0&1 Ch 8.3

“I didn’t run away. I’m training and gaining qualifications so that I can take the oath again.”
“That’s a good attitude. The Prince has good taste. Did you say you met him once? What did he see in a kid like you that he liked?”

“The prince likes me?” Alex asked in surprise. He had gained some self-awareness.

Alex had said things and taken actions that would have earned him death ten times over in front of the Prince, and in the end, he even ran away.

He had done so because he thought he was going to die anyway.

There was nothing about him that the Prince would find appealing.

“If that weren’t the case, why would he have asked me to teach you? It seems you haven’t heard of my reputation yet, but I am more valuable than I appear.”

“Because the Prince is a good person?” Alex answered quickly. 

Seeing his innocent eyes, Baumkuchen realized that the little boy was sincere. 

“I suppose that could be one reason.”
“I know I’m not important. Please don’t make fun of me.”
“Do you think everything I say is just to tease you?”

“It isn’t?” Alex asked back smartly. 

Baumkuchen resisted the urge to squish his cheek. “Of course, 90 percent of it is to tease you.”

“I knew it!”
“But I’m serious sometimes.”

Alex fidgeted with his fingers peeking out from under the bandage. That can’t be true. The Prince just said that his loyalty was meaningless. He doesn’t even have the right to be loyal to the Prince.

“Then… does His Highness really like me? Why? Did he say so? When?”
“Of course, he never said that.”
“Liar!”
“You little brat, don’t you know what speculation is?”
“From now on, I’ll think everything my master says is a lie!”

Baumkuchen grabbed Alex, who was struggling. As they headed toward the center of the square, people began to gather. A child like Alex could easily get lost.

Considering Alex’s past, it was more likely that this square felt like home to him.

Since he was injured, Baumkuchen had decided not to take Alex to the royal palace today, considering his condition. However, the Prince wanted to see Alex, and Alex himself was eager to see the Prince, so he accompanied them.

There was also another place they had to visit today besides the royal palace.

A public execution was an event for many people. Count Baumkuchen thought, frankly, there were too many in the plaza. Even if they were all praising the hero’s righteous act.

Praise was always sweet to the ear.

Alex slipped free. “Don’t hold me. I’ll walk on my own.”

“Can you go further? With this many people?” Baumkuchen teased. 

Alex didn’t get angry. Determination appeared on his face.

“I can go.”
“Sure. It’s the most entertaining sight for you, isn’t it?”

Baumkuchen looked around at the crowd, who seemed as excited as if it were a festival. People were gathering to throw stones at the prisoners being led away. But among them, the one most deserving of throwing stones was Alex. Probably.

“I should have picked up a rock,” Baumkuchen muttered.

Would a rock even work? It wouldn’t break his head in one blow

There were laws and officials in the country, so it wasn’t right to take the law into his own hands. But self-defense was important, wasn’t it? Baumkuchen thought there was no surer way to punish someone than to do it yourself.

If the matter hadn’t been so serious, he would have tried to settle it quietly.

He was glad he hadn’t. Children should grow up seeing good things. Like justice being carried out in public.

Alex was looking at the execution platform. The guillotine and the stake were towering high into the sky.

From afar, he could hear the jeers and shouts of the crowd. The prisoners were coming. Alex clenched his fists.

“Hey, kid, want a ride on my shoulders?” Baumkuchen asked. Alex hesitated, then nodded. He didn’t like being treated like a child, but he must have wanted to see this for himself.

Baumkuchen lifted Alex up and placed him on his shoulders. Alex squirmed around on top of him, trying to sit up straight.

Baumkuchen remembered that he had always wanted to do this when he had children. 

Life doesn’t always go as planned, though…

It was a good event. The public execution proceeded exactly as Baumkuchen had intended.

The bound prisoners were beaten with stones, bowed their heads, and avoided eye contact with anyone as they climbed the execution platform. Alex didn’t say a word.

