Chapter 61

“‘The Wastrel Prince assaulted the daughter of a noble family on a forest path’… What you just said—if anyone had heard that, it would have stirred up quite the commotion.”

“The young lady didn’t come here to play. Please speak truthfully, Your Highness.”

Renania narrowed her eyes, pretending to be angry.

Of course, he knew Renania hadn’t said that merely to tease him. Yuwon didn’t avoid it and instead faced it head-on.

“‘Yes. I did.’”

There was no point now in arguing over right or wrong. Yuwon had grown far too much for that. Back then, he had been White Dog, and now he was the White Dragon. It was already a matter long past. Besides, Renania knew well that Yuwon hadn’t held any malicious intent, so she didn’t get angry.

“‘I knew it. I thought so.’”

“But since when did you know?”

“Well… I had been suspicious ever since the Houkijisu Tournament started, but I think I became certain after the last battle.”

“Hm, your intuition is better than I thought.”

“Anyone would be a fool not to notice with that many clues.”

“Hm, then instead of saying your intuition is good, should we say you’re simply not a fool?”

At Yuwon’s sly smile, Renania raised her hands in surrender.

“No! Please just say I have good intuition.”

“That sounds better, doesn’t it?”

After that, the two simply walked side by side without speaking. A short silence flowed between them. Renania was the first to speak again.

“By any chance… did you do it on purpose to annul our engagement… no, that’s not it.”

Renania was a smart woman. She asked out of faint doubt, but quickly realized on her own that such a thing was impossible.

“…In the midst of deceiving everyone else, I must have been deceived as well.”

“With something so clumsy, how could I possibly fool all those eyes in the Imperial Palace?”

Smiling faintly, Yuwon gave a small nod.

In truth, it wasn’t deception—someone else had taken his place—but he couldn’t explain that as it was.

In the end, yet another person had unknowingly become a victim of the Fifth Prince’s decade-long project.

‘I wasn’t the one who lied, yet I let everyone believe they were deceived, so in the end this is deception too. A trick isn’t anything grand. My whole life, wearing someone else’s skin, is deception.’

At that thought, an unreadable smile appeared on Yuwon’s lips and soon faded. It was a faintly bitter smile.

“What were you thinking about to smile like that all by yourself?”

“Nothing. I just realized life is quite amusing. A few months ago, I was the notorious Wastrel White Dog everyone pointed fingers at, and now those same people call me the White Dragon. Doesn’t that seem funny to the young lady as well?”

“It’s not funny. It’s scary.”

“Scary?”

“You lived ten years pretending not to be who you truly are. That… makes a person seem frighteningly resolute. It makes me wonder if this is what one must do to survive as a prince.”

“So it’s that I’m resolute….”

Renania’s choice of the word ‘resolute’ poked sharply at Yuwon’s chest. He had needed to be resolute simply to survive, and the weight of her words pressed heavily on him.

‘My original life and this second life aren’t any different. In the end, I’m a resolute bastard.’

Yuwon was not someone who easily revealed his inner thoughts, yet today he seemed to have shown a gap. Renania, standing beside him, offered him comfort.

“It’s all right. Your Highness isn’t merely resolute—he’s a good person.”

“A good person… that’s the first time I’ve ever heard that.”

“No, I’ve been watching all along. Your Highness truly is a good person. You just had to become a little more resolute than others to survive as a prince.”

‘Just became a little more resolute to survive.’

“I’ll accept the comfort. But what’s with today? First an invitation to dinner, and now all this kindness… You haven’t said much to me lately, so I thought you were angry.”

“You felt that way?”

“I did.”

“Then that makes us even.”

“…?”

“You’ve been fooled by me.”

Renania gave a shy smile.

Yuwon and Renania arrived at the agreed location. Count Valaris, who had been waiting first, greeted Yuwon.

“Welcome, Your Highness. Though we’ve greeted each other in passing, allow me to properly introduce myself again. I am Roderick Valaris, who serves Aphahiel.”

“Yurion Aphahiel. I should have invited you first since we share old ties, and I caused you trouble because of them, but… circumstances were what they were. Thank you for inviting me first.”

