Chapter 63. The Changing 8th Prince's Palace
Radel got off in front of the 8th Prince's Palace, seen off by Inette.
"Promise to show me when you buy a carriage!"
"Alright."
Inette waved her hand from beyond the carriage window.
Soon, Radel was left alone in front of the 8th Prince's Palace with his suitcase.
Radel looked around the garden of the 8th Prince's Palace, which he had not seen in a long time.
"Was it always this empty?"
Perhaps because he had seen the well-decorated scenery of the academy, the garden of the 8th Prince's Palace looked somewhat lacking.
It seemed to have few trees, the paving stones were broken here and there, and the lawn and flowers seemed poorly managed.
It was better than the garden of Inette's 7th Princess's Palace, where all the trees and flowers had been burned, but the 8th Prince's Palace was just as dreary.
Passing through the garden and approaching the 8th Prince's Palace, another thing caught his eye.
"Why is this place so gloomy?"
He hadn't noticed before, but the outer walls and main gate of the 8th Prince's Palace were quite worn out.
On top of that, all the windows had old curtains drawn, giving off a somber atmosphere. From the outside, it was broad daylight, yet everything felt dark.
It was no wonder strange rumors were circulating.
Radel entered the 8th Prince's Palace, taking in things he hadn't seen before.
"Welcome, Prince Radel!"
He thought there was nothing left to be surprised by, but the scene that greeted him as soon as he opened the door was enough to startle him.
The sight of attendants lined up all the way to the upstairs staircase to greet him.
The Chief Attendant's polite greeting.
What was more surprising was the precarious-looking chandelier that seemed about to fall.
Creak.
‘Have I been living without knowing that all this time?’
Isn't it too dangerous for it to creak that much?
What if it suddenly falls one day?
Moreover, the clothes and shoes worn by the attendants looked worn out. Overall, everything in the 8th Prince's Palace was a mess.
He could see how little he had cared.
As Radel momentarily closed his eyes in shock at the desolate state of the 8th Prince's Palace, the Chief Attendant, misinterpreting his expression, bowed his head and spoke.
"We know that Your Highness dislikes us, but we couldn't help but come out to greet you upon hearing of your return."
"Pardon...? Me?"
These people seem to be misunderstanding something.
Something flashed through Radel's bewildered mind.
‘From now on, you don't need to take care of my meals or bathwater. Do not use that as an excuse to approach me.’
His own image, calling the attendants and making a request.
‘I will take care of myself. I'm seventeen. I'm all grown up, and if you appear before me offering to do this or that, I won't stand for it.’
The way he had acted like a rebellious teenager rejecting society.
'This is all because of that memory of almost dying....... Ha... I'm going crazy.'
Remembering it again, he really felt like he was going crazy.
He felt like he would die of embarrassment…….
But Radel quickly recovered his mental strength.
Back then, he had been so weak that he couldn't have defended himself if any of the attendants had threatened his life.
That's why such an act was necessary.
Now, he was being subjected to assassination attempts all the time, but wasn't it still better than before? He was now capable enough to protect himself.
There was no longer any need for Radel to reject the attendants.
'I need to change the atmosphere.'
Radel opened his mouth to the attendants who had gathered.
"As you all know, there was an unfortunate incident before I left for the academy. Due to the puberty that came with it, I believe I have shown you an unpleasant side of myself. But not anymore."
Radel bowed his head to the attendants.
Did the prince just bow his head?
The attendants were inwardly shocked.
What is he going to say this time...?
However, the words that came from Radel were very proper.
"I apologize if I have been rude. And thank you for coming out to greet me like this. I look forward to working with you."
* * *
The 8th Prince has changed!
The attendants of the 8th Prince's Palace couldn't adapt to this surprising fact and were in a commotion for a long time.
The kitchen attendants, who were peeling potatoes, also gathered to talk about the 8th Prince.
"Did you hear? The Prince came to the dining room for lunch!"
"I saw him too. I'm telling you, the Prince was cutting his steak!"
"Did you see the chef crying?"
"I did. They said the Prince called the chef separately to praise him."
The 8th Prince was one who always snuck into the food storage or kitchen to steal ingredients. The attendants had thought his strange behavior was simply due to a deep sickness of the heart.
But now, not only had he gotten better, but there were even talks that he was easier to serve than other royals.
"Come to think of it, I heard our prince became the 1st-year representative at the academy."
"Really? No wonder he seemed to be doing something before he left for the academy, could it be..."
"Yes, he was preparing. Preparing to show his skills at the academy!"
The attendants began to see Radel's past actions as a preparation process to stand out at the academy.
It was then.
"What are you all doing here?"
"Hyaaaaah!"
Radel appeared before the attendants.
Thud, thud, thud!
The attendants were so startled that they dropped the potatoes they were peeling.
Someone even dropped the water bowl they were holding.
Clang!
As soon as they saw Radel, the attendants moved in a flurry, as was their habit.
It was ingrained in their minds that they must not be seen by the 8th Prince.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness!"
"We won't be seen again!"
Radel felt awkward seeing them flustered.
Was it this bad?
"Wait a minute. Everyone, stay still."
