Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 22: Beggar Siblings - Prince

Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 22: Beggar Siblings - Prince

22. Beggar Siblings - Prince
Crowds gathered densely at the northern gate of Orville to catch a glimpse of the prince's procession.
Leo was among the throng.
"Wow~~!"
Cheering erupted as the prince appeared in the distance.
The prince with dark blue hair riding a black horse was indeed the same prince Leo had seen before. He looked almost the same age as back then.
From atop his high horse, the prince looked down, exuding a commanding presence, while the soldiers proudly raised the flag of the Kingdom of Astin.
It was indeed a grand procession.
The prince displayed the splendor expected of royalty, and the people of Orville, usually disdainful of the Kingdom of Astin, were momentarily awed by the parade.
'I wish I could have brought Lena to see this. What a shame.'
Leo had wanted to bring his sister, who was bored hiding in the shoe store, but he couldn't.
Lena's appearance was no longer something that could be concealed. Her once thin body and cheeks had filled out, blossoming into a beauty that couldn't be hidden by merely smudging her face.
Anyone would turn their head at her figure, and if men started to observe her with lecherous eyes, her pretty face would be revealed quickly.
Leo's body had also become much stronger, capable of handling most thugs, but without him, it would be dangerous.
He couldn't rely on the family's help yet.
Leo was still treated as an outsider by the family, and he had hidden the existence of his sister from them.
He was curious about what Lena would think of the prince, but he didn't want to expose her to danger just to learn her preferences.
"Kyaa~! Prince!"
"Wave to us!"
The prince led the procession with little reaction to the crowd's cheers, occasionally waving his hand. He seemed more interested in Orville's buildings than the people.
Orville, the capital of the Kingdom of Bellita, had previously been the capital of the Arcaea Empire.
It was a city with a history spanning hundreds of years, and most of its buildings were constructed with quarried stone (20cm-high granite cubes). The walls built with these stones were neat and dignified.
Such construction methods were rare in the harsh environment of the Kingdom of Astin.
Leo watched the procession from within the crowd. He wondered how his favorability would change if he made eye contact with the prince, but unfortunately, that didn't happen.
There were too many people, and waving his hand wasn't enough to catch the prince's attention.
Unless he jumped into the procession.
As the procession moved away, Leo swallowed his disappointment.
'Time to go. I need to head to work.'
He keenly felt the disparity in status.
He envied the prince who could come to meet a foreign princess with hundreds of elite soldiers, knights, and attendants following him.
Leo was just a thug who could wield a sword. Even that was laughable compared to the knights guarding the prince.
The prince had come all the way to Orville, but Leo couldn't do anything... Lena would need to be at least a noble to meet the prince in the palace...
On second thought, even that would be difficult.
If the prince, who came to meet the princess, was seduced, the repercussions would be significant. The prince, after traveling to a foreign land, would reject the princess he was scheduled to meet and choose another woman instead.
Leo returned to his daily life with a bitter taste. He didn't have high hopes anyway. His goal this time was to raise Lena normally and achieve a happy ending.
So, this event seemed unrelated to him. — Or so he thought, but it caused a significant stir in Orville.
"The prince has already left?"
The prince left Orville after just a week. It was unusual, considering he had traveled for months to a foreign country; he should have stayed for at least half a year, but he left without even attending a farewell ceremony.
"Yes. Apparently, Princess Chloe turned out to be quite promiscuous. Everyone's in an uproar."
The thug who took over the shift plopped down beside Leo.
Leo naturally handed him a lantern as he pulled out a cigarette.
"The princess was secretly meeting the son of Count Herman. Who would've thought? The princess, who was reputed to be so virtuous, was secretly fooling around."
"Count Herman, the... Sword Master?"
"Yeah. His Majesty must be troubled. He intended to marry his exemplary daughter to the prince, only to find she was fooling around with that infamous rascal. Hehehe."
"What happened exactly?"
"The princess apparently kissed that Gilbert guy right in front of the prince. Puhahaha. Noble games are on a different scale."
Count Herman Forte was a Sword Master, a prestigious title in the Kingdom of Bellita.
There were only three Sword Masters on the entire continent, and they were the aspiration of all swordsmen.