“Ah, of course. A great many died in that battle only a few days ago, so it’s understandable. I understand. In fact, it is only now that I finally managed to invite Your Highness. I understand completely.”

Warm greetings were exchanged, and soon a modest dinner for the three of them began.

“In this battle, it wouldn’t have been strange if something disastrous happened, yet Your Highness truly achieved something great.”

“As a prince, how could I not step forward to defend the people of Aphahiel? I simply did what I ought to do.”

“Haha. Excessive modesty is poison as well.”

Count Valaris burst into hearty laughter. Though he said such modesty could be excessive, he didn’t seem to dislike Yuwon’s humility. Yuwon’s lips also curved into a faint smile at the Count’s laughter.

‘Hm…? Something about this seems familiar.’

A gentle, friendly smile. But something about that smile caught the Count’s eye. Yuwon’s smile resembled that of the masked assailant who had cornered the Count so brutally before.

‘No, that’s impossible.’

The merciless duelist who had driven the Count to utter exhaustion before vanishing without a trace could not possibly have been the Fifth Prince.

The level of swordsmanship that monstrous man had wielded was far too high.

As if bewitched by something, the Count slowly scrutinized Yuwon’s face.

‘He had pulled his robe deep over his head, and wore something—whether a mask or veil—over his face.’

Because of that, the only thing the Count could barely see was the occasional glimpse through that narrow gap.

The prominent bridge of the nose hidden beneath the mask. The sharp jawline. And one more thing.

“Ah, come to think of it, they said Your Highness’s swordsmanship instruction was exceptionally effective. Before you leave, could you have a look at mine as well? Or are you too busy with the trainees?”

“Oh dear, don’t even mention it. If not for this dinner tonight, I would still be stuck at the training hall right now. Haha.”

As Yuwon, who had been chatting pleasantly with Renania while dining, smiled again, that magnificent smile appeared on his lips.

‘Hup—! Right! That… that smile!’

The Count was so shocked that he thought his heart would burst out of his mouth.

It was the very smile that had hung on the lips of the sparring demon who had brandished his sword as if to kill the Count.

It had been hidden beneath the mask back then, but it could not fool the Count’s sharp eye. It was a smile clearly engraved in his mind.

‘Could it be that that person was His Highness? And that’s why he spared me…!’

He had suspicions, but without evidence he couldn’t be certain.

‘If that’s the case….’

Then he simply needed to find out from now on. With the intention of probing

Yuwon, the Count subtly raised his aura. The sharp pressure of a veteran master focused on Yuwon.

‘Hm?’

Yuwon, who had been enjoying his meal, immediately felt that surge.

‘What kind of trick is this now? He invited me here himself, and now he suddenly releases killing intent at his guest?’

Yuwon turned his eyes toward the Count. The Count pretended not to notice, calmly cutting his meat.

‘They say even a dog should be left alone while it eats….’

He had no idea what the Count was thinking, but Yuwon had nothing to hide, so there was no reason to avoid it. Yuwon raised his own aura in response.

A subtle tension flowed between Yuwon and the Count. Both men sent their pressure toward each other without Renania noticing.

The Count’s aura surged like the sandstorms of the southern desert, while Yuwon’s aura clashed back like a finely honed blade.

A moment of ignition!

In the clash of two superhuman auras, the forks and knives on the table vibrated intermittently.

“Hm? Didn’t this just move?”

At Renania’s single remark, the two men instantly withdrew their auras as if nothing had happened and pretended to be casual.

“Oh my, the meat is excellent today. The head chef must’ve put in some effort.”

“It truly is. It’s no different from the dishes I used to eat at the Imperial Palace.”

“Hm… Strange… I’m sure it moved on its own….”

Even Renania, who was skilled enough to hold her own anywhere, had no way of noticing the aura when two superhumans deliberately hid it from her.

Yuwon prepared for a second round. But instead of raising his aura again, the Count suddenly opened his mouth.

“I suspected as much, but it truly was Your Highness.”

Yuwon gave a faint smile and nodded.

Now that it was revealed, there was nothing to hide.

“If it’s the event I’m thinking of, then yes, that was me.”