When Radel stopped them, the attendants froze on the spot, not knowing what to do.
"I-I'm sorry! I was just so surprised...! I won't speak carelessly about Your Highness!"
"Your Highness, I'll disappear right now!"
"Waaaah! My family has no one to work but me. Your Highness, please have mercy..."
Hearing the attendants' words, Radel thought of their conversation he had just heard.
They were only saying good things, so why are they like this?
"Everyone, calm down. There's no need to disappear. I think it's okay to talk about that much."
"I-is that really true?"
Seeing their brightening faces, he remembered something.
It was something Radel had said to them when he had gathered them once.
'None of you are to be in my sight. The moment you are, you're fired. Heh heh heh.'
So this is how scary a dark history is...
Radel understood their reaction. Thinking about it, if his boss at work was like that, there was no way he wouldn't avoid them.
But from now on, things needed to change.
"Yes. From today on, you don't have to avoid me."
Even at Radel's words, the attendants hesitated and glanced at each other.
"Oh, you must have been very surprised because of me earlier. I should take care of this before I go."
But when Radel took out a staff from his pocket, the atmosphere changed.
In the attendants' eyes, curiosity replaced fear.
No matter how common magic was in this world, magicians were special beings. Because not everyone could use magic.
Especially, magicians didn't usually use magic in such daily life situations.
The attendants watched with bated breath as Radel chanted a spell.
"Return!"
When Radel swung his staff, the potatoes scattered all over flew back into the basket.
When he swung the staff again, this time the spilled water on the floor gathered and filled the bowl!
It was a simple transformation magic, but the attendants were gaping in wonder.
"T-thank you, Your Highness!"
"Next time, don't be so surprised when you see me."
After leaving those words, Radel disappeared, and the attendants felt as if they had been dreaming.
"Could it be that our prince is actually amazing?"
"It's not 'could it be', he is amazing!"
It didn't take long for Radel to become 'our prince' among the attendants.
"Anyone with free hands, come over here!"
"What's going on?"
"They said our prince is having new clothes made for us this time!"
"Is that really true?"
Everyone in the 8th Prince's Palace was feeling it.
The 8th Prince had changed.
And the 8th Prince's Palace was also beginning to change.
* * *
Radel was looking through the ledgers.
It was a thick ledger with the 8th Prince's Palace's budget and expenditure details.
"Your Highness, is there anything I can help you with?"
The Chief Attendant standing next to Radel asked.
He had brought the ledger because the prince had asked for it, but he didn't think he would be able to understand its contents.
But the words that came from Radel's mouth were not a request for help.
"Then last year's ledger and....... No, bring me the ledgers for the past five years."
"......Understood."
The Chief Attendant brought the ledgers and stacked them in front of Radel without a word.
Radel carefully looked through the ledgers, comparing the previous year's data with data from a few years ago, meticulously examining how the flow of expenditure had changed.
'The budget allocated to the 8th Prince's Palace is larger than I thought.'
To think I didn't know this!
This was not the time to be thinking about how to make money.
The source of money was right here.
I should have looked inside first before looking outside.......
With each turn of the ledger page, Radel's eyes glinted.
Moreover, there were no signs of anyone embezzling the budget.
He had been prepared for some degree of embezzlement since it was the budget of a powerless prince's palace, but it seemed they were thorough in this aspect, as expected of the imperial capital.
What's the point of not using this money?
If you save it and don't use it, they think you don't have a place to spend it, and the budget gets reduced.
In fact, perhaps because the 8th Prince's Palace hadn't been cared for in a long time, the landscaping-related budget was not increasing, but was gradually decreasing year by year.
'This won't do.'
Radel closed the previous year's ledger and gave instructions to the Chief Attendant.
"First of all, we need to change the exterior and interior of the 8th Prince's Palace as an urgent matter. Let's have the outer walls and main gate repaired immediately. Get rid of all those gloomy curtains and replace all the carpets. Rehang the chandeliers and hire additional gardeners."
The gloominess he had felt when he arrived at the 8th Prince's Palace earlier came to mind.
Especially the old curtains hanging on the windows were really gloomy. And the creaking chandelier he saw as soon as he opened the door.
He also found out why the garden wasn't being properly managed.
The labor cost for gardeners in the ledger was for only one person. A palace of this size needed more gardeners.
"I noticed when I came in earlier that the attendants' clothes are very worn out. Take this opportunity to measure them and have two sets of clothes made for each of them. Shoes too."
The Chief Attendant's eyes widened as Radel scratched all the itchy spots of the 8th Prince's Palace at once.
"Oh, and I'm going to buy a carriage."
Finally, a carriage!
The Chief Attendant was moved by the continuous instructions.
He had been concerned about it as an attendant serving a prince.
Radel continued to give instructions to the Chief Attendant while flipping through the ledger, and then he found something.
'What's this?'
What Radel found was the estate tax and land lease fees.
The estate tax and land lease fees were being paid to Radel's name regularly every year.
The implication of this was clear.
Somewhere in the empire, there was a territory in Radel's name.
'Did I have a territory?'
Radel had no knowledge of this.
But the ledger could not be lying.