Chapter 48 - Secret Hobby

At my impeccable reasoning, the Crown Prince became silent and looked at me viciously. I’m not the one to succumb to such threats, so I added, “By the way, His Majesty will look for me if he finds out I am missing. It was reported that I went to the Crown Prince’s palace.”

“What do you mean?”

“I had a close conversation with His Majesty today. His Majesty will probably be heartbroken if I disappear.”

Honestly, I was nothing more than an opponent to His Majesty in chess, but no one knew what happened because I only talked to the Emperor today. In other words, there was no way the Crown Prince would know that I was lying, even if I blackmailed him like this. Moreover, if I disappear at his palace, even the Crown Prince would be unable to escape the responsibility.

“Why don’t you look bothered?” he asked.

“That’s because there’s nothing special about it. There’s nothing strange about some lunatic doing some crazy things. Besides, it’s just a hobby, so there’s nothing to talk about, right?”.

I don’t know what he thought of my words, but his expression changed for a very brief moment. His expression soon turned cold again, and he spoke with a low growl, ”Are you mocking me?”

“How could I, Your Highness. There’s no reason to mock you when I don’t see anything wrong with it? As I said before, dolls aren’t exclusively for children. Wasn’t it you who made fun of me?”

To be honest, I enjoy the hobby in a different way than the Crown Prince. Then I continued, “Besides, looking at Your Highness reminds me of the children I left behind in my hometown.”

“Children?” asked the Crown Prince.

“Oh, I mean my crops. I raised them because of the lack of finances in the estate, but I became attached to them as I raised them.”

“That is a weird hobby.”

“Not as much as yours, Your Highness. But we aren’t doing any harm with our hobbies, right?”

The prince’s face became rigid when I sarcastically answered as he did to me. However, I was speaking truthfully on the last part. Frankly, I never thought of growing crops as a shameful hobby. My flowers and plants comforted my mind and body after the fall of my family. So I am proud to say I like my hobby and I’m not ashamed of it.

“Anyway, I never thought of my hobbies as strange. There are a few living things that return love given to them, like plants. Is it weird to do what you love? Perhaps you have a different opinion than me, Your Highness?”

“Are you putting me and you on the same level now?”

I shook my head, looking at his purple eyes that seemed eager for an unknown reason, and replied, “I never put myself on the same level. My only small wish is that Your Majesty will refrain from picking on documents I am submitting for no reason in the future.”

The Crown Prince, who listened with a hard expression while grinding his teeth, became strangely docile and reached his hand out to me. I put the pen and papers on top of his hand, and he signed on it while putting one hand on his head and then waved his hand at me.

“Piss off now.”

“Will do, Your Highness.”

I was puzzled by the fact that he did it so easily. Still, it was a great success. While I was satisfyingly walking out with the documents, I suddenly remembered an important fact and turned around. The Crown Prince frowned at the sight of me suddenly turning around.

“What do you want?” demanded the Crown Prince.

“I don’t know how to get out, Your Highness. Will you please open the door?”

“…What makes you so bold?” asked the Crown Prince.

I answered, “Me.”

I saw the prince’s eyes looking at me as if I was insane for my answer. It made me feel unpleasant. Wouldn’t it feel bad to be considered crazy by someone who is?

With the help of the Crown Prince, I came out of the study. It was already evening. This isn’t good. I might not be able to leave work on time.

“If then, Your Highness, it’s time to get off work, so I’ll leave quickly.”

Now that I had nothing to do, I ran without looking back. While I was running, I heard something breaking. Hmm? Well, he didn’t throw it at me, and it’s his own loss for doing that.

***

When I arrived at the office, I handed the documents over to Director Clove. He took it and looked at me with worried eyes. That’s because I had spent quite some time trying to find the Crown Prince.

“You… Are you alright? So, the shield… I mean, why did you leave the tray behind?” asked the Director.

“As you can see, I am fine, sir.”

Looking impressed, Director Clove then asked, “But how did you find His Highness? It is always impossible to find him when he disappears.”

You know, that’s because that nut job was enjoying a mundane hobby that suits him. If I get this out of my mouth, I’ll probably die without anyone realizing it. I didn’t think it was anything to be ashamed of, but if he created a secret passage for that, it meant he didn’t want to reveal it to others. That’s probably the reason why he signed the documents so easily.

“Anyway, you’ve done a great job. You can go home for today.”

In response, I bowed, then I went back to my seat, packed my things, and hurried out of the office. Today, as always, I succeeded in leaving work on time. Heh heh.

On my way home in the carriage, I realized that the Crown Prince could prove quite useful. Except that I have to risk my life and gamble in return.