The Road to Glory Chapter 176 - Happy Prince

‘What on earth is going on?’

England’s precious treasure.

The attendant of Prince Arthur Jude Theodore Louis—the third son of the Crown Prince, Her Majesty’s beloved grandson, and eighth in line to the throne—trembled with shock.

Despite having served the prince for a long time and witnessed various royal secrets and incidents, the attendant, who usually maintained composure in most situations, lost their composure from the moment the limousine carrying Prince Arthur suddenly departed with new passengers.

Another car follows behind the black limousine.

It carried the prince’s dismissed attendants.

The prince’s security detail, secretary, and stylist for maintaining appearance.

Originally meant to assist the prince at close quarters, they were scheduled to maintain a certain distance while the prince delivered the Queen’s message and showed his fan enthusiasm.

Still, they followed at a set distance to provide help whenever he needed it.

The sudden departure of the prince’s car was not part of the plan.

“Where are we heading now?”

The secretary quickly made contact, and the driver’s response arrived. It was the prince’s will.

Additionally, there was a request to find a pub where they could perform live.

Though the secretary hurriedly searched for pubs in London as it was the prince’s direct order, they couldn’t grasp what the prince was trying to do.

They tried to organize the situation.

The car in front carried the driver, Prince Arthur, and the boy he wanted to meet—referred to only as ‘boy’ due to the unofficial nature of the meeting. His other aliases like ‘The Sun’ or ‘Glory’ couldn’t be used as they belonged to the most noble one.

The car circled the outskirts of London once before arriving at a hotel, and the boy who should have gotten off remained. Instead, new members were added.

They were individuals mentioned in the reports, and everyone knew them.

It was natural procedure for the royal family to directly investigate contacts. Since royalty faces assassination threats from birth, even citizens go through proper procedures, let alone foreigners who require even more thorough vetting.

From the ‘boy’ to his three members, their entire lives were traced—where they were born and what they had done until now. No suspicious records were found.

If anything had been suspicious, even meeting the ‘boy’ would have been difficult, but since there wasn’t, they remained quiet even with new additions.

Anyway, while they had identified all the passengers in the lead car, the attendants still couldn’t understand what was happening.

Not until they coordinated with the pub’s owner, positioned bodyguards disguised as customers and street passersby, and finally, the prince and the boy’s group stepped into the pub.

“Your Royal Highness. It’s an honor to meet you.”

The owner, showing respect for meeting the prince directly, was startled upon seeing the boy beside him.

“H-H-Halo?”

“Hello.”

“H-Halo coming to my establishment, oh my goodness.”

Unable to contain himself and not even daring to shake hands, he seemed to consider it a greater honor than meeting the royal family.

Though it was a complex feeling, the boy was a star and Britain’s most beloved singer.

Also, as someone running a live pub, the owner was likely to have great passion for music.

The boy looked at the owner, who was several times more excited than himself, and smiled faintly.

“Would it be alright if I sing a few songs?”

Despite having already rented the venue, the boss kept nodding, worried Halo might leave.

“Yes, please, for life… No, you can even take my pub if you’d like.”

He seemed ready to hand over the pub if Halo asked for it.

Halo smiled at this loyal fan and went inside.

Four o’clock. The pub preparing to open had no customers yet.

Halo looked around, took off his outer coat, and

“Are we really performing? With the… prince?”

“We can if we try, but what instruments do you usually play?”

Seasoned by countless busking performances, the members unconsciously made themselves comfortable.

Though they showed signs of bewilderment.

The members, who realized they were with a prince after boarding the limousine, were initially shocked and trembled asking if they could shake hands, but soon adapted to having a prince in front of them.

However, Halo’s statement about performing on stage with the prince was quite shocking.

“Do I have to do it too?”

And it seemed this hadn’t been agreed upon with the prince either.

“You said you can play drums.”

“That’s true, but couldn’t I just watch?”

Though he initially agreed to Halo’s words, Prince Arthur seemed to get scared when it actually came time to perform. At least, that’s how it appeared to Halo.

“It’s been a long time since I quit, and I’ll just interfere with your music.”

Even his excuse revealed his fear.

If he had said it would disgrace the royal family, or simply that he didn’t want to do it,

But saying he couldn’t do it because he might not play the drums well was somewhat…

“Won’t you regret it?”

“What?”

“When will you get another chance to come to a place like this?”

Doesn’t he look like someone who really wants to do it?

From the moment Prince Arthur entered the live pub, he couldn’t take his eyes off the stage, and given that he wasn’t talking about royal honor or such things, the prince seemed to already view himself not as a prince, but as an amateur drummer.

