Friday, five days before the social gathering.
“…Let’s do our best today, too!”
It was a pleasant Friday that I began by cheering myself on.
Originally, my Friday schedule was fairly simple.
In the morning, I would study on my own, reading books I had borrowed from the library or texts related to the ancient language of the Empire, and in the afternoon, I would be dragged off by Arthur to exercise.
But today, from the morning, one of Arthur’s attendants came rushing to me with a message.
“Your Highness. His Highness the Second Prince said that an urgent matter has come up today that he must attend to, so he will be unable to join you for afternoon training. He also said he is truly regretful that he cannot exercise with you, but that he would be pleased if you could train on your own instead.”
“Ah, is that so? Understood. Thank you for letting me know.”
For the great Arthur to have something urgent enough to prioritize over exercise, whatever it was, it seemed rather serious.
In any case, faced with free time for the first time in a while, I briefly wondered what to do, then closed the Imperial text I had been reading and stretched out fully.
‘I guess I’ll just go for a run by myself, if nothing else.’
The biggest gap I felt when exercising with the Second Prince was basic stamina.
The Second Prince could run for two hours and still be perfectly fine, while I would be gasping for breath after only a short run. Considering that, I thought building up my basic stamina when I exercised alone would make working out with him a little easier.
Thinking back to my past life, when even with a not-particularly-sturdy body I managed to hit the highest running grade by the time I was discharged, stamina training honestly wasn’t impossible if I set my mind to it.
Unlike the sickly body from my previous life that had been aching and groaning whenever it got the chance, Ian Harper’s sturdy body in this life made me think the difficulty would be much lower than that.
“Amber—ah, she’s off duty today. Then can I go out alone?”
I changed into light clothes and left my quarters.
On the way, I grabbed a passing guard and asked if it was all right for me to go exercise, and since he told me to have a safe trip, it seemed I was allowed to leave.
‘Well, if it really isn’t allowed, they’ll stick someone behind me.’
And so I headed to the riverside park that cut across the capital, the place where I had run with the Second Prince last time.
After warming up lightly with some stretches and running along the riverside path, I suddenly realized that my back felt incredibly empty.
‘……They’re not following me?’
When I had first been dragged to the Empire, the moment I took even one step outside the imperial palace, surveillance teams from the Imperial Intelligence Department, including Amber, had clung to my back like shadows.
But now, I couldn’t sense any hidden gazes or footsteps tracking my presence.
I wondered if I simply wasn’t noticing them, but even though the surroundings were an open, unobstructed area, there was no sign of anyone. If they were there, they had to be truly far away.
If I had to guess the reason, was it thanks to getting along well with the imperial family?
It had been a bit tiring, but thanks to that, I seemed to have earned a certain degree of trust as a safe enough guy.
The surveillance having loosened was an encouraging achievement for a hostage.
‘Still, I can’t let my guard down. Just because the leash has gotten longer doesn’t mean there isn’t a leash. I always have to be careful how I conduct myself. And I can’t let anyone find out I’m a fake prince, so I need to be as cautious as possible…’
After running for about two hours straight in the cool river breeze, as if shaking off my stray thoughts, my entire body was drenched in sweat.
I returned to my quarters in the imperial palace, refreshed myself with a cold shower, and even ate a hearty late lunch, and then…
“……I’m bored.”
I had nothing to do.
Lying on the bed and blankly staring up at the ceiling, I soon sat up.
‘Once the social season ends, I’ll have to be worked like a slave in the Crown Prince’s Office anyway…… Rather than going in on the first day without knowing anything and fumbling around, wouldn’t it be better to go in advance and at least look through the handover materials?’
With the mindset of a graduate student from my previous life kicking in, I roughly got dressed and headed straight for the central administrative wing of the imperial palace, where the Crown Prince’s office was located.
#
As I reached the corridor near the Crown Prince’s Office, the fervor of the fierce work going on inside seeped through even the firmly shut door.
“Is the final version of the entry list for the social gathering’s main hall still not out?! It has to be submitted to His Majesty in thirty minutes!!”
