IT'S AN HONOR TO SEE YOU AGAIN...
...YOUR HIGHNESS.
LATE LAST YEAR
YOUR HIGHNESS.
WOULD YOU CARE TO MAKE A DEAL WITH ME?
WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?
NOTHING TOO COMPLICATED.
YOU ONLY...
...HAVE TO SIT WITH ME AT THE POLO CLUB.
I CHOSE TO COME TO YOU, YOUR HIGHNESS...
...BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT UNDERSTAND ME.
UNDERSTAND YOU?
I DO NOT WANT TO BE SOLD OFF AT THE MARRIAGE MARKET.
LATELY, SOMEONE HAS BEEN ASKING FOR MY HAND, AND HE JUST WON'T GIVE UP.
BUT IF HE HAS TO COMPETE WITH THE PRINCE, I ASSUME HE WILL DROP OUT ON HIS OWN.
OF COURSE, THIS IS A LIE.
BUT I'M SURE THE PRINCE IS TOO INDIFFERENT TO LOOK INTO THIS CLOSELY.
IT DOESN'T MATTER TO ME, BUT YOUR REPUTATION WILL BE RUINED.
IF YOU ARE NOT ASKING ME TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT, I AM NOT OPPOSED TO THE IDEA.
I WILL TAKE CARE OF MY REPUTATION ON MY OWN. THERE'S NO NEED FOR YOU TO CONCERN YOURSELF.
BUT THERE IS JUST ONE CONDITION.
Oh My!
I WILL MAKE SURE I AM MARRIED WITHIN THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
SO PLEASE DO NOT GET MARRIED BEFORE THEN.
I ACCEPT.
Y-YOUR HIGHNESS?
THAT'S ENOUGH.
J-JUST ONE LAST QUESTION, YOUR HIGHNESS!
IS THE MAIN REASON YOU LEFT THE NAVY...
BECAUSE OF THE NOPHOK INVESTMENT COMPANY YOU MANAGE?
I THOUGHT THIS WAS AN INTERVIEW, NOT A HEARING.
I HAVE MENTIONED IN MULTIPLE INTERVIEWS THAT I WAS DISCHARGED BECAUSE MY MANDATORY YEARS OF SERVICE AS A ROYAL WERE OVER.
IT'S IN TODAY'S PAPERS AS WELL, IF YOU'RE SO INTERESTED.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU THESE DAYS?!
PARDON?
YESTERDAY'S INTERVIEW! WAS THAT THE BEST YOU COULD DO? YOU COULD HAVE PHRASED IT MORE SMOOTHLY!
WE STOPPED IT FROM BEING PRINTED THIS TIME, BUT THIS ISN'T THE ONLY INTERVIEW YOU'VE MESSED UP RECENTLY!
IS THE NAVY'S STANDING REALLY SO FRAGILE THAT MY ABSENCE WOULD BRING IT DOWN?
ARE YOU AWARE THAT REVOLUTIONARY SENTIMENTS ARE ON THE RISE IN POLIA?
THEY'RE DEMANDING THE DISSOLUTION OF THE ROYAL FAMILY.
YOU KNOW THE QUEEN OF POLIA. SHE'S MY SECOND COUSIN.
YESTERDAY, I DISCREETLY RECEIVED HER REQUEST TO GRANT ASYLUM TO HER CHILDREN.
IT'S NO SURPRISE THAT HAPPENED IN POLIA.
WITH ALL THE EVIL THE KING WAS DOING, WAS THIS NOT BOUND TO HAPPEN?
BUT YOU, YOUR MAJESTY, HAVE A FIRM HOLD ON THE COUNCIL.
WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT IS THE FLOW OF EVENTS AND SOCIAL ATMOSPHERE.
BUT NO MATTER HOW MUCH I TOLD YOU TO STAY IN THE NAVY...
...YOU JUST HAD TO WALK AWAY FOR YOUR PRECIOUS BUSINESS.