Not even when the guillotine severed the prisoners’ necks with a sharp crack, and the executioners hung each head on a pole.

People began to leave the square one by one. Baumkuchen wanted to check Alex’s expression. Was he enjoying this?

“Put me down.” Alex said. He seemed to be trembling slightly.

Baumkuchen realized belatedly that Alex was probably scared. Maybe it was too intense for a child.

Maybe he should have dealt with a child differently. 

Baumkuchen lowered Alex to the ground.

What should I do? His wife might scold him for showing the child something strange.

As Baumkuchen stood there feeling awkward, Alex spoke, “I don’t know anyone.”

Huh? Baumkuchen looked at him.

“The people I mentioned were just small fry, right? I thought I could be of some help to the Prince.” Alex was talking about his usefulness.

Baumkuchen had caught the director and the other contacts Alex had reported on at the scene. He had killed them on the spot, so he couldn’t put them on the execution platform.

Alex wasn’t afraid of public execution. He was simply defeated.

“Well… I’m sure you were helpful.” Baumkuchen tried to comfort him. Perhaps Alex was a more peculiar child than he appeared.

“Is it difficult to cut someone’s throat?”
“… It would be difficult with your current strength, wouldn’t it?”

“I want to become as strong as a guillotine. At least a guillotine is useful to the Prince.” Alex sighed. Baumkuchen had no response, so he ruffled Alex’s hair.

Who did the Prince save? A cute and innocent little boy. That’s what he had thought.

Maybe he had picked up a strange creature. This strange little kid’s goal was to become the Prince’s guillotine.

This kid will probably become a strong knight. He’s a real fighter. His way of thinking is a little strange, though.

One thing was certain: the Prince had good judgment.

It might just be the emotions of a child, but ambition and a little self-deprecation are helpful for growth.

Alex would make a fine knight.

Outside, an event was taking place. It was a festival called a public execution. Many people lost their lives or their positions because of this event. 

Queen Milane looked down at the man who had escaped execution.

The captain of the south gate guard was a man who had risen from commoner to captain. He looked shabby with his unattractive goatee and skinny face, but he was skilled and lucky, which had helped him rise to his position.

However, his most outstanding quality was knowing when to grovel.

The Queen walked toward the Captain of the Guard. She thought his head was in a good position to be stepped on. The Captain of the Guard bowed his head to the ground and did not raise his eyes. The Queen liked people who knew their place. People who knew their place were surprisingly hard to find.

Milane, who was a princess in Sherbet, came to this country, Biscotti, at the age of fifteen. The King of Biscotti was a handsome boy, and the Queen thought she would be fine with him.

However, the King, who had become her husband, had a lover. He had not broken up with his lover. The King turned away from the Queen, who had come to consummate their marriage, and said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t do it today.”

The Queen never stopped hating the King after that day.

The Queen was a blessing from Sherbet. When she was still a princess, her brother, the King of Sherbet, told her, “Everyone in Biscotti will welcome you.”

She had been a beloved princess. The dowry she brought with her proved it. The small country of Biscotti was always struggling with foreign debt, and the national treasury was empty due to funds flowing out of the country.

The Queen was a blessing to Biscotti. The King should not have treated her that way.

What a foolish man.

The King’s lover was even more ignorant. The woman who received a title simply for bearing the King’s child even made her son a prince.

That Prince was born before her own son and was given the title of Crown Prince. The Queen had to endure the humiliation in the royal palace, where she had few allies.

But now it was okay. The Queen had Prince Joffrey.

Her prince had distanced himself from her for the past year. For no clear reason. 

Her Prince had been distant from her for the past year. There was no clear reason. What had she done wrong to the prince? Why was he suddenly treating her this way? She was driven to the brink of madness by his rejection of her touch and voice. If it weren’t for the maids’ comforting words that the prince was going through puberty, she would have struggled to keep herself together. 

She had done well to endure without pressuring the prince. The Queen was now reaping the rewards.