I enjoyed the first volume of this series about a little professor who's often mistaken for a child - but who winds up responsible for tutoring four young princes. I've been picking up additional volumes; got this at Barnes and Noble. (The manga inspired a 2017 anime that I definitely want to see. ) This volume follows Volume 6, though the series mixes episodic stories with ongoing plots and could probably be read out of order.

This one opens with a truly dramatic turn of events: for the first time in the series, we get to meet Prince Eins, the oldest son of the king, and the logical (if not legally-mandated) heir to the throne in this country. His father is happy to have him back, but confides to tutor Heine that he has doubts as to Eins' suitability for the throne - and Eins' own demeanor, haughty and cold, makes me wonder about that as well. The other princes are not exactly eager to meet him either, and his reaction to them is pretty rough: he hurls away the welcome bouquet and stalks off. What's with this family?

Eins and his cronies do opt to "invite" Heine for a conversation at Eins' own palace, with the other princes assuming it's a kidnapping and sneaking along to rescue their tutor. This could have gone quite dark, but in fact Eins has a rather reasonable chat with Heine, pointing out his brothers' shortcomings and listening to Heine's rebuttals. And when the princes burst in to declare their intentions of battling for the right to the throne, even Eins seems impressed - a bit!

From that dramatic beginning, the volume relaxes into more typical storylines, whether it's the youngest prince confusing "rivals" for "enemies" and keeping away from his brothers to study (until he faints for lack of cake) or the lady Beatrice turning up to find out why Kai, her fiance, hasn't been in touch (turns out he's afraid to send anything until he has a complete tale to tell, something Heine is able to convey on his behalf).

Perhaps my favorite chapter here has to do with Licht, in his guise as "Rich", working at the coffee shop; a rainstorm forces him and Heine (pretending to be his little brother) having to spend the night there, as guests of the owner, a charming fellow who's ardent about his job, to the point of living above the shop and having no life outside polishing the glasses and creating new blends. Licht, who thought he had learned a lot about commoners from serving the customers, is astonished to see the owner living in a small apartment with no servants, and staying up late to do the washing up. More life-lessons for our pampered prince - and a peek at a charming secondary character, something I always enjoy in stories like this one.

Continued in Volume 8.

[There's a TV Tropes page on the series, with some entertaining tidbits.]

Guidelines for safely visiting and stocking Little Free Libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, from the LFL site here.

I dropped this off in the Little Free Library outside the Weirs Beach Community Center, after admiring the view of the beach itself on this lovely day. Hope someone enjoys the book!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

*** Released for the 2020 April Showers/May Flowers challenge, for the rose (near the volume number) on the cover. ***

*** Released for the 2020 Royalty challenge. ***