The Strongest Dull Prince’s Secret Battle for the Throne

Chapter 31: Meanwhile, they…..

At the time Al is acting as Leo.

Leo was desperately trying to pass as Al.

Prince Arnold. The captain is asking whether it is really okay for us not to search for Prince Leonards ship?

That again huh. Its Leo so he will do something about it himself. Keep the course as is. And Im feeling sick. Dont bother me with the useless questions. Its a pain.

Y, Yes Your Highness..anything you say.

Leo lets out a huge sigh as the knight walks away from his room.

Still, there is a person there who gives the impression of how bad his impersonation was.

Its fifty points. If its the real Al, he would just leave everything to the captain you know.

This is so difficult

Leo mutters and turns his eyes to Elna.

Unlike Als ship that was pulled in by the storm, their ship managed to escape before being dragged in.

Nevertheless, Elna was full-on panic because of all the shaking. Until the shaking calmed down, she didnt even notice that Leo had switched places with Al.

However, after she noticed that, she has been acting as an advisor to Leo. the barrier Al erected is still in place so she wasnt affected too much by the usual small shaking of the ship.

For now, lets get through this without being found out. If people know that you switched places it will be a big scandal after all.

Yeah.I have to keep my act together..I wonder if Nii-san is alright?

Al will be fine. Marc is with him and he is pretty reliable in a situation like this. The problem here is you.

Thats right..I cant imitate Nii-san at all..

Fortunately, there are only a few people that know Al personally. it will be alright as long as you do something he would do

Something Nii-san would do, whats that? And Elna, even if you wear spats, I dont think it would be a good idea for you to do that in front of me you know.

Leo warns Elna who is putting her leg on the bed.

From where Leo is sitting, the angle made him able to see inside Elnas skirt. Of course, Elna didnt care much about it since her underwear was hidden under her spats.

Thats where you two are not alike. If its Al then he would never say something like that.

But you looked too vulnerable. It would be better if you dont do that.

Yeah yeah, I will be careful. But really, Al would never say that alright. You will be found out immediately if you let your guard down just because you are talking with me you know?

Even if you say thatthen if its Nii-san what would he say?

Right.Something like [you forgot to wear your spats] or [so its white today huh], I think. Anyway, he would say something to get a reaction from me then laugh at it, I guess.

Something like that, I cant say it.

Hes probably imagining saying it himself, Leo blushed and turned his eyes away from her.

This is going to be a serious problem, Elna thought.

Al who is used to acting like Leo and Leo who is not. The big difference that hes showing is his sense of distance and how he responds to women. Al can adjust himself to his conversation partner but Leo is always polite while keeping a certain distance.

It is a bottleneck for Leo when he has to act like Al.

Even if its easy for Al to become Leo, its difficult for Leo to become Al huh..You are both a prince but how did you grow up so differently

Nii-san loves his freedom and basically plays around as much as he wants after all. He spent all day outside the castle but he always came back crying for some reason though.

Tha, thats just me helping him out because he was always one-sidedly beat up alright!

I know. Elna has always taken care of Nii-san right.

.He thinks that it was a pain though.

Haa~

Elna sighs.

Recently, she got the feeling that she cant just stand around doing nothing.

After not meeting him for a long time, she wanted to do something to raise Als reputation, thats why she joined the Knight Hunting festival. Still, he ended up disqualified. When Elna was having a hard time deciding her course of action, he inadvertently disqualified himself. Everything completely backfired on her.

And this time, she came along hoping that she could help just a little, but after all, she couldnt do anything. She held herself up in her room when the emergency situation came along. Even if he told her that she is dragging his feet, she couldnt deny it.

Elna thinks that its a good thing that Al is working hard to make Leo an emperor. However, Elna wanted Al himself to be evaluated the same as Leo.

Elna knew that it was different from what Al wanted and it caused his plan to slip up. Still, Elna doesnt want Al to have such an unfair reputation.

