Since the man proved to be more valuable a.s.set than anyone rather than a burden, I can no longer tell him to go home, so I had no choice but to give him a more detailed explanation of the situation.

"And… On the way to granny, Princess encountered that man and ran to him"
"… Lidi"

Seeing the Crown Prince press down on his forehead while hearing the story, I wanted to tell him I understand his feelings.

"It was completely unplanned; it seems she went with the flow. Afterwards her face said she"d messed up"
"… I bet"

After hearing the story until now, the Crown Prince nodded like he was convinced.

"What do I say, it"s just like Lidi…"

At the moment the Crown Prince tried to continue speaking after sighing, the door opened with a clank. Who came out was a middle-aged man with a chef"s hat.
Seeing the Crown Prince, his eyes went round.

"… Eh? Your Highness the Crown Prince?"

The Crown Prince slowly looked over his shoulder towards the surprised voice.
The man who came from the shop"s back entrance had his mouth wide-open as if to say he can"t believe it, and was looking here dumbfounded.
Looking at the Crown Prince with black hair normally you wouldn"t notice his ident.i.ty, yet the man could distinguish him. Probably they"re acquainted.

"… Ah… It"s you, huh"

Just as I thought, seeing him the Crown Prince smiled like he knew who the man was.
His expression instantly turned calm.
I was taken aback by the extreme change.

"Certainly you are the shopkeeper Lars. Thank you for the delicious curry the other day. I"m sorry for suddenly disturbing today. My fiancée should now be lined at the front. I cannot tell you details of the circ.u.mstances, but I would be saved if you could say nothing to her"
"Eh… Has Master come"
"Yeah"

As the Crown Prince forbid him from speaking in a polite tone, the man called Lars looked back towards the shop once, and then scratched his cheek troubledly.

"Err, I understand it"s an order from Your Highness the Crown Prince… However keeping a secret from Master is a little…"

The other party may be the Crown Prince but he still tried to refuse, probably out of sense of duty towards Princess.
All the employees of this shop revere Princess as their master. For cooks the existence called master seems absolute, I guess the point is that they can"t disrespect Princess who"s that to them.
It seems the Crown Prince knows that too, as he asked once again while showing a certain degree of understanding.

"Of course I"ll explain the situation to her later. However, unfortunately I am moving secretly at this moment. It might be a matter related to national politics. Could I request your cooperation?"
"Na, national politics!? … If, if that is the case. I understand"

The man nodded in a fl.u.s.ter at the words national politics. He must not have expected it to be so important.
As for me, I was simply impressed by the Crown Prince"s smooth deception.
Amazing, he didn"t lie.
Certainly, if you consider that man to be the tactician, there"s no problem relating it to national politics.
But actually he"s only worried about Princess, I could strangely understand how he hid it in his words.
Having the shopkeeper promise to contact him if something happens, the Crown Prince told him to return to the shop.
All this time he"d maintained a calm smile.
But, the moment he confirmed the shopkeeper disappeared behind the door, the Crown Prince erased his expression in an instant and said to me.

"We"re moving"
"… Yeah"

I immediately understood that the previous behavior is what he shows to the people.
And, that there"s no need to show it to me. No, he"s right about that… But what do I say, he"s like another person.
As the man showed a splendid change, I wondered if every politician is like that.
But, come to think of it, even Princess changes her speaking style depending on the other party.
Like it"s somebody"s else"s problem, I thought that it"s bothersome being n.o.bility or royalty.
In accordance with the Crown Prince"s words that I had no particular reason to oppose, I decided to stop peeking inside and wait for Princess outside the store
Hidden by the bushes we just kept waiting.
I"d never worried about the pa.s.sage of time back when I was an a.s.sa.s.sin, but it feels strange to have a person next to me. Rather, it makes me conscious of time.
When I checked on the Crown Prince"s state with my gaze, he was staring fixedly at the shop entrance without making slightest movements.
The aura he"s creating is too disturbing, so I immediately averted my gaze.

… Uwaa, he"s in a bad mood.

He"s the Crown Prince who"s infatuated with Princess. He must be absolutely unable to accept Princess eating alone with a man other than him. Still, he seems to understand what he ought to do and is holding himself back with his sheer willpower.

"… Um, listen. Don"t worry so much…"

I shrugged my shoulders as he glared at me.
It didn"t look like Princess harbored love for that man, and we also talked to the shopkeeper. There"s an arrangement in place that he"ll notify us if anything happens.
I think there"s no need to worry so much, but the Crown Prince"s opinion seems different.

"That"s not the problem. Lidi is alone with a man where my eyes can"t reach, honestly, I want to stop them right now"
"… Being too jealous will get you hated"
"That"s why I"m putting up with it… Silence. They"re coming out"
"… Alrighty"

As the Crown Prince further erased his presence, while nodding I did the same.
The man is heading towards the outer gate. Apparently, Princess is coming with him.
Making sure to not get noticed, I and the Crown Prince promptly chased after them.

The two of them stopped in a place close to the outer gate. The man bid Princess farewell, and easily turned around.
It seems like this the man will leave the country.
There"s no sign of Princess wanting to stop or chase after him.
If they part like this, there"s nothing better.
The Crown Prince, who"s peeking at them next to me, must also understand that from the contest of their talk.
At a glance he had a relieved face. Still, he was grumbling.

