It was the afternoon of their second day of rest in the Shirone Kingdom.
Sunlight spilled onto the floor through the wooden window on the inn's second story.
It illuminated the tiny motes of dust drifting through the air.
All was peaceful inside the room.
Then, suddenly-
"Knock, knock, knock."
A distinctly rhythmic knocking sounded at the door.
Immediately afterward, a Royal Attendant's voice came from outside:
"Your Grace Cui Can, duke of the Asla Kingdom."
"My master, His Highness Zanoba Shirone, Third Prince of Shirone."
"And His Highness Pax Shirone, Seventh Prince of Shirone."
"Have come together to visit and humbly request an audience."
Information from the original story instantly flashed through Cui Ciyou's mind.
That "blessed child" prince from the original story, who possessed monstrous strength and an obsessive passion for the art of dollmaking...
And that perverted prince from the original story?
Weren't these two on bad terms...?
Why would they come together?
"Come in."
Cui Ciyou's calm voice carried through the door.
Someone pushed the door open from outside.
Two figures slowly entered the room, surrounded by a squad of Royal Guards in gleaming helmets and armor.
The moment Cui Ciyou got a clear look at the visitors, even though the intelligence he had received had already prepared him-
He still could not help marveling inwardly.
These two brothers really looked... truly looked... "distinctive," each in his own way.
Of course, the most shocked was Sylphy, who had harbored romantic notions about the word "prince."
"They look nothing like the princes in stories."
"They aren't handsome at all. One looks like a troll, and the other looks like a goblin."
The man walking on the left was extraordinarily tall and powerfully built.
He stood at least two meters tall, with shoulders as broad as a wall.