The Prodigal Prince - vanish into fiction

“Ha…”

He had all but stayed up through the night again. After so many days of sleep deprivation, he felt like he’d pass out the moment he closed his eyes. But his mind remained in a state of hyper-awareness, as if something were squeezing his skull from the inside.

After the company executive with the briefcase the size of a bookshelf left, it was Karl’s turn.

“This is the interim report on the new recruit training.”

The documents he received contained details on the recently recruited trainees. They were the new blood meant to join Phantom, Louis’s private military force.

Phantom—

Men who protected him like shadows, as if they had no physical form.

The veteran Phantoms, in particular, were like family to Louis. Closer than even his own royal bloodline.

But as his businesses expanded, manpower had grown scarce. Before they could begin constructing the oil fields, security had to be addressed—not just with basic guards, but a properly trained army, equipped with heavy weaponry. However, since Phantom was a private force and not part of the royal military, they had to tread carefully around the king’s gaze. Open recruitment wasn’t an option. It was one of the many headaches Louis was dealing with.

“What’s the royal family’s response?”

He had sent the newly recruited young men to train on his private island. Some would go on to become ordinary security personnel, but a select few would be absorbed into Phantom as veteran operatives.

“As always, they remain unaware of us.”

Louis nodded slightly. Phantom’s true scale remained concealed, and it seemed the royals dismissed them as nothing more than castle guards.

But he couldn’t afford to reveal his claws. No matter how much money he had or how powerful his private army was, it still wasn’t enough to shake the deeply rooted authority of the royal family. With wild rumors swirling lately, he had to keep his head down. And no one could predict when the tide would shift.

Perhaps he was doomed to live his entire life as an insignificant prince. His stepmother, the queen, had bound him with the chains of tradition.

Strictly speaking, Louis was being used.

“Was the summons to court because of Princess Dorothea again?”

Dropping his weary head, he thought of his half-sister—the reckless one who took after their father, King Gehrt, in all the worst ways.

“Yes, it’s highly likely.”

Who knows what sort of trouble she’d caused this time. Just thinking about it made his temples throb, as though pierced with an awl.

He would be the one to clean it up again. What new demand would they make this time? Anticipating yet another tiresome ordeal, he took another drag of his cigarette.

And yet the day had only just begun. Like a cue ball on a billiards table, the flat, indifferent sun would travel from east to west, and he would keep pushing the wheel of daily life. It felt suffocating. There would be no thrilling turning point to breathe life into his fate.

No—perhaps there was one. Not a turning point, exactly, but a single drop of relief.

“How’s the guest doing?”

He couldn’t bring himself to call her by name, and he disliked the sound of “Miss Swatson,” so he’d settled for simply calling her “the guest.”

Karl looked slightly startled, as if surprised that someone so far outside his concern was being mentioned.

“I’m not sure. Should I call Anya?”

“Mm.”

Like Karl, Anya was also a veteran Phantom. When Enze had fallen from the sky, they hadn’t been able to verify her identity. So Louis had assigned a capable Phantom to her under the guise of a maid.

Anya, summoned in haste, arrived breathing heavily and gave her report.

“Miss Enze Swatson looked visibly startled after reading the morning paper.”

“The paper? What article upset her?”

“There was a large missing-person-ad looking for her. She tried hard not to let me notice. What shall we do?”

Judging by her normal physical behavior, Enze was nearly impossible to imagine as an assassin or spy. The only danger she posed was whatever trouble might come from those associated with her. If she quietly left after seeing the ad, it would be a relief to Louis.

But a sliver of curiosity crept in.

Louis reviewed the missing person section Anya had attached to the report, then pondered briefly.

“Let her do as she pleases. As for the one who placed the ad, look into them separately.”

He had no desire to chase away the bird that had flown to him by chance. He was gracious enough to watch over her until her wounded wings healed and she could fly again.

Even though her family had gone so far as to post a missing person ad, Enze still seemed intent on staying hidden within the castle. Phantom would investigate the circumstances surrounding her family soon enough.

He had received multiple reports that she’d been trying to see him. But Louis chose to keep his distance and observe from afar. He even ignored the sight of her crouched on the front steps, waiting without knowing when he’d return. At that time, a small, harmless-looking hand had rested on her round knee.

“The bandages on her hand are gone.”

“She had them removed the day before yesterday. The doctor said the remaining wounds just needed ointment.”

That would make it easier for Enze to move around.

“Anything else of note?”

“The capital defense force sent a third request for cooperation. But as with the previous ones, we rejected it. I also added a statement that attempting to search His Highness’s castle would be a lawless act that defied the dignity of the royal household.”

Even though he had returned the hot air balloon fully repaired, the military kept pestering them. They claimed they wanted to find the missing pilot, but Louis began to suspect there was another reason they were so desperate to locate Enze, who wasn’t even registered in any military records.

Anya glanced up slightly, as if wanting to ask something. Louis, choosing not to answer, ended the conversation. There was no need for questions and answers—Anya was fulfilling her current role just fine. And he had no intention of letting Enze come face to face with him.

To awaken his fatigued body, he had taken two showers that morning alone. It had been ages since he’d had a good night’s sleep. Ever since the royal summons, his nerves had been razor-sharp.

He placed the back of his hand against his pounding forehead and resolved to get proper rest soon.