Our Prince is Too Lovely! - Chapter 1 Part 2

—Adol turned 15 just the other day.

In Hausenland, upon turning 15, the children who inherited the king’s blood would be given trial to be bestowed the title of crown prince. It was a long-standing tradition that the superior candidate who seamlessly completed five trials presented by the Senate would become the next king.

Although they wouldn’t formally be recognized as an adult until 18, entry and participation in high society was allowed at 15, regardless if they were adult or child.

Therefore, 15 years old was a turning point in Hausenland.

To accept his trial, Adol immediately went to visit the Senate.

Seven men surrounded the round table in the middle of the large room. Many of them were older than Adol’s father, the current king.

“For Prince Adolbert, we would like you to go to the Sefera Kingdom and bring back the right to trade natural pearls.”

The one who announced the contents of the trial was Mattis, the youngest among the senators. He should soon be in his forties, but he looked older due to his constant scowl. He wasn’t very friendly with Adol.

“The Sefera kingdom?”

“Indeed. It is not a country that has not interacted with our great nation. However, this trial requires you to compel the current king’s only son. Do you have the resolve to not do this half-heartedly?”

The one grinning with his white beard was the eldest, Weisel. This good-natured elder was an eccentric man who enjoyed nothing more than teasing people. In the first place, it wouldn’t be strange for him to be the first to pass on given his age, but he was the liveliest in this space.

(This gramps looks like one of those evil wizards that show up in fairytales…)

He would kidnap children and use them as ingredients for potions to restore his youth—or so were the types in fairytales. Still, the smug smile on his face was exactly a copy of those wizards.

Because Adol had firmly believed that Weisel was an evil wizard, Weisel would threaten Adol that he would kidnap him whenever Weisel teased the young Adol.

“Of course, you should be prepared that trials are not easy matters.”

It didn’t matter what kind of trial it was to Adol. He just needed to overcome it.

All the members of the Senate quietly observed how Adol’s eyes were full of determination.

“Now, this will be interesting, heh. Duke Eulenberg’s son, Lord Harland, has already completed two trials.”

Weisel stroked his beard as he chuckled, provoking Adol.

Harland was Adol’s cousin who was 4 years older than him. As the son of the current king’s older sister, he was the most anticipated candidate to become the next king.

(…Now it’s interesting, gramps? I got my life on the line for this…!)

The muscles on Adol’s cheek twitched at Weisel’s goading, but he somehow managed to make a smile.

“Since Prince Adol will be starting his trials now, he’ll first need to catch up before there’s any talk of a competition.”

“That’s true. Otherwise, it’ll be boring.”

Adol wasn’t undergoing this trial for the sake of entertaining these old men, but if he lost his temper here, they would judge that as him lacking the qualifications to become king.

Was he worthy to become king? Well, he would be tested starting now.

Bathed in the gazes of the seven people, Adol announced with determined eyes.

“Of course. I’ll show you that I can catch up to him right away.”

“…Very well. We will only observe the results of your trials. Prove that you are worth to become king with your power.”

Adol nodded firmly at Mattis’ words, bowed, and left the room.

 

“—And, that’s what happened.”

When he returned to his room, Adol immediately told the contents of the trial to Ray.

There had been no strong connection between Hausenland and Sefera up until now. He couldn’t undergo this trial right away.

After all, his target was a country. He couldn’t force his way with his circumstances and finish the job.

“…What should I do?”

“Because it’s a trial, it doesn’t seem like it’ll be an easy task to do.”

It seemed that Ray couldn’t come up with a good method right away. She pondered with a bitter expression.

Adol also wracked his brain when “BAM!” the door was thrown open.

“I heard about your trial!”

With light wavy hair flowing down her back, Adol’s younger twin sister Linol brazenly entered his room. She wasn’t the modest type to knock first.

“I kept asking you to at least knock.”

What was he to do if he was in the middle of changing clothes?

“You aren’t a shy maiden, Adol. Are you hiding something that would trouble you if the door was suddenly opened?”

“Of course!”

“Something that you can’t even show your cute, cute twin sister?”

“Yes! …That’s normal?”

“Really?”

Adol became more and more uneasy with each question.

“…Huh? Now that you’ve said that, I don’t think there’s anything?”

“Lord Adol, you’ve always been cajoled like that.”

Ray’s exasperated voice caused Adol to quickly reset his thinking. Linol had always used her words to cleverly manipulate Adol.

“That reminds me. What about you? You’re not taking a trial?”

The only qualification to become king was inheriting the king’s blood, regardless of gender. Naturally, this group included Linol.

Adol intended to become king and thus expressed his desire to undergo a trial as soon as possible to avoid wasting even a second, but Linol didn’t show up. Since they were twins, it was obvious that they shared the same birthday. Linol should have also been given the opportunity to undergo a trial.

“Stu~pid. If I were to undergo the trials, I’ll leave you in the dust and finish up in a flash. It’ll be the birth of a queen in Hausenland~.”

