I dangled the freshly made stir-fried vegetables in front of the First Prince, as if I were casting a line while fishing.
He must have been living a grueling life in the forest.
The sight of a proper, warm meal was likely something he hadn’t experienced in quite a while.
"I understand. I will tell you everything I know. So please, give that to me first...!"
"Of course. Please, go ahead, and eat."
When I handed him the stir-fried vegetables, the First Prince began to eat without a single thought for who was watching.
He chewed with such intensity that it seemed he had forgotten he was a nobleman.
He looked just like a child tasting their favorite food for the very first time.
It was shocking to see a member of the royalty like the First Prince disregard his table manners so completely.
However, I didn't find it unpleasant.
Simply watching the way he ate allowed me to grasp just how much hardship he had endured until now.
──Besides, it had been a long time since I’d seen someone eat with such genuine relish.
It made me feel like all that hard work cooking was actually worth it.
"Phew... I haven't had a meal this delicious in ages. It tasted more exquisite than any banquet I ever had at the royal castle."
"I, appreciate, the praise. Thank you, very, much."
Hunger really was the best seasoning.
Because he was starving, the flavors probably felt even more intense than usual.
"Now then, a promise is a promise. Shall I tell you about myself?"
The First Prince cleared his throat and slowly began to speak.
"My name is Leonhart von Gardenia. I am the First Prince of this kingdom."
Yes, I was well aware.
After all, we were relatives.
But unlike me, there were two others whose reactions to that statement were on opposite ends of the spectrum.
"Does being a prince mean he’s a real prince...? This might be my first time seeing one."
The Little Witch began to observe him as if he were some rare specimen.
In contrast to the intensely curious Little Witch, the Flashy Man responded with a cold, unimpressed gaze.
"A prince? As if the prince of a whole nation would be hanging out in a place like this. I’m not buying it."
Wait, the Flashy Man was really the one saying that?
I found it even harder to believe that the younger brother of the Flame Dragon Lord was living here and pretending to be human.
"Well, even if I am a prince, it’s in name only. My younger brother, who became the Hero, was supposed to inherit the throne... I intended to live out my days in peace on my rural estate with that understanding, but things didn't stay that way. It all started six years ago, when Saint Iris died."
Hearing my own name again made my heart skip a beat.
It wasn't that my identity had been exposed, but hearing people talk about me always made me feel restless.
"Saint Iris was my brother's fiancée. But because Iris died, my brother married Saint Zelma... That was the beginning of everything."
Zelma──the name of my junior, the former apprentice Saint who had killed me alongside the Hero.
I never imagined I would hear her name again in a place like this.
"My brother changed after he married Zelma. Despite being the Hero, he stopped fighting the Demon King's Army, and despite being a prince, he began to lead a life of total self-indulgence... Not only that, but Zelma captivated my father, the King, and her selfish tyranny within the castle grew unbearable."
I had heard snippets from Nina and Vol-nii, but Zelma’s conduct was apparently so wretched that it even made the First Prince grieve.
As a former Saint, I could not forgive the fact that my home, the royal capital, was being ruined because of her.
"The lords, lamenting Saint Zelma's outrages and the Hero's irresponsibility, finally abandoned my brother. Because of that, the choice fell upon me, even though I was living far away in the countryside."
I see. The situation was finally becoming clear.
The opportunity had come back around to the First Prince, even though he had supposedly withdrawn from the next king race.
Furthermore, since the First Prince was more popular than the Hero, his younger brother, it had clearly sparked a major conflict.
"It was still fine when I was forcibly brought back to the royal capital by the lords. But after that, my life began to be targeted."
"Was it, because, the royal succession conflict, started, again?"
"Exactly. However, the problem was that those who targeted me weren't assassins. They were witches."
Come to think of it, the First Prince did say he was fleeing from a witch.
But why on earth would a witch try to kill him?
"I saw it... I saw Saint Zelma meeting with a witch."
"Zelma was, with a, witch!?"
"Furthermore, the two of them were plotting my assassination. Zelma was in league with the witches!"
I was already well aware that Zelma was connected to the witches thanks to what I’d heard from the Witch Queen.
Even if it was by chance, the First Prince had discovered Zelma's true nature all on his own!
"I have mastered presence-concealing wind magic. If I didn't have that, I would be dead by now."
Since he was young, the First Prince had shown a high aptitude for auxiliary magic, even if he couldn't use combat spells.
Wind magic that hid one's presence must have been incredibly useful in a den of intrigue like the royal castle.
"Because I had returned to the royal succession conflict, I became a nuisance to Zelma... So, she commissioned a witch to assassinate me. In other words, Saint Zelma was an ally of the witches all along!"
"...I, am aware, that Saint Zelma, is connected, to the witches."
"Whaaaat!? H-How do you know that!?!?"
The First Prince's jaw dropped in sheer shock.
He likely never dreamed that an Alraune living in the middle of a forest would know anything about Zelma.
"I heard it, from the, Witch Queen. By the way, what did, the witch, who was with, Zelma, look like?"
"She was a white-haired woman, like that little girl there. But a part of her hair was gold."
In that case, it was Groa, the Witch Queen's Assistant.
Zelma had asked the Witch Queen's Assistant to assassinate the First Prince.
And the Witch Queen's Assistant had accepted, ordering the other witches to move in for the kill!
"Zelma has not only my brother the Hero, but even the King on her side. I have no chance of winning."
Fearing for his life, the First Prince had apparently fled the royal capital immediately.
After a desperate escape from the city, his long journey as a wanderer began.
"I chose the Dryades' Forest as a hiding place because I thought the witches wouldn't pursue me here."
"Are there, any, other allies?"
"My subordinates all died protecting me from the witches. The only one left I can rely on is my close friend, Wolfgang."
Since Vol-nii was close with the First Prince, it made sense for him to seek his help.
──Which meant the request to search for the "blond-haired gentle man" at the Adventurer Guild was definitely posted by Vol-nii.
Acting on Vol-nii's instructions, Anna had been searching for the missing First Prince.
In the end, he hadn't been found until today.
"If that's the case, then Crown Princess Malai, of the Glanz Empire, must have been, following the orders, of the Witch Queen's Assistant."
We had encountered Crown Princess Malai of the Glanz Empire at the Little Witch's village.
Her true identity was a witch.
And she had been scouring the Dryades' Forest for a "blond-haired man."
That "blond-haired man" was undoubtedly this First Prince.
Malai had been trying to assassinate him in her capacity as a witch!
The dots were all starting to connect.
It seemed that while we were unaware, everyone had been searching for the First Prince with frantic, bloodshot eyes.
Come to think of it, Crown Princess Malai had mentioned that she intended to summon a demon in the royal capital of the Kingdom of Gardenia.
That demon happened to be the father of Yasmin, the former maid-demon, and I had already thwarted that plan.
However, it was clear that Malai had intended to cause a massive upheaval in the royal capital.
Could there be some connection between that chaos and the attempt on the First Prince's life?
While I was deep in thought, the Little Witch tugged on my vine.
"What is it, Rufe?"
"I know those people's names."
"...Which people? Crown Princess Malai? Or Saint Zelma?"
"Both of them."
Wait, what did she mean by that!?
It was natural for her to know Crown Princess Malai since she’d met her, but why Zelma too?
As if answering my question, Rufe spoke as the memory resurfaced.
"Malai and Zelma... I heard those two names over there."
"Where is 'there'?"
Looking up at the sky, the Little Witch gave a quiet reply.
"The Witch's Village..."