“The screening of the nobles from the southern territories still isn’t finished! The list of collaborators from the Sterling Kingdom side keeps getting revised this time……!”
“If it’s Sterling, there aren’t even that many nobles! Just submit it already! His Highness is inside right now……!”
The clatter of typewriters, the frantic sound of papers being flipped through, and the urgent shouts of officials were all tangled together.
And amid that noise, Crown Prince Maximilien’s irritable voice intermittently leaked out from the inner office.
“How many times have I told you to submit it in the proper format? Why is it that the Ministry of Magic can’t follow the format, from the minister down to the lowest clerk? Listen while I’m still asking nicely! Throw it into the shredder at once and rewrite it from the beginning!!”
“Is the final version of the list still not out!? You need to give me at least five minutes to review it so I can read it and submit it to His Majesty! Hurry up and finish it!”
I swallowed dryly and carefully opened the door to the Crown Prince’s Office before stepping inside.
Creeeak—.
And the moment I opened the door and entered.
“……”
The noise that had filled that enormous office stopped all at once, as if someone had pressed a pause button.
Whether it was an official running around with a bundle of documents, a clerk tapping away at a typewriter, or an administrator dipping a pen in ink, every single person froze and turned to look at me standing by the door.
“……”
“……?”
“…Ah, hello. I’m Ian Sterling, and I’ll soon be coming to work here…”
When the noise in the outer office suddenly vanished, Maximilien, sensing something strange, threw open the door to the inner office and came out.
“Why did it suddenly get quiet enough to hear a pin dro…….”
Maximilien, who had come out with his brow furrowed irritably, discovered me standing awkwardly by the door and blinked.
“……Ian Sterling?”
“Ah, Your Highness. Good day.”
“I’m quite certain I mercifully told you that you could start after the social gathering. Why are you already here?”
Maximilien asked in puzzlement as he slid his glasses up.
“My schedule is empty today, so I had some time left over. If I come to work immediately after the social gathering ends, it will take time for me to adjust, and I’ll interfere with Your Highness’s duties…… So I thought I might come in advance, take a look at my office, and read through the handover materials.”
“……”
At my words, Maximilien seemed momentarily at a loss for words, letting out a strange, stammering sound.
His violet eyes trembled faintly, and then he abruptly turned and ran back into his inner office.
Less than ten seconds later, he came darting back out with an incredibly thick bundle of documents tucked under his arm, easily as thick as an encyclopedia, and shoved the heavy stack into my arms.
“What is this?”
“Basic training materials for new officials in the Crown Prince’s Office. An excellent textbook that summarizes the basic framework of the Empire’s administration, economy, and military systems.”
“……This thickness is a summary?”
“The Empire is vast. How could it possibly be summarized simply? Straighten up the office next to yours, take a look around, and read it at your leisure. And after you finish reading, just write a simple one-page report on your impressions of the Empire’s administration and submit it to me. From what I’ve heard, you seem to possess a fair amount of administrative knowledge.”
I could see the corners of Maximilien’s mouth trembling as he forcibly held them down from rising.
“Of course, there’s no need to submit it today. I’m not that wicked of a superior. You only need to hand it in before you officially report to work for the first time after the social gathering ends. What do you think? Quite generous, isn’t it?”
“Yes, well…… I’ll begin reading it now.”
“Good. Leave whenever you see fit while reading.”
I adjusted my hold on the heavy stack of documents and nodded, then walked toward the personal office Maximilien had bestowed upon me a few days earlier.
#
After Ian Sterling entered the room, Maximilien stared at the office door that had closed behind him and stroked his chin.
“……I gave him a vacation, and yet he’s already come to work. Could it be that he actually wanted to work?”
Tilting his head, he eventually failed to hold back and slipped into his own room with his lips twitching.
And the officials in the outer office, who had been watching the entire process with bated breath…
“…Is he insane? To think he wanted to work that badly.”
“Leave him be. He’ll regret it soon enough. You’re supposed to rest when you can. What an idiot.”
“Eh, who knows~ Let’s just do our own work. If we don’t finish this, it’s overtime again today.”
Pitying Ian Sterling, who had stepped into hell of his own accord, they resumed their work.