However, even the highly respected Count Herman Forte, who was the leader of the First Guard and an excellent politician, had failed in raising his son.
His son, Gilbert Forte, was a notorious playboy. He seduced women left and right, leaving the Forte family to clean up his messes.
'Will this lead to war?'
Leo also lit a cigarette deeply.
The prince wouldn't just take this insult and return quietly. The Kingdom of Astin would not stand idly by.
The princess's behavior had crossed a line.
The Kingdom of Astin wouldn't be lenient, even if they knew Gilbert was that kind of man.
Moreover, it was the princess who initiated the kiss.
In front of the prince.
This would go down in history as the kiss that sparked a war.
The two kingdoms already had a strained relationship. The nobles of Bellita Kingdom despised the Kingdom of Astin & Aster as barbaric lands, and the northern kingdoms coveted the warm central regions.
With the prince's visit, which could have led to improved relations, ending this way, war seemed inevitable.
'I'm glad I didn't enlist as a soldier.'
If he had become a soldier, he would have been dragged to the battlefield without a choice.
It was an event he wanted to avoid even in the engagement scenario, and being forced into it would have been frustrating.
Leo exhaled the smoke from his deep drag of the cigarette with a sigh of relief. The smoke from the two thugs sitting in the alley aimlessly drifted into the air.
*
With the prince gone, a peculiar sense of tension settled over Orville.
Nobles, merchants, and the royal family began purchasing iron and weapons, causing weapon prices to skyrocket.
The prelude to war had begun, and the ripple effects reached even the underworld families.
Thugs gathered in the darkness.
"Let's go."
At the leader's command, Leo and the Corolla family thugs, gripping their weapons menacingly, began to move. It was a dark night, and some thugs carried torches.
"Hey! It's an ambush!"
The lookout from the Berza family screamed and fled as the Corolla family thugs surrounded a building, initiating a fierce brawl.
Leo cut down several opponents before him. The Corolla family, having gathered a large number of men, easily overpowered their enemies.
The small building, used as a warehouse, quickly fell into the hands of the Corolla family. Inside, they found an assortment of weapons, shields, and armor.
With the prince's departure, the Berza family, who supplied illegal weapons, experienced a sudden boom.
The Corolla family couldn't join this boom as they lacked both the supply routes for weapons and connections with iron mine lords.
So, the Corolla family decided to take this opportunity to strike the Berza family, with whom they had built up resentment over the slave trade.
There was no formal declaration of war; the thugs simply looted the captured warehouse.
"...Can I buy this one?" Leo asked, fiddling with a fine two-handed sword he found in the warehouse. The raid leader chuckled.
"Haha, this guy already has his eyes on the loot. Hold on. After we settle the accounts, I'll sell it to you at a discount."
The raid leader patted Leo's shoulder amicably.
"You're one of us now. No matter how expensive weapons are these days, we should take care of our own. And I saw you with the sword earlier. I heard you were good, but damn, you're impressive."
With a newfound respect, the raid leader personally saw to it that Leo got a good deal on the two-handed sword.
No longer did Leo need to borrow cheap swords.
Except for the engagement scenario where a sword is given at the start, finding a sword in other scenarios was always challenging.
However, once armed, he felt capable of tackling any task.
Following the sudden raid by the Corolla family, numerous skirmishes erupted.
The two largest families in Orville were now at full-scale war. Even during meals, they couldn't let go of their weapons.
While on guard duty, hand axes often flew their way, and someone even tried to set their lodgings on fire.
[Achievement: Ten Thugs - You become stronger when fighting thugs.]
[Achievement: Long Live the Corolla Family - Gain slight favor with the Corolla family. Gain slight hostility from families opposed to the Corolla family.]
During the ongoing battles, Leo gained achievements and tattoos.
Having earned the family's trust, tattoos were inscribed on his hand and chest, and his pay increased.
This was partly due to Leo's significant effort in holding off a Berza family attack in a narrow passage until reinforcements arrived.
The Corolla family now seemed convinced that Leo wasn't a spy sent by the Berza family.
With his rank raised, Leo managed to carve out some time to head to the leather district.