Don’t you want to?

Though Halo didn’t say it directly, he stirred the prince’s desire. Receiving a microphone from the owner, he casually climbed onto the stage and tapped the drums.

Then he looked at the prince.

“It’s not every day you get a chance to be my temporary member.”

Nam Gyuhwan flinched at the word ‘member.’

As he subtly showed wariness toward the prince, Han Jinyeong patted his shoulder.

“I, well, then,”

“Your Royal Highness.”

With Halo standing higher than the prince and

Prince Arthur at a loss, an attendant disguised as a bartender approached, shaking a cocktail shaker. As if reminding him not to forget his position, they addressed him.

However, this might have actually stimulated the prince.

The prince, who once spent his stormy youth causing wrinkles and white hair for his father and grandmother, recalled his younger days.

Of course, that didn’t give him tremendous courage, but still.

“Then just for a moment. Could I join just for practice?”

Halo shrugged as if saying do what you want.

That’s how Prince Arthur slowly climbed onto the stage.

Regardless of how his attendants viewed him.

Actually, it wasn’t that he wasn’t concerned, but rather that he had no time to be concerned.

Prince Arthur walked on stage as cautiously as if he were stepping onto a very dangerous path.

It took quite a while for him to stand before the drums.

When Nam Gyuhwan, who had been wary of the term drummer, gently moved to give up his drum position, the prince raised his hand saying it was fine and stood at the smaller drum set beside it.

“This is enough for me.”

As drums are the backbone of a band, the prince didn’t want to negatively impact Halo’s performance. Even without that, too much time had passed for him to play complex sets now. He didn’t get greedy.

Just being here was already greedy enough.

“What will you sing?”

“Do you have any songs you’d like to play?”

Though it was just a full rehearsal, he felt strangely nervous.

It felt as if countless eyes were watching him.

“It’s something I played when I was young, I’m not sure if you know it.”

When the name of the one who stands at the forefront of British rock lineage came up, Halo smirked. He definitely knew the prince’s taste.

The pub opened at five o’clock.

This live pub in central London always had many visitors, but since it wasn’t well-known to tourists, they were mostly regulars.

Today too, people who came to their regular spot to hear either terrible music or slightly less terrible music were surprised when people in bulletproof vests thoroughly checked their bags.

Usually, they could just walk in and order two dark beers from Sean at the counter, but for whatever reason, they were being treated like potential criminals, with metal detectors scanning their bodies and having to open their bags.

“Who are you people?”

“I just came here to drink.”

“Did Sean win the lottery or something? If not, are you trying to go bankrupt? You only need to check if we’re underage!”

There were naturally disputes.

It was bound to be unpleasant when you just came for a drink.

And they weren’t even explaining why they were checking.

“This is ridiculous, I’m leaving. Don’t expect me to come back.”

Half the people turned away in anger.

“This better be worth it!”

“What, is the US President visiting or something?”

And the other half passed through the security check while complaining.

And then they stopped in their tracks as soon as they entered, hearing the music once

And seeing the familiar figure on stage, “What the…”

It wasn’t the US President, but someone who wasn’t much different (?) was there.

Moreover, just then, Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody—somewhat rearranged—was playing.

[Beelzebub has the devil put aside for me]

“If this is hell, I want to be punished forever.”

It was a situation that could turn even a normal person into a masochist.

Five members entered his view.

A keyboardist and bassist.

One playing a small drum set and an Asian playing a more elaborate drum set.

And finally.

A boy who illuminated the stage bathed in subtle lighting like the sun.

Since the boy’s presence was so strong, he didn’t look carefully at the drummer. The lighting was also dim, and he just thought they looked somewhat familiar.

He didn’t think much of the unfamiliar bartender, the strangely tense owner, or the unfamiliar customers already in the pub.

It was enough that Halo was right there in front of them.

#

A rumor spreads faster than a horse can run.

Word that Halo was performing spread instantly.

While weapons were confiscated or their carriers turned away, phones weren’t taken, so it became well-known which pub Halo had appeared at, and people flocked there.

Outside, thorough inspections continued.

Though stories about Prince Arthur hadn’t spread much yet, they could spread at any moment while he was on stage.

The royal family must already be in emergency mode.

Ever since reporting that the prince was in a pub where people were gathering, the calls hadn’t stopped.

So the security checks became more thorough as time went on,

And there could certainly be people who were dissatisfied among them.

However, when they tried to mock or express irritation, before the security guards could step in, the people waiting in line behind them got angry first.

“Leave if you don’t want to be checked!”

“Get lost, asshole. There are plenty of people who want to get in without you.”

