The figure that appeared in front of me was Friedrich the Lord, and I welcomed him into the room.
As if he had something important to discuss, the servant who accompanied him was left at the door, and only Friedrich, myself, and Polena, who was quietly standing back with a surprisingly calm expression, were in the room.
“If it were under normal circumstances, Polena would have to leave too… but since the Lord doesn’t seem to mind, let’s just leave her be.”
Thinking that, I quietly watched Friedrich sipping tea in front of me. After setting down the teacup, Friedrich spoke to me in a cautious voice.
“I’m truly sorry for coming here unannounced.”
“Not at all. Given how busy you are, it’s completely understandable. I’m actually quite pleased that Your Highness decided to visit personally.”
I replied to Friedrich with a smile on my face. Of course, if I had expressed my inner thoughts honestly at this moment, I’d have said, “Knowing you’re sorry, what the hell are you doing here?” But that was off-limits.
Still, I was genuinely curious about the situation. In the original work, Friedrich had always followed Anhalt around like a puppy, merely playing the role of a puppet. Yet here he was, making his first move after arriving in Bohemia by visiting me, without Anhalt by his side—something that struck me as quite fascinating.
“Could this also be something that Anhalt orchestrated…? No, it’s highly unlikely. That man, who knows Friedrich’s abilities so well, wouldn’t leave him alone.”
Even though Anhalt was a prideful and greedy person, this was still a matter concerning Friedrich. He might have had the advantages of being raised in a good environment as a Lord, but he lacked the virtues needed as a ruler.
He wasn’t stupid, but he was severely lacking in decisiveness and confidence, and his own opinions were rather vague. Such a person could manage decently when surrounded by good company, but if he had incompetent people around him or no one at all, he’d easily fall into a bad path or lose himself completely, unable to do anything.
Friedrich knew this fact better than anyone else, and his mentor, Anhalt, was certainly not blind to it either. As a result, the two of them practically always worked closely together on important matters, and in the original work, Friedrich scarcely made decisions on his own.
This was the same for the Friedrich I had seen all along.
“But someone like him came to find me this time without Anhalt? What on earth brought about this sudden event?”
With those questions in mind regarding the rather unnatural situation, I cautiously asked the indecisive Friedrich, who seemed to be fidgeting with his teacup.
“So, Your Highness, could you please tell me why you’ve come to my humble room? Is there something important that I need to do?”
I posed my question, hoping to gauge the other person a bit. Friedrich’s face grew slightly tense, and he began to look confused.
“Ah… no… that is… well… I mean…”
Listening to him, it could easily be perceived as a frustrating situation. But I maintained a relaxed demeanor and chose not to rush him, knowing perfectly well that hurrying wouldn’t help.
“Um… I apologize for the intrusion.”
After a while, having gathered his thoughts thanks to my patient waiting, Friedrich cleared his throat and opened his mouth.
“Anyway… right. The reason I’ve come here? That’s… well…”
Of course, his sorely lacking confidence meant that he had a lengthy preamble to get through, but finally, what came out of his mouth was…
“So… uh… what do you think… about running away from home?”
“…Excuse me?”
Not only was it surprising that Friedrich had come here alone, but the unexpectedness of that question had me momentarily stunned. After a brief pause, Friedrich rushed to defend himself in a way that sounded almost like an excuse.
“Ah… no… I didn’t mean anything particular. I was just a bit curious. You see, I once tried to run away when I was younger but failed… and I’ve had a bit of yearning for what it would have been like if I had succeeded.”
Friedrich was rambling on with a flustered tone. However…
Seeing him act this way, for some reason, I began to feel an odd familiarity.
And then…
“Pfft…”
“Huh?”
“Ahahahahaha!”
I couldn’t help but burst into laughter at that moment. Friedrich looked a bit confused and embarrassed by my reaction.
The fact that a Lord was coming all this way just to ask a Count’s son about running away from home seemed quite absurd, even to him.
But still, out of pure curiosity and yearning, he had asked such a ridiculous question—behind the schemes of Anhalt, no less. It painted him as a child, naive yet charmingly simple in a way that made him hard to outright dislike.
In the original work, he was depicted as just another high-ranking trash, but seeing him like this, he couldn’t help but spark some kind of affection in me.
“I thought he was just a trash character, but seeing this side makes it hard to hate him entirely.”
With this unexpected side of Friedrichs, I felt a strange familiarity and enjoyment growing. I calmed down my laughter and said to him,
“Haha… I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to laugh at Your Highness. It’s just that the situation caught me by surprise.”
“Um… it’s alright. Honestly, I know it’s a bit of a ridiculous question. Anyway, could you answer my question?”
Friedrich, who was slightly blushing yet unable to hide his curiosity, looked at me as I smiled back at him, in a way that reminded us of similar ages.
“Of course, Your Highness. I’d be delighted.”
Of course, I said this, but I didn’t have any clear memories regarding running away. However, considering the time I had spent living as the Count’s son, I could easily derive why the younger me would have run away and what had happened during that time.
Within Bohemia, it wasn’t exactly a secret, and those discussing it would often share bitter smiles, treating it as one of the silly past mistakes of a Lord’s son.
Nevertheless, thanks to that, I had a solid grasp of the runaway incident from my past, and I could add some embellishments to satisfy Friedrich’s curiosity.
“Really…? You too had such a reason…”
“Yes, that’s right. At that time, the desire to see a broader world surpassed any notions of being a Lord’s son. I also wanted to learn more about the church and the aura surrounding it.”
“Is that so? It seems I had similar reasons to try running away. Well… in the end, I got caught by my mother and just got scolded for it.”
“Haha… I see. As for me, due to my timid nature, my parents didn’t really think I would genuinely run away, so I got lucky and managed to make it all the way to Milano.”
“Is that so… Hmm… indeed, I should have succeeded back then…”
Friedrich expressed a voice laced with regret, accompanied by a bittersweet smile.
Seeing him like this, I decided to continue speaking in a brighter tone.
“But there’s no need to feel too regretful. Even someone like me who ran away ended up back in my place. Now, I feel more like my runaway journey was a pointless detour.”
What I said was meant to console him, and I honestly meant it. After all, if the past Santana had succeeded in running away, it was highly likely that the body I currently inhabited wouldn’t be hosting useless aura but rather a formidable magical power of at least grade 4.
Meanwhile…
As we discussed my regrets over wasted stat distributions, Friedrich spoke in a disappointed tone.
“But… I think coming back from far away isn’t necessarily a bad thing, considering your current appearance…”
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