Chapter 160: The Arrogant One (3)

The northern detached palace.

While staying there, Deborah emitted a cold chill.

“…….”

Only the butler or a maid occasionally came and went.

Step. Step.

Multiple footsteps echoed through the corridor and reached the room.

Sensing movement, my eyes sharpened.

A moment later.

The head butler, who had been waiting on the first floor, knocked and entered.

“Princess, a guest has arrived from the main palace.”

“Who is it?”

“It is an envoy from the Moratz Kingdom.”

“……Where are they?”

“They are waiting in the reception room.”

I rose from my seat and left the room.

Upon arriving at the reception room, I saw Prince Rasfer seated in a chair.

Our eyes met.

Prince Rasfer opened his mouth first.

“It is the first time I have seen you since the victory celebration in the Negro region, Princess.”

“I am no longer a princess.”

The current king was my uncle, King Harlan Mineta.

I was still of royal blood, but officially, it was no different from being stripped of my position as princess.

“You haven’t changed much since childhood. Well… your body seems to have changed quite a bit, though.”

His gaze traced from my toes to my knees, then to my thighs, sliding upward as if caressing. It was disgustingly sticky.

Any desire to sit across from him vanished instantly.

“I didn’t expect you to come all the way here yourself.”

“Of course I had to. I came to take my future wife with me.”

“Who is your wife supposed to be? I have no intention of marrying anyone!”

“Do you think it is yours to decide? It is His Majesty’s command, and you are royalty. Naturally, you must obey.”

“You might as well kill me instead.”

If I couldn’t avenge my father, the former king, that would be preferable.

My voice was firmer and more sincere than ever.

“You speak frighteningly. That is not something the future princess consort of the Moratz Kingdom should say.”

“Keep that fantasy to yourself. I will be taking my leave.”

I headed straight toward the reception room door.

At that moment, Spessen Akraden, captain of the knights escorting the envoy, blocked my way.

Snap—!

“Princess, please return to your seat.”

His tone was heavy and threatening.

A menacing aura radiated from his entire body, but I refused to back down.

“Are you threatening me? With that atmosphere, you might as well admit it.”

“This is respect. So, please return while I am speaking politely.”

“…….”

The aura of Spessen Akraden flooding from his body was immense—so immense even I, who had reached Sword Master, felt its weight.

At the very least, a mid-level Sword Master.

If I at least had a sword, maybe.

But now, with all my weapons confiscated, I had no chance.

“If you say anything unnecessary, I will get up immediately.”

In the end, I sat down on the sofa.

Seeing that, Prince Rasfer’s lips lifted into a long grin.

“You’re wasting too much time.”

“…….”

“You’re rather stubborn, too.”

“…….”

“Do you think you can cancel this marriage by acting like this here?”

A fallen royal authority must submit to the new one. That was the law of the kingdom, and the minimal dignity of royalty.

If even that wasn’t kept, becoming a slave would not be surprising.

I knew this well.

But I had fled the kingdom because I knew exactly what treatment awaited me under my uncle, King Harlan Mineta.

“I’d rather die.”

“It is merely a ceremony between two kingdoms to maintain good relations. You know that well.”

“You have no right to say that.”

“And why can’t I?”

There were many rumors about Rasfer Moratz, the second prince of the Moratz Kingdom.

His promiscuity with several noblewomen. Incidents where he supposedly killed commoner women and widows after meeting them, and so on.

Some claimed they were false.

But remembering the kind of personality Rasfer showed when I was young, I did not believe they were lies.

“You look at me far too poorly.”

“You only ever speak lies. Do you think I’d believe even one?”

The conversation could no longer continue.

Perhaps because of that, Rasfer gestured with his eyes, and those standing around withdrew from the reception room.

Only Rasfer, Deborah, and Spessen remained.

“Kukukuk……”

Laughter spilled from Rasfer’s mouth.

In that instant, chills crawled across my body.

Then he spoke again, his mouth continuing to move.

“I can’t keep doing this ridiculous act. It’s killing me from how funny it is.”

“You’ve gone insane……”

We no longer spoke formally to each other.

Rasfer didn’t seem to care and continued.

“What do you think I came here to do for you?”

“Then why did you come?”

“I was curious how boldly you’d behave. But it’s nothing special. To think the once-arrogant princess is now flailing after losing her right of succession to her uncle.”

“And yet you— you didn’t even get a chance at succession. And what happened to your dear mother?”

At that moment, Rasfer’s face twisted like a demon, and he lunged forward.

He stepped on the table and leapt across it, grabbing my neck with force.

“Keuk!”

Of course, I tried to dodge.

But I suddenly froze—Spessen’s killing intent had drawn close to me without my noticing.

“If you truly wish to die, how about dying by my hand? Hm? I could kill you in the blink of an eye. Answer me!”

“You… you…! Y-You insane bastard!”

His madness felt so intense it made my skin prickle. My throat tightened under his grip, and my consciousness blurred.

Then Spessen, who was standing to the side, lightly grabbed Rasfer’s arm.

