Shun took a step out of the room. The expensive carpet sunk about five centimeters, which helped with his plan.
It was half-past eight in the morning. Shun had been energetic lately, but on this morning, he was even more full of energy. Because he had slept in an hour, it was about time for the maidservants and the Kabedons — the princes — to wander around.
A prince is supposed to have at least one attendant with him when he leaves the First Avenue's gates. However, the twentieth prince and others often leave without following the rules, and although there were no severe penalties for this, Shun snuck around like he was breaking the rules.
After all, there was a secret path on the second floor of the Eastern Tower to the outside. Shun had seen it used in the middle of the game by the first prince to sneak out on a date with the heroine, but now, there were no signs of it being used.
Shun traveled from the South Tower where he lived through a passageway leading to the East Tower, chose the least popular path, and made his way toward his destination.
He was going to go to the courtyard to pick some flowers as naturally as possible. Shun came down the stairs and had almost reached the landing.
It didn't look like anyone was around...
"What's the matter?"
"Ah!"
Suddenly, Shun had a heard a low, attractive voice from behind him and consequently fell back onto his butt. When he looked back, he saw a golden haired, green-eyed noble person there.
Shun was stunned for a moment by the person's dazzling appearance before he managed to stand up, anticipating a kabedon was coming soon. The man was a tall and had a well-proportioned body with golden hair that glittered in the sun, beautiful, white skin, and peridot colored eyes.
It was Theodore, the first prince.
Theodore was the most popular character in the otome game and was position in the center in the game's artwork with no complaints, considering his outstanding looks.
Hearing an ikemen(1) whisper a line like, "I'll get it. The country and you too―" would make anyone blush in several ways.
"Oh, I'm alright."
Shun naturally took the hand that was held out to him. The smart gesture was quintessential. Even so, he stood up and instinctively took a step back.
Theodore was a dream-like prince like this, but if Shun made one wrong choice, he would turn into a yandere and keep Shun in captivity. Moreover, there were several places of confinement, such as an iron cage wrapped with thorns or a summer home with a garden full of white lilies, puzzling Shun and making him wonder why there was so much effort put into them.
It was also sometimes far too easy to stumble into these flags.
Moreover, there were more kabedons in Theodore's route than any other. In this game, both pick-up lines and kabedons were far too frequent. It's said that when used sparingly it is far more powerful. Don't sell it short. This is something that absolutely everyone would agree with, even the people of Yahoo! Answers would be on your side.
"What's really going on?"
Just as Shun was attempting to make a discreet getaway, he was peered at curiously.
"Are you curious about that?"
The green eyes seemed to keep their senses, and he was relieved that there wouldn't be a kabedon event. As he recalled, they had had a few conversations, but Shun had never be pressured.
Theodore was pointing to the landing wall. There was a large, oil painting that was at least as tall as the average adult. It had the same atmosphere as the one in his room.
A man in dull armor was thrusting a long sword cast in golden light at a large beast. The beast lay on the desolate land, bleeding and dying.
Up until now, Shun had always been so worried about being seen on his way to the secret passageway that he had not even noticed the painting. He gulped in anticipation of the incoming, gruesome description.
"Yes, I was wondering what this animal was."
"It's a wolf, isn't it?" Theodore laughed, admonishing his ignorant brother.
The beast's fur was neither silver nor gold, perhaps covered in the sand from the battlefield, but it certainly had sharp teeth, a protruding nose, and triangular ears. However, it was a different size and a far cry from the wolves seen in zoos and on the Discovery Channel.
"You should go out more and see the world sometimes. Not shut yourself in."
Shun could tell that Theodore was really worried about him from the smile he gave him.
To tell the truth, Theodore was Shun's favorite.
It was understandable from his still where he smiled while on horseback upon his triumphant return from the subjugation of barbarians and demons that he was cool and most certainly the next king.
However, since Shun was running late, he wanted Theodore to hurry up and go somewhere else as soon as possible.
"Yes, by the way, are you going anywhere?"
Pretending to be innocent, Shun tried to shift the conversation, but Theodore glanced at Shun's waist as if he wasn't listening.
"You, what happened to the Sword of Protection?"
Shun was startled. He had dropped it back at the black market on Fourth Avenue and hadn't seen it since. Even if it was stolen and sold, it wouldn't be made publicly available because it belonged to the royal family, and he was going to return to the black market anyway.