The Corolla family had significantly reduced their members' free time, tightening security, so it was hard to find even one free day a week.
‘No one’s following me, right?’
He repeatedly checked over his shoulder, fearing he might be tailed, as he entered the leather district. Suddenly, a bulky middle-aged man called out to him.
"Hey, thug. Come over here."
The leather district was an area managed by the Rauno family.
Though he had been in and out without issue before, the escalating conflict between the two families seemed to have put the Rauno family on edge.
"Got something to say?" Leo discreetly checked the dagger hidden in his clothes, but fortunately, it wasn’t a confrontation.
"They say you’re Cassia’s boyfriend, right? I’ve seen you coming and going, so I don’t mind that, but don’t bring trouble into our area."
He pointed to a man hiding in an alley.
Apparently, Leo was being followed.
"...Did you ask Cassia?"
"Of course. We can't have other family thugs walking around armed in our territory without checking."
"Sorry about that. I’ll be more careful."
As Leo turned to leave, the man seemed to have more to say, looking Leo up and down.
"You're quite handsome. Cassia's been through a lot, so treat her well. She seems to have found some motivation recently, with the teacher and all."
"......"
"Go on."
Leo headed towards the shoe store.
Cassia was still there, idly tending to the shop, but unlike before, she was fiddling with a shoe on the counter.
"Cassia, I'm here."
"Long time no see."
Cassia was a woman in her mid-twenties, thin but with always moist-looking lips and a mature charm. She had smooth, long hair, habitually twisted on the right side, always slightly curled.
"You called me your boyfriend?"
"...Ober saw you, huh. He asked who you were, and I didn’t have a good lie."
Cassia looked at Leo intently. Her dark eyes sparkled.
"I kind of like you."
[Achievement: Man Who Melted Cassia’s Heart - Gain slight favor from Cassia.]
Unexpectedly, an achievement popped up.
As it did, Cassia got up and approached Leo closely. She was tall enough to look him in the eye.
Cassia's rich scent filled his nose.
"Wh-why are you doing this?"
Leo, flustered, took a half-step back.
He couldn’t read what was on her mind; her seemingly unfocused eyes revealed nothing.
Just as Cassia reached out to Leo,
"Brother, you're back?"
Hearing her brother’s voice, Lena stirred in the inner room. Seizing the moment, Leo turned and greeted his sister.
"Lena! Long time no see."
"Have you been busy lately?"
"Yeah. Work’s been a bit muChapter Sorry."
Leo led Lena into the room.
Cassia, watching them leave, sat back down.
*
After Leo left, Lena returned to her room. She didn’t mention it, but her brother’s hands bore grotesque tattoos.
His hands were covered in scars, and there were new marks on his face.
Brother said,
"I’ll be busy for a while. Even if I can’t visit often, keep studying hard. Okay?"
He handed over some snacks and a few clean clothes before leaving.
Feeling down, Lena stared at the low ceiling.
I’m just a burden. Since I can remember, brother has been dragging me around.
She vaguely recalled her brother handing her fruits in the forest. He hid her under the village fence and brought food from somewhere.
If she fell and got hurt, he would lick her wounds until they healed, and if her clothes tore, he would find a way to replace them.
But she had done nothing for her brother.
She followed him wherever he told her to go, ate whatever he gave her, stayed in this small room without stepping outside as he instructed, and took lessons from the teacher he arranged.
This was all she could do.
‘I want to help my brother too...’
She was old enough now. Recently, she had become healthy enough to run around.
She had already asked the teacher. She wanted to help her brother but didn’t know how.
The teacher had looked troubled and told her that studying diligently was the best way to help her brother.
She already knew that.
She was the best at following her brother’s words.
But the teacher's answer wasn’t helpful.
‘The teacher doesn’t know how my brother earns money.’
Lena gently opened the door.
Cassia was still sitting idly.
She slept in the morning, woke up at noon, spent her day like this, and went out when it got dark, returning by dawn.
Seeing her routine, Lena was sure Cassia did something at night.
She was much taller than Lena, but her thin frame suggested that Lena could do what she did.
"Cassia, I have something to ask..."
Lena called out to Cassia.

Chapter 22: Beggar Siblings - Prince