THEN WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW AS A PRINCE?
WHAT EXACTLY HAVE I OMITTED?
I SERVED IN THE NAVY FOR FOUR YEARS, TWO TIMES THE MANDATORY PERIOD!
IF ONLY USHER WERE JUST A YEAR OLDER.
WE'RE NOT TWINS, YET WE WERE BORN IN THE SAME YEAR AND DID EVERYTHING TOGETHER.
USHER WAS ALWAYS THE BEST, AND I CAME IN SECOND.
THEN ONE DAY, I PLACED FIRST, AHEAD OF USHER FOR THE FIRST TIME.
I FELT A STRANGE SENSE OF DELIGHT.
I WANTED ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FROM MY FATHER AS WELL.
BUT WHEN HE SAW THE RESULTS, FATHER SAID...
YOU MUST AIM FOR SECOND PLACE.
YOU MUST NEVER SURPASS THE CROWN PRINCE, YET YOU MUST BE SUPERIOR TO EVERYONE ELSE. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
I CAME TO A REALIZATION THAT DAY.
OH. I'M A SPARE.
ALWAYS AT THE READY, YET NOT THE ONE INTENDED TO GET THE SPOTLIGHT.
A DECENT ENOUGH REPLACEMENT.
THAT'S WHY I'VE ALWAYS FELT EMPTY.
IT'S THE REASON FOR MY ENNUI...
DO YOU THINK YOUR DUTY AS A PRINCE ENDS WITH MILITARY SERVICE?!
WHAT ABOUT MARRIAGE? YES, I'VE HEARD THAT YOU'VE BEEN SEEING YOUNG LADY SEYMOUR RECENTLY!
AT LEAST GET MARRIED IF YOU'RE SO FED UP WITH EVERYTHING!
WHY ARE YOU BRINGING MARRIAGE INTO THIS?
I DON'T CARE IF IT'S SEYMOUR OR SOME OTHER FAMILY. GET MARRIED WITHIN TWO YEARS.
I WON'T TELL YOU TWICE.
SO NOW YOU'RE SETTING MY MARRIAGE DATE FOR ME TOO?
WHAT'S THIS?
SINCE MY PRECIOUS BUSINESS THAT MADE ME DITCH THE NAVY IS DOING SO WELL...
I PREPARED THIS DOCUMENT.
IT STATES THAT I WILL NO LONGER RECEIVE MY DIGNITY FUNDS FROM THE ROYAL FAMILY.
WHAT?
ISN'T THIS A FAIR ENOUGH JUSTIFICATION?
NOW, I'LL BE ON MY WAY. I ONLY CAME TO GIVE YOU THAT.
TH-THAT LITTLE-!
I MIGHT ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING ISABEL SEYMOUR AT THIS RATE.
SEYMOUR... WELL, AT LEAST IT WON'T BE TOO TIRESOME. SHE DOESN'T BOTHER ME.
MARRIAGE...
NOAH!
WHICH DO YOU THINK IS BETTER?
A HAIRBAND?
THIS ONE.
OKAY, THEN I'LL SEND THIS ONE! THANKS, NOAH!
WHY DID I THINK OF THAT WOMAN JUST NOW?
SHE MUST BE 20 NOW. SHE'LL PROBABLY GET MARRIED SOON AND LIVE AN ORDINARY LIFE.
OR SHE MIGHT ALREADY BE MARRIED.
SO WHY DOES IT MATTER TO ME.
WHETHER SHE WEARS LUCY'S HAIRBAND...
...OR WHETHER SHE'S MARRIED?
The prince makes a deal with a young woman to be seen together at the polo club; the woman wants to escape her persistent suitor, while the prince stipulates that she must not marry for two years. The prince is then questioned about leaving the navy and about the Nophok company, and is scolded by the king over fears of revolution in Polia. Shaken by feelings of being a spare and by pressure to marry, the prince finally remembers a woman and a hairband.