Linol poked her thin finger against Adol’s nose.

“…You’ve got an amazing overabundance of confidence.”

“Lord Adol might want to learn a little from her.”

Ray’s small chuckle caused Adol’s shoulders to drop.

He also thought so himself, but there was no need for Ray to say that though…!

“I’ll put a hold on my trials. Well, I have no desire to become queen now? I can also waive my right to participate, but—I’ll do that after I observe a bit more.”

Adol had already vaguely sensed Linol’s disinterest in the throne. While he didn’t know why she didn’t waive her right immediately, Linol must have had some reason.

Linol listened to Adol’s distressed groan. She would always joke that Adol was dumb and give him advice about everything. She came this time to do the same without exception.

“So? What’s with that in your hand?”

When Adol looked, he saw that Linol had an envelope in her hand.

Recently, letters containing marriage proposals had been often delivered to Linol, but she wouldn’t bother carrying it all the way here to her older twin brother.

Generally, she never nodded to any marriage proposal, returned formulaic responses to people she had never met, and went as far as to burn the letters.

“For your first trial, you have to go to Sefera, right? I heard their king is a lady-killer.”

Adol wondered where Linol got her information from as she somehow knew every detail about his trial.

It was a mystery how the contents he was just told were already known to Linol.

Adol nodded, resolving to not think deeply about it. Linol sat opposite of him and continued, “And so,” at her own pace.

“You can’t suddenly visit a place you have a decent connection to, but, at the same time, you’re short on time. You’ve been wracking your head over this, right?”

“That’s exactly right. It’s scary how much you know, Linol.”

When Adol’s face stiffened, Linol chuckled in delight.

She waved the invitation letter she had in a suggestive way to Adol.

“What do you think this is~?”

“No, that’s why I was asking about it.”

Adol’s unamused reaction caused Linol to puff out her cheeks.

“Argh, you’re supposed to guess, idiot! This is an invitation sent from the Sefera Kingdom.”

“Hah?!”

Adol involuntarily let out a frenzied voice.

How and why was an invitation to Sefera delivered to Linol?

“That’s why~ I was thinking you could use this to go to Sefera.”

Linol offered a great idea, but Adol was confused.

“What? I mean, it’s addressed to you. Wouldn’t it be weird if I went?”

Linol faced her older twin and let out a huge sigh.

“You really are stupid. You just have to go as me. Why do you think we’re twins?”

“No, twins are determined at birth. Even if I wasn’t born your twin for that reason, I didn’t become your big brother because of that either.”

Linol sounded disgruntled, so Adol quietly commented on it.

(…Hm?)

Wait. Didn’t she say something weird just now?

“…I? As you?”

When Adol repeated to confirm, Linol gave a satisfied smile.

“Right, Adol will be Princess Linolarth.”

Linol slowly stated to emphasize her point. But, Adol’s mind couldn’t keep up.

Linol always said outrageous things, but this time might be her best yet.

I mean, Adol as Linol?

“Whoa?! No matter how you put it, that’s wrong!”

In short, Adol would cross-dress and go to Sefera, pretending to be Linol—that was what she was saying. They looked similar because they were twins. Even when they were young, Linol had badgered him to do a prank where they changed places. But, that was when they were young.

“Say what you like, but that’s impossible! I’m already a proper man!”

“You say that, but you were also male when you were born. I wonder if it’s truly impossible. I think you can do it.”

“Right?” Linol asked Ray who had been quiet and reserved the whole time.

Ray’s fixed stare looked as if she could see everything, unnerving Adol.

“If I may objectively state, I do not believe there is a problem.”

Her extremely realistic statement caused Adol to shout.

“That’s absurd!”

“You two are identical twins, and Lord Adol has a delicate figure.”

Ray’s harsh truth caused Adolt to shout even more.

“Don’t call me delicate!”

Even though he knew, he didn’t want it pointed out. It was true that compared to his peers, Adol was possibly, just a little, really just slightly, shorter. But, it wasn’t enough to mistake him for a girl…or it shouldn’t!

“You don’t have the luxury to choose your ways, right? If you don’t hurry up, Harland will quickly finish all his trials.”

“You don’t have to touch a sore spot?!”

Harland had long started his trials and already finished two of them. Still, he started when he was 17, so he only had a two-year headstart from Adol.

The superior Harland had already garnered high hopes from the nobles as the closest candidate to become the next king…even higher than the current king’s son, Adol.

“Besides, if I were to leave you alone, you might be do things the wrong way. That’s happened before.”

Among her exasperated words, a tinge of concern could be felt, causing Adol to swallow back his words.

About five years ago, Adol copied Harland and went a bit overboard.

Since he was young, Adol disliked Harland.

He was constantly compared to Harland and heard how thoroughly magnificent he was.

Everyone desired a prince like Harland. That was why the 10-year-old Adol struggled to do all he could to be able to do what the 14-year-old Harland could.

