Chapter Seventy-Five: During the Prince's Disappearance

November 20, 2237, Buckingham Palace, 19:07

“Your Highness! Your Highness? Prince Creville! Prince Charles!” The palace was in utter chaos. Eight hours had passed, yet the two princes remained nowhere to be found. Ministers, clueless as to their whereabouts, scrambled in confusion, made worse by the malfunctioning surveillance system.

The princes had disappeared. And this time, it was both of them. This was the most severe royal disappearance case since 2225. Back then, a time machine accident lost a royal heir; now, what calamity would unfold? The princess had fallen gravely ill. Was the dynasty nearing its end?

Perhaps not. At least Prince Tressey’s Welsh Party remained remarkably composed, methodical, as if nothing had happened. Since it was the princes who had vanished, the princess’s Irish Republican Party seemed unconcerned. Yet the Earl of Feilong was deeply intrigued. His side had dispatched people to search for the princes, but the Welsh Party seemed far too... tranquil.

“What’s the matter, Earl Feilong? Curious, are you? Why do you keep glancing at us?” To his surprise, after noticing the Earl’s gaze, Captain Roger strode over, accompanied by Sir Benjamin.

“It’s just that the Creville Party and Lionheart Society are in disarray, even we of the Irish Republican Party are lending a hand. But you Welsh Party people are so, so...” For a moment, the Earl could not find the right word. He glanced at the Welsh Party’s banquet area; they were sitting calmly, eating desserts as if nothing had happened.

“You mean ‘unperturbed’? Or ‘peaceful and serene’?” Captain Roger smiled. “That’s the Welsh Party for you. After weathering those storms years ago, we see things with much more equanimity. In any case, it’s not such a big deal. If I’m not mistaken, the Crown Prince is likely dining with the two princes right now!”

The words thundered through the Earl’s mind—fortunately, he was the only one who heard them.

“What? The Crown Prince? We thought those messages and letters were all fabricated... So all these years, they were real!” The Earl was astonished. The Lionheart Society and Creville Party were already in complete disarray, paying no heed to the conversation between the leaders of the Welsh and Irish Republican Parties.

“You thought so? The Crown Prince has been studying abroad for years, not trapped in the previous century as you believed. That so-called game recruitment incident two months ago was utter nonsense!” Captain Roger spoke with disdain, revealing the truth to the Earl. Sir Benjamin, meanwhile, watched like a spectator and added, “Though we can use temporal causality bugs to return those people safely to their own time, they’ll never be able to come back here, and may lose all memories of this place. It’s for their own good, but...”

“But... the beautiful memories they created here will vanish entirely, right?” Sir Benjamin spoke like a master of sentimental wisdom, and his words breached the Earl’s emotional defenses.

“This reminds me of a story, about a soldier and a princess. The exiled princess, fleeing for her life, encountered a kind-hearted soldier. He didn’t know she was a princess, only saw her as a troubled girl and protected her. Later, the kingdom was restored, and the princess returned to her rightful place. During a coup, the soldier was gravely wounded defending her. It was then the princess realized she had fallen for him. Under her careful tending, the soldier recovered—but lost all memory of the years they spent together.”

“I’ve heard this one—it’s ‘The Fallen Princess and the Loyal Soldier,’ isn’t it? A famous writer’s fairy tale. How did it end?”

“I forget, it was a tragic ending, wasn’t it?”

“No, it was a good ending. In fact, a rather beautiful one!” Benjamin smiled. “Remember the captain beside the princess? He’s much like that loyal soldier now!”

“That captain?” The Earl knew of him. At first, they thought he was Tressey’s subordinate—or Tressey himself. But they had proven Tressey was not from that world a century ago. So, if the princess liked him... it was acceptable.

“Ah, that captain doesn’t know the princess’s true identity, does he?” The Earl knew the Welsh Party’s intelligence network rivaled the entire British Empire.

“We haven’t told anyone, and of course, you Irish Republicans already know.” Captain Roger kept his voice low, aware that this was an Irish Republican “secret.”

“Then, please don’t tell him. After all, Her Highness is still a child who loves fairy tales.”

—Author’s Note—

Actually, this chapter was written at school. I secretly brought a phone to write, but since I usually draft by hand, it was easy to just copy it in! La la la~