There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 179

“Even so, for someone as precious as you to use a room worse than others….”

Despite Eustis’s explanation, the loyal Dale seemed reluctant.

It was indeed an unconventional decision that no other member of the Imperial Family besides Eustis would ever make.

How could someone who inherited the blood of the great Sun God concede the treatment they deserved to another?

However, the 7th Prince, who had lived without being properly treated as a member of the Imperial Family within the Imperial Palace, did not feel particularly attached to establishing the authority of the Imperial Family.

“Dale, weren’t you the one who told me I need to be careful no matter where I am? I don’t care about rooms.”

“Still….”

“Do you want me to repeat myself?”

As the young prince raised his eyebrows, Dale reluctantly bowed his upper body.

“I understand. I will bring him right away, so please wait.”

He approached the magician who was not only harassing the staff but also pulling the manager’s beard and causing a scene.

“I don’t care about your situation, just give me the room!”

“Oh, sir! Please let go!”

“I only accept the best, or else… Huh?”

As Dale spoke, the man’s expression, which had been indifferent at first, soon changed.

Eventually, he staggered along with Dale to where Eustis was.

As the distance narrowed, Eustis could see the man’s appearance in detail for the first time.

Silver hair and golden eyes. The biggest surprise was that he looked more decent than expected, and he seemed to be just past his coming-of-age day [typically around 15-18 years old, marking the transition to adulthood].

And what should he say… Perhaps because he was taller than Dale, he felt a strange sense of intimidation.

To avoid being overwhelmed by that force, the boy’s neck stiffened involuntarily.

“Young Master, I’ve brought him.”

At Dale’s words, Eustis nodded once and then looked straight up at the man, opening his mouth. Or, he was about to.

“Ah, so this little kid was the one who offered me the room?”

If the man hadn’t blatantly scanned Eustis up and down and laughed first.

In the blink of an eye, he approached and patted Eustis on the back.

“Thank you, I’ll use the room well. You look arrogant, but you have a good eye for things.”

Dale reacted a beat late.

“What is this rudeness! Step back immediately!”

Almost simultaneously, the knights guarding Eustis pulled the man away from the prince.

Even in the face of their fierce gazes, the silver-haired man only snorted without showing any fear.

“I was just giving you a compliment, but you don’t appreciate it. Well, whatever. I feel good thanks to your young master, so I’ll let it slide this time.”

Then, he easily broke free from Dale and the knights’ pressure and headed towards the stairs.

“Where do you think you’re going…!”

“Enough.”

Eustis stopped Dale, who was about to order the knights to chase after the man.

“I understand your concern, but this is beyond the pale. How dare he treat you, a precious being, like this-.”

“I said it’s enough.”

Eustis nervously swept back his hair.

“Didn’t you see that mysterious movement just now? I don’t know if it’s magic or what, but he’s quite skilled, unlike what he looks like.”

The guards who protect the powerless 7th Prince are among the weakest in the Imperial Knights, but they are still knights belonging to the Imperial Family.

If someone could move before they could even react, there would be no benefit in making them an enemy.

‘For a moment, I suspected he might be an assassin sent by the Crown Prince’s faction….’

But if that were the case, they wouldn’t act so conspicuously.

“Anyway, let’s go inside. I’m tired.”

After that, Eustis headed to the room that Dale had newly obtained by talking to the manager.

The severe fatigue from the long carriage ride tormented him, but he couldn’t relax easily.

In fact, it was easier to assassinate a member of the Imperial Family outside the Imperial Palace than inside.

The security was weaker, and it was easier to conceal evidence.

Moreover, due to the sudden incident, Eustis had to spend time in a remote place, not the accommodation he had originally intended to stay in.

If there was anyone targeting his life, they would most likely aim for this moment.

Recalling that fact, he couldn’t calm down even though the guard was standing watch outside the door and Dale was staying in the adjacent room connected to the hallway inside the room.

Eustis carefully examined the room again, which Dale had already checked for safety several times, and then placed a self-defense dagger under his pillow.

Even then, he wasn’t relieved, but this was the best he could do for now.

Late at night, the prince lay in bed, closed his eyes, and tried to force himself to sleep.

As always, the night was the time when the boy was closest to death.

As soon as he closed his eyes, all sorts of worries came to him.

Desperately trying to think of something else, his thoughts turned to the man he had encountered in the lobby today.

“…Arrogant bastard.”

The murmur came out unconsciously.

That was because, although he had pretended to be calm in front of his subordinates, Eustis’s pride had been hurt quite a bit.