"That man… Called her Lidi without an honorific…"
"Some time ago… Princess allowed it, so isn"t it fine. It"s not really a special name just for you…"
"Of course I know that, but it feels bad. Reason and feelings are different"
"… I see. Do whatever you want"

Seeing the Crown Prince"s state, I breathed a large sigh.
It"s only a name.
Aah, I"m truly glad nothing happened…
It"s a weight off my shoulders that they didn"t step on a landmine, but then suddenly a girl burst in. Once again I hurriedly looked at the situation.
The girl called the name of the man who was about to leave and with all her strength embraced him, but at that moment the hood covering her slipped off, revealing small cat ears. I opened my eyes wide at her appearance.

"Hee, it"s a cat beastman. It"s the first time I see one, how rare"

Her tail rose happily.
While I was fixedly observing the first beastman I"ve seen, the Crown Prince next to me put his hand on his chin and began pondering with a serious face.
Seeing his awfully serious expression, I called out to him.

"…"
"… Oi, what is it?"

He still had his gaze on the two embracing each other.
Fixedly staring at them, the Crown Prince nodded like he was convinced, and briefly informed me of the conclusion he"d reached.

"… That man being the tactician is probably the truth"
"Ha…?"

My eyes darted about in surprise as he declared that confidently.
Without turning to me, the Crown Prince indifferently explained his reasoning.

"I thought his name was suspicious enough, but this settles it… That beastman girl has traces of an ankle ring on her left leg. An iron ring on a left ankle is the sign of Tarim slaves. Looking at its trace, she was only released recently. Going by their conversation, there"s no doubt that the little girl was released from slavery and followed him from Tarim"
"… Err, and?"

I don"t get it all at all. How did he reach the conclusion that he"s the tactician with that.
When I urged him to continue, the Crown Prince directed his gaze at me for an instant. His gaze was sharp.

"Judging from their talk, in all probability that man freed the beastman girl from slavery. But, it"s something unthinkable in the country called Tarim. It"s not well-known, but there"s nothing like emanc.i.p.ation of slaves in Tarim. Basically, once you become a slave you remain one for a lifetime. And yet, such a small girl, moreover a beastman, was released. Why was it allowed. What if he made an impression as the tactician and wanted that as the reward? It"s plenty possible since he"s a foreigner. No, it"s the only explanation. That"s why I deduced he"s the tactician, but - ah, however, he expressly wished for the emanc.i.p.ation of a slave as a reward. Probably Tarim"s top bra.s.s thought that even after she"s released they can use her to detain him… But from the girl"s story I can also understand that apparently their predictions were off. We received information that the Tarim tactician absconded immediately following the last war… Then considering the traces of an ankle ring, he freed the girl just before the war… Huh. There"s no mistaking it. Everything fits. However, him being the tactician leaves some questions. Why did he disappear. His wish was granted, and he received an exceptional treatment for a foreigner. Guessing from the circ.u.mstantial evidence, he was unwilling to work for Tarim,  considering that…"
"I, I see…"

His talk still continued, but I completely gave up on understanding it.

"Another thing I wonder about is his reason for coming to Wilhelm――――"

The Crown Prince continued muttering while collecting his thoughts. He seems to no longer hear my voice.
I thought he was burning with jealousy until now, and yet now he"s calmly inferring the man"s current situation.
I couldn"t hide how surprised I was by that gap.
I was convinced that this is one of the reasons why he"s extolled as the excellent Crown Prince.
When I for some reason returned my gaze to the two people, the girl was sobbing from relief on the man"s chest.
Princess was watching this scene absentmindedly, and before long she smiled with very gentle eyes.
With an affectionate smile on her face, she turned her back to them in silence.
Princess"s expression as she began walking was very refreshed. With her anxiety gone, it was the usual, bright Princess.
… I don"t quite get it, but at least I understood Princess apparently lost interest in him.

"… I"m glad"

It finished without anything strange happening. So I thought.
Princess is unmistakably going towards granny"s house now. She finally felt like returning to her original plan. The moment I patted my chest, relieved from the bottom of my heart.

―――― The man who"s the tactician called Princess to a halt.

Mixed in that voice was surprise… and for some reason a strange yearning.
Called out to, Princess slowly looked back.
Disbelief showed on the man"s surprised face.
He parted with the girl, and in a daze approached Princess. And seemingly unconsciously, he reached out his hand.
Seeing the movement as if he wanted Princess, my instinct rang the warning sound.

… This is bad.

Reflexively I thought so. I stood up in panic.
But, the man next to me moved faster.
The Crown Prince who had already stood up, warned the Tarim tactician in a sharp voice.

"Get away from my consort"

As he talked to the tactician, he was different from before when he had been burning with jealousy.
Hearing his absolute zero voice, I also further tightened my expression.
I immediately understood he also sensed the danger.
Reacting to the Crown Prince"s voice, Princess turned her gaze towards the Crown Prince… and me, and made an extremely surprised face.

… Aah, sorry.

In the end I was found out before confessing to Princess.

I prepared myself to be reprimanded until she"s satisfied after we return, and quietly accepted Princess"s gaze.