WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: nemui

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Forgotten Curse Knight ◈

Vol. 3 Ch. 7: The Sharp Crown Prince and the Paper-Bag Old Man

──────

The Prince of Rukeion is the title borne by the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Lunoa.

Deeply trusted by His Majesty the King, he currently holds real authority over the Erington Army and is said to command it from Goatreil Castle.

Crown Prince Richard turned forty this year. He was a rugged man with neatly groomed short brown hair. His military uniform suited his tall, well-trained frame.

As he sat on the sofa, Crown Prince Richard possessed the dignity unique to one who stood above others.

Meanwhile, their superior, Gray Knights Commander JJ, sat opposite him with a heartbreaking lack of dignity. He was a suspicious-looking man wearing a paper bag.

Even the way he hunched his slightly fleshy back as he sat was that of a weary middle-aged man. At least in front of the Crown Prince, Theo wished he would sit up a little straighter.

Theo kept glancing at JJ's paper bag.

（Is it really okay for him to wear a paper bag even before His Highness the Crown Prince...? Won't he get angry and call him disrespectful...?）

Behind Crown Prince Richard stood two guards in Royal Feather uniforms.

Behind the sofa where JJ sat stood Administrator Archibald, a bespectacled man with slicked-back dark brown hair.

Theo and Hugo entered the room and stood beside him.

Crown Prince Richard looked at Theo and Hugo.

His piercing gaze made Theo's heart jump for a moment. He had powerful eyes.

Theo's admired hero, Elbert Randolph, was the same. Gentle, but with strength in his eyes.

"I am Richard, first prince of the Kingdom of Lunoa. Gray Knights bearing the Curses of 〈Domination〉 and 〈Oblivion〉, state your names."

Hugo's mouth froze into a triangle. That was the face of someone whose mind had gone completely blank from nerves.

So Theo spoke first.

"I am Theo, bearer of 〈Oblivion〉."

"I am Hugo, bearer of 〈Domination〉!"

Those powerful eyes assessed Theo and Hugo in turn.

At times like this, Theo had a habit of staring straight into the other person's eyes. It came from his desire to make them remember him.

When Theo met his gaze directly, Crown Prince Richard lifted one corner of his mouth.

"Good eyes."

Even his voice carried strength. Being praised by him somehow made Theo happy.

Then a feeble voice cut in. It belonged to JJ, the paper-bag-wearing commander of the Gray Knights.

"Um, so, what business do you have with these two...?"

"I received word from the Papal See. They demand that the Gray Knights of 〈Domination〉 and 〈Oblivion〉 be brought to Holy Knight Order headquarters."

Theo instinctively exchanged looks with Hugo.

（We're going to Holy Knight Order headquarters...?）

"They say, 'Both 〈Domination〉 and 〈Oblivion〉 are dangerous things that could bring chaos to the world if used for evil. Therefore, His Holiness the Pope himself shall judge whether they are vessels worthy to fight alongside holy knights, the apostles of the angels.'"

Theo was even more shocked.

In other words, the Pope would secretly visit Holy Knight Order headquarters to meet them.

（Is this something that happens often to Gray Knights...!?）

Theo glanced sideways at Hugo. Hugo shook his head with a face that plainly said, How would I know!? This is the first I've heard of it!

Crown Prince Richard stroked his beard and lifted one corner of his mouth.

"So I thought I would see with my own eyes the Gray Knights the Pope is so eager to meet."

"Ah, so it's kind of a 'I'll see them before the Pope does' thing..."

Theo stared at JJ in alarm.

What a way to speak to the Crown Prince! Theo shrank his shoulders, expecting JJ to be scolded, but unexpectedly, Crown Prince Richard threw back his head and laughed.

"Haha! Precisely. Is it not insolent for the Pope to summon the property of the royal family?"

"Well, if they cleared it with you first, isn't that fine...? Besides, we Gray Knights do fight alongside holy knights sometimes, so stirring up trouble would be a little difficult, I'd say..."

Richard gave a ferocious smile to JJ's mumbled objections.

"They were the ones who stirred the waters first. In that case, would it not be unavoidable to swallow them with an even greater wave?"

"People like me get swept up and swallowed by those waves, so I'd really appreciate it if you didn't... Yes."

His voice was muffled through the paper bag and terribly indistinct. If he was going to object, Theo wished he would try a little harder.

Even while they spoke, neither of the Crown Prince's guards nor Administrator Archibald changed expression. Only Theo and Hugo were visibly flustered.

When Crown Prince Richard ended his seemingly casual exchange with JJ, he addressed Theo and Hugo.

"Bearer of 〈Oblivion〉, bearer of 〈Domination〉, I have already read the reports concerning you. Including the recent subjugation of Termea in the village of Rejilna..."

He paused there. Crown Prince Richard narrowed his eyes as though looking at something far away, his brow furrowing.

"...I see. It truly is an unusual power. Since I possess no blessing, I am already beginning to forget your face and name. And I am normally good at remembering people's faces and names."

His appraising eyes held the confidence and composure of an overwhelmingly powerful man, along with calculation.

Faced with the unknown power of the Oblivion Curse, this Crown Prince was neither afraid nor disturbed by it. He was considering whether it could be useful to him.

"If remembering you benefits me, I shall use every means to record your name. Bearer of Oblivion. Accomplish deeds that even I cannot forget. Then I shall grant you the honor you desire."

At those words, Theo's body moved naturally.

He placed his right hand over his chest and bowed his head.

"As you command, Your Highness."

* * *

Diego Falke, Captain of the Fifth Knight Division, found Commander-in-Chief Ross smoking on the balcony and stood beside him.

Clergy and holy knights were not specifically forbidden from smoking, but it was discouraged. Smoking was strictly prohibited in sacred places and meeting rooms especially, so they could not smoke cigarettes or pipes during meetings.

For former soldiers and former mercenaries, that was quite hard.

So whenever Diego wanted a smoke, he went out to a balcony with few people around. At such times, he often ran into Commander-in-Chief Ross, a former soldier himself.

After lighting his cigarette, Diego spoke in a tone that could have been either casual conversation or a monologue.

"It looks like word about the other day reached His Highness Crown Prince Richard."

By "the other day," he meant that the Pope wished to meet the Gray Knights bearing 〈Domination〉 and 〈Oblivion〉.

"Honestly, I suspect it isn't His Holiness the Pope who truly wants to meet them, but the Holy Maiden of 〈Regeneration〉."

He voiced his speculation and glanced at Commander-in-Chief Ross. Ross's expression did not change.

Diego continued without concern.

"How do you think the Gray Knights' commander will respond? Rumor says he's quite an inscrutable fellow."

Apparently, the commander of the Gray Knights hid the Curse Sigil on his face beneath a paper bag and called himself JJ.

His identity was unknown. Yet he was also said to be a sharp-minded man who had eased various restrictions on the Gray Knights and made relations with the Holy Knight Order run smoothly.

Commander-in-Chief Ross pinched his shortened cigarette between his fingers and murmured.

"I have a general idea of the Gray Knights commander's true identity."

Diego hid his surprise and looked at Commander-in-Chief Ross from the corner of his eye.

He could not read the true thoughts beneath Ross's sleepy-looking eyelids.

"Ordinary, and moderately kind. Had he lived as an ordinary person, he might have found a certain measure of happiness."

It was an opinion unlike the rumors surrounding JJ.

There was even pity in Ross's murmured voice.

"Regardless of his own qualities or talents, he is in a position where he must wield the deadly blade placed in his hands. A truly pitiful thing."

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried