Chapter 78: 77: Ears

Oryn placed the newly sorted stacks of papers on the prince’s desk. At the moment, he was by his lonesome since the prince left to have a meeting with the knights. Information that cannot be overlooked popped up.

No, Oryn thought it was just not information that newly came out. But rather, it was a leak. He tried asking, but the prince didn’t say anything significant about it. Such a shame, he wanted to know more.

His gaze turned towards the papers and picked up a sheet. New information has been gathered about the knights’ families that would require reviewing. The agents sent were pretty efficient in their work. That said, they couldn’t find any information that would warrant any suspicions that the prince was looking for.

The nobles in the capital were clean. However, beyond it, in the outskirts or any remote territories, or ones outside the capital, there were some things that called for a raised eyebrow.

Although, they were not a matter of national threat.

Information of nobles owning slaves. Slaves were not allowed in this kingdom, therefore, nobles owning some were to be noted, especially if the slaves were being abused.

Furthermore, there were a few mistreatments of the people in their territories. Then some tension with other noble households. The knights in the order didn’t seem to be directly involved in those, however, investigations will be required.

A traitor, huh…

He thought back to the information heard that originated from the knights order.

As he was about to sit down on a couch, there was a knock on the door. He furrowed his brows, wondering who that could be.

“May I come in?”

The moment he heard the innocent sweet voice from the other side of the door, his brow wrinkled. He needn't think a lot to figure out who it was. There was only one person with that voice and manner of speaking, it was the one and only Princess.

He left the paper on the couch and straightened his clothes. With a sigh, he walked towards the door and opened it gently.

He forced a smile upon seeing a beautiful girl with long platinum hair, snow white skin, and crimson eyes. While the beautiful girl smiled purely as she faced him.

“Hello, may I enter?” She asked.

Does she not know that her brother left for the knights?

He resisted the urge to sigh.

“Your highness, I regret to inform you but your brother is not here.”

“I know that.”

She does know.

Then what would be her purpose here?

Oryn glanced at her two attendants. First to the maid who had a somewhat disturbed expression, but he didn’t think much of it. Then his gaze shifted towards the old man named Vernon, his gaze stayed on him for a moment before returning to the princess.

“In that case, you are free to enter, your highness. However, I am curious as to what the reason for this visit is.”

“My brother has a lot of paper to look into, yes? I want to help him even for just a little. I think I’ll write down some important notes.”

“I see. Then please, enter.”

He tried to keep a neutral expression. He recalled that the princess has magic training…

Magic….

He wondered why she didn’t go and train. That being said, he was more interested in the princess’ goal of learning magic.

He watched as the princess carefreely entered and sat down on the chair in front of the table.

Oryn tried to hold back from making an annoyed expression. He was bothered by the princess, and was always somewhat annoyed every time he saw her.

A person who had no idea of the outside. A presence so pure, ignorant, and living such a comfy life. A girl who knew nothing of the world. And that girl was apparently a very, very important person.

That was one of the reasons he disliked this princess. The person who was clueless about the world, living a colorful and safe life.

Oryn once again glanced towards the two servants standing by the corner before retrieving the paper left on the couch. Then after that, the princess spoke.

“Wow, big brother has a lot of things to work on…. Oryn, can… can I have a few sheets of paper and a quill for writing?”

Oryn resisted an exasperated sigh and delivered what the princess wanted.

“Thank you.”

The princess began reading some paper.

It would seem I have to stand and watch the princess.

The princess didn’t exactly show an image of a reliable person after all.

As he was reading while behind the princess, the latter suddenly asked Oryn.

“Oryn, you know what my brother’s purpose of visiting the knight's order is, am I right?”

“Yes…”

“What do you think about it?”

“About what, your highness?”

“What is my brother concerned about?”

He kept a straight face.

“About some story about a potential betrayer within the palace.”

“Yup. So, what do you think? Is it plausible?”

“Why would you ask me that question?”

“Oh, I just want to know the thoughts of someone close to my brother. Can I not learn your opinions?”

Oryn resisted the urge to sigh. There was nothing wrong with sharing his thoughts with her. Well, not like he could refuse to answer a question from the princess in the first place.

“No, of course I’m willing to share my thoughts on the matter… Well,” he contemplated on how he should go and answer. “Perhaps it is plausible to have a betrayer.”

“I see. If there is one, how would you go find them?”

Oryn eyed the princess who was busy writing down on a paper. Such sudden questions. However, he tried to understand her. A girl like her must be anxious about it. Thus the questions.

However, even if he went to answer it, there would be no point speaking about it to the princess. After all, he imagined she wouldn’t be able to contribute much to the matter.

A girl with no skills and talent, nothing impressive, a person like that wouldn’t be of much help.

But, perhaps her being that way was fortunate enough.

Still, it seems to be changing.

Having no choice, he answered.

“Such a situation is not to my expertise, your highness. Therefore, I fear I have nothing to answer.”

