Guardians of the Prince

I managed to slide off the anpy’s back, and then dropped my luggage in a heap and sent the anpy back to town.

I stood in front of a small, ivy-entwined gate. An ivory castle sat enshrined in the front garden on the other side.

This was Shiz Cagna, the second palace – it had been a month since Ouji and Kohme had come here. Finally, I could take up my new position.

I was to be Ouji’s personal tutor… And his personal physician as well.

I’d sent word in advance, so I didn’t have any problems getting in. In the drawing room, I spoke with Lord Taval, the man in charge of the castle, and his wife Mirette.

After confirming the conditions of my employment, they said to me, “I believe you are acquainted with Lord Ouji and his lady nurse, correct Doctor?”

“I’m sure you have a lot to talk about, take your time,” Mrs Taval added, and they took their leave. They were an amiable pair, like someone’s grandparents.

Eventually there were thudding footsteps and the door opened, and Ouji burst in first.

“Lahz’!”

He leapt at me, and I involuntarily staggered back a step. He’d gotten even bigger in the time I hadn’t seen him.

“Welcome back!” he said, and I felt unexpectedly touched.

“Yeah, I’m home.”

“Mr Lahzt!”

And then… that nostalgic, sweet voice.

Kohme was standing there, flashing a smile at me, wearing an apron and a white bonnet.

“Kohme…”

My voice came out all hoarse. That look suited her… almost dangerously well.

“Oh my god, what happened? You look starved.”

Kohme rushed over to me and looked me up and down, apparently startled.

“Oh, well… You know… She did say field work, right? We were in a jungle… and I got sick… A lot happened.”

My eyes wandered around the room.

“It’s okay, if it’s hard, you don’t have to say it.”

Kohme consoled me, and sat me down on the sofa.

We’d finally met again after all this time, was it alright not to stand on ceremony?

I made Kohme sit down next to me, a little forcefully, and held her to my chest. That soft body, that nostalgic scent.

Kohme’s arms wrapped around my back. She hugged me so gently I was a little surprised.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, you did your best,” she whispered.

You’ve got it all wrong. I’m not clinging to you.

As nanny, she was almost always with the prince. I wanted to spend time with Kohme leisurely, on her days off.

With that thought in mind, I asked Kohme when her next day off was, but she tilted her head.

“Day off? Um… Do I get those?”

“Wait a minute. Are you telling me you’ve been working since you got here without a day off? Those are some harsh working conditions.”

“But, a nanny is a substitute mom, right? And we only just came here, so I thought I should stay with the prince until he gets used to things at least… Besides, I’m still in my probation period, so I can’t really complain if I don’t get any vacation days.”

“What? Probation?”

Kohme looked at me blankly. “I mean, I’m nanny to a prince, aren’t I? So, there’s a period where people make sure I’m right for the job.”

I had the chance to talk to Lord Taval, so I asked him about it.

“Oh my, Lady Nanny thinks she’s still a provisional hire, even now? She’s long since been formally recognized.”

“So, how should I put this, there was a period like that?”

“Mm… At any rate, she does cut a kind of youthful figure, doesn’t she? There are plenty of people who wonder if she’s really a good fit for the nanny position, even here at Shiz Cagna.”

Lord Taval smiled bitterly. “Well, one among us certainly is testing Kohme out, in his own way.”

The person testing out Kohme was the head chef, Lord Gaen, 57 years of age.

“Just let her make a meal once. That should be enough,” I suggested to Lord Taval. He was a bit concerned, and told me he’d sit in on the meal himself when the time came.

And then one day, Lord Gaen suddenly called Kohme into the kitchen and told her, “I’m sure His Highness would occasionally like to eat something you’ve made, as he used to do. Why don’t you make us some lunch today.”

“What, is that alright? The prince… I haven’t made His Highness’s meals in forever! Well, I’ll borrow your kitchen then,” Kohme said, and got joyously to work making the food.

And in no time at all: “Alright, I’m done!”

What she brought out, heaped on a plate, was hoppe (pilaf).

The hoppe had been formed to look like a bird, and a small national flag was standing atop it.

Why was there a flag on the hoppe? That didn’t make any sense.

Lord Gaen and Lord Taval both took their seats at the lunch table, and the prince devoured the hoppe Kohme had made, twirling the flag around in his fingers, overjoyed.

Seeing it, Lord Gaen got down on one knee, looking crestfallen.

“The shape of a bird, representing the fact that affection for animals is a fundamental principle of this country… And more than that, it’s a meal that nurtures patriotism in the prince, with our national flag on it… It’s– It’s beautiful!”

And then he revealed something to Kohme in a flustered rush.

“I’m sorry, I was just testing you.”

“What!? So this was like an employment examination!?”

After that, Lord Gaen seemed to acknowledge Kohme’s skills, and once Lord Gaen recognized her… Well, it caught on and others started to recognize her as well.

But there were a couple of guys who thought the whole thing was funny, and apparently conned Kohme into showing them parts of her foreign culture.

Kohme misunderstood it as a continuation of the employment exam… and so on and so forth until the present day.

“What, is that true?! I thought for sure I was being tested on so many things because it was still my probationary period… So then I’m officially the prince’s nanny!”

When I went to tell Kohme the truth as she was playing with the prince in the garden, and when she heard, Kohme put a hand to her chest.

“The prince does seem comfortable here now… So, if I put in an application ahead of time, I should be able to take a little time off, right? Lady Mirette can look after the prince for a bit.”

The prince’s maid Lauren had been serving tea and overheard us. “That’s right, I’ve been asking her to please take some time off, but it is Lady Kohme after all. Lady Mirette and I will give it our best for a day! We’ll figure it out!”

Lauren was only seventeen years old, but with youth on her side, she could keep up with the prince’s bounding power, so she was a reliable maid.

“Oh? Well then, maybe a whole day off next time…?” Kohme muttered, apparently a bit happy, and I invited her out without delay.

“In that case, would you care to take a look around town? I haven’t seen it yet either, so let’s go see it next time we get the chance.”

Kohme nodded, smiling.

Yes! I clenched my fist under the table.

“Your Highness! You have to tell me if you’re going to climb trees, I’m coming with you!”

Lauren ran towards the prince, her fluffy, dark brown hair swaying, so I took the opportunity to ask Kohme for something else.

I was standing beside the table, and Kohme was looking over toward the prince, and I tugged lightly on her hand.

Kohme looked up at me, surprised, and I whispered, “You made hoppe for the prince, right? It’s been a long time since I’ve had your cooking, Kohme, I’d like to eat it again. That dish with the flag on it looked good.”

“Oh–”

What? Was she pulling back? Why?

“Well… Then maybe it’d be better if no one could see us, so… Next time we’re alone together…”

She was saying something so happy to me, so why on earth did I think I’d made some kind of mistake?

Then one day, Kohme summoned me to the kitchen while there was no one there, and treated me to some of her cooking with a little national flag attached, and I finally learned the meaning of the word o-ko-sama ranchi. 1

I’d been giving so much thought to the problem of how to remove that hint of ‘Lahzt is so cute’ from the smile Kohme always turned on me, but I had no choice but to admit, “This is delicious…”

Footnotes

お子様ランチ, meaning A child’s lunch, as in food that you serve to kids because it looks fun and gets them to eat their veggies without complaining.