“Your Highness, please restrain yourself.”

“Ah, ah~! Of course. His Majesty the King told me to do this, after all. I must obey.”

Rasfer instantly relaxed his expression as if nothing had happened and stepped back.

“It seems I’ve left an unsightly mark on your neck. My apologies, Princess.”

“…….”

“Let’s end the discourtesy here. And since we’ll soon depart for Moratz, please take care of yourself until then.”

With a slight bow, Rasfer left the reception room with Spessen.

Left alone, I rubbed the reddened bruise on my neck and exhaled deeply.

“Phew……”

If I had my sword, I would have cut off Rasfer’s neck right this moment.

Grinding my teeth, I prayed for the right opportunity to come.

“That bastard’s out of his mind.”

Startled by the sudden voice, I jumped and looked around.

Both the door to the reception room and the balcony window were tightly shut. I was clearly alone.

“Ah, did I scare you?”

As the voice continued, Raion appeared from the corner of the reception room—his figure revealed as though a cloth had been lifted away.

“How… how did you do that? Since when were you here?”

I was so shocked that my tone rose.

“From the beginning. But that Rasfer Moratz really is a lunatic.”

“Did you use magic?”

“Yes. Well…… let’s call it something similar to illusion magic.”

“Illusion?”

The spell Mirror Illusion was a third-circle magic used to reflect the surroundings or create false images to confuse the enemy.

It could not, however, erase one’s presence as Raion had just done.

“Like this—Invisibility.”

As the incantation flowed, Raion’s left arm vanished up to the elbow as if sliced away.

I couldn’t help but gasp at the sight.

“That kind of magic exists?”

“It does. But… it seems you’ve had quite a rough time here.”

“Unbelievable. And rough? I was prepared for this much before coming.”

I spoke more casually again.

At that, Raion smiled faintly.

“Were you already aware of the alliance plan with Moratz?”

“Yes. They were going to marry me off to Prince Rasfer, so I ran away. My position was unstable anyway.”

“Along with the alliance, did you also know that Mineta and Moratz plan to attack the Boluzan Kingdom?”

“……What? Are they insane!”

It seemed I hadn’t known that part.

Of course, Raion had been equally shocked when he first found out.

To think they would dare attack the Boluzan Kingdom—an ally of the Bachenan Holy Kingdom.

Unless they intended to make enemies of the Holy Kingdom and the temples across the continent, it was madness.

“It’s true.”

“How do they plan to handle the aftermath…….”

“They must have powerful backing to even attempt it.”

“Backing?”

“For instance…… an empire. Or perhaps the place where those apostate priests belong.”

Through Specific Analysis, Raion had once seen those traitors.

They used a power different from the apostles of the main gods.

The Power of Chaos. It was unlike either mana or holy power.

“That’s right. There were those kinds of people, too.”

Priest Fargodas, whom we had fought on the outskirts of the Fanir Territory.

He was so powerful that even Turklan and Patrick had struggled against him.

If Raion hadn’t appeared when the ridge collapsed, we might all have died.

“For now, we should focus on the situation at hand.”

“Is the plan ready? I’ve been waiting all this time because you said to.”

With the strength of Raion, Turklan, and Patrick, escaping would have been easy.

There had to be a reason we’d waited this long.

“Almost. More importantly, that man beside Prince Rasfer isn’t someone to take lightly.”

“Spessen Akraden, Captain of the 2nd Knight Order of the Moratz Kingdom?”

Raion had already learned about him through Specific Analysis.

“Yes. A master who has reached the high level of Sword Master.”

“That strong?”

“At his current growth rate, he might even reach the peak level of Sword Master.”

Now I understood why I couldn’t move under Spessen Akraden’s killing intent.

“So Moratz assigned Spessen to that prince.”

“They must value Prince Rasfer more than expected—or they’re being cautious and meticulous, preparing for any situation. Either way, it means this marriage is extremely important.”

“Do you really think it’s possible?”

“Are you worried?”

“This place is far from even the Canel Kingdom. I don’t know how much or what you’ve prepared.”

“Just in case, please keep this one with you. Graphi.”

At his call, Grapheos popped out from Raion’s arms.

He had been staying hidden all this time so as not to be noticed by others.

[Hua! Fresh air! Fresh air!]

Perhaps from being cooped up too long, Grapheos zoomed around the air with glee.

And once again, I was astonished.

“You—you want me to keep that with me?”

“For safety. Grapheos can also handle pocket space. If you ask for your sword when needed, he’ll give it to you.”

“Pocket space?”

As expected of a divine beast—it possessed tremendous power and abilities.

“I’ve fed him enough mana so he won’t run short. He’s harmless.”

“……Fine.”

“Then, Graphi, I’ll count on you.”

[Got it! Got it!]

His nickname was now officially Graphi.

Graphi stopped flying and perched lightly on my shoulder.

Since he had shrunk in size, he didn’t feel as intimidating.

“I’ll be going now. The time to move will be when you depart, Princess.”

With that, Raion vanished from the reception room.

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