‘Now then, how will you react?’

Yuwon waited to see the Count’s reaction. Yet what came was completely unexpected.

The Count suddenly seized Yuwon’s hands with both of his.

“I have finally found my benefactor. Thank you! Your Highness!”

“What in the world…?”

“Father?”

At the Count’s sudden action, Yuwon and Renania both looked confused.

Just moments ago he had released killing intent as if he wished to cut Yuwon down, and now he was suddenly expressing gratitude.

Of course, Yuwon knew very well—he had been so thrilled to meet a proper opponent that day that his strikes had indeed been quite merciless.

“Did the Count have any reason to thank me?”

“How could I not express my gratitude…! Thanks to Your Highness’s precious guidance, I managed to break through a wall I had failed to overcome for years!”

“Heh… hehehe… So that’s how it turned out.”

At the Count’s words, a hollow laugh slipped from Yuwon.

He truly had no intention of killing him, but it seemed that, in the life-or-death confrontation from the Count’s viewpoint, the man had gained considerable enlightenment.

“Father, Your Highness. What is all this about? Your Highness taught you something and you broke through a wall?”

Only Yuwon and the Count knew what had transpired in that fierce battle, so Renania, who was listening, couldn’t follow the conversation at all.

Yuwon and the Count simply looked at her and smiled faintly.

“There was something like that. It was due to a small misunderstanding… but I got a little too excited.”

“I wasn’t exactly blameless either. In any case, thank you again, Your Highness. That sparring match helped me greatly.”

“What is this? Both of you. Tell me too!”

At Renania’s adorable protest, the two men briefly explained what had happened. Of course, not in full detail.

Yuwon omitted the part where he pushed the Count to exhaustion and the fact that he won the match, while the Count omitted the part where Yuwon’s clothing had caused the misunderstanding.

They simply explained it as a small misunderstanding that led to a bit of scuffling.

“…So that happened. Your Highness, you weren’t hurt anywhere, right?”

Naturally, Renania assumed Yuwon had lost and asked about his condition.

For her, imagining the defeat of the Valaris Count, known as the Protector of the South, was impossible. Yuwon gave her a wry smile.

“Haha, fortunately there was a minor misunderstanding, but the Count was merciful in his strikes, so there was nothing to worry about.”

The Count, whose dignity was spared by Yuwon’s answer, replied with an awkward smile. With misunderstandings cleared, warm conversation followed.

As the final dinner gathering came to a close, the Count cautiously spoke.

“I have a request—would you hear it?”

“A request? Please, go ahead.”

“Yes, well… if it would be acceptable… would Your Highness grant me the honor of facing that legendary White Dragon Sword? If you allow it, it will remain the glory of my lifetime.”

At the Count’s request, Yuwon smiled gently. It was the very smile the Count remembered.

“Very well. I, too, would like to properly face the Protector of the South again.”

Yuwon and the Count briefly moved to another spot and engaged in a bout. About fifteen minutes later, they returned side by side to the dining area.

Whatever happened during the duel, the Count had a grin hanging from ear to ear.

“Then I shall take my leave. I received generous hospitality today, so if you ever visit the Capital, please come find me. I shall treat you then.”

As it was quite late, Yuwon bid farewell and returned to his lodging.

Only the Valaris father and daughter remained. The moment Yuwon left, the Count spoke as if he had been waiting.

“My daughter.”

“Yes?”

“His Highness the Fifth Prince. He is a truly fine man, isn’t he?”

“He is. But you used to hate him so much. Said I suffered because of him.”

“That was all because His Highness had to pretend to be a wastrel in order to survive, due to his powerless maternal family. You know that better than I do, don’t you?”

“Well… that’s true.”

Then the Count revealed his true intentions.

“Your marriage. Let us try pursuing it again. This father of yours would welcome His Highness the Fifth Prince anytime.”

“Eh? Why suddenly…?”

“You’re at the perfect age to marry, and His Highness as well. Try again. This father would like to see grandchildren. Cough, cough!”

The Count even faked a weak cough he had never done in his life.

Of course, Renania wasn’t foolish enough to fall for such a cheap trick.

“Oh, Father really!”

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