“Is that so…” she sounded a bit disappointed. “I understand.”

There were several minutes of silence and sounds of papers being moved. Oryn decided to standby since the princess had basically taken his job. Actually, he liked this. The princess doing his job was surprisingly pleasing to him, perhaps he just wanted to see the princess to be a bit stressed.

He glanced at her servants once more. The maid especially acted strange, she had been like this since arriving here. On the other hand, Oryn looked at Vernon closely for only a second before averting his eyes away.

Then he found the princess looking at him with her wide crimson eyes.

“Your highness?”

She wryly smiled.

“I… I’m sorry Oryn. I’m just thinking about something. I’m sorry.”

He was confused by her regretful tone.

“... What are you talking about?”

“I… I saw your ears.”

He felt cold the moment he heard those words, reminded of his ears.

“I see....”

“I’m sorry, when I learned of the reason, it kept coming back to my mind.”

Oryn was salty and bitter upon receiving the pity of the princess. But he didn’t let it show outwardly.

“Is that so…?”

“I heard it was due to bandits…”

“Yes it was…”

The princess’ eyes widened, her fingers trembled.

“How frightening. I never imagined people are capable of doing such acts. How… cruel…”

She lowered her eyes. Was it sadness that Oryn saw? Shock? Or fear? No, perhaps it was all of them. The princess was feeling all of them.

But Oryn didn’t feel moved.

“It was a long time ago, your highness. You do not need to feel anything about it.”

“...”

She was silent for a moment before speaking again.

“And, what of the bandits?”

“Years ago, they were hunted down and they quieted down. Needless to say, a lot of members escaped.”

“So they are still out there then.”

“Yes… But for some reason, now they have become active again.”

“Really?! This is terrible.”

“That said, I received intel that adventurers have been hired and sent to handle the matter with those bandits. They should still be working on it, it will take some time before everything ends.”

“Adventurers… you mean those people that always carry weapons around?”

“Hm, yes. You must have seen them during your visit to the city.”

She nodded her head.

“I hope everything ends well. But what about you, Oryn?”

Oryn’s face turned into puzzlement about the out of the blue question from the princess.

“...What do you mean?”

She looked at his eyes with sadness.

“They hurt you, are you not going to do anything?”

He furrowed his brows. Why was she asking such questions?

“I will leave it to the adventurers.”

“But do you feel nothing at all, Oryn? Don’t you feel anger? Hatred? Do you not feel those emotions at all?”

“......... I do feel those emotions.”

Who wouldn’t feel terrible after what happened to him? What cut off from him was part of his body. He imagined anyone would feel terrible.

“Do you not feel vengeful?”

“I —”

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“Oryn, have you hated anyone?” The princess suddenly added that to her question.

“...... Perhaps.”

“Have you hated anyone that you wanted to kill them?”

Oryn was taken aback by the princess' words.

“I… I cannot say I did…”

“Those bandits are evil. Do you not feel that you want to do something about it?”

“I… I am powerless to do something.”

“Powerless…? But there are other ways to fight, not just with strength.”

“... Princess what are you…”

Why was the princess saying all this? Was she sympathizing that much with him?

She’s definitely sympathizing.

Perhaps that was why she was able to say those things. Why would she feel this way towards him, one whom she didn’t personally interact much with?

“Oryn, have you ever experienced, or perhaps feel that you have to do something, something that is necessary, that is needed, perhaps for the greater good, or for something else?”

He felt cold again.

He couldn’t respond instantly.

But the princess continued.

“You see, not doing anything especially when it is necessary, it weighs in the heart, doesn’t it? That is why, if it is necessary for one, one should begin to act. Don’t you think so?”

“Begin to act…?”

Those words echoed in his mind.

“Even if the act itself is good or evil, I think if it is necessary, it must be carried out as soon as possible. Because, the longer it gets, the worse it will become.”

Carry out…

He mused.

He took her words deeply.

Oryn stared at the princess, then he turned towards her two servants. They also stared at the princess with confusion. Not one expected to hear such words from her.

Then the princess continued.

“If those bandits are still walking and running freely, there will be more victims in the future. Things might become even worse than you imagined. And I think, a person who personally experienced their cruelty and heartlessness will be ideal to lead a movement against them.”

The princess picked up the quill. Her expression was filled with anxiety.

Then she spoke the words that would linger within Oryn’s mind for a long time.

“The clock is ticking... Time is moving forward, and so does everything. So… Oryn, what will you do?”

***

The princess left about more than an hour later when she realized the amount of time had passed. She left the room in a panic as she was still supposed to do her magic training. Oryn was left sorting out what the princess had left behind.

Amidst all that, the image of the princess remained in his mind. Her words lingered in his thoughts.

Oryn picked up the paper the princess was writing on. Written unto it were important information about each person she had read about, and it was organized impressively. He mentally conjured the princess’ innocent visage, her long platinum hair, beautiful face, and mesmerizing eyes of crimson.