However, recently she started to think that it was just her own selfishness.

Al doesnt care about his reputation. Rather, he even goes out of his way to lower it himself while raising Leos up. To Al, Elnas actions are nothing but a nuisance.

She said that because of such a reason, however, Leo laughed at her.

Well, he probably thinks like that.

Uu.

But, I think that he doesnt consider you to be a nuisance you know. Ever since Elna came Nii-san seems happy and I think that you gave room for him to breathe. Inside, I think that he has been relying on you, you know.

Really.?

I guarantee it.

But.

But?

.he still hired that adventurer even though I was there.

Wanting to complain, Elna sourly muttered.

She was hesitating whether to say it or not but she decided to let it out since an opportunity presented itself.

Immediately understood that she is talking about Lynfia, Leo smiles.

She is working with us to save her village. Nii-san didnt hire her because he thought that you did a bad job or anything you know.

I know that much..but, cant he tell me anything as a follow-up? I thought that I would do my best for him there.

As a person from the Brave house, Elna cant directly involve herself in political strife.

She has been irritated by such limitations. To Elna, protecting Finne was a rare chance for her to help Al and Leo. If Finne is targeted, she can make an excuse that the Emperor would be upset if something were to happen to her and they can even use that excuse to land a blow on their opponent.

Despite that, the one who ended up being targeted was Al and he was saved by an adventurer. That adventurer is now acting as Finnes protective detail which was supposed to be Elnas job.

Honestly, Elna doesnt find that funny at all. Even when she considered the possibility that she has to leave Finnes side for her mission, she still cant find that funny at all.

Are you sulking?

IM NOT SULKING! IM ANGRY!

I see. But you know, wasnt it because Nii-san wanted Elna to come along that he hired Lynfia? It would be dangerous to leave Finne alone right? We left Sebas with her just in case too.

Why can you be so positive, Leo..I understand what Al is thinking. He thinks that rather than an escort that has a difficult position to move in like me, it would be better to hire a smart adventurer that can move freely as an escort you know. Yes, I praised her. Shes smart.

Leo was about to say [You are smart yourself arent you Elna] but he swallowed it down.

Certainly, Elna was very good at learning things. He can say that she has been better than him ever since they were children. However, the word smart Elna said just now doesnt have such meaning. What she meant was the ability to deceive someone or read people, the smartness necessary for a political struggle. Elna herself knows that she doesnt have that. You could say that it isnt in her nature so she doesnt want to learn it in the first place.

If someone from the Brave house learned something like that, it would threaten the influential nobles and royalties. The Brave house should only be a sword. Thats the basic stance of the Brave house.

Thats why the Brave house doesnt have the power to survive the secret feud ridden capital. Outside rather than inside, thats the right way to use the power of the Brave house.

Elna has Elnas own good points. I think its fine if Elna helps Nii-san on the thing that only you can do right? Is that convincing enough?

I understand but I still cant accept it..protecting Finne was supposed to be my job..

As always, You really hate losing arent you. But Lynfia probably doesnt want to compete with Elna you know. Moreover, your role doesnt overlap with her either. Our faction is inferior to others. Our allies are few in number. And there are a lot of people targeting us. I can defend myself but Finne and Nii-san couldnt do that. They have to secure the people who are able to protect them as our allies. I think he made a decision based on that and if Elnas hands are free then I think Nii-san will rely on you, you know.

Is that really the case? Al seems like he would continue to treat me as a nuisance though?

He wont. You really are stubborn huh. Lets take this as an example, right now the only person I can rely on is Elna right? Please dont sulk anymore and give me some advice. What should I do when I meet the king of Rondine?

Seriously Leo, you are really. Alright, since Al also knows the minimum courtesy, you can greet him normally. But dont say anything unnecessary alright. No flattery, you really have to keep your greeting at the bare minimum okay?

Un, I understand.

Thus, their ship is heading toward Rondine.

They dont know that Al has got himself involved in a disaster while pretending to be Leo.