, who had been eavesdropping on our conversation, jumped in.

I nodded at her words.

“Yes, if Hestia allows. I’d like to go and pay my respects.”

“Then you should come to my house too.”

“Pardon?”

“They’re right next to each other. My house and Hestia’s.”

Wait, you’re talking like they’re neighboring houses in some rural village. The territory of Duke Deneb is located in the Empire’s premier plain and granary region, and it’s incredibly vast. And Hestia’s Gracia County isn’t small either. There’s a bit of a discrepancy in using the term “right next to each other” for such a distance.

“Isn’t it a bit far to call it ‘right next to each other’?”

“It’s fine! We have plenty of time anyway.”

Well, as she says, time is what we have in abundance. I passed the decision to Hestia.

“I have no objection, but we should ask Hestia.”

“Hestia, what do you think?”

“…”

“Hestia?”

After a long silence, Hestia suddenly stood up and started to escalate the situation.

“I like it. Since it’s come to this, how about the three of us visiting each other’s homes?”

Hestia’s proposal was like this: spending about one to two weeks staying at each other’s homes together. After all, none of them had special plans for the vacation, and one or two days would be far too short to show everything they wanted to show.

Things to show in our territory? How would I know such things? I’ll have to ask the Duchess diligently again.

Hestia excitedly explained her thoughts, then turned to Seol-ah.

“What will you do, Miss Lily?”

“Oh, me?”

“Did you think we’d leave just you out?”

Seol-ah, who had been blankly watching us, showed a flustered expression at the sudden attention. She seemed quite burdened by the fact that we would be visiting each other’s territories. It’s probably like the feeling of taking wealthy second-generation heirs to some rooftop room.

“No, my house is a bit… There probably won’t even be proper rooms.”

“It’s really fine. It’ll be better than the dormitory at least.”

At Cordelia’s words, Seol-ah’s expression hardened. It must be worse than the dormitory. After declining for a while, she eventually came up with another idea.

“If you insist, could I just skip my house and follow you all?”

“Is that really okay with you?”

Even so, it’s an opportunity to return home after nearly three months, is it okay to just follow us? However, despite our concerns, Seol-ah strongly insisted that it absolutely couldn’t be her house.

“I have plenty of siblings anyway. They won’t even notice if one of us doesn’t come home. Besides, it’s not like I’ll be away until school starts again, right? I can return home after we’re done without any problems.”

“Then it’s decided!”

Cordelia exclaimed with excitement.

“What should we do first? Oh, Hestia. That secret base in the mountain behind your house, is it still there?”

“Cordelia.”

Hestia said in a cold voice.

“Exams first. Understood?”

“Yes…”