Picking Up the Exiled Prince

Translator: CleiZz

Editor: Geli

Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!

Ch  2: The Reason for Escaping

After the soldiers’ surprise visit, Danis took a short breather before slipping the pistol into his coat that was hanging in the closet. He began to put his things back in order with ease.

 As Alan’s mind finally calmed down from the soldiers’ visit, he began to examine the wig he was presently wearing and wondered why Danis had such a thing.

 Too well prepared.

 It wasn’t unusual for people to have pistols and weapons in this country, but the way he handled them and the speed with which he responded to soldiers when they arrived. Regardless of how Alan, who had grown up in the royal palace, thought about it, it seemed like Danis was no ordinary person.

 I’m not sure what kind of person this guy Danis is. In the back of his mind, Alan wondered if he could really rely on this man.

“Who are you?”

 Danis paused for a bit at Alan’s questions, then he slowly turned to Alan in the middle of his preparations.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about. There’s a good chance they’ll be back. I’ll be out of here before dawn. I admire you for escaping from the castle guards, but if you want to keep running, you’ll have to do it alone. If you want to follow me, I won’t stop you.”

“But?”

“If you want to turn back, now is the time… Unless you’re ready to give up everything.”

After plainly saying these words, Danis resumed his preparations.

 Danis asked him if he was prepared to throw everything away. He was probably asking if,  as a prince, he could completely abandon his previous life.

 You can go back now? When Alan heard that, he hugged his knees, and the dark feelings that he had been trying to supress earlier welled up. He pushed down the feeling of wanting to cry and quietly let out a bitter laugh.

“It’s not like I have a place in that castle anymore. Without the title of a prince, I’m just a child. Am I not just a bother to you?”

Danis finished dressing, glanced at Alan once, then sat down in the chair as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He sipped a cup of cold coffee and smiled faintly as if something was funny.

“If it bothers you that much, then you’ve been bothering me since I carried you here.”

It was just mere words.

 Alan didn’t know why, but as soon as he heard those words, the tears that he thought had already receded were filling up his eyelids and blurring his vision.

  Somehow, it felt like Danis’s words didn’t seem to push Alan away or to sympathize with him, but seemed to say that he should just do what he liked. Even though it was the first time they had met, Alan felt such a sense of relief made him forget his earlier anxiety.

 After a while, Danis put his arm through a coat, and lightly placed his hand on Alan’s head, who was still bent over and hugging his knees, and said, “I’m going out for a bit.”. He went out the front door.

 The rain had already stopped when Danis stepped outside. He took a cigarette out from his coat pocket and lit it.

 ”This seems to be more important than I thought. “

 After smoking a bit more, he continued down the alleyway, making sure to avoid any soldiers.

 After Danis left the room, Alan rolled over on the bed and faced up. He gazed at the ceiling of the modest house before realizing with a start.

After all that, I still haven’t asked him his name!

 The fact that he had been deceived so well made him feel a bit wary, but he lay back down on the bed and with a heavy sigh.

 Well in my case, I still haven’t told him why I am being chased by soldiers. In the first place though, this Danis guy never asked. Alan wasn’t sure if he just didn’t want to know or if he was waiting for him to speak about it himself.

 I still don’t know if I can trust him.

 But Alan didn’t have any other choices in this situation. The touch of a soft bed… the smell of warm coffee and beans… he never thought he’d be able to experience such things again.

 The day of sorrow and despair that had led Alan to his current situation happened a week ago. He gripped the sheets tightly and as he started recalling it.

 It was on a day just like today; it was raining hard and he couldn’t sleep that night. He heard the sound of something falling and of breaking glass coming from the king’s, Alan’s father’s, bedroom.

 When he entered the bedroom, he found the king lying on the bed with blood pouring out of his wounded stomach.

“Father? What the hell is this? What is — ? “

 Confused by the current situation, he called out to see if anyone was there who could get help. A maidservant immediately rushed to the scene, cried out shrilly in surprise, and then ran to get a doctor.

 As that was happening, the king coughed up blood and then tightened his grip on Alan’s hand.

“Alan… run away… hurry…”

 Then the king coughed once more, before his grip on Alan’s hand weakened, and he seemingly lost consciousness.

 While confused by the king’s words, Alan looked around the room and saw that the glass window had been broken. Someone might have entered through there. Alan tightened his grasp on the king’s hand.

“I’m fine! So stay strong and be careful…”

 The king looked at Alan and smiled gently. Then, as if he’d used up all his energy, his hand suddenly became limp and slipped from Alan’s grasp.

“Father! Father!!!?”

 Alan hugged the king and wept, tears streaming down his face at this unexpected tragedy. 

 The maidservant then arrived with a doctor, but the doctor merely shook his head when he saw the king’s condition. While Alan was in a daze and unable to keep up with the suddenness of the situation, the Prime Minister, a small, fat, middle-aged man of huge stature named Gabriel, had arrived after hearing of the situation.

“This is…! The King…! Oh my God, such a thing…!”

 The Prime Minister fell to his knees in apparent disbelief.

 A military police officer hurriedly entered the room.

“I’m sorry, sir! With all due respect, I’d like to report that a suspicious object was found in the prince’s room.”

 What the military police timidly presented was a small knife with blood on its blade.

 Everyone present then showed shocked expressions on their faces except Alan. He was still unable to accept the reality of the king’s death and could only dumbly look at what the military police had presented.

 He vaguely heard the voices around him saying, “Oh no” and “No way.”. But he could not understand what they were saying. He had been asleep earlier, and it was only when he noticed the noise that he ran to … 

“I can’t believe such a thing. But if you have proof, there’s nothing we can do… Take him away.”

 Prime Minister Gabriel, who should have been on his knees, then instructed the soldiers. The soldiers were urged to take Alan away after he was separated from the king.

“What are you saying? I’m the king’s son! You can’t really believe that I would raise a hand against the King.”

 The Prime Minister Gabriel shook his head, and the people around Alan looked at him somewhat scornfully. Everyone who was in this castle knew that Alan was doted on by the king. And yet he was suspected? Alan’s mind went blank at the incomprehensible situation.

 Then he suddenly remembered the last words of the king. Run away. This is what he meant by it… 

 After that, despite his protests, Prince Alan, was thrown in jail for allegedly murdering the king.

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