In his not-so-long life, it was the first time he had encountered such a rude person.

No matter how insignificant a prince he was, who would dare to show such behavior to him unless they were a member of the Imperial Family?

No, even among the Imperial Family, they looked down on Eustis while also inwardly wary of his potential.

But that man, who looked like a gangster from the back alleys, clearly looked down on him as if he were a stone rolling on the street.

That arrogant attitude….

The young prince ground his teeth and fell asleep.

Fortunately, contrary to Eustis’s worries, relatively peaceful days followed after that day.

Here, ‘peace’ meant that there were no major problems, not that there were no minor problems at all.

First of all, due to the monster swarm problem, Eustis and his party were still stuck here.

To make matters worse, communication was also impossible.

Even though they had procured a magician to infuse magic power, the communication stone was not functioning for some unknown reason.

“Oh, what should we do? I need to explain this situation to Count Orletta.”

Dale wrung his hands but couldn’t find a solution.

The sudden impossibility of communication was a problem for the entire small city, and it turned out that the culprit was nearby.

“Hey, Le Guin. What on earth did you do?”

“Me? What?”

“Aren’t you the only one here who can make communication impossible in the entire city!”

It was a conversation Eustis overheard by chance on his way back from a walk.

A magician was questioning the thug who was staying in the most luxurious VIP room on the same floor as his party.

Unexpectedly, he quickly admitted his guilt.

“Sorry, sorry. But it wasn’t intentional. I’m currently researching magic that disrupts monsters distributed over a wide area, and I didn’t expect it to affect the communication stone. Failure, failure.”

He didn’t look sorry at all.

“You, really…. Even if you are the chief disciple of the Magic Tower Master, this is too much!”

“Who’s a disciple? That old man is just my sponsor.”

“Don’t say such ridiculous things again-.”

“Oh, shut up! If you have a complaint, come at me. Or go complain to the old man.”

He seemed very upset, but the protesting magician only grumbled and disappeared.

A disciple of the Magic Tower Master. If that was true, the Magic Tower Master’s judgment was deeply regrettable, but it explained the skill he had shown.

Thinking that he had done well not to provoke him, Eustis returned to his room.

However, the ill-fated relationship between the man named Le Guin and the prince’s party did not end there.

“Ronald! Get a grip!”

Dale, who was hugging the errand boy he had brought from the Imperial Palace, shouted, but the pale-faced man couldn’t open his eyes.

It had only been twenty minutes since Dale sent the errand boy to contact Count Orletta outside the city.

The errand boy, Ronald, had suddenly collapsed while passing through the hotel’s courtyard.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea there was someone underneath. If I had known, I wouldn’t have sprayed the failed anti-aging potion.”

Because he had dumped a magic potion out the window, which the man staying in the most luxurious VIP room had dumped on his head.

“Why can’t Ronald come to his senses!”

When Ronald protested, Le Guin shrugged.

“I don’t know. But there are no harmful ingredients to the human body, so there won’t be any harm to his life. Probably.”

“It’s because of you, why are you so irresponsible?”

“Okay, okay. I’ll give you the treatment fee. Is that okay? Geez, it’s the fault of the guy who happened to be passing underneath at that time, why are you yelling at me?”

Dale’s face turned red with his sky-high audacity.

One good thing was that, as the man said, Ronald had only fainted due to the effects of the magic potion, and there was nothing wrong with his health.

However, he couldn’t muster any strength in his body and would have to lie in bed for a few days.

Since they had departed with the minimum number of people who had to stay by Eustis’s side at all times except for him, there was no one else to send on errands.

“Don’t worry too much. You can just explain it well to the Count later.”

“…Yes, Your Highness.”

Eustis comforted Dale appropriately and left the room where Ronald was lying.

But coincidentally, he ran into the person who had caused Ronald to be like that in the hallway.

“Hey.”

When Eustis impulsively spoke, the man blinked.

“Who are you again?”

“…The person who gave you the VIP room.”

“Ah, right. Please understand. I tend to forget unimportant information.”

He barely managed to hold back from saying something harsh. It wasn’t to point out his rudeness that he had spoken to him.

“Instead of causing trouble for others, why don’t you try to be a little more considerate of your surroundings?”

He expected him to retort or just ignore him, but the man was silent for a moment and then smiled.

“That’s what I want to say to you.”

“…What on earth do you mean.”

Dark night. Eustis closed his eyes, recalling the man’s incomprehensible remark as he went to bed.

How much time had passed? Suddenly, his eyes opened.

His heart was beating fiercely, and cold sweat had formed on his neck.

Someone is in the room.