Naturally, Adol couldn’t do anything Harland did since he was four years younger.

He couldn’t even hold the same sword or study the same amount as Harland.

‘Everyone sees Harland as the prince, right!? If I’m like Harland, they’ll be happy, right!?’

He had screamed that and cried.

It wasn’t that Adol was inadequate. Harland was just too superior.

But, with the ideal prince this close to him, it unconsciously put Adol under severe pressure.

Still, Adol didn’t lose sight of himself because Ray was with him.

“…You don’t have to be someone you’re not.”

When Adol cried that he wanted to be Harland, Ray conveyed her sadness.

“I like Lord Adol the way he is.”

She told him that he didn’t need to struggle and force himself to be someone else.

When he gets bigger, he can become like Harland. If he works hard, he can become strong enough to win against Harland. There were many people who consoled Adol this way, but only Ray told him to be himself.

That was why Adol wanted to become king as himself.

Ray’s words gave Adol salvation, so much so that it turned his childhood reliance on her into affection.

“Also, Adol.”

Linol suddenly drew close and sat next to him. As if telling a secret, she whispered in his ear.

“If you slack, you’ll stay like this for your whole life, you know? Don’t you want to show Ray that you’re a capable man?”

The matter said in such a soft voice that only his ears could hear made Adol blush. It was embarrassing that his younger twin sister had seen through so much of his love.

“O-of course I would want to show her my cool side…!”

Ray discerned that this secret conversation wasn’t meant to be heard, so she distanced herself and began to pour some tea.

If it was heard, Adol would probably die from embarrassment.

“At this rate, she’ll never see you as anything more. This trial is a good opportunity.”

Did that mean that Ray didn’t view Adol as a man at all?

These words pierced him. As Adol held his chest, he gave a small nod.

This trial might indeed be a chance. If he showed his manliness here, Ray’s heart might skip a beat for him!

“…Still, does everyone truly believe that Harland would make a good king?”

Linol’s suggestive whisper caused Adol to make a strange face.

“Yeah?”

“I wonder what makes a truly good king. Is there a person out there who’s completely perfect?”

“…Yeah?”

He felt like she was saying something scary for some reason.

As proof, he felt a chill down his back. It was strange. It was currently summer.

“Well, whatever. You can say that Adol’s charm is how completely naïve you are.”

“…Somehow, I feel like you’re making fun of me.”

As Ray finished up lining the teacups, Linol moved to the sofa on the other side. It appeared that the secret talk between twins had finished.

“It’s a well-known story that the King of Sefera loves women. So, don’t you think it’ll be more effective to go as a female?”

Adol doubted that it would be that easy as he drank his tea.

“…In the first place, why did he invite Lady Linol?”

When Ray curiously asked, Linol replied, “Who knows?” with a suggestive face, making it unclear if she knew or didn’t.

“Isn’t it because tales of my beauty had finally reached Sefera?”

Adol wryly smiled at her immense confidence as he looked down at the invitation left on the table.

Adol had a goal to become king.

He had to finish his trials as soon as possible and prove that he was worthy to become king.

“…Do you really think it’ll work?”

“Are you on board? If you have doubts, then try it out first!”

With a snap of Linol’s fingers, several maids entered the room as if they had been waiting since the beginning. In their hands, they had properly prepared dresses and makeup tools.

“Y-you…! You even prepared this much?! Or rather, you just wanted to play with me?!”

“Of course!”

In the blink of an eye, the maids surrounded Adol and transformed him into an adorable princess. He couldn’t help but wonder how and when Linol had prepared the long, blonde wig, yellow-green dress, and shoes in Adol’s size.

His skin had always been smooth and white like a girl’s, so just some blush on his cheeks increased his loveliness. They applied a rose-red color to his lips and light pink to the corners of his eyes.

He remained obedient like a dress-up doll, and the maids announced in satisfaction, “It’s perfect!”

Relieved that it was finally over, Adol opened his eyes and looked at the mirror prepared in front of him.

“—Huh? Linol?”

The one reflected was, without a doubt, his younger sister. But, what a stupid face she was making. She looked flabbergasted with her eyes wide and mouth open.

“Don’t say something stupid. There’s no way I would make such an idiotic face.”

When he turned to the direction Linol’s cold voice came from, the person was naturally there. In the first place, mirrors only reflected what was in front of them…

“Eh? This is me?”

“It is unmistakably Lord Adol.”

Ray’s declaration caused Adol to look at the mirror again. When he blinked, the Linol inside the mirror also blinked. The maids sparkled, their faces filled with a sense of accomplishment.

“Ama~zing! You’re so adorable!”

“No matter how you look at him, he’s a princess!”

Adol staggered at the numerous words stabbing him as he was forced to admit it.

The plan wasn’t at all impossible.

(But, I can’t be happy about this as a man, right?!)

Seeing how perfect he looked in female clothes truthfully made him want to cry a little.

★★★

 

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