As he kept thinking of her words, he realized too late that he had crumpled the side of the paper he was holding. He heaved a weary smile.

Carry out, huh…

He had been thinking all about it for a very, very long time now. It wouldn’t leave his mind. How could it? It was a matter of great importance to him.

He touched his ear, causing heaviness in his heart.

He was not powerless to do something.

It has gone on for a long time now, perhaps it was time for him to act as the princess said. His heart couldn’t keep this on forever.

Maybe it was time to disregard all his fears. The princess was right, everything would only become worse as time passed. The clock was always ticking.

Thus, it was time to bury the fear and wariness. He must face the reason his ears came to be.

He thought back to the pain as his ears were cut off. A painful memory.

It was then that the door opened. Oryn turned around and saw the prince wearing a weary expression.

“Your highness, I suppose it didn’t end well.”

Estevan faintly smiled.

“Yeah, well not exactly,” he sat on his chair behind the desk. “My meeting with the elites went smoothly, with the exception of the primary matter.”

“I see. Then what about the primary matter?”

It was the one with the information that had been spread, started by a knight named Rogan.

Estevan sighed.

“There lies the problem, he didn’t say a word. Not one bit.”

Oryn was impressed. Even faced with the prince, Rogan refused to answer.

“Then we can’t do anything about it, can’t we, your highness?”

“Yeah.”

“What about with the king’s authority?”

“Rogan may act the way he is on the surface, but that man is tough as a boulder. He wouldn’t give it away that easily. Even more so when I threatened him with that.”

“... Even with the king’s permission?”

“Yes.”

Not many would have the nerve to explicitly say they would even go against the king’s will. Oryn couldn’t understand why he would go this far, unless the source was a pretty important person.

If it was an anonymous tip, then Rogan would have said it was. However, he didn’t, but rather kept it a secret. Therefore, there was a high chance he knew personally the source of his information.

“Does this mean that his source is a very important person, your highness?”

“I doubt it. And we did no such thing.”

Of course, the royal family was the very important personnel here.

“Even Mother was surprised…”

“What about the princess?” Oryn casually asked, he didn’t mean anything about it.

Estevan stared blankly towards Oryn as though what he had heard was utterly ridiculous.

“Oryn, do you really think she could do that?”

“Yes, my mistake. I cannot imagine the princess doing such a thing.”

“Yes, all in all, she was just doing her own business.”

“Yes, it is impossible.”

No way the princess could think of doing this.

Oryn thought.

He saw the princess as someone incapable of such a significant action. He had known of the princess’ nature since he had been seeing and watching her for a long time now after all. Anyone would get familiar how the princess was after several years of working in the palace.

Thus, he never believed that the princess would have the nerve to cause a disruption of this scale and importance.

“Yeah, and in no way would Estel do something like this without telling us. Plus, she was clueless when she first heard about the issue.”

“Mm…”

“It also couldn’t be Mother too, she’s busy.”

“What about his majesty the King?”

“If he did, for what reason would he not tell me at least? It wouldn’t make sense that he would keep the fact that he did it from me.”

“Then, could his information come from the servants?”

“If that’s the case, then there are servants out there that need to be trained and disciplined again.”

In the palace, servants needed to be taught to not spread crucial information, whether it was told that it was confidential or not. Servants needed to turn that into common sense that they shouldn’t spread information from important figures. Otherwise, they would face strict consequences and punishments. Imprisonment was one of the possibilities.

In other words, servants should know what line must not be crossed.

Oryn thought about the information from the knight, then to the prince who was agitated and seemed to focus greatly on the matter. And then Rogan who was protecting his source. He concluded one thing, this information was true.

“But coming from servants, the chances are so low. Haaaah, what a pain!”

“Just take it all slowly, your highness.”

“.... Now investigations need to be carried out.”

Oryn smiled in amusement as he saw the agonized Estevan.

“Shall I bring you some refreshments?”

“Great! Give me some orange juice then. I’m thirsty,” Estevan then laid his head on the table. “If only Estel is here… I want to see her…”

Oryn stopped as he was about to leave.

“Ah, the princess came here earlier.”

“What?!” Estevan sprang up. “And I was not even here?! Wait, what did she even come here for?”

“She said she wanted to help you even for just a little. That’s her work there.”

Oryn pointed at the papers the princess worked on. Estevan instantly grabbed them and a wide smile formed on his face.

“Aaaawwww. My sister is so nice and kind. That’s it! I’m seeing her now!” Estevan began to move out.

However, Oryn immediately blocked his way.

“Your highness, please remain in your work.”

“No way, Oryn.”

“I refuse, your highness. Besides, the princess is busy with her training.”

“But still…”

“Do you think she would be pleased if you disturb her?”

“...”

Disappointment was all over Estevan’s face as he slowly sat back down on his chair in resignation.

“Fine…”

“Thank you, your highness. Please stay here as I go to prepare your refreshments.”

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