After exploring the regular market the night before, Shun had planned on going to the black market today. However, this plan had to be put on hold, stalling his search for the dagger, since the heroine's curse hadn't been lifted yet.
Additionally, Shun had asked the governor about it the other day, and it seemed that the dagger was actually important. It absorbed the power of the owner and eventually becomes an "amulet"(2). So if he happened to have lost it, he would be in a lot of trouble.
"Oh! I forgot it. I'm going to get it now!"
After the remarkably stilted conversation, Shun ran down the stairs to avoid any further questioning.
A few minutes later, Shun discovered no one was nearby and went back up the stairs, and finally, he was able to recite that stupid spell.
"It's unusual for you to be late."
When Shun appeared breathlessly in his usual place a little farther into the market, it was Dian who greeted him. He was relieved that it wasn't Craig.
"Give me a second."
Dian was standing next to the carriage and holding a cup of kalia, that coffee-like drink, and a paper bag with white bread in it in one hand. He had probably bought breakfast at the market because Shun was late.
"No, I'm sorry. Take your time eating."
Shun stepped up to the windowless carriage and finally caught his breath. Thank goodness he had a flexible work schedule.
However, he had still kept Dian waiting, and so he sat on the other side of the table and apologized again.
"Once was enough. It's really alright. I was able to find a new, delicious bakery that just opened because of you."
Dian offered some of the bread to Shun while saying this. Contrary to his appearance, he was very friendly. A smile spread across his villainous face and became more friendly.
Shun reached out and took some of the bread he'd been offered. He was grateful for the aroma of soft barley, as he had missed breakfast.
"Now that you mention it, has Dian ever been to the Wolf Country?"
Shun asked casually, covering his face with bread. Suddenly, Diane's expression became alarmed. His hand, which had been reaching for his next bite of bread, stopped, and his black eyes were now staring at Shun with trepidation.
Shun knew that Dian was actually Craig's ex-guard that had come along with Craig when he ran away. However, he was taken aback by Dian's reaction as if Shun had committed a contraindication.
"Well, you see, I've never been out of Butterfly Country, so I'm ignorant of the world... or rather, I've never even been out of my own house really. The Wolf Country is close by, so I wish I could get a chance to go there before I die."
He pretended to be a desperate and ignorant young man. When he was speaking with Theodore, the wolf was said to symbolize the Wolf Country, so it had just come out of his mouth. He really didn't mean anything by it.
"My friend is there, and he still shows up once in a while."
Diane smiled again with an exuberant smile. Feeling relieved, Shun took another bite of the white bread.
"The wolf is their motif, and it's cool, isn't it? Also, it's nice that anyone can use it. Here only royalty can use it."
Well, even if Shun could use it, he, a man, probably wouldn't use it in his daily life because it was a butterfly, after all.
"It's better not to praise the wolf so much here."
Shun saw Dian scratching his head in a troubled manner, while continuing to eat his bread.
"The Wolf is a symbol of darkness in the mind of the King of Creation. Someone as educated as you, surely you've read the myths of the Butterfly Kingdom."
Shun nodded vaguely in response to Dian's mysterious gaze, and Dian was surprised to find out that Shun hadn't known this.
Shun's family was special. Shun had been like a bird in a gilded cage(3), and he had received a slightly different kind of education. So he had assumed the mythology was an extension of that.
Diane's suspicions seemed to have been dispelled, but Shun thought twice this time. Even though the two neighboring countries had a friendly relationship, were wolves really an absolute evil in the Butterfly Kingdom's myths?
The king's castle was decorated with paintings of the slaughter of wolves. If Shun was a messenger from the Wolf Kingdom, he would think that he was a lamb to the slaughter. He doesn't understand it.
When Shun asked Dian about it, Dian explained after a bit of hesitation.
"Although it is a wolf killed in the paintings, he is a different being from the holy beast of the Wolf Kingdom. That is how we reconcile this."
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1. Ikemen – a cool/handsome man
2. There was no further explanation on what exactly this amulet does or how the dagger transforms into it... so, maybe we'll find out some day?
3. The raws called him a "boxed boy", which I assume means something like this. I googled for a while but couldn't find anything about it but a platformer game.