3 — Pult's Grievances

The carriage door opens, and Joezand enters, followed by the male knight Pult and the maid Anneliese. Lorelai, the female knight, sits on the front to guide the horses. Joezand admires the graceful interior, the fine light brown oak being a lot more beautiful on the inside. It feels very, very fancy. Like something out of a fairy tale. The carriage has wool padding on its benches, covered by blue linen with a painted crest of a black, minimalist lion above a white shield. Anneliese searches the back of the carriage for rations, as she hands out some bread for Joezand, who devours it, shoveling it into his mouth.

"Prince Joezand, please." Pult complains, rolling his eyes. "Did spending all that time with peasants make you forsake your manners?"

"Sorry, I didn't realize how hungry I was." Joezand says, wiping his mouth. "What should I know?" Joezand asks between bites. "Just the main bullet points to not embarrass myself."

"Well, I'm not sure where to start..." Anneliese says. "You're Prince Joezand. The third prince of the Styrian Empire, ruled by Emperor Thaddius and Empress Agatha. Your fellow royals are Duchess Cecilia, King Florian, and Duchess Agnes. Although Duchess Agnes is currently very busy with her Acquatian territory. And King Florian is currently on Magyla, so—"

"Calm down with the names. I won't be able to keep up like this." Joezand interrupts, taking another bite of bread. "What happened to me, specifically?"

"You... ran away." Anneliese says. "You seemed unhappy for the last few months, and one day you just took one of the horses and vanished. It's been months since anyone saw you. I thought I-" She stops herself. "I-I mean, we thought we lost you forever, until a local priest sent us a letter mentioning that he saw you here."

"A priest, huh?" He grumbles. It was probably Sunnaria who tipped them off. She really thought of everything, huh? "I was unhappy? Why is that?"

"I could not tell you." Pult says, the disdain in his voice clear. "You were born in the most noble, prestigious and rich family in the world and you were getting away with things that would have any other person executed on the spot. It's a mystery how anyone would be unsatisfied with a life like yours."

"You don't seem very fond of me." Joezand comments.

"My loyalty is squarely with the crown, as I've proven time and time again to the Empress. Your worries shouldn't be about whether I like you or not." Pult spits out. "You should be concerned about finally getting a territory to rule over like your siblings, and bringing honour to house von Styria."

"Don't need to lay it on that thick. I got it." Joezand sighs. What did he even do to this guy in the past? Although he supposes it's the previous Joezand. This... does raise the question of what happened to the original owner of this body, but he can ask Sunnaria about it later. "So everyone in the family has a territory?"

"Everyone except for you." Pult remarks. "The Emperor and the Empress were constantly let down by your stewardship, and you're not really known for your discipline, so you stand as the only prince without land. Which is considered humiliating, if you couldn't gather."

"And what am I known for, exactly?"

"Mingling with the commonfolk, mostly. Being popular with the masses seems to be your only strength, and it's not really an honorable one for a prince. You should avoid standing with the rabble."

"Now, don't be like that!" Anneliese protests, pouting. "Prince Joezand has some other, uhm, strengths too! He's just less interested in administrative matters, that's all!" She argues.

"And that's why he doesn't have a territory. Even Duchess Cecilia, who spends most of her time in the capital has a small piece of land to rule over elsewhere." Pult shrugs. "It might be a hard pill to swallow, but it is the truth. He has to salvage his reputation and acquire a lot of goodwill for the Emperor to even think about granting him a single village."

"So having a territory is a sign of great prestige." Joezand says, scratching his chin. "Should we... tell them I have amnesia? It will take even longer for them to trust me then."

"Of course we should." Pult says. "Not only is it due procedure, but if we say the curse of von Styria manifested and that's your reason for running away, your punishment might be lighter overall. As I mentioned, your family hasn't taken too kindly to your act, so you should cut your losses before Emperor Thaddius decides to cut off your head."

"Scary..." Joezand says. "You keep mentioning that curse, too. Is it something I should worry about?"

"I don't think so!" Anneliese chimes in. "It apparently already took effect and only impaired your memory. It's a... trend, that everyone born of house von Styria have a lot of trouble to keep a sound mind. Some have fallen to madness, while others have had their intelligence affected. Memory issues don't seem too far-fetched."

"I see." Joezand says. "When you put it like that, my situation seems like the best outcome."

"We first thought it was madness," Pult comments. "However, it was bold, but entirely in character for you to run away. Then we questioned that your intelligence or at least your impulse control was affected, but speaking to you now... It seems you're able to form coherent thoughts, at the very least. So memory loss seems like the only effect for now." Pult explains. "Hopefully it stays that way. The less problems you cause, the better."

"What about personality?" Joezand asks. "Both insanity and a drop in intelligence will lead to a change in personality, and memory loss should as well. Personality is a collection of opinions based on previous lived experiences, after all."

'Nice. Now they won't question you even if you do something off-character.' He hears Sunnaria's voice in his head. 'I will say, I'm quite enjoying watching your work, little lamb. Your interpersonal diplomacy has been stellar!'

'I feel a bit bad being this deceptive in my second chance at life, but this will avoid problems.' He thinks back at her. 'I hope this will be enough for now.'

"You have a point." Pult replies. "You do seem a bit different. The Prince Joezand I knew would be talking my ear off about uninteresting and pointless things he saw during his little escapade. You seem a bit more focused instead, but we'll have to see how long that'll last."

"Hey! He never said anything uninteresting or pointless." Anneliese protests once more. "If you actually listened, he had a lot of lived experience. I actually wish that he..." She trails off, looking down with a frown on her face.

"The previous version of me is a pointless topic of discussion." Joezand says. "What I need right now is the help of both of you. Please."

"Of course, Prince Joezand." Anneliese replies. "I'll support you in any situation. You can count on me."

"I serve Empress Agatha, not you." Pult says. "If you want to ask someone for help, ask Lorelai. She'll feel left out if you made a deal while she's guiding the horses."

"Oh, that's right. I kind of forgot about her." Joezand scratches his head. "Anneliese, could you please tell Lorelai everything we discussed here when we arrive?"

"Yes, your Highness."

The three of them stop talking for a bit, as Joezand looks out the window. The simple houses start becoming more and more complex and sturdy, with finely-cut stone walls instead of the pile of rocks that made the ones in the village. The scenario changes as he sees a gargantuan building. Big, chunky blocks of limestone around a large, dark brown wooden gate, with iron chains holding it sealed tight. The monument is opressive. Maybe even more than the skyscrapers in Tokyo. A giant reminder of how small he really is. Peeking from behind the gate, he sees the tip of a bronze-colored head, probably a statue of sorts.

They all get down from the carriage. The loud clanking of a metal bell is heard in the distance, as bright pink bleeds into the sky, the sun setting on the horizon.

"Phew." Lorelai takes off her helmet. "I can barely feel my butt. Why did we travel with armor on again?"

"Just in case the Prince was in danger. You should know this, miss Emperor's Knight." Pult replies.

"So, this is it." Anneliese turns to Joezand. "The Styrian capital."

"Understood." He says, as the gate starts to open. "Let's go in, then."