“Is he really in there?”

“I’ll strip naked if you ask me to, please check me first.”

They were people waiting for seats to open up in the already full pub. But there was no way people would leave. Actually, it would be strange to leave now.

Though understanding, they were still stomping their feet in frustration, worried they might not get to hear a single song at this rate.

Just then, when a spot finally opened up—it seemed they had made more space rather than anyone leaving—and security checks resumed, their anger and impatience turned toward those who couldn’t endure that simple check.

Unlike the chaotic outside, inside was truly a festival.

From The Beatles and Led Zeppelin to Queen and Oasis.

Halo’s busking was full of songs that couldn’t usually be heard, and since they were songs British people were most proud of, the audience became passionate.

With music flowing better than alcohol, there was no chance of getting completely drunk.

Even if someone did get drunk, people in black suits would throw them out, making this place truly another concert hall.

By this point, some people started recognizing the face of the drummer on stage, but they doubted their eyes and didn’t believe it.

There’s no way a prince would be Halo’s drummer.

Though it was clearly their beloved Prince Arthur no matter how they looked at it, they thought they were seeing things because they were drunk.

The stage heated up like that.

Prince Arthur, who initially said he would only practice together, felt awkward handling drums after so long, but gradually became more excited, and now seemed like he wouldn’t get off even if someone told him to.

The sweat soaking his back must have been the concentration of passion poured out wildly.

Having quit long ago, he wasn’t playing as well as in his younger days.

But strangely, it was more enjoyable.

He felt like he would go crazy with joy.

His inadequate playing wasn’t a problem.

When he first made a mistake and was flustered, the members acted as if the mistake was intentional and didn’t let his mistakes have a negative impact. Also, when they smiled as if it was no big deal, it just felt like having fun.

Prince Arthur felt his eyes growing hot.

Not because he was sad, but because he was too happy to taste why he had once been crazy about music.

He could understand Adam and Eve who craved the forbidden fruit. If the forbidden fruit tasted like this, he would have craved it too. Even if he would be punished.

The songs following the lineage of British band music,

Finally reached the present.

Representative of Britpop and rock itself.

And to Halo’s music, which has become synonymous with band music.

“Bravo!”

“Halo!!!”

The pub crowd jumping up with clenched fists as soon as the music ended and the hot atmosphere. The sound of passionate applause, the subtle lighting and smell of sweat. Even the members’ laughter.

The prince would never forget this day.

“The drums were great.”

Prince Arthur high-fived Nam Gyuhwan,

Shook hands with Moon Seoyeon and Han Jinyeong.

Then finally hugged Halo and,

“Thank you, friend.”

Greeted him with sincerity.

“I’ll never forget this day.”

It meant he would start music again.

Clearly, Prince Arthur no longer had all the passion he had in his younger days. Even though it wasn’t too late, the prince had duties and responsibilities, and he had to manage numerous foundations.

Arthur, who returned from amateur drummer to prince, recognized his position again.

“Still. If I ever get the chance, I’d like to perform with you again.”

He didn’t know when it would be possible.

After causing trouble this time, it might never be possible.

Still, the prince had no regrets and looked forward to someday.

“Will you perform with me again next time?”

Their fists bumped without words.

That greeting was enough.

#

Halo had a flight scheduled for the next day before his Paris concert. Whether or not the internet was going crazy over the late news of Halo’s busking, he leisurely headed to the airport.

England was courteous to him during departure just as during arrival.

Many fans came to see him, and instead of shouting, they looked bitter like someone sending their lover to war.

Halo waved his hand, and normally would have departed for Paris without incident.

Then, suddenly things started getting noisy.

Cameras flashed, and people parted like the Red Sea.

Though yesterday was supposed to be their last meeting,

And he thought there would be self-reflection after causing trouble.

Halo faced His Royal Highness in formal dress.

“How have you been?”

Yesterday’s meeting should have been unofficial, but the busking incident made it official. However, Halo greeted casually, and Prince Arthur removed his formal hat and extended his hand.

As the two shook hands, flashes went off again.

The prince coming personally to say goodbye.

Halo thought it was excessive for a farewell greeting, but went along with it.

They had fun playing together yesterday, so he could understand an excessive greeting.

Therefore, Halo didn’t expect the prince had another purpose.

“Until the day we meet again.”

The prince, showing respect, delivered his final message in front of everyone.

“My country will always want you.”

Click!

The cameras captured Halo’s wide-eyed expression contrasting with the prince’s faint smile. It could be interpreted in quite a few ways. Especially since it was said by a royal family member, not an ordinary person.

It was natural for the world to go crazy.