Chapter 2 (1/2)

It was now the second day since Ernst had fallen from his rank as Crown Prince.

All of the butlers and maids went to attend to the new Crown Prince. Regardless if Ernst was also there, they spoke only of the child Crown Prince. Though we aren’t to make brand new outfits for the little Crown Prince, how about we craft a chair and desk which fits him? And such. Though those items were what Ernst had used in the past, now they would be replaced by something completely new for the Crown Prince. If Ernst’s memory wasn’t wrong, what he had used was what the previous generations of Crown Princes had also used.

The mother of the next Crown Prince was the daughter of Marquesse Katalina. The family of the Marquesse was exceptionally affluent, and had the same amount of fortune as the King.

Before breakfast, Ernst took a walk through the garden. Up until now, the inside of the Crown Prince’s palace was always the same; wherever he went, the Imperial Guard followed after him without fail. But today… Ernst regarded the change in his surroundings, and more than anger, what he felt rise in him was a laugh.

Once, everyone and anyone had to kneel to Ernst. But ever since this morning, or rather, since yesterday, no one had bothered to look at Ernst. Though he was certainly still there, he had truly been made to feel that he had already disappeared.

When Ernst had still been young, wherever he went, people would scurry after him; no matter what he was doing, someone would talk to him, or reach out to him, to the point where he wanted to retreat into himself and find some space to be alone. He had made several attempts to hide, but in just a slight amount of time he would always be found. He remembered quietly staying silent as the servants scolded him.

I…

Ernst spoke to himself.

Had I wanted to be the Crown Prince? Had I wanted to become King?

Or, had I wanted to find freedom?

When he saw the large man attending the bathing chambers, Ernst felt surprise.

He had thought that this manservant’s heart would also be stolen away by the next Crown Prince, and so Ernst had expected for no one to be in the bathing chambers. No matter how low this manservant’s status may be, he should still surely know that Ernst was no longer the Crown Prince. With an appearance no different from before, he washed Ernst as usual.

Suddenly, Ernst wanted to ask for his name.

Now that Ernst was no longer the Crown Prince, it would no longer be disrespectful for him to answer Ernst’s words.

But Ernst didn’t speak up. Even if he asked for the giant man’s name, he was afraid that there wouldn’t be any response. Ernst’s existence was now as thin and unnoticeable as air. If he spoke, only for his words to be passed by without acknowledgement, the mental blow he’d suffer would be too overwhelming. It wasn’t that Ernst was that fragile, but for some reason he felt that he couldn’t bear it if this manservant treated his existence as nothing.

His boorish fingers carefully and skillfully washed Ernst’s delicate body as they always did. Every time the manservant moved, Ernst watched the smooth movements of his muscles.

Even now, the bath had always been a place for Ernst to think. After a day’s lesson, he would revisit his lessons in the bath, and come up with questions to ask his tutors for the next day. He thought deeply over the history of the Kingdom, and pondered over and over again the administration he would implement when he became King.

The bath was also a place to deeply immerse himself.

That said, now that he had been dismissed from his rank, this became only a place to not think about anything. Though, this was also a place where Ernst could gaze upon the giant man who kneeled as he served Ernst.